Anime "Kizuna no Ariru" Unit Interview #2! VICONIC" Nozomi Nagumo (Jua) and Tsukino (Cea) special talk! PR]

The anime "Kizuna no Ariru" reached its final episode in December 2023. Many anime fans may have been left with a lasting impression from the last half of the series to the final episode, where the story unfolded in a furious manner.

In the second season, in addition to the unit "PathTLive" whose story up to its formation was depicted in the first season, new members "BRT5," "VICONIC," and "3DM8" appear. Along with the story of how the Virtual Grid Awards and the ADEN Seed main competition will turn out in the unit battles, each unit's music, music video-like live performances, and cross-unit collaboration songs also drew attention. The final episode, episode 24, combined with the power of the visuals, probably drew many people in.

In addition to the anime, the Alleles Project (hereinafter referred to as "Alleles"), in which 15 virtual artists from different backgrounds and personalities live in the virtual world and engage in various activities, is also noteworthy. The Alleles Project (hereinafter referred to as "Alleles"), which has uploaded many videos on YouTube, is also a notable project.

Akiba Research Institute conducted interviews with each unit to commemorate theArilesXR Live (#)scheduled to be held on March 8, 2024. In this second installment, we spoke with Kimi Nagumo (Jua) and Tsukino (Cea) of VICONIC.

When I saw the music video for the first time, it was so cool that I screamed!

--First of all, what are your impressions of the second season of the "Kizuna no Ariru" anime?

Nagumo: The most enjoyable part of the show was that the number of characters increased to 15 and we could see the individuality of each one. The relationships between the characters were precious and their growth was heartwarming. It was also nice that each unit had a post-performance story in the final episode. The quality of the visual beauty of the video also improved towards the end, and the music video (3DCG performance video) was so cool as a piece of visual artwork that I almost had a stroke of inspiration.

Tsukino: It was amazing. Even with the increase in the number of members, I felt that there was even more to see without being too much of a mess. The music videos and song genres for each unit were slightly different, and I think the scenes where the songs played were enjoyable.

Nozomi Nagumo

--The music video for "Ready Go" that was played in episode 21 featuring VICONIC was also really great. What was your impression of this song and music video, and how was the recording process?

Tsukino: It was the first time for me to hear a character song (sung by Céa) on TV, and I was very impressed with the high quality of the music video as well.

Nagumo: "Ready Go" was the first song I sang as Jua, and I recorded it when the recording sessions had just started. So, I was very eager to find out how Jua would sing it on the spot.

Before the recording, I was shown the music video for the first time, and I screamed in front of Director Komaya, who was on site. It was so cool that I couldn't take my eyes off the music video for even a second. I was especially impressed by his eyes that looked like the gaze of a beast. My gaze is the gaze of a beast! (Laughs)

Tsukino: Like, don't blink too much.

Nagumo Yes, yes. I was so impressed that I really didn't have time to blink. I was so moved that I didn't have time to blink. I recorded the song while thinking, "What is the coolness and expression that will live up to this video?

Tsukino: When I saw the music video, I thought it could be not only cool but also bewitching.

--The tail on the costume also adds a very nice touch, doesn't it?

Nagumo: The tail is cute, isn't it? I want to touch it (laughs).

Tsukino The tail is VICONIC's charm point. I would love to wear this costume.

Nagumo In the anime, Céa came up with the costume design, right?

Tsukino Yes, that's right. Jua wrote the music for me.

Nagumo We didn't even discuss it, but the way the roles were naturally divided up, I felt that we understood each other.

--Can you tell us more about what you were conscious of during the recording process?

Nagumo: For my part, the part before the chorus, "1,2.... Count!" before the chorus, I thought about how to express it differently for the first verse and the second verse, and I thought about how to make it sound cool.

Tsukino That part was really cool!

Nagumo Thanks. However, I had never really touched on rap music before, so I was worried about how to express it. I thought I had done it in a cool way anyway, but when I listened to the campaquet at ......, I found that I was singing "LALALALA - Yeah! (Laughs.) But I thought it sounded like Jua in this way. (Laughs) But I thought this was very Jua-like. Even if I had listened to the tentative song and tried to copy it, it wouldn't have worked exactly the same way, but Seah had already recorded it, so I was able to do it in a way that matched the song.

--Did you also have a hard time rapping?

Tsukino: It was a little difficult to find the right words or the right rhythm, but I was able to manage it because I practiced. And Kisara-san (music producer Yohei Kisara) was very upbeat, praising me and saying, "It's good, it's good," so that really lifted my spirits.

Nagumo You are very good at getting people excited, Kisara-san.

Tsukino: Director Komaya also said that I had a perfect sense of the characters, which gave me a lot of confidence. The director also told me that he loves VICONIC. He especially likes Jua.

Nagumo: I am very happy! I heard that Mizuki Takahashi, the supervising producer, said that he likes Seer, and she is well-loved.

Tsukino: Yes!

Jua and Séa are precious in everything, from their distance, to their actions, to every word they say!

