Flynn/Yuri Support By Cast and Crew: The Masterpost
(See bottom for Updates)
Many fans over the years have been wondering about the actual amount of official support for Flynn/Yuri, which is why, by popular demand and personal interest, we've gathered here everything we were able to find for whoever might need a collection of some of the source material. Huge thanks to @auauaurita, one of the incredible translators for the official interviews from the Japanese complete guides and artbooks (other ones wished to remain anonymous).
Disclaimer: This is a fan translation and as such is not by any means to be taken as professional work. All translations were made by fans, for fans, and above all remain a passion project meant to be a source of comfort for those seeking it (because this fandom needs to chill it with the fluri hate please and thank you xoxo).
Let’s dive right in with the March 2008 issue of the weekly magazine Famitsu, in which Yoshito Higuchi (key director of the storyboarding team) discusses the ideas behind Yuri’s concept design and his relationship as a caretaker with Estelle and the party members.
Q: This work’s theme is “To enforce one’s ‘justice’”. What is the meaning of that?
Higuchi: Up till now, with [protagonists] like Kyle and Luke, we’ve done many works portraying that inner growth to adulthood. But this time, we have a protagonist with a full-grown character. If I had to say, the “inner growth” component here is light. The protagonist is in the position of helping catalyze the growth of his companions.
With that kind of protagonist personality, at first we were thinking of a theme of “to enforce one’s beliefs”. But it didn’t quite fit (laughs). Then, considering our target audience this time, I thought they would accept something more blunt. So I went ahead and used the word “justice”. People have all sorts of “justice”, don’t they? Rather than the typical form of justice, Yuri enforces his own particular kind. I wanted to tell that kind of story.
[…]
Q: And that scene where [Estelle] says “We hope to be back soon”?
Higuchi: They’re leaving at the time, and she’s speaking to all the lower quarter people. It’s a scene of setting off on a trip. Even though they’re people she’s only just met, she’s the sort of carefree personality who gives that buoyant farewell.
Q: It’s a balanced sort of feeling, with a levelheaded character like Yuri.
Higuchi: Because of Estelle’s impulsiveness, they get into troublesome situations many times, and Yuri has to scold her. It’s probably similar to a relationship between a boke and tsukkomi [TN: A comedy duo].
Q: Yuri completely seems like a protector, doesn’t he? (laughs)
Higuchi: I mentioned before that Yuri isn’t the one who’s growing up. It’s his companions, including Estelle.
As you can see, there already seems to be a certain lighthearted, platonic bond the directors wished to portray between Yuri and Estelle. More evidence for this can be found in a clear statement from the 2008 Complete Guide, where Takashi Hasegawa mentions that though Estelle might have had slight feelings for Yuri, those feelings end up very much unrequited.
Hasegawa: If I had to say, although Yuri likes Estelle, rather than romantic love it’s the relationship between a protector and the one he’s protecting. Moments like the conversation before the final battle have that kind of mood. There, Estelle intends to say [her feelings] plainly, but although Yuri definitely notices, he acts as though he doesn’t. (laughs)
Further even, we’ve gathered from forums and the Japanese Yuri/Estelle pixiv page itself that Yuri considers her a sister more than anything else, and that their relationship parallels the legend of ‘Brave Vesperia’ and the ‘Child of the Full Moon’ as an older brother/younger sister relationship.
While we haven’t yet been able to find the actual interview, these testimonies are proof enough that it exists (naturally we’ll reblog this post with the excerpt once we find it).
Unlike most Tales games, the protagonist and heroine couple aren’t romantically paired in this game. According to the official guide Yuri sees her as a sister, is aware of her feelings but gently turns her down.
In contrast with this, the directors seemed to have actually meant for Rita and Estelle to share a romantically-inclined relationship, as explained in the same 2008 Complete Guide.
Baba Tsunekazu: Originally, there was a subevent where Estelle and Rita raise a child together, chase cats, and later even more ‘lovey dovey’ [subevents], but it was all cut due to the installation work of the event. A pity…! [TN: Some of these events were later included in the PS3 version.]
Sort of in relation to that, Rika Morinaga (Rita’s Japanese voice actress) mentioned in the skit for Tales of Festival 2012 that her character was only interested in coming because of Estelle’s presence. While it isn’t anything direct per se, it showcases enough of Rita’s smitten state of mind.
