Back in October, we asked fans to send us their questions for the Japanese voice cast of “In Search of the Lost Future.” We got so many great questions that it was hard to choose! Take a look below at part 1 of our 3 part series of interviews. First up, we’ve got Takuma Terashima, the Japanese voice of Sou Akiyama.
Q: In Search of the Lost Future has a lot of unexpected twists and turns. When you went in to record those early episodes, did you know what was going to happen over the series? Do you prefer to know how the show ends and voice act from there, or do you like to discover the twists as your characters (and the audience) do?
A: I think that depending on the show and the character, in some situations, it’s better to know how the story will unfold and in other situations, it’s not. But for this show, I played my character without knowing, and other than the immediate future and changes to his emotional state, I figured it was better that I didn’t know anything, so I refrained from asking. When I read the scripts, I was especially surprised by the events in Episode 1 and the story that unfolded towards the end.
Q: For some of you, the roles you’re playing for In Search of the Lost Future are quite different from your previous ones, both in terms of personality and even vocal pitch. How do you prepare for a new role, and is it difficult to switch between projects?
A: I played Sou to be pretty low-key. The highlights of this show are the drama and the cute girls, and we have Kenny as the fun guy, so Sou naturally has to be a presence that doesn’t get in the way. So, outwardly, he’s low-key. But internally, I made sure his thoughts and emotions were fleshed out, and made a conscious effort to have those things trickle out here and there.
There are all kinds of shows and all kinds of characters, so I make a conscious effort to switch over completely in order to make sure that I don’t fail to do justice to every new encounter. There may be people who are similar, but no one is the same, after all.
Q: As English-speaking fans of your work, we’re curious if any of you have seen an English dub of an anime, especially one with a character you voiced in Japanese. Have you seen any, and if so, which?
A: I have not! But it makes me very curious. How does someone else play the character that I played? Not to mention, what happens when it’s in English. I’d like to see that!!
Q: In America, voice actors often record lines individually, while in Japan, multiple voice actors might record in the same room together. Does interacting with other voice actors ever affect your performance, e.g. do you ever change your delivery or ad lib based on how you interact with the other voice actors?
A: It was only recently that I learned of the differences in recording practices between Japan and the US, so I was very surprised!
It’s really huge, how much I’m influenced by my fellow cast members. And without someone to converse with, it just becomes you talking to yourself, after all. Of course, there are times when we record alone as well, but on those occasions, I believe having the experience of regularly interacting with others in recording sessions makes a big difference in how well we can imagine those we are supposed to be interacting with.
Closeness, intensity of emotion – the choices made by the actor playing opposite me frequently effect change in the performance I came prepared with.
That concludes part 1 of our interview series, be sure to come back tomorrow for more! New episodes of In Search of the Lost Future air every Saturday at 12:30pm ET. Click here for episodes.
series synopsis:
A series of increasingly strange events have been reported at Uchihama Academy’s soon-to-be-replaced aging school building. When the student council grows concerned about the spectral encounters, puzzling sleep disorders, and bizarre mishaps, they enlist the aid of the Astronomy Club to crack the case before it’s too late. One evening after school, club member Sou Akiyama is rocked by a sudden earthquake – and an encounter with a beautiful and mysterious naked girl who appears to know him even though he has no recollection of ever meeting her. The next day, the very same girl arrives at his school as a transfer student who’s interested in joining the Astronomy Club. In the blink of an eye, Sou’s fate – along with the fates of all the girls in his club – begin to change in very dramatic and mysterious ways.
