SILENT HILL F Voice Actor Says She “Felt Like I Was Going Crazy” While Recording: “There Were Times When I Would Burst Into Tears”
Silent Hill f might be terrifying for players, but it turns out the horror seeped far beyond the screen for Konatsu Kato, the voice behind protagonist Hinako Shimizu.
The actor recently opened up about how deeply the role affected her, describing a mental and emotional toll that mirrors the twisted psychological descent of the game itself.
The latest entry in the Silent Hill franchise has been a massive success, earning “Very Positive” reviews on Steam and hitting one million sales in just four days. But as Kato shared, bringing Hinako’s haunting story to life was anything but easy.
“I've been living as Hinako in the world of Silent Hill for a long time now. On some days, I almost felt my own sanity slipping, but it was worth it to be able to contribute to this game.”
In a new interview with Famitsu, Kato elaborated on how the recording process evolved from manageable to mentally draining.
What began as “smooth” sessions slowly turned into something more psychologically intense. The deeper she went into Hinako’s story, the harder it became to separate herself from the character.
Kato explained that she would often record the same scenes multiple times, each performance subtly shifting as her emotional state changed.
This process, she says, directly influenced the way Silent Hill f’s New Game+ mode reflects different versions of Hinako. But it wasn’t just repetition that wore her down—it was confusion over where the character ended and she began.
“What am I? What is Hinako doing now? Where? There were times when I would burst into tears without even thinking about anything. The more time I spent facing Hinako, the more my confusion grew. I remember there were days when I felt like I was going crazy.”
Kato described moments when she completely lost her sense of self, both as an actor and as a person. “My most vivid memory of the work,” she said, “is not knowing where I was or who I was.”
Despite the emotional exhaustion, Kato still has admiration for her character. She praised Hinako’s maturity and layered perspective as a high school student, though she admitted she’d never want to meet her in person, or visit Silent Hill f’s crimson-stained town of Ebisugaoka. “If I ever encountered her, I would want to disappear in a second,” Kato said.
Hearing her describe the experience, it’s not hard to see why. The psychological depth of Silent Hill f isn’t just confined to its eerie atmosphere or grotesque visuals, it extends into the people who bring it to life. And for Kato, embodying Hinako Shimizu wasn’t simply acting; it was living inside the nightmare.
Source: Famitsu