A storm of ad-libs by the cast! Interview with Naomi Ozora (Chio-chan's way to school) and Chiaki Omigawa (Manana Nonomura)!

Chio-chan's Way to School," a new type of extreme school comedy that has been the talk of the town, will begin airing in July 2018!　Naomi Ozora, who plays the role of Chio's heroine, Chio-chan Mitani, and Chiaki Omigawa, who plays Chio's childhood friend, Manana Nonomura, who is voraciously aiming for the top of the school caste, talked about the charms of this work!
⇒[ Present] Commemorating the broadcast of "Chio-chan's way to school"! Naomi Ozora, Chiaki Omigawa, and Kaede Hondo's autographs can be won in the Hittokoto campaign!

Naomi Ozora's commute to school was full-blown Chunibyo!

--First of all, please introduce the characters you played.

Ohzora Chi-chan loves foreign games, so-called "Western games," and aims to be "lower middle of the pack" at school, and has the guts to "not want to stand out badly" (laughs).

However, it is fun to watch her act out of the ordinary due to the useless ...... but fun knowledge she has gained from games and her surprising athleticism.

Manana Omigawa is a cute girl who, like Chio, is classified in the "lower-middle" category, but she is always aiming for the top, as if she has the worst parts of a girl packed into her (laugh).

--Do you have any similarities between yourself and the character you played?

Omigawa: I am a person with weak information, and I tend to buy products that are popular on the Internet. (laughs).

Chio Ohzora is the kind of girl who plays games on the way to school in her head and grins. When I was a student, a certain "movie about a boy who is a wizard" was popular, and I used to wonder if an owl would fly through the window during class. ...... I used to fantasize about the magic owl flying through the window during class (laugh). I also longed to commute to school by helicopter, and would say to myself on the way to school, "Can you make it rain tomorrow?　I would talk to the spirits and say, "Can you make it rain tomorrow? Anyway, I was very delusional.

Omigawa: That's a little bad. ...... (laughs).

--What did you think of the original story?

Ohzora: Since the title is "Chio-chan's Way to School," I thought it would be a school story, but I was surprised by the eccentric and unique work that is based on a single episode of the way to school. Personally, I am very concerned about whether she is going to be on time after making such a detour (laughs).

There are many people I happen to meet on my way to school, but they have a semi-regular class presence, not a mob presence. I read the original story all the way through to the latest edition in preparation for the audition.

Omigawa: I had read an article somewhere that featured "Chio-chan's Road to School," and I only had the knowledge that "there is a manga dedicated solely to the road to school. Later, at the time of the audition, I realized, "That's the one! I realized that it was the one. But at first, I was worried that it could be made into an anime if it was just a work about walking along a school route (......?). (laughs).

--You mentioned auditioning for other roles?

Ohzora: Actually, I auditioned for Manana in addition to Chio. So when I was told, "We decided on Chio-chan! I remember exclaiming with the office staff, "What a surprise! (laugh). But now I think about it, when I was auditioning for Chio-chan, I was told, "Please include a lot of 'woosu! I think that may have been the deciding factor for me (laughs).

Omigawa: I auditioned for Chio and Madoka (played by Daichiha), but I was very surprised to be chosen for Manana, whom I don't remember having auditioned properly (laughs).

(Laughs). I mean, both of us were surprised by the unexpected casting (laughs).

--(Laughs.) - I heard that the ad-libs in this film are amazing in many ways.

Ohzora That's right. At first, I was a bit hesitant to do it, but as time went on, I became more and more eager to "see the smiles on the audience's faces! I wanted to see the smiles on the viewers' faces. Perhaps that desire came out in my performance in the latter half of the story.

Omigawa: I am just trying my best from the beginning to the end!　I am just acting with the desire to follow Chio-chan!

Ohsora Eh, I was going for Manana. ......

Omigawa No, no, no (laughs).

Ohzora No, no, no, no (laughs).