Now moving on to Yuri and Flynn: another Complete Guide interview with Takashi Hasegawa (member of Vesperia’s scriptwriting team) elaborates on the concepts they wished to convey through Flynn and Yuri’s characters as well as their relationship.
Q: Compared to Tales of Symphonia (TOS) and Tales of the Abyss (TOA), Yuri is a type of protagonist we haven’t seen before.
Hasegawa: With TOS, the concept of the project was the idea of creating something without flaws. That’s why the hero’s actions are heroic no matter how you look at it, and the relationship between the hero and the heroine uses that “royal road” approach. It’s extremely easy to understand.
This time around, however, all the members in charge of the scenarios were men, and they made a hero designed to be the kind of protagonist that a man thinks “what a cool guy”. That’s Yuri. And then in order to make Yuri look cool, he also needed an absolute friendship. So we created Flynn, a man who understands Yuri but who walks his own path. “Flynn” is Yuri’s ‘friend’, which is why we named him “Flynn”. (laughs)
And in an interview from the March 2015 Tales of Magazine issue, Toriumi Kousuke (Yuri’s Japanese voice actor) and Takaaki Okuda explain their own perception of Flynn and Yuri’s dynamic.
Toriumi: I think my impression of Flynn has changed a lot since the beginning. At first, to be honest, I had a hard time with him. But as we worked on First Strike and the PS3 version’s additional episodes, I really started to understand him. “Ah, so it’s this kind of relationship with Yuri,” and such. As I came to appreciate the depth he had, I understood him better. Now I get along with him pretty well (laughs). But there isn’t much of a rival impression lately. Like in the Genealogy of the Convictor illustration, Yuri fundamentally entrusts his back to Flynn. It’s that sort of relationship.
Q: So he’s like a partner to Yuri?
Toriumi: Flynn fixes things head on, while Yuri handles from behind the things that Flynn can’t do, is how I think of it. The two of them aren’t always together, but their foundation is the same. So I suppose that’s partners?
Q: Okuda-san, what kind of feeling did you want for Flynn’s image?
Okuda: From the beginning, Yuri wasn’t a protagonist that walked in the light. If it had only been that kind of story it would have gotten quite dark. Because of that, Flynn was created to be a paired existence. As the story progresses in TOV, there are parts where Yuri is chasing after Flynn’s back, but Flynn also feels the reverse. Each of them have moments where they think of the other as being better than themselves. The desire to catch up makes them want to work even harder. But that’s because they’re each seeing the other from their own perspective. Sometimes that causes friction between them, but that also results in the confidence that the other will have their back. It has the feeling of being the first relationship the two of them formed.
Q: So in other words, they’re basically like “another self” to each other.
Okuda: Their personal ideal… Not who they want to be themselves, but there’s a feeling that it’s how they want people to be. While they have various disagreements, they’re so similar at their core that they don’t need words to communicate. It’s a level of bond that other people can’t enter.
The idea that Flynn and Yuri’s relationship stands at the core of the game is further cemented in an interview with Gouda Tsutomu and Yoshito Higuchi soon before Vesperia’s Xbox 360 release in 2008.
Q: BONNIE PINK was chosen to sing the theme song. For what reason was she chosen?
Gouda: There’s a lot of reasons, but personally, we think that when a game’s contents fit an artist, then we want the song to fit too. The lyrics are important for the match, but of course that doesn’t mean anyone will do. So Mr. Higuchi was often consulted. This game is about Yuri and Flynn’s story as men, so we thought it would be interesting to have it sung by a woman. At first, there were a lot of candidates, but only a few female artists could sing about their relationship well. That’s how we picked BONNIE PINK after listening to her music.
Taking this statement into account, here’s a quick reminder that those were the original, Japanese lyrics for Ring A Bell:
Away from you, searching for me
I walked for thousands of nights
What am I aiming for and who can I trust?
