"Yamato Forever REBEL 3199" is the latest installment in the remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato." Hoshina Toru, who appeared as a new character in the first installment of the remake series, "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," is an intelligence professional who unites anti-Desariam forces within the defense force, lays the foundation for a resistance organization, and continues to operate underground, demonstrating unprecedented success. We spoke to Takagi Genki, the voice actor who plays Hoshina Toru, about his thoughts on "Space Battleship Yamato" and Hoshina Toru.
◇ "2199" - "I don't want you to think about anything"
"Space Battleship Yamato" is a hugely popular anime that was first broadcast on TV in 1974 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Takagi-san is not from the "Yamato generation."
"It was made before I was born, so I had never seen it. I had the impression that it was an anime for adults, a difficult work. When I was cast in 2199, my parents were very happy. They asked me, 'What role do you play?' and I remember saying, 'It's a new character?! I hope (Hoshina) lives a long life.' I'm glad that he did live a long life. I don't know how much I'll be involved in it, so I feel nervous every time I open a new script. When people in my hometown ask me, 'What are you in?' and I say 'Yamato,' and they're happy, and it's become like a calling card for me."
The first film in the remake series, "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," began in 2012. Hoshina appeared in "2199" as a friendly, beautiful young man, but his true identity was that of a spy spying on the Yamato crew. He recalls that at the time, he was recording without being told how the story would unfold, saying, "I was deceived."
“When I was acting, Director Izubuchi Yutaka told me, ‘I don’t want you to think about anything.’ He said, ‘I want you to speak as you are now. If you really want, I can tell you how things will develop, but for now, just act without knowing.’ So, I think the viewers were surprised, and I was surprised too. I was fooled by an adult (laughs). At the time, the Yamato crew gathered to record, and there were so many of them that the chairs in the studio couldn’t all be seated. We lined up spare chairs for recording, and it looked like the first bridge of Yamato. We all interacted with each other and felt the speed of the story as we recorded.”
◇ Becoming an adult in "2205"
In "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love," Hoshina was involved in the construction of the Wave Motion Experimental Ship Ginga and served as a crew member on the ship. In "Space Battleship Yamato 2205: The New Voyage," he appears as the head of Yamato's security department and plays an active role in monitoring the movements of Ryusuke Domon.
In "3199," he becomes head of security at the headquarters, and after the headquarters falls to the Desariam invasion, he goes into hiding underground. He unites anti-Desariam forces within the defense forces and lays the foundations for a resistance organization. He devisees a counter-strategy using Van Gogh's famous painting "The Starry Night" as the fuse, in an attempt to expose Desariam's deception, but the operation ends in failure. He has now gone underground again to prepare for his next move, and is acting as a core member of the partisans.
Looking back, we can see that Hoshina has always been an important character who has been operating behind the scenes.
"He's not at the forefront, but he's always working in the background. I think he's a good worker, but I think it's amazing that he's not really noticed. It's the same in 3199. He carries out important missions without standing out and not giving off any sense of incongruity."
Hoshina was 18 years old when he first appeared, but by 3199 he was 26. The turning point was 2205.
“Even now, it is an extension of Director Izubuchi’s words from 2199, ‘Just be yourself,’ but there have also been changes. Hoshina has gotten older, and he has gradually become more conscious of being an adult rather than a boyish character. Since 2205, the next generation of crew members has appeared, and although Hoshina is young, he is now of the older generation. I assisted in welcoming Domon into the Yamato crew, and that was the turning point.”
◇The first “losing star name”
In "3199," it was also impressive that he devised a rebellion plan to burn down Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night."
"I think he has the most lines in 3199 to date. I have the image of him talking all the time. He works hard to come up with strategies, but nothing goes as planned (laughs). Before we started recording 3199, Director Fukui told me, 'Hoshina has been too much of a superhuman up until now, but I want to portray him as human as well,' which made a big impression on me. Up until now, he's been active out of the public eye, smiling and doing great things, but from now on, I think there will be scenes where he shows signs of being human and getting discouraged."
Hoshina is talented, but not superhuman. In "3199," Hoshina sometimes appears more three-dimensional.
"Because it's the same character as before, there's a core that I'm trying to protect, but when I'm expressing it, I'm trying to act flexibly, without consolidating the range of the character, and keeping in mind that the character will grow and change. This is the first time I've played a 'Make Hoshina' to this extent, so I'm acting while thinking that I can't do it the same way as before."
Hoshina, who is not a superhuman, struggles but tries to move forward. Takagi says that he sees Hoshina in some ways as a parallel between Alphonse, a character from "3199."
"The person I'm most interested in in 3199 is Alphonse. Even though Desariam is so controlled, he acts independently. I wonder how much Mother Desariam knows, but I imagine she does. That's why he fights alone. I feel like he has some similarities with Hoshina. I think of Alphonse as a guest hero in 3199."
◇The shock of the “last minute”
"3199" consists of seven chapters, with the fifth chapter, "The Incandescent Galactic War," being released on February 20th. The main visual for the fifth chapter is accompanied by the tagline, "The last minute, everything turns upside down," which has also become a hot topic.
Although he can't give away any spoilers, Takagi hints, "I think everyone will be shocked by the last minute, but I was even more shocked after that. I was surprised by the ending theme, and the preview for the next chapter really shook me up."
People are also curious about Hoshina's future success, and she says, "I'm still thinking about it. Sometimes I get discouraged... But please enjoy!"
We hope you look forward to the shocking fifth chapter and Hoshina's subsequent exploits. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
