Animage, March 2026 Issue
ft. Fuyuno Mio x Karuma Interview
(translation below)
Publication: February 10, 2026
The Eternal, Invincible No.1 Sentai
Tono Hoeru lived without having a wish, and in order to find his true wish, he threw himself into the ring battle, where the winner's wish will come true. Battles with the other Gozyugers, who are both friends and rivals, fierce battles against the Bridans and the Calamity, who threatened humanity, and a deadly struggle against Kuon, who was his estranged older brother……an outcast with no friends or family, Hoeru's days of fighting were filled with numerous encounters.
This work depicts how people with different values and wishes encountered each other and underwent change, such as how bonds began to bud among the once divided Gozyugers, and their reconciliation with the Bridans, who they had once fought against. The most striking examples were with Kuon, who overcame the anger he continued to hold against Hoeru and was able to go back to being brothers, and Hoeru, who found himself facing the friends who taught him emotions he never knew existed, discovering his wish to live alongside them. Drama born from clashing personalities is the real thrill of the Super Sentai series. This production can be said to have strongly captured that appeal.
The TV series has reached its final episode, but "No.1 Sentai Gozyuger VS Boonboomger" will be coming out this Spring. What will the fateful encounter with the members of Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger bring about for the Gozyugers?
Overcoming turbulence and destiny
-The consistent appeal we felt for each other throughout the year-
"Please tell us how you felt when filming finished."
Fuyuno: It was a year with various challenges and fun times, overflowing with every single human emotion, but at any rate, I felt a sense of relief that we finished things safely. It was a year that really seemed to last forever.
Karuma: Was it as long as you were expecting?
Fuyuno: Yeah. Looking back, I'm glad that I was able to finish things while having personally grown more compared to in the very beginning.
Karuma: In my mind, episode 43 was intended to be my last appearance in person, so when my filming finished, I didn't feel like it had truly ended, as I had solidified my resolve long before that. I remember doing the Engage and other climactic scenes while thinking, "This might be the last time I do scenes like this as Kuon."
"How have your impressions of each other changed after performing together over the past year? In particular, Fuyuno-san mentioned in past interviews that he's a fan of Karuma-san, right?"
Fuyuno: In a good way, that hasn't changed. I was abit uneasy at first, but Karuma-san was exactly as I'd imagined, and that hasn't changed at all.
Karuma: I was going to answer with a similar, "In a good way, nothing's changed." While he's gained alot of experience and grown in various ways, I feel that Mio's underlying nature remained consistent throughout the past year, making him someone I could truly trust.
"We know you might be feeling abit embarrassed having to talk face to face, but what aspects do you specifically feel haven't changed?"
Karuma: Your height hasn't changed, right?
Fuyuno: Seems so, I'm still tall.
Karuma:……I've somehow become super embarrassed and ended up talking about height (everyone laughs). I get the feeling that most people probably think of Mio as someone who doesn't say much, but things like his mindset and what he says in the moment hasn't changed at all. His values, or rather, the important aspects of him are similar to mine, and I find myself agreeing with what he says.
Fuyuno: Karuma-san is funny, kind……
Karuma: 8 more.
Fuyuno: Eh?
Karuma: No, I thought you'd list off 10 things.
Fuyuno: (laughs). His way of thinking and values are clear, and he's highly ambitious. That's the kind of positive image I have of him, and it's truly remained that way for the entire year.
-A furious climax that went beyond expectations -
"Hoeru forgave Kuon and reconciled with him, bringing an end to their long standing feud, but what did you think of this resolution?"
Fuyuno: I always considered Kuon to be an enemy, so I never thought they'd reconcile. Instead of defeating Kuon like an enemy, he unexpectedly comes to his senses and sees him as his older brother.
Karuma: I on the other hand had imagined a tender ending like this while playing Kuon, so I was able to take on the challenge without any hesitation. This except for when I become a sword (laughs).
"(laughs). What feelings did you have when it came to filming it?"
Karuma: Within my heart, I knew it was an important scene, but we just went about things on set like normal, didn't we?
Fuyuno: Yeah. We ate our bentos together during break.
Karuma: Even if we tried to keep an awkward distance or be overly considerate of each other, I think it probably would've just made things uncomfortable for the both of us.
