TOUGEN ANKI's Main Cast Talks About Their Roles in the Upcoming Anime

Recently, Anime News Network was able to sit down with voice actors Kazuki Ura, Koutaro Nishiyama, and Hiroshi Kamiya to talk about their roles in the upcoming anime TOUGEN ANKI—as well as the tricks of the trade that help them get into character and what they do to keep their voices strong and healthy.

Based on the manga of the same name, TOUGEN ANKI is a modern-day sequel to the classic Japanese fairy tale Momotaro. It's set around a secret, ongoing war between the Oni and Momotaro's descendants and follows Shiki Ichinose (Kazuki Ura), a high school boy of Oni blood secretly raised by a former Momotaro Agency member. When his adoptive father is killed, Shiki finds himself taken in by eccentric Oni teacher Naito Mudano (Hiroshi Kamiya) and is taught about his Oni powers alongside other students like the masked, always-brooding Jin Kougasaki (Koutaro Nishiyama) who also lost his family to the Momotaros.

To get straight to the core of their characters, I began by asking the voice actor trio to describe their characters in one word. “Child” was Ura's pick. “Children really don't know anything about the world. There's a part of them that doesn't understand the harshness of society,” Ura explained. “In other words, I think it also means that Shiki is a pure and innocent character.”

However, this child-like aspect of his character is also the hardest part of Shiki to portray. “Shiki is a kid who has grown up mentally in some ways but has an innocence that I don't have.” Ura continued. “I have to show off his innocence—but if I try to do that, I end up being an adult pretending to be a child, right? […] That's why it's so difficult for me to figure out how to express his innocence in a way that doesn't feel like pretending but rather like a real feeling.”

As for Nishiyama, he chose the word “Hot” to describe Jin. “At first glance, he seems cool and cold, but deep down in his heart, there is a hatred carried on from his past. He has a very passionate heart driving him to fulfill his obsession [for revenge].”

It is Jin's quiet outward nature that proves to be the biggest challenge for Nishiyama. “He's a character who hasn't talked to a lot of people because he spent a lot of time alone—so I don't think he shows his true feelings when he talks. I think it's difficult to figure out how to express that [in my acting].”

For Kamiya, the one word to describe his character was right there in his character's name. Naito Mudano is a pun on the phrase “muda no nai hito”—i.e., a “lean-person.” Kamiya explained, “His name, 'Lean Person,' does not describe him physically, but rather he is a type of person who is lean in his thinking. He thinks about doing everything efficiently.” This fits the character to a T as Naito's a man who literally always wears roller skates to avoid wasting time walking.

Kamiya's biggest struggle with playing Naito comes with the character being too perfect at all he does—despite Kamiya often being typecast to play this exact type of talented, highly competent character. “I just can't play a character that's too perfect. They're human, so they're always going to make mistakes,” Kamiya told me. “However, [this type of] character doesn't often have scenes that express things like that. If we try to make a character too perfect, they end up looking like a machine. I'm the type of actor who wants to create people.” Kamiya continued, “I always try to create an opening for that somewhere. […] I think it's my job to use my voice to express what my character is lacking or where they are weak.”

The three voice actors also talked a bit about the challenge of getting into character and how to overcome it. For Ura, his focus is on figuring out how to say the words in the right way. “It all comes down to how straightforwardly a person can convey their words—and I think that even a single word of gratitude, such as 'thank you,' can have many different meanings,” he explained. “[For example,] when it comes to a thank you from the bottom of my heart that says 'I'm both happy and grateful,' the most important thing is deciding how to express that—and that's the most challenging thing.” Connecting things back to TOUGEN ANKI, Ura added, “Small moments found in my everyday life gave me hints [on how to say my lines] when playing Shiki.”

Nishiyama, on the other hand, gets into character through image training. “Before recording, I try to imagine in detail what it would be like to be in the same position as Jin,” Nishiyama told me. “I feel I should bring my feelings to the table rather than the technical aspects. However, it is difficult to convey something that you have never experienced before, so I'd like to spend more time doing image training [in general].”

Meanwhile, Kamiya does something somewhat similar. “I often create a role by adding up the things [found in the character] I personally lack,” Kamiya explained. “After that, there is the challenge of distilling those things down as much as possible—because if you create something just by adding things up, you'll eventually end up with too much. [...] That can make even a strong character seem weak.”

As voice actors, their voices are their livelihood. So I wanted to know how each of the three professionals cared for their voices—especially when voicing characters like Shiki and Jin who do more than a bit of shouting.

“I don't turn on the air conditioner, I use a humidifier all the time to moisten my throat, and I usually wear a mask. I also prepare some Chinese herbal medicine dissolved in water and drink it while recording,” Ura said. “And even if I'm feeling well, I always try to go to the doctors once a month and 'get my maintenance' done.”

“It's important to take care of your voice the day of, but I also think it's important to take care of yourself the day before. Relax your throat. The throat is also a muscle, so I think it's important to thoroughly massage the area around it,” Nishiyama massaged the sides of his throat to demonstrate. “I won't drink anything other than water. I really drink a lot of water because when I scream, I lose a lot of it. That's why I keep hydrating—to keep my body hydrated and my throat hydrated. I probably drink 1 liter or so while recording.”

Surprisingly, Kamiya's view on vocal care is quite different from the other two. “I pop about 100 cough drops a day,” he joked. “Actually, I don't do anything in particular. […] On days when I should take care of my voice, I just don't use my voice in a way that would require any special care. People who use things in a way that makes them think, 'I have to take care of this,' tend to accumulate more and more damage and eventually exceed that amount.” Kamiya continued, “I have had such experiences, so basically the best care is to try to use your vocal cords in a way that doesn't require any special care.”

Lastly, to end on a bit of a fun note, I asked each of the voice actors which was their favorite character in Toughen Anki besides their own. “If I had to choose someone interesting and unique, it'd be Yusurube. He is really disturbing. Even though he's outwardly serious, he's a bit of a pervert on the inside—though he's usually okay,” Ura began. “But personally, Jin is the character that I just can't take my eyes off of. [...] When I think about his past, I can't help but sympathize with him. I really like the fact that his black mask isn't just a fashion statement, it has a meaning behind it, and it creates a gap [in looks and personality].”

Nishiyama's choice, on the other hand, came from outside the main trio. “For me, it's Kyouya Oiranzaka. He's the commander of the support team, so he heals people. [...] Support characters like this are very attractive to me. I feel like he's an indispensable person for that team and I definitely want him to be there. I think of him as a deputy leader who handles various things behind the scenes. I think that's what makes him so appealing.”

Lastly, for Kamiya's turn, he chose the lowest-hanging fruit: the protagonist. “Well, I know Shiki Ichinose is the main character and all but he's the one who has my attention,” he chuckled. “He's a character that starts from zero. […] He doesn't have anything [at the start of the story]. So how is he going to survive?” Kamiya explained. “I think he is very suitable as the main character of a shonen manga, and I have a very favorable impression of him.”

TOUGEN ANKI is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025.