I translated Kaneda Tomoko (Chiyo-chan) and Asakawa Yuu (Sakaki-san)'s
interview. Chiyo-chan's because, well, it's Chiyo-chan. And
Sakaki-san's because it was the most interesting of them.
Enjoy
Mihama Chiyo role, Kaneda Tomoko Q: Please tell us how you got Chiyo-chan's role. A: Just when the recording for some other show ended, I was told that there is an audition going on upstairs, so I ended up auditioning for it. I was given the manuscript then, so I had to act based on first impression only without making up a new character. I thought Chiyo-chan was just like me for being bad at tongue twisters, wanting to grow taller so we can reach the bottom of a pool, standing, and so forth. Q: Wasn't there something hard about acting as Chiyo-chan? A: Even though we had a lot of similarities, Chiyo-chan is a genius, so...(laugh). When she was explaining about I.T., since she is supposed to know this, I had to make sure I didn't "chew up" or have difficulty with my line while also avoiding sounding gaudy. Doing that was pretty hard. Among everyone, Chiyo-chan tends to be the most honest and direct, but when she's coaching others, she breaks up a little. That's also Chiyo-chan's charm, but if she breaks up too much, she stops being Chiyo-chan... and that boundary was really hard to deal with. Just being cute is not good enough, while crossing the line the other way is also wrong. Performing with that in mind was my task. Q: How was AFUREKO (actual recording with animation in front)? A: Me screwing up and causing NG was common. If you're asking about "happening" during AFUREKO, everyone saying to me, "Chiyosuke's NG," or something in line with that, would be it. For example, in one of the stories in Okinawa trip, there's this line: "That somehow tiger-like face, short legs, and puffy tail! Spot pattern on the body!! And pointy round ears!! Yamapikarya-!!" That line just wasn't lining up with the picture. When I thought I finally got it lined up, I ended up saying, "Tropikarya-!!" At that time, I didn't realize what happened and later everyone had a big laugh (laugh). But everyone encouraged me by saying things like "It's okay. Calm down." or "Do your best, Chiyosuke," so I was able to get back on track quickly. Everyone sang to help me out when Chiyo-chan had to sing a song as an acapella and my rhythm was off. Thanks to everyone taking care of me, I was able to feel at ease. Staff members and actors/actresses were all so kind. I'm so grateful that I was able to keep going to the last episode thanks to everyone's help. One of the Chiyo-chan's song is, "Thank You nandesu" and I want to dedicate that song to everyone. Q: About the songs.... A: They're all such great fit for the Azumanga world, don't you think? Opening, Ending, and also all the character songs, are really perfect for all the characters. I was admiring how they could make songs that fit all these characters so well. Chiyo-chan also has two songs. One has a feeling of being reminded of everyone while taking a walk with Tadakichi-san. The other one is like Chiyo-chan flying away with her pigtails. I'm so happy to have had a chance to sings these songs and so I occasionally hum these songs by myself. Everyone is so close and we were having so much fun during the event, that we didn't mind long waits and was just having fun. Q: About favorite characters.... A: Father [Chiyo-chan's] is awesome! (laugh) When he was first appearing, I wondered what Chiyo-chan's father would be like, but it was beyond my expectation. It's the tension in lines like "Chi---yo---." (laugh) I had to get involved (with the story), so resisting to laugh was really hard. The voice had such an impact which no one other than Wakamoto-san could have come up with. Wakamoto-san tends to adlib a lot during test and it was different each time. I wish we could show that as an extra or something. (laugh) [Yes, should've been DVD extra!!!] Kimura-sensei is also awesome. (laugh) It's a kind of performance one couldn't imagine coming out of Ishii-san, normally. His character has such an impact. Not only that, sometimes, Hisakawa-san and Hiramatsu-san would imitate Kimura-sensei, and it was so interesting. (laugh) I laughed so much, it was hurting. Q: How do you feel looking back about this work? A: To me, it's something I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Besides it being my first leading part, it's like a treasure to me. Even though it was only 1/2 year long work, so many interesting things happened. There were times when my voice condition wasn't so good and having made so many NG was the first, too. (laugh) In the last episode, there's a line that goes like, "High School is really over.... We won't be seeing each other daily anymore...." and I really felt that. Q: You cried during the last episode, no? A: I feel all mushy thinking about it even now. Not only was Chiyo-chan graduating from High School, I was also graduating from Chiyo-chan's role and the feeling was synchronized. Everyone at the scene was so nice that I learned a lot of things. Among so many roles in so many anime, it was such a specific role that even a slight wrong could've caused major problem for the performance. I'm so grateful that I had the chance to get this role. Thank you very much. (Chiyo-chan rides on Yukari-mobile) After the first time Chiyo-chan rode in Yukari-mobile, her line, "Run away!" and her expression during that time conveyed how scared she really was. It was very impressionable. (Answers that people don't understand) When Chiyo-chan was flying in the dream world, Oosaka-san asks, "How come you can fly?" Chiyo-chan answers, "But I'm 10-years old...." This kind of nonsense was very interesting. (#1 is the impressionable graduation) Everything up until then was revolving like a kaleidoscope and my mind was overflowing with emotion. When I was losing myself in the emotion, tissue was offered from both sides. Everyone was so kind.
