Interview with Nobuhiko Okamoto (playing Marius) and Misaki Hisano (playing Amon), who are in the middle of the winter anime "The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Attack"! [Autographs will be given away!

The "Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Attack: Rare Skilled Tank with 9999 Vitality is Expelled from the Brave Party" is an anime adaptation of the popular manga by Ryuta Kijima, Moto Kisaragi, and character designer Sando, which has sold over 1 million copies (as of January 2024) and is distributed on the manga app "Manga UP! The anime adaptation of the popular manga by Ryuta Kijima (original work), Minei Kisaragi (manga), and Sando (character design).

Rude, who has the highest outer skin [9999] of all time and was expelled from the heroes' party, never gives up and continues to fight to save his beloved sister, Manicia. Eventually, Rude's good-natured personality attracts his friends, who naturally gather around him. However, there are powerful enemies in the dungeon .......

In this interview, Nobuhiko Okamoto, who plays Marius, the guardian of the Avanthia Labyrinth, and Misaki Hisano, who plays Amon, the guardian of the Caird Labyrinth, who stand in the way of the main character Rude and his friends, talk about the charm of the work.

─ ─ What was your impression when you first came into contact with the story?

Okamoto: A tank, a shield role, is a pretty humble position in RPGs. If you play games on a regular basis, you probably know that it is an important role, but it is a position that does not seem to be reflected in the main character of the story. I got the impression that they portrayed such a tank in a very appealing way. I think the personality of Rude (CV. Jun Kasama) and the flamboyance of the characters around him enhance the charm of his plainness. I think this work falls into the genre of "otherworldly exile," but I have the impression that it is a positive work even within that category.

Kuno: I didn't know what the word "tank" meant, so when I heard the title, I wondered what the strongest tank was. I thought it was .......

Okamoto: Is it the strongest tank? Something like that?

Kuno There is such a thing as a tank bottle. So I thought of it as a container, like a tub or a barrel.

Okamoto: The most powerful weapon is a barrel!　You use it to conquer the labyrinth! That's what I was thinking (laughs).

Kuno: That's how little I knew about game terminology (laughs). (Laughs.) But when I read the original, I understood what it meant! So I thought it was interesting. Also, all the characters are attractive and cute!　There are cool characters like Marius, and combined with Rude's wonderful personality, the kids around Rude are all nice. I thought it was a heartwarming work because you can feel how the relationship value with Rude deepens. So there are not only battle scenes but also heartwarming scenes.

Okamoto: Indeed. There are also hot spring scenes.

Kuno: It's true, you do get warm and fuzzy when you go to a hot spring (laughs).

─ ─ Both body and soul, yes (laughs). (laughs) I thought it was unusual for an anime to depict a dungeon appearing to revitalize a town.

Okamoto: It's true that we don't see this in anime very often. In games, it's a common place, but it might be similar to "Minecraft" or something like that. When I saw that there is a point system, I felt that the times have come this far! I had a feeling that this is how far the times have come!

Kuno: I am not that familiar with games, so all of them were new to me. I also learned the word "tank" here, and because I am not familiar with them, I feel like I was able to face the work with a fresh mind.

─ ─ I would like to ask you about the characters you play, Marius Okamoto-san, who plays a sword-user and is quite skilled.

Okamoto: He is the guardian of the Avanthia labyrinth and the boss of the labyrinth that Rude and his friends conquer, and I think he is the middle boss in the first cool season. He is a strong character that Rude and the others face, so I was hoping to play him with a fearless smile and a fresh hail of laughter. He also loves fighting, so during battle scenes he raises his voice, transforms, and has a ferocious nature. He is also very fierce. The key visual shows him as a handsome guy, but when he joins the group after fighting with Rude and the others, he transforms into a cute character.

─ ─ It's fun to play him because of the variations.

Okamoto: That's right. There was a wide range of personalities. But I try not to change the quality of the voice that much. When I wanted to make her ferocious, I tried to give her a scary atmosphere, but she became more of a heroic character.

─ Mr. Kuno, you played the role of Amon.

Kuno: Like Marius, Amon appears as an antagonist to Rude and his friends. He is the guardian of the Caird Labyrinth and a demon king, so when he first appears, he has a scary and eerie atmosphere. So when I read the original story, I was hoping to express Amon's solemn and scary expression well. During the postrecording, I was instructed to make him look relaxed, so I acted as if I was looking down on Ludo and his friends from above. Actually, there were many gag scenes. The director wanted me to bring out Amon's cute atmosphere in the scenes, so I tried to express Amon's various expressions in a charming way, such as when he is spoiled by Rude and teased by the party members.

─ What do you think is the charm of Rude and Rude's party?

Okamoto: They have a very good balance. Rude is strong, but I have the impression that the characters around him are also very strong (laughs). I feel that no matter which party you join, there are ace-class people in the group. Rude himself has an outer skin [9999] and is of a different dimension, but I think Marius was able to chip away at his outer skin in that area as well. I myself had an image of a game where tanks take damage and healers heal and fight, but with ludes, it's a bit too unfair because they have "life conversion" that allows them to return that damage as an attack (laughs). (Laughs.) In this world, I think it's so powerful that it's on the level of a cheat. But there are also Lilia (cv. Ayaka Ohashi) and Lily (cv. Kana Yuuki), who combine with each other, and they are all strong and attractive in their own way.

─ Indeed, Nin (CV. Kaede Motofu) and Luna (CV. Kana Ichinose) are not just ordinary people. How about you, Kuno-san?

