Yoshino Aoyama‘s iconic performance as Hitori Gotoh in Bocchi the Rock! established her range at playing soft-spoken introverts like Ibuki Tonami (Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk) and chaotic gremlins such as Miwa Mikadono (Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze). More recently, she’s showcased her capabilities at playing protective roles in Agents of the Four Seasons and the calm, cool friend Roka Ayatsumugi (Cosmic Princess Kaguya!). But this time in Blue Box Season 2, she takes a departure by playing an openly hostile character: Yumeka Kido.
Bearing past resentment towards our heroine Chinatsu, she questions the main couple’s dedication to their sport if love gets in the way. Aoyama approaches the challenge of voicing a character whom she’d probably be afraid of if they met in real life. She also weighs in on the love triangle from Season 1: Team Chinatsu or Team Hina?
How familiar were you with Blue Box manga before taking this role? What part of the character did you connect with the most?
So in season one, I actually auditioned for the role of Karen Moriya. That’s when I first started reading the manga and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the part, so I had to step away from the series and focus on other roles. But when season 2 got announced, I got called to audition for the role of Yumeka instead. Yumeka stood out to me as driven by resentment and hatred, which isn’t really common among Blue Box‘s characters. So I thought a good way to reflect that in my performance would be to try channeling some of the frustration I felt when I didn’t make it the first time.
© Kouji Miura/SHUEISHA, Blue Box Film Partners
Is there a particular moment in the manga or the upcoming season that moved you emotionally?
Hina’s confession to Taiki in Season 1 really moved me. I often watch anime from a voice actor‘s point of view, and Akari Kitō‘s performance blew me away.
Does this mean you were on Team Hina instead of Team Chinatsu?
Yes. I’m really into unrequited love, so as a fan, I couldn’t resist rooting for Hina. As Yumeka, however, I’d have to root for my friend Chinatsu.
Yumeka Kido starts as a rather cold character. What was it like voicing someone so intimidating?
This is a type of role that I never played before, so I didn’t expect to get it when I taped my audition. When I got the role, it took me by surprise. Anytime Yumeka shows up, the atmosphere changes because of how strong she comes across. When she meets Taiki, she kind of enjoys the fact that he’s a little afraid of her. Trying to be intimidating during recording was kind of a challenge for me.
Did your perception of Yumeka change the more you learned about her past?
I knew that something must have happened in her past to make her so resentful of others. When I read further into the manga, I understood what triggered that change in her past. The idea of family is so important to her, and she needs to cling to it to sustain herself. It made her more relatable to me because, in a way, she doesn’t understand her own value. After auditioning, getting a role feels like acknowledging that I’m valuable to somebody. Similarly, Yumeka needs validation from someone else.
A big part of Yumeka’s character is recognizing when one of her underclassmen is about to surpass her. Is that something you can relate to, either as a kouhai or senpai?
So I don’t think that I’ve ever actually caught up to my senpais. It’s always my kouhais surpassing me, so it’s really amazing that I got this far. I’ve always idolized my senpais, so I kind of gave up on trying to catch up to them. But the characters I voice tend to strive for something unreachable, so they inspire me to be a better version of myself. I can’t just idolize my senpais. I need to try to surpass them.
Yumeka has always excelled at basketball since childhood. What would you say is something you excel at as well?
I grew up in an area with no snow, but I loved skiing ever since I was small. There were only 2 girls, including myself, who would compete in that area. Since not a lot of people were skiing, I would always win. So it kind of gave me the confidence that I could win a skiing competition.
What would you say to viewers seeing Yumeka for the first time?
In Blue Box, there are a lot of characters that give you a positive push. But everyone has experienced fallbacks and felt jealousy like Yumeka. There’s that feeling of being left behind, but Chinatsu is always challenging herself. So I want fans to put themselves in Yumeka’s position and see the world from her point of view.
Is there a high school memory that made a big impact on you that you can share?
So I started acting as a voice actress when I was in my second year in high school. I was in Kumamoto going to school on the weekdays, but on the weekends I would fly to Tokyo and do recording. So when I think about high school, that’s the memory of my youth. It was hard, but it was also kind of amazing that I got through that.
