Tag: Nakamura Yuichi

[Interview] Animate Times – Kabukichou Sherlock Interview No.08 – Konishi Katsuyuki x Saito Soma

Original URL: https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1580462306
Published: 2020/1/31

Features:
Konishi Katsuyuki (Sherlock Holmes in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Saito Soma (Kyougoku Fuyuto in Kabukichou Sherlock)

Mentioned:
Nakamura Yuichi (John H. Watson in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Yamashita Seiichiro (James Moriarty in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Tachibana Tatsumaru (Kobayashi Toratarou in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Murase Ayumu (Hokari Maki in Kabukichou Sherlock)

The gags mixed in with the human-nature stories… is because Director Yoshimura and Kishimoto-san are shy

Q: Now that we’ve broken into the second cour with Episode 13, what were the memorable scenes for you there?

Konishi: The scene with all the poop.

All: *laughs*

Saito: Episode 14, the Kyougoku episode, right? For the record, it’s because of that that Kyougoku was able to recover, and the episode’s punchline was poop too. *laughs*

Konishi: I was like “You’re kidding me…” when he walked onto it.

Saito: It’s because they didn’t check to make sure there was none left in the bag.

Kyougoku’s episode was memorable to me too, and actually, after Episode 11, I asked “What happens to Kyougoku after this?” and was told that the shock was so great that he can’t go outside and loses sight of himself for a while, but he does get an episode where his wounds are healed. Then I received Episode 14, and just when I thought it was a story about overcoming the past and getting back on his feet, the final, final punchline was that. It was fitting for the series in a way. *laughs*

Konishi-san said before that Kyougoku is a lovable idiot, and I said in a previous interview that I think he’s a pure fellow. I feel that Episode 14 is the strongest presentation of that. He’s a romanticist, idealist, and has dreams the way any 23-year old would. His childish side is shown a lot and he’s often the subject of exaggerated jokes, but I think this episode lets you come to like him as a normal human being.

The animation style changed for that last sword fight-like scene.

Konishi: It felt like a different anime? *laughs*

Saito: It did, and I had to talk in that samurai-style accent that made me go, “Wait, I did this?” It felt like a total mish-mash, but in the end it did work out to be a human-nature story, so it was memorable for me.

Konishi: Kabukichou Sherlock as a whole is a human-nature story.

Saito: Indeed. I think Director Yoshimura and the screenwriter Kishimoto-san are probably shy, so instead of telling the story directly, they sprinkle it with jokes. But the story itself directly depicts the inner workings of the heart.

Q: You can feel that everywhere throughout the show. For Sherlock, Mycroft appears in Episode 13, and he gave off an uneasy feeling.

Konishi: He’s creepy, right? When the sound director explained him to us, everyone recoiled like “What?!”

Saito: We didn’t just laugh it off like “Ahaha.”

Konishi: It must be hard for Sherlock, being monitored all the time.

After Mycroft shows up, there are some little details that you won’t notice unless you’re watching intently, like positional changes and things disappearing. He sets off all the alarm bells.

Q: Seeing Mycroft’s actions and the state of the prison that Moriarty’s in makes me wonder if it’s all connected to Ward Mayor Moran somehow.

Saito: That’s something I hope you’ll speculate about. In a previous discussion, Seiichiro-kun said that Moriarty is a friendly and sociable boy, but now there’s suddenly scenes that make you think he’s going to start something on his end. The viewers have various different opinions, like maybe he has another motive, or they want to shower him with love because he’s cute, but…

His first goal was to get revenge on Jack, so now that that’s accomplished, the show will follow what he’s thinking while in jail, and what’s actually going on there. From there, I think it’ll lead to a different axis for the story to revolve around.

Q: The original Moriarty was an enemy, but the Moriarty in this series feels more like a lovable character.

Saito: Yes, fate was not kind to him.

Konishi: I think many people are watching this assuming that Sherlock and Moriarty are going to fight, because they hone in on the Sherlock title. However, Moriarty isn’t depicted in a way that makes you think “He’s going to become an enemy eventually” at all, which I thought was a bit strange. Like Soma-kun said, he’s really cute and friendly, so it makes you wonder when he’s going to change his attitude. Then, the first cour ends with him desiring revenge and killing Jack, and we can’t tell whether he’s friend or foe. It makes you wonder if they’re doing that to simplify Moriarty’s “existence as someone for Sherlock to fight” from the original novels.

Now that he’s in jail and the story will show more and more of the events there, I’m sure the viewers will be very interested in finding out what he’s thinking and whether he’s truly friend or foe, because he usually doesn’t talk much about himself. So, please pay attention to those developments from here on out.

Q: It felt like there was something slightly off about him, and we went from his cute appearance to his revenge scene in Episode 11. During the flashbacks in Episode 13, he confesses that he felt that Sherlock resembled him, and rewatching from Episode 1 made me wonder if Sherlock was hiding a side of himself as well. It feels like the perspective is going to change for the second cour.

Konishi: Yes, I think each character’s viewpoint is going to change.

Saito: The start of the first cour was extremely comedic, but a major plot line was moving under the surface, building up the suspense. The second cour is being created with the assumption that everyone now understands how Kabukichou Sherlock’s story is told, and in my opinion, the story gets more complicated from here. It really feels like they’re using anime to accomplish something difficult. Comedy fans will surely enjoy it, but I hope that mystery fans will also speculate from different angles as they watch.

