She uses the performances of voice actors as a reference for her live performances! Interview with Moa Tsukino of "Masked Girls: Armor Girls" who took her first step as a voice actress [Seiyu Michi from an Idol Part 3

What does a former "idol" in the spotlight feel when she jumps into the unknown field of "voice acting"?　In the third installment of "The Road to Seiyu from an Idol," Moe Tsukino, the third generation center of the "Masked Girls: Armor Girls," joins us. She says, "I took piano lessons for 9 years from kindergarten, flute in junior high school, and bass guitar all the way through high school, so music is my starting point. A certified Japanese language teacher and karate instructor, her biggest setback came when she decided to become a voice actress. However, despite the detours, Moa Tsukino talks about her path to voice acting, which she has gradually begun to advance, including two lead roles in "TO BE HERO" and "TO BE HEROINE.

Idol is just like a part-time job for a limited period of time

───First of all, please tell us why you became an idol.

Tsukino: I did not originally aspire to be an idol, and I did not know anything about idols. Rather, I wanted to be a voice actor, but I had given up on that after unsuccessful auditions. Then, when I was a sophomore in college, I found a copy of "Deview" (a magazine published by Oricon Entertainment until February 2015, and also known as "Deview" in Japan) at the Co-op. When I was a sophomore in college, I flipped open an audition magazine called "Deview" (the predecessor of the web version of "Deview") at the Co-op and saw that my current agency was looking for an image girl for a limited time. I had decided to become a Japanese language teacher after graduation, and I applied without telling my parents because I thought it was something I could do with the little free time I had left before job hunting. That's how it all started.

--So it was like a commemorative entrance exam?

Tsukino: That's right. At the time, I was a member of the light music club at the university and concentrated on bass guitar, so I never sang, but I wanted to try my hand at singing and dancing.

─ Did you like singing?

Tsukino: I loved anime songs!　But the kind of music I wanted to do was not available in the club. That was one of the reasons I applied.

--So it was like a part-time job.

Tsukino: However, when I applied for the position, I found out that it was not like a part-time job, and that I would have to belong to an office in order to be able to perform. But once you belong, it is not easy to quit, so I wondered what I should do, but when I was allowed to observe a live performance of Masked Girls, I thought, "Wow! I thought (laughs). It was my first time to see idols perform live, and since I was in a band, the combination of heavy sound and idols was very interesting. I was told that this agency allowed me to balance schoolwork with my studies, so my father and I went back to talk to the agency again, and they said, "If you can manage both, you can give priority to your classes. I could do that while I was doing my teaching practice.

─ ─ At that stage, did you have the intention of eventually becoming a teacher?

Tsukino: No, I was thinking that I would do well during the term of my contract. I did not enter the school with the intention of quitting. I did not enter the school with the intention of quitting. I did not enter the school with the intention of becoming a teacher, and my parents told me to make sure I graduated with the proper qualifications. I was in the mindset of doing my best to be an idol.

─ Did you ever think about becoming a teacher again?

Tsukino: Not at all. I was too busy with my idol work. It was more like, "If I don't finish my practical training, I won't be able to sleep and I will die" (laughs).

───So, you never got tired of being an idol?

Tsukino: I never did. I really liked the live performances. It made me feel good to see the site and the audience enjoying themselves.

─ ─ Like a "happy space"?

Tsukino: Yes. I would be happy if the band could express what I wanted to express, but when I occasionally see people shed tears at a live concert, or when they say at a handshake event, "I'm really glad I came and worked hard today," I feel happy and think, "Oh, I'm giving this person the power to live. It makes me happy and makes me think, "I'm glad I did this live.

I was happy that they got excited when I sang ani-songs.

─ You originally wanted to be a voice actor.

Tsukino: This is a surprisingly boring reason, but when I was in junior high school, I was bothered when I went to karaoke. I have a rather high voice, so the songs I could sing were limited, and I wasn't that good. I still like to sing, but in junior high school, when other kids are singing, they are choosing songs.

--You work hard to sing your favorite songs, don't you?

Tsukino: That's right. But when I sang an anime song that not everyone knew at the time when Nico Nico Douga was popular, it was easy for me to sing because the key was high, and my friends really liked it. That made me happy. I had never watched anime until then, but I started to look into ani-songs, learned about voice actors, and learned that there were songs sung by voice actors. So anime songs were my starting point. From songs like "Nico Nico Douga Ryuseigun" and "Kumikyoku," I learned about "iM@S" songs and "Gacha Gacha Kyu~to Fuyu@Mate.

─ So you think of yourself as someone who also sings, rather than as a voice actor who performs?

Tsukino: That's right. I have been doing music since kindergarten, and music is my "starting point. That is also why, at first, I had the image of someone who sings in the ani-song genre.

