2022 Spring Anime] "Aoashi" Reveals Surprising Similarities Between Voice Actors and Soccer Players! A special talk between Koki Oosuzu, who plays Asito Aoi, and Maki Kawase, who plays Hana Ichijo!

The spring 2022 anime "Aoashi" will begin airing on NHK E-television on Saturday, April 9, 2022.

Aoashi" is a manga work by Yugo Kobayashi serialized in "Big Comic Spirits" (Shogakukan). The story is about Asito Aoi, a junior high school student living in Ehime, who meets Tatsuya Fukuda, the head of the youth team of Tokyo City Esperion FC, one of the leading clubs in the J-League, and develops his talent. Sportswriter Kenji Iizuka supervises the story, which depicts realistic tactics and the world of soccer.

Prior to the broadcast, we asked Kouki Oosuzu, who plays Asito, and Maki Kawase, who plays Hana Ichijo, his "first fan in the world," to talk about the appeal of "Aoashi.

I am happy now that my mother is proud of me (Kawase).

─ Do you both like soccer?

Oosuzu: I have never played soccer, but I like watching it on TV. However, I don't have a favorite team in particular. If I had to pick one, I would say that I often watch FC Tokyo's games. I like Yuto Nagatomo.

I don't watch much foreign soccer, but Taku Yashiro (played by Keiji Togashi) is a fan of foreign soccer, so at the end of the recording he would tell me which teams are strong and which soccer teams are similar to the soccer of Tatsuya Fukuda (CV: Chikahiro Kobayashi, youth team manager of "Tokyo City Esperion FC"). I found out that Manchester City is strong. I understand that Manchester City is strong (laughs).

─ ─ I have the impression that overseas countries are more advanced when it comes to tactics, and I hope that soccer kids who read "Aoshi" will learn the importance of tactics. So, what were your impressions after reading the original work?

Oosuzu: When I read the original, I thought it was a wonderful work because there were many passionate, moving, and heart-wrenching scenes. The balance between such passion and human drama is very good, and it also depicts the harsh realities of life. For example, not everyone who joins a soccer youth team can become a professional player, and some players quit the team halfway through.

The other thing is the sense of exhilaration!　The time spent struggling against the wall is very long, and when you struggle and suffer and then suddenly overcome it all, the feeling of being blown away is really good!

─ ─ Suddenly there are more onomatopoeic sounds (laughs).

Kawase: That part of the story is also like Asito's (laughs). It's not a work where you have to think too much, but you just feel it and it brings tears to your eyes and makes you passionate!

Oosuzu: That's right. You don't have to think about it!　Although the theme is to think.

Kawase I thought it would be difficult because I am not familiar with tactics and soccer, but although what is said is in technical terms, combined with the touch of the original work, the way the panels are divided, and the easy to distinguish characters, even I can understand what Director Fukuda wants to do, and together with Asito, I can understand it.

The reason why the players around him don't pass the ball to him is not only because of his technique, but also because of the way he thinks as a player, and that changes when he bonds with his teammates. It was interesting because it was portrayed in a way that was easy to understand. I don't know which tactics are the best, but I know that this player is cool! I can tell that this player is cool!

─ ─ It is good that not only soccer fanatics but also people who are not that familiar with soccer can enjoy it.

Kawase: I think people will want to watch it because Asito is also carrying his mother's and brother's feelings!

Oosuzu: Yes, yes. Asito is a family man and a friend, and he is a really good boy.

───Ashito comes to Tokyo with everyone's thoughts and feelings in his mind, but if you look at where the two of you are from, you will see that you are from the Kanto area (......).

Kawase: I'm from the Kanto region (laughs). I'm from Chiba, but ...... (Ouzu-san) is from Tokyo?

Ouzuzu: I'm from Tokyo, so I've never been to Tokyo (laughs).

Kawase But our job is also that if you don't pass the audition, you don't get the job, so I think my parents are really kind but strong like Noriko-san (CV. Mie Sonozaki/Ashito's mother) who supports me in such a situation.

My mother was also very worried about me being a voice actor at first, but now she asks me, "Can I tell people at work that I'm in this film?" I am happy now that she is that proud of me.

─ ─ Now that you mention it, voice acting is a world where auditions are held all the time, and the youth world is also a world of selection, so there is a battle for survival. I wondered if there are many things we can relate to.

Oosuzu: The audition is exactly like that, but even after you are accepted, there are many things you can relate to. I am the worst at it, but in a positive way. I'm the worst at it. Since I joined the youth group, I've been thinking every week that I should do my best because Asito is doing his best amidst all the monsters, and I'm really enjoying that situation.

─ ─ There are times in a soccer game when you are surrounded by so many people that you break down, but it is important to have the mental strength not to break down in that situation.

