#when i'm young i would definitely be a performer or a coordinator

[hoperays-song]

Gooseless’s Pokemon Teams By Generation!

Yes, I know no one asked for this but I, am in fact, very tired and very bored so, welcome to learn about Gooseless day! Here are my favourite pokémon or at least my favourites at the time of making this of each region, on regional teams. 

***I do have an affinity for Dark and Ghost types particularly, even though that is not that apparent in these teams. Those types are my favourites, they’re my babies, these are just my teams.***

- <3 Gooseless

---------------------------------

Gen 1:

Gen 2:

Gen 3:

Gen 4: 

Gen 5:

Gen 6:

Gen 7:

Gen 8:

[mirai-e-jump]

Flying Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 Issue ft. Gaku Sano, Masato Yano, Yu Inaba & Taiko Katono Fashion Shoot + Short Interviews (translations below)

Gaku Sano

Sano: I love clothes, so I was excited that I got to wear three different outfits this time (laughs). Rather than having a preference for a particular brand, I tend to focus more on the shape and overall image of clothing, so when I have the opportunity, I often go to stores by myself to look for these things. Among the ones I wore for this shoot, I like the dark gray setup the best. Short pants or sarouels with boots are my favorite style!

"Excited to pass the role of a Kamen Rider, which he longed to play! He heads towards Gaim, evolving everyday with passion burning in his heart."

Sano: I truly never thought that I would be able to become the Kamen Rider that I had been so fascinated with as a child, so I was really happy when I was chosen for the role. I have no experience in action, but I'm confident in my physical strength, so I felt like, "Come on, I accept!" and I'd even act out the toughest scenes without doing voice over. I still have a lot to learn, but I want to improve myself and grow little by little, so that when I look back in six months to a year, I'll be able to confidently say that I've grown!

_

Masato Yano

Yano: Basically, I like simple styles, but I try to bring out their points of interest, whether it be with the pattern or color in one specific place or another. I also like parkas, especially this leaf patterned one I'm wearing, which definitely has a spring like seasonal feel to it! Parkas are not only easy and comfortable to wear, but you can buy them almost anywhere. I once went on set wearing a different parka for an entire week (laughs).

"A young talented actor discovered by Ninagawa Yukio. He continues to be active with appearances in numerous stage plays, dramas, and movies."

Yano: I'll be appearing in three separate films that will release throughout the course of this year, and in the Summer, I'll perform for the third time in a stage play directed by Ninagawa-san. It's been a while since I've worked in a production by Ninagawa-san, so I'm really looking forward to it! Recently, I've started to receive alittle more praise than usual (laugh), so I'll do my best to show you that I've atleast grown alittle.

_

Yu Inaba

Inaba: I want to wear as little clothing as possible during the course my life (laughs). My favorite style is wearing a single t-shirt! This sukajan is abit unusual for me, but, it's comfortable to wear and fits my look well. It's surprisingly refreshing. I tend to wear mostly black, so I like the monotone look of these items.

"Aiming to become a "highly sought after actor" while growing from his many experiences on doing stage plays."

Inaba: When I entered the Junon Super Boy Contest, I had a very casual mindset, but soon after my debut, I performed in a series of stage performances, where I became more fascinated with the joys of "performing." Recently, I've been cast in many dramas and movies, as well as more stage plays, so I feel as though I'm living a very exciting and fulfilling life. Right now, I cherish these works and encounters with people, but someday, I want to be an actor where people will say, "I want to go just to see him!"

_

Taiko Katono

Katono: Usually I wear leather jackets and slim pants, so today I went for a fresh, cute, spring like look with a white cardigan. I like cardigans because they're so comfortable to wear. The one I'm wearing isn't too light and is more firm than I expected, so it feels very nice to wear! The color tone is also gentle, it's very "springtime coordinated."

"Aspirations hidden under a cute face. Looking forwars to facing future challenges with a positive outlook!"

Katono: Recently, I was cast in the drama "Team Batista 4: Raden Meikyu", which was a pretty big deal for me. I thought, "I'm going to be apart of that popular series?!" I was so shocked. In this field, I've learnt alot and am reflecting. I think I've grown alittle thanks to it. I hope to gain experience in this way one at a time, and in 10 years, I hope to be an actor with roles that only I am able to play. For this reason, I'll do my best to do these things one by one!

