Interview with Jun Fukuyama, who talks about "Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion Z" and its completion, Part 3 ─ "The character was a mascot from the beginning and was a good mobile!

The TV anime "Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion Z" (hereafter referred to as "Shinkarion Z") recently reached the conclusion of its year-long journey.

In addition to the mechanical appeal of the cool-looking Shinkarion Z, such as the Z-formation, the battles and feelings of the two main characters, Shin and Abuto, were passionately depicted from the middle of the story, and many people may have been relieved to see the story come to a successful conclusion.

To commemorate the conclusion of "Shinkarion Z," Akiba Research Institute conducted interviews with each of the three actors who played the main characters in the film. The last interview is with Jun Fukuyama, who plays Smut, the robot transformed by the super-evolved mobile Z gear that supports Shin.

⇒ " Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion Z" - Part 1: "Shin was my child and I shared his soul with him" Minami Tsuda talks about the main character, Shin Shinta!
⇒ " Shinkansen Transformable Robo Shinkarion Z" Completion Commemorative Interview Part 2──"Seeing Minami Tsuda's figure made me want to do my best, too," says Akari Kito about Abuto Usui!

My stance is to be "an understanding person who stands by Shin, a friend, and a person who worries together with him.

--What are your impressions after having played the role of Smut for a year?

Fukuyama: First of all, I am happy that I was able to complete the project safely. Since it was an original work, I didn't know what kind of scenes would be assigned to Smut, and I tried to make the role a little too demanding, with my natural voice at the extremes. Of course, I tried not to push myself too hard, but I had to push myself a little bit, and I didn't know if I would be able to finish the project until I tried. So, I felt that one year was quite a long time, but I also wanted to do it for more than one year. It was a struggle for me in creating the character.

--I heard that you were at the extremes, but can you tell us again how you created the role, including during the audition?

Fukuyama: The first audition was in the form of sending a demo tape, but it was not yet the smut we have today. The normal character was more of a pouty character, and when he became Shinkarion Z, he had a bit of a yankee taste and was a more aggressive character - that was the contrast we were creating. When he became Shinkarion Z, he would say, "What is it, Zed? I didn't want him to be like Ichiro Mizuki (laughs).

Later, when I performed the character in the studio, I was told, "The basic line is fine, but when it becomes Shinkarion Z, I want it to be a "giant" that supports Shin," "I want it to be "big" without momentum or Yankee taste," and "I want it to be a "big" character. We wanted the "size" to come out, without the vigor or Yankee flavor. They also said, "The 'zed' is on all the time, and it's too noisy for listeners, so we need to adjust that as well" (laughs). (Laughs.) I explored all the possibilities I could, including the screen direction, and settled on the current form.

--(Laughs.) Since the robot is a Titan, is there an image of Shinkarion Z (the robot) itself?

Fukuyama: I think so. I think the skeleton of the previous work (Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion) was already created in the shashot stage. I think that the position of the character has been retained in "Shinkarion Z" rather than being reset.

However, in playing Smut, I did not refer to Shashot. I thought that if I did that, I would get a little lost, so I made the film without referencing him at all. However, there are people who have been watching the previous films. There was an order to include some of the interesting aspects and roles of Shashot as a mascot character, so I tried to incorporate them each time.

--In the latter half of the story, there were many heated developments, such as the battle between Shin and Abt.

Fukuyama: As I mentioned earlier, at first I didn't know how much drama was prepared for me, so I had a certain amount of swing in mind. Smut is a so-called AI, so I think people would think, "Smut probably doesn't understand human subtleties," or "Smut probably knows everything. I also thought too much about it in a way that I didn't understand it. However, I was told that "Basically, I don't need to know anything other than that it is a mascot and Z gear" and "I don't need to know everything about "Shinkarion Z." I was allowed to be in the same position as Shin. From the second school year on, I became more of an "understanding person who stands by Shin, a friend, and a person who struggles together with him.

The main character has a lot to carry, so if the people around him can help create the atmosphere, he can be a good friend to Shin.

--I heard that the studio where the recording took place had a large booth with individual booths.

