[EXCLUSIVE] AFACHAN catches up with the MAN behind the ONE PUNCH

One Punch Man visits the sunny shores of Singapore at our flagship event, Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2015 in the form of the titular hero’s seiyuu (voice actor) – Makoto Furukawa.

One Punch Man certainly proved to be one of the most popular series of the recently concluded Autumn season, as fans turned up in hordes to catch One Punch Man’s special stage segment on the last day of festivities.

Stage emcees Hisanori Yoshida and Reiko invited special guest Makoto Furukawa, the voice behind Saitama to join them on stage.

A short talk segment saw Furukawa share his thoughts about Saitama, such as his admiration for his “kirei na atama” – clean / pretty head, punning on Saitama’s signature bald head.

Prompting from Yoshida had Furukawa talking about recording sessions for One Punch Man, where he shared the studio with many industry veterans playing supporting characters such as Mumen Rider (CV: Yuuichi Nakamura), Tank-Top Master (CV: Katsuyuki Konishi), Atomic Samurai (CV: Kenjirou Tsuda), etc. Furukawa confesses to feeling immense pressure to perform well and impress these highly respected industry seniors, especially next to Kaito Ishikawa, who voices Genos.

As Genos is often overzealous and always earnest, Ishikawa can be clearly heard (and seen) to be putting in his utmost effort. However, Saitama’s key feature is how ordinary, average and simple he is, and nothing seems to fazes him. Despite trying very hard, Furukawa finds it really difficult to display how much effort he is putting into his character when Saitama is so deadpan most of the time.

On someone who left a lasting impression, Furukawa names Takahiro Sakurai, who voices Zombieman.

Referring to another recording session before the anime adaptation, Furukawa recalls how he was in awe at Sakurai being able to convey the character perfectly in a simple self-introduction, by altering his tone and rhythm of speech. It is really a shame we have not been able to see more of Zombieman in the current season of the One Punch Man series!

To close the session, audiences were treated to a special live-dubbing session, showcasing memorable scenes from the anime. The crowd roared as they relived one of the earlier episodes from the series, when Saitama had just come into his immense power, and was rekindling his zeal for beating villains as a hero.

Unsatisfied with his first attempt, Furukawa asked the audience to allow him to go again, and of course we readily agreed. I did not think it possible, but the second attempt had the entire hall booming harder with Saitama’s roars as he faced the Subterraneans for the second time that afternoon.

AFACHAN Exclusive Interview~

After the exciting showcase, AFACHAN and Niji no Conquistador’s Moe caught up with Makoto Furukawa for an exclusive interview, where we quizzed him further about being Saitama and One Punch Man. Compared to Saitama’s regimen, we also got Furukawa to share how his preparation or “training” for his work as a seiyuu.

Furthermore, Furukawa gets to share more about himself, such as a superpower he desires, and any special skills he has. Hailing from Kumamoto, we also got him to recommend some local delicacies to us! Some of the answers may surprise you!