Blue Lock interview with producer and voice actor Yoichi Isagi

Last weekend, at Anime Expo, the largest celebration of Japanese pop culture in North America, we met with Ryoya Arisawa, the producer of the hit anime series Blue castle. As did Kazuki Ura, the voice actor of the main character Yoichi Isagi. Through their English-speaking translator, they conveyed their message to us and the fans. They gave us informative but also incredibly insightful insights and gave us a deeper understanding of the creative process behind it. Blue castle.

The unexpected success of Blue Lock

The international recognition of Blue Lock surprised even Arisawa himself. He attributes this success to the exceptional teamwork and talent of the animation team and the creators of the original manga. While the manga was popular in Japan, the rapid international recognition was unexpected and welcome.

Arisawa expressed his joy and said through his translator, “We did not expect the anime to reach such a large international audience so quickly.” He acknowledged the rapid growth of the animation industry abroad and felt that it was the timing for the release of Blue Castle perfect. He also highlighted their decision to produce the film while the first season was still in production, which allowed them to reach a wider audience faster.

Arisawa is excited about the future of the series, explaining, “I still can’t believe how far it has come and how many international fans we have gained.” While the manga was successful in Japan, the rapid growth and reach of the anime in numerous countries exceeded all expectations.

He attributes the anime’s success to the collaboration between the animation team and the manga creators, praising their seamless collaboration and excellent taste. This collaboration, he believes, has played a major role in making the animation film so successful today.

As a fun side effect, we asked Arisawa how he felt in a Blue Castle training facility. Arisawa said, “I’d be out in a second.” However, he said if there was an animation producer version of the Blue Lock, he would go pretty far.

Adapting manga as anime: A creative challenge

The interview also touched on the challenges of adapting the manga into a 25-minute anime episode. Arisawa explained that the process required extensive discussions and careful consideration of how to faithfully portray the story within the time constraints. The team’s main goal was to stay true to the original work while making the necessary adjustments to adapt it to the anime format.

Arisawa explained the initial steps as follows: “First, we had to read the original work thoroughly and discuss in detail how to properly adapt it into an animation. So the preparation time took quite a while, especially when discussing the scenarios. In addition, we had to think about the overall story and how to fit it into the 25-minute television time limit.” He continued: “Essentially, we had to think, ‘Okay, how do we adapt this and present it in 25 minutes, with a beginning, middle, and end? How do we decide which scenes and story arcs from the manga we will animate?'”

Arisawa acknowledged that it was difficult to fit everything into the episodes, explaining, “Of course, it’s hard to fit everything in. However, my team and I discussed at length how much we could show. We wanted to show as much as possible, but we also had to decide which parts to cut. During these discussions, we agreed on some scenes that could potentially be cut and disagreed.” He stressed that the team always kept both the anime audience and manga readers in mind throughout the process. “Ultimately, the final product always took both the readers and the audience into consideration,” Arisawa explained. “As a team, we wanted to make sure we were on the same page about which parts we wanted to highlight and focus on in order to show the best of the original work.”

A personal connection to the characters

Kazuki Ura, the voice of Yoichi Isagi, expressed a deep connection to his character. He identified with Isagi’s journey as he started out as an outsider and gradually realized his potential. In addition, Ura drew parallels between Isagi’s experiences and his own as a voice actor, as he experienced auditions and rejections before landing a lead role. Ultimately, this shared experience of overcoming obstacles and evolving created a unique bond between Ura and the character he portrays. In fact, Ura felt like he was growing along with Isagi, which further deepened his connection to the character.

In addition, the interview addressed the unique premise Blue Castlewhich is a training facility where 300 young football players compete for a place on the national team. Ura compared this concept to the competitive world of voice acting, where numerous actors audition for a single role.

When asked how he felt in a Blue Castle training facility, Ura said: “I would leave immediately if it was about football. However, if it is a Blue Castle Voice actor edition, I think I could channel my inner psyche and make it to the top.” “To connect that to the life of a voice actor, it’s quite similar to the concept of Blue Lock because there are actually 300 voice actors auditioning for a lead role. For me to get the role, I feel like Blue Lock’s worldview is similar to that of voice actors.”

A promising future

Finally, Arisawa and Ura expressed their enthusiasm about the future of Blue Castle. The creators are optimistic about the franchise’s continued growth and success. As the series continues to grow in popularity, it’s clear that Blue Lock has struck a chord with audiences around the world.