The new Keroro Gunsō cast reveals how they built their characters

Last September 26, United Cinemas Toyosu hosted the premiere of the first two episodes of Keroro Gunsō☆. On stage, the five actors who voice the Keroro squad broke down the process of building characters that carry more than two decades of history.

Makoto Koishi, the new Keroro, admitted that the responsibility weighed more than the joy when she got the role. "There was already someone who played it before and that's why we're here," she said. The actress explained that the sound director asked her for something specific: not to approach the previous performance, but to create something new.

That premise was repeated across the rest of the cast. Toshiki Masuda, who plays Giroro, received an even more explicit instruction: "Don't watch the previous Keroro." The actor said he was asked to build the character from scratch and that he focused on one idea: playing Giroro as a man, not as a clone of what had already aired.

A cast starting from zero

The new series premiered on October 3 on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. It brings back Yoshizaki's original premise: Sergeant Keroro, an alien from the Keron race who came to invade Earth, ends up squatting at the Hinata household after being captured by siblings Fuyuki and Natsumi. The comedy arises from the clash between his plans for conquest and an increasingly comfortable domestic life.

Rika Nagae, the new Tamama, confessed she left the audition convinced she hadn't made the cut. When she got the news, she felt that "many worlds were going to move." Kōsuke Echigoya, Kururu, got the call on the same day he had already given up on the role. Keito Inomata, Dororo, joked that his audition was a "defeat pattern" and that he stands on stage with the nerves of someone who still can't believe it.

During recording, the team received very different directions depending on the character. Inomata was asked to improvise and to deliberately avoid a heartthrob voice. Nagae just had to go with the mental image she had of Tamama and not betray her own style. Echigoya, on the other hand, turned to reading: he studied the manga to translate Kururu's gestures and particular atmosphere.

"We're not running toward the finish line; we've received a baton to pass on to the next generation," Masuda said.

The phrase sums up the tone of the event. The five actors emphasized respect for those who brought these characters to life for years, but also the need not to settle for imitation. Koishi summed it up with a request to the audience: when the broadcast starts, forget everything else and enjoy the story.

New names and upcoming dates

The premiere also served to announce new additions. Angol Moa, Aki Hinata, and the narrator will have voices that had not yet been revealed. Koishi praised the human team behind the series: "The actors on the human team are truly wonderful."

Promotion continues in October. On the 14th, a biweekly radio program with Koishi as host kicks off in Onsen. Three days later, on the 17th, the Sunshine City shopping center in Ikebukuro will host a special stage event for the start of the broadcast with Koishi, Nagae, and Keroro himself.

The Keroro squad returns to television with new faces and an eye on a handover that, judging by what was shared in Toyosu, has been approached as a reconstruction rather than a farewell.