The second interview in this issue of PASH! magazine is with Nobunaga Shimazaki, Japanese dub voice of Shi Qingxuan.
Interview < 2 >
Nobunaga Shimazaki (as Shi Qingxuan (male))
Nobunaga Shimazaki is affiliated with Aoni Production. His major roles include Seishiro Nagi in Blue Lock the Movie -EPISODE Nagi-, Haruka Nanase in the Free! series, among others.
“Wind Master is a ‘positive’ person. He naturally spreads warmth and cheerfulness to those around him.”
Throughout the interview, Shimazaki-san spoke with obvious enjoyment about the appeal of the work and his love for Shi Qingxuan[1]. He shared a particular line with us that gave an even deeper glimpse into his character’s charm.
I’ve grown fond of all the people living in this world
━━━ Having been a part of Heaven Official’s Blessing, what aspects of the world and story did you find appealing?
I was drawn into the deep world, much like in what we call a Taiga Drama[2] in Japan. In recent years, I’ve had more opportunities to experience Chinese works such as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and The Untamed, so I’ve come to feel a certain familiarity with them. Even when there were things I didn’t understand, I could presume, “it’s probably an aspect of their culture,” so in my case, I was able to comfortably immerse myself in the world of the story.
━━━ What are some things you find unique about Chinese animation?
The hairstyles. In Japanese anime, hair style and color make it easy to identify characters, but in Heaven Official’s Blessing, each character has a hairstyle suited to their position. I’m sure there must be proper formal attire and ways of styling their hair, so I don’t think it’s necessary to break away from that just to make them easily identifiable. I like that they tried to keep the hairstyles as they were meant to be, rather than change them because they looked too similar to one another.
━━━ Please tell us if there was anything that surprised you when you first saw the visuals.
Chinese animation is often praised for its beautiful sakuga[3]. Most people who say this mean that individual frames are beautiful or cool, but I’m often moved by the finer details of the storyboards and direction, such as the movements and expressions of the characters, even those in the background. For example, even in the case of a single punch, a realistic human movement would involve a preparatory motion where the arm is pulled back, the body is slightly crouched, the legs rotate the hips, and then only after that rotation is transferred to the upper body does the fist actually move… so their intention is to depict these physiological movements properly. I was impressed by the extremely high quality. What I particularly liked was how the so-called background characters react in such detail. The fact that each and every person living in this world moves in a truly human way gave it a sense of depth, and I ended up growing fond of all the characters, which made acting so exciting.
━━━ Now, please tell us about the appeal and personality of your character, Shi Qingxuan.
He’s truly a “positive” person. Whenever he appears, I feel warm and fuzzy inside (laughs). That said, he’s not just simply a nice guy. He enjoys himself and lives life the way he wants, which has a positive impact on those around him. I feel he’s a person that spreads warmth and brightness with his natural charm. Nonetheless, he also holds the important position of a Heavenly Official, so the dignity that naturally emanates from him is also appealing. He’s someone who always believes in and supports the Crown Prince (Xie Lian) as he gets caught up in difficult circumstances. What’s more, he’s not pushy at all, only honestly thinking, “I’m just believing in him, that’s just how I feel.” I think his spirituality is truly wonderful.
━━━ His mere presence brightens up the scene, doesn’t it?
Speaking of the “human-like movements” that I mentioned earlier, Wind Master is particularly abundant in his facial expressions and movements. If there are four lines of dialogue in one scene, he’ll convey about four different nuances (laughs). For example, in the first line he’s speaking normally, then in the second line he leans forward, in the third line he pulls back and reaches for something, in the fourth line he gives a big smile, and so on. This is just my personal opinion, but I think the animators must have had fun drawing him. I think this is true for creators in all fields involved with animation, but I believe that those added feelings of passion, enthusiasm, and enjoyment are able to shine through. For this project, I was given the rare opportunity to dub finished animation, so I felt like I should deliver a performance worthy of the visuals that the staff poured their love into. They’re so wonderful that we on the voice acting side must stay focused and not let the quality drop.
━━━ What do you value most when acting?
Since this is a work that vividly depicts its world, I always think about how I want to portray Wind Master not as a fictional character, but as someone who truly lives within it. During the first recording session, I had the privilege of working with (Ayako) Kawasumi-san, who plays Wind Master in his female form, and honestly I felt a bit of pressure. Kawasumi-san is an actress who exhibits genuine class, and I think I was somewhat conscious of the fact that I was playing the same character as her. Even though his powers are stronger in his female form, Wind Master’s personality remains the same. Wind Master is Wind Master whether male or female, and his status doesn’t diminish. That being said, I had no intention of trying to overdo it, but I was determined to give a performance on par with Kawasumi-san’s.
━━━ Which line left the biggest impression on you?