Sakaki role, Asakawa Yuu Q: How did you get the role of Sakaki-san? A: From the start, I auditioned only for that role. My manager knew the original work and was unusually excited about the role that I thought, "I better get this role," and when I did get the role, I was relieved. It was more emotional than even the last episode (laugh). I've done characters that people would be afraid to talk to, more than once so far, but Sakaki isn't really scary, I guess. But the way she broke down when she first met Yamamaya-..., I never imagined she would be like that. Sakaki and I both are weak against cute things, so there are similarities. With such a good style, it'd be fine to act all sophisticated, yet in reality, she's such a shy person. But just by the looks, people get scared of her. Getting in that kind of situation, too, is also similar. I also like cats. If I see a cat on the roadsize, I try to touch it, too, but they run away, so Oosaka-san (Matsuoka-san) says, "It's Sakaki-san." I actually had a cat, but when it got big, it was like, "I don't need you anymore, thanks anyway!" and left (laugh). I was like, "What the heck?" I guess this kind of thing could've fit in to "Azumanga" story. Q: Was there any especially interesting episode? [Note there is a typo in the book. omoshiroi is written as omoroshii. Heh, I guess Japanese aren't perfect, after all ^_^] A: There're so many, I could sell them (laugh). I thought of this during the last episode. Everyone is just like their characters. Chiyo-chan (Kaneda-san) also cries in the anime and Oosaka is also same as usual. Sakaki was acting as usual and so all the actors were acting just like the characters. Chiyo was bad at tongue twisters and Oosaka made sure to take notes, but can't read it. "What does it say here?" becomes "[same thing in Oosaka-ben]" (laugh). Q: Was it common to call each other by their role name? A: Chiyo and Oosaka called my by my role name. Others usually called me Yuu-chan. Once in the studio, I'm so immersed in the role that, I know this is impolite but, I can't come up with the other person's name quickly. Because of that, I call them by their role name oftentimes. Q: Favorite character is? A: Kagura-chan. She's always such a nice girl. There is a scene where she knocks down the tent during an Athletic Event and gets cautioned once, but she says "I'm sorry" and starts to cry. Even though she doesn't understand the language, she helps a foreigner carry his baggage. When someone is in trouble, she goes to help them without thinking of the consequences, and I thought that she is such a nice girl. She's always trying her best. Kagura voiced by Kuwashima-san is so cute, so I like her a lot. Q: What do you think is the charm of Sakaki that makes Kaorin to lose her heart to Sakaki? A: Certainly her outward appearance has the merit. She's tall, has long hair, has good style, and is good at sports. But since Kaorin only sees Sakaki's outward appearance, she mistakes Sakaki's reticence as being cool. The one who is charmed by the inner Sakaki is actually Chiyo-chan. Sakaki likes Chiyo-chan the best (laugh). I'm worried about Sakaki-san. After the anime ends, she will go on as herself, without me, becoming a college student. I wonder if she'll be able to make new friends at her new school. Her starting to live by herself is also worrying me. [catch sales (unscrupulous sales practice involving expensive haard-to-break contracts)] If some catch salesman came, she could end up buying something while saying something like "ah." And I hope she doesn't get deceived by some weird man. Q: You seem like her mother (laugh). A: This anime is causing my mother instinct to come out. Ever since I met Chiyo, even if I see a little kid, I think, "Kaneda Tomoko is cuter than that" (laugh). Average kids became not good enough for me. I told that to my manager and the reply mail said, "If you like her that much, adopt her!" (laugh). But seriously, this show isn't just fluff. There are scenes like the rope-jumping scene and Kagura and Chiyo talking about the future under a cherry-blossom tree. The show has that kind of serious moments, too. We get to see the timid part of the characters, too, so how do I say it, it is an affectionate and brings out feelings. It's also uncommon to be able to perform 3 years worth of a character's life. Q: What kind of work was this? A: There wasn't any kind of major event in the show. Events were all ordinary day's events... Chiyo-chan did suffer from riding on Yukari-mobile, though (laugh). It's really a ordinary high school life. To be honest, what I remember from my school days was the fact that I didn't get along very well with my upper class people. It was a "tairantou" (laugh) [That's a rebel. See the anime. "FURE- FURE-!"] [rebellious] student life. But thanks to this work, I got to re-live a proper student life (laugh). Finally, those cats drawn by Azuma-sensei are so cute. Yamamaya- is the best! Q: Final message, please. A: Before I knew it, it ended. I think that's because it had such an ordinary life story. There were so many fans at the event so I was happy about that. The subject of this show is so timeless that I hope it gets to be seen by all kinds of people. Everyone is wishing for a continuation. In the direction of everyone getting back together after a long time..., just kidding. I'm excited about it. I'm sure it's due to everyone's immense support (laugh). I hope we could do more interesting things in Azumanga. (Yamamaya-'s story is wonderful) I was so moved when I read the original work. Not only is the drawing cute, when Sakaki is holding Yamamaya-, it looks like Yamamaya- is embracing back with [his/her?] front paws. That's so cute! (Rope-jumping with Chiyo-chan) It's like treating Chiyo-chan like a child with a good intention. Usually, Chiyo-chan is helping out Sakaki, but this time, Sakaki is making Chiyo-chan's wish come true. (Oosaka's exorbitant/astounding/tremendous/crazy lines) When Oosaka-chan says, "we were talking about hemorrhoids," Sakaki saying, "no, I'm not!" was amusing. Even though she was in such a beautiful setting, she was saying things like, "it's written as sea's pig." [iruka (dolphin) is written in kanji as umi no buta]