How to express "that heat"? Interview with Kenichi Matsuyama and Taichi Saotome, who play the main characters in Trigger's too-hot anime film "Promea"!

Promea," the first original theatrical animation film directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi (director of "Gurren Lagann" and "Kill la Kill") and written by Kazuki Nakajima (screenplay), will be released tomorrow, Friday, May 24, 2019.

The two actors, Kenichi Matsuyama (photo, right) and Taichi Saotome (photo, left), who are active in TV dramas, movies, and stages, play the two main characters, Garo Timos and Rio Fortier. The two have worked together on the stage of "Gekidan Shinkansen," for which Kazuki Nakajima serves as a writer. The production team's first request for "Promea" was granted, and the two were chosen to appear in this production. We interviewed two people who are closely related to Kazuki Nakajima about his voice acting in "Promea.

What was your impression of the animation work by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakajima?

Matsuyama: It's hot-blooded. Also, it's a bit crazy.

Matsuyama: You also liked "Gurren Lagann," didn't you?

Matsuyama: I love it so much that I still watch it. I love the way the actors talk. The characters do things that cannot be fully expressed without consuming a lot of calories, and I feel the passion with which they try their best to do so. That's why I like it.

Director Imaishi's crazy side also adds to that.

Matsuyama: Mr. Imaishi said that he would change his pictures if they were expressed in a way that exceeded his expectations. I heard that he increases the heat level of his drawings because he doesn't want to lose.

So there is a lot of bickering going on there as well (laughs). How about you, Mr. Sotome?

Sotome: I am the same way, but there is a kind of straightness and energy, a kind of spirit that comes out of the artist's body and soul, which is very pleasant and cool to watch, and I have a longing for it. Like Kazuki Nakajima's script, everyone in the film has their own beliefs and aesthetics. Normally, I would not be able to go that far or put forth that much energy, but they do. I really admired them for that.

Q: I heard that you were offered this role from the beginning.

Sotome: I was honestly happy. Not only because I was invited to be a part of this team, but also because I felt that my childhood longing for the role would be purified. It's not easy to do that, so I was very happy.

Q: Is that in response to the anime?

Sotome: My character manipulates flames, but that is something that is not easy to do, and I was not a child thinking that I might actually be able to do it. There was a time when I was a child when I thought I might actually be able to do that. I thought I might be able to shoot a Kamehameha wave (laughs). (Laughs) I felt like I could do that kind of thing.

Q: It's like being a hero. What about you, Matsuyama-san?

Matsuyama: I was very honored and happy. I have been a fan of the works of Imaishi and Nakajima, so it was a special feeling for me to be able to be a part of this group of people. At the same time, I was anxious and felt pressure to see if I could express that kind of passion. I was also anxious about whether I would be able to express that kind of passion, or rather, I felt pressure.

Q: But you actually performed with passion, didn't you?

Matsuyama: I still think that in the end I was just shouting. Looking back, I was just doing what I wanted to do, without any calculation of the play. There was nothing more in me than this, and I felt that I had no choice but to give it my all during the three days of postrecording.

Q: The story is about the battle between "Varnish," a mutated human race that can manipulate flames, and "Burning Rescue," a highly mobile firefighting team for use against Varnish.

Matsuyama: I saw the footage before it was completed, and although there was a script and some notes, it was completely different from what I had imagined. I knew what Garo looked like, but I didn't understand the worldview until I saw the video, and the use of colors was something I hadn't seen in "Gurren Lagann" or "Kill la Kill. Also, I really like the way director Imaishi puts music to the film, and the version I saw was not yet complete with music, so I am looking forward to that now.

Saotome: I don't usually imagine the world around me that much. I usually don't imagine the world around me that much, because there is a set or a space around me in which to act. But with animation, there is no set, so I couldn't fully imagine how much it would be like, and I couldn't keep up with it. But since it was the work of this team, I was sure it would be hot. So I tried to bring out more heat than usual during the fight scenes and when I expressed my emotions. I was surprised to see how powerful it is when it moves. If music were added to it, I think it would be even more powerful.

