On May 30, the official One Piece website posted the third part of its series of special interviews to commemorate the upcoming theatrical release of One Piece Film: Gold. These interviews are featured in “Usopp’s ‘This is Real! GOLD’”, a column on the One Piece website run by Usopp’s Japanese voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi. Each voice actor from the Straw Hat crew will be interviewed in this series of special interviews, with Yamaguchi starting off this relay, followed by Kazuki Yao last week. This week’s special guest is the Japanese voice actress of Nico Robin, Yuriko Yamaguchi.

Kappei & Yuriko: Yaaaaaay!!!!

Kappei: So, I’m hoping to hear a lot about Nico Robin today. Happy to have you with us!

Yuriko: Likewise. Please ask me anything about Robin. <3

Kappei: To start things off, will you please tell us what it was like back when you received Robin’s role?

Yuriko: I’ll never forget that day, even to this day. You see, I was touring across Asia as part of my acting job until two days before it was decided that I would appear in One Piece.

Kappei: Touring across Asia?

Yuriko: Yeah, I was abroad for a month and a half. I hadn’t done any voice-acting jobs during that period, so I didn’t think I’d be able to voice-act upon returning to Japan. But the day after I came back, I got a phone call asking me to go work on One Piece. That’s what started it all.

Kappei: So you didn’t audition for the role?

Yuriko: I did not. I walked in not knowing anything about the character nor whether she would be a main character… I thought it was going to be a one-time role, but Mr. Uda, the director at the time, told me: “You’re staying.” And he advised I give my acting a “Kaori Momoi kind of feel” to it. *laughs*

Kappei: That’s a very specific instruction. *laughs*

Yuriko: Yes. *laughs* Of course, he didn’t want me to imitate Kaori Momoi, but he wanted me to strive for her enigmatic atmosphere. That was Miss All Sunday.

Kappei: At that time, were you already informed that she was eventually going to join the Straw Hats?

Yuriko: Yes, I was told about it by then. But they told me it wouldn’t be happening for a long while… *laughs*

Kappei: Interesting. By the way, since you’ve been a part of One Piece since Miss All Sunday, you’ve been acting with us for a long time. Have you changed the way you act at all?

Yuriko: Let’s see… For All Sunday, I was always conscious about leaving a hint of mystery to her. She would never open up to others and you just can’t tell what’s on her mind, so I wouldn’t open up to others myself as I acted. Which gives more reason to why I couldn’t wait for Robin to join the crew — I wanted her to hurry up and open up to everyone, and speak her mind naturally. Although right now, she’s not holding anything back. *laughs* Even in the sense of how I controlled my voice, I tried to lower my voice for All Sunday to make her seem more like a villain. I haven’t been too conscious about my voice after Robin joined the crew.

Kappei: I see. So right now, would you say you’re being yourself when you act as Robin?

Yuriko: Yes, so once every blue moon I’d be told, “That felt a little off for Robin,” and I’d have to re-dub it. *laughs* Even Mayumi would point out, “That was Yuriko!” straight away. I probably don’t make that much of a conscious effort to construct her character.

Kappei: You can tell just by looking at the design sheets too, but the way Robin smiles now changed so much compared to how she did back then. Back when she first appeared, her smiles still felt somewhat distant and cold, but now it feels so kind.

Yuriko: I really think so, too. Back then, she couldn’t trust people and probably didn’t open up completely even as she interacted with Luffy and the others. But now, it feels like she’s playing with them. *laughs*

Kappei: She totally is playing with them as of late. *laughs* She gives some surprisingly salty remarks sometimes, it just keeps getting funnier.

Yuriko: Right? She has an unexpected irresponsible side to her — even when she can probably fight more she’d just chuckle and spectate… *laughs*

Kappei: She was laughing when Usopp was beaten to a pulp during the Dressrosa arc, too. *laughs*

Yuriko: Now that you mention it… *laughs* Sometimes, even I wonder why she doesn’t go fight when everyone’s being beaten up. Even though she’s a part of the crew, I don’t think she’s the type to put herself in the center of the action with everyone. Instead, she’d take a step back to watch over everyone and won’t step in until things get that dire and it’s absolutely necessary that she does something. Above all, I believe a part of it is because she trusts everyone, too.

Kappei: What do you like about Robin?

Yuriko: I love everything about her, so it’s hard to specify…

Kappei: Then, may I answer on your behalf? On the way to Dressrosa, I loved how she was holding Momonosuke after their bath together.

Yuriko: I understand completely! It’s the way she’s holding him. It’s like she’s holding something very precious and consoling him. She’s very kind to Chopper too, so I don’t think it’s that she likes children in particular, but she simply loves anything cute.

Kappei: Although her standard of “cute” is a little unique. *laughs* Like how she loves Kanjuro’s drawings… But I love that part about Robin, too.

Yuriko: Me too. And another charm of hers is how she sees things objectively. Thanks to Robin, I’ve been making a conscious effort to do that myself, too.

Kappei: There are definitely times when we learn from our characters.

Yuriko: Absolutely. And I really love that about Robin. <3

Kappei: I think her attacks are cool and wonderful. Like, how she stomps on enemies with gigantic feet, and how she forms wings out of numerous hands. They feel somewhat erotic.

Yuriko: ……Sorry, I never thought of it that way before. Is that what it’s like from a male’s perspective?

