As new characters appear in season 3 of Golden Kamuy, the family too gets bigger. The series welcomed two new seiyuu to the cast, Umehara Yuuichirou (Goblin Slayer – Goblin Slayer, Eugene Stevenstark – Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) as the Russian sniper Vasily and Hatanaka Tasuku (Kogami Taiga – King of Prism, Kaminari Denki – Boku no Hero Academia) as Ogata’s half-brother, Hanazawa Yuusaku.
Umehara commented about his role,
“I was very happy to play the role because I like the real Soviet sniper, Vasily Zaytsev. The first thing I had to do for my acting was to overcome the big barrier of Russian language, and it’s difficult to express Vasily’s reticence in Russian language. The thoughts of the snipers are expressed in detail, so please enjoy the snipers’ mind game.”
While Hatanaka said in the official statement,
“I was very nervous to play him, who had been veiled all the time.
We can’t see his eyes, but he must have very straight, honest eyes. I tried to act as him as faithful as possible, he who can’t stop believing in his brother.
I’m really happy to be involved in Golden Kamuy like this.
Please kindly support me!!”
Later on, on his personal account, Hatanaka tweeted to thank everyone who has watched the episode, saying that it has been a very thought-provoking role and a very thought-provoking occasion for him.
Director Nanba Hitoshi thanked Hatanaka for playing such a difficult role to grasp. Nanba said that actually it was difficult to imagine Yuusaku’s voice. He was an honest and sincere young man, with the strength to lead on the battlefield and to earn the faith from the soldiers around him, and with a kind heart that adored his brother that he showed in front of Ogata. However, in the original work, he is depicted only in Ogata’s recollections, and he is somewhat inhuman, with his eyes never shown. The question is then, can Yuusaku be portrayed as a human being from Ogata’s point of view? Yuusaku is a character than can be interpreted in many ways, so it was difficult to decide what kind of voice he has – but he has to be voiced in the anime.
When Nanba was wondering which seiyuu should voice Yuusaku, sound director (Aketagawa Jin) recommended Hatanaka, and Nanba said Hatanaka did manage to bring Yuusaku to life as a compassionate young man.
Welcome to Golden Kamuy family, Umehara and Hatanaka!
Kamuy Central 