[Autographed checkee as a present! Interview with Ayane Sakura (Aina Aldebit) in commemoration of the release of the theatrical animation "Promea"!

Promea," the first original animated feature film by Hiroyuki Imaishi (director) and Kazuki Nakajima (screenplay), creators of "Gurren Lagann" and "Kill la Kill," opened today, May 24, 2019.

The film depicts the clash between the "Varnish," a race of flame manipulators born as a result of a mutation, and the "Burning Rescue," a highly mobile life-saving firefighting team for use against the Varnish. One of the main characters, Garo Timos (CV: Kenichi Matsuyama), a rookie firefighter with a fireman's soul, is a female member of the Burning Rescue, and the heroine, Aina Aldebit, is played by voice actress Ayane Sakura. We asked her about her thoughts on the film prior to its release.

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

If the actor gives a good performance, I'll put a good picture on it. If not, the picture will win.

Q: This is your first time to work on a TRIGGER production, what is your impression of TRIGGER or the work of Toshi Imaishi✕ Nakajima?

Sakura: The only TRIGGER work I've ever been involved in was "Darling in the Franchise" (a co-production with A-1 Pictures), where I played a character who died a horrible death (laughs). It was a strange coincidence. I later heard that they had cast her based on an audition tape of another work, and I was very happy. Personally, I had often seen Nakajima's works on stage.

Q: Was it a Gekidan Shinkansen play?

Sakura Yes. I had just seen "Seven Dokuro no Shichinin" (Season) Hana, Tori, Kaze, so I was a bit surprised to see familiar faces in the cast this time. I had heard that the same cast members are used in various productions of O. Imaishi✕Nakashima's works, like a theatrical troupe.

Q: There were a lot of shouting scenes in this production as a whole.

Sakura: I heard from various people that the person with the loudest voice wins the scene. However, I thought it was a very outrageous idea, because there is no one who shouts all the time. But when I looked at the script, I realized that there were very few scenes in which I was speaking in a normal tone (laughs). (Laughs.) Everyone is too self-centered. Garo is the only one who speaks in a flat tone all the time, because he's so vocal except in everyday conversation, and Rio is the only one who speaks in a flat tone all the time. Then the people around me, who have to stop the loud voices, naturally become louder, and it became very clear to me, "I see.

Q: What kind of people were Director Imaishi and Kazuki Nakajima like?

Sakura: The recording session was the first time I met Mr. Imaishi. From the image I had of him, I thought he would be a muscular guy like Baris (from Burning Rescue), but he had very calm and gentle eyes, like Clay-san (played by Masato Sakai, the administrator of Promepolis). He had a similar atmosphere to Masato Sakai, calm and smiling, but with a little something in the back of his eyes.

I knew Mr. Nakajima because I had seen his face in articles. However, scriptwriters have a completely different thought process from actors, so sometimes our conversations don't always mesh. I had a prejudice against screenwriters because they are people who see the world from a human perspective and people who see the world from a human perspective, so there is a bit of a discrepancy between the two. I think he is about the same age as my father, but he is very knowledgeable about young people's culture, and there is basically not much that he cannot talk about. We never stop talking, and we are both interested in what each other is talking about, so it's a lot of fun. Since working on this film, we have gone out to eat together twice already.

Our personalities mesh together like pieces of a puzzle.

Q. Could you tell us about the character Aina that you play?

Sakura: According to the official website, Aina is a cool and calm girl, but that's probably only true of ...... in Oishi✕ Nakashima's works, and she's a very active, older sisterly girl. She can be like a big sister to Garo, a childhood friend, or a watchful mother figure. She is such a burning rescue girl.

Q: It seems that she has special feelings for Garo.

Sakura: There were a few scenes like that, so there is an atmosphere that she may have feelings for him.

Q: What did you keep in mind when playing the role?

Sakura: I tried not to be too girly. Ms. Nakajima is very good at portraying strong women, and in the plays I have seen, even the women in supporting roles are strong fighters. I had seen Nakajima's scripts, and when it came time for Aina to speak, I didn't want her to be a weak woman. However, the staff asked me to keep her cuteness, so I wanted to leave that impression on the audience. The visuals are cute, and her pink hair color changes her facial expression from one moment to the next, so I thought that if I left it to the visuals, she would turn out cute (laughs). But for the scene with Garo, I asked him to be a little cute and snooty. In the length of the movie, I think there is not much time for heroine-like scenes, so I think the order was made with that balance in mind.

Q: What was the recording session like?

Sakura: The voice actors were separated from the actors, and the actors were separated from the voice actors.

Many of the actors had appeared in previous TRIGGER productions.

Sakura: It was not at all difficult to get in, and everyone behaved freely. Everyone was talking to whoever they wanted to talk to, and there were many people who had helped me on other productions, so I felt like my pout was always on the rise. Someone was definitely talking. There were so many talkative people that I was never allowed to be alone (laughs).

It was a very nice place to work.

Sakura: Everyone was looking in different directions, but their backs were to each other, and it was as if their backs were perfectly aligned. It was a great atmosphere and a mysterious place to be, and I felt like I wanted to be there too. The personalities are strong, but they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. I felt a sense of trust, everyone seemed to be having fun, and there may have been some good tension, but I don't think there was much ...... (laughs).

