Autumn Anime] The voice acting industry is an industry where people with special "personalities" gather! Commemorating the start of the 6th season of "My Hero Academia! Interview with Nobuhiko Okamoto and Ayane Sakura Part 2

The sixth season of "My Hero Academia" (hereafter referred to as "Heroaca") will begin airing on October 1, 2022!

Set in a world where the existence of people with supernatural abilities called "individuality" is commonplace, the main character, Midoriya Izuhisa (CV: Yamashita Daiki), aka Deku, is a "hero" who protects society and stands up against criminals who abuse their "individuality" (villains). The story unfolds as he grows up together with his friends at the prestigious hero training school, Yuuei High School, to become a "hero" who protects society and stands up against "villains" who abuse their "individuality".

The sixth season of the series will feature the "All-Out War Arc," an unprecedented fierce battle between heroes and enemies (villains).

The "Supernatural Liberation Front," a huge enemy force led by Mamoru Shigaraki (CV: Koki Uchiyama), who has regained his memories of the past and awakened, has risen to power. The police, who have obtained the information from the No. 2 hero, Hawks (CV: Yuichi Nakamura), and the professional heroes including the No. 1 hero, Endeavor (CV: Toru Inada), launch a large-scale operation with all their might. Deku and the other students of the Hero Department at Yuuei High School join in the operation and challenge the police to a fierce battle.

Akiba Research Institute interviews Nobuhiko Okamoto, who plays Katsumi Bakugou, and Ayane Sakura, who plays Ochako Reichi, who appear in the film!　In the second part of the interview, we asked Okamoto and Sakura about the changes they feel in themselves now that six years have passed since the series started airing in 2016, as well as what they feel about each other's performances.

⇒[ Autumn Anime] Sakura Ayane is on the verge of becoming an enemy (villain)! Commemorating the start of the 6th season of "My Hero Academia"! Interview with Nobuhiko Okamoto and Ayane Sakura Part 1

How is the recording going?　How is the recording going? Is there more effort put into the direction?

Okamoto: The sound director, Mima-san, has a very good ear, so it's easy to tell. In that sense, there has been a sense of tension since the first season. According to him, "the needle in my heart" touches. He says he can tell with his heart, not his head (laughs).

Sakura: On the set of "Hiroaca," if you let your guard down, even with the slightest line, you will be noticed immediately. I don't think anyone ever loses their sense of urgency on the "Hiroaca" set. I have the impression that everyone switches on and off with a snap.

Okamoto: Indeed. I have the image that there is a strong sense of tension even in dispersed recording. I don't feel fatigue, but I feel like I use a lot of energy. The last time I felt tired was during the reading performance (an original reading performance at the "Hero Fest" held on July 24). It was an original performance, too.

Sakura It was tough, but I think it was very fresh. What I felt most strongly was that we (the actors) had aged seven years (since the recording began).

Okamoto: That's really true.

Sakura: The battle against aging is at .......

Okamoto: I realized that aging is unstoppable, didn't I?

Sakura The seven years have passed in a blink of an eye, but I felt that my body is aging well. I used to be able to afford to go to two events at once, but that day I went home and fell asleep on the sofa without removing my makeup for the first time in several years. My routine is to remove my makeup, check in for the next day, and then go to bed, but as soon as I got home, I got stuck on the couch and woke up at 3:00 a.m. (laughs).

Okamoto: On the contrary, I couldn't sleep at all. I was so tired that I didn't have any energy left to sleep.　Is it 3:00 a.m.?　Is it 4 o'clock yet? I was so tired that I had no energy left to sleep. ......

Sakura: You sound like my grandfather...... (laughs). (laughs). But it was the first time in a really long time that I was so physically drained. I knew that as a work of art, I could never make a mistake. That's why the tension at "Heroaca" events is so much greater.

Okamoto: I want to respond to the feelings of the fans who are looking for the characters, so I don't want to make any mistakes if possible. Of course, I am so ingrained in the role that I can cover up for a few mistakes if I am feeling good about it, but I don't want to make a mistake if I can help it. I know that the fans have a strong love for the characters.

Sakura: I feel that the enthusiasm of the fans is simply one of the best in the industry. Especially that day, the event was packed with people, so the cast naturally put in a lot of effort.

Okamoto: (Toru) Inada-san (who plays Endeavor) looked like he was having a lot of fun.

Sakura: It makes me very happy to see my seniors enjoying themselves, even though I am very enthusiastic!

T: Now let's talk about your impressions of each other. How do you feel about each other's voices and performances?

Okamoto: There are many voice actors who are said to have a heroine voice, but for some reason, when I think of heroine voices, the voice that comes to mind is Ayaneru's (Sakura's nickname)...

Sakura Ee.......!　That's unexpected!

