Turkey! Time to Strike Staff and Cast Pick Favorite Scenes at Talk Event

In the heart of Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku ward, anime fans gathered at the LOFT/PLUS ONE bar for the anime talk show for one of the most interesting series of Summer 2025. That series is none other than Turkey!-Time to Strike-. The time-traveling bowling anime series is an odd combination and grabbed the hearts of anime fans across Japan and the world. And for one night, fans got to sit down with voice actors Hana Hishikawa (voice of Mai Otonashi) and Noriko Hidaka (voice of Sumomo), Yutaka Ōmatsu and Gen Ōishi from animation studio Bakken Record, and Pony Canyon's Toshiya Kitabayashi as the host for their thoughts on the series and to answer some questions from the audience.

As the fans slowly entered the establishment, an air of excitement flew about. While there were calls for alcohol, there were several audience members who ordered the limited-edition Turkey!-Time to Strike- ramune bottle. Several fans also took the time to fill out the talk show's survey and check out the small gift shop. But as the talk show's opening drew near, a calm filled the room, as if ready for the guest's entrance.

The talk show opened to thunderous applause as the guests and the master of ceremonies entered. As Hishikawa, Hidaka, Ōmatsu, Ōishi, and Kitabayashi took their seats and settled in, Hidaka said this was the first time in quite a while she attended an anime event where she could interact with the attendees and fans so closely. A little banter went back and forth between the guests, particularly about the previous Turkey!-Time to Strike- events. However, Kitabayashi noted Hishikawa and Hidaka are the hosts of the anime series' radio program, Turkey! Ikkokukan Koko Bowling Katsudo Senki.

When asked about their experiences on the radio program, Hishikawa stated she never thought she could host a radio program with Hidaka and that it was a precious experience. Hearing this, Hidaka praised Hishikawa for her work on Turkey Ikkokukan Koko Bowling Katsudo Senki.

With a little opening conversation concluded, Kitabayashi prepared the guests and attendees at the talk show for the opening toast. Ordering the Turkey!-Time to Strike- ramune, the voice actors struggled a bit to crack the bottles, as is the case for those who don't imbibe in ramune for a while. With their bottles at the ready, Hishikawa toasted to the second half of Turkey!-Time to Strike-.

As the four guests and the MC enjoyed their beverages, the talk show began in earnest. The show opened with a selection of favorite scenes by Hishikawa, Hidaka, and the Bakken Record staff. Opening with Hishikawa's favorite scene, nearly everyone in attendance was stunned. The voice actor picked the pivotal scene between Turkey!-Time to Strike- characters Sayuri Ichinose (voiced by Haruki Iwata) and Suguri (Kikuko Inoue) in the series' sixth episode. Specifically, when Sayuri is debating the value of life with Suguri.

Hishikawa noted Iwata's performance, particularly her ability to maintain Sayuri's personality despite the character's mental state. Hidaka concurred with the sentiment, saying she was looking forward to seeing the scene when the episode aired. As the guests listened intently to Hidaka's analysis of the vocal performance, Ōishi was then asked about the animation side of the scene. The first thing Ōishi noted was that the flowers seen in a handful of shots were not cosmos, but rather a variety of asteroideae known as nokongiku. While this may seem inconsequential at first, the Bakken Record staff member cited the flower may have grown in what is now Nagano prefecture, but also one of the phrases associated with the nokongiku is “protection,” thus fitting the theme of the scene.

With the deep dive into Hishikawa's favorite scene concluded, Hidaka's favorite scene was next. The scene she chose harkened back to her youth and was related to the Turkey!-Time to Strike- ramune. It was none other than when the Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club members were getting ramune following the bowling tournament in the first episode. Hidaka explained that the scene is filled with high school girls in the prime of their youth who are passionate about their club activities. She further elaborated that because she began working at a young age, she didn't have a chance to participate in school club activities. So, watching the scene evoked a sense of wonder in Hidaka, where if she had the chance to participate in a school club, she too would have participated in tournaments or even clashed with her clubmates. In essence, it was a bright and vibrant scene for her.

Ōmatsu spoke about the scene a bit differently from Hidaka, though. From a production standpoint, the animator noted they wanted to get veteran voice actors they grew up listening to for the series, and Hidaka was the first name that came up. However, Ōmatsu and the Bakken Record's team weren't sure if they should reach out to Hidaka. Thankfully for Ōmatsu and Bakken Record, when they did reach out to the voice actor, she was interested in the project.

