WOWOW 30th Anniversary Anime "Eternal 831" Special Edition No.2] What does Suzushirou have in common with Saito Souma? Interview with Souma Saito, who plays the main character Suzushirou

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of WOWOW, "Eternal 831," a new feature-length anime directed and written by Kenji Kamiyama, will be broadcast on January 30, 2022.

The world is in turmoil due to an "unprecedented disaster. A young man, Suzushiro, who has acquired the ability to stop the time around him after a certain incident, meets a girl, Nazuna, who has also been traumatized and is able to stop time. Suzushiro then meets his half-brother Seri, who uses her to commit crimes. ...... is a film with a message that only director Kamiyama, who sharply tackles the problems of modern society, can deliver.

Akiba Research Institute is featuring "Eternal 831" in this issue! We will be presenting a series of interviews with the cast and the artists who composed the music for the film.

In the second installment, Souma Saito, who plays Suzushirou, a college student who has acquired the ability to stop time when he is filled with intense anger, appears.

Mr. Saito talks about the appeal of this work and what he and Suzushirou have in common. He also talked a lot about his memorable WOWOW works.

⇒WOWOWOW 30th Anniversary Anime "Eternal 831" Special Edition Part 1] A work that questions "What is true evil? Interview with Kazuyuki Okitsu, who plays Seri Agawa

Eternal 831" is not just a gentle story

───What did you think when you read the scenario of this work?

Saito: When I first auditioned for the role of Suzushiro, the main character has the ability to stop time, and I was given the outline of a great disaster that has hit Japan (......), so I imagined how the story would unfold. Now that I have finished recording the film, I realize that it is not a simple and clear-cut work that presents a single theme in an easy-to-understand manner, and that each viewer will probably have a very different opinion about it. It is a work that creates a forum for dialogue about these diverse opinions and impressions, or rather, it is a work that can be watched repeatedly on ...... and matured in one's own mind.

─ ─ It is true that before I saw the script, I had a preconceived notion that it would be a work with a strong science fiction action flavor, but when I actually read it, my impression changed completely.

Saito: At the stage when I recorded the script, the pictures were still being created, but I thought the depiction of a world where time has stopped was already on a grand scale and would be enjoyable from a visual standpoint as well. I also felt that the human drama did not have a single righteousness, but rather each person's own righteousness, which was very rewarding for me as a recording artist. Suzushiro has a lot to say, so I felt a great sense of accomplishment when we finished recording everything. I would like to leave the rest to the audience.

─ This is a work with a very realistic view of the world that has some aspects that are relevant to today's society.

Saito: It is difficult to talk about the story of this work before it airs, but as you say, the sense of stagnation in the world and the times may have some overlap with the present day. However, even in such a situation, people have to work and live day by day. As I mentioned earlier, the way you describe the whole and the individual, or how you live your life in relation to the world, there is definitely a part of you that has to be that way, whether you are aware of it or not. So, this may be a bit strong, but I believe that some people will sympathize with this story and others will not, but I feel that this is a good thing.

It is not only a gentle story, but in a sense, it is a question from Director Kenji Kamiyama to us. So, I can't say right now whether or not I can clearly relate to this work, but I am sure that it will reach many people in various ways in the future, and I would love to know how you feel about it.

On the other hand, I found some of the conversation scenes between Nazuna and Suzushiro a bit humorous, and the scene where their eyes meet and they look away from each other made me nostalgic because I was once a college student myself. The story is very carefully crafted, and the slow and steady pace of the story is very well done.

───Did Director Kamiyama give you any direction regarding the character Suzushirou?

Saito: Actually, we did not have such an intensive discussion. We had two recording days, and on the first day, we exchanged various opinions in order to decide on the character's structure. I had prepared several performance plans. I had prepared several acting plans, but when I heard the first story, I had a hunch that it would probably turn out better if I expressed myself honestly as I felt it, and I tried to do so.