I swear I’m trembling again
Although I bare fangs to the dusk, I’m not strong; no, I’m not that strong
After turning my back on you for so long, the whole starry sky has become desolate
Light is shadow, shadow is light
The two will follow each other to the end
If I am laughing and living
I will ring a bell and let you know that
The forgiving person and the forgiven
Share the same scars
The sadness of the front and back will someday
Be healed in paradise
The bell echoing in the morning mist, it’s not far; no, it’s not that far
Staying the way you are, that also means solitude
Light is shadow, shadow is light
The two will follow each other to the end
If the clouds darken and the sky rains down
I will ring a bell and search for you
Is the world white or black? Is there peace or conflict?
Heads or tails, you and I, light and dark, ups and downs
In the middle of all that, will we one day meet and join hands?
Light is shadow, shadow is light
The two will follow each other to the end
If I am laughing and living
I will ring a bell and let you know that
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
In another exerpt from the 2008 Complete Guide, Takashi Hasegawa, Yoshito Higuchi and Takaaki Okuda touch on the actual theme of romance in the game and how they chose to handle the topic (hint: not in the way many [mis]interpreted they did).
Q: I’m curious, please tell me about any romantic relationships among the party members.
Higuchi: This time, we didn’t really have anyone say “I like you” (laughs). I feel like that kind of thing is a little embarrassing. My intention was that if people read between the lines, they could understand it.
Okuda: [I/we] decided early on that it was better not to make it explicit. Naturally, if a player thinks “this person and that person could get along well”, then I thought that could be the correct answer for them. Well, I think most people could tell who would get along from a normal playthrough. Even so, I feel like in this case it’s good not to say and to leave things vague.
Honestly, considering all of the above it really isn’t hard to guess one of the very few relationships that was implied. The 2009 Artbook, featuring interviews with Kousuke Fujishima, Kumichi Yoshizuki and Yoshito Higuchi, does seem to give an easy answer to that.
Q: But the bond between Flynn and Yuri is strong.
Fujishima: That “You’ll die in my place” was the best. (laughs)
Higuchi: It was cool, right? That’s not the kind of line just anyone can say.
Fujishima: It was almost too much. “What the heck, you!” kind of feeling (laughs).
Q: So that’s a place the other characters can’t enter.
Higuchi: They can’t, Estelle can’t enter there either.
Fujishima: They can’t, they can’t. There’s not even a 1mm gap.
Higuchi: Yes, even that one can’t enter there. (laughs)
“An impenetrable bond” - this truly is a key element to their relationship that they keep emphasizing on, both in an interview from the aforementioned Complete Guide…
Q: Within the series, this kind of focus on the friendship between two men is rare. Was this a conscious choice?
Higuchi: Even when it wasn’t shown, Yuri and Flynn are always aware of each other.
…and again in the Flynn/Yuri-focused timeline from the Spring 2016 Tales of Magazine issue
“Even though they’re separated, both of them keep believing in each other”
“To rescue his irreplaceable friend, Flynn rushes to the battlefield. Those strong feelings save the lives of many.”
And, of course, the most transparent passage of all.
Q: Flynn is the one left. (laugh)
Higuchi: I originally requested an RPG protagonist look.
Yoshizuki: A cliched kind of guy (laugh).
Q: Since that kind of character is very much Fujishima-san’s style, did you feel like it went quickly?
Fujishima: I can’t remember (laugh).
Q:There’s a contrast between Flynn and Yuri, like the sun and the moon, isn’t there?
Yoshizuki: That kind of clear contrast was our goal this time. Furthermore, the requirements are basically: 21 years old, 180 cm tall, childhood friends…
Fujishima: Moreover, Yuri is crazy in love with Flynn (laugh).
Higuchi: Because he loves him, right? (laugh).
Fujishima: Flynn is also crazy in love with Yuri. It’s a mutual love.
Yoshizuki: So in that sense, he’s the heroine?
Fujishima: That’s why there’s that picture from their childhood displayed so proudly on the wall… (laugh)
The support doesn’t even end with the director’s crew, though - Toriumi Kousuke certainly seems to support the idea as well. And before anyone claims his opinion on the matter doesn’t count, it’s been confirmed that it absolutely does. The same interview from the March 2015 Tales of Magazine issue we mentioned before pointed out that the writers themselves regularly seek advice from him about Yuri’s characterization.
Q: Even more than Okuda-san, who wrote the scenario, doesn’t it feel like Toriumi-san grasps Yuri’s character?
