#162 – DARLING in the FRANXX Pair Interview: Uemura Yuto x Tomatsu Haruka

The final entry in the FRANXX pair interview features our leads Uemura Yūto (Hiro) and Tomatsu Haruka (Zero Two). Despite being under 30 years of age, both Uemura and Tomatsu have been in the business for more than a decade – the former a child actor and a seiyuu since the early 2000s, the latter just having celebrated 10 years since her debut in anime.

I think the biggest shock for me is that I don’t already have a Tomatsu Haruka tag on this blog given that she’s my favourite seiyuu. Perhaps this is an indicator of how she’s barely in anything I want to watch (please don’t mention SAO).

Anyway, DARLING in the FRANXX goes on air tonight and excitingly, it’s available on Crunchyroll in my region as well! Here’s hoping it’s good, and that things go smoothly for 2 cours (or should I expect a split cour…?)

Communication between Director x Seiyuu makes this an even better show

Q: This is an original series – what were your impressions of it prior to auditions?

Uemura: Viewing the material that I got sent for the audition made it clear to me: this is a show that I want to work on. Trigger and A-1 Pictures have created numerous amazing series and this feels like a dream collaboration. Seeing the material alone made me think that this series would cause a massive chemical reaction. I still think the same even as we go through recording now.

Tomatsu: I had a similar feeling when I saw the material – a lot of passion had gone into this. A collaboration between studios that I have had the opportunity to work with over the years, ‘[we] will be making a series titled DARLING in the FRANXX! With such a worldview!’ was what I found out from the material and I really wanted to do this show even though there was no guarantee that I was going to be in it. At the same time, I felt an aura that suggested that this would definitely turn out to be something amazing.

Uemura: From the synopsis to the character illustrations to the unique keywords – you felt like you were being immersed in its world merely by looking at [the material].

Q: Sensing the amount of passion, you went into the auditions – how was it for you?

Uemura: The studio auditions were held around March. A lot of people were coming and going and it took a bit of time before my turn in the recording booth. The lines I was required to read were quite fiery so I was feeling really nervous at first, but the longer I waited the more relaxed I became.

Q: I thought the opposite would happen, that you’d get even more nervous.

Uemura: I was rehearsing my lines at the wall the entire time (laughs). I’d actually been called in to audition for Mitsuru, but I personally thought Hiro was a better fit for me – it didn’t feel forced and I could go all out voicing him. That’s why I feel like I have no regrets.

Q: Hiro was a better fit for you, and you were chosen to voice him.

Uemura: I thought I’d pulled out all the stops but there are a lot of children where a balance [of voices] would be required and I was happy to have been selected. From the audition dialogue, you could sense that the series would explore the fragility of the children so I was really looking forward to acting that out. It’s also fun to work on an original series like this where you’re not yet aware of the conclusion that you’re heading towards.

Q: How about you, Tomatsu-san?

Tomatsu: I remember clearly the moment I got to the studio – there was nobody I recognized there. Anyhow, there were a lot of people and it seemed that that particular window of time had been set for younger seiyuu. That made me slightly worried that age-wise, I’d already be out of the picture. Though I did think that maybe not everyone here is going to try out for Zero Two.

What’s more, I was pretty much the top batter – definitely the first of the girls to go. So I had no idea what kind of atmosphere was going on in the recording booth as I entered it. I was only trying out for Zero Two, and the [audition] process normally goes like this: you do some tests, receive some instructions from the director, record your lines and then that’s it. But for this audition, after I recorded my lines I was asked ‘how about doing them this way?’, so I did it a 2nd time. The instructions I received were quite specific so when I got the call saying I’d gotten the role, I was happy.

Q: Tomatsu-san’s casting is understandable, yet in a way, surprising. There are many cases where original series choose to go with newcomers instead of someone with so much experience in voicing leading roles.

