Audio Commentary/Episode 1
| As If We Met in a Dream… 夢の中で逢った、ような… | |
|---|---|
| Commentary | Aoi Yuuki Chiwa Saitou Eri Kitamura |
All episodes include Aoi Yuuki, the voice of Madoka, and Chiwa Saitou, the voice of Homura, and usually a guest. The first guest is Eri Kitamura, who voices Sayaka.
The recording happened around the time episode 9 aired, so the seiyuu happen to know some things that we don't. Including things that they didn't know during the recording: they were given the scripts shortly before recording, and had no idea about the plot or different characters' roles. They didn't even finalize the scripts until the week of, worrying the actresses a bit. It's pretty interesting trying to act something when you don't even know why your character is supposed to be feeling one way or another.
During the auditions, they talk about how they got their parts. Yuuki says that Madoka felt really natural, and made a big impression on her. well, a character really ought to make an impression on at least their seiyuu, so there's that. Kitamura said that she had tried a bunch of roles during the auditions, but Sayaka felt fairly similar to her.
Saitou actually was trying out for roles not Homura, though. If you're familiar with her earlier roles, she was often the high squeaky character and as far as I know, her first Homura-type character was Senjougahara from the Monogatari franchise. Her first impression was that it would be difficult, but even though she has two different personalities and hidden motivations, she certainly turned out to be the perfect fit.
They commented on the school: it's a coed school, but the cast was mostly girls so they had to make all sorts of low "uehh"s to fill out the general sound profile of the classroom.
Next, they talk about Homura, who is really quite the enigma in the first episode, like she's going to backstab you or something. She turns out alright though. Also, they note how Madoka is really passive and melancholic, not smiling. Yuuki was told "always crying" for how to act.
Another aspect of it they talk about is the character writing in general. When Hitomi shows up midway through at the restaurant, they all exclaim 'scary!' but they say that everyone is a nice girl. Madoka, for example, is one of those people who you would say "She's a really nice girl", in a very natural way. Gentle, always thinking of others, but at the same time she runs away (a lot), which is certainly a very realistic thing for a middle school girl to do. Not so much of the "I must fight to protect!" deal from her, which makes her very human.
Sayaka is a bit more of that, though, kinda over-confident, cocky, and doesn't like to lose. She does back off when the going gets rough.
Finally, they talk about Mami, who is really cool here but seems really suspicious. What is she up to? (Also, they comment on how Shaft really changed the shading and effects in her entrance scene between the TV airing and the BD version).