Okamoto: I think Ayaneru has a very strong voice quality that is a combination of heroine and hero. Heroines of the past, especially when they were students, had a strong impression of having a cute voice, but today's heroines are often characters who also have a hero's side. In my mind, Ayaneru is the voice that embodies the image of a strong woman, a woman with a strong core, and a solid woman.

When I thought about the reason for this, I realized that she has something that shakes the heart during frantic performances, and her voice quality has a core to it. It is the same as in "Yumegui Merry" (an anime that aired in 2011. Okamoto-san and Sakura-san double starred in it). A few years ago, there was a time when transparent voices were popular, but now I have the impression that voices that ride the microphone properly are favored again. I think Ayaneru is in the middle of this trend. I can't think of anyone with a similar voice, but have you ever been told that you sound like someone else?

Sakura: I don't think so.

Okamoto: That's right. I think I have a mysterious voice. I have thought about it a lot, but I also wonder if it is because I am not an idol myself.

Sakura I think I am a rather unusual voice actor now (laughs).

Okamoto: Yes. But I think that's what voice quality is all about.

Sakura Well, it's simply that I couldn't do idol-type work, or rather, I kept running away from it. ...... So I think there is a part of me that is like an injury (laughs). You may be quite lucky to be able to easily participate in an audition where you want to ask someone who doesn't have an idol impression attached to them.

Okamoto: But you could do an idol voice if you wanted to. To be honest, I think it's a voice that people say is properly cute.

Sakura Really?　That makes me happy!

Okamoto: I think your voice has the quality of a pretty girl's voice rather than a dignified one.

Sakura I really liked studying people's voices, so when I thought, "I want this person's voice quality," I would imitate their vocalizations and imagine what it would be like inside their mouths, which may have been the result of my research (laughs). I thought my voice was not particularly distinctive, but I am often told that even mobs can recognize me. But I am very happy to hear Nobu-san say that about my voice, which I don't like very much. When it comes to the voice of the main character, Nobu-san is the first person that comes to mind for me too.

Okamoto: Really?　Really?

Sakura I think I can do anything, but what surprises me is the strength of my throat. I have never seen Nobu-san with a sore throat.

T: Even in "Heroaca"?

Okamoto No, but in the second movie "My Hero Academia The Movie: Heroes: Rising", I bled.

Sakura What?　You bled?

Okamoto: At that time, I spent several hours screaming so much that when I threw up in the toilet, there was so much blood that even Goku (from "Dragon Ball") was surprised. But Daiki said "I bled," too, so we ended up laughing and saying "We're fighting while bleeding, aren't we" (laughs).

Sakura: No, you talk about it as if it's a normal thing at "Hiroaca" sites (laughs). I've never heard of such a scene.

Okamoto: I only have pleasant memories of the director treating us to yakiniku after the recording, and how delicious it was. We were not actually hurting the vocal cords, but were talking about how the air probably hit too much between the throat and nose and caused bleeding from there.

Sakura: But it was obvious that he was under a lot of strain. To be honest, a normal person would have broken his throat if he had to keep doing the voice of a bomber for a long time. I think he is very strong and talented.

T : Yes, I was concerned about his throat as a viewer, too.

Okamoto: If I had a solo live performance during the week of recording "Hiroaca," I might be nervous about whether my throat is OK or not. But it seems that my throat was really strong, and although I cleaned it up in 2020, I was told that my vocal cords are actually made of nails. ......

Sakura Yes?　What do you mean?

Okamoto: It's not a polyp, it's called vitreous degeneration, and it seems that the vocal cords had the hardness of fingernails, and now that I've cleaned them up, I think they are normal.

T : So your vocal cords had become strong to "Hiroaca" specifications.

Sakura But it was removed during the period straddling "Heroaca", so you can see it at .......

Okamoto: Yes, yes. I don't know which is the "Heroaca" specification, since the result straddles the two (laughs). (Laughs.) If you look into it, you may find that many voice actors have unusual vocal cords. Daisuke Namikawa's vocal cords are said to be completely black, and Kazu Seki's vocal cords are said to disappear when he tries to remove the nodules. It is not a sharpened blade, but it is unusual to vocalize in such a situation. I am a little curious about the vocal cords of the seniors.

Sakura: There are a lot of people in the industry with special abilities like that (laughs).

(laughs).

Sakura That's right. But now that I think about it, when I first heard that Nobu was going to play the role of Bakugou, I was very surprised. At that time, I only had the image of a young man with a nice voice. I was surprised to hear Nobu's voice. But now I think Nobu-san is probably the only voice actor who can stand up to Kacchan, throat-wise (laughs).

Okamoto: Mentally, too.

Sakura That's right (laughs)!

Okamoto: When I scream, my mentality starts thinking about tomorrow, but I am glad that I have the personality to leave that behind.

Sakura That kind of positivity is also suited to Bakugou and fits him perfectly!

(Interview and text by Shinobu Tanaka)