'Don't Think, Feel' Voice Recording Stories! Dandivine Interview with Takuma Terashima, Haruka Shiraishi, and Saya Aizawa

Starting in 2026, the year Good Smile Company marks its 25th anniversary, the company is rolling out Gattai-shin Series, a new project for combining-toy fans around the world. Dandivine, the first title in the series, began airing as a TV anime in October 2026, and it has drawn attention among anime fans in part because veteran writer Toshiki Inoue is handling the series composition and screenplay.

Inoue is known for live-action tokusatsu works such as the Kamen Rider series and the Super Sentai series, as well as anime like Galaxy Angel. Expectations are high for the chemical reaction between his eccentric scenarios and a combining-robot anime.

After the advance screening of Episode 1, held with a stage greeting ahead of Dandivine's broadcast premiere, we interviewed Takuma Terashima, who voices Gekiha Shijima, Haruka Shiraishi, who voices Akane Kuzumi, and Saya Aizawa, who voices Kirei Shijima.

The voice recording for Episode 1 was reportedly completed in about an hour and a half, an unusual pace for an original TV anime, so we asked them in depth what the session was like.

Terashima said he was surprised that it moved faster than a typical recording session: "Right after the test recording we did retakes, and then the real take began, so it went so smoothly that we didn't even have time to talk about what the episode was about." Shiraishi and Aizawa nodded in agreement.

At the advance screening, it was also mentioned that the series is written with an emphasis on a comedy-sketch feel, and Shiraishi, Aizawa, and the other cast members were seen reacting with a realization on the spot. In the interview, Terashima touched on this as well, recalling, "We didn't have much time to talk with each other, so it took us quite a while to realize it was a comedy sketch."

On the fact that recording has continued at a brisk pace from Episode 2 onward, Aizawa said, "(About the story development) If I think too deeply, I feel like I won't be able to act, so I'm trying to perform by just throwing myself at the script without overthinking." Terashima nodded and said, "That's right." When we asked, "So, 'Don't think, feel'?", everyone burst into laughter, and it was memorable that Aizawa answered, "Exactly!"

Shiraishi said she began recording based on her performance from the audition, and remarked on how the story and the way the character comes across change as the episodes go on: "As the story continues, things keep changing, but in a way, I think she's become a heroine who betrays everyone's expectations in a good way."

The interview then turned to robot anime in general. The project name Gattai-shin Series is likely to remind longtime robot anime fans of the Brave Series and the Eldran Series.

Terashima, who is deeply knowledgeable about 1990s robot anime, answered, "I'm someone who grew up on the Brave Series, so once I became a voice actor, I always wanted to appear in a Brave Series title someday. I'm really happy to be involved in the Gattai-shin Series, where I can feel that spirit. I hope there's something that resonates with kids today, just as we got fired up as kids."

Aizawa, who said she volunteered to audition for the role of Kirei Shijima, also remarked, "Wouldn't it be exciting if someone who says they became a voice actor after watching this show, or someone who played with Dandivine, became part of the cast and appeared in a future series?" Terashima and Shiraishi also reflected on what things might look like ten or twenty years from now, and the interview came to a close.

We look forward to seeing how the cast responds to Toshiki Inoue's scripts and what kind of story Dandivine weaves. Be sure to follow it to the end.

Report / Photos / Text: kato
(C)グッドスマイルカンパニー・ライデンフィルム／DANDIVINE Project

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