Interview between the voice actors of Ren & Akechi - P5 Anime Reversible Translation
I don't remember where I got these scans since it's been so long, but I decided to translate these because these are ShuAke related and this has an interview involving the VAs of Ren and Akechi (Jun Fukuyama & Soichiro Hoshi).
I'll translate the Reversible cover first!
Translator Note: The Protagonist is called "Ren (蓮)" in this.
(英語の翻訳は間違いがあったら、直してくださいね！ 🙏)
Whether you’re someone who wears a mask and a costume and strides gallantly to another world, or someone who holds their breath waiting for dawn to break, while becoming crushed by the weight of everyday life and the absurdity of the world…
When you realize that both of these forms are part of your true self, or when a Phantom Thief’s path and a Detective’s gaze intersect, what scenes will unfold behind the dazzling illusion that forms when the two sides intertwine?
A 2nd Year high school student who transferred to Shujin Academy, a private high school, in the Spring. After a certain incident, he awakened his “Persona” and formed the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts”.
While still a 3rd Year high school student, he holds the title of a Detective and his skills are so great that he has put the adults to shame. The number of cases he has solved so far surpasses the police.
The moment that decides the approaching fate.
The outcasts, who were on the verge of giving up on “society”, have met each other and unleashed their anger that was surging within themselves, by awakening their Personas.
“Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!”
Starting with Ren’s awakening with Arsene, one by one, the thieves raise the banner of rebellion in another world… and so Ren and the others have formed the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts”.
While continuously confronting the past wounds they each carry deep within their hearts, the thieves are comrades who laugh and support one another, while standing up against the strong and helping the weak.
Standing against them, whose soul burns for a simple “Justice” that doesn’t forgive those who are unforgivable… lies a single Detective. What “Truth” did he saw that he will bring to the Phantom Thieves?
This feature explores the reversible fates and dualities such as Light and Dark, Justice and Evil, and Detective and Phantom Thief in “PERSONA 5 the Animation”.
It also features interviews with a splendid cast who are indispensable to the Persona series: The Sound Composer Shoji Meguro, the Singer Lyn, and the Director Masashi Ishihama. With them, we reflect on the battles fought so far and the upcoming climax.
Now I will translate the interview section!
"That is certainly, without a doubt, justice."
"Nice to meet you… this is the Phantom Thieves' final mission."
The united front of the Detective and Phantom Thief finally begins!
Jun Fukuyama (Ren VA) x Soichiro Hoshi (Akechi VA)
A conversation between rivals
A Phantom Thief and a Detective. Ren and Akechi, two people who should naturally be on opposing sides, finally join forces…….! A special interview has been arranged between Fukuyama and Hoshi, who have played these two rival characters.
2 contrasting figures quietly facing each other…
Interviewer: How do you approach the characters you voiced? What changes have occurred over the course of the episodes?
Fukuyama (Ren’s VA): Ren is the player’s character in the game, and since he isn't really given any extreme personality traits, he expresses what kind of person he is through his expressions and his responses during conversations. The way everyone in the Phantom Thieves and Akechi perceives “what Ren is like” naturally shapes his character. Thanks to that framework, I've been able to incorporate a bit more freedom and creativity with each recording session. When I was performing his Joker side, I consciously made sure to emphasize the contrast between that and his everyday Ren side, up until the Madarame Palace. Now, I can blend both of his sides together, giving a little substance to each scene without going out-of-character. I feel like everyone experiences that kind of feeling during the recording sessions.
Hoshi (Akechi’s VA): You wonderfully gave substance to your performances during the testing phase didn’t you?
Fukuyama: I’ve added plenty of fat to it. Then, I would remove the excess fat during the actual recording…. Ultimately, Miyano-kun (Mamoru) ends up being the one who single-handedly takes on all the fatty parts (laughs).
(Translator's Note: He’s using the process of cooking meat as a metaphor. Also, Mamoru Miyano voices Ryuji)
Hoshi: Akechi has the tendency to suddenly appear and then disappear again for a while, which considerably keeps you in suspense doesn’t he? Even though I know how the story will unfold, I didn't know exactly when or how Akechi will act in the anime until I receive the script. So I keep fluctuating between joy and disappointment depending on whether or not I have a role in an episode (laughs). During the voice recording sessions for the video game version, I explored various kinds of approaches for Akechi’s character, but instead of trying to aim for a specific impression, I focused on portraying him as a character who can be interpreted in multiple ways by the viewers. As Fukuyama-kun said, thanks to the atmosphere of everyone being in the same recording sessions together for the anime, I think we were able to deliver scenes where the voicelines were so tooth-rottingly pleasant. Honestly, Akechi was a difficult character to voice, but I enjoyed voicing the dialogues he has.
