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Doraemon is a popular manga and anime series, and one of its characters, Suneo, has his birthday in February.
In an unexpected move, TV Asahi Channel 1 of CS Digital Broadcasting will air Suneo Honekawa’s (known as “Sneech” in the English adaptations) Suneo Birthday Special! on Feb. 21 to celebrate the ongoing anime season. Set to show from 10:00 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon, viewers can get their fill of Suneo’s charm during this 4.5-hour-long broadcast.
The special program will include from among the many Doraemon episodes, a lineup of 15 episodes where Suneo is featured as a main character. Some examples include “Suneo’s Younger Brother Appears!? Suneo is the Ideal Big Brother,” “Gigantic Suneo Appears!,” “Suneo, Goes to the Beauty Salon,” “Goodbye, Suneo…,” “The Suneo Kidnapping Case,” and more. These titles alone are enough to arouse curiosity.
What’s more, an interview with Suneo’s voice actor, Tomokazu Seki, will also be featured. He will reveal his feelings and thoughts about acting as Suneo over a period of 10 years.
In regard to the Suneo Birthday Special!, Seki had this to say: “As for Suneo, among the five main characters, he is the most unpopular. Before, I actually saw in a magazine that he didn’t even make the top five characters. The fifth place position went to Nobita’s mom and Suneo was sixth!” This ranking reveals a somewhat sad story about Suneo.
Concerning the decision to air the special, Seki expressed with undeniable joy and enthusiasm that, “With this project, I thought that the chance had finally come. At last, maybe I can introduce everyone to [Suneo’s] charm, haha.”
When asked about Suneo’s character, Seki responded, “When I saw his character from a viewer’s perspective, I realized Suneo is often the start of many incidents and is unkind on TV. For the Doraemon films, which have the most viewers, this must be the point of view as well, I thought.” “Suneo is probably the most human,” Seki adds about his human-like character.
Seki continues by explaining Suneo’s charm: “He can also be boastful, mean, but aren’t those human-like qualities? So, I find him naturally very accessible. Suneo does not try to be nice, he may make himself appear nice, but ultimately he is not. That is very much like Suneo I think.”
From among the episodes to air in the special broadcast, the topic of which episode leaves a lasting impression was brought up. In the episode “Young Master Mambo,” Suneo not only shows off his singing voice, but also appears to have deep feelings.
In regard to other impactful titles, Seki additionally brought up, “I don’t remember all of the content, but ‘Gigantic Suneo Appears!’ also comes to mind, haha.”
Ten years have passed since the 2005 changeover for voice actors in Doraemon. On this topic, Seki comments, “To be honest, it feels like 10 years have passed by in the blink of an eye. But notably, I have gotten used to [this job], and it has become part of my daily life.”
Seki also discussed his hopes. Referring to an incident after he got in contact with Suneo’s previous voice actor, Kaneta Kimotsuki, Seki said, “I was able to watch Kimotsuki during the post-recording session, and I vividly recall watching his back. [I was deeply impressed and] my goal is to continue voice recording to such an impressive age as Kimotsuki, and gradually I want to become better.”
Suneo Birthday Special!
Broadcast Time: Feb. 21 10:00–14:30
Broadcaster: TV Asahi Channel 1
Featured Episodes: “The ESP?! Esper Suneo,” “Suneo’s Younger Brother Appears!? Suneo is the Ideal Big Brother,” “My Pet Rock,” “Suneo’s Invincible Fort,” “Gigantic Suneo Appears!,”
“Suneo’s Dream Tool? Speaker That Makes Things Come True,” “Men’s Friendship Breaking!? Big Pinch! Suneo’s Examination Paper,” “Suneo, Goes to the Beauty Salon,” “Goodbye, Suneo…,” “Fantasy Animal Safari Park,” “The Suneo Kidnapping Case,” “Beautiful! Suneo’s Bimbo Birthday,” “My Best Friend Doraemon,” “Young Master Mambo,” “Lying Mirror”
© Fujiko Pro, Shogakukan, TV Asahi Corp., ADK Inc.
Source: animeanime
Source article written by Katsunori Takahashi
