And last but certainly not least, what do our favorite five guys have to say about all of this 3 decades later?
These pages are from the 30th anniversary memorial book's interview pages.
Ryo Sanada as Ryo of the Rekka armor
Kusao Takeshi
Born November 20, 1965.
His major roles include "SLAM DUNK" (Sakuragi Hanamichi),
"DRAGON BALL Z" (Trunks),
"Sengoku Musou" (Sanada Yukimura),
"Sergeant Kero's Mouth" (Dororo Hyoucho),
"World Trigger" (Oshida Masashi),
"Getter Robo Go" (Gou Ichimonji),
"Knights of Ramune & 40 Fire" (Lamuness I),
"Rhodes Island Senki" (Pern), etc. His dubbing credits include "CHUCK" (Chuck), "Titanic" and several other Western films, as well as him having dubbed for Leonardo DiCaprio in several films.
TROOPER'S COMMENTARY 1
A Message From The Five Warriors
When I was asked to write about "Samurai Troopers," there were so many things I wanted to say. Unfortunately, when I tried to write them out, I didn't feel like they were quite right. I couldn't move my pen forward. What am I supposed to write about now for the Samurai Trooper fans who will pick up this book? Memories of the recording studio? What was I thinking when I played the character of Ryou Sanada? The old stories aren't new and interesting, and now that I'm looking back at my memories from 30 years ago, I don't have the confidence to say that I haven't tampered with them at all.
I have more memories than I can count. Good ones as well as bad ones. Some day I wish I had a chance to talk about my memories and complaints. If I were asked to play Ryou Sanada right now, I could. I haven't forgotten about it yet. But as a work of fiction... "Samurai Troopers = Legendary Rekka", well, that time has already been done and over with. However, in everyone's heart, the "Samurai Troopers" are still alive and well. As they were on that day, as five teen boys going up against a massive, frightening army, that's how they'll still be remembered. I'm so happy and so proud to have been involved in such an anime as this, and I never would've dreamed that 30 years later it would be remastered and released on Blu-ray. I'd like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.
Thanks to this Blu-ray release, I feel that we'll be rewarded a little bit for our thoughts and feelings from 30 years ago.
I also have a few complaints about NG5.
"N.G.FIVE" is a singing group that the five of us created in the hope that it would serve as a foundation for our activities with a pure motive, rather than a self-indulgent idea of an event sponsor or something that was done for a profit. Sasaki Nozomu (voice actor for Shin) came up with the official name "CREATIVE GROUP N.G.FIVE". Although I explained this to the interviewers dozens of times that our group's name was written as "N.G.FIVE" and not NG5, they still wrote it as NG5. That's why I still get annoyed when I see it written as NG5.
Also, the sound director, Koichi Chiba, jokingly said, "You guys had a lot of NGs, so let's call it NG5."
Playing the role of Shu Rei Faun of the Kongo armor
Tomohiro Nishimura
Born on February 2, 1961 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan.
Blood Type : O Type
He made his debut as a voice actor in "Urusei Yatsura" providing the voice of Kotatsu-neko, and went on to play Hatsuo in "Time Bokan Series Itadakiman", as well as SLman's second voice in "Soreike! Anpanman".
Since 1999, he has worked as a sound director on "Weekly Story Land" (Nippon Television Network Corporation), the "Basilisk: Kouga Ninpouchou" pachinko and pachislot series, as well as doing the reading CD for "Hibana" (original work: Naoki Matayoshi, reading: Shinichi Tsutsumi). He's currently active in a wide range of fields.
Since 2003, he's been the representative of OMO Ltd., being involved in various activities as a sound director for games, OVAs (straight to video movies, aka movies not shown in movie theaters) and CD dramas.
TROOPER'S COMMENTARY 2
A Message From The Five Warriors
Before "Samurai Troopers" I played lots of non-human roles. Roles such as animals, monsters, demons, etc. When I got the role of Shuu, I remember thinking, "I got it!"
The role of Shuu was pretty similar to how I am in real life, and I was able to speak naturally rather than having to sound like I was acting (except for when I had to call out the names of the special moves).
The only thing I remember about those days is that I was busy. I'm sure there were many things that left a lasting impression on me, but more than anything else, the things that come to the forefront of my mind are the work-related things that were right in front of me. The live singing, the theater, and the fact that today became tomorrow. Everything seemed to be moving so fast.
