SPECIAL INTERVIEW! with Junko Noda
A special interview that came with the “Digimon Adventure 02” DVD Box released on December 22, 2006.

Purchase of the DVD Box (Region 2 only) available at: Amazon.JP, CDJapan

[ We asked Junko Noda-san on her memories of performing Daisuke’s reliable partner, the cute, energetic, and cool V-mon. ]

What sort of existence was V-mon to you, Noda-san?

I think of him as both a child and a clone of myself. I’d been wanting to perform a young boy-like role, so I was happy to get the part. Even Kiuchi-san, who performed Daisuke, told me that “V-mon is exactly like Noda Jun.” Perhaps what we have in common is our tendency to rush recklessly into a situation and our love of chocolate.^[1]

Which form did you like among V-mon’s evolutions?

Fladramon looks the coolest, so I like him best. Orange and blue are my favorite colors to begin with, and they look a very nice color scheme when put together with that medium shade of red. I also like the gold-colored Imperialdramon.^[2] Magnamon^[3] is covered in gold, too, which is what I personally like about him, but it was a shock learning that he was a bad guy in the full CG.^[4] (laughs) I also like Chibimon^[5] because he’s cute. Whenever I performed as Chibimon, I felt as if I was shaving years off of my mental age. (laughs)

What was your impression of your partner, Daisuke?

▲Noda-san said that V-mon has a lot of phrases to say since he is always the one to evolve to the next level first, but it was still fun.

He tries to act cool, but he’s lacking in some areas; he seems reliable enough, but he’s utterly hopeless without me [V-mon] around. That’s about how I felt. (laughs) I’m quite envious that he has no inner troubles.^[6] Life must be fun to a child who’s been raised in that way.

Then what was your impression of Ken as a polar opposite character?

Ken-chan lacked any cute charm. While he was the Kaiser, my impression of him was that he didn’t have to be such a stiff. Around the time he joined us and understood that people can’t live their lives in solitude and that it was good to have friends, my view of him changed as I saw his level of social awkwardness – like how he couldn’t say to others that he was happy, and how he wouldn’t let his parents dote on him.^[7] It was as if I was looking at my old self.

Six years have passed since then, but what are your thoughts now that you look back on them?

Six years was around the time when I was allowed to perform all kinds of characters, so I couldn’t help but have fun. The reason why I could perform with such a good mood was, no doubt, because the recording studio itself had a good atmosphere, and I think that lent a good influence to the show as well. There were also a lot of people starting anime for the first time, so even if I couldn’t [recall the mood], I would concentrate on putting all of my feeling into it and doing just what I could by hitting at them with all I had. I hardly worked at a studio before where everyone was around the same age, but there were many people in Digimon who were of the same generation^[8], so our feelings of fellowship were also quite strong.

In closing, please leave a message to the fans who have bought the DVD Box

I believe that those who saw and enjoyed the show 6 years ago will uncover new things, and for those who have become parents now, I recommend that you show it to your children at once. This show holds messages like how it’s good to have friends, and how it’s fun to be with one another, which I think both parent and child can enjoy despite their generation gap.

FOOTNOTES
N1) Love of chocolate — Around September 2000 was when Bandai began selling “Wonder Capsule Digimon Adventure 02” chocolates [egg-shaped chocolate containing a small plastic Digimon toy]. V-mon also goes on eating chocolate during the show’s eyecatch.
N2) Imperialdramon — First appearance in episode 39 (“Everyone, Head Out! Imperialdramon”). Evolves from Paildramon. In episode 43 (“Invasion of Demon’s Army”), he transforms into his Fighter Form.
N3) Magnamon — Appears in both episode 20 (“Supreme Evolution! Golden Magnamon”) and episode 21 (“Goodbye, Ken-chan…”), and also makes an appearance in the movie “Supreme Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals”.
N4) Full CG — Meaning “DIGITAL MONSTER X-evolution” which was broadcasted on TV in 2005. Its director was “02” series director Kakudou-san, and the Digimon with roles in “02” such as Noda-san’s Magnamon, Silphymon, Mummymon, and others, also make an appearance.
N5) Chibimon — The Baby II form of the Child Level V-mon. A blue Dragon type Digimon who looks exactly like a younger version of V-mon.
N6) He has no inner troubles — In episode 49 (“The Last Armor Evolution”). BelialVamdemon’s Mind Illusion holds the children captive in their secret worries and dreams. Only Daisuke “is very happy right now,” so the attack doesn’t affect him at all. The episode was very fitting of Daisuke’s character.
N7) Wouldn’t let his parents dote on him — The divide between Ken and his parents is particularly portrayed in episode 23 (“When the Digivice is Seeped with Darkness”). No longer the Digimon Kaiser, Ken finally returns back to the real world, only to ask “Who are you?” to his parents who had been watching over him in worry. At that time, Ken’s heart had become empty after losing Wormmon.
N8) Many people in Digimon who were of the same generation — Around the year 2000, Noda-san was garnering much attention as the video game where she plays the main heroine “Tokimeki Memorial 2” was to be released the following year. The cast of “02,” not including the veteran cast that appeared in the first show, had many people who were close in terms of both career experience and age.

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