Megumi Han: The role of Sasha passed down from mother to daughter with love and respect
Published by Mantan Web November 24. See the original post here.
Voice actress Megumi Han plays the popular character Sasha in Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199, the latest remake in the popular Space Battleship Yamato series. It reinterprets and reconstructs the third animated film Be Forever, released in 1980. In the original, Megumi’s mother Keiko Han played Sasha, and Megumi now takes over the role. Sasha is the daughter of Mamoru Kodai and Starsha. She is the niece of the main character Susumu Kodai, and holds an important key to the story.
The Romance of Yamato
Both mother and daughter have played popular characters that transcend the ages. Megumi is known for her roles as Gon Freecss in Hunter x Hunter and Kana Arima in Oshi no Ko, while Keiko played Lalah Sune in Mobile Suit Gundam. Keiko plays Mother Dezarium in the remake series. Sasha, played by Megumi, makes her full appearance in the second chapter of 3199, Red Sun Sortie.
See Megumi Han’s credit list at Anime News Network here
See Keiko Han’s credit list here
General director Harutoshi Fukui said the reason for casting the mother and daughter pair was, “I couldn’t think of anyone else. I’ve been thinking about it since 2205.” Megumi said she is “honored” to play Sasha.
“I’m very grateful to be able to take over the role from my mother, and Fukui-san helped me out when I made my debut on Gundam Unicorn, so I’m happy to be working with him again. I’m overwhelmed with emotion.”
Space Battleship Yamato is a masterpiece that has been loved for many years, half a century since the first TV anime series aired in 1974. Keiko played Sasha in Be Forever Yamato before Megumi was born, but Megumi has been watching Space Battleship Yamato since she was a child.
“I have vivid memories of the first time I came across Yamato. I was about three years old, a little earlier than the other kids around me. I remember watching it on a laser disc we had at home and feeling a sense of romance even as a child. I was too young to understand the whole story, but I was moved by the scene where Yamato took off. They are in the middle of a battle, but each character has their own principles, and they keep fighting a war with no answers. This has always been the case, and it depicts something universal. Of course, there is romance, and a heart that tries to understand other people’s feelings is also depicted. I feel that there are as many answers as there are lives.”
Mother and Sasha overlap
When it came to inheriting Sasha, Megumi’s mother said some memorable words to her.
“She said to me, ‘You will be taking on this role from now on,’ which is a motherly thing to say. I think it also includes the fate that the character Sasha will carry. My mother plays Mother Dezarium in this film, and Sasha is mentioned in the second chapter, but I wonder what she was thinking. We haven’t talked about it, and no one has asked me about it.”
Even before it was decided that Megumi would appear in 3199, her mother told her about Space Battleship Yamato, and she felt like she saw similarities between Sasha and her mother in some ways.
“I feel that Sasha is a cute, charming, very pure, girlish character, and when I hear about my mother’s life, she’s just like Sasha. She’s cute and charming, and has all the sparkly things we had as children. She has a soft demeanor, but I sense a certain strength of will. From my perspective as a daughter, I can see a glimpse of her stubbornness. I feel that Sasha is a complex yet simple coexistence of these things. Sasha is a strong character who ultimately makes her own choices. She is both my mother then and my mother now, and I think her life is like my mother’s.”
One can feel the love and respect for her mother in Megumi’s words. She is playing Sasha with these feelings in her heart.
“It feels like it was instilled in me as part of my DNA even before I was involved with Yamato. I rewatched Be Forever before the voice recording, and I still remembered it. I want to protect the feelings and memories of Yamato fans, some of whom have joined us for the first time, and those who have supported us for a long time. I’ll cherish those feelings as I play Sasha. The Yamato of today has the lines that Mr. Fukui wrote, and Yamato‘s crew today is different from back then.”
The appeal of Harutoshi Fukui’s words
In 3199, Sasha is an important character who holds the key to the story. However, in the second chapter, she is still a child and appears as a pure being.
“Sasha starts out as a two-year-old. She doesn’t understand the complexities of her birth. I know everything, so I have to play her with a blank slate before she has grown up, who accepts things purely and expresses them. I was conscious of the fact that, while the Yamato crew and Susumu are unable to move forward based on their own feelings alone, they are honest with their emotions.”
She was able to record with Daisuke Ono, who plays her “uncle” Susumu Kodai.
“There are times when I get to be with an uncle. I’ve worked with Mr. Ono on other sets, but when we first got together at the Yamato set, I had a strange feeling that I can’t put into words, like it was the first time. I also felt something like the nostalgia that Sasha feels. I hope you look forward to the interaction between him and Sasha.”
Photo posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee
Fukui was in charge of the series composition and scriptwriting for Yamato 2202 and Yamato 2205, and also serves as general director for the latest work. As an actor, how does Ms. Han feel about the story and lines he weaves?
“I feel a sense of romance in his words. They’re not words I would choose in everyday conversation, but they’re very beautiful and somehow poetic, and yet they’re packed with drama, with the person’s life. That’s why I think I can empathize with them and let my thoughts flow. It’s like I’m on stage, feeling the flow of a great river. The stage directions in the script contain emotion, and they’re also written for scenes without dialogue, which makes it very dramatic.”
It’s not yet clear how Sasha will play a role in 3199.
“Mr. Fukui has told me about my role, but there are still many mysteries and I haven’t been told how it will end. We’ve recorded up to the beginning of Chapter 5, and Sasha is changing rapidly. I think we’ll see a side of Sasha that doesn’t just follow Be Forever. At that point, Sasha will become more and more like Kodai. There may be some parts where you can feel the blood connection. Before recording, Mr. Fukui told me about the feelings behind the lines and her true thoughts, and I went into the recording with that in mind. It’s a luxurious time, and I want to cherish it while I perform.”
Megumi Han plays Sasha with many thoughts deeply engraved in her heart. She wants people to absorb the feelings passed down from mother to daughter in 3199.