yamaguchi interview (machine translation, edits by me)

(Ritsuko Akagi)
"I played the role of Ritsuko and Misato's relationship with great care."

-- How did you feel when you read the script?
Yamaguchi: When I read the script for the first time, I was so moved that I couldn't stop crying. I felt Anno's love for Ritsuko, Misato, Shinji, Gendo, and all the other characters. ...It made me happy to know that everyone could move on.

-- What was the scene that particularly moved you?
Yamaguchi: The scene where Misato is dying. Even before the recording session, every time I thought about it, tears came to my eyes. In a story where you don't know how it's going to end, I thought that every character would be doomed to wander in the darkness forever. Even though Misato died, I think it was a good thing that she died after having cleared certain aspects of her story. But I was still shocked and saddened by the manner of Misato's death...

-- What kind of situation were you in when you performed that scene?
Yamaguchi: In the "Rebuild" series, actors are often recording separately, but Kotono Mitsuishi and I were allowed to record together. Kotono Mitsuishi and I have always been able to record together, and this time, Anno was able to coordinate our schedules. I've met Ms. Mitsuishi on the set of other works, but when I meet her on the set of "Eva", I could only think of her as Misato (laughs). As soon as Mitsuishi-san and I met, I was able to easily get into Ritsuko's role.

-- That's must be the reason why the conversations between Ritsuko and Misato are so comfortable.
Yamaguchi: My conversations with Misato are like a "girls' night out" in a sense. The things we talk about are very responsible, but we can talk about them because we are women. We don't say much to each other, and our relationship is a two-way street. I feel that this time, more than ever before, I was given the opportunity to act out the relationship between the two of them, where they can talk freely and without any inclusions. Especially in the scene where Misato is dying, I feel that the four of us, Anno-san, Tsurumaki-san, and Mitsuishi-san, were able to create that together. Both Anno-san and Tsurumaki-san were very receptive to our feelings, and every time we played a role, the two directors would have long discussions, and we would wait, wondering what they were talking about. I felt so fulfilled that I cried in the studio after the recording of that scene because I was so overcome with emotion.

-- How did you feel about Misato having a child?
Yamaguchi: Perhaps it's because I have a child of my own, but I think Misato thought about how she could protect her child. Ritsuko must have felt responsible for developing EVA, so I think Ritsuko developed a mission to save humanity, even if it meant giving up her own life. As a result, Misato took responsibility in that way, and Ritsuko, who could be left behind, would have chosen to take care of the child to survive, as if they were a community of fate.

-- Once again I ask, what kind of person do you think Ritsuko Akagi was?
Yamaguchi: I really think that Ritsuko is a very serious person. In the TV series, there was an episode where she was used by Gendo to develop the EVA... but apart from that, Ritsuko's motivation throughout this series is to pursue the best for humanity. That has never wavered. However, I don't think Ritsuko could ever expect that she and Misato would become deflect from NERV and lead WILLE as deputy chiefs and scientists in the Rebuild moves. Since Gendo-san had gone crazy (laughs), Ritsuko had no choice but to try to fulfill her ideals until the end. She's a serious and pure person.

-- I think she's pure and passionate, but she's also very cool.
Yamaguchi: I think Ritsuko might be afraid of seeing her true self. Maybe that's why she always wants to analyze and understand with her mind. She is probably too afraid to let her emotions take over and become distraught in the process.

-- Ritsuko's coolness comes through in her work lines. In particular, her lines in Avant 1 were impressive in terms of both quantity and content.
Yamaguchi: When I first received the script for Avant, I was surprised to see a lot of Ritsuko's lines. I was worried that after "Q", Ritsuko would die somehow and never appear again, so I asked them to please include Ritsuko in "Shin", even if it was just for a little bit (laughs). Later, at Khara's New Year's party, I was relieved when I was told that Ritsuko would be in the final movie, but I didn't expect her to have so many lines... But to be honest, I didn't really understand what Ritsuko's condition was when we recorded Wille abandoning the Wunder, because I didn't really understand the setting. So I decided to just concentrate on describing the few scenes written in the script. If I tried to put any emotion into my lines, I would be told, "It's Ritsuko, so take the emotion out." Because I come from a stage background, I often try to act with only my feelings, and I was not very good at playing a cool role like Ritsuko with that kind of training. That's why, during the TV series, I was always conscious of writing in the script, "cool, cool, cool." (sp?) My first voice acting job was in "Eva", so in that sense, Ritsuko is a very impressive role. Ritsuko abandoned women, while Misato chose to be a woman.

