Junko Iwao and Shunsuke Takeuchi also took the stage! Report on the first announcement of performers for "Seiyu Kohaku Utagassen," the first ever music festival for voice actor fans!

The first announcement of performers for "Seiyu Kohaku Utagassen," a music festival by voice actors for voice actor fans, was held at Akihabara UDX on January 22, 2019.

The "Seiyu Kohaku Utagassen" is a music festival initiated by voice actor Joji Nakata, in which only voice actors perform. This project was born out of a post by Nakata-san on SNS, "Since the range of work for voice actors is expanding, why not make a 'voice actor red and white singing contest? At the end of last year, it was announced that the event would indeed be held, surprising many voice actor fans.
⇒The " Seiyu Kohaku Utagassen," a new festival by voice actors for voice actor fans, will be held! The promoter is Joji Nakata!

The host of the event has already been played by the actor who played Archer in "Fate/stay night" and Victor Nino in "Yuri! on ICE" as Victor Nikiforov, and Kana Ueda as Rin Tohsaka of "Fate/stay night" and Saki Miyanaga of "Saki". While people were eagerly waiting for more information, the first cast was finally announced on the day of the event.

Mr. Nakata, the promoter of the event, took the stage first. He was deeply moved, saying, "What I tweeted somehow turned out to be a reality (......).

The first batch of performers announced this time are as follows (titles omitted).

Red group

Kikuko Inoue, Honoka Inoue, Junko Iwao, Hiroko Kasahara, Mikako Komatsu, Shoko Nakagawa, Tomosa Yokoyama

White Team

Naoya Uchida, Akio Otsuka, Tomokazu Seki, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, and Masao Horiuchi

When the performers were announced in order, Mr. Nakata spoke passionately about his feelings toward each performer.

First, let's start with the performers in the red group.

I don't know if they will sing solo or together," he said, explaining that Kikuko Inoue and Honoka's father and son will appear on the stage. As for Junko Iwao, she commented, "I was hoping she would be in the show, since she played a married couple in 'Working. Tomosa Yokoyama was someone who "helped me when I started my voice acting career," and he said that he was very interested in having her participate in the show.

Next, he commented on the performers in the white group.

First of all, Akio Otsuka, who many people may be surprised to hear, told us the story behind his offer: "I thought he probably wouldn't like to sing in a place like this, but when I asked him directly, he said, 'I have no choice,' so I am very grateful.

He also said that he made the offer to Naoya Uchida and Keno Horiuchi because of their singing ability.

As for Tomokazu Seki, he said, "The hosts are Mr. Suwabe and Mr. Ueda. And when I and Tomokazu Seki are going to appear, some people might think, 'Whoa! He also commented on Tomokazu Seki, saying, "If the host is Suwabe-san and Ueda-san, and I and Seki-san are going to appear, some people might think, 'Whoa!

I'm looking forward to having everyone feel the charms of a mature man," he said, adding, "I'm looking forward to having young voice actors such as Mikako Komatsu and Shunsuke Takeuchi perform in the movie. We hope that young voice actors will continue to do their best" and "We want them to be active as voice actors and artists," according to the company.

There are still some voice actors under negotiation, and they will be announced in a second round.

In the latter half of the presentation, special guests Junko Iwao and Shunsuke Takeuchi also took the stage.

Ms. Iwao said, "I have wanted to be a part of this event since Mr. Nakata first tweeted on Twitter that he wanted to have such an event, so I was happy when I received the offer. I hope that this event will transcend generations and unite everyone's feelings. Nowadays, the word "voice actor" is understood everywhere, but in the past there were not so many schools or offices. I think it is wonderful that such a history has existed for so many decades, and now the opportunities for voice actors have expanded so much. I hope this will be a place where people can experience that.

Mr. Takeuchi said, "When we exchanged contact information, I wondered if it was right for me to be asked directly, but I felt honored. I wanted to give my performance in order to broaden the field of our activities as a young group.

In response to a question about what kind of songs would be performed, Nakata said, "I was wondering if it would be better if the songs were not character songs or anime songs, but I think it would be better to give priority to the songs that everyone wants to sing. （There are no barriers (in song selection).

The performers also commented, "I had decided what songs I wanted to sing from the time Joji-san told me about the project. I have sung this song as a voice actor, and it is also an important song for me personally, so I have already started practicing. If I sing as a voice actor, I would like to sing music from anime that I admired when I was a child, such as the works of Matsumoto Leiji, which impressed me when I was a child," commented Takeuchi. (Takeuchi) "I am also thinking of singing old school songs, such as works by Matsumoto Leiji, which impressed me when I was a child.

In closing, Mr. Nakata suggested that if this event is well received, it will be held again in the future, and added, "I hope it will be an opportunity for everyone who came to see him to say, 'I went to see him, but he sang so well and was so cool that I want to know more about him! I hope you can come and enjoy the atmosphere of the event.

The show will be broadcast on SKY PerfecTV! The advance lottery will start at 11:00 a.m. on January 23 for subscribers of "Family Theater" or a package set including "Family Theater" on SKY PerfecTV! If you are interested in this event, please apply now!

Performer Information
Red group