During the actual recording, I received detailed directions such as, "I want him to act a little more pained here," but in general, I read the script and played Suzushirou as I perceived him.

───What kind of character did you think of Suzushirou yourself?

Saito: He is a young man who is traumatized by an incident in his past, but my personal interpretation is that before the incident, he was a person who could honestly believe in his own standards.

But after the incident, he lost sight of that. He was unsure of what he thought was right and what it meant to let his values interact with the values of others, and he became unsure of the rightness and fairness that he had believed in without doubt until that incident. ....... In a sense, I thought that he too is a person whose mind has become stagnant.

─ ─ What do you think Nazuna is to such a person like Suzushiro?

Saito: I think she is special to Suzushiro in many ways because she is the only person who has the same ability as him. On the other hand, I think that the most unpredictable things are depicted in his interactions with Nazuna, and the relationship with Nazuna depicts the everyday and physiological aspects of human behavior. I think that for Suzushiro, it is only Nazuna, with whom he shares the same abilities, that this part of him comes out, so he must be a special person.

She is similar to the Suzushirou of the past. ......

─ How was the recording studio?

Saito: The first day of recording was with Yoko Hikasa and Akio Otsuka, and it was the first recording of the film.

As is often the case during postrecording, the person who is not in charge of the character in the scene reads the lines for the character who is not there. It is easier to work on timing, tempo, and other aspects of the play if we can read the lines for each other. This time, Akio did all the reading for me, and I think I was able to record the scene with the help of my seniors.

Because of the situation [with the new coronavirus outbreak], it was difficult to get everyone together for the recording. So I was happy to see the positive attitude of the members, who were not saying "we can't do this," but rather "what can we do?

The atmosphere was great.

On the second day, I recorded with Mr. Kazuyuki Okitsu and Ms. M.A.O. During the performance, we were very concentrated, and during the break, the atmosphere was relaxed.

（Nazuna (played by M.A.O.) did not have that many lines, but for Suzushiro, she was a character who could have different conversations from others, so he gave me wonderful passes. I also felt the gentleness of M.A.O.'s heart, which was also reflected in the play.

The character of Seri, played by Mr. Okitsu, was also very attractive and made a strong impression on Suzushirou. In the latter half of the play, Mr. Okitsu's performance combined with his own stirred Suzushirou's emotions, and it was a fun and stimulating performance.

─ Did you discuss the work with your co-stars?

Saito: I talked with everyone about Suzushiro and wondered what he was thinking, but we didn't discuss it that much on the set. I am sure that everyone was digging deeper into their own characters, just as I was, but until I saw the finished film, I could only interpret it from the angle I was seeing it from now.

I can't help but look at it from the perspective of Suzushiro, but if you rewatch it from Seri or Nazuna's point of view, you will see something different, and you may be able to empathize with them.

So I would like to have another round-table discussion with everyone after I have watched the film properly.

─ Is there a character you sympathized with?

Saito: Suzushiro is a university student who was born and raised during the lost 30 years, so in a sense, he is in a similar position to us. One of the key words of this work is "I don't understand." There are various kinds of "I don't understand," such as not understanding, not sympathizing, not knowing, etc. I think it is very important to understand how we perceive these key words.

Suzushirou is a character who, up until the middle of the film, does not know what it is that he is supposed to believe in. On the other side of the world, there are many things happening, and many people with many different views. But I don't understand them. I guess one of the questions in this work is, "What should I do then?

I don't mean this in a conspiracy-theory sense, but there is an overwhelming amount of things I don't know about how the world works, and I think I need to start by acknowledging that. In the play, I felt a great deal of sympathy for Suzushiro when he said that he had no basis for judgment because he had no knowledge of the conversations that were taking place between Seri and Prime Minister Kakimitsu. I felt that it is necessary to study and build up from the point where you realize that you "don't know" without pretending to know, so I really sympathized with Suzushirou when he said that he didn't know.

