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Inuyasha Anime Exhibition Book

Translated Interview with Yamaguchi Kappei (Inuyasha), Yukino Satsuki (Kagome), Narita Ken (Sesshomaru), & Hidaka Noriko (Kikyo) (Part 1)

I went to the Inuyasha Anime Exhibition a few months ago and bought the commemorative book they were selling. It's mostly just nice pictures with summaries of various character, relationship, and story developments, but there's also a long interview with voice actors from the series. I haven't seen any translations online, so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. I haven't translated anything seriously since my graduate thesis ages ago, so sorry if this reads a little rough, haha.

The interview is 7 pages long and I don't have the time to translate all of it right now, so this is the first half. I'll try to get the second half up next weekend! (Also, this is my first actual post on Tumblr, so apologies if the formatting is wonky.)

Was the casting decided by auditions?

Yamaguchi Kappei: There were auditions for Inuyasha and . . .

Yukino Satsuki: Kagome, too. Also Shippō.

Yamaguchi: Yeah, Shippō, too. But not Kikyō, right?

Hidaka Noriko: Right.

Narita Ken: There were none for Sesshōmaru.

Hidaka: Auditions for Inuyasha and Kagome were done together, right?

Yukino: That's right!

Hidaka: I kind of feel like when I auditioned for Kagome, I acted with Kappei-kun . . .

Yamaguchi: Did I audition with Nonko-san? ("Nonko" is Hidaka Noriko's nickname.)

Yukino: I remember auditioning with someone other than Kappei-san.

Narita: There really were a lot of people auditioning, after all.

Yamaguchi: I remember that once they narrowed down the number of people for Inuyasha to about 10, we did solo auditions, pair auditions, and various other kinds of auditions . . .

Narita: It must have taken a lot of time, right?

Yamaguchi: Yeah, I think so. But since I had been called for so many auditions back in the Ranma 1/2 days, I felt like Takahashi Rumiko-sensei's works were just like that. (laughter) For the final Inuyasha audition, there was an audition where they didn't announce our names.

Narita: Really!

Yamaguchi: I think they felt they wanted to make a decision without having any preconceived ideas about the actor.

Hidaka: That was probably it. Narita-san, you were suddenly cast as Sesshōmaru, weren't you?

Narita: That's right.

Hidaka: Until that point, you had always played the roles of handsome men like that, right?

Narita: That's right!

Yamaguchi/Yukino/Hidaka: (laughter)

Narita: (laughter) No, not really! I just said "That's right!" on an impulse, without thinking.

Yamaguchi: But you really have played a lot of cool roles in other shows, too. Even though you yourself are the type to have a more unique personality. (laughter)

Narita: I don't know why, but it seems like more unusual roles have been coming my way ever since I played Sesshōmaru.

Hidaka: I think that's Kappei-kun's fault . . . He's really been messing with you since then. (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Heh heh. That's true. (laughter)

Narita: Is that the image you have? What I mean is the range of my roles has widened.

Yukino-san, Hidaka-san, did you go through a lot of auditions?

Yukino: I think I just did it once.

Hidaka: Me, too. I think it was only Kappei-kun who had to spend so much time on it. That was because after Ranma 1/2, choosing the same actor to play the lead role in another Takahashi Rumiko work was a brave choice.

Yamaguchi: Yeah, I think that's why.

Yukino: I was rarely getting called to auditions in the time right before Inuyasha. So when, for the first time in a while, I was contacted for an audition and told, "It's Inuyasha. It's a Takashashi Rumiko work and it's for the role of the heroine, Kagome," I thought, "Ah, finally, I got a chance to take part in that world!"

Yamaguchi: Really?

Yukino: I was a elementary school student at the time of Urusei Yatsura, and I was still a student for Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2.

Hidaka: So this was your first experience with Takahashi Rumiko-sensei's works since making your pro debut.

Yukino: Yes. So it really felt like I was finally able to take part when I was able to audition.

Hidaka: What did you think about the role of Kagome? Did you think it was the type of character you didn't have in you?

Yukino: I thought it was the type of role that was really easy to sympathize with at that time. Then, I thought I absolutely had to get the role.

Narita: It was like that, huh.

Yukino: I felt like I'd even sell my soul to a devil to get it. (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Dark Satsuki appears! (laughter)

Hidaka: So passionate!

Narita: Passion . . . (laughter)

Yukino: (laughter) After that, the office contacted me to say, "It's been decided!" But it didn't really feel real. Then, Suwa Michihiko, a producer from Yomiuri TV, called me. At that point, I was able to think, "It's okay!" and I did a guts pose.

Hidaka: I see.

Yukino: After that, Kappei-san called to say, "I'm looking forward to working together."

Yamaguchi: Yeah. Satsuki-chan and I had already worked together in Takoyaki Mantoman (in 1998), so I remember I thought, "Satsuki-chan!" and called her right there on the train station platform. But I had heard that I was Inuyasha a little earlier. It was at a party for another show, and Suwa-san secretly told me, "It's been decided. I'm looking forward to working with you." But it was a party for another show, so I couldn't be happy and raise my voice. (laughter) So I replied, really coolly, "Oh, really? Then, I'm looking forward to working with you, too."

