2202<\/em> website<\/a>)<\/p>\nNow that the last chapter of Yamato 2202<\/em> has opened on March 1, what happens to Susumu Kodai and everyone on Yamato<\/em>\u2026? Many people are paying attention. Meanwhile, an official interview has arrived with Hiroshi Kamiya, voice actor of Klaus Keyman. In addition to the work itself, he talks about the late Unsho Ishizuka, moments with Dessler\u2019s voice actor Koichi Yamadera, and many other interestinging topics.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> As of now, Yamato 2202<\/em> is over with Chapter 7, New Star Chapter<\/em>. Please tell us your honest feelings about it.<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> It took about two years, but all the voice recording has finally ended. Since it consists of 26 episodes, that means basically one episode a month, and this was the first time I\u2019ve been involved in such a long-term relationship. When we safely reached the final episode, I realized that those on the main cast had experienced this long journey twice, and I really felt like I should take my hat off to them.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> I think the form we saw of Keyman in Chapter 7 was surprising compared to when we saw Chapter 1. What are your thoughts when you look back on performing him?<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> By using Yamato<\/em> in the desire to achieve the purpose imposed upon him, I think Keyman has been following his fate for a long time now. He\u2019s arrived here after making a variety of choices, and amidst that his human emotions present him with another choice.<\/p>\nIn other words, I think there\u2019s the path of living for the one who needs him, and living for those that he needs, and the timing of his birth at some point caused those paths to diverge. There\u2019s a scene where Burrel tells him \u201cYou have a pretty face,\u201d which surprises Keyman, and it may be at that point where he unconsciously makes that other option distinct within him.<\/p>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nI played it without really thinking about it, and I noticed it when I did the recording for the drama CD (a bonus item with the DVD & Blu-ray), which is different from the main story. (Laughs)<\/p>\n
Harutoshi Fukui writes the limited edition \u201cstory behind <\/em>Yamato that no one is supposed to hear\u201d<\/em> drama CDs, which happen at the same time as the main story, and they gave me an opportunity to touch on Keyman\u2019s clear feelings, so that\u2019s where I fell into a trap. He does have human feelings in him, and it gave him the option of having feelings for the person he needed.<\/p>\nRather than gradually becoming aware of it on the way to Chapter 6, it was something that came out suddenly in the moment, and how it plays out is one of the highlights of Chapter 7. <\/p>\n[Translator\u2019s note: he\u2019s speaking here about an admission from Keyman in Chapter 7 that seems to come out of nowhere, but had been built up in the preceding drama CD stories.]
<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> There\u2019s been a story in past interviews about how you would often ask questions of Mr. Fukui. What kind of things did you specifically ask about? And did you ask any new questions before doing Chapter 7?<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> He didn\u2019t tell me anything in the beginning, so I was confused. (Laughs) I couldn\u2019t understand how Keyman suddenly got on board Yamato<\/em>, so I went right over to ask Mr. Fukui and Director Habara, \u201cWhat kind of character is Keyman?\u201d That\u2019s when Mr. Fukui first told me about his position, his background, and his purpose in riding on Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/apr19\/384a08.JPG\")
<\/span><\/p>\nHow that information comes out in the work changes with the situation, but in the end I think it was good to hear it. By knowing the background of the character, I could understand the movement of his feelings under the surface. There was almost no blur in Keyman\u2019s outward feelings. He was always logical and made the best choices, so honestly it was kind of a boring role.<\/p>\n
At the beginning I had the dilemma of, \u201cI want to say everything, but I really shouldn\u2019t\u2026\u201d so I just tried to make it convincing to myself. I just decided to trust that the words I was saying and the shaky thoughts in my head would meet in the middle.<\/p>\n
Until his feelings started to blur, I was only able to make one kind of sound, but then I could suggest various acting approaches, which is when it gets fun for an actor. Before that I was told to just do it one way that was very straightforward, but I remember the moment when I was released from that place.<\/p>\n
As for Chapter 7, the part I want everyone to see and feel is what kind of choice he makes when his feelings are no longer blurred.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What kind of approach were you thinking of when Keyman changes in Chapter 7?<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> I never thought about changing the approach on my own. The idea could only be developed from the base created by Mr. Fukui and the information he gave me, so it wasn\u2019t like I could suddenly come up with a completely new approach.<\/p>\nBefore that, there was the mission I had to accomplish first, and when I was in that situation, I could only think about what the approach had to be in order to fulfill that mission. After the mission was fulfilled, he was left to follow his own judgment. For example, when Keyman points his gun at Kodai in Chapter 5, there was an exchange with Mr. Fukui and Director Habara about what would happen next.<\/p>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nInside myself, the extent to which I could imagine wasn\u2019t something that I particularly questioned, but when I didn\u2019t understand an answer and got the wrong idea, I could only hear the distant sound of Mr. Fukui and the director, and each time that happened, I would ask. The one who always had the answer (Mr. Fukui) always sat in the back wearing weird T-shirts, so I felt very secure. (Laughs)<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Please talk about a moment that made an impression on you during a recording.<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> There aren\u2019t many works where I can get together with so many veterans, so the recordings were fun every time. The last time I saw Unsho Ishizuka [voice of Hijikata] was in February 2018. After that, he was so busy that I figured he\u2019d record his lines separately, and I never expected what happened to him (When he passed away in August 2018). <\/p>\nAt the time of our last recording together, he seemed to be having fun talking with Houchu Otsuka (Sanada) out in the lobby. When I asked, \u201cWhat were they talking about?\u201d I was told, \u201cThe endless topic of health,\u201d but I didn\u2019t think it meant he was in ill health by any means.<\/p>\n
