Overview
The following interview comes from Volume 2 of the anime booklet released in Volume 2 of the Japanese anime Blu-Ray on July 26, 2017.
The timing of the information provided here likely comes 2016-2017, during the course of the anime project in 2017.
Q1: What were your first impressions of the original work?
When I first read it before the audition, I thought every character had a strong personality which was conveyed by their own actions, making it an interesting yet fast-paced work. However, for Rumia’s character, I couldn’t sense her strong personality at first. It’s unlike Glenn’s good for nothingness, or Re=L’s quiet personality…so I wondered about what Rumia was like, and attended the audition thinking about how I can bring out a Rumia-like personality with myself.
Q2: Was there a specific direction you saw for the character?
My first impression of Rumia was someone with a gentle, upfront and sweet demeanor, which was the approach I took for the audition. Then, I received a request from the sound director, Mr Yoji Shimizu, to portray her as a girl with a strong-willed personality with an upfront demeanor, which was the direction I took for Rumia’s character.
Q3: Then, were you able to take that into account when recordings began?
Of course. Although, since Rumia’s strong-willed personality only appears in the latter half of Episode 2, the first halves of Episode 1 and 2 were more about the intimate relationship with Sisti and her gentle demeanor than the strong-willed personality. Little by little, I was able to develop and improve on my performance.
Q4: In the latter half of Episode 2, your character showed a more docile attitude towards the terrorist. What are your thoughts on acting like this?
Although there was the truth about Rumia being a princess, she was still a student, which made the scenario rather challenging. However, I did have a similar part that was somewhat similar to Rumia’s situation (LOL), and I’ve been told before that I have a strong-willed personality, so I decided to overlap it with my personal experience. In a way, she was a character I could sympathize and come together with.
Q5: So, were you able to voice the character smoothly throughout the series?
There were many difficult parts. For example, for the scene where Rumia is taken hostage, where her wrists are tied up while groaning, I was thinking about how to willingly bring out the suffering of that scene, and while practicing at home, I was very aware of how upsetting it was. When I went to the actual recording session in that state, I was sometimes asked to “Please keep the suffering down a bit”, and the more I recorded, the more I felt that I might’ve come on stronger than I thought.
Q6: Were there any requests from the director or sound director?
I was asked to be aware of switching between the point of view of looking up to her guardian Glenn, the maternal perspective towards Sisti, and the core personality. In addition, what I found to be the most challenging were the comical scenes. The work has a very fast-paced tempo where it’s necessary to adapt instantaneously. There is no scene where Rumia is part of a gag, but there are scenes where she smiles awkwardly as a retort, which made me realize that comical tempo can be difficult.
Q7: It’s interesting that the relationship between Glenn and Sistine is like a maternal guardian.
Whenever Rumia sees a conversation between Glenn and Sisti, she would take a step back from these two ‘adorable children’. For instance, during the sandwich scene for the Magic Competition, it’s very guardian-like for her to understand the situation. Sistine made a bento for Glenn, after his quarrel with her, Rumia was the one who went up to mediate the situation. What’s more, it’s rather adult-like for her to not tell Glenn who made the sandwiches. (LOL) That scene felt very maternal to me. It was also rather adorable to see the teacher smiling and calling them delicious.
Q8: Now, a question about the story. Specifically about Rumia’s relationship with her mother, Queen Alicia.
It’s an unthinkable reality that could happen to me. In this case, no matter what happened in the past, I believe that the existence of a mother is one and only to anyone, such that I’d love my family very much, even to the point of crying if we had such a reunion. (LOL) But because Rumia noticed that the Queen wasn’t wearing her locket of precious memories, it made her firmly believe that she had been abandoned. In that moment, I was able to channel Rumia’s strong feelings, while having to bear the terrible demeanor of not recognizing her as a mother at the same time.
Q9: How familiar were you with this sort of drama?
At the time, I thought about how I could bring out these feelings to my own mother. Because of that, I was instructed to ‘shake it off a little more’, as I felt that I was presenting myself as being more frail than needed. I was then convinced that I had to be resolute in making a clear distinction when presenting the first line, ‘Your Highness’; and the last line, ‘Mother’.
Q10: The scene during the Magic Competition’s prize giving ceremony was quite a chaotic development.
By the end, I felt relieved, but the scene of being rejected by the Queen as her true feelings did hurt. As a matter of fact, Ms. Saori’s performance (VA for Alicia VII) was more coldhearted than I thought. (LOL) It was also the moment where I felt the power of a voice actress, where the power of words were enough to move my emotions. It’s amazing how it also overlaps with the Queen’s acting, and because of the ‘mother’ line, I was also touched by the scene.
Q11: In the latter half of Episode 6, the relationship between Glenn and Rumia was revealed, how did you perceive their relationship from that point on?
At first there was the encounter at the fountain, to him being late for class, and not taking classes seriously, which made me wonder who this person actually is. But as he kept helping Rumia, he rapidly became a much more ‘cooler person’. I also think that the relationship between Sisti and Glenn has a great influence here. To Rumia, Sisti is an important person. He teaches Sisti magic diligently, and comes rushing to help in a pinch. It seems as though there’s some confidence in trusting him in this way. In my view, he is someone who wants to protect his loved ones while helping them become stronger.
Q12: Was there a memorable episode about Glenn?
