Maaya Sakamoto talks about the pain of understanding the role of Mari. I will take secrets to my grave.
June 27, 2021, 18:00
On the 27th, voice actress Maaya Sakamoto attended the stage speech for the screenings of "EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO. EVANGELION: 3.333" and "EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" at Shinjuku Wald 9. She talked about her struggles in creating the role of Makinami Mari Illustrious, the character she played.
Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yamaguchi, Tomokazu Seki, Tetsuya Iwanaga, Junko Iwao, Miki Nagasawa, Miyuki Sawashiro, and Anri Katsu also attended the stage speech.
"EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" is the final work in the four-part "Rebuild of Evangelion" series, which was restarted in 2007 from an anime series that caused a social phenomenon in the 1990s. The film depicts the pilots of the Evangelion as they fight against the mysterious enemy "Angel".
"EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO. EVANGELION : 3.333", which is an upgraded version of this film and "EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO." was screened together this time.
When asked about the episode when she recorded "EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO.", Sakamoto said, "Mari is a role with many mysteries, and I don't know everything about it."
She said that she built up the role by taking hints from what Hideaki Anno had said to her during the recording. "Anno doesn't tell everything," Sakamoto said.
"Even in interviews and brochures, I didn't know how much of what he told me I should say," she explained, adding that it was hard to understand the character of Mari.
When Sakamoto hesitated to reveal his interaction with director Anno, Mitsuishi, who played the role of Misato Katsuragi, pushed her back, saying, "Don't worry, Anno will tell you that it's okay to say anything." But Sakamoto replied, "No, I still can't ......".
She continued, "Anno always mumbles in a mysterious tone, so I don't know which of his suggestions are important. Maybe he doesn't care at all, but I can't tell anyway. I'll take it to my grave," she said, revealing the difficulty of interpreting Mari.
Sakamoto has done most of the postrecording for the series so far by herself.
In "EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME", she recorded with Yuko Miyamura (Shikinami Asuka Langley).
"I was worried that I wouldn't be able to record with the actress who has been playing the role since the TV series, but this time I was able to work with Miyamura. I was impressed to see Asuka firmly in Miyamura's mind, and to feel the connection between the role and the voice actor. No matter how I try, I can't reach that level, but it was great to be able to feel the atmosphere," she said, expressing her respect for Miyamura.
(Masakazu Isobe)
<Original JP site: https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0124375>