Exploring the Charm of You and I Are Polar Opposites With Sayumi Suzushiro and Shogo Sakata

#interview #anime August 11, 2026

by Sarca , Tamara Lazic

At this year's Anime Expo, Anime Atelier interviewed the main cast of the You and I Are Polar Opposites anime adaptation: Sayumi Suzushiro (鈴代紗弓), who voices Miyu Suzuki, and Shogo Sakata (坂田将吾), the voice of Yusuke Tani.

The duo chatted about their performances, the characters they voice, and shared details about favorite scenes!

This interview was transcribed from an audio recording and has been edited for clarity.

Q: You and I Are Polar Opposites has gained popularity with Western audiences due to its bubbly atmosphere and relatable characters. Did either of you find Suzuki and Tani's everyday life relatable?

Suzushiro: Suzuki is very open in communication. She does it for herself, but also because she can read the room and she's aware of other people's emotions, so she communicates for them. She gets a little tired after a long day and maybe she needs some downtime as well. I think the entire class has unique characters, and they're all great in their own way, but I personally connect with Suzuki the most due to how she talks about certain values, engages with different personalities, and her daily ups and downs. I think it’s great to see other people relate to not only Suzuki, but also the other characters in the story.

Sakata: I don’t necessarily relate to everything. There are times when I’m just really spaced out, and there are moments when I basically don’t talk to people unless I have a specific reason to, or days where if nobody talks to me, I might not say anything. Days like that do happen. How should I put this..? I feel like we’re a bit similar in the way that we think things through logically. If I had to say, I’m more like Tani-kun from the very beginning [of the story], though.

Q: Suzushiro-san, is it challenging to convey Suzuki's outgoing personality in a way that doesn't completely overwhelm Tani's quieter personality?

Suzushiro: I didn’t really have any thoughts on that at all [laughs]. The thing is, I think Tani-kun is someone who’s really consistent and never wavers from his core values, and I think Suzuki probably understands that too, which I think is what really draws her to him. So, to put it this way, since Tani-kun is definitely not the type to say anything that would hurt anyone, I guess it’s more like he’s just going out of his way to give her a little attention. So, yeah, I didn’t really worry about not overwhelming Tani-kun or anything like that. I think I actually valued the fact that I was just being myself and desperately trying to get his attention, so to speak. Like, “How can I get him to notice me?”

Q: Sakata-san, Tani is a quiet character who often has difficulty expressing his feelings. How did you go about playing this character in contrast to Suzushiro's performance as Suzuki?

Sakata: Tani, when talking to others, uses logic as a core foundation for what he wants to say. When talking to Suzuki, in the beginning, it was still logical, so when she would say something random or absurd, he would just think through it with his own logic and respond with that. From there, he gradually starts to combine these with new communication methods he has learned from Suzuki. I think he was just purely concentrating on listening to what Suzuki was saying, and the way he does that has changed throughout their relationship.

Q: As a follow-up, do you believe that the interactions and the development of the characters have seen a change in the way that you approach their performances?

Suzushiro: In the beginning, I think Suzuki wanted to impress Tani more. She wants to get his attention, so when she talks to him, her voice is a little bit higher. When they ate hamburgers together, she's very aware of how she looks in front of him, and she wants to make sure he doesn't have any negative thoughts about her. As they become more comfortable with each other, as their relationship grows, I think she becomes more relaxed, and her tone of voice has gotten lower later into the series. When she's tired, she can honestly just tell him and say she's tired, whereas maybe before she didn't want to come out and say that. There's definitely growth within Suzuki and how I played her.

Sakata: At first, I think Tani comes across as very uninterested in things, but through his relationship with Suzuki, he grows as a person. He becomes more personable and a lot softer as well in his thoughts and in his logic.

Q: Before the second season starts*, do the two of you have a favorite scene involving Suzuki and Tani as they grow closer?

Suzushiro: Definitely the first episode, the confession scene, is one of my favorites. But also, when she goes to his house.
Sakata: When they studied together, right?

Suzushiro: When they studied together. Starting to date somebody and going to their house for the first time is a huge step in a relationship and a big milestone in the love comedy genre as well. Also, scenes like walking down a street without a care in the world, or the scent of a summer night. Those little things, like the atmosphere or the smell. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few scenes where we share memories through things that can’t be put into words, and they’re often quite the opposite of what you’d expect. I really like those kinds of moments.

you and i are polar opposites season 2 interview

Can I mention just one more? The part at the school festival where the ex-boyfriend shows up. I don’t think there are that many romantic comedies where ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends actually come up, so the fact that they called each other by name there, and it was a moment where their relationship took a small step forward, makes it quite memorable for me.

Sakata: Yes, there are many [favorite scenes]. I really like what Suzushiro-san said about the cultural festival. I think it was in episode 10*, when Tani-kun is “taking” Suzuki on a date, and they go to a museum and then try to have dinner. It's his first time escorting someone on a date, so he makes a lot of mistakes. Even so, Suzuki was like, “This is actually fun,” and when they were eating out—what was it, soup?—she said, “This is delicious, isn’t it?” That part really resonated with me. I don't know how to put it, but since it was episode 10, time had passed, and I felt that the distance between the two of them had become even closer, so I liked it. Normally, it would probably be annoying, though [laughs].

Note: The date was in episode 9.

Suzushiro: You'd probably start to get impatient.
Sakata: Yeah, the fact that they don’t get annoyed, or rather, that they can see the fun in it even with those little mishaps, shows that they’ve really grown closer, doesn’t it?

Note: The interview took place in early July, before the second season premiered.

We'd like to thank Suzushiro-san and Sakata-san for taking the time to chat with us! Season 2 of the You and I Are Polar Opposites anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Credits:
Interviewer: Sarca
Assistance: Demelza Ward, Tamara Lazic
Interpreter: Kanoa Sugimoto
Editor: Tamara Lazic, Demelza Ward
Graphic Design: Andrea Tran
Special Thanks: Crunchyroll Team