The only thing I can't forget, or rather, the only thing that keeps buzzing around in my brain, is that I got a lot of energy from my fans at events and live performances. I also remember that I was always drinking.
I met a lot of people through my work life and learned a lot about life in general. This is something that's necessary for doing any sort of work in theaters (theaters for plays, not movies).
Looking back now, I remember that I was happiest when I was pampered by my fans.
To those who are still fans of Samurai Troopers, I would like to say this to you. "Thank you so much. Even now, I will always be grateful to you. The memories of that time can be a powerhouse, still giving me lots of energy and strength to this day. I'll never forget the memories that I made back then. I'd like to say this and sound really cool and composed about it, but sometimes I forget..."
Playing the role of Seiji Date of the Korin armor
Daiki Nakamura
Born December 25th, 1962. He was born in Tokyo.
He belongs to 81 Produce (a voice talent management firm in Japan). Major roles include the anime "Zettai Zetsubou Denjara Jisan" (Jisan), "Gurren Lagann" (Dayakka), "Naruto" (Inoichi Yamanaka), "Hunter x Hunter" (Welfin), "Beast Wars" (Rhinox), "Lord Mojah" (Donmo), "Yokoyama Kouki Sangokushi (Liu Bei Gentoku), the foreign films "Twin Peaks The Return" (Jerry Horn), "Passion of Sheila" (Felix), "Birth of a Celebrity" (Kim Dulse), "Star Trek DS9" (Shea), "ER Emergency Room" (Dorsett), the drama "Cat Samurai 2" (Tagosaku), and the film "Sakura No Ame" ( Takuma Tono) to name a few of his roles.
TROOPER'S COMMENTARY 3
A Message From The Five Warriors
In the midst of the bubble economy,
(an unstable expanding economy; in particular, a period of heightened prosperity and increased commercial activity in Japan in the late 1980s brought about by artificially adjusted interest rates)
in my mid-twenties, I had an audition when I was still in my second year at the office. I was asked to play the role of Seiji Date. A 14 year old boy with, blond hair, had a straight-laced and cool personality, and was had a strict manner, attitude, and appearance for his age.
There were no scenes about his home or school, even though the character was a junior high school student. And there he was, fighting against enemies while he was wearing a suit of armor....
Originally, the broadcast of this TV series was going to end without any major events, except for the fact that they aired the same episode twice in a row. However, then the news came about that there was going to be an OVA! A movie released straight to stores for people to buy and watch in their homes!
"Heh heh... it was difficult to not notice that the characters had became more beautiful..." (Referring to the art style and quality used when compared with what was used for the TV series.)
It wasn't long after that when requests to do events and autograph sessions started to come in. We found out that there were enthusiastic fans for our characters. All five of us, without anyone's suggestion, pretty much agreed. "Let's do something together!"
The first time we went to Shinjuku's Theater Sun Mall, and we all had a really great time.
We sold out the tickets in an hour and for a capacity of 1,200 people. As I remember it, finances-wise, we almost broke even at that time, and had even had a party at Kaitenzushi (sushi that may be considered fast-food sushi) to celebrate how well it all went. (laughs)
After that, each record company gave us various jobs such as events, solo albums, photo books, V-cinema (the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s), TV animation "Momotaro Densetsu" (a role-playing video game series in Japan), and so on, and sometimes we had a schedule to just write autographs for a long time....
I personally went to Palau (an archipelago of over 500 islands, part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean). Everyone went to Hawaii, and it was even featured on the evening news. Would you believe it? It was such a big deal that an hour-long documentary program was broadcast on TV about it! That made it a social phenomenon.
However, I have no doubts that this activity will come to an end one day. All five of us have different values in our lives and will go in different directions for the work we'll have in the future.
Now, looking back at that time 30 years ago, at least this anime series was a catalyst for many people to know our names, our faces, and our voices. The encouragement and cheers of our fans have been a source of strength and a driving force for us to still be able to work in the industry today. I am truly, truly grateful for this.
I liked the song "Till I Become the Sun," which is a song by N.G.FIVE and contains the phrase, "I don't leave luck to the heavens, I make it myself."
Playing the role of Touma Hashiba of the Tenku armor
Hiroshi Takemura
Born October 24, 1953.
He's played the main character Jo in the animated film "Crusher Joe". Other major appearances include "Sazae-san" (Jinroku Isasaka), "Ginga Drifting Buffum" (Bartz Ryan), and "Mobile New Century Gundam Me" (Lancelot Darwell). He is also active in dubbing for foreign films and dramas.