I love them all, but my favorite is the line from episode four, “Why should I be affected by someone else’s bad luck?” Wind Master says this to the Crown Prince, telling him not to blame himself. I think it’s a really great line. What’s so good about it is that he’s not saying it out of concern for the Crown Prince, but purely because of who he is, that he (Wind Master) is responsible for his own actions, and what’s his is his alone. There are times when you just want to reflect upon your own frustration and sadness, aren’t there? It might be easier if someone else could bear that burden for you, but sometimes you just want to feel the weight of that sadness yourself. In that respect, the Crown Prince tends to take on the feelings of too many people, so when Wind Master said that he didn’t have to bear that burden, it was a weight off his shoulders. I felt that line really represented Shi Qingxuan. He never blames others, nor does he shoulder everything himself, but instead he accepts things as they are and has a strong sense of self-esteem. But he doesn’t get carried away either…that’s just the kind of person he is, and I think it’s wonderful. Plus the fact that he said it so naturally made it even more touching.
If only Xie Lian and Hua Cheng could be together…
━━━ Please tell us about Xie Lian’s appeal as well.
There’s always an air of melancholy about the Crown Prince, isn’t there? He’s intelligent and highly capable, and because of that he takes on many burdens. He prioritizes others over himself, and there’s a certain allure to that kind of unfortunate aura that’s unique to people like him (laughs). That’s why I think Wind Master trusts the Crown Prince so much. Just looking at him as he is, you can see that he has a wonderful personality, which is why Wind Master can be by his side without being swayed by what others say.
━━━ How about Hua Cheng?
Hua Cheng is mysterious, isn’t he? Actually, his motivations are easy to understand, because he does everything for the sake of the Crown Prince (laughs). But from the perspective of those around him, it’s impossible to tell what he’s thinking, so he comes off as a bit suspicious.
━━━ I wonder what Shi Qingxuan was thinking during the Gambler’s Den scene in the second episode.
In the Japanese dubbed version, he says they were “flirting” (laughs). But even that aside, I think there’s something about it that makes you go, “Oh?” It’s not that Wind Master completely trusts Hua Cheng as the Crown Prince does, but rather he places his trust in the Crown Prince, who in turn trusts Hua Cheng. I really hope that those two can move past their positions and constraints and just be together. Right now, Hua Cheng is taking the initiative, but the Crown Prince is a bit dense (laughs), so there are some things that he doesn’t quite get across to him. On the other hand, the Crown Prince also has his ways of leading Hua Cheng around. I hope Hua Cheng will do his best so that they can eventually be honest with each other.
━━━ Who is your favorite character?
As you’d expect, I’m curious about Ming Yi[4] because Wind Master likes him. The scenes where he talks with Ming Yi have a different kind of closeness compared to when he interacts with the Crown Prince. You can feel that they have a deep bond. Ming Yi, despite his complaints, stays by his side and even cross-dresses with him (laughs). You can clearly see the kind of relationship they have, and I thought they made a great pair.
━━━ Finally, give a message to our readers!
Since this work is Chinese animation, I think a potential hurdle may be that it’s based on a culture that is different from Japan’s. I’m so happy that there are people who are enjoying it even despite that, and that I’ve been able to contribute to such a powerful work. The original is a tremendous work and the story is far from over, so like everyone else, I hope that I’ll be able to meet Shi Qingxuan again as a voice actor. For now, I hope you enjoy Heaven Official’s Blessing to the very end.
Q: If you could ascend, what kind of merit would you accumulate, and what kind of god would you want to become?
I believe that acting is a job that never ends so long as you are still striving to improve. In that sense, if I can make the viewers feel something by giving a better performance, and if it makes their lives even a little bit better, then I think that should lead to accumulating merit. That’s still within the realm of human beings of course, but I love acting, so it’s enough for me. Even if I can’t become a god, I hope I can become a good actor.
Translator’s Notes
- Shi Qingxuan’s name and title are written differently in Chinese and Japanese. In Chinese, Shi Qingxuan is 师青玄, while in Japanese it’s 師青玄. To indicate how the name should be pronounced as it is in Chinese, katakana furigana is written over top. You can see this in practice on the Japanese site for the TGCF donghua, where シー・チンシュエン [shī chinshuen] is written above 師青玄. Likewise, the title “Wind Master” is written differently in Chinese 风师 versus Japanese 風師 as well.
- A “Taiga Drama” is the name NHK uses for the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan
- Sakuga (作画) literally means “drawing pictures” but is more specifically used in the context of animation. Colloquially it is used in reference to sequences of particularity technical or beautiful animation cuts.
- Like with Shi Qungxuan, Ming Yi is written differently in Chinese and Japanese as well. In Chinese, it’s 明仪 while in Japanese it’s 明儀.