The change from moving forward spreads to all of the characters like a ripple effect

Q: Episode 14 returns to a slice-of-life comedy story, and while we’re enjoying the story for what it is… we’re also anxiously awaiting the next plot development. By the way, it feels like Sherlock and Kyougoku have changed after the Jack incident. Was there anything you were conscious of when acting?

Konishi: I think Moriarty changed the most. For Sherlock it’s a straight extension from before. It’s a matter of what the continuation of his relationships will look like after the events that’ve happened so far.

Q: There’s his actions towards Watson and the other Row House members. For example, do you think his shock therapy on Kyougoku was a natural course to take?

Konishi: It feels like it’s becoming natural for him to extend a hand to others, perhaps because of Watson. It’s like he doesn’t need a reason to expend all his effort to help someone. I get the feeling that his overall relationships are changing thanks to Watson, so Watson is an important influence on him. That well-built young man came along and asked him to take his request, but he gave him the runaround and that timid young man is still at it today. *laughs*

Saito: *laughs*

Konishi: That’s why I think Watson is in an incredibly important position in the story. Sherlock changes a lot because of him, and Moriarty is affected by Sherlock’s changes. Watson also has a certain synergy with the other characters, affecting them as well. In that sense, I guess you could say that Sherlock has changed.

Q: As for Kyougoku, he’s changed because of his crash and recovery after Maki-chan.

Saito: Indeed.

Konishi: He’s such a cool guy *laughs*. He really is precious.

Saito: I think Kyougoku’s changed a lot in ways other than his recovery. Like the story behind the gloves; Kyougoku has many more unique traits than the other characters, and cleanliness is one of them. In Episode 14, he’s not wearing his gloves for the whole time he’s hospitalized, but after regaining himself, he slips his gloves on at the end of the episode and says something along the lines of “The city calls for its ace”… and then steps into poop.

All: *laughs*

Saito: From there, he becomes a truly sympathetic person, who’ll rush to help a bleeding person without worrying about getting blood on himself. In the second cour, you can truly see him growing as a person behind all the gags. I didn’t make any deliberate changes to my acting, but I made a conscious effort to express how he’s changed. Episode 14 was certainly bizarre, though. *laughs*

Konishi: That’s the Kabukichou Sherlock way *laughs*. Kyougoku’s a real badass in the scene later on where he dives into blood of his own free will, despite being squeamish about it. They told us at the recording sessions that he was going to have an episode where he’s really cool, and I think everyone did change their opinion of him after that. *laughs*

Saito: Definitely. We’ll show you Kyougoku’s cool side, everyone! *laughs*

Konishi: We received the same assurance *laughs*.

I’m not sure if you could call it “moving forward,” but even though everyone’s lifestyle remains the same, their attitudes have all taken a small step forward, and now that’s spreading like a ripple effect.

Q: What are your opinions on the new ED song and video?

Konishi: I thought the second cour was Lozareena’s “Hyakuoku Kounen” again. *laughs*

Saito: “Hyakuoku Kounen” is also a wonderful song.

Konishi: Lozareena-san made a guest appearance on LINE LIVE so I got to hear her live, and it was really good.

Saito: I’m jealous.

Konishi: The new ED, Ishizaki Huwie’s “Parade” is good too. Since we watched it after all of the recording was done, we can see how meaningful it is. The things that symbolized Sherlock’s accomplishments and experiences are no longer symbols anymore. I think it’s a great ED with a lot of significance.

Saito: I said this in a previous discussion too, but Kabukichou Sherlock’s music is really stylish.

Konishi: Iga Takuro-san’s songs are a perfect fit.

Saito: It’s great how Kabukichou Sherlock noisily crafts a cruel story, but another great thing about it is its stylish music and visuals.

The ED represents the show’s mellow world really well; it feels like what happens after the noisy conversations, when everyone disperses and are left to their own devices. The more lively the episode, the more sad it is when it’s over. But, I really felt that that definitely isn’t a bad thing. And the ED animation is clean and stylish too.

Konishi: I like the photo with Kyougoku’s weird face on it.

Saito: The one that makes you go “Never mind, Kyougoku’s still…” *laughs*

As Konishi-san said earlier, together with the depictions of previous episodes, it’s an ED that I’d want to listen to while pondering how the series will end.

Q: “Hyakuoku Kounen” and “Parade” are both touching songs. The OP had hints about the first cour hidden in it, so it makes me wonder if the new ED has an intent behind it too.

Konishi: The staff like that kind of thing, so there might be something.

Saito: Why don’t you try enlarging each of those little photos? *laughs* I get the feeling that there’re tons of clues scattered among them.

Konishi: Since it’s a detective story, everyone loves to speculate. Although when I saw the PV from before Kabukichou Sherlock began airing, I thought it revealed too many answers for the first cour.

All: *laughs*

Saito: It had a lot of telling clues in it, and it made it seem like it was a really serious show without any dirty jokes. *laughs*

Konishi: When I started watching it, I saw that Episode 1 had a flood of information. But that jumbled-ness is what makes Kabukichou Sherlock.

