[Honey’s Anime Interview] Voice Actor Reiji Kawashima of "To Your Eternity" - Don't Miss Him at Virtual Crunchyroll Expo

Honey’s Anime: You voiced Fushi and Ricky, two memorable and quite different characters this season. Do you relate to either? Are you like Fushi or Ricky?

Reiji Kawashima: Fushi keeps changing and Ricky is always with Patrick. When I think about it now, I feel like I've played a lot of roles in those two works.
I think I sympathize with the boy in the first episode a lot. He was always cheerful and positive no matter what happened. He was the easiest to play.

Honey’s Anime: Fushi has to learn to talk and improves gradually, like a baby growing up. Did you need any special training? Did you get any special advice in order to deliver his progress through your voice acting?

Reiji Kawashima: I tried to rethink how to consciously do things that we normally do unconsciously. We don't remember what it was like to be a baby, and we don't remember what it was like to not be able to speak our native language. We can walk, talk to people, and eat things easily now. By rethinking why we can do these things so easily, I picked up things that Fushi would struggle with when he does them for the first time.
I used 17 A4 notebooks to prepare for Fushi's role. I read my notes backwards to make sure that I would play Fushi’s growth up to a certain level in that particular episode and prepare for the next one before recording.

Honey’s Anime: You worked on To Your Eternity during the pandemic. Did the precautions and measures affect your work as a voice actor? How?

Reiji Kawashima: In Japan, the entire cast used to gather together to record, but due to Covid-19, we can only record in groups of three or so, so there are fewer opportunities for newcomers like me to work with veterans and learn from them. It’s a sad thing for us. I also miss the opportunity to communicate with the staff.