Long interview with voice actress Shomi Hirayama! (The 1st "Inside Man" of Anime and Games)

This is a series of interviews with creators active on the frontlines of the animation and game industry to get a closer look at their work styles and true personalities. In this memorable first installment, we interview the creators of "THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! and "Robot Girls Z Plus" as well as "Terraformers Revenge".

─ What made you decide to become a voice actress?

Emi Hirayama (hereafter, Hirayama): Ever since I was a child, I loved plays and playing with my own voice recordings, and I also loved watching Jiburian Animation. When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, my mother told me that voice acting was a career, and I realized, "This is a career that encompasses everything I want to do! I realized that this was a career that encompassed everything I wanted to do, and I began my pursuit of voice acting.

───Did you have any interest in other professions?

Hirayama: When I was going to high school, I had a brief yearning to become a veterinarian. I also like animals, so I wondered if it might be a good idea to become an animal doctor, but I chose voice acting because it was what I wanted to do the most.

─ ─ Did you have any difficulties in becoming a voice actor?

Hirayama: There were many things, but dancing was especially difficult. By the time I was in high school, it had already become mainstream for voice actors to sing and dance, but I had never danced before high school, so I was worried. Even in high school, I went to a local dance school, but at first I was so slow that I could not discern the teacher's line of movement.

───How was it after you entered the vocational school?

Hirayama: At the vocational school I attended, the entire course and all grades (several hundred students) would perform musicals in a large hall. To my delight, I was the only student in the voice-over course to be chosen to be in the cast with lines. However, the rest of the cast were all dance students, and their dancing was outstanding. I was very nervous when my teacher told me three weeks before the performance, "If you can't dance, we will remove you from the scene. In the end, I managed to complete the dance with the help of my friends who danced in the same scene with me.

─ ─ Are there any anime that influenced you?

Hirayama: Of course, Ghibli anime. I have loved "The Witch's Delivery Service" since I was a child. After I started to understand the contents, I also came to like "Castle in the Sky. The scene where Sita gives the flying stone to Pazoo through the hole in the wall is especially memorable, and her line "Throw it into the sea! is one of the lines in my repertoire of impersonations.

─ ─ Was there a job that was a turning point for you?

Hirayama: "Idol Master Million Live! That's right. I played the role of Reika Kitagami, and I was noticed not only by "producers" but also by people who are not usually interested in anime and games, and I feel that the way people looked at me changed completely. In this production, I have been challenged not only in acting, but also in singing, dancing, and all kinds of other things.

─ ─ This year marks the third anniversary of "Million Live! celebrated its third anniversary this year, didn't it?

Hirayama: This is the first job that I have been involved in for three years, and "Million Live! is the first job I've been involved in for three years. After working on it for three years, it became easy for me to come up with "This is the way Reika would say and sing.

─ In the game, there is a short a cappella performance in the middle of the dialogue.

Hirayama: That's right. I improvised it from my own feelings as Reika-chan.

─ ─ Is there anything you pay attention to when singing character songs?

Hirayama: I use various techniques to bring out 100% of Reika's charm. For example, "Summer Trip" is a song about a man and a woman having fun on a summer beach. during the song are created by combining different performances, such as the "bouncy Reika-chan," the "slightly drunk Reika-chan," and the "slightly devilish Reika-chan.

─ How about live performances?

Hirayama: We take very good care of our physical condition. If I don't sing a song even for a day, I can't sing it at its best, so no matter how busy I am, I try to sing at least once a day before a live performance. I sometimes change the production for each stage. For example, at the Fukuoka performance of "THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! 3rdLIVE TOUR BELIEVE MY DRE@M! in Fukuoka, Reika-chan's voice said, "Dogen shimasu yotto~?" in Reika's voice, greeting fans in the Fukuoka dialect.

─ ─ What do you pay attention to when playing Sho-chan (Getter Sho) in "Robot Girls Z Plus"?

Hirayama: It was my first experience to play a shy bokko (boxer), so at first it seemed difficult. In terms of acting, I tried to convey the shyness and effort in her blabbering.

─ ─ Was there anything you paid attention to in relation to the original story?

Hirayama: I read the original work. In the original work, there is a girl named Sho Tachibana, the pilot of Getter Sho, who is a boxy girl. However, "Robot Girls" is an independent work in its own right, so I hope that those who like the original work will enjoy it from a different perspective.

─ ─ Are there any voice actors you are close to?

Hirayama Yes, ....... I hang out and travel with people like Chouzu Kiritani and Hibiki Yamamura in my private time. In particular, Kiritani-san has been a close friend of mine since I started voice acting, and we also worked together on "Million Live! We also worked together on "Million Live! (Author's note: Ms. Chouza Kiritani plays the role of Miya Miyao.)

─ What kind of voice actor do you aim to be?

Hirayama: I don't have a goal in the sense of "I want to be a voice actor like XX-san," but I admire Yoshisada Sakaguchi's "water-like" acting. When you play a role for the first time, many people tend to get tense and think, "I have to play this role," but Yoshisada Sakaguchi-san is like water, and he just slips into the role as if he were the character himself.

─ Is there a role you would like to play in the future?

Hirayama: I would like to play a "fighting girl" who is strong-willed and takes action. A "pure heroine" like Sita in "Castle in the Sky" would also be wonderful. I have often played goofy or cool characters, so in the future I would like to try playing characters who express their feelings in a straightforward manner.

─ ─ What are your plans for 2016?

Hirayama: I am playing the role of Peggy Foote in the TV anime "Terraformers Revenge" starting in April. In addition to this, I am participating in various other anime and game productions, so I hope you will look forward to future announcements.

─ ─ Do you have a message for your fans?

Hirayama: I am still a novice, so I think that 2016 will be my first step in many ways. This year, I will do my best to show you a more advanced Emi Hirayama, so please give me your support!

(Interview/text: crepuscular)