What Was the "Turning Point" That Came for Voice Actor Shūichirō Umeda in His Second Year of High School? A Chilling Episode Also Emerges in This "The Summer Hikaru Died" Interview

—As much as the theme of youth, horror is also a significant element in this series. Umeda, do you believe in the existence of ghosts or paranormal phenomena?

Umeda: I like that kind of thing, so I do believe in it.

—Have you ever had such experiences yourself?

Umeda: I… have, actually. When I was a child, my family lived in a housing complex, so we’d all sleep side-by-side in a row. On the other side of the sliding door, I distinctly saw three men standing there.

It shouldn’t have been possible to see them, but I could clearly tell they were there. They seemed to be whispering something in a strange rhythm. But they weren’t calling out "Shūichirō" or anything like that.

I could even hear the sounds, but when I tried to call out to my parents sleeping next to me, I couldn’t make any sound. Just when I finally managed to blurt out an "Uwaah!" my parents woke up and asked me what was wrong, so I told them, "There are people standing in the hallway." We went to check, but, as expected, there was no one there.
It’s hard to put into words, but I still remember that "something" from back then.

—Have you had similar experiences since then?

Umeda: I’ve had smaller experiences, but nothing like that since. As the years have gone by, I’ve become less and less able to see things like that.

Through this interview, we were able to hear about various moments from Umeda’s past, from high school episodes to childhood supernatural experiences. Thinking about the wealth of life experiences that have shaped the present Umeda and his performances, the works he appears in gain an even deeper flavor when you watch them.

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