[pandagobrr]

The Circus Twins

Liam and Layla are twins who got adopted off the streets of a backwater town by a clueless circus performer, who, despite her reservations, actually turns out to be a pretty good mum. Although all is put to the test when the trio faces their greatest trial yet! The perils, of CAMPING!

@airlocksandaviaries

Fraternal twins Layla and Liam just had their 13th birthday! At least, they're pretty sure. Layla said that “age is just a number”, but to Liam, the fact that no one really knew how old they were, was unsettling, and yet another reminder of their strange circumstance. You see, more than a decade ago, a young circus performer found them out on the streets, and took them in, she didn't always know what to do, but darn it she always tried her best! And Liam was grateful she had found him, don't get me wrong here, he didn't know what would've become of them if she hadn't taken them under her (slightly lost) wing. But… he'd always thought… what could've been. If he'd had a stable home, one that didn't move around every week, would be more put together? Less anxious or on edge all the time? If he'd been able to enroll in school, would he fit in more around the other kids? Maybe actually make a friend or two before moving away again? Actually talk to someone other than his sister and the circus artists? If their caretaker hadn't been trying to raise a family on a performing arts budget, would they actually be able to get nicer clothes once in a while? Something that wasn't a hand me down for once?

Layla often teased him when she found him daydreaming of these melancholic musings, told him he needed to “lighten up” once in a while. Yeah right, coming from the girl who swings up into the air from a 30 foot platform! I think there may be such a thing as “too loose” and he intends to stay firmly on the other side of that line.

Layla had always been more comfortable in their surroundings than her twin brother. Although she often gave him a hard time about his anxious nature, she loved her little noodle, as she so affectionately called him, because his limbs were more akin to uncooked spaghetti than anything resembling a muscle. Liam groaned, when would she stop embarrassing him in public?? It wasn't his fault he wasn't exactly athletic... Or coordinated... He had other strengths okay?! And unfortunately not being immune to motion sickness was not one of them...

He was almost certain she was gonna get them both killed with her reckless escapades, there was a reason he never wanted to join the acts!! He like to keep his limbs firmly attached to his body thank you very much. Away from crazy aerial stunts and fire manipulation that (in his opinion), could only end in disaster.

Liam had been tricked into his fair share of stunts. He really tried to be on guard, but Layla had a knack for being sneaky and Liam wasn't what you'd exactly call... "Observant". But it didn't matter how many times he'd felt the terrifying rush of adrenaline right before he realized what was going on, he never really got used to it, he'd seen and lived around these acts almost his whole life and still every single time his sister managed to trick him, she would nearly traumatize him after the fact. He could hardly stand up on his own two legs, which just gave Layla more ammo for the noodle accusations.

Layla chuckled and sighed, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You'll always be my little noodle, whether you like it or not."

Liam (exasperated): "we're the same age!!"

Layla (smug, teasing): "you don't know that, I've always felt that I'm the older, more responsible of the two of us

Liam: "you are the walking definition of the word 'irresponsible'"

Liam hadn't really ever told anyone how much he disliked their day to day, he didn't want to seem childish or ungrateful. But it all the people, the noise and the bright lights that caused him to be up in the unholy hours of the morning, not to mention the heat, that made him feel like he was losing his mind, at times. He was constantly exhausted, something that came up to the forefront every time the circus took a few months off to learn new routines, and he would spend almost the majority of the day sleeping. Those were good months, even if Layla compared him to a sloth more often than he would've liked...

It was on these breaks that Eliza would sometimes pull away from work for a bit, and take Layla and Liam out to go camping. It was good, wholesome, and most importantly, free (although Eliza tried to downplay that part of her reasoning cuz Liam had a tendency to stress about money) family bonding time!

Layla loved being out in the nearby woods, there was so much free space! Trails to hike! rocks to climb! Brothers to annoy!

And just the views from some of those trails were absolutely breathtaking, even Liam cracked a smile sometimes, even if he might have been a little out of shape. Layla might give him a hard time about it, but she loved her little noodle, even if she had to put up with his complaints about the lack of beds and running water.

Layla (chuckling): “Come on! We're in the great outdoors for crying out loud! Loosen up a little!”

Liam (panting): “There's a reason the outdoors is supposed to stay outdoors y'know! The indoors is quite preferable!”