Fukuyama: That's right. It is one of the largest post recording studios and can accommodate a large number of people. The ceiling is high and ventilated, and there are two individual booths. Smut's voice is also processed, so I went into a separate booth and recorded on a different channel. That way, I could record the same play in succession, even if there were overlapping voices.

Because of this, I had to watch everyone's back while recording. I could hear the people in the main studio talking and laughing through the earphones while I kept quiet. Sometimes I would butt in, but it was hard to get along because we were in different places.

--I was not able to get a good response from them, but I was able to get a good response from them. She said that even when she was depressed because she couldn't give the performance that was required or it took too long, she didn't show a gloomy face because she was the main character and acted cheerfully. But when Mr. Fukuyama came out of the booth and said to her, "It's okay," she was extremely happy.

Fukuyama: You can't say, "That's right!

--I guess that's true (laughs). (Laughs.) How did you actually feel?

Fukuyama: On the contrary, I felt sorry for the whole year.

--What do you mean by that?

Fukuyama: In the end, the person who suffers the most in a situation like this is the main character, as well as Abuto (Akari Kito).

The main character is the core of the work and has to shoulder a lot of responsibility. He has to act in many scenes, and he also has to grow up. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to portray a story of a boy's growth over the course of a year. There are many things we don't know about a film without an original story. But that doesn't mean we can relax our demands (in order to make a good film). So, the only thing we can do is to at least create the right atmosphere.

But since it was the Corona shift and I was isolated (in a separate booth), I couldn't do anything. If I had been in the same space, I would have been able to joke around with ...... even though we were somewhat separated, but I couldn't do that either. Moreover, a year ago (when the recording started), I still couldn't talk much, so the only thing I could do was to say what I felt while watching from the back. If I did it often, it would just be too much noise, so I think I said it only a few times in the beginning.

--Even so, both Mr. Tsuda and Mr. Kito said that it was the first time for them to play a boy's role with such gusto, so I think they were a big support.

Fukuyama: I'm glad to hear that. I was also thinking that I didn't want the person saying it to think, "What are you talking about out of the blue? (laughs).

--(laughs) - it is difficult to find the right balance.

Fukuyama: During a year of working together, if there is even a little bit of anxiety, it is hard to enjoy the experience. It would be better to have as few as possible. One of the good things about "Shinkarion Z" is that the sound director, Masafumi Mima, does not cut corners when it comes to recording, and he never lowers his demands. He never lowers his demands. The number of retakes is one thing, but from an outsider's point of view, it's like a whip of love. However, once you are involved, you tend to think that you are not good enough, so I thought it would be better to tell him early on from the outside (that you are not good enough).

--How was it watching the two of them together? I imagine there was quite a bit of heat in the battle scenes.

Fukuyama: I was a complete bystander during the fight scenes, and one time, out of a sense of curiosity or self-expression that I shouldn't have, I tried to get into the spirit of the "Z Grand Cross" (a so-called "special move") by doing it with them, and they said, "We don't need you" (laughs). He said, "Shin is the one fighting, you are just watching. You just watch. Don't ever do that. From that point on, I took the stance that I would not participate in the fight.

But I felt it was very interesting to watch the two of them. I also had the opportunity to play a character in a position like Shin's when I was a rookie, and now that I have a good amount of experience in my career, I feel some of the same things. But if the main people who are not like that felt uneasy or difficult, I think that's a positive thing.

There are many times when people are lost and think about each one and think that the one that came out is good without feeling (that it was good) for them. I think that such a dizzying feeling is also a plus for playing a boy in an impressionable period. （I feel that we were taught, objectively, that if we did it from our (experienced) point of view, it would probably be different as a concept.

Was it ......, not the driver, that got Mr. Fukuyama's eclipses?

-I would like to ask you about the story as well. Since this is an interview after all the episodes have aired, what was particularly memorable about the second half of the story?

Fukuyama: In the second half, I said almost nothing important (laughs). But that is an important point. Smut is the mascot, and the Shinkarion Z E5 that Shin rides is the support AI for Hayabusa; if you stick to that, the second half is bound to happen. It's Shin and Abuto that connect the bond, not the story of the bond with Smut. We knew that, and that's why we were given a bird's eye view of the episodes.