If they were going to participate in a collab event, Konishi-san would compete as a pair with Nakamura-san, and Saito-san would go on a cafe date with Murase-san and the others?!

Q: As we asked in the previous interviews too, do you have any requests for each other?

Konishi: Soma-kun has a lot of fans, so I want him to announce “Konishi-san is really good” to his fangirls and raise my popularity.

All: *laughs*

Saito: When Konishi-san came as a guest on my TV show, I invited him for drinks after the filming and he declined. Afterwards, people @ed him on Twitter saying “Please go drinking with Soma-kun.”

All: *laughs*

Konishi: We’d spent pretty much the entire day eating and drinking, so I was stuffed. Since I’d already eaten and drank so much, I said “I kind of just want to go home after this” and the replies just came flooding in *laughs*. So, I do want to go someday.

Saito: In that case, I’ll make my request “I want to go drinking together,” and it’ll be win-win.

Konishi: You’re right. I just have to take a picture of us doing this *poses shoulder-to-shoulder* and post it on Twitter.

All: *laughs*

Saito: That’s it!

Konishi: It might make it into Trending *laughs*. During the show, we said Taiwan would be next, so maybe we can do it in Taiwan.

Q: Kabukichou Sherlock currently has collaborations with Shinjuku Copa Bowl and the spy experience attraction inSPYre. If you were going to go with another cast member, who would you go with and which would you go to?

Konishi: Uhh, I generally don’t socialize during my private time, so I don’t want to go. *laughs*

Saito: *laughs*

Q: What if it was for work?

Konishi: In that case, I’d go with Nakamura-kun since we’re the Sherlock & Watson duo.

Saito: I think everyone would want to buy a DVD of Konishi-san and Nakamura-san going bowling. *laughs*

Konishi: Normally I’d secretly go by myself. I won’t go with anyone because it’s tiring if it’s not for work.

If it’s for work then I’d go with Nakamura-kun as that duo. We could all split into teams like Mary & Lucy and Kyougoku & Toratarou and compete against each other.

Q: Previously, Yamashita-san said that Saito-san seems like he’d be good at riddle-solving, so it might be advantageous to go with someone who seems good at it.

Konishi: Soma-kun is a quick thinker, so I bet he’d have great flashes of insight.

Saito: I’m actually bad at riddle-solving, so I’m jealous of people like Konishi-san and Nakamura-san who can instantly think up things.

Personally, I think I’d have more fun drinking while watching the completed footage than actually participating, so if you two could go by yourselves, that’d be great *laughs*. If I were going, I think I’d go with Seiichiro-kun and Tatsumaru-kun, since we’re close in age and we also sat next to each other at the recordings. The other day, we finally got around to going for yakiniku together, and we went for tea after that as well.

Konishi: Really?!

Saito: Naturally, we wound up talking about Kabukichou Sherlock.

Seiichiro-kun is a polite young man, but he has a fierce passion hidden inside and a surprisingly pointed personality.

On the other hand, Tatsumaru-kun gracefully livens things up, but since he’s been touring the country as part of a theatre troupe ever since he was young, he has a somewhat philosophical side to him.

I want to watch those two very different people go bowling or puzzle-solving together, while I cheer from the sidelines. *laughs*

Konishi: I do feel a sense of understanding from Tatsumaru-kun, and a dazzling sense from Yamashita-kun.

Saito: They’re an interesting pair. Maybe those two could team up, and I could go with Murase Ayumu…

Konishi: That’d work.

Saito: Then the four of us can go on a cafe date. *laughs*

Konishi: You’ll have to make a reservation at the A*A Hotel then.

All: *laughs*

Q: That sounds like it’d be fun.

Konishi: I don’t think anyone would accept the offer. *laughs*

Saito: Murase Ayumu might.

All: *laughs*

Q: Lastly, please give a message for the fans watching the anime.

Saito: Thank you for watching Kabukichou Sherlock into its second cour. I really like how this series is a mishmash of humour, suspense, and human nature. Now that the first cour is over, the series will be gearing up for a new storyline.

If this interview has piqued your interest for the first time, I hope you’ll watch the first cour and join in for the upcoming story. As for the details, I think it’s best if you watch it for yourself, but if there’s one thing I want to bring up, it has to be what’s going to happen to Moriarty from here on out. There obviously has to be something going on, so please focus on his story as a central axis as you watch the series to the end.

Please continue to support Kabukichou Sherlock!

Konishi: As for me, all I have to say is “Please watch it.” *laughs*

Saito: *laughs*

Konishi: Kabukichou Sherlock is a very peculiar show, so I think opinions of it will be divided. Personally, I love it and I look forward to watching it every week.

There’s the original rakugo mystery-solving, and when you think an episode is a self-contained story, there’s actually various clues hidden within. It’s a series with lots of that kind of build-up, and there are still platforms where you can watch it from Episode 1.

Some people may watch Episode 1 and feel that there’s too much information so they can’t handle the detective work, but in that case, you can follow the relationships and inner emotions instead, and there’ll be surprising developments waiting ahead.

So, if you haven’t watched it yet or you stopped a few episodes in, please watch the first cour and keep following until the end. I think your impression of Kabukichou Sherlock will change greatly.

I hope you’ll watch until the end. Thank you.

