The Pocket Monsters TV show, which airs every Friday at 6:55pm on the TV Tokyo Network, entered a new chapter titled "Terastal Debut" April 12th 2024.
This new chapter features the Paldea region's Elite Four, and we've interviewed Chili's voice actress Mitsuki Saiga-san, Poppy's voice actress Miria Takagishi-san, Aoki's voice actor Kohsuke Toriumi-san and Hassaku's voice actor Ryotaro Okiayu-san about their roles, stories from the dubbing sessions, and more.
In addition to how Liko, Roy and Dot will interact with the Elite Four now that they've decided to study on exchange at Orange Academy in order to learn Terastallizing, we'd also like you to focus on the Elite Four's role in the story and how their four voice actors play their roles.
In this follow-up to the previously presented interviews, we present one with Kohsuke Toriumi-san, the voice of Aoki, and Ryotaro Okiayu-san, the voice of Hassaku:
Q: First off, how did you truly feel when you you got cast in these roles?
Okiayu: I had a small role in an earlier show, as well as in the video game New Pokémon Snap, but this is the first time I got to play a recurring role in the Pocket Monsters anime series, so it made me very happy.
Toriumi: This is my first role in the show since the Pocket Monsters XY series, so I was very happy I got to be part of it again.
Okiayu: Everyone knows what Pokémon is, and it's no exaggeration to say that it's become part of our culture at this point. I got a tremendous amount of feedback after the public announcement of my role, which once again made me feel just how big this franchise is.
Q: Did you have difficulties portraying any aspects of these characters?
Okiayu: Hassaku was initially described to me as cheerful, loud person, so I had that description in mind during my first test take, but it appeared the sound director had a slightly different idea in mind than how I imagined the character. He then explained to me that he didn't just want me to play him as overly enthusiastic, but that I should also focus on the fact that he's a teacher that cares about his students, and after a bit of trial and error I eventually made the role my own.
Toriumi: Aoki doesn't have all that many lines in general, so in that sense he's a bit of a difficult character to truly get.
Okiayu: It's pretty hard to prepare for a role that doesn't have a lot of dialogue, isn't it? Especially when we're talking about playing a fully developed adult, rather than a child who's still in the process of growing and learning.
Toriumi: Yeah, he only had a single line in his debut episode (laughs). Even the sound director told me that I should continue working on making the role my own over time.
Q: Hassaku and Aoki are both fairly recent additions to the show, but what are your thoughts on these characters thus far?
Okiayu: I think it's quite interesting how Hassaku is both a member of the Elite Four as well as an art teacher at Orange Academy. The Elite Four in general give me an impression of ultimately being a wall for the protagonists to potentially overcome, but he's different; He doesn't flaunt his strength, and as of right now he feels like he's more of a teacher than an Elite Four member.
Toriumi: If you compare him to Aoki, Chili and Poppy, he definitely conducts himself way more like an educator than they do. He feels like a fairly uncomplicated, passionate man who also gets moved to tears from seeing how young people grow and improve. And he definitely enjoys battling as well, he looked like he was really enjoying himself during his battle against Colza and Roy in episode 55.
Okiayu: I think it was partially because one of his opponents was Colza, but he definitely got way too invested in that battle (laughs). When Kaede battled Liko in episode 47, it was very clear how she was trying to provide guidance to Liko, while Hassaku in episode 55 simply felt like he was just having fun on his own terms.
Toriumi: When Aoki battled Dot-san as a Gym Leader in episode 59, HE didn't feel like he was giving her very easily understood guidance; Instead, I think his policy is to make others come up with the answer themselves rather than him providing it directly. He may look like he performs his job in a very detached and matter-of-factly manner, but I felt he might actually be a good Gym Leader who gives youngsters the opportunity to grow through their own efforts.
Since he's an office worker, I think adults his age might be able to learn something by watching him. I hope children will pay attention to his approach as well, though, and I hope they'll realize that their dads and moms are always working as hard as Aoki for their sake.
Q: Did you focus on anything specific when you prepared for your roles?
Okiayu: I think the trait that makes Hassaku really stand out is his grandiose way of crying, so when I prepared for the role, I worked backwards from that and thought about what kind of person he normally is; Is he the kind of person that just lets it all out when he starts crying, or is he the kind of person who's always keeping his emotions bottled up to the very limit?
Toriumi: I actually never consciously "prepare" for roles. By that, I don't mean that I don't think about how to approach the roles, but that I primarily try to play them the way the people at the studio want them played over any personal approaches. In this particular case I took the sound director's ideas for the character and bounced my own thoughts off those.
Q: One thing I feel is very unique to the Pocket Monsters series is that the human characters command the Pokémon during the battle scenes. Apparently quite a few voice actors have a hard time with this, what was it like for you?
Okiayu: I found it a lot of fun, and didn't have a hard time with it at all. I was mostly commanding easy-to-understand moves like Protect, though.