Kappei: I used the word erotic, but I didn’t mean it in a bad way. *laughs*

Yuriko: Yeah, I understand. It just dawned on me as I listened to you right now.

Kappei: What’s your favorite attack move?

Yuriko: I guess “Wing”? But she can only fly for 5 seconds, so the next time I meet Oda, I might ask him to give her a few extra seconds. *laughs*

Kappei: So you want to fly more. *laughs* We’ll be changing the subject, but what’s your favorite quote by Robin?

Yuriko: “Fools who don’t respect the past are doomed to repeat it,” from the Skypiea arc, when she fights Yama.

Kappei: Not “I want to live!!!”?

Yuriko: While that’s a very strong scene too, I love Robin the most when she’s fighting while protecting the ruins. You can tell just how angry she was when she told Yama, “I won’t forgive you,” despite his pleas. In the end, history is what really drives Robin. We haven’t had such scenes recently, so it makes me love that sequence even more.

Kappei: Now, I’d like to begin asking you about One Piece Film: Gold.

Yuriko: Hmm, I wonder if I still remember it…?

Kappei: Wha-!? Hey! We dubbed it only recently!!

Yuriko: I’m just kidding. It’ll be all right, probably. *laughs*

Kappei: What were your thoughts and impressions upon reading the script for the first time?

Yuriko: What got my attention the most was that they explored friendship between girls, which was very rare, so I was very happy about that.

Kappei: Now that you mention it, it may be the first time we see something like that in a One Piece movie.

Yuriko: And the flashy style of the opening reminded me of ONE PIECE THE MOVIE: Dead End Adventure. I really loved that part of that movie.

Kappei: The pirate race scene… I guess the atmosphere does feel a little similar.

Yuriko: But this time around we had some musical factors too, so it feels much more gorgeous.

Kappei: In this movie, we’ll be having an all-out battle with all nine members of the crew together for the first time in a long while. Some of the pair-ups during the battle scenes are pretty interesting, like with Luffy and Franky…

Yuriko: Who was…with Robin again?

Kappei: Whaaaaat!? She was with Sanji, right!?

Yuriko: Oh, you meant that one. Robin was with Nami and Brook and everyone else in the beginning, so I was wondering who you meant. But I think the creators wanted to make Sanji shine more in that scene, so Robin didn’t get to fight all that much. *laughs* In fact, I think she fought with more determination after Luffy called for her.

Kappei: Only a brief moment of determination. *laughs*

Yuriko: Exactly. Honestly, I wanted her to fight more.

Kappei: Robin’s probably too strong to the point that the battle would end instantly if she fought seriously. She’s already the ultimate weapon, just like how you are our ultimate weapon, Yuriko.

Yuriko: Why? *laughs*

Kappei: *laughs* The Straw Hat crew’s fashion has been a hot topic for this movie, too. Which one do you like?

Yuriko: This time, we had the opening outfits, casino outfits, and the battle outfits — I liked Robin’s battle outfit, she looks really cool.

Kappei: I like her casino outfit, it’s cute. It’s sparkly with lamé, and she looks great with the ponytail.

Yuriko: She does. Speaking of the casino outfit, Nami’s outfit was so cute!

Kappei: Nami is really cute. Have you seen the third set of gifts they’re giving out when you pre-order the movie ticket? They’re special casino chips with illustrations drawn by Oda, and Nami has a finger to her cheek and…it’s just too cute, I wanted to scream, “Nami, that’s just not fair!!”

Yuriko: Wait, didn’t you say you liked Robin earlier? *laughs*

Kappei: It keeps changing every time. *laughs* How about you? Which character from the Straw Hats fits your type?

Yuriko: While we do have some crew members who aren’t exactly human…Usopp would be my type of guy.

Kappei: Usopp is pretty dependable despite everything.

Yuriko: He’s kind and he has the heart to accept everything about you. I think he’s the kind of guy who’s able to make girls happy.

Kappei: But Sanji’s kind, too.

Yuriko: Everyone’s kind, but the ones who get too assertive are a little… *laughs*

Kappei: Then, let’s expand our options: out of all male characters who appeared in One Piece, who would be your pick?

Yuriko: I’ve probably said this many times before, but I’d pick Montblanc Cricket — the tasteful old man who chases after his dreams, and also lives on an island with monkeys.

Kappei: You’re free to go out with him, but that sounds rough realistically speaking. *laughs*

Yuriko: Let’s leave reality off to the side for a moment. I’d love to keep cooking food for him at home.

Kappei: Even though his home is a board?

Yuriko: I love him and his home! He risks his life to go after something that he alone continues to believe in. Isn’t that amazing?

Kappei: Maybe you feel something in common with Robin who searches for the Poneglyphs. Backtracking a bit, please share us your enthusiasm for the movie.

Yuriko: Now that we’re done with the dubbing, I look forward to doing my best with the stage greetings!

Kappei: Don’t let spoilers slip anymore, okay? *laughs*

Yuriko: I seriously need to be careful about that… I’ll leave the disciplining up to you!!

Kappei: Okay. Wait, what!? Discipline who!?

Yuriko: Me. *laughs*

Be sure to check out the original post on the official website for more photos and visuals from this interview! You can even send a message of encouragement to Kappei Yamaguchi by pressing the 応援メッセージを送る (send a message of encouragement) button at the bottom of the page! One Piece Film: Gold will release in theaters in Japan on July 23 — check out the most recent trailer!

SOURCE: One-Piece.com