Opening in theaters on January 18! Interview with Shiina Natsukawa, Lynn, Nozomi Furuki, Atsumi Tanezaki, and Yuko Kurose of "High School Fleet the Movie" about the enthusiastic recording sessions.

The "High School Fleet the Movie," an animated feature film that will hit theaters nationwide on January 18, 2020, will finally return to the silver screen after being broadcast as a TV anime in 2016!

The stage for the theater version is the "Battle Games," an event held at Yokosuka Girls' Maritime School, to which Akeno and her friends belong, that combines a cultural festival and a sports festival. It will be the biggest story in the history of "Haifuri.

We interviewed a large number of cast members, including Shiina Natsukawa as Akeno Misaki, Lynn as Mashiro Soya, Nozomi Furuki as Shima Tateishi, Atsumi Tanezaki as Mei Nishizaki, and Yuko Kurose as Sachiko Nosa.
⇒ " High School Fleet the Movie" is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2020 on a nationwide roadshow! Three new ships, Yamato, Shinano, and Kii, will appear in the movie, and cast information for the captain and XO will also be released.

─ ─ First of all, how did you feel when you heard about the production of "High School Fleet the Movie"?

Natsukawa: I was like, "The day has finally come!　I felt like, "This day has finally arrived! At events, I could feel that the audience was eagerly awaiting the continuation of the anime, so when the announcement was made, I felt like I could finally say something.

Tanezaki: The first announcement was made at the event (held at Yokosuka HUMAX Cinemas in April 2018) to commemorate the second anniversary of the start of broadcasting, wasn't it?

Furuki I wasn't there that day, so I think I heard about it normally from my manager. When I first heard about it on Twitter and the Internet, my impression was still "Oh, wow" (laughs). I had hoped that they would make a continuation someday, so I was usually very happy.

Kurose When I was reading the script for the event, there was a surprise announcement of a movie version at the end, so I was like "What? I was like, "What? I imagined that it would be a surprise for us at such a time, but I read it in the script and found out about it at home, so I was almost like "Oh, oh" at first (laugh). (laughs) But later my joy started to rise.

Lynn Everyone was so happy when I made the announcement at the event, and I felt that they had been waiting for me.

───What was your impression of the story and how did you feel when you first received the script for the movie version?

Furugi: I was like, "Okay, I can read the rest of the story! I felt like a reader (viewer). I was surprised at how thick the script was, so I read it when I had time. I read it whenever I had time. Whenever a scene came along that I felt like I was waiting for, I was happy as I read it, thinking, "I get to act in 'Hai Furikake' again! I was happy as I read the script.

Natsukawa: When I read the script, I could picture how everyone would act.

Tanezaki There's a key visual of Akeno and Mashiro, isn't there? I thought the story would be just like that picture.

Lynn Indeed, I felt it was exactly like that image.

Natsukawa: Combined with the catchphrase, "A ship to protect, a path to follow," I felt a stirring feeling that maybe that was what they were talking about.

Kurose It's not often you see expressions like that from two people.

Lynn Once there was a sense of everyone becoming a family in the TV series, I was happy to have the story and relationship deepen beyond that. I thought, "It's going to be tough for Mashiro-chan" (laughs). (Laughs) I was also surprised to see that there were so many other boats in the series, and that even just a large number of characters would be added.

Natsukawa: I thought that while the increased cast made the film lively and fun, there were also quite a few scenes where Akeno felt lonely and complicated. Also, from the TV series to the movie version, I felt that Akeno's position as the father of the ship has finally reached its peak. He is a leader, or rather, he takes a step back and watches over the ship.

Tanezaki When you were looking around at the preparations for the school festival, you were making the rounds as a couple, weren't you?

Lynn It was a strange feeling!

Natsukawa: Preparations for the festival were a scene, but I didn't feel like I was having a good time (laughs). I felt like I had grown up, but at the same time I was a little sad about it. I also felt that the competence of the other members of the group, aside from Akeno, was well portrayed in this episode. In the TV anime, "Harukaze" was portrayed as a group of underdogs, but in fact, I thought they were all very capable.

Lynn I felt that they are strong and have been through a lot.

───Do you have any interesting characters, highlights, or points of interest in the movie version?

Natsukawa I knew that Mr. Manrikouji had a naginata and was a fighter, but I had the impression that he was quiet and gentle, so I was thrilled to see how agile and cool he was.

Lynn The Soya family is amazing. They are all so cool and stylish, and I really thought they were an amazing family.

Natsukawa I like the Soya family. ......

Lynn Another point is that you can see the cool side of the people around you on the boat, and you can see little Mashiro-chan in the past scenes.

Furugi Can I say this?　It was global this time, wasn't it?

All of you ah..!

Furugi: I think that many languages, including dialects, appeared in this work. There was even German. The people who were in charge of the language scenes seemed to have a hard time and it was amazing! I thought, "Wow! The new character Sue is played by Naomi Ozora, and there are scenes where she talks with native speakers.

Lynn In the TV series, the Japanese spoken in the scenes were based on German.

Kurose The foreign languages were really amazing. When I saw Mee-chan (Wilhelmina) speaking German, I thought that she was German. I think it is very difficult to put emotions into a foreign language in a tense scene. Hiromi Igarashi told me that she was given a recording of German spoken at conversational speed, and she had to listen to it and copy it by ear.

Tanesaki: I was in the first half of the scene, where each character was acting like a different character, or should I say a contralto?

Natsukawa I got to do some new material.

