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Sarazanmai Voice Actors Say Anime Has Foreshadowing From Very First Scene

Kunihiko Ikuhara's original television anime project Sarazanmai held a stage event at AnimeJapan on March 24 to tease viewers about the upcoming series. The opening minutes of the first episode were screened. Afterwards, voice actors Ayumu Murase (who plays the protagonist Kazuki Yasaka), Kōki Uchiyama (who plays Toi Kuji), and Shun Horie (who plays Enta Jinai) came on stage to discuss what had just been shown.

As it turns out, however, there was not much they felt they could say out of concern for spoilers. According to them, even the very first scene contains foreshadowing for later developments. So when they watch the early footage now, they can only think about what happens later. However, even they conceded: "That opening is very ambiguous in terms of what it means!"

The voice actors revealed that they have finished recording for the entire anime. When they were voicing the anime, the animation was not yet complete, so they found it difficult to grasp the feel of the story, but they were told about the significance of each scene, so they have a grasp of the big picture. It is Ikuhara's style to weave symbolism and foreshadowing into every aspect of his works, the voice actors appreciate more than ever after watching the finished footage.

After explaining their dilemma to the audience, the voice actors briefly introduced their characters. Murase could not say anything about Kazuki's characteristics besides, "He wants to connect with others but can't. 'Connection' is the main theme of the story, and you can see that most prominently in Kazuki's character."

Uchiyama explained that his character is a transfer student who has been isolated by others because of rumors other people say about him, and that he is carrying a "great burden." Due to the nature of Kuji's struggles, Uchiyama said that he felt that he was able to ignore the fact that he is just a middle school student to a degree.

Horie described his character as "the one who acts most like a middle school student." Jinai used to play soccer with Kazuki, but quit due to an incident. Because he was dragged into the events shown in the anime and doesn't understand what's going on, Horie said that he may the character who best represents the audience's point of view.

In the latter half of the stage show, the voice actors were quizzed on their knowledge of Asakusa, which is the part of Tokyo where the anime is set." The voice actors were introduced to the Kaminarimon Gate, which has statues of the gods of wind and thunder placed on either side of it. The voice actors were also informed that the Asakusa Chika Shotengai is Japan's oldest shopping street. As the historic capital of Tokyo, Asakusa is a popular tourist spot, but Sarazanmai is praised for bringing out the "real" Asakusa.

Sarazanmai will premiere on April 11 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block.

Source: AnimeJapan 2019 stage event