In the scene where Rumia says, “Why are you going this far?!”* during Glenn’s fight in Episode 3. Here, Rumia asks Glenn why he is risking his own life for her. Originally, Rumia had always thought Glenn protected her as a student, but upon seeing that he was trying to help her even at the risk of his own life, she was no longer just a student, but also a human being, which enabled me to face the person trying to help me. I think this scene is the reason why Rumia sees Glenn as someone she can rely on.
*Note: This line was translated as “Why are you risking your life?” in Episode 3.
Q13: The scenes Glenn appear in are quite cool.
I often discuss with Ms. Akane (Sistine’s VA) on radio (Akashic Radio Of Sisti & Rumia)*, about how Rumia sees Glenn’s coolness first-hand, which takes Sisti until the final episode to notice it. In a way, Rumia’s perspective towards Glenn is slightly different from how other students, including Sisti, see him. While she respects him for being a teacher, I feel that she has more respect for him as a human being instead.
*Note: Yes, this is the actual name of the program. It’s actually called ‘Akashic Radio’. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Go double check the name here if you want.
Q14: Did Rumia always have such feelings, or is it around the time where Sistine gradually accepted her?
There is some relationship between them in the past, such as being saved many times, though it does hint at events from the past in the presence of Sisti and the other students. I myself thought to play the role while hinting at the different relationship between the two. In the scene where Glenn and Rumia talk to one another, I was aware of acting as though I’m aware of Glenn’s past, but when I heard that ‘He will develop as a teacher for his students’, I thought there was a chance to see his kindness in person. I think the emotions expressed here are rather refreshing.
Q15: So what is the relationship with Sistine?
As I mentioned earlier, Sisti, who grew up alongside like a childhood friend, is an important person to her. However, there are some things Sisti is not honest about, and there are some things too dangerous for her to face alone, such as her dream; so Rumia is trying to support her as to ensure she doesn’t waver when something goes wrong, which is a beautiful relationship between the two.
Q16: In the interview for Volume 1, Ms. Fujita mentioned that she’d first met you face to face during production, and it helped establish the distant relationship between Sistine and Rumia.
That’s right! At first, for example, the scene where both of us laughed at each other was rather awkward, and were asked if, “Could the both of you get along better?” (LOL) I miss it now. I also had many opportunities to spend time with Ms. Akane on the radio and at events, so I think we were able to get along naturally to reflect the relationship shared between Sistine and Rumia.
Q17: Lastly, could you tell us what was the charm of this series that you felt?
There are many highlights such as the various incidents and flashy battle scenes, but I personally enjoyed the daily life scenes that depict the various character relationships. The sandwich scene is one, the scene where Rumia combs Sisti’s hair and the casual daily life scenes that explore the character’s personality and their relationships. The other thing is that there are many characters with their own individualities and growth depicted in some detail. Classmates such as Rin, Wendy and Gibul were depicted as having a change in thinking which helps their growth as mages. That’s the biggest appeal in my opinion.
Bonus!
From the official anime website following the broadcast of the final episode.
BONUS #1: Please give 3 of your personal post-dubbing impressions about the series.
Difficult but fun, a great lesson, lonesome by the end.
BONUS #2: What was your most memorable scene throughout the story?
For me, it’s when Glenn pretends to be Rumia. I was excited to take up this fun challenge and have the opportunity to give such a performance as a voice actress. For Rumia, the duel with Jatice in the final episode. The intense acting between Saito Soma (Glenn’s VA) and Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Jatice’s VA) was crazy terrifying, and I was personally overwhelmed by the power of their acting. As Rumia, I was also worried about what happened to Sisti, which gave me enough power to continue all the way.
BONUS #3: Please give a message to all who’ve watched the series till the end!
Thank you for watching Akashic Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor till the end!!! With each episode, I got stronger with each recording I did for Rumia. May you all who read RokuAka enjoy the laughs, read with happiness and gain the courage from it! It was very fun!
End Transmission? (Wait…what the hell is this?) (っ °Д °;)っ
Afterword
From Max.
As of today, Yume Miyamoto is one of the 4 cast members from the 2017 anime project that reprised their roles for the now defunct mobile game, Fantasia Re:Build.
She’s still got it, 3-4 years later. (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞
I heard if you check a certain Discord, you can hear the lines yourself. ;3
Thanks for checking out the translations.
Again. DO NOT expect regular updates for this. We’re busy with other stuff. D:
Just keep talking, sharing and discussing the series, that’s all we ask yall to do.
Or help push for the Light Novels for English. Then, the ticket to Season 2 will build itself.
Also,
It’s Yume Miyamoto’s BIRTHDAY! Go wish her on Twitter! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o
Also. Check out the following places for more on this series.
- Akashic Records Reddit
- Akashic Records Discord
- Akashic Records Wiki Twitter
- Akashic Records Wiki Facebook
And the other volumes translated here too. :0
- Translations List
- Akashic Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor (Anime) – Akane Fujita Interview (Sistine Fibel’s VA)
- Akashic Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor (Anime) – Yume Miyamoto Interview (Rumia Tingel’s VA) [You are here!]
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 1 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 2 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 3 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 4 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 5 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 6 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 7 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 8 (Short Stories)
- Memory Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor 9 (Short Stories)
And come disturb us over at the following,
- Rated F To Pay Facebook Respects
- Rated T For Twitter
- Rated D For Discordvery Channel
- Rated Y For YouDumbassTube
S.I.R We Read Stuff Here 
15 thoughts on “Akashic Records Of Bastard Magic Instructor (Anime) – Yume Miyamoto Interview (Rumia Tingel’s VA)”