Everyone got along well with the director, so when he gave them instructions, they would ask, "Is this how it's supposed to be done? (Laughs). It was almost like a prescreening session, and they would match the actors' scale and say, "If the actors give a good performance, we'll give you a good picture. If not, we would go for the best picture." So, everyone was looking at the storyboards and asking each other, "Is this movement here? It was very interesting to see them exchanging ideas and saying, "Is this movement here like this? I watched them while laughing all the time.

Incidentally, Mayumi Shintani has the image of a stage actor.

Sakura: Actually (Ms. Shintani) came in around the time we were finishing the recording, so I only met her for a short time and got to see her play a little. But he had such a strong presence that it was as if he had been there from the beginning (laughs).

Q: In addition to voice actors, there are also actors who are active on the stage. What did you think of their performances?

Sakura: Well, it was amazing!　For us, actors' plays are very new, and I think they are something that we don't get to see. And, at the risk of sounding snobbish, the actors have great voices. Personally, Kenichi Matsuyama has a very mysterious voice, and I have always thought of him as an actor with a very strong presence, as I have seen him on TV, in movies, and on stage.

Q: If you were to describe his voice in words, how would you describe it?

Sakura: He has a voice with a gentle tone. So when I play a role like Garo with your voice, I can hear the gentleness and softness in the heat. It was a very good balance, and I thought it was a good casting choice. I think that Garo's dialogue and phrasing would be hard to find in a live-action production, but I was really surprised that you were able to combine your love of anime and the sense of unreality that you have cultivated on stage to play the role without any sense of discomfort at all. I thought, "I can't lose! I thought to myself, "I can't lose this one!

Q: Matsuyama-san, you said that you realized during the postrecording that the costumes and makeup were very helpful in creating a feeling. She said that because she was wearing normal clothes, it was difficult for her to create feelings.

Sakura Wow!　I see. Some of us voice actors come to the studio in jerseys, and I stand in front of the microphone with almost no makeup on, so I wonder what kind of help I need to put my feelings into it. I wonder if it turns on when I stand in front of the microphone with a script in my hand. ...... But with animated works, the voices of the people around me are very reassuring, and the fact that there is someone standing next to me at the microphone is also reassuring. I get courage from the voices of the people around me, so in that sense, this time, Mr. Matsuyama was recorded first, and I was listening to his voice, so having Garo in my ear gave me a lot of courage.

The characters are too straight and annoying (laughs).

Q: Was there any scene that left a lasting impression on you?

Sakura: From a visual standpoint, I really like the beginning of the film. I think the beginning of a work is very important. You have to convey the view of the world to the audience and draw them in. There are various ways to do this, such as pulling the viewer in with impact or slowly dragging them in. The sound is also very stylish, but at the same time, it is very compelling. The geometry of the sound is also used to show that this is how the work will be performed. It's cool!　I want to watch it all the time!　I want to watch it all the time! It was a video that made me think, "I want to watch this all the time! I really liked this scene.

A: Yes, it was indeed very cool.

Sakura: And yet the story is very easy to understand. There are two opposing sides, those who extinguish and those who burn, and each side has its own justice. The story is easy to understand, and with stylish direction and Nakajima's typical phrasing, the characters are able to connect the baton through their dialogue and the work progresses. It was a bit like watching a stage play. There were also scenes with just the two of them alone in a calm atmosphere. The two of them have various personalities, Aina, Garo, and her sister Eris, and I thought the way they showed their relationships was very skillful. I was watching the movie as a fan, thinking how well they showed the relationships between the people.

Do you like the Garo type yourself?

Garo? ......I would be a little uncomfortable if he existed in real life. Hahaha (laughs). I wonder if he would be able to fit into society. That is why it is refreshing to see him in animation. If I saw it close to me, I would probably cringe like Aina, and I'm not as compassionate as Aina, so I think I would have given up on her somewhere and let go of her hand. ...... (laughs). She said, "It's your life, you can do whatever you want, but don't drag me into it.

ーーSo, you prefer Rio?

Sakura: If anything, I prefer Rio. I might be a little too complicated (laughs). But I don't think there are any troublesome people in Ishi✕Nakashima's works. When you think about it, they are a bunch of annoying people. Too straight and too annoying (laughs).

ーーI guess that's why it's such a hot work.

Sakura That's right!　But I think content is like that. The feeling of being bombarded with things you can't experience in reality is the charm of this work.

Q: Finally, do you have a message for the readers?

Sakura: For now, I would like you to watch the beginning of the film!　If you go to a movie theater, I think you will feel that an amazing work has started. The quality of the images is comparable to that of the artwork, no matter which part of the film is cut out, and there is a flood of sound that is just as good as the artwork. It is a work that could only be performed in a theater, and I think it would be amazing to hear it in a theater's sound system. I hope that the audience will feel the full vitality of the people who live in this unreal world.

(Interview, text, and photographs by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

To commemorate the release of "Promea," we are giving away a signed checkerboard autographed by Ayane Sakura to one lucky winner!

To commemorate the start of "Promea" broadcast, we are giving away an autographed photo check of Ayane Sakura, who plays Aina Aldebid, to one lucky winner! Please read the detailed application guidelines before applying.

<Prize

A check photo autographed by Ayane Sakura

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Entry period: May 24, 2019 (Fri.) - May 31, 2019 (Thu.) 23:59

Number of winners: 1 person

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

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

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