The weekly column by Michihiko Suwa, the Yomiuri TV producer
June 16, 2004 Original Japanese text

The DVD and video rental release of the movie 3 describing quarrels between InuYasha and Sesshomaru: Tenka Hadou no Ken (The Sword of The World Conquest), started on the 11th. This week, I’ll pick up Sesshomaru who has been focused both in the movie and in the TV series. You know that Sesshomaru is characterized not to jaw but to speak only one word with cool. Speaking no line to explain, Sesshomaru is an extremely cool character. Speaking a one-word line such as his word "Kudaran" (blah, hogwash) in a low and clear voice is very hard, so not everyone can that. A person playing this difficult role, Sesshomaru, is a handsome voice actor, Mr. Ken Narita. Among his fans, he is called Maru-sama. Real Narita-san has a completely different personality from Sesshomaru. He is a talkative, joker, cheerful and humane. This gap is funny, isn't it? In the TV series, gravitated by the last shard of Shikon, InuYasha and Sesshomaru are getting close. In the movie 3, they fight a hard battle. If you have not yet seen the movie, Let's watch it by renting its video or DVD.

Next, I'll talk about his group. Persons traveling with him are Jaken, looking like a middle manager, and Rin, a human girl. Jaken seems to want not to take Rin but to go only with Sesshomaru because when they act with a human girl, she gets encumbered. Accordingly, Jaken supposes that Sesshomaru is actually not so bad since he has accompanied her. Since the relation among Jaken, often beaten by Sesshomaru even if acting obsequiously, and Rin, unable to sense the atmosphere, and Sesshomaru is very hilarious, please give attention to Sesshomaru group's activity as well. The persons playing the roles of Jaken and Rin are Mr. Yuichi Nagashima (Yūichi Nagashima) and Ms. Mamiko Noto, respectively. When voice actors speak lines in front of a microphone, they sometimes change terminations of the words and the phrases. In other words, they have the lines come to life. Nagashima-san often speaks ad-lib lines unequal to ones on scripts. This means that he picks up characteristics in Jaken well and gets into character, I think. Though Noto-san is much younger than the two, the three are very good friends. Please wait the next Suwacchi Anime Diary!