Tomatsu: Really!? Director Nishigori and the creative team are the ones who have the clearest vision of what is in store for the characters. All I had to go on when it came to my acting was the material provided; knowing that they saw enough [in my audition] to choose me means that I’ll have to go ahead and give it my all.

It’s also my first time properly working with Uemura-kun so I was looking forward to finding out what kind of performance he would bring.

Q: The Director spoke about both of your castings in his interview so it’d be great if you could read that. What kind of person is Director Nishigori to you?

Uemura: Working on this series, you can tell that he really has a lot of love for the series. Plus, he’s also a director who greatly values his cast members. Before recording begins, Director Nishigori will pop into to the booth to greet us ‘Good morning, let’s do our best today!’. During breaks he’ll talk to us individually, let us know what we did well that day, or say something like ‘you’re getting better at bringing out that aura!’

Each and every one of his words is warm. Being an original work where there is much that we do not understand, it is encouraging to hear him say things like that and it makes you feel that you have to work even harder. Whenever you have any questions about the series he will be swift to reply; when there is such open communication, it is easier [for our acting] to improve.

Tomatsu: It’s exactly as you say. The recording booth is in a separate area so to speak with Director Nishigori you would’ve needed a little courage. But Director Nishigori is the one who took the first step in approaching us, taking the stance that if there is anything that we didn’t understand, we should just ask.

As Uemura-kun mentioned, the cast filters out to the lobby during breaks and Director Nishigori will join in and discuss our good points as well as touching on future developments.

I really appreciate how he’ll take aside whichever cast member’s character is having their turn in the spotlight that episode and talk to them about what he wants them to do this week and other pieces of information regarding that particular story. This helps to create an atmosphere that’s easy to work in, with the Director pivotal to it all.

Q: Tomatsu-san, is this your first time working with Director Nishigori?

Tomatsu: In a full production, yes. But he is very much aware of [my abilities]. He knows the qualities of my voice, has impressions of the type of performance I can do and so on. In the week(s) leading up to my turn in the spotlight, he’ll try to fix a time for us to discuss what’s coming up next.

Also, when studio sessions kicked off we took a break from recording for the first week and instead, the cast gathered together to take part in a briefing session by Director Nishigori. That meeting managed to convey the passion that convinced [us] that this will definitely turn out to be an amazing series and I thought, ‘I want to repay those feelings by working even harder’!

Q: The other cast members also mentioned the importance of attending the briefing session.

Uemura: The discussion went on for a full 3 hours. At first he talked about the direction of the characters and explained the worldview, then he answered any outstanding questions we had – I think that exchange of opinions was a great idea.

The focal point [of the story] was determined then. I did have my own beliefs that this path would be the right one to take. Even if I strayed a bit, the roots would be there so I could easily return to the [correct] course. We don’t normally have such opportunities so I’m grateful for such a privileged time.

Hiro and Zero Two: Is the Relationship between them Love, Friendship or…?

Q: Let’s talk about the characters. What kind of person is Hiro?

Uemura: A serious boy who gives off the strong impression that he, more than anyone else, wants to ride the Franxx. Once described as a prodigy, he has high expectations [placed upon him], but he ended up as a dropout.

In this world, it is taught that riding the Franxx means everything. He’s mentally deteriorating, increasingly so, and the start point of the story has him flunking out. He’s a kid who has a lot of thoughts going on inside him.

At this point, he meets Zero Two. To him, Zero Two is his saviour and I think he believes the Franxx will take them ‘somewhere’, which is where you see his childlike nature coming out. Like a typical boy, Hiro shouts ‘I’ll definitely ride that robot!’ and both Director Nishigori and Sound Director Hata Shōji asked me to [always] keep those feelings in mind.

Q: How about Zero Two?

Tomatsu: She’s unique for sure. It’s a difficult role, but the more I voice her the more attractive she becomes to me, particularly as her past and the burdens she carries are revealed. I go through every week thinking ‘the more I know about her, the tougher it gets’.

