My Dress-Up Darling dazzled the world largely thanks to Marin’s glittering pink nails and her infectious personality — a personality brought to life by her voice actress, Hina Suguta. Upon stepping into the interview room, Hina Suguta is a very different person from the character she acts. Wearing a pink shirt with puffed sleeves, she sat calmly in a chair, speaking with deliberation and taking special care in her answers. Beside her, Shoya Ishige sat with relaxed yet tall shoulders, an easy smile, and eyes that didn’t waver, a calm confidence that his character, Gojo, hasn’t yet found.
Seeing these two voice actors side by side and comparing them to their characters is an enormous reminder to the talent and skill they possess as voice actors. We were given the unique opportunity to speak about their roles as Marin and Gojo right as the second season of My Dress-Up Darling arrives this season.
The two of you have already worked together in the first season of My Dress Up Darling. What was it like working together again for the second season, and has anything changed between the first and second seasons in working together?
Hina Suguta: It’s been three or four years between season one and season two recordings, but while there’s a bit of a gap, we’ve seen each other and worked with each other on different press events or radio talk shows. I was really waiting in anticipation for season two and was just so excited to get back into the booth again. When I finally did, I don’t think anything changed. The only thing that really shifted was my motivation and passion to do season two, so the only change is a positive one — my own feelings towards my acting.
Shoya Ishige: Season one was actually the first time we met, so we were a bit reserved and kind of shy at first. There was really no banter or conversations until about mid-season. Between the three or four year gap, we’ve gotten to know each other through the different events and promotional events that we would do. So, I think having that gap actually helped us feel more comfortable for season two. Once we got into the booth and started recording for the new season, we were already comfortable with each other, which I think played into the acting as well.
Suguta-san, you reacted in excitement to our Anime Trending Awards when Marin won Best Girl. Do you think Marin has a chance of winning Best Girl again, considering what’s coming in the second season?
Hina Suguta: Absolutely yes! I’m looking forward to it. High hopes!
How do you each interpret the relationship between Marin and Gojo, and how has that interpretation affected your performance in the recording room?
Hina Suguta: So in season one, Marin’s feelings for Gojo slowly developed, and no real action was taken on those feelings. She’s just observing and losing herself in the relationship and her feelings forming.
Meanwhile, season two is when the crush flourishes and explodes, and it’s portrayed more through her actions. Marin’s in full-on crush mode versus in season one which is, “Oh, I think I like him.” The meter just keeps growing.
Shoya Ishige: From Gojo’s perspective, I think as you see in the anime and the story development, it’s mainly Marin’s feelings that are being portrayed and Gojo’s just doing his best day-to-day to keep up with the chaos. It’s more of a relationship of respect towards Marin than a crush. I think that’s the difference between the two and how it affected the performance.
Do you have any fun stories from the recording room while recording for the second season that you could share with us?
Hina Suguta: In season two, there are a lot more new characters, interactions, and it was like the more the merrier. One interesting thing is that Marin should be the heroine, in everyone’s minds it’s like Gojo-kun became the heroine. It’s a little difficult to explain, but during recording, the audio director would go, “Hey! Our heroine!” to Ishige-san. Because of that, within everyone’s minds, Gojo became the heroine.
Shoya Ishige: For season two, there were a lot of lines from Suguta-san as Marin, which included a lot of different emotions. It really felt like a rollercoaster ride through the different lines and dialogue, and she was highly praised by Fujita Akiko, who’s the audio director. She took that very gracefully — I enjoyed seeing her being so humble about it, and it was an interesting experience to see that acting unfold.
Since you two both mentioned getting advice and praise from the audio director, can you provide us with any insights about voice acting from the series that people just might be aware about, like what’s happening behind the scenes? What kind of advice did you get when recording? Did you have to practice or prepare a specific way before recording?
Hina Suguta: There are so many methods and different kinds of direction that I’ve received when recording. But especially for Marin, she gets really excited, and when she gets excited, she talks really fast. When she gets passionate about something or has tunnel vision about something, it all falls under the umbrella of excitement. I’ve received a lot of direction on how to add different layers and nuance to that same emotion, and with that advice, I would take that home, practice, and recite those lines over and over so I could basically record with my eyes closed.
Shoya Ishige: In season one, Gojo is extremely introverted, so there was a lot of direction based on emotional balance, such as how much to portray and how much to keep inside [of him].
However, in season two, I think Gojo has learned to be a bit more expressive and comfortable with his emotions. I will still get directions to, “Tone it down to elementary fifth-grader level,” something very specific from the director to kind of maintain the pure and innocent part of Gojo, while being more expressive than season one.
At the panel for My Dress-Up Darling Season 2, after some incredible live reading to an ecstatic audience, the two voice actors voiced their love and passion for the characters and acting, asking the audience to please support them in their roles and their future roles. You can also join in by watching the second season, now airing on Crunchyroll.
