Trivia / MANKAI STAGE A3!

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • The story of A3! is that of stage actors and staff preparing for a stage play; of course, the actors in MANKAI STAGE are stage actors, and it's mentioned in many interviews that there are many points of relation to the story and characters.
  • Like Tenma, Jinnai Sho is the Summer Troupe member with the longest acting experience, as he debuted in 2007.
  • Like Sakyo, who was the only member of the Autumn Troupe with theater experience from his childhood, Fujita Ray debuted when he was 15 - which is at least 9 years earlier than the other members of the Autumn Troupe. He even debuted earlier than Reni's actor Kawai Ryunosuke and both Yuzo actors Takiguchi Yukihiro and Kujirai Kosuke.
  • While he previously had stage play experience, this is the first time that Mizue Kenta, the actor for Banri, has participated in a 2.5D stage production. Like Banri, he breezes through his role, with the other actors calling him "Easy Mode Kenta" as reference to Banri.
  • Besides being among the eldest of MANKAI Company, the Winter Troupe is composed of actors who are big names and seniors in the 2.5D stage play industry.
  • Ueda Keisuke (Hisoka) and Someya Toshiyuki (Chikage) have been friends for more than 10 years.
  • Shin Masatoshi (Kumon) and Yoshitaka Sion (Azami) immediately became fast friends like Kumon and Azami, though this is due to them entering the company at the same time and being the same age.
  • In an exclusive fanclub interview for AUTUMN 2022, Yoshitaka Sion recalls how like Azami, he also ran away from home when his parents weren't supportive of the path he wanted to take in life.
• Acting for Two: Prior to AUTUMN 2020, roles of ensemble cast were also played by the main/side characters. This leads to situations like Muku being a yakuza underling and Azuma as a Gyaru Girl.
  • In all performances of Le Roman Picaresque, Tauchi Tokihiro (Sakoda) plays Capone's underling.
• Cast the Expert: Yokota Ryugi (Sakuya) did boxing for 11 years. While he doesn't appear in AUTUMN 2023, he participated in production as a boxing instructor.
• Dawson Casting: Inevitable for 2.5D productions. Special mention goes to Jinnai Sho, who in his thirties is one of the oldest cast members, yet he plays the high-schooler Tenma.
• Fake Nationality: Furuya Yamato (Japanese) plays the resident Funny Foreigner Citron. Also, Ueda Keisuke and Someya Toshiyuki, who play the implied foreigners Hisoka and Chikage respectively, are both Japanese.
  • WINTER 2023 introduces Citron's younger brother Tangerine and his retainer, Mika, who are both played by Japanese actors Seiji Shinya and Ryosuke Ogura, respectively.
• The Other Darrin:
  • Following the untimely passing of Takiguchi Yukihiro, Kujirai Kosuke has portrayed Kashima Yuzo starting in WINTER 2021.
  • Following Makishima Hikaru's graduation from the role after Troupe LIVE～SPRING 2021～, Takahashi Ryoya currently portrays Usui Masumi in both the movie and stage plays.
  • Following Aramaki Yoshihiko's graduation from the role after ACT 2～WINTER 2023～, Sadamoto Fuma currently portrays Tsukioka Tsumugi in the stage plays.
• Rerun:
  • WINTER 2021 is this for WINTER 2020, the main difference being additional cast members (Sakuya and Yuzo weren't in WINTER 2020).
  • Four Seasons LIVE 2020 featured reruns of the four troupes' debut plays, but with different cast members from other troupes.
  • The Troupe LIVE shows included reruns of each troupe's first, second, and third plays in a play. In-story, prior to presenting new plays in ACT 2, each troupe went on a tour to present their debut plays.
  • The opening of SPRING 2022 is a rerun of Romeo and Julius, but with the musical parts removed except for the theme song at the end.
  • The opening of SUMMER 2022 is Set Behind the Scenes of Water Me! (and is In Medias Res, unlike above example where Romeo & Juliet reruns happened before the story proper). The rerun for Le Roman Picaresque was done at the same time, but was only alluded to and not shown onstage.
  • In WINTER 2023, the entire Sympathy for the Angel is not shown, but it features a scene with Guy acting as a stand-in for Azuma.
• Role Reprise: Surprisingly averted. A few of the game voice actors, such as Hirose Daisuke (Misumi), Sawashiro Chiharu (Banri), Konishi Seiya (Azami), and Toyonaga Toshiyuki (Homare) were stage actors before venturing into voice acting, but don't reprise their role for MANKAI STAGE.
  • Following the exit of Kazunari's original voice actor (who was also a stage actor), Akazawa Tomoru now plays him on all media: game, stage play, movie, and anime (lines were re-recorded only for the Autumn & Winter disc release).
  • Hotaru Yukijiro did the voice acting for Ginsenkai's boss in the previous plays, and later participated as part of the stage cast for AUTUMN 2022.
• Shrug of God: When asked about whether Blood's life and whether lives or dies in Fallen Blood, Nakamura Taro, Juza's actor, responds that "the answer is "what you felt [when you watched it]."
• Typecasting: Part of the things that Autumn Troupe has to consider in their plays.
  • Taichi is the go-to for the little brother and similar types of roles, even with Azami added into the troupe: Juza's younger brother in Le Roman Picaresque, Sakyo's apprentice^note in a yakuza family, the underlings call higher ranking members as aniki, which refers to an older brother in Like a lead bullet, Banri's younger brother in DEAD/UNDEAD, Omi's junior^note in a kung fu family, the juniors refer to seniors as older brothers, in this case aniki since the language used is Japanese in Fiery Mantou Fist!, and Omi's younger brother in Fallen Blood.
    • In an exclusive fanclub interview for AUTUMN 2022, the Autumn Troupe decide on their own roles for their a play themed around a pâtissier. Taichi is, of course, the little brother.
    Akazawa Ryotaro (Taichi): As expected, I'm the younger brother! [I have to say] "nii-chan" [again]? Can't you at least let me call you "aniki"?
    Fujita Ray (Sakyo): Yeah, but [in the story] you'll eventually revert back to "nii-chan".
    Akazawa Ryotaro (Taichi): I keep saying "nii-chan".
  • Omi gets typecast into dark roles (villain in Le Roman Picaresque, Like a lead bullet, DEAD/UNDEAD; anti-hero in STRANGER ON THE WAY TO PARADISE). For the fifth and sixth plays, the troupe decides to put him in roles on the good guys' side
  • A major conflict in AUTUMN 2023 is that Juza wants to expand his acting repertoire, despite everyone else around him thinking that he's best when he plays thugs, delinquents, and villains. He himself fears that he'd be able to play only those roles in the future. Especially as his most recent role was Chi-long, a the only straightforward villain in a comedy setting. The troupe, especially Banri, keeps pushing him to accept that direction. But they mean it in a good way. Banri assures him that even if he plays those types of roles, Juza breathes life into each one of them and gives justice to each of their stories.