Secrets and emotions intertwine in a near-future world driven by memory tech and psychological depth. Koichi Yamadera, known for his legendary voice work across the anime industry, takes on the complex role of Inspector Viktor Napolov. In a recent interview, Yamadera opened up about what drew him to the series, the challenges of playing a character with such duality, and why YOUR FORMA stands out among recent anime.
To mark the final episode of YOUR FORMA, we had the pleasure of speaking with Koichi Yamadera. Exclusive interviews with the cast and creative team are being published on AnimeTV after episodes 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 13.
Official Trailer:
To start off, could you tell us what you think makes Your Forma such an intriguing series?
Yamadera: I think the most intriguing, or appealing, aspect is that while it’s like watching a high-quality foreign drama, there’s so much care taken to portray the fluctuating relationship between Echika and Harold. While I’m on the subject, I actually got to read the original anime proposal, with concept art, worldbuilding details, and more. Usually voice actors don’t get to read production materials like that, so in being given access to the proposal, this I felt like I understood the staff’s passion for making this series.
Please share your initial impressions after reading the script.
Yamadera: The proposal I received contained a “character relationships map” which made me think, “Oh, this is going to be a difficult role, isn’t it?” (Laughs). In order to get a handle on the character of Napolov, rather than just reading the script, I decided to also read the original novel by Kikuishi-sensei. The characters in the novel are written with so much fine detail, it really sucks you in. I couldn’t stop reading even at 2 or 3 in the morning. And simultaneously, I kept wondering how on earth a series like this could be adapted to the screen. For example, how could they animate something as grotesque as the Nightmare of St. Petersburg? Later, when I read the script, I thought, “Wow, they kept it just like the book!” I was really surprised about that.
Of course, as this is anime and not a novel, using all the same lines would’ve been difficult, but as I read the script I thought, “I see, so this is connected in this way,” and grew to understand the story. Reading the novel to fill in parts that the anime had to leave out was really helpful. Napolov’s characterization for the anime was drawn from both the original novels and the anime adaptation’s script.
What did you focus on while playing Napolov?
Yamadera: Napolov has a very complicated past, and there are many factors behind why he became The Nightmare of St. Petersburg. In the end, while I was voicing him I decided that I had to play him as if I knew nothing about his backstory. I didn’t want any viewers to suspect that he was actually the real villain, and of course in-universe he would have been playing as safe as possible around the incredible Cyber-Inspector Echika and her Amicus partner, Harold. Within all of these unique, eye-catching characters, Napolov at first comes across as the most normal of them all. He’s cool headed with a magnanimous point of view, cares deeply for his subordinates, and seems to have a bigger heart than Sozon did. I did my best to portray him as the “Kindly Chief Inspector” of the cast of characters.
However, Your Forma is a series with lots of foreshadowing laid out in the writing, and I didn’t want future viewers to watch this series and feel that it had contradictions. For example, when Napolov hears that Sozon has been murdered he has a “devastated” expression, and at that point in time it seems like he was grieving the loss of his talented subordinate, but in Episode 13 when Echika performs her Brain Dive into him, it becomes clear that his expression was caused by multiple different emotions.
Therefore, at first, I couldn’t act as though he had hidden feelings. However, I also didn’t want people to feel like he has inconsistent characterization either. For this role, I had to be conscious of the smallest details. I asked Director Ozaki how he wanted me to portray this, what kind of voice would fool the viewers, how I could make them go “Huh?” even just a little. It was fun to have that sort of give-and-take relationship with our audience.
Napolov appears in Your Forma from Episode 9 through Episode 13. Is there a specific scene of his that left an impression on you?
Yamadera: It’s definitely the confrontation Napolov has with Echika and Harold in Episode 12. I wondered about how they would perform the scene where they find out that Napolov is the Nightmare of St. Petersburg the entire run of the show. Since Echika only sees his true self when she Brain Dives into him in Episode 13, it was best if he kept his façade up for Episode 12. Napolov’s thinking is more like, “I can’t help myself, there’s nothing I can do,” so he feels no guilt for what he’s done, always coolheaded and consistent in his own sense of logic.