There happened to be one hike where you had to boulder up a 45 degree incline of very large rocks, it was almost like rock climbing without a harness or anything like that. Layla was stoked! And while Eliza has her reservations about Liam making it up the hill, he was not one to be underestimated, so he put his all into it, and I gotta say, she was impressed, they both were. Liam might not have been extremely athletic, but boy was he competitive, and he managed to keep up with the both of them for the first little bit, but Eliza kept asking if he was okay, because he did not look okay. He was sweating profusely, and she could see his hands shaking as he pulled himself up one of the larger rocks, wheezing a bit as he struggled to catch his breath, HE WOULD NOT ADMIT TO WEAKNESS! It was PREPOSTEROUS! He was FINE! (He was very not fine, but he needed to show Layla just his once that he could do hard things too!!)

One other thing though, along with being competitive, Liam was also incredibly stubborn. He hauled himself up another rock, his vision blurring slightly. Layla watched him, torn between pride and worry. She was surprised at how far he was going, and his pace was phenomenal, but he looked like he was about to burst.

Eliza (very concerned): "Liam please, let's go back down! We don't have to do this!”

Liam (voice straining): “NO! If you can do it, (voice straining a lot more through gritted teeth) So. Can. I-”

All of a sudden the rock Liam was holding onto slipped from under his fingers and he fell through the air, tumbling down the side of the mountain, every slam of his body into the rocks, an excruciating jab at both his body, and his already fragile sense of confidence. Eventually, he managed to grab onto a small wayward tree growing up through the rocks, dangling precariously close to the edge of the cliff, screaming and crying, gasping for breath, adrenaline pumping through every fiber in his body.

"LIAM!!!" Eliza shouted, dashing toward her son. She kneeled down to the side of the rock where Liam was, and outstretched her hand towards him. "LIAM! TAKE MY HAND!!"

Layla, immediately sensing danger, went and grabbed her mom's ankles, lest she fall too. Rule number 1 of performing dangerous stunts, always have a spotter.

Liam struggled to grab his mom's hand, but eventually, after a lot of straining from the both of them, Eliza managed to grab hold of his hand and heave him up onto the solid ground once again.

Everyone collapsed onto the ground. Liam was wheezing, and shaking, and also looked like he was about to throw up. Layla stood up triumphantly, declaring “WE DID IT!” to no one in particular. Eliza helped Liam up and they started the walk back down.

Liam... may or may not have thrown up on the way back. One minute he was stumbling along on the trail which had gotten relatively flat by now, and the next thing he knew was doubled over the dirt retching his guts out.

Although after he had caught his breath and wiped his mouth he insisted he was fine, and could walk back on his own, but Eliza wasn't having it, he was in no way, shape, or form, "fine" by any definition of the word. His legs were like jelly and his hands were shaking like a leaf in the wind. Liam protested vehemently, but Eliza scooped him up off his feet and into her arms, walking back towards their campsite. Liam wanted to protest, but honestly, there was something so comforting about being held in her warm grasp, something that made him want to fall asleep right here and now.

Eliza (cooing): "awwww, it's just like when you were little..."

Liam (tired): "What?"

Eliza: "You don't remember? Oh, you were my little limpet." She snuggled Liam closer to her face, which he tried to resist, but it was oddly endearing.

Eliza: "Couldn't leave you alone for two seconds, or you'd cry and demand to be held again."

Liam grunted, feeling indignant, yet a warm softness prying into his heart.

Layla added on, "Oh yeah! I remember that! You'd even wait outside the door when she went to the bathroom. She was bouncing you on her hip for as long as she could hold you." Layla sighed, "You were cute."

Liam rolled his eyes, and muttered something about not being cute, but deep inside he really appreciated the warmth and comfort, it gave him a sense of security often not found in his environment. Even if he did feel a bit like a child at the moment…

After everyone has gone to bed, Eliza laid down on her sleeping bag, her memories drifting back to nearly a decade ago, just a few weeks after she found her kiddos, overwhelmed and incredibly sleep deprived. Bouncing Liam on her hip while she rocked Layla to sleep, she chuckled, that little ball of energy had been a force of nature. As clingy as Liam had been, little Layla had been a tornado of activity. It was a good thing the circus was quite adept at keeping little kids entertained, or she might have never gotten a moments peace. And then there were the moments when Liam came to her in the middle of the night, tears running down his cheeks, telling her how scared he was. Her heart melted as her eyes settled upon his terror streaked face. She picked up her little guy, and snuggled him into bed with her. He'd always worm his way in-between her arms, his warm breath against her neck almost making her forget how cramped it was. They were small cots, but they were warm, and they were soft, and in them, she could cuddle her scared little baby to sleep, and that was that mattered.