The Bakken Record animator's favorite scenes were next. The first scene was none other than the severed head falling in front of the Turkey!-Time to Strike- character Mai Otonashi in the opening of the second episode. Ōishi noted this was a difficult scene to animate, not because of the rolling severed head, but because of the blades of grass and the background samurai fighting. Adding a little joke, though, Ōishi mentioned studying how severed heads roll for the scene. He further said with a laugh that they wanted a serious scene, which they clearly created, but it then transitions into a moe and cute opening.

The second favorite scene was the moment the Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club members had a chance to return to the modern era at the end of the fourth episode. Ōmatsu explained that they designed the scene to create a physical and spiritual barrier with the fire between Mai and Rina Godai. So, while Rina wanted to return to the modern era with her club mates, the fire stood as a representation of her mental state, keeping her back.

The final choice was similar to Hishikawa's favorite scene, as it was also in the sixth episode of Turkey!-Time to Strike-. However, the scene takes place just after Sayuri and Suguri's conversation where Sayuri helps Suguri. Ōishi noted that the scene is a bit brighter than normal, with the reason being that he thought a filter would be applied to it later in production. He also elaborated that while there are supposed to be trees in the background during the cut just before Sayuri throws the boulder, the animator purposefully left them out to emphasize the character's inner conflict.

With the favorite scenes explored, Kitabayashi turned to the next section of the talk show: a spot the difference between the original cut and retake cut. Two retakes were presented to Hishikawa, Hidaka, and the audience from the first episode of the series. The cuts in question were the close-up shot of Mai and the shot of her throwing her bowling ball. The differences were ever so slight, but Ōishi explained how the hair is different in the close-up shot, and there was a complete model change for the second cut. The reasoning for the model change was to present Mai as a strong character. Hidaka noted Mai had a bit more musculature in the retake.

The team revealed one more behind-the-scenes section. Kitabayashi motioned to the screen behind the guests and asked the voice actors what was projected on it. Taking a few seconds to think it over, Hishikawa suggested it was a storyboard. Ōmatsu confirmed the voice actor's suspicions and explained it was from a scene cut from the series. The scene in question took place while the Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club members were enjoying their post-tournament ramune, with character Nanase Nikaido (voice by Ayasa Itō) purchasing the smoke paper used in the second episode.

They also displayed one other storyboard involving Nozomi Mitaka (Yūki Tenma). It was a flashback scene of her attending a summer festival and seeing her ex-boyfriend cheating on her. Ōishi then proceeded to read Nozomi's dialogue, to which Hishikawa stated she remembered hearing Yūki Tenma reading the lines early in the production.

The night's proceedings weren't quite over as the talk show opened the floor for fans to ask the guests, mainly Hishikawa and Hidaka, questions about Turkey!-Time to Strike-. Unfortunately, this wasn't an open mic affair. Staff took the questions from the surveys handed out to the attendees and collected before the talk show. Five questions were prepared for the voice actors.

The first question asked the voice actors what parts of their respective characters they are most alike and different. Hidaka was the first to respond, saying she's easy-going like Sumomo but doesn't have the same soft-spoken or gentle way of speaking. Hidaka further stated she likely hasn't spoken this slowly since portraying Minami Asakura in the 1985 anime series Touch. Not missing a beat, Hidaka then gave the guests and fans in attendance a demonstration and channeled her inner Minami.

Hishikawa, in turn, noted she has a similar personality to Mai but wouldn't be a club leader, but rather a follower. But not just any type of follower: a loyal follower. Hidaka added that Hishikawa would be a great lieutenant or right-hand person.

The second question was for Hidaka and asked what impressed her about the cast of the Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club members. Hidaka excitedly responded that there is a lot she's impressed with, citing how she initially thought Kana Ichinose's (voice of Rina Godai) voice was unexpectedly soft. However, upon listening to the performance, Hidaka learned that Ichinose understood the character and was purposefully limiting the volume of her voice. Hidaka then noted that despite not looking like a stereotypical gyaru, Yūki Tenma sounds exactly like a gyaru.