─ Do you remember the first anime songs or voice actors that you fell in love with?

Tsukino: The first ani-song I liked was "Fluffy Time. I liked it because it included dialogue. From there, Ai Toyosaki was my first ideal!　Someone with a cute voice! I was like, "Cute voice!

──When you went on to high school and college, did you ever think about becoming a voice actor?

Tsukino: My parents didn't think I wanted to become a voice actor seriously, so I couldn't tell them. So I practiced my favorite ani-songs and tried saying the lines that came up when I searched for them on the Internet. Also, there was a karaoke function that allowed me to do voiceovers, so I would do it by myself. Looking back on it now, it sounds like a child's game, but that's all I could think of at the time. I thought it was not a good idea to go to ...... while going to school. I even half-hidden from my parents when I applied for auditions.

--I would have been happy if I had been accepted, but it was like ......?

Tsukino: If I got accepted, I could do it. My mother was of the opinion that people who enter the entertainment industry are scouted, and if I was scouted by a major company, I could do it. She didn't think I would succeed even if I went to school, so it wasn't until I was in college that I started auditioning. But when I went to auditions, I was surrounded by people who had gone to voice acting school. Or they were in theater companies. Actually, I was a finalist in the audition for "Wake Up, Girls! I also went through a group interview. But I was the only amateur, and as soon as everyone got the script, they started practicing their vocalizations against the wall. I did that, and I still failed. But I thought, "If I work a little harder, maybe I can make it. Later that day, I received an e-mail from Avex inviting me to audition for a new voice actor position. I was one of the seven finalists for that audition as well, but I still failed. That led me to my previous story. I wanted to do something before becoming a Japanese language teacher, and that's how I came across our agency.

-- When I see "Wake Up, Girls!" at .......

Tsukino: "Wow" (laughs). I watch the work and I like it.

You made time for me alone before and after recording.

───How did you make your debut as a voice actor?

Tsukino: I got the opportunity to work on "TO BE HERO" at our office through a chance encounter. For a long time, whenever the president would ask me, "What do you want to do? I have always persistently said, "I want to be a voice actor. I knew that no one in our office was working as a voice actor. So when the president asked me, "Do you want to give it a try? I said, "Of course, I'll do it! That was the beginning of my life as a voice actor.

─ While you were working as an idol, did you ever think that you might be able to try your hand at voice acting?

Tsukino: No, I did not. While everyone else was saying that they wanted to do modeling, acting, or variety shows, I said "voice acting.

───It didn't seem very realistic?

Tsukino: That's right. But there was no point in lying. I was hoping to have even the slightest chance.

───Then, when you were chosen to play the heroine in "TO BE HERO"?

Tsukino: Well, I was surprised. I mean, it was the lead role in a terrestrial anime, right?　So I was really happy, and I was desperate to make it a success. I kept practicing so that I wouldn't crush my throat.

─ ─ But I think you must have been very anxious.

Tsukino: I was anxious, but I knew that if I didn't succeed here, there would be no next time.

───Did you have any acting experience?

Tsukino: I had lessons for actresses from a great teacher, but I had no lessons for voice actors. The first time I took lessons was after "TO BE HERO" was decided.

─ Did you take acting lessons in anticipation of your voice acting career as well?

Tsukino: No, I was aware that I wanted to be active in multiple fields. I also took modeling and dance lessons, thinking that everything is an experience. However, when Alice Project started producing short films called "Alice Film Collection," I appeared in several of them, and I really felt that acting and voice acting are two different things.

───So, how did you feel when you first went to the recording studio for "TO BE HERO"?

Tsukino: I heard through my manager that the voice acting industry is very strict. I was told that no one was allowed to come to the studio in shorts, and that we were expected to dress neatly and neatly. I also heard that there is a door staff. Newcomers would sit closest to the door and open and close it. I also heard that once you get a bad image, it spreads quickly and you lose your job. So I thought, "I must get in earlier than anyone else and definitely get a seat near the door.

─ ─ (laughs). It sounds like a world with a "ya" in it.

Tsukino: But when I went to greet Kenjiro Tsuda, Minoru Aoyama, and Tomokazu Sugita during the recording of the first episode, they were all very kind and made me feel at home, so it was like a dream come true.

─ Did you open and close the door?

Tsukino: I wanted to, but I was told to sit in the middle because I was the main character, so I couldn't (laughs).

───How did you feel about your first postrecording?

