Megami Magazine’s ‘Megami’s Voice’ interview series turns to Honoo no Toukyuu Onna Dodge Danko in the October 2026 issue. The featured guest is Nakayama Manaka, who plays protagonist Ichigeki Danko. The magazine version was shortened, but this long interview includes material that did not fit in print.
A First Lead Role, and a Heroine Like a Bouncing Ball
For Nakayama-san, this is her first time voicing an anime protagonist. She learned she had won the role on her walk home. She was so happy she cried by the roadside, then, after calming down, skipped the rest of the way home.
Her first impression of the work came from Koshita Tetsuhiro-sensei’s artwork. She was struck by how cute it was: it has the feel of a classic hobby manga, yet also conveys a girl’s allure. The manga’s energy also stood out, with characters and balls seeming to move on the page. She was drawn to the heat of Danko breaking through barriers by her own will. Later, watching the anime Honoo no Toukyuuji Dodge Danpei, she was happy to discover shared elements such as special moves.
To Nakayama-san, Danko first read as a girl full of power. That power seems packed tightly into her body, ready to bounce out when stimulated, making her feel like a ball of a girl. She also assumed Danko would have a loud voice.
Growth Through Rivals, and a Role Built on Momentum
As the story progresses, Nakayama-san’s impression changed. In the early part, Danko rushes ahead on momentum, but clashes with rivals help her grow. As her feeling of ‘I can’t lose’ strengthens, she also becomes a cool heroine.
At the same time, Danko has elementary-school-kid weaknesses, such as being afraid of ghosts and green peppers. Nakayama-san finds her trembling in front of such things cute. Even when she is scared or hurt, Danko keeps pushing forward, which Nakayama-san calls truly wonderful.
For the performance, she focused on the fact that Danko does not hide her emotions. Whether angry or amused, Danko’s feelings show directly. Adults often put up a front or disguise their emotions, but Danko does not, so Nakayama-san valued momentum and intensity and tried to express emotions as they are.
Did her acting change as Danko grew? Nakayama-san says it was not a deliberate change. She herself grew through the recording process, and she believes that naturally carried into her voice. During the first episode’s recording, she was so eager that she sometimes spun her wheels. But stimulation and advice from the cast helped her grow, and she feels that fed into her performance as Danko.
She was also extremely nervous for episode 1. The script cover featured Danko holding a sign that read ‘Episode 1,’ and it was so lovely that she wondered if she was allowed to hold it. She was too tense to look around and simply smiled at the script. Then Maeda Kaori-san, who plays Kobotoke Chinko, sat next to her and kindly started conversations. Nakayama-san remembers being moved that such a kind person existed.
The tension gradually eased. The cast was bright and cheerful, and after test recordings they would go eat snacks. When the sound director entered for direction, someone would call out ‘Sensei is here!’, and the director would play along with ‘I’m not a teacher, though.’ Nakayama-san says excitement soon outweighed nervousness.
The hardest part of playing Danko was the long screams. Since Danko never saves power, she starts at 100 percent acceleration and then shifts up two or three more gears, until she has to scream at 200 percent power. It was tough, but also a point that fired her up.
Staff repeatedly told her it was fine to put out even more emotion. One memorable direction came in episode 1, when Danko throws a ball at her father’s grave. The grave is as tall as a high-rise building, and Nakayama-san thought she was already aiming her voice high. But she was told, ‘Higher, even higher!’ That direction made her realize she could remove all the limiters when playing Danko.
Nakayama-san sees a similarity between herself and Danko: Danko will do everything she can for dodgeball, and Nakayama-san will do everything she can for work. As for differences, she points to cuteness. Danko fights with a wild side and looks boyish, but she has many cute moments, including her casual clothes in episode 2 and her reactions. Koshita-sensei has described Danko as ‘a little maidenly,’ and Nakayama-san agrees, saying it is something she wants to learn from as a girl.
Name Trouble and the Ura Super Dodge Tournament
One recording anecdote involved calling out to Chinko. For one episode, Nakayama-san was told not to worry about the ‘distance’ between Danko and Chinko. When someone quietly repeated ‘distance with Chinko,’ laughter spread through the studio. Staff usually take care not to make the name awkward, but this time the giggles spread to everyone.
Nakayama-san notes that people do not often say such a name in public. The cast had grown used to it, and at one point they realized they might have become numb to saying it outside. In fact, she says, the women in the cast are often the ones saying it boldly.
From episode 7, the Ura Super Dodge Tournament begins, bringing many teams into the story. Nakayama-san is especially curious about the Tosa Attackers. She is from Tokushima Prefecture, a friend’s family home is in Kouchi, and she had exchanges with schools in Kouchi during her student days. Seeing the cast speak in Tosa dialect made the team even more interesting to her.
Her most memorable episode so far is episode 6. After the training camp, Danko stares at a ball in the car on the way home. Because it comes after the fun camp, Nakayama-san felt a calm before the storm, and that contrast stayed with her.
Looking ahead, the Ura Super Dodge Tournament continues. In the match against the US Buffaloes, the pasts of Mochiko and Susie come into focus, and Susie shows her true strength. Nakayama-san found Susie so cool that after recording she told Oochi You-san, Susie’s voice actor, ‘You were so cool!’ Later, the story also shines a light on the Black Armors’ past and on Chinko’s parents. Ise Mariya-san, who plays Mido Ran, told the team to record from the test, and Nakayama-san saw how emotional the performance was. She even cried while watching behind the mic, and at times shouted into the microphone while crying. A passionate climax is ahead, so she asks viewers to look forward to it.
Megami ni Question
Q. Your charm point
A. My big mouth.
I’m proud that my big mouth lets me eat a lot. Sometimes when I watch footage, I’m surprised by how loud my voice is, too.
Q. Your nickname
A. Nakayama.
I wanted a cute nickname, but because ‘Nakayama Manaka’ has the vowel ‘a’ in every syllable, everyone finds it easy to say and no nickname has stuck. Still, being called ‘Nakayama’ feels friendly and makes me happy. Maeda-san is the only one who calls me ‘Mana-chan,’ and I like that too.
Q. Feature of your voice
A. Strong.
I think my voice has momentum and a core, so I’d say it is strong.
Q. Your personality
A. Runaway locomotive.
Once I decide to do something, I’ll work on it even if I have to cut sleep. Fortunately, I’m sturdy and almost never get sick. On one birthday, people held a party for me, we ate dinner together and had fun until morning. The next day, I went to a theme park with my sister after pulling an all-nighter. Another time, I wanted to binge a favorite anime and watched so much that my optic nerves hurt.
Q. What are you into now?
A. Watching anime.
When I visited a dubbing session for a certain work, I saw how much care went into sound adjustment. That made me think watching anime with sound in mind could be even more fun and open up a new way of viewing. So I’m rewatching Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Kill la Kill, Promare, and other titles I’d call my youth.
Q. Are you good at dodgeball?
A. I’m good! I’m great at catching the ball.
I’m confident I can catch a ball from anyone. Once I took a ball to the face, but I hate losing so much that I called it a face save and threw it right back.
Q. What did you devote yourself to in school?
A. Broadcasting club.
In middle school I decided to become a voice actor, so I wanted a club or lesson close to acting. I thought the broadcasting club was close because it involves speaking, and I looked up the strongest broadcasting club in the prefecture. It was a school strong in recitation and narration contests, so at my entrance interview I told them, in a mild way, that I had come to take the top spot in the broadcasting club. I was blessed with good members and went to the national competition three years in a row.
Q. A catchphrase for this work
A. Super hot-blooded super dodgeball that scorches Reiwa.
I included ‘Reiwa’ to suggest that Koshita-sensei has returned. I really wanted to include ‘scorch’ and ‘hot-blooded,’ and condensed them into this phrase. It’s a hot and exhilarating anime, so I hope people will watch it.
Profile and Work Information
Profile
Nakayama Manaka. Born April 2. From Tokushima Prefecture. Affiliated with Amuleto.
Major roles include the hero Regina in Maou Toubatsutai!.
Work Information
Original work: Koshita Tetsuhiro’s Honoo no Toukyuu Onna Dodge Danko (serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly CoroCoro Comic).
Airing every Monday at 11 p.m. on TOKYO MX and other stations.
https://dodge-danko.com/
The story follows ‘toukyuu,’ a combat ball sport in which players put their burning souls into the ball. Ichigeki Danko revived the toukyuu club at Kyuukawa Elementary School, which had been shut down. She joins the official toukyuu club that was secretly active with the school’s approval, separate from Danko’s group. Aiming for a national championship, they take on the Ura Super Dodge Tournament, where strong teams gather!
(C) Koshita Tetsuhiro / Shogakukan / Dodge Danko Production Committee
Interview and text by Noshita Nao (Iplanning)
Megami Magazine Editorial Department
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