The latest Disney & Pixar animated film, "Hoppers" (directed by Daniel Chong), currently showing in theaters, is generating a lot of buzz. We spoke with actress Kyoko Yoshine, who voices the main character in the Japanese dubbed version, about her own "voice." We also delved into her personal life with questions about how she relaxes and what she would have done if she hadn't become an actress. (Part 2 of a two-part interview)
◇An unparalleled animal lover who owns a ferret and a cat.
Yoshine voices the main character Mabel in "When I Become a Beaver." Many people who saw the trailer before the announcement didn't realize it was Yoshine's voice. When this was mentioned to her, she smiled and said, "That makes me happy."
"My main principle was that I absolutely couldn't let my voice get in the way of the story. I was careful not to give away any unnecessary information, like my voice being distracting and making it hard to concentrate, or causing people to think about things unrelated to the story. Even so, I don't have a lot of experience with voice acting, so I was worried and nervous about how well I was covering everything. That's why I was so happy when people said they didn't realize it was me. My friend Erika Ikuta also told me, 'I saw the trailer at the movie theater, and I didn't realize that was Kyon-chan (Yoshine-san),' and I was really happy about that."
She said she had a complex about her own voice, saying she "didn't like it."
"I got my first voice acting job when I was 21 (for the animated film 'Our Seven-Day War,' released in 2019), and being chosen for my voice gave me a bit of confidence. If you ask me if I still love my voice, I'm not sure (laughs), but I've come to think that my voice has its good points. I don't feel as self-conscious about my voice as I used to."
She owns a ferret and a cat as pets, and her unparalleled love for animals proved useful in this voice acting job.
"I just couldn't help but find all the creatures in the film adorable. I had so much fun the whole time I was holed up in the studio recording the voices. I did it hoping that Mabel would become a cute beaver, and that these animals would become charming, so I think it's full of love."
◇What if you hadn't become an actor?
Yoshine celebrated her 29th birthday at the end of February. When asked about what she's been paying attention to in terms of beauty and health in her last year in her twenties, she stated firmly, "I tend to put my own body last. I've come to realize that when I'm filming, taking care of my body becomes a lower priority, so recently I've decided to rely on professionals."
"Going to the gym and having a trainer guide me, going to a chiropractor and having a chiropractor adjust my body, going to the doctor when I'm not feeling well or my skin is breaking out—I've come to realize in my late twenties that it's better to rely on professionals and that it's important to rely on others. Also, I feel that things I enjoy in my daily life, like chatting with friends, going out with family, and eating delicious food, contribute not only to my mental health but also to my physical health."
He reveals with a smile that his time to relax is "the moment when I've finished a day's work, finished preparing for the next day, and think, 'Ah, there's nothing left to do,' and have a beer."
"I like beer. The brand I'm appearing in the commercial for is one that my family and I have been drinking for a long time, so my family is very happy about me appearing in the commercial."
She says that while refreshing herself in this way, she hopes to "stay healthy and continue acting" 10 years from now.
"I started to realize the importance of my own time, and about two years ago, I tried managing my personal schedule for the first time. I learned that taking proper rest is incredibly refreshing, allows for input, and enables me to output that through acting. I realized that taking good rest is a huge plus for my work. Until then, I had just been working relentlessly, but when I thought about my health, I realized that the ideal situation is to be able to face my work while properly paying attention to my body. My ideal is to take care of my body and still be acting 10 years from now."
He said that he wants to continue acting "as long as there is demand for it," but then added with a mischievous laugh, "I might change careers by then. You never know what life is like (laughs). That's what's interesting about it."
What if you hadn't become an actor? "I had planned to go to culinary school after graduating from high school. So, I think I would have been working somewhere related to cooking, like a restaurant or a cake shop, making food or sweets," he said.
Finally, regarding "When I Become a Beaver," she said, "It's a very dreamy film with the theme of what it would be like to enter the animal world. The animal world is incredibly chaotic, and I hope you'll be surprised and amused by the animals' outrageous behavior. The fluffy texture of the beavers is also very cute, so please enjoy it on the big screen in the theater."
"When I Become a Beaver" tells the story of Mabel, an animal-loving college student who learns that her beloved forest is going to be destroyed by a highway project. To protect her precious place, she uses top-secret technology to transform into a beaver and devises a plan to save the forest and the animals. In the dubbed version, actress Yoshine voices Mabel, Shinya Kote voices King George, the king of the beavers, Toshiya Miyata of the popular group "Kis-My-Ft2" voices Loaf, a laid-back beaver who is often eaten, and Atsuro Watabe voices Mayor Jerry, a human who threatens the beaver forest.
(Interview, text, and photography by Naoko Hosoda/MANTAN)
