The TV animation Reincarnated as a Sword started airing in 2022/10. This work tells the story of a master who has been reincarnated as a sword, who meets Fran, a black cat tribe member, and goes on an adventure together to ‘help’ her achieve her goal of evolution. The major highlight of the story is how Fran, who pursues strength in a straightforward manner, and her master, who is ‘inspired’ to fulfil her wish, exchange their hearts and confront difficulties.
Animate Times will be bringing you a bi-weekly relay serialisation of the story to further enhance the story. The memorable first episode features Shinichiro Miki, who plays the role of the Master. He talked about the Master’s enormous amount of lines shown in the first episode and his dialogue with Fran, with whom he had a fateful encounter.
Quote. Animation Time
The master is a sword, but inside he is properly a man.
-The ‘setting’ is that you become a sword when you reincarnate, but what were your impressions when you first saw the work?
Miki: In this day and age, so-called ‘reincarnation stories’ have become a category, but the idea of being reincarnated as an inorganic object was novel and I enjoyed reading it. The master’s monologue, which makes you feel as if you are actually experiencing it as you read, and its tempo are also very pleasant, and the way he tries to move forward by analysing himself objectively while becoming a sword is also very appealing.
-What kind of person (sword) did you see Master as when you took on the role of his voice actor?
Miki: At first I was a little troubled in relation to the Master’s view of life and death. He accepts his ‘reincarnation’ early on, but there are scenes where he is desperate not to be killed by demons, and there are also scenes where he somewhat enjoys this environment because he has always loved games. It was interesting to see that change after meeting Fran.
Fran appears before the master who was merely looking for an equipped person. The ‘master’ gradually wants to ‘grow’ her and protect her. He may be a sword, but inside he is a proper person. That kind of emotional change and expansion of feelings was wonderful.
-Did you discuss anything with the director or sound director before the recording began?
Miki: It was just a little confirmation, but we discussed how much pain and suffering the master would feel. There is no blood flowing, but the sword is battered and he shows signs of mental exhaustion, so we discussed the plan for that.
-So you proceeded on the assumption that there is pain and suffering.
MIKI: That’s right. Even though there is no physical damage as a human being, there are times when you are mentally trapped, so your breath still gets short and you can become impatient. I tried to include those nuances.
-The first episode was impressive for the Master’s enormous amount of dialogue. What did you consider important in the master’s one-person narrative?
MIKI: It’s a basic thing. The first thing that was important was to hold what kind of situation the master was in, and to understand how he would judge and act on that situation. There are many different physical and mental situations, but what does the master think about the situation and how does he try to approach it? Is it explored or felt? As a result of this, we considered whether they realised or were made aware of a breakthrough and how they would actually act on it. I thought it would be better to make the merriment clear, because the master grows by analysing the situation and gaining information.
For example, in the second half of Part A. In the series of lines from “Here, if you absorb all the magic stones~”, Master’s feelings change little by little. If you read it as a flow, it would be flat, so I tried to dig deeper where I could and to be aware of about three feelings in one flow.
-What you’ve just told me makes me want to go back and watch the anime all over again!
Miki: I’m sorry if I didn’t act the part well after saying this myself (laugh). But the master only has movements like flying, and I think it would be easier to understand if I made changes in those parts.
-I had a vague idea of Master’s lines as a balance between seriousness and comedy, but you don’t see it that way, you see the situation, the emotions and the actions.
MIKI: There are various genres, such as serious, comedy, or even love romance and suspense, but I have to leave that to the viewer. For example, in a desperate scene, the character is already struggling desperately, so if I explain the desperation, it might be too much for the viewer. Therefore, we place importance on ‘acting’ in the part where the character searches for a way out in order to survive. As a result, I think that if they are further cornered, it becomes more suspenseful. ……
It makes me feel that their meeting was inevitable.
-What do you think of the relationship between the master and Fran after their fateful encounter?
Miki: In a way, they met in a situation where there was no no-no choice. Fran wanted ‘power’ and Master wanted to get out of this situation. They had no choice but to choose each other in a situation where they were trapped, and it’s wonderful to see how their meeting turned into something inevitable.
To repeat what I said before, in the first half of the first episode, the master, who thought “I want to make the guy who equips me …… stronger”, meets Fran-chan and wants to fulfil her wish. Fran-chan, who wants to become stronger and evolve, gets that possibility, and it makes you feel that their meeting was inevitable, doesn’t it? But I don’t know if that’s happiness or not. ……
-What do you mean?
MIKI: I think that the master could have lived more comfortably if he had ‘devoted himself’ to being a mere sword and selecting and replacing the people who equipped him with it. He could have lived a dry life, saying that the person who equipped him had died and that he should look for the next person to equip him. But when Fran saves him, he knows what she wants, and he becomes desperate to protect her. unlike swords, beastmen are living beings and might one day ‘die’ and be gone. I sometimes think that way about Master and Fran about them.
-About such a master, I hear that he is going to become more and more ‘parental idiot’ from now on.
MIKI: Fran is still a bit naive, so she becomes overprotective in an easy-to-understand way. She is a complete parental idiot (laugh). But I think that kind of master is also cute and lovable.
-(laugh). What do you find attractive about Fran, Miki-san?
Miki: What I like about Fran is her honesty. There is no flirtation, no discovery. Even though she is in a situation where she is trapped, she has a sense of pride. I could tell that she has lived her life to this point without flattering anyone. If she were to live her life depending on something, she wouldn’t be like that. She really is a straightforward girl.
-She doesn’t seem to be good at expressing her emotions, but her emotions are surprisingly clear.
Miki: Perhaps she feels more comfortable now that she can talk to master through telepathy, and she will show more and more emotional richness in the future.
-How was the recording session with Ai Kakuma, the voice of Fran?
Miki: I was grateful that I was allowed to work with her as we recorded the dialogue dialogue. Ms. Kakuma’s act of “not appealing that you are Fran-chan” after hearing the first voice was wonderful.
-What do you mean by “not appealing”?
Miki: It means that you don’t present a strange image of the character that you have in mind. I can feel that you are not trying to make me feel that this is how you want to present the character, but rather, you are facing “Fran only”. I want to say this out loud, Kakuma-kun is wonderful! I was so happy to meet such an actor after a long time.
-I look forward to seeing what kind of dialogue between the two of you will come up in the future.
Miki: It will be interesting to see how the master and Fran interact, of course, but also how the master interacts with others besides her. There are people that Fran likes, people that Fran dislikes, and the master is there for Fran, but at the same time, he understands her, deepens their bond, and builds a “relationship” with her through Fran. Please pay attention to that as well.
-By the way, I heard that you are an anime drawing geek, how did you like the visual aspect of the anime?
Miki: First of all, the part where the master fights alone. It was refreshing to see a sword fighting alone, or a sword fighting while flying. There are flying weapons such as boomerangs and fighter planes, but I don’t think there have been many swords that fly and slash at their own will. It was nice to feel the speedy movement of slaying monsters.
It is also wonderful that the expressions of the 「hard-working master」, 「master standing up」 and 「master in good spirits」 are depicted in a way that they are conveyed from the anime. I was amazed that even inorganic objects could be shown in this way.
-The development after Fran equipped the master was also tremendous.
Miki: You can feel the weight of the sword, but you can also feel that he is using it well. The contrast between the big one and the small one, showing battle as they dived through the Twin Head Bear’s crotch, was also very exhilarating.
-Thank you. Finally, could you tell us about the highlights of the second and subsequent episodes?
Miki: I think you will enjoy it to the end because it is packed with a good balance of various elements: exciting, thrilling, and even suffocating.
Thank you for watching. See you soon.
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