Fukuyama: Because of Akechi’s role as a detective, he was difficult to portray wasn’t he? “Persona 4” also has a detective character so you would assume that this kind of archetype would be carried over, but when you see Akechi, you start wondering “What exactly is a detective?”. While he is stylish in appearance outside of the Metaverse, it feels out-of-place compared to the “modern” everyday look of the Phantom Thieves. Like his flaxen hair and his gloves (laughs).
Hoshi: Oops, maybe I was a bit too conservative (laughs).
Fukuyama: In regards to Akechi’s behavior and speech, he had provoked Makoto and made probing remarks to Ren, making him a character whose suspicious nature stood out above all else. He didn’t seem interested in Ann and Ryuji though (laughs). But when I listened to Hoshi-san's voice acting, there were moments where I thought “Maybe he is not suspicious after all?”. Akechi’s dual nature….. the way it shifts back and forth between both sides, I think “just right” perfectly describes Hoshi-san’s portrayal of Akechi.
Interviewer: I'm curious about the relationship between Ren and Akechi.
Fukuyama: I think almost everything about them, including their circumstances, are completely opposite of each other. Akechi stated that justice encompasses social morality, and took the stance of judging Ren and the Phantom Thieves as evil. I believe that they were both aiming for the same thing in the long run, but their approaches are completely different. However when the 2 of them were talking alone together, there was a unique atmosphere of mutual understanding between them. Ren would just mutter something briefly, but Akechi was able to pick up on it, expand on it, and make it work. Even though Ren just responded to him normally, Akechi would say “You really are interesting aren’t you? You always go beyond my expectations.”
(TN: Wait a minute, is that why Akechi always says things like “You’re very interesting” when he talks to Ren? Cuz his detective self is able to interpret the deeper meaning of the small things that Ren says? 😳That’s how Akechi was able to understand him? *In my ShuAke tinted glasses* Is that why Ren fell in love with him?)
Hoshi: I’m being manipulated by Ren (laughs). The chess scene with the two of them was fun, wasn't it? Their conversational exchange in it is like a chess game itself. It was also a scene that explained their situation to the viewers but their dialogue exchange was skillfully done.
Fukuyama: What's interesting about the scenes between Ren and Akechi is that after you finished watching the entire anime, you’ll notice so many things when you rewatch those scenes again. It makes you wonder what Akechi was feeling at that time as well as various other things.
Hoshi: By the way, Ren is quite a trendy person isn’t he?
Fukuyama: He definitely is! Glasses are glasses, but big black-rimmed glasses? Yeah he’s completely trendy (laughs). Moreover, he became gentler each time a new heroine joined his group. In Episode 23 during the culture festival, he told Haru-chan, “let’s have fun”, and before that, he hung out with Makoto. It felt like he was making a conscious effort to support them.
Hoshi: In that sense, I envy Akechi for his social awkwardness.
Interviewer: Please tell us about your thoughts on the themes depicted in “Persona 5” and your thoughts on the Phantom Thieves.
Fukuyama: “The Phantoms” are a group with its flaws aren’t they? They don’t plan their activities, but instead take on battles one-by-one as they encounter them, and everyone grows little by little together. Each lonely adolescent in that group comes to understand the importance of connection, as they open their once-closed hearts. They embrace their vulnerabilities and move forward together. I think that's what resonates with so many people.
Hoshi: I think I am jealous about that. Because I am the type of person who wants to be on that side (laughs). In the other works that I had done, I often get roles of characters who are the loner type where they want to join the main group but they can’t, so whenever I see the Phantom Thieves, I always think that they are so cool. Also, regarding this series, the characters' personalities and the cast's overall vibe align so well that I personally feel even more connected to them. Even though Ren doesn’t talk much, Fukuyama-kun sure talks a lot (laughs).
Fukuyama: Ahahaha!
Hoshi: Ah, but during the beginning of the game, I did wonder if Miyano-kun’s portrayal of Ryuji was different from his usual character image. Either way, I think Ryuji is Miyano-kun now.
Fukuyama: That's what makes Miyano Mamoru so amazing. Although the story and direction remains unchanged from the game version, the staff and cast, as well as the viewers, have unknowingly changed their impression of Ryuji over time. Ryuji, you're really full of life, aren't you~? We often get retakes where the direction was “Let’s tone it down a bit here”, but Miyano instead tone his lines up higher and higher (laughs). And then Ann joined in too……
Hoshi: Oh yeah, at first Ann gave the impression of a girl who is out of your league and is unapproachable, but she turned out to be such an easygoing girl, didn't she?
Fukuyama: However, while Ryuji was gradually boosting up his voicelines like that, there was only one person who blew it away with their voicelines in one fell swoop. It was the scene in Episode 23 where he ate a takoyaki.
Hoshi: That’s me isn’t it? (laughs)
Fukuyama: Yeah, it was so hilarious that everyone in the recording booth was shaking with laughter! (laughs). I think the significance of including that scene in an anime that has such a meticulously crafted script and direction, is really great.
Hoshi: Seriously? For Akechi to go from a pleasant boy to suddenly falling apart, I was like “are you okay”?!?! But even so, the best thing about this anime is that everyone was having fun with it. Both Miyano-kun and Sugita-kun (Tomokazu) were really going all out. Well, many of their ad-libs didn’t make it into the anime, but some of them still bled through, so I hope the viewers will be able to notice them. I wish that there could have been more ad-libbing or something.
(TN: Tomokazu Sugita voices Yusuke)
Interviewer: The second season is finally reaching its climax.
Hoshi: It's where “Akechi finally joins the Phantom Thieves!?!?” is going to be the current flow of the story, but the anime is already reaching the final episode huh? Though I will feel a bit lonely, I will do my best. I’m a little scared….. of how everyone will view Akechi from here on out, but I want to breathe life into him as he heads straight down the path that he believes in. After all, things aren’t always going to exactly follow what happened in the game. I myself am looking forward to seeing how it will all end.
Fukuyama: I think the heart-pounding excitement you feel as the climax approaches is completely different between those who had played the game, and those experiencing the story for the first time through the anime. For those who had played the game, they will probably be like “Wait huh? It only has this many episodes!?!?” (laughs). However, what these viewers/players both have in common is that they will feel the exhilarating experience of betrayal at least once. So everyone, please brace yourselves and enjoy the climax of this story.
(TN: The P5 Anime’s final episode is when Akechi shoots Joker in the interrogation room. Movie-length Specials came after that, where it covers Shido’s palace and Yaldaboath. So this interview was done before the P5 Anime aired the finale episodes where Akechi shoots Ren. Man, I wanted them to talk about that more asdfghjkl)
Ren helped a woman who was being harassed by a drunk man, but when the man fell and injured himself, he falsely accused Ren of assault. But when Ren was faced with Kamoshida’s misdeeds, he became convinced that what he did in the past was not wrong and awakened his Persona “Arsène”. To carry out the justice he believes in, Ren leads his comrades as the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
Akechi is a High School student who holds the title of detective. He always said that if there are Phantom Thieves capable of manipulating people’s hearts, they should be judged by the law, however he disagreed with the theory that the Phantom Thieves killed Okumura. Furthermore, Akechi confessed to the Phantom Thieves that he had wandered into the Metaverse. He said that he was attacked by a man in a black mask, which is how he awakened his persona…..
Hearing rumors about the Phantom Thieves in the city, Akechi encountered Ren for the first time in Leblanc. From then on, as they increasingly began to interact more, the two exchanged their thoughts on the pros and cons of the existence of the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts”. Each time they did, Akechi increasingly grew more interested in Ren….
(TN: Goro is developing a crush I see lmao)
The two have had interactions separate from the activities of the Phantom Thieves, with Ren lending his support to the investigations that Akechi was involved in. When Akechi heard Shido condemning the Phantom Thieves, he expressed his own opinion that the Phantom Thieves were not related to the series of suspicious deaths.
Akechi, who has been secretly tracking the Phantom Thieves' movements, finally discovered the true identities of Ren and his gang. He sought direct contact with all members of the Phantom Thieves, and told them that his rebellious spirit against the "terrible adults" is his sense of justice. Then he proposed a joint operation with them.
Whew, I finally translated that interview! I'm glad to provide more ShuAke info! I will be translating the P5R Artbook next whenever I have the time! 🙏💖
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