The Ghost in the Shell: Arise films debuted from 2013 through 2014. The title follows the inception of Public Security Section 9, with a new vocal cast for the team members, including protagonist Motoko Kusanagi. Voice actor Maaya Sakamoto played Motoko in both this title and the subsequent theatrical anime film Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie. How did Sakamoto build up the character of Motoko in a world where fans had accepted Atsuko Tanaka in the role? Here, we spoke with her about her feelings on everything from the audition to the new Motoko, as well as how things have developed over the decade since then.

―When did you first encounter Ghost in the Shell?

 

Maaya Sakamoto(“Sakamoto”): It was back when I was 15. Long before I ended up actually voicing Motoko in Arise, I played Motoko in this one tiny little scene of Ghost in the Shell. There was a scene where Motoko, played by Atsuko Tanaka, took over the artificial body of a young girl, retaining her adult mind but speaking with the child’s voice. That’s where I first encountered the series.
Honestly, I couldn’t really understand the story at the time. The internet still wasn’t really a familiar thing to us back then, so where they’d use the word hacking, it didn’t really mean anything to me. I couldn’t envision it clearly and just took it all as some sort of far-future sci-fi. And because of that, it amazed me to see that the topics in the story became reality almost overnight.

 

―You were a voice actor as a child, too, and have had an amazing career. Were there any major hurdles to clear in getting the role of Motoko back then, at 15?

 

Sakamoto: Yes, actually. The truth is, I still wasn’t that used to anime dubbing at that point. But I had worked with Atsuko when I was in elementary school on another job. So I had an idea of her voice, and Motoko has a unique air about her, too. That meant I could just focus fully on delivering my lines. My lines were all short one- or two-word bursts, too, so luckily it was more like I just happened to fit into the anime well rather than actually appearing in it as a voice actor. *laughter*

 

―Did you talk with director Mamoru Oshii during your role for Ghost in the Shell?

 

Sakamoto: I don’t really remember talking with Mr. Oshii much. But he did ask if I remembered him later, when we worked together on a separate title in 2022. Then he told me, “I didn’t know what I should say to you as a middle-school kid.” *laughter* I hadn’t run into him since Ghost in the Shell the film, so he thought I would’ve forgotten. But I learned he had kept an eye on my career, and it redoubled the sense I had for how happy I was to have worked with him on it.

 

―Did you ever check out the series after your role in the movie?

 

Sakamoto: Yes, I became a big fan. I’ve known Yoko Kanno for a long time. She was the composer for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. So there was that, and also that she was there when I recorded the music for Stand Alone Complex and stole my heart with how cool her music is. Since then, I’ve watched the titles she works on and found that I’m actually really into them.

 

―What about Ghost in the Shell appealed to you?

 

Sakamoto: The setting, music, story—all of it, really. Despite being a sci-fi story, it has human drama in a very raw way, which is also appealing. You grow to like all of the characters. And I do think the power of voice helps to make the characters’ individuality stand out. I always felt that the voice actors and their performances were a huge part of the setting even before getting a role in Ghost in the Shell: Arise, and I think you can tell when you watch—the voice actors really like the story, personally.

 

―So you were pretty determined when you auditioned for your role as Motoko in Ghost in the Shell: Arise?

 

Sakamoto: Well, they didn’t disclose the title in the audition. Given that it is a work with many fans, if the voice actors were replaced in a way that wasn’t intended, it might cause a great stir if it became known to the public.
I think that’s why the project was kept top-secret. The lines they gave me for the audition were in the main script, but the character names were all different. Based on the tone, I wondered if it was some kind of detective story. It sort of had that kind of feeling, but I never would have guessed that I was auditioning for Ghost in the Shell.

 

―How did you feel when you passed the test and found out the title?

 

Sakamoto: More than happy, I was shocked. *laughter* Inevitably, I was a bit uncertain if I’d be able to play Motoko for all the series fans. In that sense, it was probably for the best that I was able to audition without knowing the title. I had a strong preconception about the series up to that point, so if I had known, I would probably have tried to imitate that or have gone the other way consciously to bring my own style to it, and it wouldn’t have been natural either way. And I’m glad I was able to go into it with a normal mindset.
For the record, the audition’s first round was a taped audition, where we recorded the lines and sent them in. I recorded mine at home, and you could hear crows cawing in it. Thinking back, I’m amazed I made it in with that. I guess it was an unexpected plus to have some signs of my everyday life in there. *laughter*

 

―How did it feel to return to the series after last having a role in it in your teens?

 

Sakamoto: I wondered if maybe my role in the first Ghost in the Shell played into getting the role in Arise, but they said it was entirely unrelated when I asked afterward. I wasn’t very prominent in the film, and I’m sure a lot of people on the team didn’t even remember that I was in it. I’ve even heard that Mr. Kise (Ghost in the Shell: Arise director Kazuchika Kise) didn’t know about it. Having grown up over the years, I was genuinely delighted to have an opportunity like that, though.

 

Continued to　#02 What the Director, Mr. Kise, Said to Dispel Concerns

 

 

MAAYA SAKAMOTO

Actor, voice actor, and singer. A native of Tokyo. She began acting in child roles while in elementary school, and her debut CD release came in 1996. Her voice acting roles are numerous and include titles such as The Vision of Escaflowne, Ouran High School Host Club, and The Fire Hunter, as well as Ghost in the Shell: Arise and Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie. Sakamoto is also an active stage actor and recipient of the 2012 Kazuo Kikuta Theater Award.