During his first visit to the German convention AnimagiC, we sat down with voice actor Anji Iwata to talk about his role as Kentaro Yamada in the anime You and I Are Polar Opposites. Iwata-san participated in a Q&A with a live dubbing panel, and three signing sessions for fans. In this interview, we discuss how Iwata-san landed the role and his experience so far voicing Yamada.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.
Q: Were you familiar with the manga when they confirmed you for the role of Yamada?
A: Yes, I was a big fan of the manga, and also of Yamada specifically. I recorded a voice sample that I gave to my management team. I told them ‘If you see an opportunity for Yamada’s role, please send them this voice sample.’ Then I got the audition and the role, which I was very happy about.
Q: What was your first reaction when you received the announcement?
A: I’m currently a university student, so I was in class when I received the call from my management team. The agency usually contacts me via email, so when I received a phone call, I thought it must be something important and answered it in a hurry. I went to an open space, took the call, and because I was so happy about the confirmation I let out an “Eh!? Wow, really? Are you kidding me?” I was a little bit embarrassed about being so loud since everybody could hear me.
Q: What was your first impression of Yamada? How much has it changed compared to now?
A: At first, I thought Yamada was a simple person who doesn’t think a lot before doing things. But over the course of two seasons, and especially in his relationship with Nishi, I got the impression that Yamada actually thinks a lot before he does anything. During the recording sessions for season 2, I got more monologues. Now I have the impression that Yamada is someone who overthinks a lot.
Q: Yamada changed from a character focused on comedy to be part of one of the romantic pairs in the anime. How does that change your portrayal of him?
A: It’s not that I was thinking of changing my interpretation of Yamada. It’s not something that happens consciously, but I was led by Yamada’s feelings as if I were growing together with him. The change happened naturally. You could say that in every recording session, I faced Yamada.
Q: Which scene was the most fun to act so far?
A: The most fun I had was in the recording for episode 13. There was a fried chicken party that the characters had at school. We, as the main cast, also like each other a lot since we spent a lot of time together for the recordings, so we also had a party at the studio. That feeling from the episode’s party was transferred to the recording, and also vice versa. I loved that.
Q: Which scene was the hardest to act so far?
A: Maybe it’s because I’m new in voice acting (Yamada is my first big role in an anime), but I thought episode 12 was particularly hard. Yamada and Nishi had a date in Yokohama, in the Chinese quarter. Yamada had a lot of dialogue for that episode and it’s the final episode of the season, so I felt a lot of responsibility for doing it right and I was a little bit nervous. But when I finished the recording, I felt accomplished.
Q: What do you think are Yamada’s greatest strengths and flaws?
A: Yamada’s strength, and also his flaw, is his straightforwardness. As I said before, he acts before thinking which can be both a strength and a flaw. It’s a strength with Nishi because he asks for her phone number, to be friends; overall, it’s very easy for Yamada to open up to Nishi. Thanks to that, the relationship between Yamada and Nishi has grown. And it’s also a flaw because if you remember episode 1, where Suzuki asked Tani to be a couple, Yamada asked her if they are already a couple without thinking.
Q: Do you think you share any traits with him?
A: We are both honest people. We both want our feelings to show; we’re not good at lying—they just come out. I try to be an open person with other people.
Q: If you could meet Yamada in real life, what would you advise him?
A: I have thought a lot about this. Yamada is a very nice person and I don’t have anything I would advise him on. But I have learned a lot from his personality, so I would like Yamada’s advice or to be Yamada’s friend.
We want to thank Anji Iwata and Crunchyroll for this interview opportunity, which gave us more insight into Yamada as a character.
Don’t miss the new episodes of You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2, currently available on Crunchyroll.
Join the discussion
Comments are linked to your Anime Corner account and published after moderation.
Sign in to comment
Use your Anime Corner Portal account across all Anime Corner services.