Tsukino: I had a super hard time. I was terrible at it. That's right, of course. Moreover, I was surrounded by a special cast of veterans other than myself. So, although they helped me with my acting, I was acutely aware of the gap in terms of acting ability, the sound of my voice, and the thickness of my voice. But anyway, I felt that it was a place where I could grow. Director Shinichi Watanabe (Nabeshin) was very kind to me. In fact, the director himself came with the sound staff 30 minutes or an hour before the recording session started and gave us a place to practice individually. He asked me, "Well, why don't you show me what you've practiced? After that, he told me, "This is the line, so say it this way," or "There's not enough time, so let's do it this way. Then he would say, "Well, let's do our best on the set," and I am grateful to him for taking such good care of me. I was able to record the parts that I couldn't get right, and I was able to do so until I was satisfied, even though I was the ONLY one (without a co-star). ...... Just remembering it now makes me want to cry.

It was--it was a luxurious time, wasn't it?

Tsukino: I think we were really blessed. I definitely wanted to leave results for the director, and I wanted to be told at the end that I had become good at it.

─ Did he say anything to you when you finished?

Tsukino: They said, "You did your best. They also said, "Let's definitely meet again in the next work. So my current goal is to meet Director Nabeshin and the cast of "TO BE HERO" in another film. The other cast members were very kind, and Mr. Sugita was very funny.

I see that "Mr. Sugita was interesting" (laughs).

Tsukino: Mr. Sugita was funny (laughs). That's why I want to work even harder as a voice actor.

─ ─ What did you learn from the director and sound director that particularly impressed you?

Tsukino I don't know. I learned a lot from all of them. But I remember well that I was told to "feel the sides. I tend to do this because the microphones are lined up and there is a screen in front of me (with his hands standing next to his face).

─ ─ He told you to feel your co-star.

Tsukino: That's right. It is basic to listen to the lines of the other actors and other cast members, but I thought, "I see" when you say to feel the side of the actor.

──What was the most different thing from what you imagined when you entered the recording studio as a voice actor?

Tsukino: That there is a lot of ad-libbing. But that's because I didn't have the knowledge and the concept of putting in sounds when a character appears, even if there are no lines in the script. Even in a scene where a character is just holding a doorknob, I would put in a casual breath sound. That was something I didn't know until I got on set. I felt that the characters were alive.

I breathed life into them so that I could say, "Don't worry, I'm going to bring them to life.

───How do you honestly feel now that you have started working as a voice actor, which you have always wanted to do?

Tsukino: I'm having fun, anyway. I am not satisfied with my acting, and every time I do it, I feel down that I am not good enough, but when I am doing it, it is a lot of fun. The ideal I am looking for is far beyond that, but if I could reach a level that I am satisfied with, I think how much fun it would be. But I guess that's because I love being a voice actor. I want to quickly build up my skills and experience so that I can confidently deliver my voice to others. Right now, I think, "I would be happier if a veteran actor played the role rather than me. If it weren't for me, the character might become popular and be made into merchandise. I want to be able to breathe life into a character and say, "I'm going to put my voice in, so don't worry.

─ ─ How do you feel now?　It may be hard to say that you are more of a voice actor than an idol.

Tsukino: No, I want to sell as a voice actor.

─ ─ Does that mean that you are thinking of graduating from Armor Girls in the future?

Tsukino: No, that's not it. I just want to be known as "Moa Tsukino, voice actress" to as many anime fans as possible. I want everyone to love the works I have appeared in and the characters I have played. My dream and goal is to be someone who, when I perform live in a big hall, many people will come to see me. Haruka Tomatsu's "Q&A Recital! I love and really respect the live videos of Haruka Tomatsu's "Q&A Recital! Even now, I use the facial expressions, performance skills, and movements of voice actors, rather than idols, as a reference for my live performances.

─ What do you feel is the main reason why you refer to live performances by voice actors rather than idols?

Tsukino: I feel that idol live performances emphasize cuteness, but voice actors' live performances emphasize their voices. It's just a feeling I have.

─ ─ So you would like to perform live as a voice actor soon?

Tsukino: I would like to. I also want to sing character songs. It's a high hurdle, but it's my starting point.

───Finally, do you have any goals as a voice actor, or any characters you would like to play?

Tsukino: I had the opportunity to work with Rumi Shishido in the movie "Summertime Angel" in the "Alice Film Collection. At that time, I told her, "I haven't done any voice acting work yet, but I want to be a voice actor," and she said to me, "Your voice is husky, so I am sure you will sell it if you play a boy. I had a complex about my high and husky voice, but Rumi's words inspired me to make the most of my complex. I am currently playing the role of a boy named Ennosuke in a kids' animation called "Palette Island," and my dream has come true, but I would like to master the character of a boy even more.

(Interview and text by Koji Shimizu)

Akiba Research Institute is currently running a present campaign in which you can win a colorful paper signed by Moa Tsukino. Please participate in the campaign!
⇒[ Present] Masked Girls' Moa Tsukino's autographed color paper will be given away to one lucky winner!