Animage June 2025 Issue
ft. Karuma Interview
(translation below)
Publication: May 12, 2025
Wish Hunter
As the Gozyugers were fighting against the Buraidans, who had emerged from the No One World, a mysterious warrior, known as Ring Hunter Garyudo, suddenly appeared in front of them. He's a Sentai Ring hunter who's taken down countless Ring Warriors that formed contracts with Tega Sword by using a gun that contains the power of TegaJune, the Buraidan Queen. While known as Kuon, his true identity is Tono Hisamitsu, the older brother of Hoeru (GozyuWolf), who he became separated from in the No One World.
Hoeru always saw his older brother as Number One, and had feelings of affection and respect for him. However, for Kuon, who had abandoned his old name, Hoeru is his beloved little brother, or rather, a "doll" whose feelings he distorts with the desire to do as he commands. At one point, Hoeru was enslaved by Kuon's words that rejected the idea of fighting in order to search for his genuine wish, but he was determined to face the others and the world through fighting, and so he cut ties with him.
The first round of the brother's confrontation ended in a victory for Hoeru. Defeated, Kuon utters the words, "I'm going to break you. And then, you're……going to break me," but what's the true meaning behind these disturbing words? What'll happen on the battlefield when the gong rings for their second round?!
_
-I don't want people getting used to Kuon-
"Please tell us how you felt when you heard that you were going to appear."
Karuma: In the beginning, I'm almost certain that Kuon wasn't the official name of the role, but I had heard that he was a nuanced character that held an important position on the enemy side, and that he could transform. I would've never imagined that I'd be asked to join a Sentai, so I was surprised and thought, "Eh, what do you mean?," and "What color will I be?" After that, I learned about his setup in phases, and was shown Garyudo's picture among other things. I thought he'd be an impactful character who'd show off the core of Gozyuger's chaotic story, so I went into filming thinking, "I'm going to steal the show all at once!"
"While Kuon seemed to be a kind hearted person, he left a strong impression by revealing his cruelty when he rejected Hoeru's individuality and provoked the other Gozyugers."
Karuma: When I began filming, it was before the show started airing, but I felt that the Buraidan characters were so appealing, that the viewers would adore them. Before filming, I struggled with how to portray Kuon as nuanced, but I thought that if there's characters who are meant to be loved, that I should devote all my energy into playing a role that attracts hatred.
"That's true, Kuon's the type of character that's never existed on the Buraidan side before."
Karuma: That's right, he's a really bad guy (laughs). He's calm, but there are times when "a screw becomes loose," and he'll say some surprisingly relentless lines that'll make you think, "Are you sure you're allowed to say that?!," so I think his presence is one that creates a sense of tension within the show.
"There are times where he shows his irregular affection for Hoeru."
Karuma: In my mind, Kuon……I believe that Tono Hisamitsu was quite close to Hoeru in the past, but there have been many depictions that give off the feeling that he's insane. I'm playing the role with the understanding that behind his love, there's also a considerable amount of hatred and resentment being hidden away. I have a feeling that Kuon holds such negative feelings not only for Hoeru, but also about a variety of other things.
"What's your impression of Hoeru's Fuyuno Mio-san?"
Karuma: When I was first told about it, the cast hadn't been decided on yet, so I wanted to know whose big brother I was going to be as soon as possible. When I finally saw his picture, I thought, "Ah, as expected, he's a good looking guy just like me" (laughs). I was told by the staff that Mio had been a fan of mine for some time, and in fact, when I met him for the first time on my first day of filming, he was like, "Huwah……" He was trembling so badly that he looked like a frightened puppy (laughs). When I talked to him, it seemed that he bought my book among other items. I thought about using that as a way to get closer to him, but Hoeru has a great deal of respect for his older brother, and I thought it'd be okay to have abit of distance between us, so we went into filming without any changes. Going forward, I'd like to close the distance between us at our own pace.
"Although Kuon stands in a unique position, he shares many scenes with Fire Candle and Bouquet, who are also on the Buraidan side."
Karuma: When I first met them, I got the impression that they were exactly as I had imagined Fire Candle and Bouquet from reading the script. They both have such beautiful voices and perform so well, that it made me worriedly think, "Can they hear my voice?" (laughs). Still, I haven't had that many Buraidan scenes, and there are quite a few instances where Bouquet is there, but Fire Candle isn't. He basically goes solo when he fights, and among the Buraidan characters, he's got more of a lone wolf side to him. In that regard, I'm eager to enjoy more of the Buraidan scenes.