[olivelovesbeeeeeees]

"When We Were Young" Tour, Las Vegas, NV 10.2024.

i'm trying to think if i've ever been to an actual music festival that had more than 2 or 3 bands performing.

i don't think i have.

until just this past weekend.

it was fun. it was nostalgic. i loved people watching. i felt i was with "my previous people" from my past life of goths, emos, skaters, Hot Topic-y clientele. it was great! my favorite people were these characters that were holding up poster boards written in black Sharpie, "looking for an emo/goth girlfriend." hey, they were definitely in the right place to meet their potentials!

but. i don't think i could do it again, lol. as much as i loved being there, i honestly could not hang. for a general admission ticket, the cost for one was $400. after taxes and fees, it was about $1k just for our two tickets so you best bet your pies that i was going to make sure we got the most out of our experience at this music festival. doors opened at 1000. there were 4 stages with 60 bands staggered on a program up until the last performance at 2250. this festival was 14+ hours long!

and Juan and i started strong. we left our hotel room around 0915ish and got to the entrance of the music festival right before 1000. there was a merch stand right outside the entrance so we fell in line there 1st, purchased 4 shirts and a hat, went inside, ate a $22 entree of loaded french fries, and started stage hopping. the closest we got to the stage was for Coheed and Cambria (we maybe had about 6 rows of people in front of us) that we were right next to a mosh pit that Juan partook in and got a rib kicked in. i really got a big kick out of a dude near us that had a shirt that said "40 and older crowd surf coordinator," lol! and he did! people were going up to him and he would say, "yup! i'll make it happen!" lol! but he was just another one of us regular joes, which just made it all the better!

about halfway through the day, about 1600ish, Juan said that we if wanted to be as close to the stage for the headliners, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, we needed to start making our way toward the front row - so about 4-5 acts before the headliners. so we started with "Taking Back Sunday," then "The Used," and when "Pierce the Veil" started playing...i was feeling like a canned sardine. i had sweaty people rubbing up on me and it was so hot. then there was this taller white girl to the left of me that was fist pumping the air...hard...i really thought i was going to take her elbow in my face. that was when I sadly realized i couldn't hang. i was perfectly fine with listening to these bands from afar with them looking about a centimeter tall to me. the large 3 projector screens they had on stage were suffice enough to still make my music festival experience great. so i told Juan i was done and he started paving the way towards the back where there was space, fresher air and food.

but by 1900ish, i was shutting down. my feet were so sore and my legs were cramping up. i honestly didn't know if i was going to make it to the headliners, but then i kept reminding myself how expensive this festival was, how much i love this genre of music and the very high probability that i would willingly not do this again, lol.

and we did. :)

"Fall Out Boy" was great. Pete Wentz has long hair, half up with space buns. "My Chemical Romance" had a ton of good singles. Gerard Way is my inner emo girl's fairy tale prince.

P.S. and "Simple Plan!" my all time, #1, favorite pop-punk band!

[i-t-guy-in-the-sky]

Hello young sir. ::slides in two items from the Fandom asks::

Wasted potential

The show got it wrong!

Thanks!

"Erm... Hi, I guess I'm doing this."

He stares at the questions for a moment or two. How did one answer things like this? Was there a protocol he wasn't aware of? Some unwritten rule he might possibly break without even meaning to? Others would receive a question such as this and rattle off the first thing that came to mind, but he liked to think about his words and chose them carefully.

"Wasted potential?"

Did it count to say his entire family? The show has only shown a small portion of the rescues they attended and the way they worked, they had to have some secrets after all.

"Gordon," he says decisively. Now that he'd made a decision it was easier. "Gordon is always the one that I'd say has wasted some of his potential. He's much smarter than he would let you believe and his work ethic is higher than most no matter how lazy he seems in his down time."

He thinks for a moment more. "Definitely Gordon. The show seperated us into categories and he fulfilled the comic relief portion of the family, but he's far more than that. Gordon is a highly skilled professional at what he does and an expert in his field. But he'll say it's down to the celery crunch bars rather than his own hard work."

His eyes flick back to the screen and the second question.

"The show got it wrong?"

He chews this over for a few moments. The show got a lot of things wrong, but it did show them doing their jobs as best it could, in some cases maybe too much. Would it be egotistical...