Q: You both also work on the stage. Do you see any affinity between your stage work and animated plays?

Matsuyama: I usually work mainly with visual images, so I feel that there are differences between stage and animation. I think the difference between stage and animation is how much the world can be expanded in the audience's mind. After all, there is only one board. However, dramas and movies are shot on location in various places, and are performed in the scenery, so rather than stimulating the imagination, they just feel realistic. In animation, there is a technical aspect that requires you to speak at the right moment, but in terms of how to generate passion, I felt it was a bit similar to the stage. Of course, they are different.

Sotome: I wonder if there are similarities. As with the stage, the director is the only one who knows everything, so I guess I listen to what he says (laughs). (laughs). I do what I can do. (Laughs.) But I realized that voicing a character is an extremely precise task. It is delicate and requires a lot of thinking. I don't have a lot of voice talent, so I could only do my best, but when I saw the video and heard the voice actors' voices, I realized that they really have a tremendous amount of talent and that they are doing it with precise calculations.

Mr. Nakajima also said that it was like a battle between the actors on stage and the voice actors who are familiar with the Imaishi x Nakajima combination.

Matsuyama: Well, these members are like gods in my mind, so I didn't think of it as a battle at all (laughs). (laugh) However, although there may be differences in expression, I felt that unless we stood on the same foundation, we would not be able to talk about the same thing. So I just felt that I had to make sure that I could deliver my passion to the audience.

Q: What was the most difficult thing about doing voice acting?

Matsuyama: Well, as in TV dramas, movies, and stage performances, costumes and makeup help a lot. Also, sound. That is not the case (in animation). There is only a microphone, and I was wearing plain clothes (laughs). (Laughs.) So the way to get into the role itself was different, and I felt that no matter how much I shouted, it wasn't enough. Is this my limit?　I was secretly feeling that feelings alone were not enough.

Sotome: It is obvious, but it was difficult to create a single character and not be alone. I had never had the experience of being in charge of only the voice of a character and then adding body movements and facial expressions, so it was a strange feeling all the way to the end.

Q: Did Mr. Imaishi or Ms. Nakajima give you advice in such cases?

Matsuyama: Actually, I had never met Mr. Imaishi before. Kazuki-san told me to act like Sutenosuke in "Shichinin no Shichininin" (Seven Skulls in a Castle) as we were working. Also, Mr. Imaishi told me to express a little more respect for Clay (CV: Masato Sakai), but I couldn't do it in my voice. I had been expressing it with my body or with my eyes. So it was very difficult to use my voice. I wondered how to do it. I wondered how to do it.

Sotome: I was worried because I was not told too much. I was told to keep it down in detail, but I had never been told to do it in a big way. But I got the feeling that they were trying to make the most of the two of us, and I was glad that they recorded the dialogue between us together instead of separately.

Q: How did you like the dialogue?

Matsuyama: We had worked together on other productions based on Kazuki's scripts, so there was nothing special about it. I think it was as if the voice actors were being told by Mr. Imaishi and Mr. Kazuki to "do as usual. For us, too, the roles were not so different from the ones we had played in Kazuki's scripts, so I think that made it easier for us.

Sotome: It's the same, with the gas pedal and the brake, the bloke and the comedian, the hot person and the cool person. It is because I have been allowed to do that several times that I have been able to gather them together. It would be an exaggeration to call it a compilation, but I think I made great use of it.

Q: Lastly, do you have any particular scenes you would like people to see in the film? Is there anything you would like us to see in the film?

Matsuyama: I don't want to spoil anything, but Arata Furuta is in the movie. It has a "Gekidan Shinkansen" feel to it, and I don't know how to say it, but it's the part that is not hot-blooded. So I really like that part.

Saotome: The battles were exciting to watch. It was fun, and the way of fighting changed from the first half to the second half, and there were many variations of fighting styles.

(Interview, text, and photos by Junichi Tsukagoshi)