Fuyuno: For sure.
Karuma: However, my focus was on my scenes with Mio, so I tried to cool things down by saying exposition lines like, "Don't rush it" and, "The final battle has yet to come."
Fuyuno: What I'll never forget about episode 43 is the scene where I howl after Kuon dies.
Karuma: (laughs). The script had "cry" written in it, right?
Fuyuno: Right. Director Tasaki had said, "I intended on having you cry in a howling manner from the start, but I thought I'd tell you this on set instead of having to put it in the script," and hearing that seriously agitated me (laughs).
Karuma: The first take had him doing an absurd howl, and even though it was a scene where I absolutely shouldn't have laughed, I ended up laughing (laughs).
Fuyuno: That's right (laughs). Man, it was really difficult!
Karuma: It was difficult. But Director Tasaki did say something like, "Mio can pull it off," and in the end, I think he produced the most beautiful howl in the show.
Fuyuno: Thank you so much!
"A shocking development at the end of episode 43 had Kuon, who had taken the form of GaryuDecalibur50 in order to survive, appearing before Hoeru."
Karuma: I had heard that he'd become a sword, but I never expected it to happen in this episode, so I was shocked. I was like, "This fast?!" (everyone laughs).
Fuyuno: As Hoeru, he was feeling down since Kuon had died, so while it wasn't a Christmas present, I think he was genuinely happy that the "Kuon sword" had arrived.
"How was post recording for GaryuDecalibur50?"
Karuma: It was difficult that Kuon didn't simply become a sword, but that his "inner self" had become an ally. Furthermore, even though they had been fighting right up until that moment, suddenly transforming into a sword and becoming gentle toward Hoeru just made me excessively wonder about things like, "What kind of performance is the correct one?" During the post recording sessions, I created my performance by talking things over in detail with Tasaki-san in the booth.
"The final episode focused on Hoeru and Fire Candle, but the twist that Fire Candle was the final enemy was a surprising development."
Karuma: I thought that the final boss would be the Calamity or Kuon, and since Fire Candle gave off the impression of being an eternal rival, I was shocked and thought, "Ah, so it's Fire Candle?!"
Fuyuno: I was also anticipating for the Calamity to be the final enemy. Still, ending with Fire Candle, the very first enemy that Hoeru fought, felt kinda bittersweet. For my performance in episode 48, I spent alot of time thinking about how to convey the sadness and anger that came from losing his friends and being all alone again, but I ultimately decided to just do what I felt on set. For the scene between Hoeru and Fire Candle after the battle ends, both Sanbongi-san and I were acting based on each other's expressions, so it truly felt like we were acting with our hearts.
"The story relating to Hoeru's wish had been depicted throughout the year since the first episode, but how did you feel about the wish Hoeru finally found?"
Fuyuno: I think "doing something" for his friends is what became Hoeru's wish, but in the final episode, when he had decided to restart the ring battle in order to live together with his important friends, it unfolded just as I expected. However, what was unexpected was that the wish to come true in the next ring battle was that he "wanted to eat some franks" (laughs).
Karuma: Yeah (laughs).
Fuyuno: He lives an incredibly pure life, don't you think? Living exactly as he wants to live is just like Hoeru, and I thought that the chaotic feel of the ending was also in line with Gozyuger.
-Confidence and pride from appearing in Gozyuger-
"If Fuyuno-san were to choose Kuon's number one scene, which one would it be?"
Fuyuno: Well, I like them all, but……I guess it'd have to be Garyudo's Engage.
Karuma: I have a funny story about the Engage scenes.
Fuyuno: What is it?
Karuma: While the Gozyugers turn their hands sideways before taking off their rings to Engage, Kuon takes his off with his hand facing forward, right? I started insisting on taking his ring off facing forward just because it looked cool (laughs).
Fuyuno: Yeah. I thought, "Doing it like this is better," and when Engaging alone, I'd take off my ring in the same pose as Kuon (laughs).
"You were influenced by how cool it was, huh? (laughs). On the flip side, what does Karuma-san think is the number one Hoeru scene?"
Karuma: The part time job scenes were great, don't you think? Like, when he'd say "hey" instead of "welcome in."
Fuyuno: Or saying "anks" instead of "thank you very much."