"Me. They got me wrong."

Had he really said that out loud? He sucked in a breath, knowing he had to explain, and preferably without looking like an idiot.

"The show cut out a lot of the realities of spending so much time on a space station such as this," he continued, forging ahead before he clammed up completely. "Because the show focused mainly on us working and doing our jobs it mostly showed me in the Comms sphere, which as you know is the main Zero- Gravity area of the ship."

This was easier, talking about his ship and space, this he could do.

"And, while the rest of the ship could be gravityless if required, I rarely, if ever, do that. Gravity is important for our bodies to function, we aren't designed to live without it, and Brains and I took that into account while designing her. The gravity ring especially is full gravity equivalent to Earths. I sound most of my time when not coordinating a rescue in the ring, walking around as normal, exercising and keeping strong. If there are days when there are no calls I won't even go in the sphere."

He rolled his shoulders without even realising he was doing it, feeling the familiar heavy weight of his body that you didn't get in Zero-Gravity.

"We all have to be in tip-top condition to do our jobs, myself included. We never know when we'll be called out and what we'll be facing. It might not seem like it but I do as many rescues on earth as I do in space and there is no time to prepare before one. I have to jump in the space elevator and get to work. I have to be able to go from space to earth in minutes without it affecting my ability to perform my tasks."

He smiles lightly. "I might joke about gravity not being my thing, but in reality I wouldn't be without it and do try to spend as much time in the ring as I can if I'm not home on the island. They didn't show that enough either, but honestly I will admit that I stayed away more when there was the possibility of a camera being shoved in my face."

He checks the list again, just in case another question had magicked itself into existence but it was clear.

"That appears to be all, so thank you for the questions."

[is-the-pokemon-video-cute]

Hello! I have some questions about my Dragonair. His name is Delicae

I got him out a shelter as a Dratini. He has been in a very abusive household with a cruel trainer who only got rid of him because he wasn't performing well enough. I've been working with him for quite some time now and while he has a lot of trust issues and anxiety we have come to form a strong connection and he even started wanting to battle with me! However, with his evolution into dragonair I'm very worried about not caring properly for his drastic size change.

What specific types of environment and diet changes would you recommend? He seems to be getting anxious a lot easier since evolving and while I've been doing my very best at accommodating I'm worried it's not enough.

Thank you!

-Also, I love your blog and you were the inspiration for me to create this sideblog-

I applaud you for getting a rescue mon. As I've mentioned, I have my own rescue mon, my Porygon2 Bip. While these are two completely different types, the anxiety after evolving is something Bip went through too. For the first while after evolving, he had all the coordination of a newborn girafarig.

It's not uncommon for abused mon to get some "growing pains", when they evolve. This can be for a number of reasons, ranging from feeling "too big" now, feeling like they can't perform well with their new typing or moves, or worries that they'll hurt themselves or those around them. For Delicae, based on his history, I'd suspect it's the second option.

If you have the option to get a psychic or ghost mon to act as a Therapy mon for him, I would definitely recommend it. Hypno or Shuppet are my top recommendations, as they can both calm negative emotions by eating away at them. Shuppet in particular are low-mantinence mon, with a surprisingly calm and friendly disposition, and they get along well with other mon for this reason. Other than that, I do have a few environment and diet changes I can recommend.

If you haven't already, get him a cave-like place to hide in when he needs it. A simple pillow fort in a back part of your home will do. Even at their large size, these mon naturally curl up in caves for safety, and it's a natural comfort to them. He may not have needed it as a dratini, but dragonair crave that safe space even more. Young dratini spend more time out of their nest hunting for food, with how often they grow and shed their skin. But dragonair do much more natural hybernation.

This would also be a good time to change his food, and get him something with a bit less raw carbs and protein, and more vitamins. The carbs and protein are important for young dratini, since, as mentioned, they grow a lot. But he no longer needs that much, and it will be better to get him something with vitamins designed to strengthen his scales and the like.

If you have a pool, or even a bathtub you can fill for him, letting him have time to chill out in that would be very nice for his mental health as well. The species usually lives in lakes and oceans, so a space with nice clean water for him to rest in will be good for him. He might be more inclined to come into the water if you're already in there, considering how you two are bonded, so take the time to swim with him if you can.

Another thing to get him if you don't already have them are some nice plastic toys. Anything smooth textured that he can chew on and squish could be a nice stress reliever for him.

