Reviewing three albums by Marei Uchida, Sumire Uesaka, and Kiyono Anno that show further evolution as artists! Seiyu Artists Bulletin October 2021

This is a series of articles reviewing voice-over artists' works released in the current month.

In the October 2021 issue, we will focus on three voice actress singers. First, Uesaka Sumire and Uchida Marei are in the "career bracket," as they both began their music careers early in 2013 and 2014. Then, we pick up Kiyono Anno, who will soon celebrate the 5th anniversary of her music career, but whose career as a voice actress spans more than 10 years, just like Uesaka and Uchida.

In this article, we will review three albums by these girls under the theme of "one album that shows their further evolution as artists.

Marei Uchida's 3rd full album "HIKARI" (released on October 27)

HIKARI" is the title of Uchida's first full-length album in three and a half years. The title of the album is "HIKARI," meaning "I want to be a light" for those who support her as she looks toward the future that lies beyond this era. This is the origin of the title of this album. It is a more significant subject than her previous full-length albums "PENKI" and "Magic Hour".

To give a few excerpts from the new songs, "Never ending symphony" is a song that calls for a "return to the roots" of the band's debut song, "Wound Innocence". Produced by R.O.N., it is a live-oriented hard rock tune. It is also a "version" of "Gimme Revolution," a representative song from the early days of the band's music career! Revolution," which also originated in the early stages of the band's career, is "YA-YA-YAN Happy Climax! The lyrics and music were written by Q-MHz, a group of creators that includes Tomoya Tabuchi (UNISON SQUARE GARDEN). Arrangements are by Q-MHz and Yashikin, making it an outrageous festive party tune.

Flash Idea," which somewhat pays respect to Ayumi Hamasaki, "stands out for the smoothness of its vocals," according to the artist herself. Astra," which has the lowest key and "hypothermic" tropical/deep house sound in the history of her music, shows a new expression that has not been seen in her past works.

The songs that balance these new songs are also not to be missed. The freshness of "youthful beautiful" and "Kodo Escalation," which features brass over a Motown beat, are two songs that shine brightly even though it has been a long time since their release. The album also includes "one miracle in 100,000 years," a song that is a miracle of the past.

Also, "Heart Beat City," which matches the bouncy electro beats arranged by kz (livetune) with TAKU INOUE's cosmically romantic lyrics, "It's like a miracle that happens only once in a hundred thousand years," and "Itsuka Kumo ga Haretaeru (If the clouds will clear)," this time with lyrics and music by kz and arrangement by TAKU INOUE. The song "Someday, If the Clouds Clear" is another masterpiece, this time with lyrics written by kz and arranged by TAKU INOUE. In particular, "Someday, Kumo ga Hareta Naranara" can be seen as a reflection on the current state of affairs, as the song describes the emotional state of waiting for the rain to stop, and gives us hope for the "someday (=future)" when the mask is removed.

Listening to this work, I was reminded once again of Uchida's ability to adapt to a wide range of music, from pop to rock to electro and other genreless genres, a skill often required of voice-over artists. HIKARI" is a perfect testament to the "all-rounder" Marie Uchida's ability to "dye her voice in any color.

By the way, this album shares the same melody between "Change the world," the album's prologue, and the last song, "Exicite the world! This structure of placing songs that are answer songs to each other at the beginning and end of the album is similar to the self-sampling from "Hello, 1st contact! It seems to be a self-sampling of "Hello, future contact!

This makes us want to imagine the background behind the creation of songs such as "Never ending symphony" and "YA-YA-YAN Happy Climax! Although we cannot confidently say that the underlying theme is "going beyond PENKI," it would be interesting to see this work from such a perspective.

In any case, Mr. Uchida has found a "light" that shines into a new horizon through dialogue with himself, his past works, the times, and the world. Her cheerful voice promises that a bright future awaits us if we continue in the direction of that light. The music of Marie Uchida will flash back to you even years from now.

