Tell us about your impressions of the original story as well as the anime production.
When I read the manga, I thought “this is perfect!” I’m the type to read physical copies over digital versions. When I turned to the first page, my hands couldn’t stop turning the pages and my eyes couldn’t stop reading. It felt like everything just flowed.
Loid’s monologues do fill some panels but it never felt like it was cramped with text. Everything flowed smoothly and they’re very easy to take in. The characters do have heavy pasts, but they’re good foundations that create the character. I really felt that everything had meaning.
What did you find easy to read?
The sense of rhythm. The sense of tempo and the sense of rhythm are the same but totally different. I feel like it’s easy to read because the rhythm is at a comfortable pace. Everyone has their own rhythem when reading manga, but I feel it’s easy to read. It’s never constant. It picks up here and slows down there. In some parts it drops a surprise and you’re like “what the heck!?” It hits you from different directions and I think that makes this series very engaging to read in the long term.
Also, I love the designs of the trade paperbacks. They’re really sophisticated and stylish. Even the back covers are great. Every volume is covered with fun.
Tell us how you feel about your character Anya Forger.
When I think of Anya, I think of her saying words like “exciting!”. She’s also cute and she speaks in hiragana (the basic Japanese syllabary first taught to kids in school in Japan) in the manga. Anya’s, or rather the author Endo is really great at utilizing the writing system. He’s particularly great at crafting mispronounciations to fit the character.
In the first episode, Loid meets Anya in an orphanage. The Forger family each have their own heavy past, but… how should I put it… they’re not defined by them. They’re all pure.
Anya can read people’s minds yet she grew up to be happy and cute. I wondered why she turned out the way she did, and I realized it’s her curiosity and how she finds excitement in them.
In the manga, the narrator says “the girl was filled with excitement”. Despite her past, curiosity is in her core.
Tell us how you feel about Loid Forger.
As a spy, he’s perfect. Perhaps because of his seriousness, he is easily influenced by the people around him, or maybe he’s just very honest. Many scenes make us believe he’s perfect. To him he’s very straight-laced and serious, but to us readers, we find him cute (laughs).
Tell us how you feel about Yor Forger.
I feel that she’s a bright person who lives by instinct. Despite her personality, she’s an assassin. Her job is really something else (laughs). On top of being a spy or a psychic, being an assassin is on another level of heavy. I don’t think it’s easy to kill people, but she grew up doing so for the sake of her only family; her little brother Yuri.
She’s a natural airhead who worked hard for her brother. Despite what’s required for her job, it’s amazing that deep down she’s still a fluffy and cheerful person. She’s never consumed by the darkness. She’s always worrying about something. I think Yor and Loid are very precious.
When playing Anya, what do you keep in mind and what are you careful of?
From a technical stand point, I try to enunciate her words. Like when you spell out spy (in Japanese), I try to emphasize the silent “u” sound in supai. Especially since her dialogue is completely written in hiragana. I don’t try to be too concious of channneling the basic syllabry so even if I don’t put too much effort in emphasizing the silent vowel sounds I won’t worry too much about it. I’m sure Anya does the same.
Also, whenever she experiences emotions like happiness or joy, I express those feelings to the max. I bring out those emotions that children would feel at the time to the next level.
What’s it like working with Takuya Eguchi (Loid) and Saori Hayami (Yor).
Both their voice actors and the staff had a firm direction of where they wanted to take the two characters since the first preview aired and never wavered from their original plans.
I feel that Eguchi creates the character as he goes. I remember when he was recording, a lot of people in the studio had their own input about the character, which actually influenced his delivery. I thought that was very Loid-like.
Hayami was also influenced by what other people said, but she did bring out what was originall envisioned. Her voice is actually what I imagined Yor’s to be.
Who is your favorite character so far?
I mentioned this at JUMP Festa, but I love Henry Henderson. A lot of the chapters are really funny, but the stories that made me laugh the most are the Eden exam scene and when Anya was crafting with Damian. Mr. Henderson were in both of those scenes and I find myself laughing at his lines and reactions. Which is what made me like him. I look forward to seeing more of him and his reactions in the future.
Please tell us what you find important when playing your roles.
I think it’s important to not rely on creating your role on your own. Characters take shape by everyone’s input. Which is why I create my characters along with other people on set.
Also, I’m not sure if I’m living up to it myself, but there are things that I want happen when people see me perform. Like, whenever I watch people perform, I can feel the character coursing through their veins. It makes me happy that they have brought out the character. I can feel the rush when I see that person. I want to be able to do the same for my characters.
You play a variety of roles, and often when I hear your character’s voice, I can’t tell that it’s you playing the role, but do you change your voice depending on the character you play?
I don’t really have moments where I’m like “I’m going to bring out this voice!” Which is why I sound like a different character when you compare how I was at the beginning and at the end (laughs). I don’t really care about the gender. And I don’t use a particular voice because of their age or if they’re a boy. My voice is a result of just me performing. Sorry if I can’t explain it well…
Do you have any kind of routine when playing roles?
I don’t have a set routine, and I am not conscious of it, but when I am on the train or when I go out to eat, I may subconsciously observe the way people speak and how they sound. When I listen to the TV, I would think things like “that’s an interesting way of speaking” or “I’m gonna try that voice next time.”
I give those voices a try when I’m at home. And it’s possible that I do it spontaneously. It’s not like I do it because I want to (laughs).
Is there anything you do consciously?
Not because it’s for my acting! But because I just enjoy it. I watch a lot of comedy acts and dramas. I especially like dark and heavy dramas, and I watch a lot of the ones that bring out people’s emotions. I have also been going to voice training for a long time.
Source: Animate
More Spy x Family Reading:
- Spy x Family Creator Answers Some Questions About The World
- Spy x Family Creator Talks About the Characters and Setting of the Story
- Takuya Eguchi Talks About His Character Loid – Spy x Family
- Animate Interviews the voice of Yor Forger — Saori Hayami
- The Anime Production of Spy x Family
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