Saint Seiya The Beginning Interview
Please Note: This interview has been translated from Japanese to English by Google so you will need to excuse any errors.
“Saint Seiya The Beginning” Interview with Mackenyu Nitta & Madison Iseman “A story that will never fade and will continue to be charming”
“Saint Seiya The Beginning” (original title: Knights of the Zodiac), Mackenyu Nitta’s first Hollywood movie, is now open nationwide.
The original is Masami Kurumada’s original “Saint Seiya”, which has sold over 50 million copies worldwide and the anime series has become popular all over the world. We spoke with Mackenyu Nitta, who plays the main character Seiya, and Madison Iseman, who plays Sienna, who is the reincarnation of Athena and has a tremendous power that even she cannot control!
――I really enjoyed watching this work! The main character Seiya played by Mr. Nitta was also attractive.
Nitta: I had never read “Saint Seiya” before, and the director told me, “I want you to participate without any preconceived notions,” so I only read the script. When I read the script, it was a very large-scale story, and I had never done anything like this before in my life as an actor, so it was a sobering thought. I was full of gratitude every day, saying, “I’m involved in a great site.”
――It was a Hollywood movie, so the scale was amazing.
Nitta: There were a lot of questions like, “What will happen?” However, when I entered the scene, I was able to make a great image. That’s all because the director and many other staff members have done all the preparations. There were many scenes that were actually shot on set instead of using a green screen, and it was a powerful shooting site.
――Please tell us your impressions of performing together.
Madison: It was a lot of fun. (Mr. Nitta) helped me a lot on set, and I sometimes made him laugh when the camera wasn’t rolling.
Nitta: It was the sun. When Madison came, the scene brightened up and brought a lot of smiles.
Madison: I always try to stay cheerful when I’m shooting, not just for this movie. It’s a scary movie, and when there are many serious scenes like this one, it’s important to find something fun to do, otherwise everyone will feel depressed. Filming takes a very long time.
Nitta: Turn it on and off somewhere, enjoy the parts that you can enjoy, and take care of the serious parts. Anyway, I was desperately doing it, so I was working hard on the scene I was working on, and I was doing my best.
――Were there any scenes or scenes that were difficult for the two of you?
Nitta: Kyaa! (shouting)
Madison: My scream! The screams came out relatively naturally, but especially in the finale scene, I thought the screams were important, so I wanted to leave an impact. Rather than saying it was difficult, I felt the pressure.
Nitta: Even in scary scenes such as action scenes, I was fine when I became Seiya. But as Mackenyu, there is a lot of pressure, and Seiya has to outperform big opponents in terms of speed and technique. There was a scene where people teased me that my movements “looked like a dance”, but I had to have the persuasiveness of avoiding attacks while aiming for a certain vital point and defeating them. I built it up.
――The costume also looks very heavy. Please tell us what you devised in terms of visuals and what you were conscious of.
Madison: I didn’t! There was originality, but there was also a part that was faithful to the original, and I wore a costume that was about three times my height, but it was quite easy to move. I also tried different hair colors.
Nitta: It was a really good color, it was perfect.
Madison: Thank you! I did a lot of research, but I hadn’t decided until the day before. As the director, I said that I could use my hair color as it is, but I asked, “I want purple hair.” . Because I thought the purple hair that the original Sienna had was very nice.
Nitta: My costume was so heavy that it felt like a mess every time I walked, but it was easier to move than Diego’s (Nero) costume. I think Diego’s costume was the heaviest. The costumes this time were made with really good materials, they were durable, and the action was very easy.
――”Saint Seiya” has been loved all over the world for many years.
Madison: It’s an underdog work, or rather, a story about a loser rising up. For more than 30 years, this work has been conveyed in various media, but I felt that it is a story that will not get old. I think it’s a story that will never fade and will be passed down with charm. The work “Saint Seiya” is not very famous in the United States, but I am happy that the younger generation in the United States will also know the charm of this work by making it into a movie in Hollywood.
Nitta: I think Seiya is a character that makes you want to cheer him on. I think it’s an attractive character depiction that can get into any generation. And I think it’s been loved for a long time because it has a refreshing development that makes you think, “Go!”
――As you just said, it’s a grand world view, but at the same time it’s based on “love”, so many people can be touched by it. Is there any “love” that the two of you have recently felt, such as your family or work?
Madison: The guys who made this movie together. It was filmed two years ago, and we reunited like this for promotions, but nothing has changed. Usually there is one person in the group who doesn’t like it (laughs), but the team on this film are all nice people, so I think I was very lucky.
Nitta: Honest. That’s a very honest opinion (laughs). But I think it was a team where everyone was really nice and caring for each other. I am always loved by the dog I live with.
Madison: Never heard of you living with a dog! I love my cat too, but isn’t it a little too serious to answer “dogs” or “cats” to this question? (smile)
Nitta: Haha, but you’re such a precious family. As a 15 year old grandma dog, I want to live as long as possible and spend time with her.
――I also live with a cat, and I would like to have a “Churu” as a souvenir for Mr. Madison’s cat!
Nitta: It’s a snack that cats love.
Madison: If my cat is that happy, I’ll definitely buy it!
–please! Thank you for the fun and wonderful talk today!