Another scene that left an impression on me was Echika’s Brain Dive in Episode 13. It’s when the viewer sees Napolov’s mentality about his relationships and the truth about his past. To think there would be such a turnabout like that, finding out that Napolov didn’t kill Sozon after all, and there’s actually another killer on the loose! Who on earth could it be…? I’m really interested to see where the story goes.
I think that the relationship between Echika and Harold is the major highlight of this anime. The scene where Echika stops Harold when he’s trying to revenge against Napolov in particular was really memorable. For that scene, due to scheduling conflicts I wasn’t able to record with my castmates, but when I heard Hana Kanazawa and Kensho Ono’s performances I was incredibly moved. I found myself thinking that it could become the kind of scene that will go down in anime history. It was a real honor to get to play a villain who caused all this trouble for two amazing actors.
By the way, if you could Brain Dive into someone the way Echika does, whose Mnemosynes would you want to see and why?
Yamadera: I am terrified at the thought of the people around me secretly holding negative opinions about me, I definitely don’t want to Dive into any of my friends’ brains (Laughs). If I had to choose, I think I’d like to experience a simulation of being in Shohei Ohtani’s brain. I’d love to know how it felt to win the WBC when he was in high school, or what he thought about when he joined the 50-50 club. He’s originally from Iwate Prefecture, and I’m also from the Tohoku region, so I guess I feel some kind of kinship with him. I want to see him playing for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles someday!
And finally, could we get a message for the viewers who have watched Your Forma up until the very end?
Yamadera: Did you enjoy the anime adaptation of Your Forma? I’m really glad I got to play a character as intense as Napolov. For those who still haven’t read the novels, I recommend reading them to dive further deeper into this world. After you finish reading the novels, please give the anime a rewatch. That way, you’ll enjoy it even more.
RELATED: AnimeTV Launches Daily Author Comment Series for YOUR FORMA, Starting June 11
Streaming platforms:
- North America: Samsung TV Plus
- Central and South America: Bandplay, Anime Onegai
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa: ADN, aniverse, Anime Generation, Anime Key
- Asia: Bahamut, MyVideo, CHT, Hamivideo, Bilibili, TVING, Wavve, Watcha, U+tv, SK Btv, Genie TV, Home Choice, D’LIVE, SKY LIFE, B’flix
CAST:
Echika Hieda (CV.Kana Hanazawa)
Harold W. Lucraft (CV.Kensho Ono)
Bigga (CV.Nao Toyama)
Ui Totoki (CV.Aya Endo)
Ivan Lukich Fokine(CV.Nobuhiko Okamoto)
Darya Romanovna Chernova(CV.Ayaka Nanase)
Lexie Willow Carter (CV.Chiwa Saito)
Benno Kleemann (CV.Yuu Hayashi)
Sozon A. Chernov(CV.Jun Fukuyama)
Lexie W. Carter(CV.Chiwa Saito)
Raissa Germaine Robin(CV.Hisako Tojo)
Kazimir Martinovich Shubin(CV.Tomokazu Sugita)
Kupriyan Valentinovich Napolov(CV.Koichi Yamadera)
STAFF:
Original Work: Mareho Kikuishi
Original Illustrations: Tsubata Nozaki
Director: Takaharu Ozaki
Series Composition & Script: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Character Design: Chikashi Kadekaru
Music: Tatsuya Kato
Animation Production: Geno Studio
Production: Project YOUR FORMA
Official synopsis:
In 1992, a pandemic of viral encephalitis shook the world. The medical technology that saved humanity evolved into “Your Forma”—an invasive information device implanted into the brain. In this world where every sight, sound, and even emotion is recorded, investigating major crimes means diving into the collective data, a job reserved for special detectives called “Electronic Investigator.”
Echika Hieda, a prodigious “Electronic Investigator” assigned at an astonishingly young age, stands isolated by her exceptional talent. Her newly assigned partner is Harold, a blonde, blue-eyed humanoid “Amicus.” Together, this unrivaled duo will expose every hidden secret.
©2025 Mareho Kikuishi/KADOKAWA/Project YOUR FORMA
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