[Interview] Monthly TV Guide 2020/2 Edition – Voice Actor New Year’s Special

(My scanner really didn’t like this paper material, sorry)

Released: 2019/12/13

Features:
Saito Soma

Mentioned:
Nakamura Yuichi

Q: As a voice actor, you’ve lent your voice to many different roles, but I get the impression that your roles often have another side to them.

Soma: Facing setbacks or being toyed with by fate, then falling to the dark side or exiting the stage partway through… I voice a lot of characters like that. For example, Asano Keisaku from revisions.

Q: Why do you think that is?

Soma: It could be that the nature of my voice and my acting style make people think, “I want to corrupt this guy!” *laughs* I’d be really happy if people thought that way.

Q: It seems like you’ve been voicing more unconventional roles in 2019.

Soma: Indeed, like Doppio in JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze. As an anime watcher, I always liked those kinds of non-straightforward characters, so I’m happy to be able to voice them.

Q: Doppio is one side of a dual personality, and he does unusual things like vocalizing the ringtone for a fake phone call.

Soma: My fellow voice actor friends told me “You really let loose, huh?”, and at a JoJo event, Nakamura Yuichi-san said “Isn’t Soma-kun going to get a lot of ringtone work offers?!” *laughs*

Q: Meanwhile, Kabukichou Sherlock’s Kyougoku Fuyuto is a virgin detective dreaming of making it big.

Soma: Kyougoku-san looks cold and calculating on the outside, but when you look at what’s inside, it’s like “Oh, it’s this kind of person…”

Q: He’s actually a comedic relief that turns hyper when he gets switched on.

Soma: Apparently, Kishimoto Taku-san (Series Composition) spiced him up for me because “Saito-kun is bound to make him funny, so let’s make him a total nutcase!”

Q: The unconventional Doppio and the comical Kyougoku. The range of your roles is widening.

Soma: I wanted to hammer out my distinctive qualities while I’m still in my twenties. It feels like I’m gradually uncovering more of my arsenal as a voice actor.

Q: You’re also involved with the Hypnosis Mic franchise, where the voice actors play characters that participate in rap battles.

Soma: I always figured there’d be a voice actor rap project someday, but I didn’t expect it to become this popular!

Q: This unprecedented “The music is the original work” project began in 2017 and rapidly grew in popularity. In 2019, it won the singing award in the 13th Voice Actor Awards.

Soma: I’ve always enjoyed hip hop and rap music as a listener myself, but it was limited to things like “I like this kind of flow.” In Hypmic, I heard different styles of rap through the various characters, and it opened up my options when it comes to fitting words together.

Q: Aside from your voice acting work, you’re also active as an artist who composes music and writes lyrics. Are you influenced by Hypmic?

Soma: It gave me more ideas for interesting vocabulary and rhythms. It’s a useful reference when I’m writing songs, and it truly is fun.

Q: Your latest mini-album “my blue vacation” will be released on December 18th.

Soma: This time, I did all of the composition and lyrics myself. It also has songs that leveraged the extra options I gained through Hypmic.

Q: You also had your first solo concert on February 24th. Did that influence your new release?

Soma: At the concert, I got to experience creating music together with the live band members. Now when I’m composing music, there’s more I can leave to their expertise. In the end, it’s best to trust the experts. The mini-album has amazing musical performances, so please keep an ear out for those.

Q: I’m sure you must’ve received a lot of feedback through Hypmic and the concert.

Soma: It’s been around two years since my artist debut. If everything up until now was “Season 1,” then this upcoming mini-album is a “Season 1.5” that comes before Season 2. I’m taking my time heading into the second chapter. It’s a collection of songs that are different in musical tone from anything I’ve done before, so in the worst case scenario, it could’ve been more difficult to put together than a full album.

Q: In a past interview for this magazine, you said: “I once bought 18 books at once, and got laughed at by the clerk.” As an avid bookworm, this year you recommended books as part of Kawade Bunko’s “Best of Best” campaign, and it was a major success.

Soma: I’m very thankful. My original dream was to become either an author or a musician. But in high school, there was a period of time when I was a shut-in, and it was anime and movies that saved me. That’s why I set my sights on becoming a voice actor. I leaped into the work with conviction and continued on steadily, and now I’ve been given the chance to do book- and music-related work. It feels like I’ve been rewarded for my efforts.

Q: The range of your work is expanding.

Soma: But, my main focus will always be voice acting, now and in the future. I’m very grateful to be given various other chances by having that as my central axis.

Q: What are you the most thankful for in 2019?

Soma: This year, I was able to encounter an extremely wide variety of roles and series. These encounters aren’t something I can accumulate by myself. It’s thanks to everyone who feels something through my work and supports me, and all of the staff who decide “Let’s give this role to Saito Soma.”

Q: What would you like to strive for as a voice actor?

Soma: I’m a pretty presumptuous person. I tend to quickly come to the conclusion that my current work is proficient. By putting it into words like this, I’m warning myself, because I want to be humble while bringing out everything I have as a voice actor.

Soma’s New Year Holiday…

“I want to relax during New Year’s. It’d be nice to leisurely reread books I’ve read before. What I want to reread right now is Mono no Aware, a story by Chinese-American sci-fi writer Ken Liu. I haven’t read any sci-fi lately, so I really want to get into it. The protagonist of this story is Japanese, and it contains a poem by Matsuo Basho. I want to write my own prose while rereading it.”

Bonus: Shot from magazine raffle page

Bonus: Shop-specific bromides

Animate (6 types)
7-net Shopping

Bonus: Another Cut

Bonus: Another Cut
(This part of the photo shoot was themed around making breakfast on the morning of New Year’s. During the shoot, Soma taught the editing staff how to make sunny side up eggs without burning them.)

Bonus: Another Cut

Bonus: Off-shot from Soma’s stylist, Honda Yuuki

[Interview] Animate Times – Kabukichou Sherlock Interview No.03 – Yamashita Seiichiro x Saito Soma

Original Article: https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1573202514
Published: 2019/11/11

Features:
Yamashita Seiichiro (James Moriarty in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Saito Soma (Kyougoku Fuyuto in Kabukichou Sherlock)

Mentioned:
Konishi Katsuyuki (Sherlock Holmes in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Nakamura Yuichi (John H. Watson in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Tachibana Tatsumaru (Kobayashi Toratarou in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Suwabe Junichi (Mrs. Hudson in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Murase Ayumu (Hokari Maki in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Seki Tomokazu (Uchida B-zou in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Horii Chado (Chinkill Masumi and Potter in Kabukichou Sherlock)
Aoyama Yutaka (Michel Belmont in Kabukichou Sherlock)

※Contains spoilers up to Episode 7.

The director’s advice for Moriarty was “honesty and boyishness”

Q: First, please introduce the characters you voice.

Soma: *looks at Seiichiro* Shouldn’t we start with Morimori?

Seiichiro: Are we starting with Morimori?

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: Moriarty appears from Episode 1, but he has the role of an extremely ordinary high school student that drops by the misfit-filled Detective’s Row House.

That said, he’s capable of interacting on equal terms with Sherlock, understanding the man’s quirks that even Watson has difficulties with. So he seems like a strange, clever boy… at the moment. *laughs*

Soma: If you’ve been keeping up with the show so far, you should already know that Kyougoku is the steadfast ace of the Detective’s Row House. A keen wit, superior intelligence, smooth moves, and a cool demeanour—he’s got it all. Among all of the eccentric members of the Detective’s Row House, he plays the role of the lady-killer.

Q: Was it easy to grasp how to act as the characters?

Soma: Moriarty had some pretty detailed directions at the start, right?

Seiichiro: Yes. I was also informed of some of Moriarty’s future plot developments at the audition. But that said, calculating backwards from that didn’t feel right, nor did over-creating the role by myself or acting eccentrically to match the other detectives.

I tried to act with pure feelings, to make him come off as an honest person similar to Watson, while making the viewers wonder what his role would be. Director Yoshimura Ai also told me to emphasize that honesty and boyishness.

Q: We were told that at the auditions, Sherlock, Watson, and Moriarty were selected by looking at the balance between them. How was it for you?

Seiichiro: There was a really wide range of Sherlocks. I took the audition with Konishi-san who voices him, so I saw the prototype for Sherlock and there were various different types. There was a more “evil” Sherlock, and I thought it was amazing how each actor had unique sensibilities and rakugo styles.

I also auditioned for Watson, but I didn’t experiment much with that one. On the other hand, when I considered Moriarty’s age and disposition, I thought he’d have more possibilities and more people capable of voicing him, so I’d have to compete with a Moriarty of my very own. I usually don’t feel that kind of reaction at the audition stage.

Kyougoku Fuyuto’s character was established after Saito Soma was chosen as the voice actor?!

Q: What about Saito-san?

Seiichiro: There wasn’t an audition for Kyougoku, right?

Soma: Right, Kyougoku didn’t have an audition. I auditioned for Moriarty as well. Due to the audition time slots, there were a different number of people coming for the three main characters. When I went, there weren’t many people auditioning for Moriarty, so I kind of forcibly went, “I have free time after this, so…”

Seiichiro: I see.

Soma: I probably acted out Moriarty five times with five different patterns, thinking “I have to get Moriarty after this!” …but I was wrong.

All: *laughs*

Soma: I think they probably took those suggestions into account when they made me Kyougoku.

At first, I took the audition with the intent of voicing Moriarty, but back then, I didn’t know the full extent of how the series was going to link rakugo and mystery-solving. When I found out, I thought they were making something very interesting and novel. The director, the sound director Nagasaki Yukio-san, the screenwriter Kishimoto Taku-san, and all of the rest of the staff were having a lot of fun creating it.

A long while after I got the role of Kyougoku, I was talking to Kishimoto-san who I’ve worked with a lot, and he said that when they had the script meeting, all of the staff agreed that “If Saito Soma’s voicing him, let’s make him a total nutcase.”

The result is what you see now.

All: *laughs*

Soma: The recordings are a lot of fun, because there’re so many oddballs. Kyougoku acts cool, although the initial direction I was given was, “Just talk in an ikemen voice. It’s funnier the more seriously he believes that he’s cool.” *laughs*

I think that his dialogues will have a more natural, on-the-spot tempo if I don’t solidify his character too much. I let his dreams of rising up in the world and his virgin naivete symbolize his inflated ego. Each episode, I aim to strike a balance where others see him as a huge narcissist, but he doesn’t see it himself.

