[Autographs will be given away! We want you to experience the movie in 7.1ch surround sound! Commemorating the release of the theater version of "DEEMO Sakura no otto - The Sound You Played Still Resonates -" - Interview with Ayana Taketatsu (playing Alice) and Akari Niu (playing the masked girl) of Hyuhizaka 46!

The music rhythm game "DEEMO," which has been downloaded a total of 28 million times worldwide, will be adapted into an anime under the title "DEEMO Sakura no Oto: Anata no Kanade oto, mada mada oto" (DEEMO Sakura no Oto: The Sound You Played, Still Resonates) by a team of leading Japanese creators.

The theatrical version of "DEEMO Sakura no Oto -Kimi no Kanadeta Oto wa Mamemoto Hibiku-" will be released in theaters on February 25, 2022. This film not only allows viewers to listen to the high-quality music of the game "DEEMO" in theaters, but also features attractive artistic visual expressions. We asked Ayana Taketatsu, who plays the main character Alice, and Akari Niu (Hyugaizaka46), who plays the masked girl, to talk about the film's appeal.

The music of "DEEMO" is a gentle music that seems to be close to your heart (Taketatsu)

Q: This is the first time you two have performed together, what is your impression of each other?

Taketatsu: I met her for the first time on a live TV program, and my first impression was what a lovely girl she was, with her sparkling smile. When we talked, we found we had a lot in common, such as being from the same hometown and being food lovers. We also both like to play games, and I wondered when we would be playing games when we are both so busy (laughs).

We exchanged LINE lines, but I would return them quite late. Even when I thought he was already asleep, he would reply quite quickly, so I wondered when he was really sleeping. (Laughter)

Niu: That's embarrassing. ...... (laughs). (laughs) I play games at night. But if I hear from Mr. Taketatsu, I reply as soon as I am awake! I always had the image of Taketatsu-san as someone on TV, a celebrity. As I talked with him during the live delivery, I realized that he is a very friendly person, and I felt at ease at once. That is why I was so sad that we had to do the recording separately. I hope that "DEEMO" will be a good opportunity for us to work together again someday. Also, since you like meat, I would like to go out to eat meat with you someday (laughs).

Q: How did you feel when you saw the completed theater version of "DEEMO Sakura no Oto -The Sound You Played Still Resonates-"?

Taketatsu: I did the postrecording with Akari Kito, who played Sania, and I imagined the other actors' lines in my mind as we dubbed. So when I saw the finished video, it was far beyond my imagination. I felt that everyone's performances and voices were so attractive and vivid, and the colors seemed to take on a life of their own.

I heard that this was your first time doing postrecording, but it was so wonderful that it didn't feel that way at all.

Niu: I am very happy to hear that. When I did the dubbing, Alice's voice was included in the recording, but the others were not! I thought, "This is how it's done! It was my first time to do postrecording for a feature-length animation, so everything was fresh and new.

When I heard your voices in the preview, even with my eyes closed, I could hear the emotions in your wonderful voices, and I realized that I still have a long way to go, and I want to get better. I want to grow! I want to grow up!

The dialogue between Mirai (cv. Gaku Hamada), Smell Bag (cv. Naomi Watanabe), and Nutcracker (cv. Issey Ogata) was also very cute, and it made me want to try my hand at acting in a dialogue someday.

Q: Do you want to continue to work as a voice actor?

Niu: I couldn't stop feeling excited during the postrecording of "DEEMO. I wanted to try more different voices! I wanted to try more voices.

Q: What were the important things for each of the actors?　Was there any direction from the director?

Niu: I practiced a lot at home for the role of the masked girl, but I imagined that my voice would be a little higher. However, the director directed me to "go a little lower," so I changed the tone of my voice and recorded it. So I wanted to be able to express myself in various ways and broaden my range of expression.

Also, there were parts where I had to imagine what the situation was like, such as when she was breathing while running, which was not in the dialogue.

Taketatsu: I have been playing this character for many years since the game, and I have created the character itself, so I wasn't told that much, but Alice is more emotional than in the game, and she shows a lot of different expressions.

I thought about why that is, but the game is a one-person world; Deemo is there, but he doesn't talk, and there is a masked girl, but she basically hates me and we don't communicate (laughs). The world I had been exploring alone in the Chamber of Wonders for so long, wondering what that was and what this was, like a monologue, was a world that was complete within me, but now that the characters like Mirai, the smell bag, and the nutcracker are coming to life, they are bringing out more and more of Alice. I felt that the characters such as Mirai, the smell bag, and the nutcracker were bringing Alice out more and more, and pulling her along. I felt that this made Alice more appealing and more like a pretty girl, appropriate for her age.

So, I kept the base of the Alice in the game in mind, but I also kept in mind the expressive parts that are unique to the anime.

I hope you enjoy the music and the story as if you were in a concert hall.

Q: Since music is the main theme of your work, please tell us about the appeal of music.

I used to play video games, so I like music a lot!　It's like it touches your heartstrings when you listen to it, and it just goes right to your heart. I can only describe it as a feeling, but I think it's a gentle music that gets close to your heart.

But there are also some intense songs like "Leviathan" and "ANiMA" that come on sometimes, so I feel like the melodies are translating human emotions. That's why the music comes through so easily, and I think that's why I enjoy listening to it so much.

