Summer anime “Senpai wa Otoko no Ko” series: Umeda Shuuichirou, who plays Hanaoka Makoto | I think it’s because of all the times, both hard times and good times, that Makoto and the others were able to move forward.”Senpai wa Otoko no Ko” is a webtoon serialized on LINE Manga that won third place in the Web Manga category of the “Next Manga Awards 2021” and first place in the “5th Manga Ranking for Anime Adaptation”. The TV anime of this work, which carefully depicts the human relationships between Makoto Hanaoka, a boy who loves cute things, his junior Aoi Saki, and his best friend Oga Ryuji, as well as the process of each of them growing up, began airing on Fuji TV’s “Noitamina” and other channels on July 4, 2024.

Animate Times is running a serial interview series looking back on the broadcast of the anime! This time, we asked Umeda Shuuichirou, who plays Hanaoka Makoto, to look back on the story so far, and also share some behind-the-scenes stories from the recording that he can only talk about now.

–After returning from the school trip, Makoto’s actions caused a change in the parent-child relationship. And now we can see a scene where Makoto, Saki, and Ryuji eat together like before. Looking back on the story so far, what are your impressions?

Shuichiro Umeda (hereinafter, Umeda), who plays Makoto Hanaoka: There were many difficult times, but there were also just as many fun times. I think that all of these times allowed Makoto and the others to move forward. Although the timing at which everyone was able to feel “okay” may be different, I watched the show with the feeling of rooting for Makoto and the others.

-What scene in episode 12 was particularly memorable for you?

Umeda: All the scenes were memorable, but if I had to pick one, it would be the scene with his grandfather. His grandfather says, “If you throw away a few important things, you can protect at least one thing, no matter what it is,” and Makoto realizes his own feelings and says, “It may be selfish, but I don’t want to throw away anything.” It was a scene in which Makoto took a strong step forward. I really understand what both of them are saying.

–Through the story so far, a lot has happened between Makoto, Saki, and Ryuji. How do you think Makoto feels towards Saki and Ryuji?

梅田：まことは自分の抱えている気持ちから、ものや人を大事にすることが怖かったんだと思うんです。ひとりのときや、心の底では大事にしていても、それを表したり伝えたりするのが怖い。そんなまことが、少しずつ自分の「わがまま」を大事にできるようになっていって、いまは最初と比べると蒼井さんとりゅーじを大事にしていることを直接伝えられるようになったんじゃないかな、と感じています。

――まこと・咲・竜二それぞれに悩みや想いを抱えていました。梅田さんは誰の気持ちにいちばん共感できましたか？

梅田：やっぱり、まことの好きだと思うものをただ好きでいたいという気持ちにとても共感できます。難しいことだと思うのですが、自分の中だけで大事にしていても、外から尋ねられたりすることによって話すか話さないか、主張するかしないかの選択を迫られることがあると思うんです。

そのときに素直に好きなものを好きと伝えると、蔑ろにされたり、驚かれたり……。だから、隠しているわけじゃなくても、本心を隠しているという認識をしてしまったり。人はひとりで生きているわけじゃなく、関わり合って生きているがゆえに、難しいですよね……。