Omigawa: I was really enjoying the ad-libbing until about halfway through the show, but once I realized that everyone was aiming for a higher level, I began to understand each other's moves, like "This is how it's done. I began to think about things like, "Isn't the staff getting tired of this reaction? I also started to think about things like, "Isn't the staff getting tired of this reaction? My stomach began to ache more and more.

Omigawa: "On a piece of paper with the lyrics written on it, I wrote in large letters, 'JK, be cute! I wrote "JK Cute!" on a piece of paper with the lyrics written on it (laughs).

-- Now, please tell us about the theme song. Let's start with the OP theme song, "Danger in my School Road.

Ohzora: It's a song that is a direct adaptation of Chio's story.

Omigawa: On stage at "Machi★Asobi" in Tokushima, the producer had set the bar high with the comment, "It's a fun and cool song," but I was surprised to hear a song that went beyond that!

Ohzora The guitars were squeaking too, weren't they?

Omigawa: Yes!　But I thought, "Why do I have to sing with such terrible lyrics?" (laughs).

Ohzora: I sang the melodious parts with the music, while playing around with the A melody and other parts that I could play with. The chorus was fun, too.

Omigawa: Unlike ordinary songs, "Gomokase! Momokeze! When I sang it in a cute way at first, I was asked to shout more, so I sang it as if I was protesting on the street with a placard (laughs).

(Laughs.) I was excited to hear what would happen if Yuki's voice was added to the song.　I'm excited to see what would happen if Snow's voice were on the song.

Ohzora That's right. Snow-chan has her own psycho side, so what will happen when the three of our voices are combined?　I am very much looking forward to it. I also felt that the song is very difficult to sing, so I hope you will give it a try when it becomes available for karaoke. Please sing the song as if you were a rocker!

--How about the ED theme "Nanai Road"?

Ohzora: It is a song that Chio and Manana are singing to each other. The song expresses the complicated feeling of not wanting people to realize that they have feelings for each other.

I really admire a relationship where we can say how we feel about each other without hiding it. My parents moved around a lot, and I went to two different schools in elementary school, junior high school, and high school, so I don't have any childhood friends that I can call my friends. That's why I envy their relationship so much.

Omigawa: I thought, "This is a really good song," and I thought it would be more interesting if I sang it like a good song, so I went to record it. on a piece of paper with the lyrics written on it (laughs).

Ohzora: I recorded the song later than you, but I heard the finished version with both of our voices combined before you did. It was great!

Omigawa It's a great song - I can't wait to hear it too!

--Please tell us about your memories on your way to school.

Ohzora: On the way to school, there was an apartment building where a friend of mine lived, and we had an elegant tea time at the pillow tea in the apartment, drinking a blend of tea brought from each of our homes. We also stopped by a supermarket to sample some food and go home, and had fun getting off school (laughs).

Omigawa That's so cute!　I used to have my parents drive me to school. When I left school, the brother of the yakitori shop always gave me yakitori. When I think about it now, I wonder "why?" (laughs).

--Please give a message to those who are looking forward to the program.

Omigawa: I think we were able to betray the expectations of the original fans in a good way. ......?　As I mentioned earlier, I think everyone, including the staff, has great respect for the original work and are looking forward to the anime as readers. We have done everything we had to do, so thank you in advance for your patience!

Ohzora: We have been so passionate about making every inch of the animation interesting that even the scenes you might pass by at first glance are filled with our passion, so I hope you will watch it from cover to cover. Personally, I am the type of person who likes to watch interesting films frame by frame, so I would be happy if "Chio-chan's Way to School" is like that for you. I gave it my all, so please watch it!

(Interview and text by Atsushi Saeki)

In commemoration of the broadcast of "Chio-chan's School Road," Akiba Research Institute is currently running a Hittokoto campaign to win autographs from Naomi Ozora (Chiochi Mitani), Chiaki Omigawa (Manana Nonomura) and Kaede Hondori (Yuki Hosokawa)!
Please join us!
⇒ Present] Commemorating the broadcast of "Chio-chan no Tsugakkoji"! Hitoito campaign to win autographs of Naomi Ozora, Chiaki Omigawa, and Kaede Hontachi has started!