I’m not sure if I’d call his character “easy to grasp,” but whenever Kyougoku speaks, Konishi-san and Nakamura-san would be like, “Hey, can you stop messing around? We’re being serious here.” *laughs*

Seiichiro: Right, during the test run. *laughs*

Soma: They’d tease me like, “We have someone from the wrong series here,” so I thought I had the best role in the show, recording-wise.

Seiichiro: Even when you were ad-libbing, they’d tell you “Shut up.”

All: *laughs*

Soma: It’s true. There were a lot of “ad lib the rest” parts in the script, and I tried my best, but I’d get loving retorts in return.

Seiichiro: Someone would whisper “Kyougoku’s such a nuisance,” and the room would calm down. *laughs*

Soma: And “I’m trying to solve a mystery right now.”

Seiichiro: “Can you stop being like that?” Of course, we were just kidding!

All: *laughs*

Soma: Anyway, the recordings were full of endless laughter.

Seiichiro-kun and I are close in age, and we often sat together with Tatsumaru-kun who voices Kobayashi Toratarou. Konishi-san, Nakamura-san, and Suwabe-san kept things rolling, so it was a good recording atmosphere. I think that’s why it was so satisfying to mess around as Kyougoku.

Q: After hearing this, I now understand how Kyougoku’s “doesn’t think of himself as strange” mindset makes him seem even stranger.

Soma: Most strange people are like that. I want to emphasize that it’s the fact that they think they’re normal that makes them weird.

Seiichiro: They lack the self-awareness, just like geniuses do.

Saito-san likes Yamashita-san’s smooth ad libs

Q: The two of you were also both in Haruchika ~Haruta to Chika wa Seishun suru~ among other series. What did you think of each other in Kabukichou Sherlock?

Seiichiro: Soma-san has been helping me ever since my debut. In Haruchika, my character was the senpai, but we were also together in various other roles and series. This time, we got to work together as characters with a new degree of closeness, and returning to the topic of Kyougoku, it was unknown how Soma-san was going to flesh him out.

At the audition, there was only the cool-looking artwork. I never thought he’d be a character like that… and when Soma-san got to voice him, he completely exceeded my expectations. I was frustrated but happy.

Soma: *laughs*

Seiichiro: I was able to see Soma-san’s vivid depiction of “an actor repaints their role.” I was impressed all over again. It was such a weird Soma-san… role!

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: I think this might be my first time seeing Soma-san playing a weird role.

Soma: That’s true. Most of the other series we were in together were on the serious side.

Seiichiro: In Haruchika, Soma-san was a proper, genius type. The character had a bit of a quirk, but nothing to the level of Kyougoku. *laughs*

Soma-san, if you were to rank your characters by eccentricity, how high would Kyougoku place?

Soma: I actually don’t think Kyougoku is that eccentric; he’s just a pure fellow. I’ve seen the completed footage up to Episode 12, and the episodes starting here make me think he’s cute. But, people aren’t one-sided. He has an unpleasant side to him too, and his outward appearance really is cool, and he’s fairly young at the age of 23, so I thought it’d be good to include that inexperience in life…

I think it’s partially my fault that he ended up being gross *laughs*. I think it was Episode 7? He’s sitting at the bar with Maki-chan, and while she’s looking away, he does that to her cocktail… That was dangerous.

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: The sound?

Soma: They made it really loud.

Soma/Seiichiro: *laughs*

Seiichiro: I’m sure it’s because the other sounds would’ve drowned it out. *laughs*

Soma: During the recording, Murase Ayumu (who plays Maki) was grossed out and laughed. *laughs*

That aside, Seiichiro-kun and I have been cast as friends for a long time now, and while the relationship in this series is certainly unusual, I’ve always liked his acting from the start. How do I put this… he doesn’t bring his desire to the forefront; like, that bundle of desire that makes me try to make my acting entertaining when I’m voicing someone like Kyougoku.

I really like Seiichiro-kun’s ad libs. Rather than making it obvious that he’s doing something funny, he smoothly brings them in without destroying the overall flow of the work. I think he has a great sense for using minor additions to make it more interesting.

During the series, Watson calls Moriarty a “well-loved character,” and when I’m at the recording or watching the finished anime, I really understand what he means. Moriarty feels like he has a normal presence; he doesn’t put on airs or try to show off. He’s aloof, but acts like a 16-year old would. I auditioned for Moriarty too, but there aren’t many people who can express that aura.

Seiichiro: You’re too kind, but that makes me happy to hear.

Soma: I always think his acting is wonderful, and we often sit next to each other at recording sessions, but typically, all we talk about is rap.

All: *laughs*

Soma: Like, “I’ve been a fan of this lately.” The whole time.

Seiichiro: Yes, the whole time.

Soma: Every single time we see each other, we just talk about rap.

Seiichiro: Soma-san does it for work too, and whenever I see it, I think “Wow.”

In my mind, I think it’s the complete opposite of Haruchika. The things that Soma-san thinks about with Kyougoku are things I also did in Haruchika, albeit in a less experienced way. But now, I try to focus on the overall atmosphere with regards to my role as Moriarty.

