Minori Suzuki makes her solo debut. FEELING AROUND" is filled with Mino's smiling face!

Minori Suzuki made her debut as a voice actress playing Freya Vion in "Macross Delta. As a member of the tactical music unit "Valkyrie," she has stepped out of the world of her works and led a Zepp tour of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, as well as 2-days at Yokohama Arena, to great success.
Now she finally makes her solo debut with the release of "FEELING AROUND," the opening theme song for the TV anime "Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san. The song is a pop song, and the way she sings it with a smile on her face shows the charm of Minori Suzuki, who is different from Freya. For the coupling song, she took on the challenge of writing lyrics for the first time.

I cried a lot when I got the audition for "Macross Delta.

──We would like to talk about what happened before your debut. You were given the nickname "Minoringo" when you were a child, right?

Suzuki: My friends gave it to me when I was in the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school. After that, it became popular in our class to make our own autographs and exchange them with each other. At that time, my mother came up with the "Mino Ringo" sign, which I still use today. When I was thinking about what to do with my signature, I found just the right one! I thought (laughs).

─ ─ So not only the nickname "Minoringo" but also your signature has been around since you were a child. Freya of "Macross Delta" was a character who had a deep connection with apples, but was that a coincidence?

Suzuki Yes. During the audition for "Macross Delta," I was lucky to find the keyword "apple! I thought (laughs).

─ ─ When you were in elementary school, when you were thinking about signing your name, did you ever think that you wanted to be a voice actor or singer?

Suzuki: No, I started thinking about it around that time. I loved acting in school plays, singing songs, and reading in Japanese class, and just around that time, Nana Mizuki made her first appearance in the Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve. I thought that if I became a voice actor, I could do both acting and singing, and I began to vaguely think that I wanted to be one.

───When did you put your desire to become a voice actor into concrete action?

Suzuki: It was when I was in my first year of high school. First of all, I worked part-time to save money to study to become a voice actor. Then, I went to school in Tokyo for a year during my second year of high school, and during that time I auditioned for the "Macross Delta" diva audition.

───It is amazing that you were suddenly chosen out of about 8,000 people.

Suzuki: When I heard that I won the grand prize, I cried. I had enjoyed singing and playing Freya so much, so I was relieved to finish the audition without any regrets, but I thought, "No way. I was happy to think that my enjoyment of the audition was conveyed to the audience.

──Did you tell us why you were selected afterwards?

Suzuki: Director Shoji Kawamori said, "The way I was acting and singing overlapped with Freya. So it wasn't a question of whether I was good or not, but whether there was something that matched Freya with me.

─ ─ How did you feel about making your debut in the "Macross" series?

Suzuki: I loved "Macross F," so I knew how big the "Macross" series was, and I wasn't sure if I could be the diva for the next work in the series. But I was more excited about the prospect of jumping into a new world. I really enjoyed the work from the very beginning. I am the type of person who thinks, "It doesn't matter what I'm worried about.

─ I feel that there are many similarities between you and Freya in terms of personality.

Suzuki: From the time of the audition, I felt so close to Freya that I felt there was no similarity between us. That hasn't changed, but when I was doing postrecording, she was like the person who understood me the best, and she was my emotional support.

─ ─ Do you mean that there were times when Freya helped you?

Suzuki: When I was troubled, Freya was also troubled in her works, and our feelings often synchronized. The story was moving forward, so Freya was overcoming her problems faster than I was. This pulled me forward and made me want to do my best to stay positive.

─ Freya is a girl who uses dialect, isn't she? Wasn't it easy for you as a newcomer to work with her because of her distinctive way of speaking?

Suzuki: Yes, it was. When I auditioned for the role, I was told that there was no particular dialect for Freya, so I could play the role as I liked. When I read the script, I thought I could use my local Mikawa dialect, so I played it as I wanted. I read the script and thought I could go with my local Mikawa dialect, so I played it as I wanted to. If I had been told at the audition that I had to use the dialect of this region, I would have been confused.

───It was because you played the role of Minori that Freya had such a accent.

Suzuki: I had to create it from scratch, and I felt it was difficult. But I was happy that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted in the production. Since I was entrusted with the project, I felt at ease knowing that as a newcomer, I should take on the challenge with all my might.