Other than that, just spend plenty of time with him, and some cuddles if he likes those. The time just after evolution can be stressful for any mon, especially rescue mon such as him. Extra love during this time is always a good idea.

It sounds like he trusts you very much, and I'm so glad you've given him a home. I hope this advice helps!

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: So I'm a Spider, So What? Fei Voice Actor Eri Kitamura

  In coordination with the current season of So I’m a Spider, So What?, Crunchyroll News was given the opportunity to officially translate interviews with the staff and cast of the series. You can read the original Japanese interview with Eri Kitamura right here.

The interview was conducted by Daisuke Iwakura. 

    So I'm a Spider, So What? Relay Interview with Eri Kitamura as Fei: "I'm trying to portray reservedness as a human, and strength as a monster."

"Me" (a.k.a. Kumoko) has obtained Parallel Minds. Meanwhile, on the human side, the Hero Julius has entered the Great Elroe Labyrinth ...

Things are starting to take shape on So I'm a Spider, So What?  For Part 9 of the relay interview series, we speak to Eri Kitamura-san, whose character was reincarnated as an Earth Wyrm. We spoke to her about what it was like to play a character who isn't human.

  —What was your first impression of this project?

Kitamura: I thought it was pretty bold. (Laughs) I think I expected the heroine to be a cute girl because of how things normally go, so I was really surprised to see Kumoko's design. But when I saw the way she was throwing around internet slang, along with the typical video game elements like skills and leveling up, I realized that the story and writing would be just as interesting as the designs, and how Kumoko is really iconic of the show's appeal as a whole. 

—When you auditioned, was it for the role of Fei? 

Kitamura: At the tape submission phase of the audition it was for the role of Katia, but during the studio audition I also tried out for Filimøs. After that, they suddenly asked me if I could read for the dragon. There was no art or script at the time, so when I asked whether or not I should go for something more natural or exaggerated, they told me to show them what the difference would sound like. (Laughs) I thought they were maybe looking for someone who could do monster voices on the side, so I tried making battle sounds and talking cutely, and at the time, I had no idea whether it was what they were looking for.

  —That's interesting.

Kitamura: When I was on my way out the door, Director (Shin) Itagaki said I did a good job, and I had no idea if he meant my take on Katia, Filimøs, or the dragon. (Laughs) But something about what I did made them think I was a good choice for Fei, so I'm glad about how it turned out. 

—What's your impression of Fei?

Kitamura: Before being reincarnated, Mirei stood out a bit in her class, and tended to get on Wakaba's case, so she struck me as a pretty traditional high school character. The kind of person who is a bit more confident about themselves because they're one of the popular kids. But Director Itagaki explained that she wasn't just a simple heelish character, and that when everyone was fawning over Mirei, Wakaba was the one person who didn't, which is what caused that animosity. Essentially she's a young girl who was convinced she should be the center of attention, and that's why she picks on Wakaba and takes a high-handed tone with her specifically. It's not that Mirei is a villainous character, and that balance was something I tried to be careful about.

  —She does have a bit of a precocious high schooler feeling.

Kitamura: I think so, too. I don't think she was quite what you would call a party girl, but she does come across as playful in the way that high school students who try to seem mature do. That was something I made an effort to get across, from Episode 1.

—Is there anything you're careful about because she's a monster?

Kitamura: Mostly just how monstrous to make her sound when she's using magic. An example of that is the scene in Episode 3 where they are using water magic for class. She becomes more powerful over time, so I didn't want to make her seem too strong from the get-go and tried to establish a baseline for how that she would sound initially instead.

  —During the battle with the Earth Wyrm, Fei really demonstrated her strength.

Kitamura: There was something about that I was curious about. After the battle, she earns the title of Kin Eater, and I was wondering if there was a point in the battle that she realized her relationship to this other creature. It's pretty clear she's realized what happened in the scene right after the battle, but it's not specified in the script, so I wondered when she realized who she was fighting, and asked the director about it. Fei doesn't seem the type to be able to fight while keeping a lid on her emotions, so depending on how that works, I thought about maybe changing up the tone when she has to bite into the wyrm's neck.

—What did the director say? 

Kitamura: He wasn't sure about the specifics of the Kin Eater thing, but he pointed out that she would be more analytical and cool-headed than Shun, and that she'd have a better idea of what's going on. Essentially, even if she did realize she was fighting a blood relative, she'd be able to figure out what needed to be done quickly, and would be able to fight normally. That being the case, I tried to make sure that it didn't sound like Fei was wavering or not sure about what to do, and tried to match the way the animation looked. 