"How do you communicate with Garyudo's Suit Actor Saito Kenya-san?"
Karuma: The day we started filming was close to Saito-san's birthday, so we started things off with me saying "happy birthday" (laughs). I thought that I may have to take Garyudo's movements into account depending on how I played Kuon, so I first told him what kind of person I thought Kuon was and how I was going to play him. Saito-san also tells me what movements he's planning, and whenever I meet up with him afterwards, I'll say things like, "No, that was amazing!" and "I'll do my best with post recording too!"
"What's important to you when doing post recording for Garyudo?"
Karuma: I'm providing my voice while being conscious of the fact that Saito-san's the one playing Garyudo. However, it's really difficult recording for Garyudo (bitter smile). Since his character is so strong and composed, it's important to insert my voice not just in all the action scenes, but anywhere I can, and I have to watch each movement and guess carefully, so it's difficult. Still, I want to be the best at doing the recording out of everyone, and I'm working diligently to reach the level where people will think, "It's Karuma, so he can do it" in the shortest amount of time possible. Also, it's difficult for me to keep my enthusiasm down while still giving off his fighting spirit and overwhelming sense of strength.
"If you let your emotions get the best of you, it might diminish his sense of depth."
Karuma: That's right. I want to make people think of it as a signal that "when Kuon's like this, it's going to be a bad time," and I feel like I want to surprise them by showing my emotions exactly where they should be shown. From a broad perspective, there seems to be alot of things to consider, such as not raising my voice except in really emotional scenes, or giving a glimpse of his scary side so that it'll make you feel like, "Whatever this guy decides to do, he's just gonna do it."
"You're taking the entire production into account as you create the role of Kuon, aren't you?"
Karuma: Yes. As for myself, I don't want people getting used to Kuon. I don't want people to have a fixed idea of "what kind of person Kuon is," and I think that because there are aspects of him that are "unimaginable," he can become a character that'll cause speculation and get people to use their imaginations. Because of that, I'm playing the role with the utmost care.
"So far, what episode has had the most memorable scene?"
Karuma: Episode 9 is memorable not only for its story, but also because I took the initiative and went beyond what was in the script. There's a scene where I strike the table while talking with the other four Gozyugers at Tega Sword Village, but that was something I adlibbed. I really wanted to scare the four of them by letting his emotions explode there, but I didn't say anything about it when we were getting everything set up, and just did it suddenly during the performance, thinking, "Hate me." I ended up breaking stuff like the menu board (laughs).
"You may have put too much emotion into it (laughs)."
Karuma: Even for the final scene, when I'm squirming from the pain of my wound, I told Producer Matsuura, "I'm going to do it with the intention of making children cry," and yelled at the top of my lungs without thinking about whether they'd even use it. I could hear the people around me nervously saying, "Is this alright?" but Director Tasaki gave it his OK after my first attempt.
"So you were able to get Director Tasaki to accept your performance."
Karuma: I worked together with Tasaki-san for the first time in episode 9, where he called out to me after filming finished. I initially thought he was upset with me over it (laughs), and was just thinking about accepting whatever was coming my way, but then he asked me, "Where are you from?" When I answered with "Fukuoka," he said, "That's not what I meant, what did you originally do?," and "I like that you don't do the kind of acting that most normal people think of doing." As for myself, I was really enthusiastic about "breaking down the conventional Super Sentai," but then I thought about whether or not the flow of the set had been established, and felt that I was close to "retreating into my shell." Episode 9 had many memorable scenes with Kuon, and I acted with the feeling of, "I'm scared, but I'm just gonna let it all out!," so hearing Tasaki-san's words made me very happy.
"Finally, please tell us what points you'd like us to pay attention to in episode 12 and onwards."
Karuma: In the coming developments, events will occur that'll defy the viewer's imaginations, making them feel like, "I see, so that's the answer you've come up with!" When I read the scripts, I thought, "Ah, this is seriously interesting!," and was quite fired up when I performed. For me, these are my favorite episodes so far, and I hope you don't miss a single episode either.