Toriumi: That’s difficult to say, because we’re not the ones directing. I think the other characters’ voice actors think so too, but rather than offering ideas, it’s more of a discussion, or asking a specific question. “I don’t remember saying this kind of line before, should I say it?” and such. As you’d expect, after playing a character for so long, you sort of soak them in. Everyone doesn’t even need to rehearse and the performance just comes naturally. However, sometimes after discussion, the conclusion is to keep things as they are.
Q: [About] what Toriumi-san is talking about, how was that for you as a director?
Okuda: Because it’s been more than 6 years since the release of the XBOX360 version, I’m really grateful that he’s considered the character so much. When I watch the recordings for the drama CDs, I can really feel the amazing care everyone puts into their characters. At the latest drama CD recording, Toriumi-san pointed out “Would Yuri say this kind of thing?” or “Ah, if Yuri said this, then it’d be like this!” and such things. (laughs) Of course, sometimes I might adjust my original plans accordingly. As Toriumi-san said, it’s a “line discussion”. Basically, it’s like “if the person involved says it’s like this, let’s do it like this” (laughs). Even as the creator, that kind of thing absolutely makes me really happy, and I feel like it’s our obligation to live up to that.
Toriumi definitely does often go out of his way to call out ooc scripts during festivals. He did so during the 2017 Tales of Festival - in which the script was particularly off mark - and replied to Masaya Onosaka’s (Zelos’ voice actor) remark about its inaccuracy with blunt, unscripted confirmation.
[Taken directly from the transcripts tweeted here]
Zelos/Masaya Onosaka: [About Yuri and Estelle flirting in the festival skit] It wasn’t like this in Vesperia, was it?
Yuri/Toriumi Kousuke: This time around the script just put that kind of stuff in for some reason. It’s really not.
Though there is no written record of her exact words yet, it’s worth noting that many Japanese bloggers have commented about Mai Nakahara (Estelle’s Japanese voice actress) agreeing with how poorly this reflects their actual game dynamic. Once the festival Bluray has been released and/or uploaded to Youtube, it might be easier to find the video evidence.
Toriumi very much openly approved of the ship teases. More than that, he heavily encouraged Flynn/Yuri and Rita/Estelle, as can be seen during 2014’s Tales of Festival. That year, he went off script again and insisted that Rita was a much more likely partner to Estelle than Yuri was, and that the latter belonged with Flynn – before replacing the scripted shouted name of Vesperia’s heroine with a powerful love confession meant for Flynn.
A confession which seems to have been a more eloquent response to Mamoru Miyano’s (Flynn’s Japanese voice actor) confession back during day 1 of Tales of Festival 2012. For legal reasons tied to one of the voice actors present this day in particular was not included in the dvd, though, and given the rules against recording during the show any video footage of this event is therefore near impossible to find. There are many testimonies from liveblogging festival attendees, however.
Translation:
During the ending skit, everyone in the cast had a confession battle (Midorikawa’s fault, lol!) Mamo just turned to Yuri:
F: Yuri, the truth is, I don’t like you. I love you.
There was so much shrieking in the assembly hall. And then…
Y: Me too.
More testimonies of this can be found here and here.
Bonus:
In the first Project X Zone, Namco x Capcom original character Xiaomu teased Flynn about his relationship with Yuri, and in the sequel the very same character even went as far as dropping the Japanese ship name for the two of them.
(ユリフレ = Yurifure = Fluri)
It might only be casual teasing fodder for the fans, but so far I haven’t heard of any other Yuri-related ship that has been acknowledged and teased across several crossovers nearly as much as Yuri/Flynn is.
——————————————– UPDATES ——————————————–
UPDATE #1 (14/02/2018)
A double-page spread from the September 2008 Tales of Magazine issue grants us one interview in particular that confirms old suspicions. In this interview, Bonnie Pink explains the thought process behind Ring A Bell’s creation and her own interpretation of it.
Q: First of all, please tell us about the impression [you had while] making this song.
BP: Frankly, my impression was that it was very novel. Higuchi-san and Goda-san gave me plenty of materials (laughs). As I looked over those materials and things caught my interest, I asked more specific questions and they answered thoroughly. I think those exchanges also proceeded smoothly and that I was able to truly grasp the overall view of the work.
[…]
Q: What characters left an impression on you in Vesperia?