--In episode 21, not only the music but also the relationship between the two was deeply depicted. Please tell us what you think about that as well.

Tsukino: It's precious!

Nagumo Everything is precious!

Tsukino: The preciousness that only a duo can have came to the fore. I think that the number of episodes clearly showed that although Seah is usually tsuntsun, she also loves Jua. The girl he loves (Jua) gets a bad word from someone in the store, and he can't stand it.

Nagumo: Yeah, yeah. Usually it seems that Jua's love is heavier, but actually Seua's love is so much greater. I'm moeing when I think about the shoes that Jua liked, and how she went out of her way to find them when they were sold out.

Tsukino I understand. But I also have a section where I do that to my friends, so I was a little happy that the weight was a little similar (laughs).

Nagumo Moreover, it's also nice that the shoes made the video buzz and made you famous.

Tsukino Jua says so, but Seua says, "No, it's not. That's your effort." And the part where she really thinks that.

Nagumo Jua really thinks it's thanks to the shoes Seah gave her. She wears them every day, practices until they fall apart, and carries them in her bag all the time. It's so much like a good luck charm, and I want to always feel close to Seah.

Tsukino Wow!

Nagumo Kimashi Tower! (Laughs)

Tsukino Speaking of that, in the scene when Jua hugged me, I added a voice like "Haaaaah! I tried to add a voice like that, but it was cut (laughs).

Nagumo: That was right. In the last scene of the last episode (episode 24), Jua hugged Seah in the same composition, so I could see that scene overlapping. It was too cute to see Seah tying Jua's shoelaces for her, and I got paranoid that Seah might have prescented her new shoes as well.

Tsukino That was really too emo.

Nagumo I think Jua's positivity was also well shown in episode 21. She even said that she was so happy that she took it as a positive even though she had been called a bad name, and she saved my life. I myself am not usually a positive person, so if someone said something bad about me, I would be bothered. But rather than worrying and brooding by myself, I thought that thinking openly like Jua might save my heart.

Tsukino: Yes, yes. Also, the scene in episode 23 where Seah falls asleep on Juah's lap was also impressive. It was good to see a glimpse of that.

Nagumo: The scene where Seah puts her face on Jua's shoulder also showed the sense of distance! I thought, "They must be flirting with each other on a regular basis. Speaking of distance, there was also the scene in episode 21 where they say, "Do you want to try streaming in space? in episode 21.

Tsukino: That's the scene after the live performance. I love it here too, it's so precious!

Nagumo This scene was the thumbnail in the official X post announcing episode 21. Huh? He kisses her? I thought to myself (laughs).

Collaboration songs with other kids reveal a cute side of Cear.

--In terms of songs, Jua also had a collaboration song "Perfect Gamer" with Zoe (CV. Nawa Furuhata). What is your impression of the collaboration, including the process that led to it?

Nagumo: My impression of the song is that the strong lyrics hit you over a comfortable beat. It is stylish and cool, and I would like people to listen to it in full, paying attention to the strength of the lyrics.

I would like to say something to Jua about the process of the collaboration. I would like to say something to Sara and Zoe. That's the part where you let Sarah and Zoe do the collaboration, isn't it? (laughs). (Laughs.) She kept saying she wanted to collaborate with Mirak, but when episode 17 came, she said, "Let's do Zoey! I couldn't help but poke my head into the script as I read it. I couldn't help but say as I was reading the script, "Jua, you're kidding, right? I said, "You're kidding!

Tsukino: She's very easily distracted (laughs).

Nagumo It's really intense, isn't it? Mirak was there, too, and Mirak said, "What? Me? !" He was like, "What about me? And the reason he approached Zoe was because "I had fun playing games with Zoe." ...... elementary school kids, huh? (Laughs)

That kind of simplicity, or rather, the fact that she does what her heart desires, is one of the good things about Jua, but as you can imagine, I had to rush into it. But on the other hand, Jua and Zoey are only involved in that. I had never had a chance to get to know Zoe (Nawa Furuhata, who played Zoe) in the Arills distribution, and we had only greeted each other when we switched postrecording locations, so I thought it was a very rare collaboration.

Tsukino: But, as one would expect from the two of you, your dancing was also very sharp.

Nagumo: Yes, I felt that the song had an EDM-like quality that was different from the coolness of VICONIC's "Ready Go," which has a K-POP feel and sexiness.

Ms. Tsukino

--How did you feel about their collaboration, both from your point of view and from Seah's point of view?

Tsukino: As for Seah, she has only seen Juah from before, so I think she had mixed feelings about it, as she said in episode 21. I really want to do it with Jua, but ...... I want to stand next to her, but ...... Jua, why not? He said.

Nagumo: Because he said, "Why isn't it me who is standing next to you?"

Tsukino I thought VICONIC was great, including that part.

Nagumo Jua also said that she wanted to collaborate with Céa, but maybe Céa was thinking that she had something else in mind.

Tsukino That may be so. Séa was saying to others, "I won't do collaboration.

