“YAIBA Samurai Legend” - Yoshimasa Hosoya (Takeshi Onimaru) Reveals Audition Secrets! Veteran Voice Actor Tomokazu Sugita Discusses the Unique Charms of Kaori Maeda

Next up, during the popular segment “Kapukapu Talk,” voice actors Tomokazu Sugita and Kaori Maeda, continuing from the previous session, engaged in candid conversations about their dedication to acting and thoughts on the future, while enjoying delicious sushi and sake.

Sugita spoke passionately about Maeda’s unique strengths, using examples such as Miko—a friend of the heroine Momo from “Dandadan” whom Maeda voices. He praised Maeda for her versatility, able to play both main and supporting roles. Suggesting, “Right now, I’d love to see you play a yandere character,” he offered a typically Sugita-esque suggestion, to which Maeda surprisingly responded enthusiastically, “I’d really love to try a yandere role!”

When it came time to share some of Maeda’s “greedy episodes,” she confessed to recently falling in love with Almond Eye from “Umamusume: Pretty Derby.” However, Sugita playfully remarked, “But you’re already playing Nice Nature, and yet you still want more roles?”

Maeda revealed, “Auditioning for Nice Nature was actually the first audition I’d ever done in my life,” and recounted, “There was a singing audition as well, and my manager told me, ‘You’re really tone-deaf…’” sharing her experiences from back at the time.

During the segment where Sugita spoke frankly about his acting philosophy, he declared, “I don’t try to stand at the front. If you’re greedy, it just becomes noise. For example, when I appeared in ‘Kowloon Generic Romance,’ if you think, ‘Because I’m in this work, I want people to notice me,’ then you can’t inhabit the character of Kudou at all.” He explained his guiding mindset: “Let go of desire. You can’t completely get rid of it, but abandon it as much as possible.”

Meanwhile, Maeda said she places importance on carefully considering the humanity of the characters. She explained, “It’s all about how much of a human being you can bring out in front of the mic,” and “seeing that girl as a real person,” emphasizing how she tries to converse with the characters she portrays.

At the end of the segment, the two also spoke about their future life plans. Sugita confessed that he feels “actors are increasingly unable to search for their own possibilities during test recordings.” He earnestly stated his goal: “I want to create a place where actors can discover their own potential. If I could give back to the people I love, that would make me happy.”

In response, Maeda commented, “Up until now, rather than having big goals, I’ve just earnestly focused on what’s right in front of me, like the high jump—just hopping up and up, and before I knew it, I’d arrived here.” Keeping in mind her recent status as a popular voice actress, she shared her current main objective: “I want to deliver performances that make people say, ‘Maeda is the talented voice actress,’ and reach as many people as possible.”

Hearing that, Sugita reflected on Maeda’s approach, saying, “You’re greedy, but refreshing. Very positive.”

Elsewhere, the show was packed with content, such as Chiaki Kobayashi—who voices protagonist Yoshinori Tsujinaka in the anime “The Summer Hikaru Died”—making a special report from Anime Expo 2025, held in Los Angeles. “SHIBUYA ANIME BASE” #56 is now available for free via on-demand streaming on ABEMA. Next week’s broadcast will be on break.

The following episode, airing on Friday, August 22, will feature manga artist and voice actress Sora Tokui returning to the show, alongside a special feature on summer anime theme songs.

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