BP: The first thing I caught was [that] Yuri and Flynn’s existence contrasted with each other. Each of them holding their own beliefs, the interplay between friendship and that divide left a strong impression. I thought that it would be possible to blend the personalities of these two characters into lyrics, and started to find a part that I could make resonate with two people, first of all in myself. By doing so, the expression “light and shadow” came to mind as a symbol of contrast, but both Yuri or Flynn are light and the idea is that there’s no [single] shadow. There’s also a duality in people that are [both] light and shadow.
Q: When you hear “Ring a Bell,” it doesn’t give the impression of [being about] a simple relationship between two men. Was that something intentional?
BP: Both producers told me “We’re interested in how it would sound if it were composed from a woman’s point of view on the friendship and bonds between two men”. Because I thought that kind of perspective was interesting too, I told it from the eyes of Estelle. The game gives off the feeling of her intently watching the two of them. However, rather than getting too caught up in [viewing it as simple friendship], the image may be broadened into an interpretation of a love song.
It’s thus clear Bonnie Pink herself understands Flynn and Yuri’s connection as being at the core of the game, and I find it quite neat that the romantic nature of the song is being told from Estelle’s perspective as she examines their relationship.
In another, slightly unrelated but just as relevant note, I was told a few weeks ago that in 2017′s Tales of Festival DJCD, Rina Sato (Velvet’s voice actress) and Toriumi Kousuke (Yuri’s voice actor) share a private radio show track in which Toriumi encountered yet another heteronormative assumption about Yuri and Estelle, which he promptly and very plainly disproved.
Here’s where you can listen to the audio file.
(Very) rough translation:
Rina Sato: So, there are also a lot [of people] in the Vesperia team.
Toriumi Kousuke: Right, you read [about] it.
Rina Sato: Last time there [seemed to be] something more between two people.
Toriumi Kousuke: Who with whom?
Rina Sato: Oh, uh, oh, Mai-chan, Mai-chan [T/N: Mai Nakahara, Estelle’s voice actress].
Toriumi Kousuke: And?
Rina Sato: The heroine and, well, Tori-san’s character.
Toriumi Kousuke: Ah, Yuri.
Rina Sato: I’m saying that it’s funny, those two are good friends, aren’t they.
Toriumi Kousuke: Ah, but there’s no romance within our team.
Rina Sato: Is that so?
Toriumi Kousuke: It’s not “Love” in our team. We’re all good friends (laughs).
Rina Sato: Really? So it’s team love, then.
Toriumi Kousuke: That’s right. There isn’t anything that appears to be like that in our team Vesperia.
Rina Sato: So that’s why all’s good, then.
Toriumi is therefore far from done correcting bs presumptions of his character’s relationships bless him.
UPDATE #2 (24/12/2018)
For starters, I won’t linger on it for too long since the point of this masterpost isn’t to trash anyone’s ship, but in light of some recent, rather vehemently opiniated assertions I’m just going to point real quick to the comments by Toriumi Kousuke (Yuri’s japanese VA), Rika Morinaga (Rita’s japanese VA) and Eiji Takemoto (Raven’s japanese VA) during the anniversary interview featured in 2018′s Tales of Festival pamphlet:
Translation:
Toriumi: Straying a bit from our favorite episode, but I like the fact that Vesperia prioritized depicting everyone’s bond of friendships and didn’t really have any romance elements. I love the entire team-feeling that it has.
Morinaga: I think I like that part too!
Takemoto: If they’d gone into romance, the team-feeling would have disappeared. Estelle’s closer-to-an-older-brother admiration [to Yuri] is nice.
Toriumi: The comparison between Yuri as a free person and Estelle who is not is good. Since it’s a relationship that is definitely impossible to continue as romance.
Now, let’s move on to the 10th Anniversary Party Pamphlet from September 2018, in which there’s an interview with Toriumi Kousuke, Higuchi Yoshito and Okuda Takaaki discussing the game at length. A particular segment caught my eye:
Translation:
Q. Is there any memory of the recording that left an impression on you?
[…]
Okuda: Compared to that [T.N: a conversation between 21 y/o Yuri and 19 y/o Judy], the acting for Yuri and Flynn’s conversations is so different from other characters. That’s the only time where, with someone who’s the same age, those youthful feelings…I feel like they draw out each other’s real emotions.
