The TV anime "Nobunaga Concerto" is an adaptation of the original manga of the same name by freelance manga artist Ishii, telling a well-known and fresh story of Japan's Sengoku period. This time, we invited the main voice actors who starred in the work, Mamoru Miyano, Yuki Kaji, and Nana Mizuki, to hear their thoughts on the work.

The TV anime "Nobunaga Concerto" is a new sensation anime based on the original work of the same name serialized in the manga magazine "Monthly Shonen Sunday", using the "Rotoscope" technique and blending the most advanced CG technology. As part of the "Fuji TV 55th Anniversary Project", the film will be broadcast from July 11, 2014 (Friday) in the newly opened animation period (every Friday at 1:50 p.m.).

"Nobunaga Concerto" is a large-scale and innovative work that tells a familiar and fresh story of Japan's Sengoku period. The voice actor lineup is at its peak, with powerful voice actors such as Mamoru Miyano (as Saburo), Yuki Kaji (as Oda Nobunaga), and Nana Mizuki (as Guidie). In addition, a live-action TV drama version and a live-action movie version starring Shun Oguri will be broadcast and screened from October. Shun Oguri also participated in the production of the anime version as a narrator of the story.

■The "contrast" between modern people Saburo and Sengoku Nobunaga

Q: What is your impression of the protagonist of this story, Mr. Mamori Miyano (hereinafter referred to as "Miyano")?

Miyano: Saburo is a high school student who jumped from modern time and space to Japan's Sengoku period, and because modern common sense is very different from the common sense of the Sengoku period, he and the people around him sometimes feel at a loss, but of course it's also very funny (laughs). While enjoying this "contrast" to play the role of Saburo.

Q: Oda Nobunaga, played by Mr. Kaji (hereinafter referred to as "Kaji"), is a frail young man.

This one, just like I usually do, is very weak (laughs). Not only was Nobunaga physically weak, but as the head of the Oda family, he felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders and felt very tired, so I think he wanted to escape from the Oda family at the beginning of the story. The historical Nobunaga would definitely bravely challenge the difficulties if he faced such a situation, but in this story, the task fell to Saburo. I believe that after watching the animation, the audience will definitely be able to feel the fresh fun brought by this "contrast".

Q: So when we compare the real Nobunaga with Saburo, Saburo is closer to what we think of as an "Owari madman", right? (Oda Nobunaga was known as "the great madman of Owari")

Miyano: But Saburo is still a little different from the historical "Owari maniac". I think the Nobunaga Concerto raises the question, "If modern people had gone to the Sengoku period with modern common sense, would they have been called madmen at the time?" This is something that has not been found in the previous "Nobunaga Monogatari", so it is also new and interesting.

Kaji: Now, after Saburo went to the Warring States Period, he was indeed not very active in taking over the world, but as the story developed, he embarked on the road of "the world of martial arts" in a bit of a daze.

Mizuki: He's such a nice guy. If he had the determination to "change history", he would have been able to achieve it......

Miyano: When it comes to keeping history as it is, he will become very serious and resolute, but he is also a straightforward person.

■Nana Mizuki's wife Guidie, Nobunaga's wife, is a person with a pure nature and doing her own thing

Q: Nana Mizuki (hereinafter referred to as "Mizuki") You play Nobunaga's wife, Guidie?

Mizuki: Guidie married Nobunaga because he got married, but because Nobunaga was weak and sickly, I guess the two of them didn't actually meet much. Otherwise, if your husband is replaced by another person, how can you still not know (laughs)?!

Miyano: Saburo himself doesn't have any intention of deceiving people, it's just that you don't know the real Nobunaga (laughs)

Mizuki: In addition to the fact that Nobunaga and Saburo look exactly the same, plus Nobunaga's frail and sick couple rarely see each other, and Guidie's nature is too pure (natural?). These three reasons coincide, so Gui Die won't recognize it (laughs). As the daughter of a samurai family, Guidie has a resolute heart under her elegant appearance, but despite this, she still gives people a feeling that she wants to protect her, she is such a lovely woman. Since meeting Saburo, her heart has begun to change, and I am very happy to be able to play her like this. And among the many capable and reliable characters, only San Lang and Guidie are always so self-determined and self-assertive...... (laughs)

Oar:...... Watching the two of you trick or treat together makes me feel super envious!

