──How did you feel when you heard that the members of “Ojamajo Doremi” would appear as 16-year-olds?
At first, I was surprised when Seki-san of Toei Animation told me about it.
I was really happy, and when I bought it at a bookstore after it was released and read it, it was like everyone’s voices were coming out of the pages, like they had really grown up… Doremi-chan’s final muttering quip was especially funny. Ah, even when she’s grown up, she hasn’t changed! (laughs) Anyway, I thought, “I want to put my voice on it soon!”
Even getting the role of Aiko was memorable because there were three rounds of auditions before I was finally chosen. And then it became a series that lasted for four years, so I have a deep attachment to it. Especially as each year the characters aged, their humanity deepened more and more, so I feel like Aiko is an extension of myself.
──What are your impressions after reading volume 3?
Gaaaahhh! I almost died of shock (laughs)! Volume 2 ended with the revelation of information about Hana-chan, then Volume 3 started mysteriously like a detective story with everyone desperately searching for Hana-chan, which had me on edge reading it. Just when they finally find Hana-chan and you think things will move forward, that hugely impactful “snap” happens at the pivotal moment! (Excitedly talking fast)
I really want Aiko to go to the Olympics no matter what. She mentioned the option of becoming a support staff, but I want her to run again… I want to bring her into the sunlight.
──What kind of person is Aiko to you, Matsuoka-san?
I feel we’re similar in that she’s from Osaka and raised by a single parent. For better or worse, we both tend to speak our minds clearly (laughs). What’s different is she’s good at “all kinds of sports” (laughs). She’s a straightforward, energetic girl, so I think if someone like her was around, we’d definitely be good friends.
──Do you have any behind-the-scenes stories about the TV series?
When I first read the magic spell, Director Sato said to me, “Don’t read it like usual, read it in a funny way!” and suddenly put me on the spot (laughs).
The script only had “Pameruku raruku rarirori poppun”, and of course there was no rhythm, accent, or musical notation written. So Chiba-chan, who played Doremi, stretched it out one letter at a time, like “Pii-ri-ka pii-ri-rara,” “Pi-rii-ka pii-ri-rara,” “Pi-ri-kaa pii-ri-rara,” and so on.
I desperately drew out the “kuuuu” at the end of “Pameruku” as an attempt to make it work (laughs). Along with Akiya-chan, who played Hazuki, we all struggled and tried various things, and finally got the OK from the director. But Onpu-chan and Momo-chan, who joined the group later, just did it effortlessly and got it done in one take. I remember thinking, “Hey, wait a minute? We struggled so much, but they did it so easily… They’re amazing!” (laughs)
──What were you like at the age of 16, Matsuoka-san?
It was around the time when I started to decide my future path.
I had been a child actor in a theater troupe for a long time, but I wanted to do acting with my voice… so I started studying voice acting when I was just 16.
In middle school, I happened to see a poster for the Aoni Juku voice acting school of Aoni Production in Osaka. I desperately researched how to get in… and auditioned at the end of my third year of middle school, so that I could attend the school from my first year of high school and work hard there.
That’s when my mother said to me, “Don’t you want to meet your father soon?”
Since my mother and I had been living in a single-parent household since I was a child, 16 was the age when I first met my father.
When I first met my father, I think he had heard from my mother that I liked Off Course. He bought a lot of CDs and listened to them as hard as he could, even though he didn’t really understand them. I thought he was trying to get to know me, even though we had never met before.
──You only played Aiko until the age of 12 in the TV series, but how would you feel about voicing a 16-year-old Aiko?
I think I could smoothly slip into it without any discomfort. I believe the other cast members probably feel the same, that as soon as we start reading, we’ll naturally become 16. I won’t deliberately strategize. Since she’s been “a child” with me from the start, I understand Aiko best. Even at 16, I strongly feel I can instantly “become” the role.
──Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
“Ojamajo Doremi” is an important work that has greatly changed my life, and I believe it has also left a strong impact on all of you.
Whether you’ve been apart from it since high school and are now adults, you can instantly return to being 16. And for those currently in high school, or will be soon, I’d be happy if you could read it and think, “I want a high school life like this.”
And if you want to see the childhood of Doremi and her friends again… Please watch the DVDs! (laughs)
I wish I could read the sequels until they’re 20 🥰
hana chan im miss you😇🥰
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