Interview with Nao Higashiyama, a.k.a. "Naobo," on her new single "Naimonenai Mahou," a happy song that warms the heart!

Nao Higashiyama's new single is "Chilling Magic", the ending theme for the TV anime "Isekai Shokudo 2". It is a light, fun, and happiness-filled cooking song, with the sounds of a knife hitting a cutting board and the sound of a stove being lit as sound effects. The coupling songs are also full of happiness, and Naobo's gentle vocals warm up the coming cold season.
The Blu-ray on the limited first edition and DVD on the special anime disc include a wide variety of bonus videos. We asked Naobo to talk about the 5th single, which also has a rich visual aspect.

The song "Chilling Magic" is quite an emo song that makes you feel people's warmth!

─ ─ "Isekai Shokudo 2" has already started airing, and Hilda, played by Higashiyama-san, appeared in the first episode.

Higashiyama: It was a sudden turn of duty. Hilda turned out to be a cooler character than I had envisioned. In the tests, I had given her a cute look that was appropriate for her age, but the direction on the set made her cooler side stronger, as she was a mercenary with a hundred battles who could defeat a goblin horde single-handedly.

───She then becomes obsessed with the cheesecake at "Yoshoku no Nekoya", doesn't she? The gap between the cool mercenary and the girly girl was fascinating.

Higashiyama: Hilda, who showed her strength in battle, but as soon as she took a bite of the cheesecake, she smiled a very cute smile. Actually, I wasn't very good at cheesecake until a while ago (laughs). I preferred pizza, gratin, smoked cheese, and other cheeses that were salty and perfect for meals and snacks. But recently, I started to think it would be nice to have cheese fused with sweetness. It was at that time that I was invited to be a part of a cheesecake story, so I thought, "Now I understand how good it is! I thought. Hilda, too, couldn't believe that cheese was being made into a pastry!　and she was surprised that the sugar was white. It was interesting to see the difference in food culture between the other world and the real world.

─ ─ I guess you could say that Hilda's role came at the right time and that you were able to empathize with her. Hilda has also become a regular at Nekoya, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. And then there is the ending theme, "The Magic That Never Cools. The song has a lot of culinary elements that fit the work.

Higashiyama: In the beginning of the song, you can hear the sound of a kitchen knife hitting the cutting board in the "familiar rhythm of cooking," and the stove clicks and the fire starts in the "ingredients' great transformation. The sound of silverware clinking is also included, and even the sound effects express the world of "Isekai Shokudo (Otherworldly Restaurant). I thought the entire song expressed the euphoria and warmth that comes from sitting around a dining table together eating a meal. My first impression was that it was a cheerful pop song, but as I listened to it more and more, I felt the warmth between people, and I felt that it was a very emo song. I felt the warmth between people as I listened to the song.

─ ─ What was your impression when you actually sang it?

Higashiyama: Everyone who has listened to the song has responded that it is catchy, memorable, and pleasant to listen to, but it was actually difficult to sing because of the technical nature of the song. First of all, it has a very wide range from low notes to high notes. It may be the widest range I have ever sung. My own range is on the higher side, so I can sing the high notes around the chorus in my natural voice, but this time I dared to try a falsetto with vibrato to make the vocals more memorable. It was a way of singing that I had never done before, and I think I was able to create a new drawer in this song.

─ Did you feel that the falsetto worked well after you suddenly took on the challenge?

Higashiyama: No, it was awkward at first (laughs). (Laughs.) But I could feel that he was trying. I was encouraged by the director to try a few more times, and I took many takes to make it my own.

─ ─ But in the end, you made it your own, and you were able to draw out new ideas.

Higashiyama: Yes, I think I did a good job. All the songs in this single were like that, and there were no songs that I could sing with confidence based on my experience alone. So the recording process continued as I found a new me in the process of singing.

─ ─ Mr. Higashiyama, you upload cooking contents on your "Naobo Channel" on YouTube.

Higashiyama: Oh, are you being sarcastic? (laughs) Well, I guess it's just a matter of etiquette (laughs).


(laughs) ─ No, no, I see that you are boldly taking on the challenge of cooking as well.

Higashiyama: Now that I have more time at home, I sometimes cook, and when I cook dinner for my mother when she comes home from work, she is very happy. I am still not very good at cooking, but I think the lyrics are true in that it makes me happy to have my loved ones eat the food I worked so hard to prepare before it gets cold. To broaden my interpretation, "cooking" that I make with all my heart for someone is a "work" or "song" for me as a voice actor and singer.

─ ─ In the sense of creating something and bringing joy to others, cooking and voice acting/singing are the same, aren't they?

Higashiyama: Yes, that is why I was able to sing with all my heart.

─ ─ The music video (MV) for "Nenai Mahou" (magic that never gets cold) is also a masterpiece, isn't it?

Higashiyama: We did our best!　The full-size version is available on YouTube, so I want to tell as many people as possible, "Look, look! I want to tell as many people as possible to "Look at it, look at it!

───The camera is long and the cut is continuous. The cut changes only once in the middle of the video, so there are a total of two cuts in the music video. It is amazing that you were able to do that with that many people in the cast.

Higashiyama: I was very nervous because if we made a mistake once, we had to start all over again from the beginning. Moreover, except for the parts where we danced with the dancers, we were completely free, so I was nervous about having to keep improvising and performing.

─ ─ That was tough. All the movements were very natural, as expected.

Higashiyama: Thank you very much!　The concept is that I invite a lot of guests to my house and have meals and parties with them, but the actors who appear in the film are not only of different ages and genders, but also of different nationalities, in the image of people from other worlds who gather at "Nekoya. There is a man playing the violin in the middle of the show, but that man is a real violinist, and the female dancers who danced with me are familiar members who have toured with us on our live tour. And in the second half, RIRIKO, who wrote and composed the lyrics to "The Magic That Never Cools" will appear as a surprise guest with her guitar.

─ ─ It is a great highlight that even the creator of the song appeared on the stage. She played the guitar smilingly.

Higashiyama: I got to know RIRIKO even better through this shoot. She has a lovely smile. Because of the long takes, the cast and crew worked together even more than usual to shoot the film, and when the director said "Cut! When the director said, "Cut!" at the end, everyone applauded. It was a really fun shoot.