Miyano: I'm really sorry!

Kaji: Yes, yes! Just the two of you can have so much fun (laughs). But sometimes I think that the real Nobunaga may not be able to give Guidie happiness, so fortunately, Saburo is by her side and with her.

■Miyano, who is especially in the limelight in noisy scenes, and Kaji, who is an expert in complaining

Q: As a work depicting the Warring States Period, many of the older generation of voice actors participated in the performance, does this have a particularly deep and heavy sense of weight for the dubbing scene?

Miyano: I'm very honored to be able to work with the older generation of voice actors, and I've learned a lot from them. Not only that, but because this animation uses a special production method, even the seniors felt that they couldn't adapt for a while, so we helped everyone and overcame the difficulties together, which is the so-called "great strength of unity". I am grateful for this environment, because it is very rare for me, and it gives me the feeling of not only chasing the figures of my predecessors, but also giving me a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction of "working together with my predecessors to make zuò works".

Q: In addition to Mizuki, it seems that there is only one female voice actor, Yuki Bi (hereinafter referred to as "Yuki"), who plays Achi?

Mizuki: That's true, there are really few female voice actors. Surrounded by so many men, the dubbing work was really enthusiastic (laughs). For example, when there is a noisy scene, everyone's feelings are super high, and it is very fun to say free lines (laughs).

Kaji: Miyano, he's very good at highlighting himself (laughs), obviously as the protagonist should be low-key when he plays noisy scenes, but he's not low-key at all, and he keeps talking!

Miyano: When I'm playing a noisy scene, I definitely have to play the sedan chair bearer. (laughs)

Mizuki: And he's still shouting "hey, hey" by himself (laughs).

Kaji: Originally, "hey, hey" was shouted by two people carrying a sedan chair in order to breathe in unison, but Miyano would do it himself. Also, sometimes Fukuyama (Run), who plays the role of Ieyasu, is also there, but the two of them just like to do "hey, hey" by themselves, so it's unclear whether there are two sedan chairs or only one sedan chair but two verbose sedan chairmen (laughs).

Q: Kaji, don't you stand out in noisy scenes?

Kaji: Ah, actually, I really want to play the role of a passerby passing through the city, but I can't help but complain about the two of them.

Mizuki: There are too many people in this dubbing scene who want others to complain about themselves, so Kaji's complaint is very popular (laughs)!

Kaji: To use the analogy of the relationship between demand and supply in economics, my supply is far from satisfying demand (laughs)!

Miyano: The seniors are always free to pretend to be silly and funny, and Kaji is the only character in the audience who complains, and he never pretends not to hear it every time.

Kaji: It would be nice to have one more person in charge of complaining......

Miyano: Hehe, after all, everyone's focus is on Kaji.

Oar:...... However, that kind of situation doesn't seem to be so annoying to me. (laughs)

Miyano: Sure enough, he's a complaining expert (laughs)!

■Even the smallest places are very well done, and this is a work that you will want to keep watching after seeing it once

Q: This is not only a project for the 55th anniversary of Fuji Television's opening, but also a popular work that has already decided to start filming dramas and movies. So the broadcast of the animation is a pioneer in the whole project, what kind of message or encouragement do you have for the animation version?

Miyano: I think that's a great thing. There is such a big project, and animation is the first step, so I think we have to do a good job of this work so that the audience can feel the charm of this work. At this moment, our fighting spirit is very high!