So, I (Smut) was completely out of the loop, but in the latter half of the film, I was impressed by the scenes where we ate station lunch with the Teoti people and the episode of how Tokonami (Abt's father) came to create Shinkarion Z. I was impressed by the way they showed the back story. Because the story was so hard, I think the episodes that were not battles were important.

--I think it was because the story was so hard, and the non-fighting episodes were very important. I know this is a strange thing to ask after a story like "The battle scenes are very important," but were there times when you wished you could have participated in more of the battle scenes?

Fukuyama: I have been allowed to fight to some extent (in other works), so I wanted to do the "Super Evolution Breaker" (laughs). (Laughs.) Rather than driving the Shinkarion Z, I was more interested in operating that thing in the control room.

--By the way, which of the many Shinkarions, including the Dark Shinkarion, is your favorite?

Fukuyama: For design, I would say Nozomi (Shinkarion Z N700S Nozomi). For color, I also like Hayabusa (Shinkarion Z H5 Hayabusa). I am from Osaka, so I am also familiar with the Osaka Loop Line (Zyliner 323Osaka-Kanjo). Also, I was impressed by Doctor Yellow, which is rarely seen in person.

--The relationship between Shin and Abt was the focus of the second half. In the beginning, Mr. Fukuyama said that when he saw them, he thought, "They are making out again," but I liked them in the last half of the film, too.

Fukuyama: In the beginning, I was teasing them and saying "make out" with them, but by the end they were really making out (laughs). But the scene where Shin saves Abto from sinking after losing the battle against Dark Shinkarion. We decided to have the two of them (Tsuda and Kito) do the recording alone, so we left after our lines were finished. We were asked to leave after our lines were finished. So I only saw the scene on air. It was interesting to me personally that he had said, "Let's make out," and then he really said, "Leave the rest to the young ones.

(Laughs.) But while this is a great episode, it is difficult to explain when people ask what the scene is actually about because it was recorded by two people. From a practical standpoint, I guess it is possible to do retakes with just the two of us without making any detours, and the staff can focus their energy on this part of the recording. However, the result was very good, wasn't it? That kind of thoughtfulness was firmly in place on the part of the staff.

The right way to handle smut is to "be there but not say much.

--How did you frankly feel about the final episode and the end of the long journey?

Fukuyama: In the last scene, Smut nods and says, "Because Shin's dream is..." I was surprised that he was allowed to say that. I was surprised that I was allowed to say that. I was rather happy that I was allowed to say it, even though there were other ways to say it or not say it.

This is the end of the work. In the first episode, Abto said, "Don't laugh at other people's dreams," and Shin's dream of becoming friends with aliens came to fruition at the end. Until then, in the battle, "You must never say (special move) together," or when all the drivers said "Oh! and "OH!" with all the drivers in the battle. To be precise, I was allowed in one time (laughs), but it was a very happy line at the very end when Smut was allowed in, albeit objectively, in the world of just the two of us.

-I felt that the last line was the same, and the way you put the whole thing together was very good.

Fukuyama: How much thought went into it? I was wondering where you were going with this. And by the way, the "Shinkarion Z" collaboration was amazing, wasn't it? If we couldn't collaborate with "Galaxy Express 999," I wonder how we would have gotten to space (laughs).

(laughs) -- Indeed.

Fukuyama: In that case, I wonder if Teoti would not be an alien, but then he would not be friends with an alien. I wonder how much thought went into the creation.

--I wonder how much thought went into the creation of this film. And there were things that directly affected people in their 30s and 40s.

Fukuyama: Yes, there were. But it can't be helped. When I think about how much of that kind of thing exists among young people today, I guess I have no choice but to bring in the old-fashioned promises of our generation. But on the other hand, I thought it was a cathartic experience.

--I think that was one of the charms of the film. Lastly, what kind of existence did Smut become for you?

Fukuyama: I think he has become a mascot. If I had been more of a dirty old man and done more things, it wouldn't have turned out that way. I don't know if that was a good thing or not, but I think that in the latter half of the story, the correct way to handle the character was to have him be "present but not talking much. It was a character that I was able to carry through from the beginning, and it was a good mobile.

(Reporting and writing by Kenichi Chiba; Photography by Shohei Kanazawa)