TROOPER'S COMMENTARY 4
A Message From The Five Warriors
As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers," the months seem like they're flying by. Recently, I really feel it.
I can't believe I'm being asked to comment on an old anime TV show after 30 years. I guess some things just live for a long time. Now, let's get to the main topic of discussion. The old days!
In those days, there were a lot of Troopers fans and every last one of them were enthusiastic.
The five of us, as amateurs, were bewildered by their enthusiasm at events we attended and the concerts we held. The lives of the five of us as voice actors also changed drastically because of it. Along with our individual activities, there were now Trooper-related activities (events, interviews, recordings, etc.) to do and N.G.FIVE activities to be done. The word "holiday" disappeared from our schedule, and we were unconsciously exhausted from all of it. It was the hardest work we've ever experienced. We never thought that such a day would suddenly come when we would have no free time of our own to spend doing whatever we wanted.
I'd been working selflessly, one task at a time. Then, one day, I realized that it's not every day that I get to experience something like this. Or, that anyone gets to experience something like this. That's when I thought to myself "Go as far as you can with this!' It's at this point that I realized that people are tough creatures. As the oldest member of the group at 36 years old back then, I had to squeeze myself to the limit of my physical strength every day.
However, when I was given this opportunity to look back on those days, it's strange that I can recall with nostalgia the things that were painful and things that I might've complained about.
Finally, as my last words for this page and in this book, I would like to thank my fans who read this book. Without your support, this book would not have been planned, put together, or published. Thank you very much for all of the good memories.
水滸のシン毛利伸役
Playing the role of Shin Mouri of the Suiko armor
Sasaki Nozomu has played major characters in many different anime, including Yusuke Urameshi in "Yu Yu Yu Hakusho," Tetsuo in "AKIRA," Johan in "MONSTER," Julian in "Legend of the Galactic Heroes," Hathaway in "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char in Counterattack," and Gii in "Karakuri Circus. His voice has a unique presence and he can play a wide range of roles. Able to handle personalities that range from hot-blooded characters to cool headed individuals. In recent years, he's been expanding his activities to include recitation and narration.
TROOPER'S COMMENTARY 5
A Message From The Five Warriors
I remember that it was a rainy Saturday when I had my audition. For some reason, I still clearly remember walking down the stairs to the half-basement studio, being careful not to slip. When I received the role of Shin of the Suiko armor and started recording his lines for the anime, I suddenly heard the names of lots of places. One of them being "Shinjuku Alta" (a prominent commercial facility building that's home to a long running TV show, fashion outlets, handicraft stores, and even a basketball court). I saw cherry blossom snowstorms, antiques, and evil spirits dancing around. I thought to myself, "This is a strange but interesting anime."
Since I was still a rookie, I had no acting plan or technique to what I did. I was just trying my best to play it straight every time, but as the episodes progressed, I gradually found room for nuance, and I began to really enjoy acting.
In the 30 years since then, I've played many roles in a lot of movies. Every role is important, and I will never forget any of them. However, the character of Shin Mouri will always hold a special place in my heart, because if I hadn't encountered "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers," then my future career would have been very different.
I'm still referred to, half-jokingly, as an "idol voice actor who can sing and dance". My long-running live performance career began when I sang on the Troopers image album.
(An “image album” is an full length vocal album created specifically for Japanese animations, to give a sense of characters' personalities. In Japan, sound is as important as visuals. Characters in every film and animation, even inanimate objects or feelings, have their own songs created for them.)
The reason why I had so many opportunities to appear at events was because many people became fans of the Samurai Troopers. The reason why I received various roles and expanded the scope of my career, such as gettng to do things like singing, radio, and writing, was because people in the industry supported me due to the popularity of the Troopers.
On the other hand, since there was still no sign of the Internet at that tiem, there were times when information got mixed up and that ended up confusing the fans. I created an official fan club so that people could support us with peace of mind and not end up with information that was conflicting or confusing. Just so you know, that fan club will be celebrating its 30th anniversary next year (2019). The length of time it's been around makes me realize that I am a voice actor who has been loved and nurtured by many people, including the fans of Samurai Troopers.
Looking back, those days were the "Fast and Furious Era" for me. As a performer and a human being, I am happy to have been able to experience such things. And now, on the 30th anniversary of the Samurai Troopers, I'm very happy to be able to talk about it as someone who was involved in the production of this anime.