You and I Are Polar Opposites has quickly become one of this year’s biggest anime. The show, based on the manga of the same name, has taken on a life of its own. Ahead of its season 2 release, Kotaku sat down with Sayumi Suzushiro (Suzuki) and Shogo Sakata (Tani) to discuss their experiences working on it.
Polar Opposites follows Suzuki, an extreme extrovert in her late high school years, who proclaims her love for Tani, an extreme introvert. Despite the two being polar opposites, they manage to make their relationship work. On top of that, it’s a genuine slice-of-life show that highlights the awkwardness and silliness that come with dating in your adolescent years. That’s a huge part of what’s resonated with its fanbase.
It didn’t surprise Suzushiro and Sakata when Polar Opposites blew up. This was because the manga it’s based on had already amassed a massive following in Japan. When Suzushiro was auditioning for the show, she had to stop herself from diving deep into the manga because she didn’t want to be disappointed if she wasn’t cast as Suzuki.
“I actually was a fan from the very beginning,” Sakata tells me. “I read the first volume as soon as it came out, and I would continue buying it as the new volumes would release. So, I was very delighted to know that I got a spot in the audition. I reread the entire original work before going into the audition.”
On top of them getting to know one another better, one thing you might notice right away throughout the series is the characters’ outfits. While watching Polar Opposites, I often found myself saying, “These kids really know how to dress.” When asked what the two voice actors thought of Suzuki and Tani’s wardrobe, Suzushiro revealed that whenever there was a unique outfit, she would often try to mirror it in the recording booth.
Sakata learned that he was much more like his character than he had originally thought, since he had never been a fan of fashion. This was because Tani didn’t change much of his wardrobe throughout Polar Opposites. Like his character, he discovered that he would wear essentially the same thing every day.
Getting into character can always be tricky, especially when you’re playing as someone who may have extreme or low energy almost 24/7. That wasn’t the case with Suzushiro whenever she stepped into the booth because she saw a lot of herself in Suzuki. But there was one exception for this: the first episode, when Suzuki puts on fake eyelashes.
“I actually put on fake eyelashes as well. It was my first time putting them on as well; it was very difficult to do,” Suzushiro tells me. She wasn’t alone in understanding their character; Sakata found the best way to get in the mindset of an introvert was to lose himself in the city.
“I would walk the streets. Trying to channel his thoughts. What would he be thinking? Or maybe he wouldn’t be thinking anything at all. Maybe he would just be spacing out. Understanding what Tani might do and trying to relate that to him and his role to help me bring him to life.”
Given the anime’s strong focus on Suzuki and Tani getting to know one another on a deeper level, it helped that Suzushiro and Sakata had worked together on a previous project. But one thing that really helped was that whenever the two were in the booth, they faced one another while reading their lines. This was to help ensure that many of the conversations flowed naturally.
Unlike Suzushiro and Sakata, I’ve personally decided to stay away from the manga so I can be surprised by how the rest of the anime will play out. You and I Are Polar Opposites is such an upbeat show, and it’s hard not to feel a bit upbeat while watching it. I can’t wait to see how these characters evolve in both their relationships and fashion choices. Thankfully, You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.