Actress Aoi Yui is the voice behind the mysterious "Ikechan" in the movie adaption of Saibara Rieko's picture book "Ikechan to Boku". This creature kindly watches over the protagonist Yoshio and during his growth, it more and more adapts the characteristics of a girl. Oricon did an interview with Aoi to see how she things about her role, as a woman and as a an actress.

"Saibara's drawings, letters and story, you can't leave out any of the 3."

--- What was your reaction when you got the offer to voice "Ikechan"?

I was surprised about a lot of things. Up to now I played boys or girls, often not even close to my age, but this time it's a person that can't really be called a person. First of all I was surprised about the visuals of Ikechan, it's a thing that can't be grasped at all and I though, "I'm supposed to voice this?" I think it's an interesting experiment to turn a Saibara picture book into a live-action movie. That's one reason why I immediately wanted to do it and I felt very honored and happy that they want to entrust such an importent character to me.

--- What were your impressions when you read the original picture book?

I decided to do the role of "Ikechan" after I read the book. Many thoughts came to my mind while reading it, "What kind of voice would it have? How does it move? How will they realise it in the movie?" I got excited by all the hows?.

--- What did you think when reading the script?

That the phrases would be in a typical printed type. I was glad that they used some of the original expressions of Saibara. There were some phrases children don't use anymore today, so I was looking forward how they are going to act. Children can have some very interesting and amusing ways of talking and this work did a perfect job of catching those expressions.

Saibara's drawings, letters and story, I don't think it's good to leave out any of the 3 in the world of "Ikechan to Boku". The drawings and the letters would disappear in a movie adaption and all that is left is the story. How can you compensate the loss of those 2 important factors? It was very interesting how the director managed to replace the letters with amusing expressions of the chidren.

"I waited until I heard the voice of 'Ikechan' in my head."

--- How did you come up with the voice of "Ikechan"?

I watched it time and time again and waited until I heard the voice of "Ikechan" in my head. When I was reading the script, I already thought about a lot of things like the voice of "Ikechan". I went to the director, did the voice that was in my head and asked, "Is this the right tone?" He answered, "That's it!"

--- What was the voice like that you said to have heard inside your head?

It was a soft voice. However, I was very anxious about whether I would be able to put this voice into practice. I had to be careful about any tiny variation in my voice.

--- What was the most difficult thing while playing as "Ikechan"?

"Ikechan" is something that can only be seen by the protagonist Yoshio. There are times when they directly communicate with each other, but there are also times when they are physically far away from each other, but still connected to each other with their minds. It was very difficult to balance the volume of the voice according to those situations. I've never experienced something similar to that before. There wasn't a scene that was particularly difficult or easy to do. One thing that was very difficult was to get into the very last words of "Ikechan". They are one of the most important lines of the whole movie and I had the responsibility to handle them with great care.

--- What kind of relationship do "Ikechan" and Yoshio have?

Whether it can be seen or not, I think it's wonderful when 2 people have a relationship where no other person can fit in. They give each other strength. In the original picture book it's almost like a love story. I'm not good with love things or fantasy, but they had such a strength and such honest and great conversations! People with dreams, especially children should watch this, but for me I wish that many women will go and watch this movie. I think it's able to reach the heart of everyone women who experienced love at least once in her life. It's a really beautiful love the of them have. On the whole it's a movie that draws a very deep love.

--- At the end, could you please tell us your impressions after watching the complete movie?

When I was watching the movie, I think that the person next to me saw a much deeper meaning to it than myself. I'm not saying that I know this person's past, but to me it seemed like that she saw that boyfriend she had in her past. People with such a past relationship should be able to have much deeper feelings when watching this movie. I also would like you to focus on the relationship between Yoshio and his friend Misako. However, the biggest reason why I like this movie so much is the mysterious and extraordinary feelings that surrounds "Ikechan" itself.

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Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Oricon
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