What if voice actors Takeo Otsuka and Atsumi Tanezaki could relive their middle school years? [TV Anime Kill Blue Interview]

The TV anime Kill Blue, currently airing on the TV Tokyo network every Saturday at 11:00 PM, is a "youth-redo action comedy" based on the manga of the same name by Tadatoshi Fujimaki (published by Shueisha Jump Comics), who is best known for his work Kuroko's Basketball.

The protagonist, Juzo Ogami, is a divorced father and a legendary hitman capable of completing any mission. After being stabbed with a mysterious biological weapon during a certain incident, he is transformed into a 13-year-old child. Although he looks like a kid, Juzo's mind remains that of a 39-year-old. The story kicks off when his boss orders him to go undercover at a middle school, forcing him to navigate a new school life.

At Rikka Academy Middle School, Juzo interacts with classmates like Noren Mitsuoka. He also encounters Tenma Tendo, a "super middle schooler" belonging to the elite "Genju-gumi" (Unicorn), and Chisato Shiraishi, the president of the Home Economics Club, whom Juzo looks up to as "Anego" (Big Sis).

For Juzo, who has spent his life as a hitman since childhood, the mundane everyday moments of school life appear entirely fresh—a unique point of focus in Kill Blue. Watching Juzo struggle with middle school life while becoming deeply absorbed in the joy of studying may help adult viewers rediscover the important things about their own student years.

In an interview with Takeo Otsuka, who plays Tenma Tendo, and Atsumi Tanezaki, who plays Chisato Shiraishi, we asked how they felt looking back on their middle school days now that they are adults.

Otsuka reflected, "Three years feel like they pass in the blink of an eye now, but back in middle school, becoming a high school or college student felt decades away. In those short three years, you have encounters that only happen then, even if you never see those people again for the rest of your life. Now that I’m an adult, I realize that there are things packed into that period that truly exist nowhere else."

He continued, "I think that’s what 'youth' is all about. If I were in a situation like Juzo’s, I would truly enjoy my time as a middle schooler." Tanezaki, who was sitting with him, chimed in with a round of applause, saying, "It sounds like you had a wonderful youth!"