Growth and individuality shine through Wake Up, Girls! Interviews with Airi Nagano, Yoshinoh Aoyama, and Miyuki Takagi for the new single "7 Senses" and "Shizuku no Kanna

The voice-over unit "Wake Up, Girls!" (hereafter referred to as WUG) is a voice-over unit that was born at the same time as the anime and has sung many songs for that same-titled anime.

However, from last year to this year, they have started singing theme songs for other productions, which has opened up new avenues for them. Of course, they may not have created this path solely on their own, but it must be due in part to the efforts of each and every one of the girls.

In this sense, WUG has become a unit with a story to tell. This story may be connected to the theme of the TV anime "Wake Up, Girls! This time, we asked Airi Nagano (playing Ai Hayashida), Yoshinoh Aoyama (playing Yoshino Nanase), and Miyu Takagi (playing Miyu Okamoto) from WUG, who sing the OP/ED themes of the "New Chapter," about the two new singles to be released on November 29.

7 Senses" synchronizes the theme of "New Chapter

─ When did you start recording the OP "7 Senses"?

Takagi: Around the beginning of summer.

Aoyama: It was also to be performed for the first time on the tour (4th LIVE TOUR "Gomenwarenai Gomenwarenai" held from July to September). Aoyama: We were also going to perform it for the first time on the tour (4th LIVE TOUR "Gomen Monte Gomenne!

─ Actually, we have already sung it at many live performances. The tune of the song is similar to the OP "7 Girls War" from the previous TV series, and the audience was really excited about it.

Aoyama The composition is similar, isn't it?

Nagano: Yes. The feeling was the same.

───The lyrics were written by Natsumi Tadano and composed by Hidekazu Tanaka (MONACA). That's actually a rare combination for a theme song.

Aoyama: Mr. Tanaka has written songs for other anime tie-ups, and I have sung many of them for him, and he has been a great help to me, but when I hear a WUG song written by Tanaka-san, I feel as if he has returned to the group. 7 Girls War" was also co-written with Satoru Kamizaki, so it had the character of Mr. Tanaka, and Mr. Tadano's lyrics are also very WUG-like, so I was able to get used to the song right away.

Takagi: I also felt the band-like sound was fresh. It gave me a very cheerful impression.

Nagano I thought it was a very straightforward song. It is easy to understand even after just one listen! It's very catchy, and I really like it because it's linked to our desire to let everyone know (about ourselves) for the "new chapter".

─ That's right. The "new chapter" is really a story about individuality.

Aoyama The song is about "seven senses, seven personalities!

Nagano: It's just as it should be.

Aoyama: Until now, the story was about the growth of WUG as a whole, rather than about each individual member, but "New Chapter" is about each member. There are a lot of stories about how they are supported by everyone while they are struggling with their individual activities, so I thought the lyrics of this song were very applicable to that.

─ You are all actually active as the unit "Wake Up, Girls!

Takagi: Our goal is to be active individually, and then to gather them together to become a big force, so it really overlaps with the WUG girls in the anime.

─ ─ When I first saw WUG, my impression was the same as the image of the anime, where everyone grows together, but as we continue our activities, I feel that the individuality of the members is gradually becoming apparent. Was there a trigger or timing for this to happen?

Nagano: I don't think there was a clear point in time. But, what used to be a group of seven close friends naturally developed into a strong atmosphere of "We want to be a unit where everyone works hard together and each member shines! There was a time when the atmosphere of "We want to be a unit where everyone works hard together and shines individually! I think this was probably triggered by the fact that someone started to play an active role in other areas. From that point on, everyone's individuality became stronger, and none of the members had the same character, which I feel again recently is amazing.

Takagi: We are a seven-member unit, but I feel that unless I carve out my own path, I won't be able to make it as a voice actor in the future. As the lyrics of the song say, "I have a different role to play," there was a time when we were trying to find our own individuality rather than imitating someone else.

Aoyama: I don't have my own personality yet, and I can't rely on WUG forever, and the next anime hasn't been decided yet, so what should I do in the future? What are we going to do now? While some of the other members had already decided on the next work, I had not, so there was a time when I was thinking, "Oh no, I'm in trouble. But I was not in a hurry, thinking "What should I do, what should I do?

───Do you feel that you can play the "new chapter" with a real sense of reality?

Aoyama: I think I understand.

Takagi: There was a time when I was working on the project without knowing that I would be working on a "new chapter," so I think that was a big part of it.

Nagano Yes.

The "depth" given to the songs by the individuality of the characters

──An easy way to understand that things have changed is that at the Valentine's Day event with "i☆Ris," I saw the members of WUG who could hardly get in front of the audience in 2016, but this year they were all active, and I thought they had changed (laughs). (A special present once a year! The "i☆Ris & Wake Up, Girls! Valentine's Day LIVE! 2017" Report: # )

Aoyama: In 2016, the first year, it was like "i☆Ris: 100, WUG: 0" (laughs). We were a shy unit to begin with, so at first we just laughed and returned the smiles.

Nagano: But this year, we did our best! The first year, I didn't know what to do. This year, we were able to get along with i☆Ris even better than the first year, but in addition to that, I think that the seven of us understood our own position in the group.

Aoyama: I realized that it was not enough to just step forward (laughs). If I felt that Mayushii (Mayu Yoshioka) would shine more than me here, I would give it to her.

Nagano: That is the good thing about WUG. It's like, "If you want to talk about this, please ask Yoppi (Yoshinoh Aoyama)! I think that makes us a very good unit.

Takagi But i☆Ris is great in that everyone can come forward.

Aoyama That's the difference between each group, and I think it's a good thing.

─ ─ That's why I think the lyrics of this song are perfect for the current WUG. And now, I think that the unification of the seven members' individuality has become a great power.

Aoyama I think we can do things that we cannot do alone.

Nagano: I feel more powerful when the seven of us perform live together.

Takagi Also, our talk has become more coherent than before. We used to be worse at talking (MCing) than singing.

Nagano When I think about it, we are now able to talk naturally. I think we can do that now that we understand each other's characteristics.

─ By the way, don't the seven of you have serious discussions?

Aoyama We don't. We are all worried about our own problems.

Nagano: In WUG, we don't express our problems as a group. But after a year has passed, everyone has grown up so much! I think that each one of us is making efforts behind the scenes.

Aoyama: But when it is just the two of us, we often talk about such things.

─ ─ In the last interview, Mr. Yoshioka and others said that "7 Senses" is sung not by the characters but by the members' own voices. (Welcome back, WUG-chan.) Maasuke Yoshioka, Mimi Tanaka, and Kaya Okuno "Wake Up, Girls! A New Chapter" Special Interview & Freshly Taken Photos: # )

Nagano: Yes. This time I am singing in the voice of our voice acting unit "Wake Up, Girls!

Aoyama I thought we would be singing as characters, so I was surprised when I first heard that we would be singing as a voice acting unit.

Takagi But I sang as Miyu normally. ...... I thought it would be better for the balance of the seven of us.

Nagano: Even if they said "it's her," Auri Hayashida's thoughts were with me, so they would be carried over into the song, so if you ask me if it was all her, it wasn't all of us, right? I was consciously thinking of it as the person herself.

Aoyama: Yes. Kano would come down to me! There was too much mixing of singing in character and singing by herself, so what is she to me?　With Kano?　But I am "Yoshino" too. ......

Nagano: I think the songs have more depth because the characters' feelings are also in the songs.