Hidaka then turned her attention to Hishikawa and praised her performance as Mai Otonashi. Saying her voice exudes energy, and the listener gains that energy, makes her like a child of the Sun. After hearing this, Hishikawa's inner fan came out as she squealed with glee.

After Hishikawa calmed down, the voice actors were asked, other than the character they are currently voicing, which character they would like to voice. Taking their time to think it over, Hishikawa responded first. She cited Sayuri Ichinose partially for the technical side of voice acting, but also to learn how to create a “pure voice.”

Hidaka was quick to respond with Hishikawa's character, Mai Otonashi, to the elation of Hishikawa. Hidaka explained that Mai is interesting and fun because the character lacks a certain seriousness about her.

The two voice actors were then asked about the appeal of Turkey!-Time to Strike-. Hishikawa was the first to respond with a short anecdote. She said she first wondered why the series was about high school girls, bowling, and the Sengoku (Warring States) period. However, after watching the sixth episode, she began to understand what the series was trying to convey, and that it was no ordinary series. Hidaka, though, noted the human connections and drama between the Bowling Club cast members and the Sengoku cast members.

It was time for the final question: what is something the guests are looking forward to in the back half of the series? Bakken Record's Ōmatsu took the reins for the question and noted that not much has been seen between the Mai and Sumomo pairing. So, going forward, fans should keep an eye out for that. Hidaka also pointed out that there is one character who hasn't spoken much but did not name any names.

As the night's festivities were closing, the staff made several announcements for the upcoming Turkey!-Time to Strike- merchandise and events. Yet hidden in the merchandise announcements, Hidaka caught a little surprise. When introducing a set of Turkey!-Time to Strike- LINE stamps, Hidaka noticed a small stamp of Turkey!-Time to Strike- character Anzu hidden in the bottom right side of the screen with the caption yakubyo gami (literally “jinx”). Hishikawa then caught another small image hidden on the bottom left side of the screen. It was none other than the original Turkey!-Time to Strike- mascot character created by Hishikawa, Snake Aiko (a play on bowling's 7-10 split or snake eyes).

With the announcements concluded, one final surprise awaited the guests and fans of Turkey!-Time to Strike-: a five-minute preview of the eighth episode of the series. Specifically, the opening five minutes of the episode, onsen scene and all. The Bakken Record's staff commented on the onsen scene, saying you could see a little more in the first take. Hishikawa then noted how there was no mysterious mist covering the girls. To which Ōishi replied, saying the staff member who animated the scene chose his angles carefully.

Stepping away from the onsen scene, Hidaka stated this was the first time she had played an anime role with Yūko Minaguchi (voice of Akebi). Hidaka then recalled that early in her career, her and Minaguchi's voices were often mistaken for each other, to the point that Hidaka's mother couldn't differentiate the two. Hidaka also mentioned a Ranma 1/2 event the voice actors, including her and Kikuko Inoue, attended, taking place at the same time as a Yawara! promotional screening event. Mimicking Minaguchi (voice of Yawara), Hidaka recalled when Yawara said, “Grandpa,” and everyone, including the Ranma 1/2 voice actors, looked at Hidaka due to the striking resemblance between their voices. Because of the similarity in their voices, Hidaka posited that she and Minaguchi had never been cast together in an anime series before, making Hidaka happy for the opportunity to work with Minaguchi on Turkey!-Time to Strike-.

As Hidaka concluded her story, the Turkey!-Time to Strike-'s talk show was also nearing its end. The guests gave their final comments, with Ōishi hoping fans would enjoy the back-half of the series. Ōmatsu concurred with Ōmatsu and asked fans to keep an eye on the unfolding drama of the series. Hidaka hoped fans would also enjoy the back half of Turkey!-Time to Strike-, and the Sengoku cast members had fun with their roles. Finally, Hishikawa joked that when she was asked her favorite scene in the green room, she wanted to choose one from the ninth episode. She continued saying that because so many people only get to see the final product, she was happy that the fans in attendance could see unreleased footage, storyboards, and hear behind-the-scenes stories.

While the Turkey!-Time to Strike- talk show was just over 90 minutes long; the time flew by in an instant. From the favorite scenes of the staff and cast, the behind-the-scenes retakes and storyboards, to Hidaka's stories and Hishikawa geeking out over the praise given to her by Hidaka, the event was truly something Turkey!-Time to Strike- fans would want to see in person.

Turkey!-Time to Strike- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.