Toriumi: In Aoki's case, the script always had notes next to such lines saying stuff like "calm" or "detached", and Dot-san even ultimately pointed out how detached he was when he was commanding his moves. The battle in this episode wasn't for keeps, just a test of strength, so Aoki just approached it in a matter-of-factly manner according to his instructions. The sound director did tell me one thing that really made an impression on me, though.
Q: And what was that?
Toriumi: Well, it's something he told the entire group of voice actors as a whole, but he said that while battling, you shouldn't direct your command towards your own Pokémon, but focus on your opponent's Pokémon as you command your moves. Your command should of course still be aimed at your own Pokémon, but your FOCUS should be on your opponent's. I think the point is supposed to be that the Trainer and Pokémon are both fighting the battle together.
Q: What was the atmosphere at the dubbing studio like?
Toriumi: The atmosphere had a sense of thoroughness to it that made you realize these people had been working together for a year now, but at the same time it also had a sense of freshness that told you they had ONLY been working together for a year.
Okiayu: Indeed.
Toriumi: It really gave me the feeling that the cast were growing alongside the characters they were playing. By that, I don't simply mean that they were young and inexperienced, but that it felt like the sound director and other staff members saw a lot of room for growth in them.
Q: Hassaku has now battled Roy, while Aoki has battled Dot, what were your thoughts on your respective opponent?
Okiayu: Since there's three characters that can be said to serve as protagonists, it's probably very difficult to balance them all properly against each other. Usually you have a single traditional protagonist with the traits of all three of these characters who grows and develops while experiencing various ups and downs, and successfully dividing those traits between three separate people can't be easy. I got the feeling they gave Roy the energy, don't you think?
Toriumi: Dot was originally described as an introverted character, but she seemed to approach the battle against Aoki with great confidence. However, she also sometimes pushed herself so hard she lost track of the big picture, and she made new realizations related to her bond with her Pokémon as well, so I think she's a character it'll be enjoyable to see the future growth of.
Q: The two of you have been in multiple shows together at this point, so what are your thoughts on each other?
Okiayu: I feel like we probably have very similar attitudes towards work; In other words, I think he wants to be the "balance keeper" of the group as well.
Toriumi: Okiayu-san has always been very kind to me, I think of him as a very good senior to have around. And yes, I think he might be right about what he said about wanting to be a balance keeper.
Okiayu: Dubbing studios always have a lot of different personalities around, like people who steer the show in the right direction or people who establish a good work environment. I'm the one who kind of binds it all together in harmony. Everyone takes their job very seriously, of course, but I'm always personally determined to do my job EXCEPTIONALLY well.
Toriumi: I think it's all about how you act and how you think while in the studio, rather than about concrete actions.
Okiayu: I don't feel like there's anything wrong with temporarily goofing around, but I also think it's important to get back to the mindset where you're able to do your job properly. That's what being in perfect harmony is.
Q: Do you have any specific anecdotes about the other you'd like to share?
Okiayu: That's a good question, actually. I can't really think of anything (laughs).
Toriumi: We've worked together on several occasions and gone out to eat together on several occasions, but I don't really have any particular anecdotes to share (laughs).
Okiayu: I guess this gives the impression we're both pretty consistent and reliable people that always just go about our jobs as normal.
Q: Time for a Pokémon-specific question: In the video game Pocket Monsters Sword/Shield there's curry in camps, and in Pocket Monsters Scarlet/Violet there's sandwiches at picnics, both of which you make and eat together with Pokémon. If the two of you were to eat some kind of food with your Pokémon outdoors, what kind of food would you go with?
Okiayu: I guess simple egg sandwiches.
Toriumi: The idea of eating outdoors just makes me think of barbeques, so I'd bring a griddle and grill non-stop.
Okiayu: You mean meat? I see you as a meat guy.
Toriumi: Yeah, I used to grill all the time, you know. Let's grill some nice meat and serve that, then.
Q: Are either of you doing anything interesting in your spare time these days?
Toriumi: No, I'm really boring in that sense, so I never have a good answer to these kind of questions... I'm still on that eternal search for something that will catch my interest.
Okiayu: So you're actually searching for something? (laughs)
Toriumi: Well... not very hard (laughs). Did you have any suggestions?
Okiayu: How about stretching?
Toriayu: I'll give it a try! Time to keep in shape! Do you stretch, Okiayu-san?
Okiayu: No, but I watched some videos and thought about maybe giving it a go (laughs). I actually did this customized fitness program-type thing for about 10 days once, and it actually delivered some good results. I think I lost a bit of weight that way. But it got tiresome, so I stopped bothering for the time being (laughs).
Toriumi: It's really hard to make stuff like that an actual habit, isn't it? Maybe you should've kept at it for another 10 days?
Okiayu: I'll try again some time and see if I can't make it a habit then.