Toriumi: When it’s these two’s conversations, the feelings just come out.
Okuda: It’s special only [for this/them], huh.
Higuchi: Were you purposefully aiming for that, Toriumi-san?
Toriumi: Well yeah, but mostly because the script itself is like that. When I did things according to the script, somehow naturally…it became like that. With other characters, Yuri takes a position in which he watches over them. Yuri, who is in that standing position, only ever gets seriously argumentative when he’s facing Flynn. There’s nothing like this with the other members, and so when doing scenes with Flynn it’s easier for feelings to come out during the recording. Rather than saying I was aiming for that, I think it’s more accurate to say it happened naturally.
–
It’s a very nice way to yet again emphasize how exclusive and heartfelt Yuri and Flynn’s relationship is, and that this chemistry has both always been there and developped organically even beyond the script.
What’s more, at the very end of this same interview all three of them were asked to address Miyano Mamoru (Flynn’s japanese VA) a question, which he would answer in his own special interview released on the Asobistore Premium Tales page on September 31st. Okuda asked an interesting question that I think might be noteworthy (interesting specifically because he’s one of the writers):
Translation:
Q3. Okuda-san to Miyano-san: Thinking about Flynn and Yuri’s relationship, based on their situation and age - there are a lot of relationships that can define them. Among those, as Flynn, if you have to choose a relationship that defines his relationship with Yuri, what would you say it is?
Miyano: Ah…just from an outsider’s perspective, it’d be “rivals”, huh? “Friends”, “Trusted best friends”. […] That’s good too, right, “the friend from the other classroom”, “childhood friends”. Hmm…there are a lot of ways to interpret it. It’s a type of friendship, but not exactly the kind of close friends who can talk about anything. Oh, I got it! It’s not that they’re inseparable—but they are always together. They both hold each other within themselves.
For Flynn, there’s a Yuri inside of him, and he always ponders “What would Yuri think if I did this?”. I think Yuri’s justice is also within him. “If it were Yuri he might do this, but since this is me, I’ll do it this way” - that way of thinking shapes Flynn’s decision-making, it’s that kind of image. Even though they’re apart, they’re always in each other’s heart. They might be physically far apart, but I think in a way they’re also the closest possible existence to each other. They might even sometimes venture so far apart that they couldn’t talk for a while from now on, huh! But perhaps that part too is really [representative of] Yuri and Flynn.
I’ll let this speak for itself :))
And finally, a small but really neat follow-up to my previous Bonnie Pink entries which just further confirms the song was written for Flynn & Yuri specifically - the singer performed Ring A Bell for Vesperia’s Meddley during the Tales Of Orchestra 2018 event and, according to the official famitsu report, mentioned the following:
Translation:
Vesperia’s theme title is a song that Bonnie Pink wrote as she read its scenario. The lyrics “Light” and “Shadow” are words she pictured [for] Vesperia’s hero, Yuri, and his best friend Flynn. After wonderfully singing with the orchestra, she told fans: “I felt like I was singing with the two [of them] on my back, standing in the middle of light and shadow. “
(Another testimony of this can be found here)
UPDATE #3 (04/04/2019)
This time is mainly going to focus on 2 interviews released right before the remaster launched that, in an interesting way, sort of echo each other.
First, there’s Toriumi Kousuke’s interview featured in the January 2019 issue of the PASH! Magazine:
Q: As you recall some of your memories, please tell us what kind of impressions characters such as Repede, Flynn or Estelle left on you. Let’s start with Flynn.
Toriumi: Flynn appears at important parts, doesn’t he? Just as in the lyrics of the opening song “Ring A Bell”, Yuri and Flynn have a light and shadow-like relationship. Had it been an ordinary RPG or an original series, Flynn would’ve probably been the main character, right? When he speaks, Flynn is the voice of justice. Of course Yuri has arguments befitting of himself, but as for his way of thinking, Yuri is emotional and there isn’t as much thought put into the social impact. The things he says are more akin to wishful thoughts.
