Last week “Ni No Kuni” was released nationwide to theaters all across Japan. The film is based off of the video game franchise of the same name, released for PlayStation.

Mackenyu Arata and Kento Yamazaki lend their voices for the lead roles of the film. Both actors have previously worked together, and are very close friends! They recently did an interview for TheTv about the project, and what it was like to work together.

This is the first full length voice acting role for both Mackenyu and Kento, both were quite surprised at how difficult it was.

Mackenyu stated that he found it easier to not move while performing his lines, so he could focus on controlling his voice. Mackenyu also found that he was using his ears more, paying attention to the tone of his voice and even his throat. While it was tough overcoming those challenges, he had a lot of fun doing the film.

Kento stated that at times he felt quite lonely, due to there not always being a co-star with you when recording some of your lines. He would also like to explore further possibilities with his voice, perhaps by doing a completely different sounding voice for a character.

Mackenyu stated that his favorite thing about the film, is how his character Haru would do anything to project Kento’s character Yuu, and the female protagonist Kotona. The story really left an impression on him. Meanwhile Kento talked about a scene involving his character and his wheelchair…before quickly correcting himself “That’s…spoilers!”

Ni Ni Kuni follows high schoolers Yuu and Haru, who get involved with a case regarding Yuu’s childhood friend Kotona. The trio somehow get sent to another world that is completely different, yet has some similarities to their own world. Kotona’s life is put in jeopardy, resulting in the three having to make some bold choices. Check out the trailer below: