Exclusive Interview] "I will do my best so that everyone will recognize me as a voice actress! Former NGT48 member Rena Hasegawa talks about her passion for voice acting at ......!

Not a few idols are turning into voice actors these days, and another new face of note has just knocked on the door of the voice acting industry. Her name is Reina Hasegawa, who just graduated from the Niigata-based idol group "NGT48" on May 18, 2019, and today announced her affiliation with the voice actress agency "Crocodile. She also announced her appointment as an official reporter for the anime "Jyakami-chan Dropkick.

Akiba Research Institute conducted the fastest interview with Ms. Hasegawa, who made such a surprise announcement of her voice acting activities. We asked him about his thoughts on the voice acting profession and his love for anime, which he has always kept close to his heart. And his determination to start a new career.

We asked her to talk about the things that are on everyone's mind.

--Hasegawa-san, who graduated from the idol group "NGT48" on May 18 this year, announced on her Twitter page that she would pursue a career as a voice actor. You have now joined the voice acting agency Crocodile and have been appointed as an official reporter for the anime "Evil Girl Dropkick." When did you first become fully aware that you wanted to become a voice actress?

Reina Hasegawa (Hasegawa): I have been watching anime ever since I can remember. I first became interested in voice acting when I had a friend in high school who loved voice acting.

From there, it was about one or two years ago that I began to think in earnest that I wanted to become a voice actor. Around that time, my classmates around me were taking exams and working hard toward their dreams, and I was influenced by them.

--I was influenced by the way my classmates around me were taking entrance exams and working hard toward their dreams. Did you think about becoming a voice actor rather than an idol in the future?

Hasegawa: Yes. So I told the staff at NGT48 that I wanted to become a voice actor.

Actually, right before I graduated from NGT48, I had a chance to get a voice-over job because I was able to win first place in the "Voice Actor Determination Tournament" project on AiKaBu, the AKB48 Group's game application.

However, due to the most recent one, I had to quit NGT48 before I could get a voice-over job. In my mind, that was really frustrating .......

Thanks to the hard work of not only myself but also my fans, my dream finally came true! But as a result, I made my fans feel sad as well. So, at that moment, I decided once again that I was serious about becoming a voice actor.

--I was actually on the verge of grasping my dream of becoming a voice actor during my time at NGT48.

Hasegawa: I was going to tell my fans that I was going to pursue a career as a voice actress when I did the voice-over work for the "AiKaBu" project. That's how serious I was about becoming a voice actor.

However, I had to quit the group before I could have a chance to say that, so I thought I had no choice but to say on Twitter, "I'm going to pursue a career as a voice actor! I thought I had no choice but to say on Twitter, "I'm going to pursue a career as a voice actor!

--So you made a public announcement on SNS about your decision to become a voice actor. Hasegawa You have always loved anime, and it was the anime "AKB0048" that led you to join NGT48.

Hasegawa: In Niigata, where I lived, there were not many TV anime broadcasts on ...... (smiles).

Even so, I watched all the anime I could find, including old reruns on BS, CS, and Internet streaming. I watched it in real time, and I also recorded it and watched it over and over again. I watched so much anime that two or three TV sets broke down, and my parents even stopped me from using BS and CS (laugh).

(Laughs) -- Is it possible for a TV to break down because you watch too much anime?

Hasegawa: When I was watching online streaming anime, the anime "AKB0048" came up in the "Next Recommended Video" slot.

I learned about AKB48 from watching "AKB0048" and became interested in the AKB48 group. Until then, I had never heard of AKB48 itself, and I had never heard of .......

--So you learned about AKB48, which has been popular since that time, through anime! I guess that's how much anime you watched. ...... Then, do you have a favorite genre or work of anime?

Hasegawa: I watched romantic anime, but I mostly watched shounen and battle anime.

One work that I personally cannot forget is "Arslan Senki.

I like characters with white hair (laughs). Also, Arslan (the main character) is the same age as me, and I was very moved to see a boy my age trying his best. Arslan was the first work that I put so much emotion into. Even now, I sometimes watch it again.

And this may sound weird, but I love it when there is a lot of blood in battle scenes in animated films. That's why I watch all the Ghibli works, but my favorite is "Gedo Senki"!　I like it so much that I watch it over and over again, because the battle scenes and such make my eyes wide open. ......

--Of all the Ghibli works, you chose "Gedo Senki".

Hasegawa: Yes, I am. I don't really care about what others think of my favorite works.

--You have been an anime lover for a long time. What recent anime works do you recommend?

Hasegawa: Recently, I liked "BANANA FISH. I had never read the original manga, so I started with the anime.

There are many parts of the story that I thought were cool, and I was moved to tears by the way they both love their friends and put their lives on the line for others, even though they are young.

Now I'm also watching "The Sage's Grandson," "The Rise of the Shield's Hero," "Black Clover," and others.