Karuma: Right, right. I thought the way he gave off the vibes of thinking "what a pain" felt incredibly natural and was skillfully done. Still, deep down, there's this sense of him being a good kid, making you want to support him, which I quite liked.
Fuyuno: Well, that's just how I normally am, so……
"Really? (laughs)."
Fuyuno: That was a joke, yes (laughs).
Karuma: He often jokes around like this. I'm always frantically trying to keep up with him!
Fuyuno: No, no, that's just Karuma-san's shtick (everyone laughs).
"Over this past year, Hoeru bounced around various work sites, but which part time job did Fuyuno-san find most memorable?"
Karuma: He did alot, didn't he? He worked at Toei, ran a kakigori stand, and did something similar to "UberEats."
Fuyuno: I can't believe he managed to work so many part time jobs (laughs). The most memorable and one I enjoyed the most was the butler cafe in episode 9. Hoeru was the one who made the most money, but it felt really good doing it (laughs).
Karuma: It was Hoeru's first successful experience (laughs). Another memorable scene with Hoeru was during the end of episode 33. Remember the part where he's making a delivery to his parents house, and his mother says, "Haven't we met somewhere before?" just as he's about to head back?
Fuyuno: I do.
Karuma: I absolutely loved Mio's facial expression at that time. Watching it really moved me.
Fuyuno: That makes me happy, thank you so much!
"What kind of production did No.1 Sentai Gozyuger become for the two of you?"
Karuma: There are only a few productions that continuously run for an entire year, so being able to participate in one truly allowed me to gain alot of valuable experience. When it first started, I thought about how "it'd take a year from now for filming to wrap up," which felt absurd. So, having proof that I've played the same role for an entire year has given me some sense of confidence.
Fuyuno: It truly feels like fate that I was able to encounter the role of Tono Hoeru, who I was able to project so much of myself into, and I think this will probably be the first and last time something like that happens. Just as Hoeru grew over the course of a year, I too feel like I've grown, making this a truly important work for me, and as I continue forward in my acting career, I feel that this has become a production where I can confidently say, "I appeared in Gozyuger."
"Finally, please give a message to the fans."
Karuma: Thank you for supporting No.1 Sentai Gozyuger over the past year. In various ways, it was a production with an incredible live feel, and us actors were all in the same boat, enjoying that sense of realism. Even after the broadcast ends, there'll still be plenty of activity related to the Gozyugers, but we're going to do our best so that going forward, people will say that "Gozyuger was a legendary show," so please continue to support us.
Fuyuno: To all the fans who've supported us over the past year, thank you very much. Over this past year, all of our fans would always give the Gozyugers energy, so I'm truly grateful. Even when this show ends, a new hero will be waiting afterwards, so I hope that you'll look forward to it, and I'd be happy if Gozyuger continues to remain in your memories. I look forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming events!
_
Q: Which episode in particular was your favorite?
Karuma: Episode 43 was definitely the kind of episode that makes you want to say, "This is what I've been waiting for!," but episode 38 was also a significant episode for the Tono brothers, and I have very fond memories of it.
Fuyuno: Other than the episodes related to Hoeru and Kuon, there's episode 48. The scene where the awakened Kumade faced the Calamity alone, with his long lines of dialogue, was really cool, and the change in his hair color, which made him look like a super saiyan, was also very memorable.
Karuma: Maybe I should've mentioned episodes other than Kuon's. Like the one where Ribbon-chan gets taken out? (everyone laughs).
Fuyuno: Still, episode 48 is really one of my favorite episodes, so I watched him (Kumade's Kimura-san) doing his post recording session up close, where it's really stuck with me, as it was the most passionate performance I've ever seen him give.
Q: What was the most surprising development of the year?
Fuyuno: For me it'd probably be episode 8. When Hoeru quits Gozyuger.
Karuma: Ah! That was a shock.
Fuyuno: He properly goes back, but when I read the script, it made me so sad that I almost cried.
Karuma: It's episode 15 for me. The, "Let's get married, Hoeru!" also left an impact, but I was surprised that they were unable to prevent the world from ending and that he managed to win so decisively. I was like, "Oh, he won!" This then led to things like Kumade Mashiro's entrance, and that whole arc had alot of shocking developments.
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