He struck a fine figure that didn\u2019t give away a trace of his physical condition. It made me want to stay healthy forever and while we recorded 2202<\/em>, I thought I\u2019d like to work with these people all the time.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Were there any big moments when you had an opportunity to perform with Koichi Yamadera as Dessler?<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> Keyman was a tightly-wound character with only one kind of response, but that changed when Mr. Yamadera arrived. At the moment when I was in a scene talking to Dessler, it was a situation where I was trusted to make all the choices. When I talked with Mr. Yamadera, the choices became very rich. After being open to receiving whatever I threw to him, he kept returning a different ball, and I was able to perform with the sense that I made the right choices from all the options that were open to me.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/apr19\/384a10.JPG\")
<\/span><\/p>\nIt was a lot of fun, and afterward I said to Daisuke Ono (Kodai), \u201cToday\u2019s recording was really fun!\u201d and despite myself I couldn\u2019t help adding, \u201cIt\u2019s been boring up until now.\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What did you think about Keyman\u2019s choices in Chapter 7?<\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> Mr. Fukui told me about the ending before I got the script, and outwardly I listened very calmly. But inside I was thinking, \u201cWow, I\u2019m getting a huge spoiler from Harutoshi Fukui\u2026\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\nWhen I read the script, I couldn\u2019t help but find it convincing. The relationship of mutual trust that Keyman cultivated with the Yamato<\/em> crew before getting there became really important. That trust relationship could only be built up over time. The usual TV anime would end in about half a year, but 2202<\/em> took two years to reach that point. The time that passes in the story is much shorter, but the events happening there are really tumultuous and your life is always at risk, so it\u2019s a situation where you can\u2019t survive unless you make the best choices.<\/p>\nI think it\u2019s possible to reach that feeling by going in for a voice recording every week for half a year, but I\u2019ve been involved in this work for two years, and had conversations with the veterans who I mentioned earlier. Spending time with Mr. Ono and Kenichi Suzumura (Shima) was a big plus. Therefore, I think when it comes to those choices the degree of conviction is increased. Two years of voice recording is a long time, but it was never wasted.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Now that you\u2019ve been involved with 2202<\/em> for such a long time, what kind of work do you think Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/apr19\/384a06.JPG\")
<\/span><\/p>\nKamiya:<\/em><\/span> The same as I\u2019ve said before; it\u2019s an SF classic. If you can sing the Yamato<\/em> theme, you know the story. Everyone knows it like the fables of Urashima Taro and Momotaro. Classics always get new interpretations, and an excellent storyteller of the age rebuilds it so it can easily reach the people of today. The form is changed and it gets delivered as a story that\u2019s right for its time. It became so with the preparation of Yamato 2199<\/em>, and then Mr. Fukui brought his sensibility to 2202<\/em>, re-interpreting the classic Farewell to Yamato<\/em> to be revived in the present day.<\/p>\nI don\u2019t want to give it the image of being something \u201cold\u201d by calling it a classic, but it\u2019s the starting point that\u2019s influenced so many things, and has reached the point where nothing else is above it.<\/p>\n
At first I wondered about how improvements could be made, but when I found out Mr. Fukui was in charge, I was convinced that this work would definitely be interesting. It started from a place where I got the feeling that participating in this work was like boarding a ship, and there was no blur at all in that feeling during the recording.<\/p>\n
Mr. Fukui is a bestselling writer known all over Japan, but I didn\u2019t know what he thought about writing such a difficult story, so I was scared at first. (Laughs) But I was thankful every time he came to a voice recording wearing his weird T-shirts.<\/p>\n
I was surprised when I got the first script for the \u201cstory behind <\/em>Yamato that no one is supposed to hear\u201d<\/em> drama CD, and I asked him, \u201cYou also write scripts like this?\u201d And he answered, \u201cYes, I wrote it.\u201d (Laughs) From there, it became easier to talk casually. Over time, I was able to build up a valuable relationship through my work. My image of Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and Yamato 2202<\/em> didn\u2019t change at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,123,135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-others-interviews-essays","category-yamato-2202","category-yamato-2202-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26445"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33845,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26445\/revisions\/33845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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