MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE WITCH FROM MERCURY:
KANA ICHINOSE, THE FIRST FEMALE LEAD FOR THE TV SERIES, TALKS ABOUT THE “NEW GUNDAM” WITH HER “PARTNER” LYNN

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is a brand new tv anime based on the popular Gundam anime series that started airing on October 2 in the Nichigo Anime Block at 5 pm Sunday on MBS and TBS networks. This is the first Gundam series to feature a female protagonist, and the fact that it’s set at a school is also a hot topic for discussion. Kana Ichinose is the voice actress behind the lead character, the pilot of the Gundam Aerial, Suletta Mercury. So what kind of work will the show become, having set its sights on being a “new Gundam?” We sat down with Ichinose and Lynn, who plays Suletta’s “partner,” the good-looking, high achiever Miorine Rembran, about their thoughts on the work and what goes on behind the scenes during the recording process.

◇ SOMEDAY, I’LL BE IN GUNDAM! LONGING TO PERFORM

– – Please share a bit about what went through your mind when you learned that you got the role.

ICHINOSE: Well, there was the tape audition and the studio audition, and I was wondering the entire time who would get the part, all the way from the tape audition. I would never have thought I would be given a chance to take the lead role in a title as big as this. I’ve had the honor of being able to work on Gundam games, so to be honest, I really wasn’t sure… I think it was somewhere around the day after my studio audition that I received the call that I had been chosen. I was at home when I got a phone call from my manager, and I thought, “what is this about?” But I thought, “maybe it would be about Gundam…” And with a little bit of hope, I answered the call and was told that I got the role. I was still half-asleep, so I thought I was dreaming. I was told about the upcoming schedule, and then I hung up and went back to sleep. When I got back up, I thought, was that all a dream? But the call was right there in my call history, and that was when it dawned on me that I had been chosen for the role! That said, until the actual announcement, it still felt like I wouldn’t know if it was true, and I was restless the entire time. There’s a lot of pressure on having the lead role, but I am ready for it and look forward to acting out the part.

LYNN: I’m pretty sure I was awake, wasn’t I? (laughs) Before my audition, I saw the announcement that a new show would be produced and thought, “I wish I could be in it.” Then, I was told about the audition. I had such a strong desire to perform, so I gave it my all during my performance at the audition so that I would have no regrets. That said, I was actually in a bit of a slump, so I wasn’t too sure how it would go either. But right then, on my birthday, I got a call saying that I had been chosen, and I was shocked. I was wondering to myself, “What! How did I get it?!” I was just overwhelmed with happiness after that. It was the best birthday of my life. At the same time, it’s a property with such an established history, so everyone has high expectations, and I felt I had to do my best to live up to them!

– – Please share your thoughts on Gundam as a series

ICHINOSE: It’s a work that everyone knows, an anime popular on a national level, that everyone knows characters like Amuro and Char and their famous lines. I never imagined that the series would continue for this long, that new works would be produced in the Reiwa era, or that I would even be able to take part in one. In previous tv shows, the main character was a boy, and I had this impression that the series was for boys, but when I watched them, I saw women piloting mobile suits and fighting without holding back, which was really cool. Since the main focus, a lot of the time, is on battles, you see a lot of things dealing with the life and death of people, and if you dive deeper in, you’ll find some sad aspects too. In Mobile Suit Gundam, there’s a scene where Amuro and Ramba Ral meet at a tavern, but they know that they’re the enemy. It’s fate that’s brought them together, given the circumstances, and if their positions were different, their relationship might have been entirely different. When I think about that, there’s a feeling of romanticism. They’re enemies, so they have to fight one another, but they’re each their own person, so when you think about it, war is so very tragic. Though I still think it’s cool to see them fighting! I have very mixed feelings about it. It makes me think about the meaning of fighting.

LYNN: I watched SEED, DESTINY, and 00 as they were broadcast when I was a student studying to become a voice actor, so I was really into them. I also liked the characters and mobile suits, bought and collected some of the small figurines, snagged CDs of the OP/ED themes, and even went to events. I was quite an active otaku. These shows brought back so many memories for me, and I had a longing that if I ever became a voice actor, I’d love to appear in a Gundam series someday. Even though Mobile Suit Gundam has such a long history in Japanese animation, each work has so many different colors to them, which I also find intriguing. It’s not all about monsters attacking and fighting, it’s about the conflict between people, so there’s a realistic aspect to it. It’s such a deep story.

◇ IT’S OKAY TO RUN: A WAY OF THINKING IN LINE WITH THE CURRENT TIMES

– – The show seems to have a different flair to it from the previous Gundam series, as it’s set at a school.

ICHINOSE: Seeing that it’s set at a school, battles are fought through duels, so the seriousness behind them is a smidge lighter than wars. Even when we’re recording, we’re sometimes directed to “make it less serious.” There’s some tension involved, but I’m fighting without an awareness that I’ll die in a fight. I wouldn’t say the duels are depicted as a life-or-death sort of thing, but rather fighting by betting on various things. The stakes prove to be different, and battles can get so big they affect someone’s life, but they can also be seen as something quite comical. When she’s at the school, the characters are larger-than-life and lively. There are also so many things going on there, and it’s so nice to see Suletta, who has no idea what is going on, making her way through it all.

