We had the great opportunity to interview Reina Ueda, the voice of Hinako Yaotose in the upcoming This Monster Wants to Eat Me anime. Set in Ehime, the series follows Hinako, a girl caught between the pull of life and the lure of death, and her fateful encounter with the mysterious Shiori.
In this interview, the voice actress shared her first impressions of the story, how she shaped Hinako’s quiet yet complex voice, and the emotional nuances that make the characters’ relationships so captivating. She also gave us a glimpse of what fans can look forward to when the series begins streaming this October.
Q: Were you familiar with This Monster Wants to Eat Me before being cast as Hinako? If so, what were your initial impressions of the story?
A: When I auditioned for the role, I read the original work. My first impression was that, while it has comical scenes, the supernatural parts are depicted as truly frightening. More than anything, the protagonist Hinako carries an overall dim gloom that makes even the viewer feel a sense of suffocation, and I thought she was a girl you simply cannot take your eyes off. I felt a sense of danger from her, as if with just one wrong step she might abandon living altogether. That fear is what the work conveys.
That is why, when she meets Shiori and begins to change, I felt it was something that must be carefully watched, whether those changes are positive or not for Hinako, for Shiori, or for Miko. The fact that it is hard to predict what will happen next left a very strong impression on me.
It contains many different elements: comical parts, supernatural parts, serious and mysterious parts. You could almost call it a mystery. And within that, I thought another key point of attention would be whether something like friendship or even love might grow between Hinako and Shiori.
Q: The title itself sounds eerie and unsettling. Did that title shape your expectations about the tone or atmosphere of the series before you read the script?
A: When I saw the title, the phrase “want to eat” and the word “eat” itself gave me a definite sense of fear. The comic’s cover illustration has a background that is very vivid and beautiful, but the characters’ expressions carry a strange atmosphere. From that, I sensed something like the mood of a damp, oppressive summer horror, taken from the “want to eat me” part.
The word “hitodenashi” also stood out to me. I had often heard it in other works as a line said half-jokingly when close friends are playing around, like calling someone “you hitodenashi.” Thinking of it that way, it can suggest closeness or casual familiarity. At the same time, considering Shiori’s character setting, it could also be taken as truly meaning “hitodenashi,” not a human being. It might not be playful at all, but rather a serious hitodenashi. I was left with the impression that this was something I could not clearly gauge.
So while I felt the horror elements, it also seemed like a work whose atmosphere could not be fully grasped.
[Translator’s note: “hitodenashi” can mean “heartless” or “cruel person,” often said jokingly, but literally it means “not a human.”]
Q: When you first read about Hinako, what kind of voice or feeling came to mind for you, and how did that idea evolve once you started recording?
A: When I first encountered her, what came to mind was that she suffers between her own wish to die and go to her family, and her family’s wish for her to live. She does not want to live, but she cannot die, so she is living now in order to die someday. That is the state she starts from.
So her feelings toward her family are the biggest thing. The despair of not being with them gives her a flat, subdued image. She does not even have the energy to hold negative feelings like anger or sadness, and is simply living within despair in order to die. Because of that, I imagined her voice would naturally become flat and matter-of-fact.
As she meets Shiori and has episodes with Miko, this girl who had been in despair is given Shiori’s proposal of “I will eat you,” and through that she comes to find hope. When she finds hope, that nuance of hope of course enters her voice, but precisely because she now sees a light, when trouble arises she begins to show things like anger and sadness that did not appear when she was in despair.
Her base tone remains flat, but within the dull colors more and more colors gradually increase, and as a result those nuances come into her voice. That was the image I tried to express.
Q: Did you try anything unusual or different for this role that you hadn’t done before in past performances?
A: Yes, and specifically because it was Hinako. She is a girl who has consideration and kindness toward others. So even when her emotions come out strongly, although there might be moments when it would be easier if she could throw them straight at the other person, she cannot bring herself to do that. She may be crying or raising her voice, but she cannot fully send that voice directly at them.
I thought that was very characteristic of playing Hinako. Whether it comes from kindness toward others, from worrying that she might hurt them, or from simple inexperience, she wants to let it out but cannot. That feeling was something I thought was uniquely Hinako.