My first impression of her though, was ‘a girl wrapped up in mystery’, so there are things about her that I can’t mention as yet; ‘mysterious’ isn’t an adequate word to describe her. She’s a child who harbours many different emotions and I feel that this role has been invaluable to me as an actress.

Her facial expressions are endless – as a girl with a wounded heart and a painful past, her mindset changes upon meeting Hiro, and her mood swings are pretty intense which makes her a pleasure to play. Her personality also changes when she rides the Franxx; she becomes more masculine than Hiro so that kind of makes Hiro more like a heroine really (laughs).

Uemura: Director Nishigori mentioned that, didn’t he? Hiro being shaken up by Zero Two all the time, yet he can’t help but be curious about Zero Two’s every move, casting doubt on everything [she does]. Quite a lot of those situations will crop up.

Tomatsu: She’s got Hiro wrapped around her little finger, hasn’t she~? Zero Two goes and does whatever she wants to, and Hiro has to be the one who slams the brakes. When they’re not in battle, she’s got a side to her that’s rather catlike [sly] and innocent; she really just does as she wishes. There’s also a huge difference in her behaviour towards things she likes and things she doesn’t and I think she probably doesn’t even remember any of the other kids’ names apart from Hiro’s (laughs). That’s the kind of spontaneous life she’s been living.

Q: Judging from the PV, she has that boyish nature to her as well?

Tomatsu: That’s right. She doesn’t behave a girl, she’s just who she is. I guess you could say she’s closer to an animal [than a human being].

Q: What do you think about the character art?

Uemura: [Hiro’s] appearance makes him look like an honour student with just a bit of darkness in him. But at the start of the story when he meets Zero Two, you’ll get to see a lot of expressions from him. The way a blush spreads across his cheeks when Zero Two teases him makes me think that there is some cuteness and innocence in him.

Tomatsu: I had the chance to see a bit of Tanaka Masayoshi-san’s designs at the audition stage and I thought it was refreshing to see a girl like Zero Two. She looked really cool. I also got to see a height comparison chart showing Zero Two being taller than Hiro and I could kind of feel [the art] emanating the masculine prowess she possesses.

Q: As we approach the start of the series, tell us what we should look forward to from this pair.

Uemura: I think the scene of their first encounter leaves a big impression. Hiro has a lot of monologues, and you can hear his true feelings creeping into them as he gets twisted around Zero Two’s little finger – it’s easy to empathize with him though.

It’s also fun to see how cool Zero Two is as she drags Hiro along with her, as well as how he tends to be in a daze when he’s being manipulated, but I do think you should first look forward to seeing how they meet.

Tomatsu: Probably their master-servant relationship that’s clear from the start (laughs); the first episode is one that lays the groundwork as everything moves at Zero Two’s pace – I’d like for you to observe the innocent aspects of Zero Two. Their first encounter already has amazing impact! There are lots of different types of pairs, but are their relationships romantic; are they partners or just friends? There is pleasure in not knowing what lies ahead, something that is unique to an original anime like this.

With hindsight, there are many hints [from the beginning], things that cannot be absorbed with just one viewing. Zero Two is full of mysteries, so I think it may be a good idea to observe her from the perspective of the children at the outset.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to highlight?

Uemura: To limit the number of highlights is tough. The action is amazing; I think it’s turned out to be remarkably powerful. But at the root of it all is a human drama involving this group of children.

The confronting stance they take when attempting to defeat the Kyōryū is inadequate, hence they are both incomplete and transient. The pain they feel at not being able to control their feelings demonstrates their childish mindsets. I would like for you to pay attention to that.

Tomatsu: Everything is wonderful, but the action scenes in particular, are amazing. Even during recording, we can see the cuts switching quickly, like bang bang bang bang bang.

The story is set in the distant future so the worldview differs from that of our daily lives. Why are there only kids in this world? I hope you can come to love this worldview, even if it’s just instinctively.

[Interview & words: Tsukagoshi Junichi]