"I’ve been hearing people say it feels 'very Umeda-like' more often" — Interview with Shuichiro Umeda, Voice Actor for the TV Anime Kill Blue

Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, Kill Blue is a "youth-restart" action-comedy manga by Tadatoshi Fujimaki (published by Shueisha Jump Comics), the creator of Kuroko's Basketball. The TV anime adaptation has been airing on the TV Tokyo network since Saturday, April 11, at 11:00 PM.

The protagonist, Juzo Ogami, a legendary hitman, finds himself in the body of a 13-year-old boy after being stung by a mysterious bee. Under his boss's orders, he begins attending middle school for an undercover mission. The series is a fun mix of battle action—featuring various assassins aiming for Noren Mitsuoka, whom Juzo must protect—and gag elements as Juzo struggles yet adapts to his first middle school life and the generation gap.

Supporting Juzo in both his mission and his private life is his partner, Kotatsu Nekota. In this article, we interviewed Kotatsu’s voice actor, Shuichiro Umeda, to discuss Kotatsu’s charm and Umeda’s approach to playing the role.

— Kill Blue features many unique characters, but since Kotatsu supports Juzo’s mission and daily life as his partner, he feels like a "motherly figure" of sorts, doesn't he?

Umeda: Definitely! I have a very strong image in my head of him holding a ladle and wearing an apron (laughs).

— I heard your performance as Kotatsu in the main trailer, and I thought it was a perfect fit for the character’s image.

Umeda: Thank you! Recently, I’ve been hearing people say "that’s very Umeda-like" or thinking that my personality matches the characters I play based on their expressions and impressions. I’m truly grateful for my encounter with Kotatsu.

I had already been reading the original Kill Blue manga, but I was asked to play Kotatsu right after the auditions and everything else had wrapped up. I was so happy just to be involved, but I actually hadn't originally auditioned for the role of Kotatsu.

— So, you auditioned for a different character and then received the offer for Kotatsu?

Umeda: Yes. It made me very happy to know they felt Shuichiro Umeda would be a good fit for Kotatsu.