—You let the animation direct the way you performed that scene.

Kitamura: I think so. When your character's face is on screen, there's always a temptation to try and get across some kind of subtext for the non-verbal parts, but in Fei's case, I generally try to make sure it's a neutral performance unless something specifically suggests otherwise. 

  —What's your impression of Fei and Shun's relationship?

Kitamura: They're pretty casual in an uncomplicated way, so I try to make sure that the performance comes across as low-key. She's a bit like Shun's pet in some ways, but instead of her being his familiar, their relationship is more of an extension of the one they had as classmates, which means they're on pretty even footing with each other. It's a bit like she's his adventure buddy and older sister.

—Adventuring Buddy and Older Sister is a great way of putting it. (Laughs)

Kitamura: She comes across as a lot more mature and reserved than Filimøs, who used to be their homeroom teacher. (Laughs) So when Hugo is being prickly, her reaction is to sigh and go, "Oh, well." She's not the type of character to push back when someone pushes her. She's reserved as a human being, and strong as a monster, and I think those two factors form the core of why I try to depict Fei with a pretty level-headed attitude.

—The way her relationship with Shun is so steady makes them seem like really good partners.

Kitamura: (Shun) Horie-kun is playing a character who's more calm instead of a really fiery young hero, so together we both give off a vibe of being level-headed. With these two, there's not a lot of, "Okay, let's do it!" "Yeah!" action. (Laughs) The way that they try to operate in a more collected fashion ends up making Hugo seem really impetuous in comparison.

  —With Hugo in the picture, what's your take on how the human part of the story is developing?

Kitamura: The way they don't all get along despite being classmates is realistic to me. They're not exactly in open conflict with each other, but they're not forcing the idea of being friends, either. The fact that you still have different cliques among the class, even after reincarnating in a fantasy world, gives it a strange feeling of realism. Hugo and Yuri stand out a bit from the others, but I feel like the others don't let that bother them. 

—Now that you mention it, excluding Yuri and Hugo, everyone seems to respect each other's space.

Kitamura: That's the case with Fei and Shun, too. Nobody has any idea what Filimøs is up to, and nobody is sticking excessively close to anyone else. They've all got a fair bit of independence from each other. I think Katia might be the one who's most on guard about their surroundings, though. It's that awareness that leads her to warn Shun about Hugo's hostility. There's no telling how everyone's relationships might change over time, which is one thing I'm looking forward to.

—Are there any characters you find interesting other than Fei?

Kitamura: Sue's brother complex is genuinely cute. Half of that is just me finding Yui Ogura cute, though. (Laughs) Other than that, definitely Kumoko. We record separately, and when I see the footage of her and how many lines she has, it always comes as a shock. Her sessions must make her feel like a ping pong ball being knocked around. When I encounter Ao-chan (Aoi Yuuki) in the studio, I always tell her she should be getting paid for three roles' worth this time around.

  —(Laughs)

Kitamura: The simple fact is that the amount of lines means that it'd be a terrifying role for any actor who can't process that amount of material efficiently, which makes me believe that she's a character that can only be pulled off by someone like Ao-chan. I think a big part of that is that she herself is a bit of an otaku ... Granted, I am one, too, so it's not like I can talk. (Laughs) But the way Kumoko talks to herself and certain things about her speech have that distinct otaku style to it, right?

—I agree.

Kitamura: I think the otaku audience has certain things that they like to hear that they recognize, and Ao-chan is able to pull those parts off. Usually, if you're not an otaku yourself, it takes a while to really wrap your head around slang like that. And you can't just say it convincingly, but you also need to incorporate it into your performance in a way that feels natural and sounds good. With her, you're like, "Yes, exactly like that!" And between the chaotic action bits and the comedy parts, she does a great job of displaying her range.

—Thanks for speaking with us. Is there anything coming up after Episode 7 that you'd recommend people keep an eye out for?

Kitamura: A little bit further on, we're going to get a picture of what Fei ... or rather, what Mirei is like as a person, and I think that'll be one of the highlights for the first half of Fei's story. Not just her, but we'll also see what Shun and Wakaba were like during school, so I'd keep an eye out for that. I hope everyone enjoys it.   

By: Guest Author