From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman — How Japanese Fans React

Ueda-san's 'Wait, is this a drinking party?' got a laugh out of me. Plenty of actors are too busy to make it to every cast get-together, so getting to see this kind of warm, easygoing atmosphere was a treat — thank you! I honestly didn't expect Hirata to show up to every single one of these either.

上田さんの「飲み会ですか？」は笑いました 仕事が多い役者さんも居るので全ての現場で飲み会や遊びに行くのは叶わないでしょうが、和気あいあいしている風景を見させて頂きありがとうございました！！ まさか平田さんも毎回付き合っているとは思いませんでした

Every time I watch, the directing choices that strip away the protagonist's appeal just feel pathetic. I find myself thinking, 'they really went and made this into an anime?' I can't find anything appealing in the story. It's not interesting right now.

視聴するたびに、主人公の魅力を削ぐ演出が、情けなく感じる。よくアニメ化したな。と、思ってしまう。 　物語に魅力を見出だせない。現時点で面白くない。

That's the downside of the manga adaptation being rated so highly — it sets an impossible bar to clear.

​コミカライズの評価(人気)が高過ぎる弊害だね。

Wasn't the "old country bumpkin" like 45? And Alushia's what, mid-20s? Lucky old man.

片田舎のおっさんって確か45歳位でしたっけ、 アリューシアは20代半ばくらい？ 羨ましいなおっさん

Honestly, I think the vibe is this good precisely because the host — Hiroaki Hirata, the protagonist's voice actor — is such an overwhelmingly senior industry legend. People lump the women together as 'the young cast,' but Nao Higashiyama, who plays Alushia Citrus, is a full tier above the rest in both career length and skill. She's probably intimidating for the other women just by being there. The more junior members, like Hinaki Yano and Arisa Nakada, are clearly deferring to the seniors seated across from them. But because the host, Hirata, is such a towering senior figure, he flattens that whole hierarchy among the women — which paradoxically makes the newest, most junior members feel safe. In any industry, honestly, the scary ones aren't the seniors who are old enough to be your parent — it's the ones just a little bit above you.

むしろ座長(主人公声優)の平田広明さんが 圧倒的大先輩の大御所だから雰囲気が良いのでは？ 『若手？』と一括りにしているけど女性声優の中では アリューシア役の東山奈央さんが 声優歴も実力も頭一つ飛び抜けている先輩ですからね 他の女性陣から見れば恐れ多い相手だろう 下っ端後輩の矢野妃菜喜さんや仲田ありささん辺りは 明らかに反対席の先輩たちに気を遣っていますよね｡ そんな女性陣の絶対的な上下関係を吹っ飛ばすくらい 座長の平田広明さんが大先輩の大御所だから 逆に下っ端の新人〜若手は安心感があると思います｡ どの業界でも本当に怖いのは 親子ほど歳の離れた大先輩ではなく少し上の先輩です

The vice principal's whole character is basically a different person — that surprised me.

教頭のキャラが全くの別人でびっくりしたわ

Something about the OP made me go 'wait, is this Okuda Tamio?' and yeah, it really was Unicorn 😮 So Unicorn's music finally made it into an anime theme song...

なんかop聴いてて 「これ奥田民生じゃね？」 って予感がしたのだが本当にユニコーンだった😮 ついにユニコーンの楽曲がアニソンに採用されたか……

He's just got a genuinely cool way of living, honestly. If you're that cool, age doesn't really matter.

普通に生き様がかっこいいからね。かっこよければ年齢関係ないと思う。

Isn't this basically Hirata's own All Blue right here 😂

平田さんのオールブルーここじゃん😂

Unicorn really hits different when you're an ossan

おっさんにユニコーンは効くなあ

You shouldn't bother with the source manga. It's basically a different story at this point.

原作コミックは見ない方がいいです。もう別物です。

Oh right, Kayanon's missing from this!

そうだ！かやのんがいない！

I'm a 52-year-old geezer this year, right here

今年52のジジイやで

Whoa?! As someone who hasn't read the source material, my honest reaction is "what is this?!" It's getting more interesting by the minute!

おおおお！　原作未読としては、なんじゃこりゃですよ。ますます面白くなりますな！

Hirata doesn't say a word until someone calls on him — he just lets everyone else talk. What a great mentor.

平田さん　振られるまで　みんなに喋らせてるの。良いお師匠様だ