Uesaka Sumire 12th single "Seikatsu Konkyuda Medinero" (October 27)

The title song is the opening theme song of the TV anime "Jahi-sama wa Kujikuuke! in which she also plays the role of a magical girl. The title song "Dame Dinero" is Spanish for "gimimimane," which means "gimme money," to quote the lyrics. The song is strongly connected to the anime story that depicts the protagonist, Jahi-sama's poor part-time life and his struggles.

The song was written and composed by Kenichi Maeyamada (=Hyada-in) and arranged by Touta Fujiwara. The track is in Maeyamada's style at full throttle, with elements of several songs packed into a single track that moves back and forth between Latin tastes and enka (traditional Japanese ballad), which could be described as a patchwork. The end of the chorus is as catchy as the end of a commercial song.

The lyrics also respond to the outlandish idea of "Dame Dinero" with a poisoned response. The lyrics include such blunt phrases as, "Hell depends on money, but even if you have money, hell is still hell," as well as, "I'll pay you back in double the amount! and other such clichés that any deadbeat has heard at least once in his or her life.

Especially when life gets "konkyu," we tend to believe in the words "it'll be all right" and "we'll manage," without any reason, and our hearts tend to get excited and restless. The high-tempo track with a BPM of over 200 may contain such a "round-the-clock insanity. Uesaka herself is poor but positive, so listeners can avoid feeling sympathy for her because of the overly positive atmosphere of her words, such as "But so far, I'm living with a smile on my face.

It is because of the tag team of Sumire Uesaka and Kenichi Maeyamada, both of whom are very talented singers, that they were able to express such strong lyrics and radio frequency songs and neutralize the harshness of the lyrics at times. This is a good example of how the selection of people matched the concept of the song, resulting in a high-quality song.

In addition, be sure to check out the music video, in which you can see Uesaka-san working part-time at a Chinese restaurant and a construction site, looking very cute.

Kiyono Anno 4th single "Onnaji Kimochi. (October 20, 2010 release)

This month will also see the release of "Macross Delta the Movie: Absolute LIVE!!!!!!" and the birth of the new single "Onnajikimochi. and the release of "Walküre Reborn!", a new album by Valkyrie, a unit created from the movie. Among these, what should be introduced in this report is a new single from his solo career.

The title song is the opening theme song for the TV anime "Isekai Shokudo 2" in which she plays the role of Sarah. It has been four years since she sang the theme song for the anime since "Chiisana Hitotsubu" from her first mini-album.

The song is a heartwarming string tune about the joy of eating together. The onomatopoeia of "bloom, bloom, bloom, bloom" sounds like eating fried food, and if you listen to the rest of the song, you can hear the double meaning of "bloom" in the smiling faces. In general, this is a superb song that is in harmony with the story of the anime, and is synergized by the healing voice and personality of Ms. Yasuno herself, who can be described as a "healer". Is it just me, or did I fall in love with the song as if I was "falling on my knees with her voice?

The coupling track "Act 10 ~Dear My Characters~" is, as the title suggests, a song commemorating the 10th anniversary of Yasuno's debut as a voice actor. The lyrics were written by Yasuno herself, and some of the phrases in the song are reminiscent of the characters she has played (for example, Kaname Buccaneer from "Macross Delta" is quoted as "Suki mo kirai mo" from the song "AXIA ~Daisuki de daikirai~"). ) We hear more and more often that voice-over artists are unique, and this is precisely the kind of lyrics that could only come from a voice-over artist. We hope that you, too, will try to find a phrase for your favorite character.

The track, which also features a lighthearted big-band jazz tune, has the sad yet lovely vibes of the end of a show: "I wish this moment could go on indefinitely. Rather than "healing," this song is more of a reminder of Yasuno's will to continue her career as a voice actor, and the warm look in her eyes as she reconnects with her favorite characters and reminisces about the past is very touching. This song is sure to reaffirm to fans that Ms. Yasuno, who played the role of their favorite character, still loves them.

(Text by Kota Ichijo)