(voicing Majin Boo) Kōzō Shioya–san × (voicing Mister Satan) Unshō Ishizuka–san
The broadcast of the “Majin Boo Arc” has begun at last! A talk between the pair who play Majin Boo and Mister Satan, who hold important keys to the tale, is now a reality!!
Unshō Ishizuka–san
Profile
Affiliated with Aoni Production. Born on 16 May [1951]. Has lent his talents to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (as Joseph Joestar), among many other works.
Kōzō Shioya–san
Profile
Affiliated with Aoni Production. Born on 18 August [1955]. Has lent his talents to Toriko (as Kuribo) and One Piece (as Pappug), among many others.
Ishizuka: I’ve been playing the role of Satan since the Cell arc of Kai, but at first it was relatively tough. The staff told me, “act your way, Ishizuka-san,” so I tried as best I could not to be conscious of it [i.e., the late Daisuke Gōri’s performance], but around the end, I pushed it back, figuring “enough, already”.
(laughs) From around that point, the show got interesting, and I was able to get into the swing of the performances of (Masako) Nozawa-san and the others. So this time as well, I’m able to have fun playing the role.
Shioya: When the recording for Kai started, right off the bat, I asked, “who’s going to play Satan?” Then I learned that Ishizuka-san was going to play him, and I was incredibly happy.
Ishizuka: Thank you. (laughs)
Shioya: When you performed as Satan with me for the movie [Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods], Ishizuka-san, it was easy to act, and the performance was fun.
Ishizuka: The studio is full of talented actors, so in a good way, I was able to act while goofing off, which was probably a good thing.
Ishizuka: He’s like a comedian. (laughs) People around me keep telling me, “That’s a sweet gig you’ve got there.” (laughs) In order to have as few preconceptions as possible, I tried to act one episode at a time, but I think probably, the fact that he’s lived his life with this all-hype reputation of “the world’s strongest man” despite being so weak compared to Goku & co. actually made it easier for him to get along with Boo. Boo as a character is something of an airhead, but he’s actually incredibly strong. I can imagine that it’s precisely because [Satan] can’t comprehend how scary he is that Boo also let down his guard and was able to go along with him.
Shioya: Boo believes that Satan is a good guy until the very end, and Satan also seems to be spurred on by that.
In the recording studio, they can feel young again!
Ishizuka: Even now that you’re 50-something? (laughs)
Shioya: It’s not something you get to experience often. When I appear as a guest in other works, if I’m clearly the oldest person in the room, I actually sort of become a shrinking violet. Nobody jokes with me, and thinking that they probably don’t know who I am, I stand quietly in the corner. (laughs) With this work, I can relax and put myself in their hands, because there are senior members I can rely on.
Ishizuka: I’m always really looking forward to going to the after-party with everyone after we finish recording. (laughs)
Shioya: Nozawa-san takes the lead in splitting the bill. I’m grateful for that.
Ishizuka: It’s nice how we can talk about all sorts of things with the other cast members after recording. Plus, even with people like me who came on-board partway through, thanks to these parties, I’ve been able to fit in like I’ve been there for ages. It’s a bargain twice over. (laughs)
Shioya: Back then, we recorded in the morning, but we record at night now, so it works out perfectly, time-wise. Well, we always talk about basically the same things, though. (laughs)
Ishizuka: You’re right. (laughs) But every time, we get into it like it’s a fresh conversation.
Shioya: When you’re in a place like that, even with the same people as always, you get to see a different side to them. That’s also a lot of fun.
Ishizuka: They really do have a side that you don’t get to see in the studio alone, which is also connected to their performance. It’s also an easy place for the staff to discover a new side to the younger kids [i.e., the younger members of the group]. In that sense as well, this is a good old production. Maybe it’s weird to say it’s old, since it’s a new show? (laughs)
The difficulty of differentiating performances.
Ishizuka: The battle scenes continue on quite a bit, right from the first half.
Shioya: And this time, for Kai, we do retakes for all our lines. The [recording] environment has changed a lot since the Z era, but her fire hasn’t changed one bit.
Ishizuka: That power is truly amazing. I want to learn by her example. Plus, the way Nozawa-san and Shioya-san differentiate between their roles is amazing. Nozawa-san differentiates between Goku, Gohan, and Goten, and Shioya-san does the fat Boo and the evil Boo. I’m always watching them thinking, “It must be tough for them both.” (laughs)
Shioya: (laughs) You didn’t do that sort of differentiation for Satan?
Ishizuka: Well, with Satan… I suppose the times when he gets excited are tough. (laughs) But it’s a lot easier compared with you two. Only, the viewers would probably get tired if it was nothing but battles, so I was conscious of getting them to laugh when they saw Satan. I brought out an extreme gap between my performances as the prideful strongest-man-in-the-world, and as kind of an idiot.
Shioya: Certainly, if it continues on with nothing but battles, even the performers get tired, and you’d get tired even watching it. So you had that sort of technique. I just learned something new. (laughs)
Ishizuka: At any rate, it’s an enjoyable work with a good pace. There aren’t that many works where you get this much feedback with your performance. By all means, please watch and look forward to it.