Niu: It reminded me of my old piano lessons and made me feel nostalgic. But not only are all the songs gentle, as Mr. Taketatsu said, there are also some intense songs, which is really amazing. I think music makers are really too amazing!

I am practicing the piano now, and I hope to be able to play it someday, but when I see how fast Deemo's fingers move, I wonder if I will be able to keep up with him. I have long fingers (laughs). (laughs) But I hope to be able to play it someday.

Q: The images are very beautiful, and I thought the film has some artistic highlights as well. Were there any characters that caught your attention when you saw the film?

Niu: I thought the motion was very smooth and the images had a three-dimensional feel. The character I thought was cute was Mirai. I also liked the scene with Alice and the masked girl. At first I had a scary image of the masked girl, but I really like the way they work together.

Taketatsu: Of course, the images are beautiful, so I would like you to see them on a big screen, but as an original fan of the game, I have to say that Mirai is just a stuffed animal in the game. So when she speaks in the anime, it makes me think, "Oh! I was really excited to see her speak in the anime. And Hans (CV. Kohei Matsushita) is the best of all!　I was surprised to see Hans in the show, or rather, I was surprised to see ....... I'm sure everyone is looking forward to seeing what it will be like, so I hope you will enjoy the interaction between Hans and Alice.

Q: Nowadays, more and more movies are being streamed, but it seems like this film has the advantage of being seen on a big screen.

Taketatsu: It's great that we can easily watch movies on TV, but I think there is also a sense of presence that only a theater can offer. There are many wonderful songs, so I want people to hear the wonderful melodies in the theater, and I think that is something that can only be felt in the theater. Also, I could hear the sound of rain from the back of the room, and it really sounded like it was coming from outside the room.

Niu: It was very realistic.

Takemitsu It sounded very real, and I thought it was wonderful. I hope you enjoy the sounds other than the music as well.

Staff: As a supplementary note, this time we screened the film in a special 7.1 channel format, and the two of you were able to see the film in that 7.1 channel. It depends on the facilities of the theater, but many theaters are able to show the film in 7.1ch.

Taketatsu: So I hope you will experience it in 7.1ch (laughs).

Niu: In a 7.1 channel theater, you can hear sound from 360 degrees. I think you can feel that you are surrounded by sound, and I think you can never feel that unless you are in a movie theater, so I would like you to experience it!

The theater version of "DEEMO Sakura no Oto -The Sound You Played Still Resonates-" is a wonderful work that makes you feel as if you are in a concert hall and at the same time you can enjoy the story, so I hope you will watch it in the theater while feeling the sound carefully!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Film Information

DEEMO Sakura no otto (DEEMO: The Sound You Played Still Resonates)

On Friday, February 25, 2022, the film will be shown at Shinjuku Wald 9 and other theaters nationwide.

＜Story

A mysterious creature, Deemo, plays the piano in solitude in a castle. One day, a girl who has lost her memory descends from the sky. Deemo, the girl, the castle's mysterious inhabitants, and a tree that grows with the sound of the piano weave a tender and sad story of love.

＜Staff> Original story by Rayark Inc.

Original story: "DEEMO" by Rayark Inc.

Screenplay : Junichi Fujisaki, FUJISAWA BUN-O

General Director: Junichi Fujisaki [FUJISAKU JUNICHI]

Director: Shuhei Matsushita [MATSUSHITA SHUHEI].

Assistant Director: Yoshihiro Hiramine [HIRAMINE YOSHIHIRO].

Character Design：MEBACHI [MEBACHI].

Image Board: YOSHIDA YOSHITSUGI [YOSHIDA YOSHITSUGI].

Art Director：HIROMASA OGURA [OGURA HIROMASA] Art Director：Hiroyuki YOSHIDA [YOSHIDA YOSHITSUGI

Art direction : YOSHIDA HIROUMI] Art setting : YOSHIDA Taiyo [YOSHIDA HIROUMI] Color design : YUMI KATAYAMA

Color Designer : Yumiko Katayama [KATAYAMA YUMIKO].

CG Director : Naofumi Mishina [MISHINA NAOFUMI].

CGI : Rails [REIRS].

Director of Photography : Hisashi Ezura [EZURA HISASHI].

Grading : Ei SAITOH [SAITOH AKIRA].

Editing : Yoshinori Murakami [MURAKAMI YOSHINORI].

Sound Director : Jin Aketagawa [AKETAGAWA JIN]

Sound Production : MAGICCAPSULE [MAGICCAPSULE] (Japanese)

Theme Song : Yuki KAJIURA Yuki [KAJIURA YUKI] (Japanese)

Production : SIGNAL MD [SIGNAL.]

Production I.G. [PRODUCTION I.G].

Production: PONY CANYON

＜Cast: Ayana Taketatsu, Akari Niu

Ayana Taketatsu Akari Niu(Hyugaizaka 46) / Akari Kito Ayane Sakura Gaku Hamada Naomi Watanabe Issey Ogata Kohei Matsushita / Koichi Yamadera

Outline of Present Campaign

<Prize

A signed paper autographed by Ayana Taketatsu and Akari Niu.

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