Interview to Commemorate the Start of Distribution! Megumi Ban, who plays "Ultraman" freak Tsukasa Hokutosei, also gives her opinion! The anime "ULTRAMAN" is a work where you can enjoy "homage but in a slightly different situation!

Starting Monday, April 1, 2019, the 3DCG anime "ULTRAMAN" will be distributed worldwide exclusively on Netflix.

The manga is based on the popular tokusatsu work "Ultraman" and has become popular for its novel settings, such as the mechanical design of the Ultraman suit. It is a popular work that has sold more than 2.8 million copies in total.

It depicts Ultraman as a "life-size hero" who fights wearing the Ultraman Suit by Shinjiro Hayata, the son of Susumu Hayata, the first Ultraman.

⇒ Ultraman" enters a new stage! Full 3DCG animation production of "ULTRAMAN" by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki has been decided!

In this work, the boy who wears the ace suit and fights as an ACE, Seiji Hokuto, is played by Ms. Megumi Ban. Ms. Ban has long professed her love for Ultraman, and this film will be her first "Ultraman" role.

We asked Mr. Ban to talk about the highlights of the film and the appeal of the Netflix original anime series "ULTRAMAN" as an Ultraman fan.

A warm and hot production site!

--You were involved in the Motion Comics version of the original "ULTRAMAN" comic before you decided to appear in the anime version, weren't you?

Motion Comic ...... is an animated content that adds voice acting by voice actors and simple movements and sound effects to the manga.

Pan That's right. I am now involved in various Ultraman-related projects (including special effects), but my first involvement was actually with the comic book version of "Ultraman". That was maybe 4 or 5 years ago. At that time, a motion comic was created, and the roles I played were Shinjiro's childhood and Hokuto Seiji. So it was really this "ULTRAMAN" that started all my Ultraman work.

--What was your impression when you first read the original "ULTRAMAN" comic?

Ban: The setting of the story is a world where everyone knows that Ultraman used to fight, but the time period is after Ultraman has already left the planet. It's a story about Captain Hayata's son, and I was surprised to hear that he is life-size. Life-size? I was surprised. Ultraman has always had the image of a giant, so it was refreshing to see a life-size Ultraman. And the aliens who are fighting him are life-size, too. I had such a fresh impression, but at the same time, the belief of the "Ultraman" series is still there, so I thought, "It's "Ultraman" after all! I thought, "It's 'Ultraman' after all!

--What I thought was very fresh was the fact that there was an "alien town" in ordinary Japan, where the aliens live their daily lives.

Pan I understand! I feel closer to the aliens, which makes it more frightening in some ways. It's a world where, until Bemmler attacked in the first place, no one would have thought that aliens would be around. It is a world after Ultraman has already finished with all the monsters and aliens, so it is more like "What? Aliens are so close to us? I thought the sense of fear and surprise was very realistic. But the fact that the aliens are not in a particularly strong position is also nice!

--Yes, they are. They are living close together and not being persecuted by humans. ......

Pan: They live close together, sometimes taking on human form and going out into the city. I feel that such figures are somewhat familiar to me, and I also think that the aliens are responsible for such problems in this work. I feel that the work depicts the pain, suffering, and troubles of the aliens in their daily lives.

--In this context, Tsukasa Hokutosei is a character who stands between humans and aliens.

Pan: Indeed, I have the impression that you coexist with both societies. I don't think he thinks too much about whether he is an alien or a human. However, I do care about them, and I also feel that it is a difficult world for aliens to live in, so I think he is a character who stands by them.

--How did you decide to play Hokuto?

Ban: I played Hokuto as a life-size boy, and although being able to transform into ULTRAMAN is certainly special, he himself doesn't think of it as special. On the contrary, he is also a fighter for the bad guys because he needs money to become an ULTRAMAN. That's why he knows the hardships of making a living. ...... And he is a boy from earth.

--By the way, you played the role of Hokuto Seiji in the motion comic version, so is your performance based on the one you played then?

Pan I don't know about that. ...... I haven't changed my belief that I want to protect my precious person - Minami Yuko. However, in the motion comic version, I only played the scene in which I first appeared, so I feel that I have renewed my feelings and refined my performance.

--What did you think when you were asked to play the role of Ultraman?

Pan: I thought, "Oh, I can be ......! I thought (laughs). Actually, before I started working as a voice actor, I had done some work that showed my face, such as video and stage work, so at that time I had the desire to transform into a hero someday. At the same time, I had almost given up on the idea that the only people who could become heroes were those who had been chosen through a very narrow selection process. I was able to make that dream come true through voice work, and I was so grateful that there was someone who was willing to make it happen! I was really grateful that there was someone who could make my dream come true!

