[Interview] Weekly TV Guide 2020/3/13 Edition – Koisuru Voice! #37 – Saito Soma & Ono Kensho

Released: 2020/3/4

Features:
Saito Soma
(Tama in Uchitama?! ~Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka?~)

Ono Kensho (Pochi in Uchitama?! ~Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka?~)

Mentioned:
Kaji Yuki (Nora in Uchitama?! ~Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka?~)
Eguchi Takuya


Q: What are you the most curious about right now?

Soma: I want to know the secrets of the world! Although, since they’re secrets, knowing them might be dangerous… *laughs* But I really am interested in the things hidden behind the world’s history!

Kensho: I want to know the “cat language” and “dog language” used by cats and dogs. I wonder what cats and dogs are saying when they make those sounds!

Soma: Being in Uchitama?! really makes you wonder, right?

Kensho: Yes! I used to have a cat, but since I was too busy, I regretfully had to leave it in my family’s care. There’s three cats, so I wish I could understand what they were saying. If I could, then I’m sure we could build a deeper connection!


Soma: The most memorable parts of Uchitama?! for me were Pochi’s “The Weakest Guy on Third Street” story from episode 3, and episode 6’s rap battle with Tama and Bull among others.

Kensho: Pochi was so cute in episode 3, wanting to become a strong man!

Soma: Pochi’s a worrier and a weakling, and he’s self-conscious about that. So he wants to become stronger and cooler, and those sensitive feelings of his are cute. Although I don’t think he realizes himself that he’s cute. …Now that I think about it, I don’t think there are any episodes that are actually centred around Tama.

Kensho: You’re right! Tama’s the one who makes Pochi and the others have to deal with things *laughs* That’s one of the good things about him.

Soma: There are a lot of elements packed into this show, and as we were acting out the characters, everyone grew to love Uchitama?! more and more. The cast gets fired up about it, and the atmosphere in the recording studio is really nice.

Kensho: The cast is made up of people who see each other all the time, after all.

Soma: The recording sessions are chaos. Everyone leaps at the opportunity to start something *laughs* It’s exciting!

Kensho: Kaji-san, who voices the stoic stray cat Nora, gets teased for being cool.

Soma: Yeah, because he’s cool *laughs*

Kensho: He’s perfect!

Soma: The studio itself has an extremely healing atmosphere, not just the contents of the show. The word “healing” comes in different types, like crying, relaxing, or laughing, but these recordings are the type where you can’t stop smiling. For some works, you get better results if there’s a serious mood in the studio, but Uchitama?! is about healing, so it was a perfect match. Kensho-san and I have deepened our bonds more through it, so I want to go eat something delicious with him when we have time. There’s actually a curry place he told me about a long time ago that I still go to often.

Kensho: Wait, really?!

Soma: They serve something slightly different from the typical curry rice, and I got addicted to it. Even today, I’m gradually craving it more and more *laughs* It’s like a conditioned reflex now. When I see Kensho-san, I think “curry” *laughs*

Kensho: When it comes to curry, wouldn’t it be Takuya-kun?

Soma: I think Takuya-san has forgotten about curry recently! *laughs*

Kensho: Indeed, I don’t think he’s said anything about curry lately *laughs*

Soma: Lastly, I think we should talk about our future goals. For me, in addition to seiyuu work, I also have a musical artist career, and I released an album at the end of last year. Next, I want to try making songs that go in a direction I’ve never done before. For example, something really peaceful with a dark mood like Radiohead…

Kensho: I see!

Soma: Or maybe go all the way with the peacefulness to something like Sigur Rós. I want to try it just once–a song that makes listeners think “What happened to Saito Soma?”

Kensho: Lately, I’ve been addicted to watching the pianist Kikuchi Ryota on YouTube. He plays CM songs and period drama themes in a really cool way. So, I’ve been thinking it’d be nice if I could learn to play piano too.

Soma: Piano is a type of performance too!

Kensho: That said, there’s too many things I want to do right now, so I don’t think I have the time. For now, I’ll continue to polish my expression skills as both a voice actor and a stage actor.


Bonus photo from Weekly TV Guide’s Twitter: