[Eternal Dreamer]

Here's the translation of the second part of the interview! No spoilers, unfortunately, but we do learn a few interesting things, including the directors interest in Suzaku.

Interview with Director Akane Kazuki (Second Part)

Aiming for the pure literature-like factor found in shoujo manga

-Irino Miyu-san and Sakamoto Maaya-san have appeared in your past works, but what was the deciding factor for the castings this time?

I thought that, with it being a short four chapters this time, the chapters and actors wouldn’t be able to grow together. So I wanted people that presented roles they wanted to have right from the beginning to perform. So I requested Irino-san for Akito, Maaya-san for Reila, and many others for the roles of the main characters. Since before, I have felt that Irino-san’s voice had a very cool and philosophic-about-the-world atmosphere. Irino-san’s impression as an ordinary boy role may be strong, but I decided to request Irino-san for Akito as a very natural conclusion. Sakamoto-san also has a good acting sense, but most of all the reason I requested her was because I felt that something noble and strong-willed in her voice. In terms of people who have that “princess”-feeling voice that have those two qualities and who can act in a drama, there wasn’t anyone else besides Sakamoto-san for me.

-Were also characters that had their roles filled by deciding through auditions?

Thanks to Hino Satoshi, Sayama Ryou came out as more pure than simply being a hooligan and he became a much more fascinating character. Naruse Yukiya’s Matsuoka Yoshitsugu-san accurately grasped the character of Yukiya in a short time and increased the character’s presence. Also, Kosaka Ayano’s Hikasa Yoko-san acted as a mysterious girl. It will be fun to see how the Ayano’s character will grow from now on.

-What was it like to direct characters made by CLAMP?

These characters have such an incredible beauty, and a power that just makes you understand with just a glance that “This is the protagonist! This is the heroine!”. If I had to describe it, it’s that their eyes convey such strong emotions. CLAMP drew these characters with a very strong sense of presence. I like the good old pure literature-like factor found in shoujo manga, and I feel that CLAMP’s characters have a good compatibility with my own such portion.

-The pure literature-like factor of shoujo manga?

That’s right. I think that the themes in shoujo manga, which until now has asked questions like “What kind of person am I?” and “Is it okay for to live?”, have greater affinity with anime media than live action themes. So, the attractive and fascinating thing of CLAMP’s characters is that they have both a shounen manga-feel and a shoujo manga-feel. “Lelouch of the Rebellion” was made with a focus on the shounen manga-like aspect, but I wanted to make “Akito the Exiled” to be closer to a shoujo manga-like aspect.

-There were also a lot of cuts which showed striking scenery like the city of Paris.

Since it was that environment that shaped the characters, I naturally wanted to reliably show those kinds of scenery. Also, I wanted to emphasize Europe as the stage setting, unlike [Lelouch of the Rebellion]. Though, when shown like this, I felt that Japan and Europe are surprisingly similar, in that various buildings that really felt historical are mixed in among the modern scenery. It really is a different than the artificial feel that America has.

-The appearance of C.C. and Suzaku has been announced for Chapter 2.

I'm interested in the character of Suzaku in [Lelouch of the Rebellion]. Though he’s the son of the Japanese Prime minister, he became a soldier of the Holy Britannian Empire which conquered his homeland. He always has to face that contradiction, and furthermore learns that his best friend Lelouch is Zero. I think that that pain is on a level that others can’t understand at all. That's why I will make the anguish-filled Suzaku…Ah, if I say anymore, I’ll be giving away spoilers. (Laugh)

-(Laugh) How soon will we see Chapter 2?

I’d like to do my best so that it can be shown in the first half of next year. I hope you’ll all await in anticipation of it.

Well, it seems that Suzaku will be getting quite a prominent role in the next chapter. Hopefully we'll be able to see it as early as he says.