Yukino/Hidaka: (laughter)

Yamaguchi: I went somewhere near my home and I screamed, "I got it!"

How was it when recording actually began?

Narita: At my first test, I tried using a high-pitched voice. Sesshōmaru has a pretty face and and a slightly feminine aura, so I thought a high-pitched voice would be good. After I did that, the sound director Tsuruoka (Yōta)-san came into the booth and said, "Try it a little differently." Then, he kept saying, "Lower, lower."

Yamaguchi: (laughter) Is that so?

Narita: After I did it in a low voice, he said, "Yeah, like that." But it was really low for me, so it was difficult.

Yamaguchi: What's more, it always felt like you were lightly suppressing your voice. Even though in fight scenes, I'd be yelping and ad-libbing heavy breathing.

Yukino: (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Even though Sesshōmaru was always fighting, you didn't hear him breath once. At first you did, right?

Narita: Yeah, at first. But it made him look weak if you could hear him breathing, so I stopped doing it.

Yukino: Not only in the fights with Sesshōmaru, but the Naraku vs. Inuyasha fights were the same. Inuyasha and his opponents' must have been burning totally different amounts of calories.

Yamaguchi: That's really true! There were a lot of times it seemed like I was the only one talking. (laughter)

Narita: (laughter)

Yukino-san, how was it when you started recording?

Yukino: In the first two cours, there was so much nervousness and pressure, it felt like my feet didn't reach the ground. When I watched the rerun again, I felt like . . . I got the character completely wrong, huh.

Yamaguchi: Really? You were impressive from the start, though.

Narita: You really were. Is that how you saw it?

Yukino: No, not at all! I finally felt more grounded when Sango appeared, and I could look at myself more objectively. At first, Kappei-san was the only regular cast member in Inuyasha besides me. Then, Kū-san (Shippō's voice actor, Watanabe Kumiko) and Hōko-chan (Sango's voice actor, Kuwashima Hōko) started.

Hidaka: So you were too nervous.

Yukino: That's right. There was a party after the recording of the first episode, and naturally, Kappei-san and Nonko-san were together, and I was standing alone. Then, Oyakata* (Hachi's voice actor, Toshihiko Nakajima) secretly talked to Kappei-san and told him, "Go over to Satsuki-chan." (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Ahaha, he did! (laughter)

Hidaka: Oyakata is so kind!

Yamaguchi: So you hadn't yet reached the point when you could say "Ahh" like an old man relaxing in the bath?

Yukino: I was totally nervous. I was trying to remember the basic idea of "reproduce the feeling, reproduce the feeling . . . "

Hidaka: But when Kappei-kun recorded the preview, he said something like the feelings in Satsuki-chan's dialogue really suited Kagome.

Yukino: I really felt like I was saved by that. (laughter) Because he said things like "You sound just like Kagome!" or "Thanks to Kagome's lines, my acting turned out like this!", I became able to think, "Ah, I'm glad I'm Kagome."

Yamaguchi: Satsuki-chan didn't say dialogue like she was following a pattern, but like she was really having fun doing it. So when Kagome had hard lines, there were times when she really got angry. (laughter) The feeling at the beginning of the series, when our two characters were forced to search for the Shikon Jewel shards together, but they couldn't work together and their relationship was awkward, was really good. Looking back on it, that awkward phase had really fun points.

Yamaguchi-san, what kind of character did you think Inuyasha was when you were acting as him?

Yamaguchi: Inuyasha really left an impression from his first line in the first episode. He was the kind of guy who says, "With this, I can become a full demon!" In the first episode, I acted with the image of Inuyasha as a dark hero, but as the story went on, my image of him changed to be sincere and serious.

Yukino: I get it.

Yamaguchi: There were two people, Kikyō and Kagome, but Kagome was Kikyō's reincarnation, so they were originally one soul. In that sense, Inuyasha was actually very earnest and serious. Ranma from Ranma 1/2 understood himself better, and so he was able to act using that knowledge, but Inuyasha wasn't like that.

Narita: Yeah, that's true.

Hidaka: But because he was serious, that's why it's a sin. The same soul split into two people, so being serious about both of them is bad. (laughter)

Yukino: Yes, exactly.

Yamaguchi: Look, he can't help it. She's her reincarnation. (laughter)

Hidaka: Ranma was similar, but his sins were more . . .

Yukino: Minor.

Hidaka: Yeah, they didn't feel serious. So he could be casually hit with a "boing" sound, but Inuyasha would be more like a heavy "thud."

Yamaguchi: I see, Inuyasha's more serious, so it's worse . . .

Yukino: If you think about it unemotionally, it's terrible of him to be serious about both.

Hidaka: (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Because he said it so decidedly.

Hidaka-san, the role of Kikyō was unusual for you, right?

Hidaka: Yes, that's right. I auditioned for Kagome, but I was contacted and told I was Kikyō. It was rare for me to play a calm character like Kikyō, so I felt pressure.

Yamaguchi: Especially at the beginning of the series, Kikyō's feelings for Inuyasha were emphasized.

Hidaka: The part of her feelings that was her hatred toward Inuyasha really stood out. But at the same time, Inuyasha couldn't forget Kikyō. Wasn't it contradictory that she hated Inuyasha, but she also loved him? I tried to understand her passionate feelings, but it was difficult. There must be a part of Kikyō that still cares about Inuyasha, so I was really troubled trying to find that in her limited amount of lines. When I said that, Satsuki-chan replied, "I understand Kikyō's feelings."

Yamaguchi: (laughter)

Hidaka: She said, "I understand that passion."

Yukino: I did. Actually, at first, I thought, "Why am I Kagome and Nonko-san Kikyō?" for a long time. Nonko-san definitely suits her more. I was really troubled as to which one I was . . . (laughter)

Hidaka: I felt the same thing! For example, Satsuki-chan, you got critical feedback, right? And when you heard the criticism, you felt like, "Yeah, I get it." But when I was acting as Kikyō, I felt like, "Ahhhh, I can't do it." Miroku's voice actor, Tsujitani (Kōji)-san often said the same thing. The characters Satsuki-chan and I were given were the exact opposite of our personalities. He said it was really interesting that Satsuki-chan was like Kikyō, I was like Kagome, and the roles we were playing were our opposites.

Yukino: Wow, he said that?

Hidaka: He did, he did!

Yamaguchi/Narita: Huh!

Yamaguchi: But, when you two acted together, although of course, you were completely different, I kind of felt there were similarities. So I thought, "It's really them."

Narita: Hearing that, I feel like I want to see the reversed version. Kikyō, performed by Yukino-san, who understands her origin and her passions, and Kagome, performed by the bouncy Hidaka-san.

Hidaka: I feel like my Kagome would be a little too indifferent. (laughter) But I want to hear Satsuki-chan's Kikyō!

Yukino: But listening to Kikyō in The Final Act, I can't do it! I can't surpass Nonko-san's acting in that part.

Hidaka: Rather, the point at the beginning when I was suffering was . . .

Yukino: That was probably . . .

Hidaka: You could have acted it. (laughter)

Yukino: (laughter) I thought Narita-san's Sesshōmaru didn't have a lot of lines, so it seemed tough. It's harder to have few lines.

Narita: That's true! There were times when there were too few, so I was troubled.

Yukino: On top of having just a few lines, there were a lot of times you had to imply a lot of things.

Narita: That's why each word was a decisive moment for me to put in my- Sesshōmaru's feelings.

Yamaguchi: But it must have been hard to have people like Chō (Jaken) who were acting so freely right next to you.

Narita: Right, so I tried so hard to not get Chō in my line of sight. (laughter)

Yamaguchi: You'd get lured in.

Narita: I kind of felt like I couldn't have fun, by any means.

Yamaguchi: Sesshōmaru is probably the character that changed the most. Like when Rin appeared.

Narita: Yeah. It was a little unexpected that he would become that emotional because of Rin. You could even say I was confused. While I was acting, I felt like, "Is it really okay to show this much emotion?"

Yukino: Narita-san, what is Rin to you?

Narita: You know . . . it's hard to say. At first, I think she was just someone with him. She was too small, too weak. But gradually, he was healed by her purity, and maybe his emotions that had been asleep until then were woken up. Sesshōmaru and his family are very unique, so even if he talks to his father or mother, they don't really have a conversation. It feels like they're individually saying what they want to say. So when he meets someone who's not like that, he's able to understand new feelings.

Hidaka: So, unexpectedly, Jaken must also make him happy, right?

Yukino: Because he doesn't usually say, "I'll kill you" to someone he can't trust.

Yamaguchi: Right, right. If Sesshōmaru were serious, he'd just kill them before saying it. But didn't you ever have a dilemma about playing it so lightly?

Narita: I did. I didn't want to show emotion, but the emotions had to come out. Before, Hidaka-san and Satsuki-chan were talking about switching the roles of Kikyō and Kagome. I felt like I wanted try playing Miroku. I felt like I could act more like myself and have more fun with a character who plays around a lot. I mean, I was jealous of Tsujitani-san.

Hidaka: It could definitely have worked well if Narita-san and Tsujitani-san switched roles.

Narita: Because I felt like that, in the few scenes when I shouted for Rin, I really put all my feelings in! Lines like "There's nothing I would take in exchange for Rin's life!!" I acted as if I were actually holding Rin.

Yamaguchi: Right, right. Then, before we knew it, Kagura came to love Sesshōmaru . . . (laughter)

Narita: Fufufu. (laughter)

Yukino: But I think Sesshōmaru knew about Kagura's feelings. I think that because he knew, he went to see her at the end.

Hidaka: Satsuki-chan's really good at understanding love and passion and all those feelings. (laughter)

Yamaguchi: Oh, a reviewer! A reviewer of passion!

Yukino: Would you stop! (laughter)

End of Part 1

*Oyakata means "boss" or "master." I'm not sure why she calls him this, so I figured it was best to leave it untranslated.

Part 2 is here!

It's interesting reading how they all wanted to swap roles! Also, it's a small part, but I'm happy to see Inuyasha and Kagome's voice actors on the good ship SessKagu at the end there, haha.

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