Even though he’s the hero, he speaks rivalish words. When we acted, I kept butting heads intensely with Flynn too, that’s why each [scene with him] left a strong impression [on me]. Through his conversations with Yuri, I think that Flynn’s serious character really stands out, that was well done. But the goal they’re looking at is the same, and even if there’s a collision, they have trust at the root. However, the only difference is in the process and approach to getting there, so it’s an inseparable, 2 sides of the same coin-kind of relationship. Even though there was almost no day-to-day conversations between the two [shown in the game].
–
Inseparable - a concept Mamoru Miyano alludes to in his own interview from the January 2019 Famitsu issue, which focuses specifically on Flynn and Yuri’s relationship and provides a lot of compelling ideas.
Flynn, an imperial knight who takes a path contrasting Yuri’s, just as light and shadow. In the XBox 360 version his participation is only brief, and the PS3 version doesn’t allow him to join until the end, but even so the story of “TOV” could not exist without him. We asked Mamoru Miyano, who has been playing this vital character for many years, about the relationship between Flynn and Yuri.
[…]
Q: Well then, what did you think of Flynn after getting his role?
M: He’s the keypoint of the story, pretty much the main character rival, so I thought I wanted his presence to be firmly felt throughout the story. The interesting point “TOV” makes is that the one who walks the stereotyped Righteous Hero Path is Flynn [rather than Yuri], right. Yuri’s presence, which contrasts Flynn’s own, is not only what distinguish “TOV” from other [entries], but the scenario about the way the main character influences the people around him is also a very deep one, and [I thought] it’d be nice if Flynn could fulfill his role in there.
Q: I feel that Yuri’s shadow-like existence really stands out thanks to Flynn’s light.
M: They’re not only butting heads because they have different views and values, but it’s exactly because they trust and acknowledge each other…that each of them is seeking out a form of justice that they believe in, is the point, I think. Because Flynn is not an enemy. Yuri’s fighting a bigger threat, too.
Q: The story also very thoroughly depicts how Flynn finds his own justice and is then able to accept Yuri’s way of life.
M: Flynn’s the one who understands the difficulties of holding on to your justice the most. I think that in XBox 360 version, in that moment when Yuri and Flynn’s feelings finally cross, there’s a scene depicting Flynn as he lets out his feelings into words, “You are my pride, dear friend.” I really loved that scene. I also love the fact that he never tells that to Yuri’s face.
[…]
Q: Speaking of what turned up after “TOV”, I remember the movie about Yuri and Flynn very strongly.
M: Joining the movie as Flynn, and on top of that it being a movie that depicts his relationship with Yuri, was pretty big. At first I was simply thinking “Would Flynn even appear in the movie?” but I never expected it to be about their past…or that apparently they used to really not get along (laughs).
Q: (Laughs)
M: These two in the game were always talking about each other to other people, so we never guessed that they used to really not get along. I was quite surprised. It’s almost like a romance drama, right, that it starts from “dislike”. I think “Kusare En” is perhaps the closest thing to describe them. It illustrates how they became best friends from there on out. [T.N: 腐れ縁/Kusare En refers to an inseverable, fated relationship wherein 2 people have known each other for so long that they can’t get out of it.]
[…]
Q: It certainly does feel like a lot of people love “TOV”. Why do you think that is?
M: The balance of “TOV”’s characters is really great. There are scenes that weren’t just spouting pretty words, but are actually very profound stories that give such emotional impact. It’s because the main character himself is in the midst of this that Yuri’s appeal is the most interesting, I think. Because Yuri is in the midst of the characters, they all shine. Don’t they all admire this new main character? They aren’t supporting him, he is the one who is influential to their stories. That’s what the game is about, I think.
I’d be happy if those who play the remaster could pick up on the various elements of our performances inside the story as well. By enjoying everything, including the movie, you’d be able to embrace the way both Yuri and Flynn feel. Their relationship is TOV’s theme, just as it is a story about growth. I hope you’ll feel how important their relationship is, one that cannot be severed even when you cut it.
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And finally, this excerpt from the September 2018 Vesperia Anniversary Party makes for a very clear example of the cast’s open support, even in a lighthearted context. The crew sat down for a Q&A with special guest Yoshito Higuhi (ToV’s chief director), and a fan’s question about the annonymous love letter in Flynn’s room came up. Yuri was brought up as a likely candidate by none other than Mamoru Miyano (Flynn’s VA) himself, followed by a good chunk of the cast.