Also, while from Hinako’s own point of view her feelings have a consistent line, when I step back from Hinako’s perspective and watch the anime as a viewer, there are scenes that can look disconnected. Even for Hinako herself, things are not completely put together — she is probably in a state of not knowing what to do, all jumbled and unsettled.
That incomplete, not fully formed feeling was very difficult to perform, and gave me a sense of frustration or even unpleasantness. But I also felt that this was exactly because she is Hinako, and exactly because she is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. It was a way of acting that I had not used for any other role.
Q: You worked closely with Yui Ishikawa, who voices Shiori. Did you two discuss how to bring out the unique tension between your characters?
A: During breaks, we hardly talked about the story itself. Precisely because the main scenes were so tense, break times were very cheerful, with everyone chatting together and eating snacks, a truly relaxing and heartwarming time. So I think there were not many times when we discussed things like “how should we do this scene.”
That said, however, in the latter half, as the relationship between Hinako and Shiori gradually began to change, and about those we often said to each other, “this is difficult.” From Hinako’s perspective, Shiori seems selfish, forceful, and cruel. Since I tried to view the story through Hinako’s eyes, I naturally had that sense, but from Shiori’s perspective it would of course look different.
I could feel, from the nuance and the slightly frightening color in the way Ishikawa-san said “this is difficult,” that there was indeed another way it looked from Shiori’s side, and in that moment I realized again that the two characters would not mesh. If we looked at it neutrally, without sticking to opposite viewpoints, it might appear differently, but since Ishikawa-san was seeing from Shiori’s perspective and I from Hinako’s, I felt like we were each seeing a different world.
Q: What do you think are the other appeals of the series? Which aspects will resonate most with viewers?
A: I think one of the appeals, although it is painful, is that the feelings of Hinako, Shiori, and Miko do not align at all. Even though there are people who wish for her to be happy, who want her to live, who are glad that she is alive, Hinako’s feeling of wanting to go to her family, of wanting to die, does not waver. She does not want to make anyone sad, but she is suffering and cannot help it.
Because of that, there is a pain that comes from being able to empathize with both sides. It is hard to say I want people to “enjoy” that, but I hope they will watch while chewing over and thinking about that unique pain that only this work has. At the same time, the feelings of the others, their desire for Hinako to live happily, come through strongly, and if those feelings can be conveyed to everyone in a positive form, I think that would be good. That is especially, I feel, where the appeal lies and what touches the heart.
Also, as the author said, they really like the idea of a troublesome person being led around by another troublesome person, and they said this work is packed with that. I think enjoying it from that perspective is also certainly one way of approaching it. Because it is a work filled with many elements, I think people will be able to watch it from many different viewpoints.
Q: Finally, could you give a message to overseas fans?
A: To overseas viewers: the story is set in Ehime. When I actually visited Ehime, it was so warm and sparkling, overflowing with a sense of happiness that made me think, “I would like to live here.” That is why I felt that seeing this scenery through Hinako’s sunken emotions must be very painful. When I saw the finished colored visuals, I thought the way the backgrounds are drawn — so beautiful and vivid, with skies and seas that are truly stunning — makes it feel even more like something that would be painful for Hinako to see. And that very beauty also makes the strange, unbalanced feeling of the story stand out more strongly.
I hope this work will be a chance for you to visit Ehime as well. It is truly a work you can enjoy from many perspectives: from the supernatural angle, from the mystery angle, and from the angle of friendship, the bond of the heart. In addition, depending on whether you see it from Hinako’s point of view or from Shiori’s, the way you receive the story will change. So I would be happy if you watch it multiple times and feel it from many different perspectives.
We would like to thank Reina Ueda for answering our questions and PONY CANYON for making this interview possible. This Monster Wants to Eat Me anime started its streaming from October 2, with STUDIO LINGS animating. A new episode drops each Thursday on Crunchyroll, so don’t miss it!
The main trailer featuring the cast and the opening theme song “Sacrifice” by Yoshino, as well as the music videos featuring the opening theme song and the ending theme song “Lily” by Reina Ueda (as Hinako Yaotose), are now available. You can watch each of the videos below.
Main Trailer:
Creditless Opening:
Creditless Ending:
©2024 Sai Naekawa/KADOKAWA/Project Watatabe
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