Special Symposium / Roundtable Discussion - Exclusive After-Record Backstory

When It Became Anime, Becky’s Image Was Established Even More

Saitō-san, you have played as Becky since the time with Drama CDs, which was already a pretty long time ago. Is there anything that changed in your Becky acting, with the anime version?

Saitō

The basics haven’t changed since the Drama CD days, but after becoming an anime, there have several sections where illustrations have been handy. Her essential features, cuteness and smallness were already included to her design, so I feel like I was able to voice her without being too conscious about her features. Illustrations did all the acting, while frankly, I felt like just riding along with them.

A question to everyone: Are there parts that were influenced by Saitō-san’s acting?

Kanemaki

Me, and the only other scriptwriter Katsuhiko Takayama-san, were greatly influenced by watching Saitou-san’s acting at the dubbing studio. We thought “Since Saitō-san is doing it like this, we should do the same”. Even if the lines were a little tough, Saitō-san would be able to handle them. For example, I usually try to avoid using the short E sound at all costs. Instead of saying “soujyaneeyo”, she’d say “soujyanaiyo”. The short E sound can sound quite harsh when saying out aloud, but as Becky’s acting included also ad-lib, she pronounced the sound normally (laughs). “Soujyaneeyo” too had a cute feel to it, and we decided “Ah, this too is it”.

Hikawa

In my case, I feel like I was already influenced by her acting in Drama CD days, but got influenced even more after the anime adaptation. Phrases like “Stop it!” and such have become used to here and there in the original work. Overall, the dialogue changed drastically once the characters got their voices in the anime. With this I’ve become able to write meetings in a more human way. It’s embarrassing to see people having to search the change, like readers have asked me “Where’s the change?” (laughs).

Shinbo

I believe her acting served as influence for Anime Becky’s expressions and other things. I think it’s thanks to Saitō-san that animation directors and other staff members have become able to express a wide range of expressions on her. And uh, have you already gotten used to hearing your own voice when watching the episode on TV, Saitō-san?

Saitō

I’ve gotten used to that. But I feel like Becky is Becky and not me in a world completely full with “Pani Poni”, which leaves no room for myself.

Kanemaki

So you see the anime as “Pani Poni”, instead of a work where you just happen to appear in. Looking that way, are there any other characters you like besides Becky?

Saitō

That would be Alien Captain (laughs). I wanted to be involved more with Captain!

The Many Playful Elements at the Mood-Heavy Dubbing Studio

What kind of an atmosphere was there at the dubbing studio?

Kanemaki

Each one of us were in high spirits. Voice actors had already formed an image of characters in their minds, and for us scriptwriters, it was like “All we have to do is just trace them” (laughs). After that it became much more fun to move the characters around.

Kameyama

We could just relax and watch their dubbing. There were no extreme criticisms whatsoever, so we just felt to tell actors “Keep it up” (laughs).

Saitō

I felt that the new cast members too, who joined us from the anime, were able to continue as the voices without hesitations, because the world around the work has already been established.

Kameyama

Yes, they all kept up playing around (laughs).

Shinbo

Saitō-san, since Becky is a teacher, didn’t you think there should’ve been more teacher-like lines for her? She once said “This will be on the test!”

Kameyama

There really are more teachers in Pani Poni... Haven’t thought about that (laughs).

Saitō

I might’ve wanted to say something like “You all are rotten mandarins!” (laughs). But in Becky’s case, her students would’ve teased her instead (laughs).

Kameyama

I felt that something like Episode 8 was definitely an episode about her being a teacher.

Saitō

That’s right. I liked the line ”Ah, right” towards Behoimi.

Kameyama

It was unusual for us to record that take several times. It wasn’t about wanting it in multiple different patterns, but rather having a more realistic feel to it. I searched for that “real” feel, and persistently re-recorded the line. We did 5 to 6 takes.

Saitō

Recording these short lines repeatedly, it felt like the universe inside me expanded. It was like my line “Oh, I see” was very profound (laughs).

Kanemaki

Remembering other lines, it was the same case with the screams in Episodes 4 and 6. They were impossible to vocalise off the bat (laughs).

Saitō

I feel like I opened twice a drawer that I wouldn’t normally open (laughs).

Shinbo

But those were wonderfully done (laughs).

Hikawa

The screams left an impression on me too. When I watching the show, they were the very first things that surprised me (laughs).

