橘龍丸

It seems that the joy of expression is overflowing from the whole body. “I’ve only ever done acting, so I can only do acting,” he confesses. Tatsumaru Tachibana, who appeared for the first time in this magazine, talked about his joy at the scene and his thoughts on the play.

Although it will be first appearance in this magazine, how did you like it? Tachibana: I haven’t had many opportunities to film in my bare state without a role, so I was happy when I received the offer. I’m also feeling happy that I’m starting to make a living out of being a voice actor!

Your family is a theatre family, where your father started a theatre company. Tachibana: I was travelling with my family. When I was in fourth grade, my father suddenly quit his job and started a popular theatre company. After that, I would come home until the third period of elementary school classes and perform on stage. In the first place, I am very shy, and I cried because I couldn’t even command the classroom to say, “Discipline, courtesy!” I was a chaotic child. However, after performing on stage repeatedly, I came to think that the stage was fun, and although I didn’t learn from anyone, I started doing choreography for dance shows, scripts for plays, and directing.

I heard that you first became aware of being a voice actor when you were in elementary school. Tachibana: In the video for “Ranma ½” that I saw when I was in my lower grades, there was an interview video with the voice actor after the main story. I was shocked to see behind the scenes of the character, but I was also surprised that there was such a job. I started to realize that, and I started to think that if I were a shy voice actor, I might be able to do it, and I wanted to!

And then you started working as a voice actor in earnest. Tachibana: I played various small roles in each episode of the TV anime “Shin Chuka Ichiba!” “Kabukicho Sherlock” was fun, but at first, I was really nervous. Actually, I couldn’t participate in the dubbing of the first episode because it overlapped with the actual stage performance. I thought it would be a terrible situation for a rookie to skip the first episode, so when I was recording the second episode, I started from the point where I said, “I’m sorry for last week!”

It’s a story that seems to be linked to Torataro (laughs). Did you have a hard time creating the role? Tachibana: Yukio Nagasaki-san, the sound director, said that Toratarou’s role was interesting, and I was able to play it freely in the main part. I was even told, “Torataro looks older, but he’s 20, so just be careful about your age.” I think that the direction I was thinking of making it interesting suited Torataro. I like funny roles, so even now, I try to include playfulness from the stage of the audition tape.

“The God of High School” (hereafter referred to as GOH), you voice the main character, Jin Mori. Tachibana: I was scared and anxious when the role was decided, partly because it was the lead role. I was just doing a radio program for Kabukicho Sherlock with Junichi Suwabe-san, so I asked him for advice. Then he gave me the advice, “Don’t worry about being the lead, just enjoy yourself.” Suwabe-san’s personality is such that he taught me how to behave!

Jin Mori is a powerful character. Would you like to try acting? Tachibana: Mori is a character I love, who is joking but reckless, stupid but affectionate, but also thoughtful. I perform while taking on various challenges. There are many seniors in the field that I can rely on, and it is reassuring that the president of the office, Daisuke Namikawa-san, has always been a regular participant. Tomokazu Seki-san relieved me of my nerves, talked about the stage, and Yuki Kaida-san taught me about variations in action performances.

You said that you didn’t learn anything about acting from anyone, but that’s why you’re so blessed now. Tachibana: I agree. You can learn a lot just by being in the same field as seniors. When I don’t have a turn to play, I try to imitate the phrasing of my seniors by lip-syncing them, and I carefully check the intonation. Rather than having someone teach me, I can learn a lot just by watching the performances of my seniors. If you think about it, that way, both GOH and Kabukicho Sherlock cherish the fun that was created on set. Things like how you can expand the written lines with your acting! Moreover, if you have good ideas for ad-libs, please incorporate them more and more. I’m very blessed.

I would like to ask you about your private life, but how have you been spending your self-restraint period? Tachibana: Thinking that now is the time to watch “One Piece” and “Fairy Tail” from the beginning, and overseas drama series such as “Game of Thrones” on distribution services. I didn’t go out at all. It’s getting hotter now, so I only have one mask, but I don’t want to bother the people around me as much as possible, so I’ll wear two layers until summer and absolutely won’t leak droplets (laughs). Now is the time to endure, so let’s do our best while doing what we can! I don’t think there is a tunnel that you can’t get out of unless you stop walking. Besides, no matter what happens to the world, I don’t think I can quit being an actor. Let’s face forward positively. I still think that way.

For example, what kind of actor do you want to be 10 years from now? Tachibana: I am now following in the footsteps of my predecessors and working hard, so 10 or 20 years from now, I want to be a person who is both admired and pursued.

Finally, please give a message to our readers. Tachibana: Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun during the interview. I hope you can feel the atmosphere. And I think there are still a lot of people who are new to me, but I would be happy if you could remember their names and faces. Thank you!

Column: Little happiness: Work

I really like acting and am in this industry, so I would be happy if I got a small job. Moreover, now that I know that all these things are connected by various connections, I feel blessed.