“At that time, I felt like I was living in overdrive”—What was voice actor Chiaki Kobayashi’s student life like? [Interview: “The Summer Hikaru Died”]

——It sounds like movies helped you develop a positive outlook. Do you ever feel down, Kobayashi-san?

Kobayashi: When something fun happens, I get excited, but on the other hand, I never really feel down. Even if I fail an audition or get seriously injured, it doesn't really shock me, and I don’t get depressed even if I lose money.

——You must have a strong mentality.

Kobayashi: Rather than having a strong mentality, I might be disciplining myself not to fall into negative thinking.

——It seems like being able to control your emotions would be useful for acting as well.

Kobayashi: I don’t really experience negative emotions, but when I play Yoshiki in “The Summer Hikaru Died,” I find myself feeling very turbulent emotions.

——In which scenes do you experience those emotions?

Kobayashi: Even though Yoshiki knows Pseudo-Hikaru isn’t at fault, he sometimes takes out his frustration on him. There are also scenes where he sheds tears as he sees the pre-death Hikaru overlapping with the current Hikaru. Those scenes bring out emotions that I normally can’t express in my everyday life.

When I act out the painful scenes for Yoshiki, it’s tough for me too, but once the performance is over, for some reason I feel really refreshed.

——That’s because these scenes are ones you could never experience in your daily life.

Kobayashi: Maybe I’d been unconsciously bottling things up (laughs). Acting as Yoshiki lets me release those frustrations.

Yoshiki, played by Kobayashi in “The Summer Hikaru Died,” is a high school student who tries to lead a normal life with Hikaru—a supernatural being wearing the form of his best friend. We highly recommend immersing yourself in this spine-chilling coming-of-age horror that will make you forget the summer heat.

(C)Mokumokuren/KADOKAWA/The Summer Hikaru Died Partners
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