Saitō

For me, who spoke those lines, probably the most surprising thing was hearing them and feeling “Someone I don’t know just spoke!” (laughs).

Many Memories Related to Lines

Kameyama

The line ”This is a goodbye” from the last episode had a pretty strange intonation to it.

Saitō

I definitely wanted that to be something that could be taken in any way. I think the words give out a nuance, which, for those who think “Pani Poni is all over”, is seen as unfortunate parting, and, for those who think “Pani Poni will still continue”, as hope. Normally saying these words might be depressing, but I wanted to express something that included both a bright and a sad feeling… What do you think, how did it go (laughs)?

Hikawa

Well, I think it’s perfect (laughs).

Kanemaki

Anything goes when Saitō-san plays as Becky. It really has that nuance. Without missing a beat, she brings out something unexpected, and people around her are influenced by that acting.

Kameyama

Seems like she was very happy when making the scene of eating udon with “slurpity slurp” (laughs).

Saitō

I loved that line, and when the time came to do it once more, I thought to myself “Yes this is it!” (laughs).

Kanemaki

It was really child-like and cute. As a whole, Becky has a healing effect to her. There are numerous cases where her accent is placed at the beginning of a word. After saying “You guys!”, she adjusts her volume and then continues speaking.

Saitō

That’s the image I have of children. At first, they speak as loud as they can, but after that gradually lower their voice while looking at others’ faces.

Kanemaki

When Becky is bullied, she does that accent and acts really like a child.

Hikawa

It’s simply cute (laughs).

Saitō

During the dubbing period for Pani Poni, I recorded educational programs aimed at children and researched them. I saved the things that made me think “With this nuance I’ll definitely be able to bring Becky to life!”, and watched them with rewind. I also observed children of my relatives (laughs). Thinking how I went kinda too hard on her and made her cry, that child might’ve hated me (laughs).

Pani Poni X! ...is Something No One Understands?

What were your thoughts on Becky’s songs?

Saitō

Personally, I worked hard on Faraway Dream. I spent the appearance fee I received entirely in voice training the song (laughs). I asked from my trainer how to sing with Becky’s voice, and then practiced that.

Shinbo

There were memorable lines in Pani Poni X! too.

Saitō

Actually, one of the lines was supposed to be “Pani Poni X! It’s~ !”, but no good words came into my mind, so I covered it up with “hau hau”. And then, it got okayed (laughs). Due to dubbing at the same period as my song was recorded, at that time, I had no idea what Pani Poni X was all about (laughs).

Hikawa

Well, I think Pani Poni X is something you can’t understand even if you explained it or showed art of it (laughs).

Saitō

But after all, the hardest one was Setsugekka. The instructions were to sing the song like it was enka while retaining my usual Beckyness. Enka is already hard to sing, but furthermore, bringing out an atmosphere of a child singing was hard as well. On the other hand, I guess Nichiyou mania was the easiest one. Even though it’s a song from one G Fantasy’s bonus CD, I think it’s a song with the most of Becky-like feel to it. It’s kinda short song, lasting only 1 minute.

What If It Gets Adapted into a Movie...?

Shinbo

Including all its dialogue, background music and sound effects, Pani Poni has a sense of unity throughout the work.

Kameyama

I wanted to match the visuals with the atmosphere of the work. At first I would always fix something, but gradually there became lesser things to fix, and more time to do nothing else (laughs). As a result, various stuff got inserted in the show. It’s a 50% increase from ordinary works (laughs).

Kanemaki

My most favourite part in Hikawa-sensei’s works is “space”. Intervals with no speaking are really nice. When adapting it into an anime, there’s bound to be dialogue added to scenes, but if Season 2 were to happen, I hope we could fully express “the fun of silence”. In animation, it’s all down to seconds, so it’s difficult to pull off.

Saitō

If not only Season 2, but also a movie adaptation came to be, both of them would be amazing. It’d have a completely different story playing in the corner of a large screen.

Kameyama

And like, many scenes where there’s only Ichijou’s eyes on screen (laughs).

Hikawa

Even as movie, it would seem to have a stage-like production. Staff members would come out when a scene changes (laughs).

Saitō

But really, when I’m working on other shows, there was incredibly a lot of people who were telling me “Pani Poni looks so much fun that I envy you~”. I realized how much fun it’s to watch something everyone did together and had fun with.