With her distinctive, endearing performances, Rie Takahashi is a voice actress with a long trajectory performing iconic characters in the anime community. Among her first and more famous roles is the half-elf Emilia from the anime Re:Zero.
Following the confirmation of the anime’s fourth season, this year she visited the Italian convention Lucca Comics & Games for the first time, participating in a Q&A panel about Re:Zero‘s new season with an early screening of the first episode.
Thanks to Crunchyroll, we had the opportunity to talk with Rie Takahashi about her first experience in Europe and her thoughts about Emilia’s growth.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter. This interview contains minor broad plot spoilers for Re:Zero.
Q: We are very excited to have you in Europe. How does it feel to be part of Lucca Comics? Have you ever had the chance to visit Italy before?
A: This is my first experience, both in Italy and in Europe. I really wanted to come for a very long time, so this was the opportunity, not just for myself, but also for the manager and the rest of the team. It’s just great, and we are having fun.
About Lucca, from the day before, I had the chance to see what it’s all around these city walls. It’s like a big, huge theme park!
Q: This Lucca Comics edition highlights the values of Liberté, Créativité, Diversité (Freedom, Creativity, Diversity). Do you think any of them contributed to you in performing Emilia?
A: Emilia is one of the candidates for the Kingdom of Lugunica. One of her targets is to have a very equal world. From this point of view, because of the color of her hair and the fact that she’s a half-elf, sometimes she would go against some people, who would sort of hate her. The kind of world that she’s looking to create is the same as the theme of this Lucca, which is exactly a world of liberty, creativity, and diversity.
Q: How did you “find” Emilia’s unique voice?
A: Emilia uses words that are sort of old-fashioned. People nowadays don’t use this kind of language. I don’t know if it was perfectly translated into the subtitles. But compared to the language Subaru uses, which is far more modern, you have Emilia, who has this other way that reminds Japanese way of expressing things in a very old-fashioned way. That would be a starting point for me: being able to use this Japanese pronunciation perfectly, so Emilia’s voice can be clearly understood.
Q: When you accepted the role of Emilia, did you expect her to resonate so strongly with overseas audiences? Why do you think she’s so popular?
A: Especially at the beginning of the first season, Emilia would often fight with Subaru, and I thought that perhaps she might not be very well accepted by the audience. I was very emotional about how to approach this character.
About her popularity, Emilia is not just cute: she can fight. She’s strong. And she became much stronger and more independent. I think that makes her really cool.
Q: Do you think you share any common traits with Emilia? If so, which ones?
A: Rather than say that we have an overlapping personality, we have an overlapping emotional timing. When she feels down in the anime, usually there’s a reason why I feel down at the same time. And when she feels that she’s unbeatable, that she’s a juggernaut that can get everyone by punching them, somehow, I feel the same way. She is my best ally, and we are completely in sync. I’m one single person with her in terms of our emotional timing. It’s like I’m actually living with her.
Q: In the last season, she had to face the Archbishops. Did that make your interpretation more demanding? How has your image of Emilia changed since you accepted the role?
A: There is one point in Season 3 when I questioned myself, “Wait, how did that go? Have I really met Regulus or not?” It was a fuzzy moment for me. In Season 2, during Regulus’ arrival, Emilia had seen him, but somehow, he did not make a strong impression.
Then, in the Watergate City of Pristella in Season 3, they have a chance to meet once again, so Emilia thought, “Oh yes, I have met him in the past”. So, I, too, remembered meeting Regulus in the past. This is an example of how I perceive things through the memories of Emilia.
Q: You have been accompanied by an amazing cast through these years. How does it feel to reach Season 4 with them? Do you have any anecdotes you want to share?
A: Yes, now that you mention it, I remember that during the live recording of Re:Zero, Yusuke Kobayashi, who is the voice actor for Subaru, and Satomi Arai, who is the voice actress for Beatrice and me, were together. We sat all together, with ‘Subaru’ in the center, which was like we were protecting him.
Q: Season 3 finale surely left us with a big cliffhanger. What should fans expect from Re:Zero Season 4?
A: If I say too much, it will become a spoiler. I will just say that in Season 4, there will be a handful of members who will go through some experiences over and over again.
Q: Finally, can you please share a message for your overseas fans?
A: From now on, you will have even more developments in Re:Zero. There might be some scenes that you do not understand, but you should wait until you have the complete picture.
We want to thank Rie Takahashi for taking the time to speak with us during her first stay at a European convention, and Crunchyroll for making this possible. Fans around the world are very excited for the upcoming season, and for Takahashi to put on the shoes of Emilia again.
You can read more about Lucca Comics & Games in our general event article.
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