--Did you have any communication with your co-stars, Ryohei Kimura (who plays Shinjiro Hayata in ULTRAMAN) and Takuya Eguchi (who plays Dan Moroboshi in SEVEN)?

Ban: I found out that both of you were chosen to play ULTRAMAN and SEVEN at the same time that I was chosen to play Hokuto Seiji. Both of you are like older brothers to me, and I worked with both of you on my debut productions. In "ULTRAMAN," I have been working with Ryohei-san since the motion comic and with Eguchi-san since the anime version, but I really only started to appear in the latter half of the film, from the 8th episode! So I was looking forward to seeing what it would be like on the set, but at the same time, I honestly felt a bit sad. Then, Mr. Eguchi contacted me and said, "We just finished recording and are going out for dinner, including the directors. How would you like to join us? Normally I would not be available, but I happened to be free at that time, and I thought, "I have no choice but to go! So we decided to go together.

--It seems to have a family feel to it.

Pan That's right! Every time we finish recording, the cast and staff go out to eat together. It was a really warm and passionate scene, and we had a very friendly atmosphere. Even if we had to stay in the studio for a little extra recording, our seniors would be waiting for us. They would say, "We're going out for a drink afterwards, aren't we! (laughs). (Laughs.) So I would ask them, "Would you like to go out today? (Laughs). So it's easy for me to ask them, "Would you like to go out today? It was a very gratifying scene because the senior members gave us signs that it was okay to ask them out (laughs).

--(laughs) - did you feel like you were able to enjoy the whole production?

Pan That's right. I could tell that everyone loved "ULTRAMAN," and I was happy to see that everyone was working toward the same goal, whether it was recording or at the dinner table.

The motion actors and voice actors worked as one on ACE!

--What do you think are the highlights of "ULTRAMAN" that are unique to 3DCG animation?

Ban: It is a hybrid of special effects and animation. If it were originally a special effects film, there would probably be camera work and a sense of speed that could not be captured technically, but because it was animated, I am sure there was a large part of the film that expanded the possibilities of that. I think that's why we were able to expand the possibilities of action in live-action. ...... （I think that the strengths of both (animation's) inhuman sense of speed and (special effects') power of action resonate with each other, and the result is a wonderful image.

I think that's why when I was watching the film, I couldn't tell whether it was live-action or animation. First of all, I think it is also significant that the motion actors performed the action, including the movements.

In this film, the characters are moved by tracing the performances of the motion actors.

⇒Anime "ULTRAMAN" announces additional cast and motion actors! Sumire Moroboshi, Kenjiro Tsuda and other talented cast members!

--The special effects feel to the story is there.

Ban: Yes, that's true! I really felt that tokusatsu feeling even in the scenes where I was not transformed. I felt the sense of special effects even in the scenes where the characters were not transformed.

--Did you have a certain amount of footage created during the postrecording stage?

Pan: Yes. The movements of the mouthpiece were just as realistic as if a person were really speaking. That's why I couldn't remove the dialogue from it. In special effects postrecording, we sometimes use suit actors, but this time, I felt that the feeling of voicing a live character played by a different person was different from the experience of special effects postrecording. I think this is something that is unique to animation.

--It's true that unlike dubbing for foreign films, the mouths of the characters are moving in Japanese.

Pan That was very fresh. It was challenging. However, it wasn't dubbed by the actor himself, so it was difficult to express what I felt about Hokutoseiji, and it was also difficult to match the breathing of someone who wasn't me. However, toward the end of the performance, I gradually became more and more comfortable with it. That was a lot of fun. Toward the end, I enjoyed the process of the two actors who were playing the same role gradually becoming one, as if they were thinking the same thing (as the motion actor).

--It's just like Hokuto and Minami, isn't it?

Pan That's right! (laughs) I feel that the two of us are one.

(Laughs) -- From what you just said, it sounds like this work is not only an animation of "ULTRAMAN," but it is also a spectacular piece of visual art.

Ban: Yes, it is. The music and sound are on the scale of a special effects movie, and I think it's a very extravagant production for a 30-minute animation. I actually had the opportunity to visit the dubbing studio, and I was impressed by how much work was put into the soundtrack. There are elements that immerse the viewer in the drama. For example, when moving on to the next scene, there are lingering echoes of music from the previous emotional scene.