Oh, and I watch almost everything related to sports!　I watch "Hi-Q! and "MIX" and "Diamond A", and yesterday I finished watching all the episodes of "Cross Game".

--I've watched "HIQUE!", "MIX", "Dia no A", and I finished watching all the episodes of "Cross Game" yesterday. You seem very lively when you talk about anime (laughs).

Hasegawa: I have never been able to talk about anime, so I am very happy about it!　There were anime-loving girls among my NGT48 members and friends, but I talked too much and it was to the point where I was drawing them away, so I kept it to myself for a long time. So now I'm having fun!　Hmmm... (laughs).

--On the other hand, did you have any fears about graduating from being an idol and becoming a voice actor?　Did you worry that your idol fans would leave you? ......

Hasegawa: To be honest, I was worried.

But when I was allowed to distribute on Showroom during my time at NGT48, I made it a point to mention that I liked anime, something I had kept hidden until then. This led to my fans liking anime, and we began discussing our impressions of anime at handshake meetings.

So I feel that there are not so many fans who leave just because "I like anime.

--Hasegawa: Why did you hide the fact that you "like anime" in the first place?

Hasegawa: I also love sports, so I pushed "sports lover" as my character. So, I thought that if I created a different character who was more of an "anime fan," my supporters would be confused. That's the main reason. That was the main reason.

--As you mentioned earlier, you are a big baseball fan. Do you have ambitions to appear in a baseball anime as a voice actor in the future?

Hasegawa: I think the most attractive thing about myself is that I used to play baseball. When I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, I was selected for Niigata Prefecture's women's baseball team, and in junior high school I participated in the prefectural tournament several times. ......

So, I would like to do my best so that I can make use of my love of baseball in my work as a voice actor!　I would also like to talk with voice actors who have been involved in baseball anime about baseball plays that are possible only in anime, such as the "disappearing magic ball" (laughs).

(Laughs) Of course, I would like to be involved in sports-related productions, not just baseball. I would like to play the role of a player, but I myself have been involved in sports as an athlete, so I would be happy to have a role as a manager or in a behind-the-scenes role, which I have never done before.

--HasegawaYes, I would like to be able to do things that I have never done before, like being a manager or playing a behind-the-scenes role.

Hasegawa Yes, I want to do things that I have never been able to do.

--Hasegawa: Is that why you were attracted to voice acting?

Hasegawa: I have always really liked acting.

Voice actors express the emotions of a character with just their voice. I thought that was an amazing skill. I started imitating voice actors by watching anime, but since I didn't have any skills, I couldn't do it well. That is when I started researching voice acting and became more and more interested in it. I found it fascinating that voice acting is a way of communicating with just one's voice.

--Hasegawa: Is there a voice actor that you admire?

Hasegawa: I don't really know what I admire about voice actors yet, but there are a lot of voice actors that I think I would like to work with, such as the ones at ....... There are many voice actors that I like.

For women, I think Misaki Hisano is very cute, and I listen to all the radio broadcasts of the anime "The Seven Deadly Sins" (laughs).

(laughs) -- Do you want to use her as a reference in terms of acting?

Hasegawa: I just don't know anything about voice acting yet.

That's why I'd like to visit the "Jyakami-chan Dropkick" studio to learn about the atmosphere and the way things work at the studio, and since I'll be trained as a voice actor from scratch at the agency, I'd like to learn everything I can.

--How do you feel about the actual recording studio for the "Jyakami-chan Dropkick" anime?

Hasegawa: I had seen the postrecording on video, but it was very exciting to see the actual recording!

I was really moved to see up close how many people worked behind the scenes to create a single work of art. I hope to be able to talk a lot about anime with the staff.

--I hope to talk a lot about anime with the staff as well. Incidentally, Marina Yamada, a voice actress from former HKT48 and one of the senior members of our office, plays the role of "Pino" in "Jyakami-chan Dropkick". Have you talked with Ms. Yamada yet?

Hasegawa: I have only had a chance to say hello to her.

But I knew the news about Marina-san's transition to a voice actress, and I have seen the works she has appeared in. As someone who came from the same AKB group as me and became a voice actress, I wonder if she can best understand my feelings. I am very reassured. I hope we can be friends from now on!

--Lastly, do you have a message for our readers?

Hasegawa: Actually, I'm going to forget about my idol activities once and for all, and I'm going to erase all my posts on SNS and become a voice actor instead of a normal person.

Of course, I would like to say "please continue to support me" to those who became my fans during my idol days, but first of all, I will do my best from the very beginning so that everyone will recognize me as a voice actor!　I really will forget about my idol days (laughs).

This time I was involved in the work as an official reporter for "Jyakami-chan Dropkick," but I hope to meet you all again in a different form, this time as a voice actor!

--I am looking forward to seeing you in the future. Thank you very much for your time today!

(Reporting and writing by Michi Sugahara)