On the other hand, I also felt the importance and necessity of being more creative when developing a character, without exceeding them, like Soma-san does. So, I thought it was amazing that he can act to that extent, and I was envious of that. The parts where it said “ad lib the rest” represent the expectations the director, Nagasaki-san, and Kishimoto-san have of him, and I’ve learned a lot from watching him.

Q: There are very seasoned voice actors there too, but since you two are close in age, I imagine he looks like a closer goal to reach.

Seiichiro: Yes, just by being in the same recording session, I feel my nervousness fade away. I’m happy to work with him, and I can rely on him.

At the recording for Episode 3, Yamashita-san witnessed the moment Kyougoku’s life changed!

Q: Were there any scenes that left an impression during the recording?

Seiichiro: The guest characters each week are all so unique, and I think Episode 3, when Kyougoku’s life changed, was the moment when Soma-san’s approach changed too.

All: *laughs*

Soma: The others talked about it in the last interview too, but Seki-san was rushing over from somewhere else and joined us for the B-part. When his lines for B-zou were recorded, it obliterated all expectations, so we went back to re-record the A-part…

All: *laughs*

Soma: But when I saw it on TV, it was incredibly convincing. “Break your shell,” really! It really felt like that.

Seiichiro: It’s all thanks to the ad-libbing.

Soma: Partway through, I had no idea what he was saying anymore. “Drinking without water” made me go “What?”

All: *laughs*

Soma: It wasn’t written like that in the script. He’d translated it on the spot, and I laughed out loud.

(They look at the script with ad lib corrections made, provided by the staff)

Soma: Most of his lines were corrected.

Seiichiro: “I tried to join them, but they wanted to drink without outsiders ((same word as ‘water’))” became “Me tried to be together with them, but they were drinking without water.”

All: *laughs*

Soma: Seki-san was amazing.

Seiichiro: It’s good that they didn’t add subtitles either.

Q: I think Saito-san is amazing too though, for handling that on the spot.

Seiichiro: His adaptability was amazing. I think it takes a lot of energy and brain power to go back to the A-part and redo what you already recorded.

Soma: It would’ve been off-putting if Kyougoku suddenly twisted out of shape for just the B-part. Since the B-part was recorded before the new A-part, his personality became even more developed, and his character is different between the two parts now.

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: He became really lively from the start.

Soma: At first in the B-part, I was tentatively acting like a certain rock singer, but the A-part ended up being surprisingly different, so I just rolled with it.

However, Kyougoku doesn’t have that many lines in Episode 1 and 2, and since he suddenly started out that way in Episode 3, I thought the viewers wouldn’t understand either. Sure enough, there were many comments saying “This makes no sense.” But, I think Kabukichou Sherlock is all about that kind of chaos, and it was entertaining.

Was there anything else funny that happened during recording?

Seiichiro: It was always funny. I think the benefit of mystery-solving series is that, when we’re all gathered in the same room discussing what the answer is, it builds our friendship and raises morale in the studio.

Each character had their own episodes, like the Mary/Lucy sisters and Kyougoku, and when it came time for the next person to get their episode, it was fun to focus the attention on them. And then there was the sense of security from rakugo tying everything up at the end. Konishi-san’s rakugo was fun to listen to, and there’d be ad libs from Watson too.

Soma: Those were great. Nakamura-san is really amazing too.

Seiichiro: Yeah. Watson is amazing, and you’ll be seeing more and more of how he’s not just a simple good guy.

Soma: The mood at the recording sessions was so good, that when I saw Konishi-san or Nakamura-san at other jobs, we’d get excited about how fun Sherlock was and wonder what would happen next.

Seiichiro: Chado-san said so too, right?

Soma: Haha! *laughs upon remembering*

Seiichiro: Why’re you laughing?

Soma: No, I’m just really excited to talk about Episode 6 today.

All: *laughs*

Soma: His voice as Potter was exactly the same as his other role in the show, so I thought, “You’re kidding me, right?”

Seiichiro: And his character is bad at rapping.

Soma: His “bad” acting was great.

Seiichiro: It was a perfect fit.

Soma: Anyway, we had a lot of fun with the recording sessions.

When you look carefully at the opening movie, there’s some obvious foreshadowing…

Q: Since Moriarty is Sherlock’s archenemy in the original Sherlock Holmes novels, many viewers were making predictions about him from the very start.

Staff: For example, the butterfly scene at the end of Episode 3.

Soma: When I saw the completed footage, I felt that the foreshadowing was fairly straightforward.

Seiichiro: Same with the OP… that Maki-chan.

Soma: I really laughed at Maki-chan.

Seiichiro: In my head I was like, “There it is!”

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: Moriarty’s smiling a bit too.

Soma: He has a lot of different expressions scattered throughout.

Seiichiro: The Sherlockians are paying a lot of attention to him, and the references to the original work are well-received.

It’s the first time I’ve seen such an elaborate handling of the preexisting Sherlock & Watson lore. It strikes a balance between the mystery-solving, Kabukichou setting, oddball characters, and the gaudiness that’s one step away from being indigestible. There’s rakugo on top of that too, and I think the anime brings everything together well. There are various parts that strike an impact, and it’s really entertaining. There’s a Sherlock TV drama airing right now too, so I guess there’s a boom going on.

Soma: Seriously, the vanity searching is a mess.

