Profile [Common Questionnaire]: Tezuka x Shiraishi
Common Questionnaire
Q: What do you have to focus on to control the team members?
- Everything. But before that, there must be self-discipline. Focusing on disciplining oneself is a given. (Tezuka)
- Control? I'm not doing something like that at all. Everyone does what they want. All I tell them is to win. (Shiraishi)
Q: Is being a captain hard?
- I have confidence that even if I'm not there, the team will have no problems. However, it is not easy. (Tezuka)
- It's very difficult. I have to win. But even if I'm not the captain, I still have to win. (Shiraishi)
Q: It feels like you're captivated by plants?
- That isn't the only comforting part of nature. I like mountain climbing because I am able to enjoy conversing with myself. (Tezuka)
- Of course. Do you know how many plants are poisonous? Listen...(talk about poisonous plants continues for 45 minutes). (Shiraishi)
Q: If you had a day where you were completely free?
- There's never a completely free day...but I would read a book in my room. Sometimes, I might go fishing with my grandfather. (Tezuka)
- I might look for a new botanical book. There might still be poisonous plants that I don't know about...(talk about poisonous plants continues for 25 minutes). (Shiraishi)
Q: When were your special skills useful?
- I have never been troubled by my racket rack. It's hard to find something that fits perfectly. (Tezuka)
- Even if someone eats a poisonous plant, I wouldn't be worried. But, it's not like anyone has been forced to eat a poisonous plant. (Shiraishi)
Konomi's Secret Talk: Tezuka x Shiraishi
Question: When you draw these two, are there any points you're concerned about?
Konomi: Because both of them are cool characters, I try to draw them carefully. Even when I'm drawing expressions that destroy their character, I don't slack off when I draw their hair. (laughs) Ah, in Oishi's case, he doesn't have hair so that's a little hard (laughs). Also, for Tezuka, I take care to make him look somewhat kind even underneath his strictness. To show that everyone looks up to Shiraishi, I try to show the openness of his heart with his expressions and lines. He is a fair and impartial guy who will stand up to anyone and tell them to "Stop" if they're talking badly about someone.
Konomi's Secret Talk: Tezuka x Shiraishi
Question: How did you decide on giving Tezuka glasses and Shiraishi his poison arm?
Konomi: Tezuka is solemn and follows rules strictly. I was aiming for the image of a perfect guy. For Shiraishi, I wanted his left arm to appear mysterious, so I gave him bandages. Maybe he might even have the "Saikogan" (the weapon that the protagonist of the manga "COBRA" has on his left arm). (laughs)
As for the mountain climbing, I thought of it when I was in a café in France by the Seine River. I thought the mountain climbing was too far from reality and I might lose my fans, but I believe those who followed the series up to this point would continue even if it is mountain climbing. So I wrote it. I was having doubts about it, but I thought Tenipuri was just the type of manga that challenged the boundaries of reality.
Seiyuu Cross Talk: Okiayu x Hosoya
Hosoya: It's easy for other characters to view Tezuka as a rival.
Okiayu: Like I thought, Tezuka's strength was absolute since the beginning. Even the actors say this. The first impression he gives off is that of an impressive person, and he remains impressive. In contrast, there are also people who appear weak in the beginning but improve as they go along. Even in the Tenipuri world, those characters who met Tezuka for the first time at the beginning of middle school all felt Tezuka's absolute power.
Hosoya: I felt that Tezuka is someone that everyone can be. He's strong, but he's not pretentious about it. Even during matches, he looks into the pros beyond. And so everyone, because they want to see what Tezuka sees, they want to battle with Tezuka and find out.
Seiyuu Cross Talk: Okiayu x Hosoya
Q: As the seiyuu of these characters, what kind of character do you think Tezuka and Shiraishi are?
Okiayu: It's been a while since the original series has started, but I get the feeling that other members see him as the captain and acknowledge his presence. That's Tezuka. He's someone who doesn't only work at it by himself but rather walks the path with everyone. His presence is absolute, but he respects everyone properly. I believe that Tezuka is truly the captain.
Hosoya: It's true! In the recording studio, I feel like I'm actually watching Seigaku's members. When Okiayu-san enters, everyone naturally braces themself.
Okiayu: That's totally not true. (laughs)
Hosoya: More than Seigaku's captain, he feels like the chairman of all of Tenipuri. Even when he doesn't speak, he immediately changes the atmosphere. I feel that they're connected by strong bonds of trust, and I started thinking that captains should all be like that.
Okiayu: Speaking of that, there was a long period of time when Tezuka didn't show up in the TV series, but when I occassionally appeared at the studio, I never felt that my place disappeared. I just take the spot I always take in the recording room. I again realized that "I will always have a place here." That aside, Shiraishi only started appearing in the OVAs, yet he is really popular. What do you think of Shiraishi?
Hosoya: When I received Shiraishi's role, I kept thinking about him.I thought that if his match with Fuji continued, he might even lose and that Shiraishi himself might be thinking this, so I should express him with this kind of feeling . I tried understanding things about Shiraishi one by one. I also thought that Shiraishi might quit tennis after the semifinals...
Okiayu: Eh~!
Hosoya: Because he wants to win as the captain, he plays solidly and follows the basics, but I wondered if he himself was enjoying it. I thought that he might want to play a more relaxing tennis in the end and become a pharmacist in the future...
Okiayu: Heh~! How impressive. (laughs)
Hosoya: When I read the parts where he was drawn and his lines, I started thinking that things might turn out that way. I got the feeling that as the captain, Shiraishi put his club members before him and kept himself back by a notch. Shintenhouji members aren't the type to follow orders, so as the captain, Shiraishi physically shows how he can get results and draws them out that way.
Okiayu: Both let the members run their own course. All the schools have strong individual personalities, so the captains' presence isn't one that exists to reprimand the other members.
Sanada, it’s thanks to you that I’ve come this far. Let me say this properly…thank you so much.
From a health maniac like me, I’d say the rock in Sanada-kun’s bag is too taxing and no good.
Sanada’s strictness towards himself is something worth learning. But, I could do without the punishment by fist.
Konomi's Secret Talk: Atobe x Sanada
Question: How did the famous phrases "be awed by my prowess/ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na" and "don't slack off/tarundoru" come about?
Konomi: Atobe's "be awed by my prowess/ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na" came from the time when I was by chance watching an overseas pro wrestling show on cable TV where the wrestler stuck his tongue out and said the line, "HA-HA! Look at my prowess!" I tried arranging that stylishly (laughs). Sanada's "don't slack off/tarundoru" came from trying to emphasize his austereness by making the old-fashioned him speak lines that even old guys nowadays wouldn't say.