Kaji: I auditioned for the casting a year ago, and I didn't know anything at the time. I didn't know until I actually started to participate in the production of zuò that it was a commemorative work for Fuji TV's 55th anniversary, and even after the anime, TV dramas and movies would be filmed...... There's nothing more pleasing to me than this work that makes a difference not only in the field of animation, but also in other fields.

Mizuki: Being able to participate in this big project makes me feel really happy. Before the official start of the recording, the producer prepared a place for us voice actors to try out the script and the lines. We gestured to each other's eyes, then shouted "Ready, go" together, and read the script of the first episode together. I'm very happy about that. It's a meticulous work, and it's done in the smallest places, and I think it's sure to be enjoyable for all audiences.

Q: As the interview comes to an end, please tell us about the best aspects of the anime in the future.

Mizuki: Gui Die is a woman who is consistent and insists on "loving His Highness the most". In the future, if Saburo and the real His Royal Highness Nobunaga appear at the same time, what choice will Guidie make? Personally, I'm very interested in this kind of story development. On the side of the generals sweating and bursting with sparks, Guidie also dedicated her love to Saburo, as a role that warms people's hearts and relaxes tension, she will continue to work hard in the future!! (laughs)

Kaji: I play Oda Nobunaga, who gives his noble identity "Oda Nobunaga" to Saburo, a stranger who suddenly falls from the sky in front of him, and then disappears without a trace on his horse...... Although he is such a person, please rest assured that he is always a real "Oda Nobunaga", and he should not leave the stage like this! I firmly believe that he is definitely not a man who ends here, and please feel free to read on. …… Hmm- I can't spoil too much...... In short, please trust me! (laughs)

Miyano: What's interesting about Nobunaga's Concerto is that Saburo became Oda Nobunaga in the Sengoku period, but also that the personalities of other generals are different from what we remember. The same goes for Hideyoshi Toyoshi...... Being able to get a glimpse of the unexpected side of historical figures makes this work a "Nobunaga Monogatari" with a strange color, so I think that once you read it, you will probably want to keep watching it. Thank you for your support!

■Appendix: About the "Rotoscope" technique

It is a technique in which live actors are first filmed and then animated by guò projection technology. I wonder how the voice actors who voice over such a work using the "Rotoscope" technique will feel?

Mizuki: It's easy to grasp the sense of distance, and it's easy to breathe, but it's easy to be attracted by the live actors with full personality and forget the lines! It's the first time I've tried this kind of voice acting.

Miyano: In the first episode, we saw a video of the live actors' movements mixed with the animation screens. We finished the dubbing in such a state, and I thought it was so fresh. It's just a CG drawing, but it's like the characters from the original manga we read are moving. And that kind of action, although it's hard to put into words, but all in all, the actions of the anime characters are like real people.

Mizuki: Yes, yes! It's not like CG action.

Miyano: It's like feeling the anime character breathing, and the "bio sense" is strong. Therefore, when dubbing, it is easy to breathe.

Kaji: In the middle of the process, we tried to dub and interpret the characters while watching the live-action footage. Although I usually dub foreign film and television works, so I have also had the experience of watching real people dub, but this time I watched Japanese people like myself dub, which is not a common thing, and it feels a little incredible! Obviously, everyone is saying the exact same lines, but the timing of the "talking" and "stopping" of the live actors is different from my own, and I will try to cover their mouths at this time. But even so, I was able to figure out the mood of the actors through their movements, and the distance of the live-action images was easy to grasp. Overall, it was really a very good experience.

Mizuki: Sometimes I almost get so caught up in the expressions of a real actor that I forget my lines (laughs). There are some people with very strong personalities among the real actors.

Miyano: Especially Ieyasu's little yellow book, it's really a great performance! It's a shame that we didn't make the animation directly (laughs).

Mizuki: I'd like to let you watch that too! (laughs)

Kaji: A few days ago, two real actors who played Guidie and Nobunaga came to the recording site, so I had the pleasure of greeting both of them. At that time, I was like, "Ah, I've seen a star on TV!" I was so touched (laughs).