A stage greeting event celebrating the release of Seishun Buta Yarou wa Dear Friend no Yume wo Minai was held on October 18 at Shinjuku Wald 9. The four lead voice actors took the stage: Ishikawa Kaito (Azusagawa Sakuta), Seto Asami (Sakurajima Mai), Ishimi Maina (Higashi Miori), and Minase Inori (Makinohara Shoko).
About the Film
The film opened on October 16 and serves as the concluding chapter of the anime adaptation series based on Kamoshida Hajime‘s Seishun Buta Yarou novels. The story begins when Kirishima Toko — a wildly popular and mysterious internet singer — reveals that she is in fact Sakurajima Mai, a scene identical to a dream Sakuta had on Christmas Eve. Following Mai’s shocking confession, impossible events from everyone’s dreams begin occurring one after another, and Sakuta sets out to find Kirishima Toko in order to restore the rewritten world.
Cast Remarks on Stage
With MC Ametsu Handaro facilitating, each cast member shared their feelings about reaching the series finale.
Seto Asami said with deep emotion that the series had been “wrapped up in a truly beautiful form as animation,” and expressed her hope that audiences would take home the precious feelings it carries. Ishimi Maina, who joined the series in the previous film (Seishun Buta Yarou wa Santa Claus no Yume wo Minai), highlighted “new sides and charm of Miori” visible in this installment, encouraging fans to pay close attention.
Minase Inori called it a genuine honor for a novel-based work to be adapted all the way through to its conclusion, expressing deep gratitude to the staff and original author. She noted that she watched the completed film as a fan herself, “with an open mind, simply taking in whatever I could receive.”
Ishikawa Kaito opened with the line, “I have absolute confidence in my own performance,” which drew a wave of laughter and applause from the audience. He explained that he had spent considerable time debating and refining his approach to Sakuta’s emotional expression with the director and production team, and admitted he felt strong anxiety right up until the screening. After watching the film, however, he said he was able to “accept it objectively — this is what the actor Ishikawa chose to express — and felt a great sense of relief. As one Buta Yarou, I was able to reach the ending with a clear heart.”
Recording Session Stories
Seto Asami reflected that as the series progressed, she received fewer and fewer corrections, giving her a growing sense that she had truly been entrusted with the role of Mai. She also revealed her approach to the character: positioning Mai as Sakuta’s number-one supporter, even thinking about what Mai might be feeling off-screen while Sakuta and the other heroines were at the center of the action.
Ishimi Maina said her recording work was largely built around exchanges with Ishikawa, and that the snappy, rhythmic dialogue had been one of her favorite things about the series since she was a regular viewer. She described playing Miori in this film as “meeting her for the first time — a fresh, new feeling.”
Minase Inori spoke of the tension of “diving back into a timeline that had kept moving forward” since Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai, emphasizing that “the script carried an immense weight befitting a true finale,” and that the joy of being present for this ending was above all else.
Ishikawa Kaito drew laughs by admitting he barely sat down during the entire recording, standing at the microphone almost continuously — so much so that he said he “barely remembers any of it.” Minase confirmed, “I feel like I was looking at his back the whole time.” He credited his ability to keep going to the knowledge that when he turned around, his castmates were always there: “Knowing everyone was watching over me warmly is what let me run all the way to the end.”
Highlights to Watch For
Ishimi Maina pointed to Miori’s line “Give Toko back to me,” which had already generated buzz when the trailer dropped, urging viewers to pay attention to the emotion behind it. Seto Asami added that while the trailer may have left audiences anxious, “the work as a whole delivers a very warm answer — please look forward to that.”
Closing the event, Ishikawa Kaito offered heartfelt words: “The baton has been passed all the way from the TV series to this finale, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. The days I spent running as Sakuta are a great treasure, and I am so happy to have performed his choices and his bonds with his friends all the way to the end. If this work continues to live on in the hearts of everyone who watches it, there is no greater joy I could ask for.”
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