This work depicts the struggle of Takeshi Yagi, who is both Ultraman and a teacher, for peace on Earth. On Thursday, August 1, 2024, “The Ultraman & Ultraman 80 45th Special Night” was held as a special event for “Urusama 2024”, and was a big hit.
Animate Times interviewed Hasegawa Hatsunori, who plays Takeshi Yatsuka, Ishida Eri, who plays Emi Jono, and Hagiwara Sayoko, who plays Ryoko Hoshi, who appeared at the event. They talked about their thoughts on the series and the appeal of the series that has been loved by people of all generations.
–It will soon be 45 years since the broadcast of “Ultraman 80.” Can you tell us how you feel now?
Hatsunori Hasegawa (hereinafter, Hasegawa): Has it already been 45 years? Life goes by so quickly. “Ultraman 80” is a work that has been left as a “record” of me when I was young. As an actor, or rather, as I was back then, I am exactly the same. It brings back memories.
Eri Ishida (hereinafter, Ishida): (laughs). It’s been 45 years, and there aren’t many programs where you can meet the people who were there that day. It’s strange. I was reminded once again how amazing Ultraman is.
Hagiwara Sayoko (hereinafter, Hagiwara): I was a third-year high school student. I really liked Eri Ishida, and I often watched her movies. A classmate of mine was looking at her gravure in GORO (a men’s magazine), and I thought she was really beautiful. I still feel the same way today. At the time… I felt like I couldn’t breathe (laughs).
-What were your thoughts when you heard about “The☆Ultraman & Ultraman 80 45th Special Night”?
Hasegawa: We’ve never had a chance to get together before, including Ishida-san. Some of you have already quit acting, but I wanted to meet all the UGM members again.
Ishida: Today we have gathered people who are continuing stubbornly (laughs). It’s good to see you all in good health.
–It’s rare for Ishida-san to participate in an event.
Ishida: I’m not good at being in front of people at events (laughs). It can’t be helped, since Hasegawa-kun is the main character. But this might be my last time, so I thought I’d go and see everyone.
Hagiwara: I left this world when I was 23, and started trying again about three years ago, so I’m really moved. I think I’m probably the happiest person in the world (laughs).
–Please tell us about your impressions of each other at the time of filming.
Hagiwara: Of course I knew what Hasegawa-san looked like, but when I first met him, he was a prince-like handsome man, unlike anything I’d seen in high school, and that alone was a surprise! The first scene I shot was a scene wandering through the sea of trees in Mt. Fuji, and I knew absolutely nothing about acting or dubbing. In the midst of all that, Hasegawa-san looked at my face and said to the makeup artist, “Your nose is running, so wipe it.” At that moment, my first love ended (laughs).
Everyone: (laughs).
Hagiwara: Also, the badges of the members were reused, so the pin was gone and they were replaced with rubber bands. Eri put it on me at close range and I felt like I was holding my breath.
Also, in the scene where I was jumping rope, I was wearing a tank top, but at the time there was no good underwear, so my bra straps would come out. So Eri said, “This is how you do it in this situation,” and put some duct tape on it, and she was always really kind. If I was frivolous, I would get scolded, so it was really hard to hold back. (At the time of filming) I felt like I was in the whirlpool of a washing machine.
Ishida: I was a kind person (laughs).
Hasegawa: With Eri, we often went to a yakiniku restaurant for drinks and talked a lot about acting. I had
the impression that Hagiwara was serious and worked hard, but he was a high school student and couldn’t say things like “You know what?” and couldn’t invite us to dinner together (laughs). But he worked hard.
Ishida: You were good friends.
長谷川：よく覚えているのが、えりさんがGOROのグラビアを「これなのよ、撮ったのー！」って見せてくれて、隊員たちみんなで鼻血出して倒れていた感じ（笑）。
萩原：えりさん（エミ）が最終回でアンドロイドとして帰ってきて、大門正明さんが開口一番「和製リンダ・ロンシュタット！」って言ったんです。もう男子全員の目はハートでしたよ。
石田：そんな時代もありました。
ーー後年のゲスト出演についてもお聞きしたいと思います。長谷川さんは『ウルトラマンメビウス』第41話「思い出の先生」での出演が印象的でした。
長谷川：卒業式の話ですよね。完璧で素晴らしい作品を残してくれたと思います。当時の生徒達は、もう俳優を辞めていたりするので似た人を集めて、学校の屋上に俺が入っていくんだけど、当時の子達とそっくりな子がいて感動しました。当時の生徒達とは、とても仲が良かったんです。
石田：なんて粋なことを！
長谷川：当時、円谷プロダクションの社長さんからお手紙をいただいたんです。本編では、途中からUGMだけになっちゃったから。先生のシーンはすごく愛情を持ってやっていました。自分の学生時代の経験から、「こういう先生がいたら良かったのに！」と思って演じていたんです。何十年も経って、「みんなと最後のお別れをします」と言うから、それはやっておいた方が良いだろうと思って。
スタッフのみんなは物腰も柔らかくて、カメラワークも良いの。当時、飲み屋で芝居を語りあっていた頃にみんなで考えていたような、理想的なシーンになったと思います。時々「感動した」って言われることがあるんですけど、僕も同じでしたね。
ーー萩原さんは『ウルトラマンゼロ THE MOVIE 超決戦!ベリアル銀河帝国』でユリアンの声を演じていました。
萩原：あの時の私は専業主婦だったので、初範さんに釘付けで演じさせていただいた気がします（笑）。
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