CATDOLL: Naruto the Movie: The Last Release Commemoration Interview with Naruto CV

To commemorate the release of "Naruto the Movie: The Last", a special interview was conducted with Naruto's Japanese voice actor Junko Takeuchi. The topic mainly revolved around the changes in the relationship between Naruto and Hinata in this movie and the feelings about Naruto's growth.

The following is the interview content:

Reporter: "THE LAST" is different from the previous "Naruto" movies. Even though it is about love, it has caused quite a stir. First of all, I would like to ask you how you felt when you first saw it.

Junko: It was a heavy feeling that I couldn't describe (laughs). Naruto and Hinata were filled with happiness, and they even had a wedding ceremony at the end. I felt like I was left far behind by Naruto (note: Junko seems to be still unmarried). I don't know if it was sadness, or joy, or maybe I just felt empty. In short, it was a feeling that I couldn't understand.

Reporter: What does “being left behind” mean?

Junko: He grew up little by little from a naughty 12-year-old kid, but I felt like, “Ah!? He grew up so fast!?” (laughs). For example, when I have a short boy at school and I don’t know if I like him or anything else, but he suddenly grows taller, I often feel like, “Ah…” and feel like I understand something. I think it’s probably a similar feeling.

Reporter: It's like meeting each other after school starts after summer vacation, and the other person has suddenly grown taller. I remember when I interviewed you before, you said something like "I might have fallen in love with Naruto."

Junko: So even when I saw Naruto and Hinata's happy wedding scene at the end, I felt so heavy. I wondered if I had lost my love? However, it has been a long time since then, and after watching the DVD again recently, I had other thoughts.

Reporter: What kind of change is it?

Junko: My mental preparation changed when I watched it. I didn't watch it as a story of Naruto's growth, but I just picked out the love part of Naruto's growth. So, in this movie, the subtle interactions and shyness between Naruto and Hinata appeared in front of me, and I couldn't help laughing.

Reporter: Surprisingly, there are also some embarrassing confession scenes.

Junko: When I read the script, I couldn't help but shout "Wow~~". If it was just Naruto and Hinata confessing their love, it would be fine. But when I thought about everyone watching this scene on the big screen, it was too embarrassing. I felt so sorry for Naruto-kun. I always felt like I became his relative at this time. It was like accidentally seeing a nephew or niece confessing their love. Although I didn't feel that when I was dubbing.

Reporter: When did you hear that Naruto and Hinata would be together?

Junko: I don't remember exactly. When exactly was it? But I do remember it was before the recording of "THE LAST". Now I can only say that I felt "Ah, it turned out like this". It's better to say that I didn't expect it to end like this. At first, I always thought that Naruto would be single in the end. Because I thought that in the end, Naruto would be like Jiraiya, wandering around the world alone, so it wouldn't be strange. But, compared to Naruto having a family, what shocked me more was that Naruto actually became Hokage.

Reporter: Have you always felt that Naruto could not become Hokage?

Shunzi: Because, people who always say “I want to be something” usually never achieve it, right? (laughs)

Reporter: Ahahaha (laughs). Now that you mention it, it is true.

Junko: Really. Having said that, I did imagine Sakura becoming Hokage.

Reporter: "THE LAST" is set two years after the Ninja World War, when Naruto was 19 years old. Ms. Takeuchi has been playing Naruto from childhood to adulthood. Has your acting changed in any way?

Junko: To be honest, I didn't think about changing my voice, so I didn't pay much attention to it from the beginning. But as expected, as I grow taller, my male hormones increase, so I kept thinking about how my vocal cords should change. As expected, a 19-year-old male voice is a bit too much for me, so when I'm actually acting, I can't always care about my acting skills.

Reporter: That’s right.

Junko: If I had a voice changer, I would have thought about changing the tone of my voice. However, I don't have a voice changer that I can rely on, so I want to focus on the human heart. Rather than caring about the tone of the voice, I think it is important to convey the human heart.

Reporter: How has the 19-year-old Naruto changed from the Naruto so far?

Junko: I think it's the way of breathing that has changed. It makes people feel that they can breathe in and out naturally. And how this feeling makes people who watch this video feel that Naruto is calm and composed. I think he has begun to care less about other people's eyes, and has a calm attitude towards life. But, of course, that is also because of the change in the surrounding environment. When he was 17, he had been fighting all the time, and it was probably before he realized that he was talking to such people.

Reporter: It’s about returning to daily life and having a sense of ease.

Shunzi: Anyway, the war is over. It's not just my age and body that are increasing, I think the change in environment is also related.

Reporter: Although there are many love scenes in "THE LAST", the battle scenes are also extremely cool.

Junko: Yes. The scene when Hinata was taken away, Naruto kept using his shadow clones to fight, which was so cool. In all the Naruto-kun scenes I have played as a child, there were a lot of reaction sounds added along with the actions. But in this scene, there were basically no reaction sounds. For example, "Look—", "Wow—", "Huh!?" and so on. The more such things are added, the weaker the person looks. For example, Sasuke rarely had such sounds in the past. And Kakashi-sensei basically didn't have any.

Reporter: Yes, it is.

Junko: Naruto talked the most. This one was constantly decreasing. That’s why the scene looked so cool. And there was tension. And the final battle on the moon, that was no longer a human fight. It was not even at the ninja level (laughs).