Seiichiro: You can’t tell which Sherlock they’re talking about.

All: *laughs*

Q: By the way, what image did you have of the original Sherlock and Watson? What was your first Sherlock work?

Seiichiro: I haven’t properly read the original novels. So even if I encountered them in dramas and whatnot, this series is my first time formally experiencing Sherlock.

Soma-san seems like he would’ve read them.

Soma: I think my very first gateway would’ve been the manga that a popular anime series was based on. The protagonist was a big fan of Sherlock, which caught my attention.

I’ve always liked mystery works, but when I read that in around middle school, I kind of shrugged it off and didn’t read the novels at all.

Last year, I happened to find A Study in Scarlet on Kindle, so I read it… and for lack of better words, Sherlock Holmes is ridiculously OP.

Seiichiro: I see!

Soma: He’s such a genius; it’s insane. He’ll suddenly pose a guess at Watson who just entered the room, saying that there’s “three reasons,” and all of them will be correct.

It’s a great time to read it now, too. Sherlock Holmes is the king of mystery novels, but while people recognize the name, they might find it hard to get into. But it’s actually surprisingly good entertainment, which I suspect is why there’s so many entry points to it now. I haven’t read too much of the original work either, but I’d like to go back and do so.

Q: Kabukichou Sherlock can be enjoyed by both Sherlockians and non-fans alike. But on the other hand, if your impression of Sherlock is too strong, it might be hard to get into it at first.

Seiichiro: Yes, but in a way, I think it’s natural for opinions to be divided.

Soma: I think that’s how it should be for this work. I’d actually be more concerned if it were universally praised.

Seiichiro: It’d be like, “Is this okay? It’s full of dirty jokes, you know?”

Since we’re all creating it with the mindset of making it entertaining in a way that’s never been done before, I think it’s only right for there to be a clear divide in positive and negative reception. That way, instead of being given a suitable rating and getting buried, it manages to leave a mark. When I look at what people are saying about it and see all of the different opinions, that’s what I think.

Soma: I really love 2000s anime, and I get the same kind of feeling from this. The rakugo mystery-solving is a new concept, but it feels similar… I wonder why. Is it the music?

Seiichiro: We talked about that at the recording studio too.

Staff: Could it be the jazz music, or Mrs. Hudson?

Soma: Mrs. Hudson’s enthusiasm in animated form is crazy. I laughed a lot at “Give me Pu!“

All: *laughs*

Seiichiro: Her clothes and hairstyle change every episode too.

Soma: Yeah. She actually might seem pretty novel to today’s teenagers, while people who liked the anime I liked as a kid would feel nostalgia.

Yamashita-san and Saito-san would like you to at least watch up to Episode 12 first!

Q: From what I’ve heard so far, there were a lot of ad libs. Saito-san’s ad libs were denoted in advance, but were the others also asked to ad-lib?

Soma: I think it depends on the person, but this time, there were a lot of cases where people chose to add ad libs by themselves. We usually aren’t expected to ad-lib, but I think everyone wanted to leave an impact, especially the guest actors who only had one episode to make their mark. It was crazy… Seki-san went completely off-script.

Seiichiro: Out of the regulars, Aoyama-san who plays Michel took the initiative the most often.

Soma: Yeah! Aoyama-san’s the best.

Seiichiro: He is, and the way Michel says everything he wants without ruining the flow is exceptionally charming. It’s cute.

Soma: Aoyama-san is a true master of his craft, and his acting pushed us to act more freely.

Seiichiro: His grumbling was amazing.

Soma: This series gives us the room to experiment more aggressively, and I don’t mean in the sense of screwing around. It became a battle of ad libs between everyone.

Seiichiro: It gradually started affecting us; for characters like Tora that’d say something stupid and get made fun of, their reactions would change based on spur-of-the-moment judgement, and that was great.

Q: In the previous discussion, Nakamura-san said that all of the characters came into shape as the recordings progressed.

Seiichiro: Yes.

Soma: They did. In this first cour, not every character had their own introductory episode, but by the first half (Episode 6), pretty much all of the Detective’s Row House members are brought into the overarching story. When I watched it myself, I really felt that it was taking shape.

Seiichiro: It might be because we’ve gotten used to Kabukichou Sherlock’s chaos.

Soma: Indeed, at first I was like “What the heck is this?”

Seiichiro: We gave up on scrambling to figure out what it was.

All: *laughs*

Soma: I couldn’t really understand from reading the script, and was left wondering.

Seiichiro: It wasn’t until the second half of the first cour that I started being able to accept that. After taking in all of the bizarre and ridiculous conversations each episode, I’m sure the viewers will also get used to the absurdity, and as part of the production side, I’d like them to keep watching until they get to that point.

Soma: I’m begging you, please watch all the way to Episode 12 first. Really, please do. *earnest voice*

Seiichiro: I felt that Episode 1 laid things out well and Episode 2 wrapped it up cleanly, and you can just continue on from there.

Q: The story begins to take big strides in the second half of the first cour, so it pulls you in.

Seiichiro: Episode 3 establishes that Kyougoku is trying to rise up in the world, and from there, more of the detectives’ motives and circumstances are revealed, so I think the viewers will be able to sympathize with and understand each of the characters.