Shuichiro Umeda Dazzles Otakon Crowd With The Summer Hikaru Died Q&A
by Jeremy Tauber,
This was Umeda's second Otakon. It had him soaking in as much spotlight as possible. I don't recall a single moment where the smile left his face, nor his voice signaling the faintest hint of uninterest. “I just got here yesterday from Japan,” Umeda said. “I wasn't expecting to see so many people here showing their appreciation for The Summer Hikaru Died, so thank you for that!”
The Q&A had him go through Hikaru's recording process. Asked whether or not he received any special advice, Umeda said that his auditions were almost like doing a recording, where the production staff wanted to hear what Umeda would do if he were Hikaru. “I got some advice directly on the spot from the production staff,” Umeda said. “I got feedback from Mokumokuren, saying he felt like my voice fit perfectly for the character, and I should have some freedom in how I do the role. I also wanted to make sure I kept on getting advice as I continued acting.”
Umeda also commented on his character's nature. “Hikaru is a human and not a human,” Umeda said. “When I was doing the acting, I thought I was sharing the memories and the bodies, but I'm not human, so how would I act that out? I had to make sure that I could show that balance.”
The seiyuu said that he could relate to Hikaru's sense of innocence and how he feels about Yoshiki. “I feel similar in the way that when you like something, you get completely focused on it, and you want to be with it directly and spend your time with it.”
Highlights from Hikaru's anime were shown. When the time came to show the surreal “raw chicken scene,” where Yoshiki places his entire arm within a gaping hole in Hikaru's stomach, Umeda noted its delicate nature, saying that it's a scene where the two characters want to know more about each other. “It has both a comedic aspect and a very frenetic one as well, ” Umeda pointed out.
The scene where Yoshiki discovers Hikaru's dead body had Umeda recall that at that point, it had become very easy for him to get into character. “Hikaru speaks with a dialect from the Mie Prefecture,” Umeda said, “I spent a lot of time practicing the dialect for this show. And as a result, it comes out naturally at this point. The one thing I'm sometimes worried about is if anyone from Mie Prefecture is listening to me!”
I'm sure that will not be a problem for Umeda. The young voice actor delivered some live readings of Hikaru's dialogue towards the panel's end, and he delivered each line with the right amount of gusto. Hikaru might be six feet under, but Umeda sounds as alive as ever.
What was the vibe going into The Summer Hikaru Died? How'd you land the role, and what did you think when you started?
Going into the audition for The Summer Hikaru Died, I read the manga, and reading it, I got the sense that it did a really good job at depicting a summer specific to Japan. It was very specific in its details. But something still seemed off about it, so that made me feel suspicious about things, as if it was something I shouldn't be seeing, so that was a very interesting charm to the manga.
Another thing about the anime. I was thinking about how Hikaru's not a human, but he's inside of a human body. How would the acting be if that's not the case? I also played the role of Hikaru before he died, so that was something I thought about too.
Is there a difference in how you approach voicing the original Hikaru versus the monster Hikaru?
Since they have the same body, the voice is the same. However, we humans have a thing about us that we change how we speak depending on who we speak to. The original Hikaru knows how to talk gently to certain people and knows the distance to keep from others. The difference between the Hikaru now and the Hikaru then is that the Hikaru then knows Yoshiki, and what Yoshiki likes and dislikes. He knows how to keep the distance. The Hikaru now is very different in the sense that he doesn't want to be disliked by Yoshiki, and it creates a big rift between the two. The Hikaru now is a bit more timid in a sense.
The Summer Hikaru Died is a horror anime that's very slow-moving and more reliant on atmosphere than action. Did the story's tone present any interesting challenges or opportunities for you when performing the role?
As you know, Hikaru is not a human, so the first thing is that even though Hikaru is not a human, I'm still a human, and acting as a non-human is a difficult task. And then there's the director's vision of how he would want to present the story. I want to perform both well, so balancing between the two is a very difficult task for me.
The anime takes on the tone of a horror movie—I know that Director Takeshita-san said that he loved Aliens, and I see the monstrous Other that takes the form of Hikaru like something you'd see in The Thing. Did you watch any horror movies or horror anime to prepare for the role of Hikaru?
I watched a lot of horror movies before taking on the role, so I didn't need to watch a lot of them specifically to prepare. Rather, a lot of the movies I've seen previously may have seeped into what I used in this role. I think the essence of what makes Japanese horror interesting is not the jump scares, but rather the slow, terrifying feeling that seeps into the story. I think specifically of From the Depths of the Dark Waters, which has some scenes that make you shiver. For example, turning on the tap and seeing hair coming down from it. The feeling I got from scenes like that may have influenced me.
How'd you feel about doing the "chicken" scene? What was the mindset going in, and how'd you pull it off?
I'm very surprised that this scene is very popular in the U.S. because I thought it'd be more of a Japanese thing. It's a very fragile scene. Because this is anime, we have to voice over this scene, and if the voice is too sensual, then it doesn't fit the tone. But if it's atonal and at the other end of the spectrum, then it doesn't make sense either. It was difficult.
What was your favorite moment working on The Summer Hikaru Died?
In terms of this anime, acting out the "before" Hikaru and the current Hikaru seamlessly. When I'm doing Hikaru, it is fun to act as a different character seamlessly. In the sense of working with other people on the same team, I thought heavy themes and hard topics were introduced in some scenes, which makes you feel a certain way. But when breaktime comes, everybody would be more cheerful, like during recess at school. It was a very fun team to work with.
The Summer Hikaru Died and Losing Heroines are tonally at opposite ends of the spectrum. Was there any whiplash going from a rom-com to a serious horror drama, especially with some of the other rom-com titles you have under your belt?
Since they were done during different times, whiplash not so much, but I can speak to the fact that, as you say, Kazuhiko is a very different character from Hikaru. Kazuhiko is in a position where he is dealing with some monstrous girls, but now, I'm the monster! Being able to act those two out is a joy specific to voice actors, and I'm very grateful for it. During the same week, I have many different roles to play, so it is very hard but fulfilling.
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