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Splashing onto the anime scene like a bolt of psychedelic lightning,
MOB PSYCHO 100 captivated audiences in
Japan and around the world with its sensational visuals by the legendary
Studio BONES, its story by ONE PUNCH MAN
mangaka, ONE, and excellent voice acting.
Moments before
Anime NYC world premiered
the first two episodes of MOB PSYCHO 100’s
long-awaited second season, Mob himself,
Ito Setsuo, chatted with LMD
about portraying the deceptively simple, supernatural beast of
Mob both behind the mic and live on stage, and
eking out secrets from ONE-sensei.
Dig it!
MOB PSYCHO 100
Ito Setsuo
 The Lady Miz Diva: You are quite new to being a seiyuu. How did you
receive the role of Mob?
Ito Setsuo:
I
received the role through auditioning. My agent arranged the audition
for me.
 LMD: Mob strikes me as a difficult character to play, because he is
such an empty vessel. He is quite blank and it is very difficult to
know how he really feels. As the person giving him his voice, what
about the character do you find that makes you able to play him?
IS: The
first thing about Mob is that he very innocent and straightforward. I
guess I didn’t think about it, but I think I play to that quality of his
innocence and straightforwardness.
 LMD: Is there something about his relationships; his love of his
family, or his friendships, that you are able to identify with in Mob to
portray him?
IS:
Within Mob, he obviously loves his brother, Ritsu, but that is something
special in Mob. But, other than that, he is quite neutral to his family
and his friends, and even to his enemies. He is always innocent and
neutral and straightforward. Maybe his love for his brother, but
everything else is neutral.
LMD: You have met ONE-sensei, what was it like for you to meet the
creator of the character you play?
IS:
{Laughs}
If Mob was to grow up, I think he’s going to turn into ONE-sensei. {Laughs}
 LMD: When you met ONE-sensei, did you ask any questions about Mob?
IS:
I
didn’t really have a chance to ask him any questions. I was caught up
in the performance, so I didn’t have any leeway to do other things, like
ask questions.
When I finished recording the first season -- when I was all done with
it, there was only one question I wanted to ask ONE-sensei, and that
was, what is the ending going to be like?
LMD: What did he tell you?
IS:
He didn’t tell me exactly how it was going to end, but he told me which
episode it was going to end in; what number was the final episode.
 LMD: We are about to watch the highly-anticipated first episode of
season 2. We’ve seen the new key artwork with old and new characters,
and visuals that look like the film, INCEPTION. What can you tell us
about Mob -- Shigeo Kageyama -- that has changed since season 1, and are
you approaching him differently?
IS:
MOB PSYCHO 100 was the first thing I did, and since then, I have done
other voice acting. And so, I also have grown; I have learned other
things, and heard from other people.
So, when I decided to put in all the other elements that I’ve learnt
since I started acting for Mob, I was actually told, “Please remember
how you were acting in season one, and put your mind back to that
moment.” So, I had to strip away everything, and be the first season
Mob again, which was quite hard for me.
 LMD: You have not only given Mob his voice, but you have portrayed him
live on stage, in the theatrical play. What was the difference for you
to really embody Mob?
IS:
When I was given the role of Mob in the play, I thought I was cast
because I had acted as Mob in the anime, which was true. But I decided
I wanted to do something that was kind of similar to the anime, but in
the end, through stage, I kind of built up a Mob for stage, which is
different from anime Mob. Everything, all the movements became bigger
and overreacting on the stage, but I thought that it was necessary to
create Mob for stage to interact with the audience.
LMD: With the advent of the MOB PSYCHO 100 stage play, I’m curious
whether you originally wanted to become a seiyuu or did you want to
become stage and film actor?
IS:
I
felt if I had the chance, I would want to do stage acting while I was
voice acting, as well. But I did like watching stage plays before I
started acting.
 LMD: Who are some of the seiyuu performances, or actors who inspire
you?
IS: I
like POKÉMON. That is kind of the reason that I wanted to get into
voice acting. I really admire Rica Matsumoto, who plays Ash, or
Satoshi, in the Japanese version.
The actor that I have really learnt from is Miyu Irino, the voice of
Ritsu. I studied film with him, and I have taken a lot from his acting,
because Irino has been acting for very long time, since he was a kid.
So, I have taken a lot from his other works, and what he has done
before, and studied them.
 LMD: Has your part in the second season been finished? What is next
for Ito-san after MOB PSYCHO 100?
IS:
I
am still recording Mob. I can’t say much about my next project, but I’m
going to be singing in a small live house. It has nothing to do with
voice acting, but I am going to be singing in a live house. {Laughs}
 LMD: You are here in New York City before very happy fans. Earlier
this year, you won a prestigious award for your voice acting. What is
the goal of Ito Setsuo, professionally?
IS:
I
think there aren’t any goals, because all the veteran voice actors are
trying to find their goals in every role. They are always thinking
about how to act. So, I can’t say that I can set a goal to it. But, if
I was to strive for something, I want to lose my childishness and grow
up.
 LMD: Would you please give a message to your New York fans?
IS:
I
am so very happy that there’s been so much support for Japanese anime,
and that you have invited me here, and I’ve had such a good time. I
also want to continue to receive support, and be thankful for Japanese
animation, and animation, in general.
~
The Lady Miz Diva
Nov. 17th, 2018
MOB PSYCHO 100 II begins airing January 2019
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