Report on the NOW ON AIR, which energetically enlivened "Machi★Asobi vol.18" and "Machi★Asobi RUN"!

From May 5 (Fri.) to 7 (Sun.), 2017, at Machi★Asobi vol. 18, held in Tokushima Prefecture, a new generation of voice actors were performing on various stages throughout the three days of the event. The group is a voice actor unit, NOW ON AIR, formed by successful candidates of the "Kimikoe Audition ~supported by Family Theater" project.
⇒ The teacher who teaches the world view at the recording studio is Mr. Suwabe! 　Fate/Apocrypha" Kick-off Stage in Machi★Asobi vol.18
⇒It's a ship!　A civilian?　No, it's "Wake Up, Girls! Avex Special Talk Show GW2017 in Machi★Asobi vol.18

This month's report focuses on the "Kimi no Koe wo Todokeitai" stage event held on the Shinmachibashi Higashi Park stage on the 5th and the "Machi★Asobi Run" held in Tokushima City on the 7th.

The "Kimi no Koe wo Todoritetai" stage event on the 5th was attended by NOW ON AIR's Misako Iino (Misamisa, image color purple), Mitsuho Kobe (Micchan, red), Mina Katahira (Minami, orange), Momone Iwabuchi (Momo-chan, pink), Yotomi Suzuki (Minhito, white), Yuki Tanaka (Yukki, green), and Yohei Kisara, a music producer from Lantis and a judge for the "Kimikoe Audition.

The event started with an introduction of each member and the movie "Kimi no Koe wo Todokeitai. The concept of "(Kimi no Koe wo Todokeitai)" is to create miracles with the power of voice," said Yohei Katahira.

In their memories of the recording session, each member talked about how they were very nervous. The one who had an interesting way of coping with nervousness was Mr. Iwabuchi. The other members were surprised when he said that he had heard that belly breathing is good for nervousness and that he had been doing it for a long time.

Producer Yohei Kisara appeared to talk about the image song "Kono Koe wo Todokeitai" (May This Voice Reach You) for the movie "Kimi no Koe wo Todokeitai. Producer Kisara talked about the song, "It was an assignment song I wrote when the audition candidates were narrowed down to 15 and we decided to hold a training camp, and I made it my debut song. It is a song that expresses everyone's efforts toward their dreams, and I think it is filled with feelings of anxiety and the efforts that have been made over and over again.

The lyrics to "Kono Koe ga Hattemasu Mochimasu" were written by Ira Yuki, who said that she wrote the lyrics after watching the "Kimikoe TV 'Introduction to the Voice Acting Industry NOW ON AIR'" program in which NOW ON AIR appeared, and with a strong emotional attachment to the song. The coupling song "Kaze ga Kita" was created with the image of a song that gently pushes you back. Ms. Iino said with a smile about the music video for "Kaze ga Kita", "I am embarrassed because I have the video closely followed from the audition.

In the mini live, they continued with "May this voice reach you" and "The wind blew". The first day of "Machi★Asobi" was in the sun like midsummer, so the members were smiling and laughing as they sang "Taiyo ni shite irareta" under the sun on the outdoor stage. echoed across the Shinmachi River.

The beautiful unison of their powerful yet somewhat sad voices in the song "The wind blew" was impressive. On the other hand, during the phrase "I don't want to lose," the four members in the back played rock-paper-scissors to express their joyful emotions. The stage was a place where one could clearly see the individual colors of the singers, such as Suzuki and Tanaka's powerful bass and Kobe's passionate singing. After singing, the six members were thrilled to be able to sing on such a large stage and spoke of how wonderful it was that the lyrics matched the situation.

One of the highlights of this year's Machi★Asobi was the "Machi★Asobi Run. In this running event, everyone ran together along a 4-km course in Tokushima City, and at the refueling points along the way, a team of splendid voice actors including Yuuki Takada, Sakura Nakamura, Yuki Kuwahara, Yu Michii, and Chihayako Mori were waiting to refuel the runners. In addition, before the start of the race, Akio Otsuka made an appearance astride his Harley to encourage the riders and delight the participants.

NOW ON AIR members Katahira-san, Kobe-san, and Tanaka-san participated on the runners' side, wearing the "Kimi no Koe wo Todokeitai" PR sashes!　Mr. Iino, Mr. Iwabuchi, and Mr. Suzuki were in charge of handing out drinks at the water stations. Ms. Iino and her teammates greeted each participant with full of energy, and handed out drinks to them with smiles, providing comfort and energy to the participants who were battling the heat. A short time after the start, the three runners arrived at the water supply point. The six runners were so excited that they exchanged high-fives with each other.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)