--It's a direction that doesn't look too much like a TV animation. It's more like a movie.

Pan Oh, you may be right. The sound effects are also individually created for each scene.

--I heard that in the case of "Ultraman," a special effects movie, the staff members came up with various ideas for the film, and this film has a similar creative sense.

Pan Yes, that's right! With the advancement of technology, the images are fully CG, but the sound, the drama of the characters, and their movements are all created by human hands. As time has progressed and images have evolved, the gap between live-action and animation has narrowed, but there are still human hands, love, and energy poured into the work. I could feel that temperature on the set.

Megumi Ban, an "Ultraman" fan, thinks this work is attractive!

--And for Ultraman fans, the use of SEs from that era in the transformation scenes and color timers is also a key point, isn't it?

Ban Yes, that's right! That's hot! The sounds of the original work!

--Which Ultraman work has left the biggest impression on you, Mr. Ban?

Pan: It's hard to say. ......! In real time, I was in the "Tiga" generation, but the first Ultraman I was exposed to was the first "Ultraman".

--Did you watch it later on VHS or something?

Pan Yes, each VHS tape contains only 3 or 4 episodes of the series. So I spent my childhood watching those three episodes until the tape wore out. It wasn't until I was a certain age that I watched the entire series.

--As such an "Ultraman" fan, what do you think is the best part of this film?

Pan It's hard to say. ...... It's hard to say. ...... Roughly speaking, I guess I would say the relationship between the alien and the confrontation. I would like to have something like this alien for this Ultraman. It is still hot that Bemura, the enemy at the beginning of the "Ultraman" series, is the first enemy to attack. While paying homage to the original Ultraman, I think the best part of the film is the way it depicts a different "ULTRAMAN" fighting against a different enemy.

To put it in a more detailed way, "SEVEN is the one who defeats the Metron aliens, after all. And the scene just before that is in a cozy apartment, sitting around a table.

--It's an homage to the famous scene from "Ultra Seven!

Pan But the time of day was nighttime, not daytime. So, while paying homage to the scene, I enjoyed the fact that it was a slightly different situation. I think that's what makes this "ULTRAMAN" scene unique.

--The scene is interesting because it is not the same, and it is interesting because it is the same. So there are both.

Pan: It has both. There are places where you say, "Oops, that part is different! and "Oh, that part is the same! and "I guess the Yigal aliens can't be saved after all" (laughs).

--I guess I was just thinking, "I knew that the Yigal aliens couldn't be saved!

Ban: I never thought I could be Ultraman, but I was finally able to transform into Ultraman. I think it is a work that brings together the best parts of all kinds of artistic works, not only tokusatsu and animation, but also, as I was just talking about, from visual works to stage performances. I hope that people who have heard of Ultraman but have never seen it, or who have seen it but don't know much about the story, will see it, and if you have loved Ultraman, I hope you will see it in many different ways. I hope that those who learned about the show through this article will join Netflix and enjoy it to the end.

--By the way, you can watch all the episodes at once from the first day of distribution, right?

Pan That's right! There is no such a luxurious environment, is there? That's why this is a work that you can watch over and over again. Because you can watch all the episodes at once, you can immediately rewatch the episodes you were interested in or the parts you want to check again in detail. It could be Shinjiro Hayata, Dan Moroboshi, or Seiji Hokuto. Or even on the side of the aliens. Just as justice is not righteousness, not only evil is evil, so I hope that you will enjoy watching this drama.

Oh, one more thing! The most exciting part for me as an "Ultraman" fan was the scene where Zetton and Ultraman appear at the beginning of the film. When I saw that scene, I thought, "Has the live-action movie started? I thought. The fact that the first Ultraman to appear is the Ultraman we all know is also hot, so I'd like to recommend ...... that.

--Thank you (laughs). I'll highlight that in bold.

Pan Thank you very much!

Commemorating the distribution of "ULTRAMAN," we present a poster signed by Megumi Ban!

To celebrate the release of "ULTRAMAN," we are giving away a poster autographed by Megumi Ban, who plays Tsukasa Hokuto, to one lucky winner. Please read the detailed application guidelines before applying.

<Prize

Poster autographed by Megumi Ban

<Entry requirements

Entry period: Monday, April 1, 2019 - Monday, April 8, 2019 (23:59)

Number of winners: 1 person

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

Prize shipping: Prizes will be shipped by the end of June 2019.

How to apply: Please fill out the application form below.

＜Please note the following

Registration (free of charge) is required to apply.

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