Matsuko Arai

**Matsuko Arai** (Jolivanese: 荒井松子 *Arai Matsuko*), nicknamed **Doe**, is the fictional protagonist of the 200 anime film *Doe*, produced by Studio Saohi. Created by co-director and co-writer Keiki Sahara and voiced by Jolivanese voice actress and singer Ritsuko Miyamoto, she is an insecure 16-year-old girl from Neo Tokyo who longs for a purpose to her life. While on a camping trip in a forest, she separates from her parents and comes across a group of deer who take care of her and keep her warm and safe. She begins to assimilate into the group of deer and starts to trust them more than her human peers.

Matsuko was the first character created for the film. Her character design was based on photos of singer Chiyoko Yamashiro as a teenager. Her design remained mostly unchanged throughout the film's production, besides a slight tweak to her design to give her more wispy hair. Miyamoto was hired to voice her via a casting call in August 199 and was her debut voice role. Amy Barkford provided her voice in the Linclian dub, having previously voiced protagonist Misaki Machida in Studi Saohi's 199 film *Something's Up With Misaki*.

She has received acclaim from critics, with many praising her personality, design and voice acting. Matsuko is often considered Ritsuko Miyamoto's most famous role, and Miyamoto and Barkford have both cosplayed as her multiple times, essentially portraying them in live action; notably, both appeared at Nazanime 210 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the film. Merchandise including plush dolls, cosplay pieces and figurines have been released using her likeness, and she has become an integral part of Studio Saohi's brand.

## Concept and creation

*Doe* was pitched to Studio Saohi CEO Fumiya Yunokawa in 197 by Sahara. The only human character she had presented was Matsuko, whom she had sketched. She had based her design on photos of a teenage Chiyoko Yamashiro from a teen magazine she had kept since she was sixteen, whose appearance she considered fit her personality well. Once it was greenlit, Yunokawa signed on as co-director alongside Sahara and contacted Yamashiro's agent to ask if Studio Saohi could use her likeness for Matsuko. The agent passed this on to Yamashiro, who "eagerly" accepted, as a fan of Studio Saohi and Yunokawa's work. She asked if she could write and perform a song for the film, which would later become "Hashirou".

Sahara stated that Matsuko was designed to be relatable towards the film's target demographic of adolescents, while still being able to be understood by other demographics such as children and adults. Her insecure personality was modelled after Sahara's own personality as a 16-year-old, noting how she was herself unsure what she would do with her life after she finished school. Sahara's own daughter, Hikari, who was 14 at the time, also helped with perfecting the character. Sahara used Hikari's defiance to her parents at times to perfect Matsuko's early personality.

Matsuko was also written with a small sense of wonder that occasionally gets the best of her, which is a vital catalyst for the events of the second act of the film. The writing team researched characteristics of deer and incorporated them into her personality. They noted the similarities between the personalities of deer and Matsuko's herself, such as a timid, shy and modest personality, and only needed to slightly adapt it.

### Design

After *Doe* was greenlit, the sketches of Matsuko was given to the head concept artist at Studio Saohi, Hisoka Naito, who adapted them into a cleaner and more consistent style, and drew her in multiple angles. These were then shared with the animators, who then began to work on the film. Her design was slightly changed during animation to give her a distinct and unique look, as to not make her exactly like Yamashiro. Her hair was made wispier and bouncier, and her eye colour was changed a little, darkening the blue in her eyes slightly to portray her small yet vital sense of wonder.

### Voice actresses

Studio Saohi continued their tradition of casting their characters with voice actors near the age of the characters themselves. A casting call was held in July 199, where over two thousand girls applied for the role of Matsuko. After tests and evaluations, this amount was lowered to thirty. More extensive tests were held, where these girls sang different songs, read lines from the script and acted like deer. From these, 15-year-old Ritsuko Miyamoto was selected. Miyamoto had taken part in amateur plays throughout her life, one of which was *Monika*. She took the voice she used for Matsuko from the voice she used for supporting character Kyoko Kitamura, whom she had portrayed; a soft, caring but somewhat worried voice. As Matsuko becomes more safe and calm with the deer, her voice becomes even softer as the worriedness fades. Miyamoto, in this case, used her natural voice, which had helped her to be chosen, as it was naturally soft, had a "calming aura" and sounded "deerlike". Miyamoto described Matsuko as a sweet and relatable yet unique character that she thoroughly enjoyed voicing.

Miyamoto met Yamashiro when the latter arrived to show Yunokawa demos of "Hashirou". Yamashiro heard her singing voice and asked her if she wanted to sing with her. After Miyamoto accepted, she worked with Yunokawa and Yamashiro to change the song slightly to incorporate Miyamoto's voice into the song. Miyamoto and Yamashiro became friends during the production and chatted during breaks and afterwards via phone calls.

Matsuko is voiced by Amy Barkford in the Linclian-language dub. Having worked with Studio Saohi and the dub team previously on *Something's Up with Misaki*, she was hired to voice her as the dub team felt she was suitable for the role. Barkford put an entirely different voice on for Matsuko then she used for Misaki; while she used a more hyperactive, over-the-top voice for Misaki, she used a calmer voice similar in tone to Miyamoto's for Matsuko.

## Appearances

### Role in *Doe*

Matsuko was born in late November, 16 years before the events of the film, to Sora and Mayumi Arai (neé Ohashi). She lives in a small house in the suburbs of Neo Tokyo, attending a nearby high school. She is insecure of her appearance and seems to care too much about how she looks, and is very shy. She does not particularly like her parents, seeing them as embarrassing and overprotective.