Tanesaki I think that is a highlight of the show. We do all kinds of things outside of fighting.

─ ─ I would also like to ask you about the new character Su. Akeno and Mashiro are taking care of her, aren't they?

Natsukawa: She seems to be an innocent child, but sometimes she says things that make you feel uneasy. When Sue appears is when the relationship between Akeno and Shiro is a bit complicated. At such times, Sue senses something and mediates between the two of them, just like a "child is a keeper" (laughs). So while there are some things that can't be underestimated, she is basically innocent, cute and cheerful, and I thought that Sue inherited Akeno's innocence from the TV series.

Lynn She says things that make me very nervous without hesitation. Her point of view is something that we forget when we grow up a little, and from Mashiro's point of view, her innocent words sometimes make us realize what is going on. She is a very important key person.

─ ─ I would like to ask you about the post recording. It is not a very big studio, but there were a lot of people there, weren't there?

It was a lot of people!

Lynn: 55 people.

Natsukawa 55 people!

Tanezaki: To be honest, I couldn't even sit in a chair.

Lynn The way we recorded the scene was that only the people who were going to be in the scene went into the booth, and the rest of us waited outside and switched places.

Kurose There were times when lunch boxes were handed out like school lunches, so it was like being in school.

Tanezaki: When the director and staff greeted us, it was the first time I had ever seen the cast sitting on the floor listening to them. During the recording, there were people even behind the microphones, so I wondered if there would be any noise.

Lynn I think there was a separate microphone attached at the top (of the booth) that could pick up all the sound.

Kurose It was fun to sit on the ground and have scary conversations during free time. I had a meeting with Hitomi Kikuchi, Miharu Sawada, Mimi Tanaka, Nanami Yamashita, and Hiyori Nitta to tell scary stories (laughs). (Laughs.) It was mainly me and Minami (Mimi Tanaka) who told scary stories, and Hiyori was really scared.

Tanezaki: Such groups were forming all over the place, weren't they?

─ ─ Was there anything that impressed you in terms of recording or acting?

Natsukawa: This time, there were scenes with a sense of urgency that only adults can bring to the scenes with the adult members of the Soya family, which was refreshing. It was so authentic that I felt like it wasn't "Hai Furie" at all (laughs).

Kurose I thought Mr. Tanezaki was a genius for getting the scenes right even though there wasn't much time for them. He doesn't just talk fast, he's funny.

Tanezaki: I'm nervous that it won't be funny (laughs). (Laughs.) Also, some of us were new to the "haifuri" scene, so there were words and phrases that were peculiar to us.

Natsukawa: It's a baptism of "haifuri.

Furugi I think we talked about a fair amount of technical terms in the TV series, but I thought there was a lot more (laughs).

Lynn We had a professional come to supervise us, and he said that even from a professional's point of view, these are difficult terms.

Furugi He demonstrated it, but how would it sound to a high school girl...? I was like, "How would a high school girl say that..." (laughs).

Lynn By the way, this work has a connection with Yokosuka, do you have any memories related to Yokosuka?

Lynn I have been to Yokosuka for events, but I have not eaten any curry. I did receive a retort curry, though.

Natsukawa That's a shame!

Kurose There is curry catered for events, isn't there? I think there was at the first Equatorial Festival.

Furuki We went to Yokosuka on a (private) tour, didn't we?

Kurose We went with these three (Kurose, Furuki, and Tanesaki) and Hitomi Kikuchi.

Kuroki: Kurose is a great help in organizing our schedule and choosing restaurants.

Kurose: She even printed out a map for us.

Natsukawa That sounds very Coco-chan!

Tanezaki We had curry and cheesecake, it was delicious. I like to eat things that have appeared in my works!

Furuki We also went to Sakakura (Sohonke), a Japanese confectionery shop. I remember how impressed I was when Sakura Nakamura gave me a pudding made by Sakakura to commemorate Mr. Banrikoji's birthday.

Kurose When I went to Sakakura-san, he would call me "Oh, Coco.

Natsukawa: How nice!

Kurose When I heard that Sakasakura-san was hit hard by the flood, I was worried, so I visited the restaurant on the day it reopened.

─ ─ Finally, this article will be published in the New Year 2020. I would like to close with your New Year's resolutions for yourself and "Haifuri".

Furuki: I believe that "High School Fleet the Movie," which will be released in 2020, will be the biggest hit movie of 2020!　Personally, if I have the chance to visit other places for "Haifuri" events, my goal is to eat the delicious food of those places.

Kurose: I've been waiting for the movie version of "Hai Furie" and I love it. I am already burning up with "High School Fleet the Movie"!　My life as a voice actor started with "Hai Furie" and will continue with "Hai Furie". ......

Natsukawa Don't end it!

Kurose Haha, thank you so much, I'll do my best (laughs). I'm looking forward to having lots of fun with all the "haifuri" fans!

Tanezaki Every year I set a goal to make it a better year than the previous one, including my work. 2020 will probably open with "Haifuri," so I'd like to ride the wave with you!

Lynn Ride the wave, everyone, and travel well. I think that with the new year comes a fresh wind of new "haifuri". My goal is to stay the same and keep up the good work. High School Fleet the Movie", watch it!

Natsukawa: I, too, will start 2020 with "High School Fleet the Movie," and I will do my best with this work. It is a refreshing story, so I hope I will receive that freshness and make it a wonderful year. I look forward to working with you on "High School Fleet the Movie!

(Interview and text by Kiri Nakazato)