Nagumo: If Jua went to another girl and it wasn't Jua, then that was enough! I guess she was like, "If it's not Jua, I'm done! How cute!

Tsukino Right. Thinking back on it again, it's so heavy-handed. And I think it's a good balance that one of them (Seah) is heavy and the other (Juah) is the type who is innocent and wants to be involved with all kinds of people.

Nagumo For some reason, Jua also loves Seah the most, so while their forms of love may be different, they weigh each other down.

Tsukino They even carry their shoes in their bags all the time, and they are in the room together all the time.

Nagumo Yes, yes. In episode 15, she said about Chris and Mirak's collaborative live show, "I'd like to go over there to see them if I could, but that Seah guy is too noisy. Is that Seer stopping you? I thought. So, even though he said he was being too noisy, he is still putting Séa first (laughs).

Tsukino: So your girlfriend is your priority after all (laughs).

I am having a precious experience for the first time, a miracle now!

-We can't stop talking about Jua and Cea, but let me ask you about Arills as the next topic. How was the unit live performance you held online at the end of last year?

Nagumo It was already great!

Tsukino: In the anime, the line "It's the best in the universe, isn't it?" and "Well then, maybe next time we'll try to distribute it in space?" We were both talking about how emo it was to realize the line "It's the best in the universe" in the Tsukino anime and "Then let's try to distribute it in space next time. It's a space stage, and we are the best in the universe! We are the best in the universe!

Nagumo: We were really happy because we didn't think it would be realized. The concept of the live concert was to "connect with people in the world of the Internet" and "let's make constellations (together)." Both of us are also active on the Internet, and I felt that the concert was made even more profound by the intersection of the three worlds of real, anime, and virtual.

The production was also amazing. Each song had its own theme, such as a pop star for a cute song. It was fun to be able to provide a visual experience of the stage changing from one place to another, the backgrounds and angles changing instantly, etc. ...... as well as the delivery in space.

Tsukino: In the set list, the management suggested my original song "Tsuki no Uta (It's my song, It's your song)" because "I felt it fit the theme. I was very happy to see that they were willing to do something unconventional. I feel that Ariruz is an environment where it is easy to talk with the management about various things. The song "Interstellar Flight" was our suggestion.

Nagumo: Fans were very happy with "Tsuki no Uta (It's my song, It's your song)," weren't they?

Tsukino: That's right. There were people who heard it for the first time and bought the recording. I was really grateful. I was also happy that Non-chan (Ms. Nagumo) sang and danced with me and expressed herself with great care and importance. I think the content of the song was full of what we wanted to convey both as VICONIC and as Arills.

Also, the song "Pixel Star," which was also the title of the concert, was really great. It was very emo to sing and dance on a stage filled with twinkling stars as if they were spreading out into the universe.

Nagumo It was really emo to sing under the starry sky. I also liked the way the camera panned toward the starry sky at the end.

--Ariles will continue to be active in the future, and is there anything you would like to do in the future, including projects other than live performances?

Nagumo: Of course I am looking forward to the 15-person live concert, and I would like to do both real live and virtual collaboration live performances. Also, I would like to hold a training camp. It would be fun to do werewolf or mahjong as a project. ...... There are many things I would like to do.

Tsukino Planning-type things are fun, too. I would like to do a live concert on a large stage, not in space, but on a large stage.

Nagumo I would like to do that. Then I want to go to the world. If it's virtual, we can connect anywhere, but I'd like to go to a local stage in real life.

--I am looking forward to many things. Finally, please tell us again your thoughts on the project as a whole.

Tsukino: These interviews, as well as the events and live performances that accompanied the anime, the recording sessions, and the character songs, were a variety of valuable experiences that were new to me. Both the anime and the activities of Arills are really important to me.

Nagumo: It wouldn't have started without Ai-chan, and I think she was the one who connected me to the group. I could talk about my favorite scene in the anime, but I really like the scene in episode 20 where Ai-chan talks to Miraku. Instead of directly telling him to do his best, she says, "You can do it, it's going to be okay," and I think that's why Ai-chan is still so loved today.

And Ai-chan's fans are also very kind. Even though "Kizuna no Ariru" was not mainly about Ai, they supported and liked each and every one of us. Even in the Ariru's distribution, there were always with-linkers who always watched to the end, and because it was virtual, I felt everyone was close to me.

Tsukino: You are warm, aren't you? I feel that warm children have warm fans. I think that Ai-chan is the birth mother of VTubers, so I'm really thrilled to be involved in a project that was born from there and to be able to breathe life into the character.

Nagumo: It is truly an honor. I also think that the VTuber industry is what it is today because of Ai-chan. When Ai-chan first appeared on the scene, I was just a viewer enjoying the show, and I had no idea that I would be able to be a part of it a few years later. It's like a miracle that I'm here now, and I'll do my best to continue to build on the bonds we've established!

Tsukino, let's keep up the good work!


(Reporting and writing by Kenichi Chiba)

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