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"Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi" Special Interview : Tatsuhisa Suzuki x Yuichiro Umehara

Mayuna Mizutani Mayuna Mizutani 10/02/2017 14 min read
l_161020%e3%82%a2%e3%83%8b%e3%83%a1%e3%82%ad%e3%83%bc%e3%83%93%e3%82%b8%e3%83%a5%e3%82%a2%e3%83%ab%e7%ac%ac%e4%b8%80%e5%bc%be Our “Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi” from Comic ZENON gets an anime adaptation starting on January! 5 years since the establishment of Monthly Comic ZENON, “Chiruran – Shinsengumi Requiem” has been one of the most popular manga of the magazine. Now, “Chiruran” is getting an anime adaptation for it’s spinoff Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi! This anime is broadcasted on Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS Kyoto, and on several websites such as Abema TV. The anime is highly anticipated by many fans, with the cute visuals and all-star voice casts! *CASTS* Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Toshizo Hijikata Yuichiro Umehara as Shinpachi Nagakura Ryohei Kimura as Hajime Saito Tsubasa Yonaga as Souji Okita Shota Aoi as Sanosuke Harada Wataru Takagi as Isami Kondo Shotaro Morikubo as Keisuke Yamanami Katsuyuki Konishi as Kamo Serizawa Makoto Furukawa as Heisuke Todo Fukushi Ochiai as Kai Shimada   As an introduction to the anime, here we have an interview with Mr. Tatsuhisa Suzuki and Mr. Yuichiro Umehara! Enjoy!
  l_img_0218   – “Chiruran – Shinsengumi Requiem” features manly men, can you tell us about the world and characters of “Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi“? Suzuki: It’s surprisingly like the manga (laughs). The story and characters aren’t just super-deformed, but follows the main series and gives us a snapshot of their daily lives, so it’s not like the characters were remade for Nibun no Ichi. Umehara: I thought it was weird at first, but then I thought it’d be great to see the characters fun lives. My character in Nibun no Ich, Shinpachi, is the tsukkomi (straight-man) character, so he’s easily manipulated by the other characters. Suzuki: It’s kind of like… Shinpachi’s an energetic dog (laughs). He’ll chase a ball, he’ll chase a stick, and if you say, “Come here” he’ll fly right over (laughs). But, that’s the way he is, excitable (laughs). Basically, Shinpachi always starts something (laughs).   – Do you have anything in common with your character Umehara-san? Umehara: Not really, but there’s lots of parts of Shinpachi I don’t have, so I’m happy to play him in Nibun no Ichi. I’ve never portrayed a character like him so this is a new opportunity and it’s fun—I can’t wait to record the second half!   – Do you think you could have a fun communal life with the other cast members of Nibun no Ichi? Suzuki: Not possible for us (laugh). Umehara: (laughs).   – Is anyone…troublesome? Suzuki: We all are (laughs). Umehara: Every actor has some quirk…. Suzuki: You’d be bothered the most, right Yuichiro? Umehara: What!? Suzuki: Everyone would say, “You do something about it!” Umehara: They would (laughs). Suzuki: And then Wataru (Takagi) would walk in…I really want Kondo-san to come in.   – If you were master swordsmen, who would you like to challenge in Chiruran? Suzuki: If I had the advantage of being a master swordsman, I’d beat up Heisuke (laugh). I don’t want to fight someone like Okita! Umehara: (laugh). If I don’t have to win, then Kondo-san. I’d wonder if it’s fun being a master swordsman.   – If you were a woman which character would you like to date? Suzuki: I don’t want to date any of them! I thought this after reading up to volume 16, so I’ll say it out loud. I don’t want any of them (laughs). They’re all morally bankrupt (laugh). That’s fun and attractive, but there’s no way they’d make you happy. It’s fun watching them. Umehara: You’d need a little space. Suzuki: Yeah! The people at the diners and dumpling store must have fun watching them. But, if you date them you’ll regret it (laugh). I think the town girls in Nibun no Ichi have it the best. I mean, Saito just wanders off if you don’t keep an eye on him. Hijikata won’t come home once he leaves and Kondo loves his bromances. Sanosuke’s always eating. Okita keeps saying, “Kondo-san, Kondo-san.” Shinpachi’s swinging his sword all the time for some reason…JUST NO! Umehara: You’re right about that (laugh). We have our answer…no. I get being attracted to bad boys, but when you get down to it, nope (laugh).   – Is there any moment in “Chiruran – Shinsengumi Requiem” that sticks out to you? Suzuki: There’s a lot, but I loved an episode with the girl Koto. Come on, Koto’s the only woman warrior! She’s less muscular than the men, but she overcomes that with her skills or attacking the fingers so you can’t pick up a sword, and she still gets abandoned by the people she trusted even though she’s got the skills. Even then she lives up to the ideals of a warrior and her aspirations of masculinity. That really stuck with me. But, when Koto told Hijikata about her way of life, I thought it was brutal he still treated her like a woman and not a warrior, smiling all the way. This was when I saw the gap in the sexes. It looks like a happy story, but it’s really brutal. But, it’s the truth. It’s not like the characters were hurt or saved and I thought if you look at it differently it’s a scary story. Umehara: I liked Hajime Saito’s story. When Saito was captured and Hijikata was the first to go rescue him. And you continue reading hoping everyone else will come, and then they do. Those types of intense moments really leave an impression on me. And when Kondo said, “You’re my family,” I knew all those characters were together because he’s got a big heart.   – Part of the meaning of Chiruran is “Chiru (final curtain)”. How do you see your final curtain or way of life? Suzuki: I feel exactly like Hijikata when he said, “I do what no one else can do. That’s my way in life!!” in the first volume because when I got the callback I was sure Hijikata was calling out to me. I always thought no matter what people think, I’m going to find the perfect expressions for my voice and do what other people won’t do. I’m reaching 15 year as a voice actor and my feelings haven’t changed since I started.   – How about you Umehara-san? Umehara: There’s a lot of rough patches in my work, but I also do jobs that makes me proud. That gives me the energy to go on. When those small things add up and the final curtain comes, if I can say, “That was a fun time” I’ll be satisfied.   – Finally, any last words for the fans who can’t wait to see Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi? Suzuki: It’d be wonderful if people read Chiruran after watching Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi. We’re performing the characters of Nibun no Ichi with an understanding of the original series, so it’d be wonderful if fans could enjoy the anime with a love of the original, too. And we’d love to see people fall in love with Chiruran and the characters and beyond. This is also my first time playing the main character and as the leader I’d love to bring everyone with me to an anime of the original series. But, I want fans to enjoy Nibun no Ichi more than anything. That way our circle will include all the viewers, the staff, and the cast. It’s a short anime, but I hope you enjoy it. I’ll put all my effort into my part and I look forward to working with the fans and staff. Umehara: Nibun no Ichi will be the first time some people see the world of Chiruran. I’d be happy if this was a chance for people to take interest in the original story, too. And I hope reading the original story will get fans interested in a Chiruran anime. But first, I’d be happy if we supported Nibun no Ichi together, then Chiruran. I look forward to doing this with everyone.   Tatsuhisa Suzuki Born: November, 11 in Aichi Prefecture Agency: I’m Enterprise Major Works: Final Fantasy XV (Noctis Lucis Caelum), DRIFTERS (Naoshi Kanno), Seven Deadly Sins (Ban), Uta no Prince-sama series (Ranmaru Kurosaki), and more. Yuichiro Umehara Born: March, 8 in Shizuoka Prefecture Agency: Arts Vision Major Works: Amanchu! (Makoto Ninomiya), Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! series (En Yufuin), Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Eugene Seven Stark), and more.
Curious in the anime? Or Wanna read the manga? Contact us for further info!   ©Eiji Hashimoto・Shinya Umemura/NSP2016, ©Anime「Chiruran – Nibun no Ichi」Production Partnership 2017
Mayuna Mizutani

Mayuna Mizutani

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