-- By the way, why do you think Ritsuko became a scientist in the first place?
Yamaguchi: I haven't really explored that question much, but... Scientists probably start from the desire to know what is yet to be understood, right? That must be an irresistible joy for her, and I think Ritsuko will pursue science as long as there is a mystery. This may have something to do with Ritsuko's background, though. But then she met Gendo, and things took a strange turn (laughs). However, I think I portrayed Ritsuko in a very human way because such things happen all the time in real life.

-- While she is devoted to her research, I feel that you also portrayed Ritsuko as a feminine figure, especially in the early days.
Yamaguchi: I don't think I'm very feminine myself, so when I played Ritsuko, I was a bit conscious of playing a "woman". She's a very beautiful woman, and she takes care of her makeup and clothes, so I thought "she's definitely using the status of woman as a weapon" (laughs), and I tried to make her voice sound sexy, but I was surprised to see how much her impression changed in "Q". I don't know what happened during the 14 years of inactivity, or why and when she cut her hair, but I was surprised to see a woman suddenly change her hairstyle to pixie short. For a woman to suddenly change her hairstyle to a very short one is quite a big deal, so I asked Anno if I could play the role as if something serious had happened. I don't know if it's is a sign of Ritsuko's determination to abandon femininity and save humanity together with Misato, but it is clear that she is determined to stop the NERV. That's the only way she can do it, and I'm sure she feels that she can't die until she succeeds. The moment I felt that Misato had chosen to remain a woman and Ritsuko had abandoned her, I decided that Ritsuko should be Misato's subordinate after she became the captain of the Wunder (laughs). In other words, "Ritsuko to Misato now is Fuyutsuki-san to Gendo." But it's too tough to compete with Kiyokawa-san's [Fuyutsuki's] performance; I felt a lot of pressure (laughs).


-- (laughs) Just this time, at the climax, Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki talk about their own situations. I felt that Yamaguchi-san's voice had a unique sound here. It has overtones.
Yamaguchi: Some years ago, I was approached by someone who was researching overtones. He contacted me because he saw "Eva" and thought I had a special voice with overtones... But I don't know much about it myself (laughs).

-- You don't have any special training?
Yamaguchi: I've never been conscious of overtones, but I started voice training with a tango singer, Yu Kasaka, after I finished "Q". Since then, I've noticed my voice has become more resonant. The training was originally intended for singing, but I signed up because I wanted to strengthen my voice. I had always been conscious of having a pleasant voice, but for Ritsuko in "Eva", I was always conscious of speaking in a rather casual way, as if I was making small talk. No matter how special Ritsuko is, she always speaks casually.

-- Finally, what do you feel now that "Eva," your first work as a voice actor 25 years ago, is coming to an end?
Yamaguchi: I had wanted to be a stage actor since I was a teenager, and "Eva" was the first work I performed in front of a microphone. I was introduced to a voice actor agency by Hitoshi Takagi, who was my mentor at the Drama Institute (whose representative works include Papa in Moomin, Totoro in My Neighbor Totoro, and the narration in Galaxy Express 999). When I quit the agency, I was told to try out for an anime audition for "Neon Genesis Evangelion" before quitting. I felt that it was fate, and I am very grateful that I was allowed to audition. After that, I continued to work as a voice actor. I am very happy to grow into Ritsuko in this way for 25 years. As an actor, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to play the role of Ritsuko Akagi in "Eva". I am so happy to have met you, Hideaki-san! I'm very happy to have been born in the same era as Hideaki-san (laughs). I have come to understand since I started working with him, that Hideaki-san takes his time in directing. I feel comfortable knowing that. Trial and error, until both the actors and the director, are satisfied, suits me well. In theater, the director and the actors are equal, and sometimes I would directly tell the director, "That doesn't make sense to me," and the actors and the director would work collaborate on the production. The actors and the director work together to create a piece of work. It was as if we became a family and worked together to finish it. This was the atmosphere that existed between me and Anno from the very beginning of Eva.