Mynavi Interviews Hanae & Hosoya on Digimon Adventure tri.

Original image uploaded by Mynavi.

November 20th, 2015. In an interview done in advance of Digimon Adventure tri.'s Japanese premiere on the 21st, Japanese news outlet Mynavi conducted an interview with voice actors Hanae Natsuki (Yagami Taichi) and Hosoya Yoshimasa (Ishida Yamato). In the interview, Hanae discussed his shock at the original cast being replaced for Digimon Adventure tri., and the challenges he faced in becoming the voice for one of his childhood heroes. Hanae saw Taichi as being Fujita Toshiko, his original voice actress, and went into the audition believing he would never be chosen for the role of Taichi. For his own part, Hosoya had no knowledge of Digimon prior to being asked to audition for Adventure tri., but felt the need to portray a Yamato that Kazama Yuuto (the character's original Seiyuu) could never perform as. A complete translation of the interview was published on the 24th by fan translator Onkei-kun.

"When I attended the Digimon event and saw the bright, shining eyes of the fans who anticipated this series, I felt over again how much love these pure-hearted people have for this anime, and how I'm going to be voicing in such a cherished series."
—Hosoya Yoshimasa

Many fans both in Japan and abroad have remarked on similarities between Hosoya's and Kazama's voices when used for Yamato, with several theatergoers initially mistaking Hosoya for the original actor by the sound of his voice alone. The similarities in the film are reinforced by Yamato's character in the film, which of the cast displays the least amount of change since Adventure 02. In contrast to this, Hanae's Taichi has been immediately singled out for the differences both in portrayal and tone when compared with Fujita's presentation. Hanae is normally chosen to portray very youthful and boyish characters, and his more mature version of Taichi is somewhat surprising to the industry as a whole.

The second chapter of Digimon Adventure tri., Decision, will premiere in Japan on March 12th, 2016, and be simulcast overseas by Crunchyroll.