Oosuzu: I am rather mentally strong, and I don't often feel like my heart is about to break, but that may happen in the future. ...... Oh, but when I was a student at the training school, I was in the first year of the program!　But when I was in training school, I made it to the third screening in my first year, but failed in the first screening in my second year, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on to the third year or not. But I was able to get an office in the third year because I did not break down at that point.

Kawase: But it's amazing that you got a job at "Aoshi" right after you joined the agency. I, on the other hand, was accepted after my first year at the training school, but it took me three to four years to get a regular role in an animation series. Even if you think you've become a voice actor after being accepted, you are still intimidated by the number of people there.

A training school is a place where you have to raise your hand to make a presentation. So, I was the type of person who couldn't raise my hand at school, but the moment I entered the training school, I had to be the first to introduce myself and be the first in the class! I was like, "I'm going to be the best in the class!

But as I performed with my classmates, I began to see the world around me, thinking, "This person has this quality," or "Then I'll play this kind of role," and I began to enjoy the training school and acting! I began to think, "This person has such and such qualities," and "Then I'll try this kind of role.

I thought I could have become a voice actor from there, but I couldn't get any auditions at all. One day, I listened to a tape audition of one of my seniors, and it was completely different from my own, and I wondered how I could change my facial expression so much! I thought to myself, "I did my best at the training school, but I didn't get any auditions. I thought to myself, "I was one of the ones who worked hard at the training school, but why?" I was also frustrated, and in that sense, I felt like I was a sporadic actor (laughs).

─ ─ What you just said can almost be applied to the world of "Aoshi" as well. ......

Kawase: That's why I feel like reporting back to my parents when I am selected to appear in a movie, and I feel like I have to do my best! I feel like I have to do my best!

Oosuzu: In my third year at the training school, my teacher told me, "Think of all 48 classes a year as auditions," and it has stayed with me.

Look at the wonderful pictures and the incredible passion of the actors! (Oozing)

──I would like you to tell us about the appeal of the characters you both play.

Oosuzu: Asito is a passionate, straightforward, and hardworking character. And as is the theme of my work, I am attracted to the fact that he is able to develop not only his technical and physical skills, but also his ability to think.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, she is family-oriented and friend-oriented. I also like the fact that he eats his meals with relish. I laughed when Ryumaru Tachibana, who plays Eisaku Otomo,'s stomach rumbled after I finished the scene where he eats.

Kawase: That's cute (laughs). He seems like a character. Ichijo: Hana likes players who think. Asito tries to think, but he sometimes plays in a self-indulgent way. But Hana sees that Asito is someone who can think and play.

Also, she is cheerful and smiling, can cook a meal and make a menu, and has an image of a small, cute blonde, but she is a girl with a strong core.

Whenever Ashito is about to give up thinking, she reminds him of what Hana said, stops him when he is about to run away, and even takes care of his body. If she were by my side, I would trust her, and I would want her as a friend because she supports me so strongly that I would do everything she tells me to do (laughs).

─ ─ Looking at the character list, all the characters are male, so she is the only one in red, isn't she?

Kawase: She is the heroine! (Laughs)

Oosuzu But she is a really attractive character. Because the flowers add color to the character.

─ ─ Is there anything you are conscious of when playing the role?

KAWASE: I try to keep the brightness like the sun in the base of my character, but I also get upset when people say bad things about Asito, but I try not to overdo it. I try not to overdo it. I try to keep the bright side of the character and think about how Hana would be offended.

But her words come straight to me at the right moment, so I hope I can play along with her and express my emotions as they come out at that moment.

─ I heard that you two were able to do postrecording together, but what did you feel about each other's performances and personalities?

Oosuzu: My first impression of Ms. Kawase was that she was a cool person, but in reality, she was very easygoing and laughed a lot. I thought, "That's the kind of person he is! In terms of the play, I couldn't imagine flowers from your voice, but the moment I heard your first voice, I was so happy to hear that you were the flower I had imagined! I was so happy (laughs).

Kawase: (laughs). (Laughs.) I thought, "He's so tall! (laughs). And I thought she had a small face and a good style. I guess it's because of my big body that I have a very loud voice. He is usually soft, but his voice comes out with a gulp. He is cool, but not in a weird, cool way, and his voice is loud enough to be heard when he shouts, which is what makes him Asito.

─ ─ Finally, do you have a message for our readers who are looking forward to seeing the film?

Kawase: The images are wonderful, especially the beauty of the scenery in Ehime. Even though the setting is moved to Tokyo, it is still like the pressure of the youth facilities (laughs). (Laughs.) I was surprised to see that soccer can really be played in such a place! I think you will be fascinated by the background art as well.

Oosuzu: Of course the images are wonderful, and the actors are also performing with great passion. Even in scenes that I didn't record, I can imagine the picture just by listening to the actors' performances. I am looking forward to the broadcast of the show!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)