Reporter: The battle takes place on the moon, and the scale is also very large. Hinata's wedding dress is also very impressive.

Shunzi: The black wedding dress. Very cute. And it keeps falling off piece by piece during the battle. It's so beautiful.

Reporter: At the end of the film, at her wedding with Naruto, Hinata was wearing a kimono, right?

Junko: Because the clothes on the moon are western-style, I want to change into formal clothes (laughs). However, the kimono is exactly what I imagined. The white wedding dress is basically not colored. It is not overly gorgeous and gives people a noble feeling.

Reporter: It is said that this is something that has been passed down from generation to generation in the Hyuga family.

Junko: That's the feeling. Next time, it will be Hanabi's turn. I always thought Naruto would wear a haori with a monsuke in order to match Hinata's white wedding dress, but I didn't expect it to be a tuxedo, which was a bit surprising. It was a Konoha-style tuxedo. (Note: The haori with a monsuke is the first dress among kimonos, and it is paired with the white wedding dress)

Reporter: He even showed up at a wedding. It was like watching your own son’s wedding.

Shunzi: It is true. It feels like I grew up and got married without realizing it.

Reporter: In the new movie "BORUTO" released in August, Naruto not only becomes a Hokage but also a father. What is the difference in acting for Naruto?

Junko: Hmm~~. It should be said that the position or job has changed. I have become someone who doesn't hate taking on responsibilities. When I was a child, for example, whether I was working as a Genin or eating ramen with Kakashi-sensei in private, my attitude towards Kakashi-sensei was the same. However, as Naruto grew up, he began to separate his private self from his work self. Even if he was casual with Kakashi-sensei in private, he was able to suppress his usual self and speak when he was working as a Hokage. I think adults are probably like this. This point is very clear in this movie.

Reporter: Now that you mention it, Naruto as a Hokage and as a father would have different ways of speaking.

Junko: Naruto and Boruto, rather than a father and a child, are more like two men. But when he is with his daughter, Hibiscus, he gives people the feeling that a father is probably like this. Sure enough, it is easier for people of the same sex to become friends.

Reporter: That’s true. For example, mothers and women often have a relationship like friends.

Junko: Yes, that's the feeling. Sometimes it's your opponent, or someone you hate, or someone you like. But this person is your mother. It's similar to this feeling. Boruto also clearly knows that Naruto is his father, but he regards him as his opponent or someone he hates. But at the same time, I strongly feel that Boruto regards Naruto as a man. Naruto is the same. Even if he grows older, people will not change so easily. When I was 10 years old, I always thought that people in their 30s or 40s were very mature and grown-ups. But when I reached that age, I found that it was not the case at all, and I was not an adult at all (laughs). I'm sure Naruto has the same feeling. If Naruto at the age of 12 saw it, would he think so? "I always thought that I would become a great adult when I got married, but I didn't become one at all." Everything is not always so smooth, in this respect, it also has the flavor of Naruto.

Reporter: What do you think is Naruto's inner being?

Shunzi: I think it’s probably the feeling of “not being alone”.

Reporter: "Not alone." Is that why you think so because Naruto always felt lonely when he was a child?

Junko: That's not the case. I think he feels that he is not alone from the bottom of his heart. If he was alone from the beginning, he probably wouldn't want to have a bond with others. Even in such an atmosphere where he was despised and hated, he still wanted to have a bond with someone, probably because he felt from the bottom of his heart that "he is not alone". The one who was connected to Naruto's soul was Otsutsuki Ashura, and that person also showed that he was "not alone" and cherished this feeling. If so, I think Naruto is the same.

Reporter: In parallel with the theatrical version, the TV series is also being developed. Does that kind of switching make it difficult for you?

Junko: It feels quite inconsistent. The TV series is at the climax of the Ninja World War. The ALST is two years later, and the mood is completely different. Not to mention BORUTO, which is completely confusing. When I recorded BORUTO and then the TV series, I was confused and couldn't figure out the situation. For example, when I was acting in BORUTO, Naruto's mood towards Boruto was "act cute to me as much as you can." When I returned to the TV series with this main mood, "act cute to me as much as you can", who is acting cute to whom? I would fall into this kind of confusion. No, Naruto's mood now should be "I want to protect". Even though it is the same Naruto's body, the feelings contained in the body are different, which often confuses me.

Reporter: The times are different, so it must be difficult to carry out the works at the same time. Then, I would like to ask about the highlights of "BORUTO".

Shunzi: First of all, it is interesting that times are changing. There is no war anymore, and all kinds of things are developing. For example, mobile phones and games.

Reporter: Even though I read the Naruto spin-off "The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Flower Moon" serialized in Jump, I was still shocked that Naruto, who became Hokage, was actually working on a computer.

Junko: The Internet is so developed that espionage is still needed there (laughs). Also, the towering skyscrapers behind the Hokage Rock, I think that symbolizes everything. In such a world, professions and jobs like ninjas are changing. I think this is a transitional period? During this transitional period, Boruto-kun and his friends will have all kinds of thoughts and carry out all kinds of activities, which is probably the theme of this movie. Therefore, the first thing to watch in this movie is the change in the environment. The other thing is the thoughts of the teenagers living in this environment.

VIA: Commune Chinese version

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