LYNN: Your first impressions about this show may differ from other Gundam shows you’ve seen so far. In school, these kids aren’t fighting for their country, land, or even their lives, but you start to wonder if that’s where conflict will begin to grow. It frightens me to think about it. Either way, I feel this is an easy start for people who have never seen Gundam before. Even if you have zero knowledge of Gundam, I’m sure you’ll be hooked after watching it.

– – Do you feel you are working on a “new Gundam” unique to our times?

ICHINOSE: Having a female protagonist is just one new aspect, but Suletta’s “If you run, you gain one, but if you move forward, you gain two” makes me think that it’s okay to run away! Though I wonder if that is a way of thinking that’s in line with the current times. You could say, let’s get through with determination! But there are times when determination alone is not enough. When it is simply too hard to do anything about something, and it seems like there are no options available, I think it is okay to run away. Gaining something despite running away is a beautiful way of thinking. It’s not the end if you run away! Personally, I think this might be a great message for the younger generation.

LYNN: Absolutely! Opportunities for face-to-face contact are decreasing. We may not be able to see into the depths of each other’s hearts, and I believe that relationships are becoming more complex.

ICHINOSE: There are times when I worry about things I don’t need to worry about.

LYNN: Sometimes, we end up clashing when our true feelings are revealed. I think many people are troubled by their relationships. I believe this is one thing this show is trying to illustrate.

◇ IMPRESSIONS ON YOUR FIRST JOINT PERFORMANCE: Suletta and Miorine make a great duo!

– – This is the first time you’ve acted together?

ICHINOSE: It is our first time. When I heard Lynn’s performance for the first time in person while recording the first episode, I thought to myself, “Whoa, no way, she’s a natural!” So when performing with her, I naturally became Suletta. Miorine is somewhat of an aggressive type, while Suletta is pretty introverted and rather timid. She really brings that out of me when we record.

LYNN: I saw another work where Ichinose played the heroine, and I always thought she had a killer voice and really nailed the performance perfectly, so I wanted to perform with her. So I was really looking forward to being able to perform with her as my partner this time! Even when we’re recording, I find myself blown away, thinking that those are expressions I just can’t do. This really comes through when we’re doing the more comedic scenes that we’ve recorded thus far, so it’s a lot of fun working with her.

ICHINOSE: For the comical scenes, the direction I was given said, “You’re good to play around a bit. Go ahead and ad-lib.” I think she’s a great character to do that with freely.

– – Miorine, on the other hand, speaks with that bravado of authority?

LYNN: She’s so in your face! (laughs) She’s very straightforward with her emotions and does not hold back. Interestingly, she does not get along with Suletta at all at first.

ICHINOSE: She can be SO scary at times! (laughs) But, for what it’s worth, Suletta doesn’t back down either, so they make a great pair in that sense. Suletta comes off as somewhat timid and hesitant, but she’s surprisingly plucky, so they make a curious pair.

– – Does Suletta change in mobile suit combat?

ICHINOSE: For Suletta, the Aerial is somewhere she can feel safe, so when she gets onboard, she becomes cool and collected, and we see a more virile side to her. This portrayal of her happens so quickly that I couldn’t help but think, “whoa, this is so cool!” as I was playing her. The fights aren’t all that serious right now, so there are some comical moments. The tension will change based on what is at stake in the battle. So in these battle scenes, I feel like I’m really piloting the Gundam!

– – Finally, please give a message to the fans looking forward to the upcoming broadcasts.

ICHINOSE: With the internet becoming more widespread, our chances of talking directly with others are decreasing, and I think we often get nervous when talking with people, or we just don’t know how to talk to other people. Or we don’t know how to gauge the distance with others correctly. I feel the same way, too, sometimes. Suletta has never interacted with children of her age before, so she doesn’t grasp that sense of distance; so she often makes an effort but ends up with no progress. I feel very close to Suletta when I see her like that. Suletta is just an ordinary girl in many ways, so it brings me joy when I see her like that. Seeing Suletta also makes me want to make an effort to take a step forward. Regardless of your age or gender, if you watch “The Witch from Mercury,” I believe you will feel the same and really enjoy it. I highly recommend that you watch the PROLOGUE before watching the first episode if you haven’t seen it already. The story is connected to episode 1, so I would be happy if you could watch PROLOGUE first.

LYNN: So far, the series has always depicted conflicts between people as well as the complexity of human relationships, which is also seen in “The Witch from Mercury.” These children have their troubles and things they want to do, but things just don’t go right. And during this conflict, there are times when they unexpectedly come into conflict with others. Human relationships are complex. How should we go about solving them? You can find hints to answering that throughout this series. I hope that the younger generation, those who have never seen “Gundam,” will watch this series, and I hope that longtime fans will enjoy it as well. I hope you will enjoy “The Witch from Mercury” as we tackle new challenges with the series.

TL Note: The interview page uses the word 相方 in quotations and I’ve replicated it in the same format here on my page. The term “partner” isn’t used in the romantic sense in this instance, just to be clear.