Mobile Battleship Nadesico" was her passport to the world of anime songs! Interview with Yumi Matsuzawa, who will appear on the June 7 broadcast of "Ani☆Ste!

Ani☆Ste," a ranking music program specializing in ani-songs, airs on TOKYO MX1 every Thursday from 10:00 pm. Yumi Matsuzawa, a singer known for songs such as "Mobile Battleship Nadesico" and "Saint Seiya: The Twelve Palace Arc of Hades" theme songs, will appear on its June 7 broadcast as a studio LIVE.

Ms. Matsuzawa, who just released her album "Eternal SEED" on May 30, 2018 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her debut, will appear on "Ani☆Ste! She will perform her memorable debut song "YOU GET TO BURNING" live. We asked Ms. Matsuzawa, who sang one of her most memorable songs, about her thoughts on this recording.

─ How was today's recording of "Ani-STE"?

Yumi Matsuzawa (Yumi Matsuzawa): I was very nervous because I sang while the staff was quietly waiting for me!　Actually, I caught a cold, and my voice was a bit raspy, but I think I managed to sing. I learned a lesson: "Don't catch a cold" (laughs).

─ ─ "YOU GET TO BURNING," the song you sang this time, is a great song that needs no further explanation.

Matsuzawa This song is the theme song of the anime "Mobile Battleship Nadesico. It is a song that makes you feel energetic, like "The opening is starting!

I usually sing ballads and medium songs, but this debut song "YOU GET TO BURNING" has a tempo.

Mobile Battleship Nadesico" was a new anime that was starting, so it had a lot of momentum to actively use new people. I think this song has the freshness and vigor of that kind of work.

─ Didn't you think at the time that it would become a song that would be sung for 20 years?

Matsuzawa: At the time, I sang it without thinking (laughs). (laughs) Now, "YOU GET TO BURNING" from "Mobile Battleship Nadesico" is my passport to the anime song world. Even now, I am allowed to sing it in TV programs and have opportunities to go abroad to sing it. It is my signature song and an important song for me.

The other day, I was happy to see "YOU GET TO BURNING" in a special "Best Anime Songs of the 90s" on the iTunes store, along with "Thesis of the Cruel Angel" and Rika Matsumoto's song.

─ ─ After 20 years of singing, have there been any changes in the way you sing?

Matsuzawa: It is my starting point, so rather than trying to change something drastically, I feel like I sing with an honest heart.

─ You said that "YOU GET TO BURNING" and "Mobile Battleship Nadesico" were your "passport to the anime song world.

Matsuzawa: At that time, I went to the postrecording studio every week, and I was thinking, "This is how anime is made", and when I saw it on TV, I thought, "Wow! Wow! It is a work that holds a lot of memories for me.

Compared to the animation of the 80s, I felt that the animation of the 90s and after had a very fast tempo. It was a time when animation was evolving in such an innovative way, and it was a time when animation was very exciting. The comical parts were also interesting.

───Your album "Eien no SEED" was released on May 30 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of your debut. The lead song, "Eien no SEED" was composed by Toshiyuki Omori, who also composed "YOU GET TO BURNING.

Matsuzawa: I wanted to ask Mr. Omori, who wrote "YOU GET TO BURNING," my original song, to write a new song for the 20th anniversary album, so I went to him and asked him directly.

Eien no SEED" is an answer song to "YOU GET TO BURNING". It is a medium tempo song that I gave Mr. Omori the key words of the song and asked him to write it for me, with the feeling that I will sing it anew from here.

Since my debut, I have gone through many experiences and had some tough times that you may encounter in your daily life, but I thought that if I had my passion and what I believe in, I would be able to go deeper into singing again. I sang the song with the image of various experiences returning to the soil and blooming as a seed called "Eternal SEED.

If you have listened to "YOU GET TO BURNING," you will probably feel "I see! I think you will feel the same way.

─ Finally, how do you think the situation surrounding ani-song has changed in your 20 years of activity?

Matsuzawa: I think it has changed a lot (......), maybe 180° if I am not mistaken.

At the time of my debut, I feel that ani-song was something that was listened to by fans of a particular work, or by a specific group of people. I also sing songs that are not ani-songs, but there was a difference between the shows I was invited to when I sang so-called "fashionable music" and when I sang "YOU GET TO BURNING".

But nowadays, people say "I want to sing ani-song" or "I want to be an ani-song singer." It seems that ani-song has transcended the boundaries of genres that existed in the past, and has become one of the most popular genres. I think that's how much people have come to listen to ani-song and how popular it has become. That makes me very happy.

─ I am looking forward to the broadcast as well. Thank you very much for your time today!

(Interview, text, and photos by Michi Sugahara)

Program Information

Ani☆STE

Broadcast time: TOKYO MX1 every Thursday from 19:58, Sapporo TV every Saturday from 26:30, J:COM TV every Thursday from 22:00 / every Sunday from 23:30

MC：Daimao Kosaka, Ryoga