Kuno: I think Rude is a very nice person. The girls around Rude are doing their best to live their lives with their own anxieties and worries, but Rude understands them and tries to be kind to them and spend a good time with them. I think that's why everyone at the party trusts Rude and wants to follow him. I respect that about Rude, and I also find him attractive.

─ By the way, there are many fascinating characters in the game. Is there any character you are interested in?

Okamoto: Personally, I think Luna is very cute. She is a homunculus, which is different from humans, but there are scenes where Rude supports her, and I got the impression that Luna and Rude are more attractive as a result. Manicia (CV. Yui Ogura), Rude's younger sister, is also good. Originally, Rude is doing her best for her, and when you think about it, there are many girl characters that make you want to protect them. Also, maybe it's not appropriate to put it this way, but in terms of character design alone, I think Marius is cooler than Rude. But the fact that Rude is more popular is something that gives the men courage (laughs). (Laughs.) I feel like they are saying, "Men are what's on the inside! (laughs).

Kuno: When I read the original story, I thought everyone was cute, but I personally feel that Manicia has become even more attractive in the anime. Combined with Yui Ogura's acting, she is really cute. It's no wonder Rude fell in love with her. Amon and Manicia also had some banter, and I found myself smiling at them as well (laughs).

─ ─ The party had a very nice atmosphere, but what was everyone like during the actual postrecording?　I hear that opportunities for distributed recording have been decreasing recently.

Okamoto: I was able to record with Mr. Kuno and with Jun Kasama who played Rude, and I think the atmosphere was rather lively.

Kuno: There were many scenes where everyone in the party was fighting together, so we had to say our lines at the same time. I think that recording the scenes together gave a more realistic feel to the scenes. I think we were able to express the sense of teamwork even more.

─ ─ In that sense, the anime has a strong RPG feel. You are watching an anime, but you also feel as if you are playing a game.

Okamoto: Yes, I thought it would be very appealing to people who grew up playing RPGs.

─ Did you talk about games?

Okamoto: We didn't really talk about games (laughs). We talked more about food. (laughs). Also, during the recording period, there were more and more events overseas, so I think we talked about things overseas.

─ I know that you two were in the middle of the recording, but how was it for you to join a group that had already been created?

Okamoto: I think Kuno-san, who joined later than I did, may have had a stronger later element, but how was it?

Kuno: I was nervous after all. Especially since I had never met Kasama-san before.

Okamoto: I had worked with Kasama-san in reading plays and in other productions, but we had never done postrecording together, so we finally had a chance to have a heart-to-heart talk on the set this time.

─ What was the chairperson, Kasama-san, like?

Okamoto: He was very kind and attentive. His voice is low, so I had the impression that he was hard, just like Rude. But when he spoke, I thought he was very soft.

Kuno: On the day of recording Amon's first appearance, Mr. Kasama invited us all to dinner, and we were able to attend a dinner party after recording. Thanks to that dinner party, I was able to talk with the cast and ask questions about the work and Amon to the director and staff, so it was a very meaningful time for me.

─ ─ I was deeply moved by the fact that we were able to have such a place for communication again.

Okamoto: That kind of communication is important, after all.

─ ─ Finally, as we enter the second half of the story, Marius and Amon will also be playing an active role.

Okamoto: I think that in RPGs, the right person for the job is in the right place, and I think that this position is the strongest! I think there are many people who have their own idea of what they think is the best position. Since the advent of online games, the term "tank" has become popular, but I think that the hero of a story is usually a brave warrior or a wizard with an offensive attribute. So, for those who used to be tanks, I think they thought, "Our time has finally come! I think tanks are very strong. I think the anime has made people aware that tanks are very strong, and I hope that the number of people who want to play tanks will increase.

Kuno: When I saw the RPG world depicted in the anime and manga, I realized that all the characters have their own backbones and that each party has its own human relationships and drama. It is fun to look at the RPG world from that angle, and I think it is wonderful that everyone works together to achieve a single goal.

─ You mentioned that there are more people who want to play tanks, but after the anime, did you have a desire to play this role?

Okamoto: No, I am still a wizard in the game. I like wind, so I would be happy to do anything with wind magic as an attribute (laughs). That's why I was really envious of Amon, who uses powerful wind magic. Also, I am an efficient kitchen ......, and the easiest way for me to raise my level in the past was as a wizard. I was more efficient at recovering MP with potions than I was at recovering HP while being protected.

─ ─ And you can also attack everyone, right?

Okamoto: Yes, yes. It is the same in Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but it is easier to level up if you attack everyone.

Kuno: You know a lot about games, don't you, Okamoto-san? I am afraid to go to the ...... front line to fight (laughs). (Laughs.) Don't you have to go to the front to recover?

Okamoto: Yes, that's right. I have an image that healers are also very strong.

─ ─ And they are absolutely necessary members of the party.

Okamoto: Without them, the party cannot start.

Kuno: Then by all means, I would love to have a healer (laughs).

(Interview, text, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Outline of Present Campaign

One lucky winner will receive a signed copy of "The Strongest Tank in the Labyrinth: A Tank with 9999 Vitality and Rare Skills is Expelled from the Yuusha Party" signed by Nobuhiko Okamoto and Misaki Hisano!

Nobuhiko Okamoto, who plays Marius, the guardian of Avanthia Labyrinth, and Misaki Hisano, who plays Amon, the guardian of Caird Labyrinth, will give away autographs to one lucky winner!

<Entry requirements

Entry period: February 14, 2024 (Wed) - February 21, 2024 (Wed) 23:59

Number of winners: 1

Announcement of winners: Prizes will be shipped to the winners.

Announcement of Winner: Winner will be announced upon delivery of the prize.

How to apply: Use the dedicated application form below.

<Note

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