─ By the way, do you think there are similarities between you and Suzushiro?

Saito: I used to be similar to the old Suzushirou. There was a time when I was overconfident in my own standards, thinking that because I thought this was right, everyone else thought so too. I used to get angry when things didn't fit that description, and later, when I cooled down, I often reflected on how I had behaved emotionally and how I had done wrong.

I used to think that anger was one of my bases, but there was a period about three or four years ago when, strangely enough, my anger suddenly decreased.

It may sound strange to say this, but I believe that people repeatedly reincarnate to raise their soul level, and I thought that my theme in this life was "not to be obsessed with anger," and at that time I thought, "I did it! I leveled up!" But after a while, anger comes back to inhabit me again, and I think that human beings are repeating this kind of thing. When I saw this work, I was reminded of that.

So I felt sympathy for Suzushiro, and I definitely thought that I used to have the same feelings.

What is Souma Saito's favorite WOWOW animation?

─ ─ In this work, the words "the lost 30 years" appear, which I think is an expression of the stagnant society of the Heisei era. So, what was the Heisei era like for you, Mr. Saito, who was born in the Heisei era?

Saito: As with this work, it is difficult to think of it from a single angle, but since I was born in 1991 and only know the Heisei era, I cannot think of it in relative terms. I was born in the mid to late 1990s, and the atmosphere in the 2000s was changing. I feel that these things are a part of me and I am a part of them.

─ ─ Since you were born in the Heisei era, do you not feel lost when people talk about the lost 30 years?

Saito: I suppose it would seem that way to those who know about the pre-Heisei era, but to our generation, it feels like nothing has been lost or gained.

─ By the way, if you had the ability to stop time like Suzushiro, would you want to use it?

Saito: I would definitely use it. This work is interesting in the way it uses its power; it is not just that you can stop time freely and move only by yourself. Also, the air around Suzushirou is also static, which makes it quite suffocating, but if there were no such restrictions, I could read the book endlessly.

I also write lyrics myself, but I wonder if music can exist in a world where time has stopped, and I wonder where the vibrations come from. I wonder if music can exist in a world where time has stopped, and where it can vibrate. I would like to stop as long as I can.

I also think I will definitely sleep without an alarm (laughs).

─ ─ Since this film is a commemorative work for the 30th anniversary of the opening of WOWOW, please tell us about any memorable WOWOW programs.

Saito: "Shinrei-Kari/GHOST HOUND. I also watched "serial experiments lain" and I am a fan of ghosts and the occult. This work is an anime with both science fiction and fantasy elements in which boys in various circumstances go back and forth between the real and the ethereal worlds, I love this anime so much that I can still sing the OP theme song by myself.

My personal impression is that WOWOW has many works that are unique in a good sense of the word and have a charm that other stations do not have, and I especially like "Ghost Hunt".

─ ─ In that sense, "Eternal 831" also has a very sharp style, doesn't it?

Saito: Yes, it's amazing how sharp it is for a 30th anniversary work. ...... Huh? If you are talking about the 30th anniversary, did WOWOW open in 1991?

─ That's right.

Saito: Exactly the same year! ...... Well then, I'd like to live sharply, too!

───Then, please give a final comment to our readers.

Saito: As I have said so far, I personally felt that it was more important to see what feelings each person who saw the film had about it, rather than to be told in an easy-to-understand manner that "this is the theme of the film. So, I am looking forward to seeing the completed work and seeing what kind of feelings will come up in the viewers, and I am also looking forward to seeing how the images will express a world where time has stopped.

I am also looking forward to seeing how the world where time has stopped will be expressed in the images. In terms of sound, of course we record the film without any sound, but I am looking forward to seeing the finished film, including the visual and acoustic expressions, wondering what the sound will be like and how the voices will be heard.

I am looking forward to seeing the finished film, including the visual and acoustic expressions. I think this film will be a gateway to think about various things, and I hope you will join me in thinking about various things as well.