Interview] The image on the jacket is "Knight of the Ribbon"!　Minori Suzuki releases new single "Damehadame"!

Voice actress and singer Minori Suzuki, aka "Minoringo," has released her new single "Damehadame!　The song is the ending theme for the TV anime "Tejin Senpai," and is a fun and interesting song that goes along with the world of the work, which is a slightly naughty comedy about magic tricks. ×The image on the jacket, in which a flag with an X on it is being cut in half with a sword, is a "Knight of the Ribbon". Minoringo always seems to have fun and goes beyond the imagination of her fans. Look out for the new single filled with new challenges!

I sang "Damehadame" with more theatrical elements than usual!

─ Your new single "Damehadame" is a cheerful and fun song, just like you, isn't it?

Suzuki: It's a playful song!　Tejin Senpai" was a bit naughty and a lively comedy, so I thought it would be better to have a fun song with a bit of sexiness rather than a breezy song. The song "Damehadame" was a tentative song, and I was like, "No? No! I thought it was interesting in a chirality kind of way (laughs). (Laughs). Besides, it had an unforgettable melody after the first listen, so I decided on this song.

───The music was composed by Shingo Asari. And the arrangement was done by Katsutoshi Kitagawa.

Suzuki: It was the first time for me to ask Mr. Kitagawa to arrange a song that I wanted to make interesting, so I was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out. I was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out, and the arrangement turned out to be even more outlandish than I had expected. The use of Beethoven's "Fate" and the gongs ringing at the end of the song were all Kitagawa's ideas, which were not in the tentative song stage. Catchy elements were added as we went along, and the song became even more unusual.

───That's how Kitagawa-san's playful spirit came out, isn't it?

Suzuki: I think he thought, "It's Minoringo, so it's okay to do this much.

───The lyrics were written by acane_madder.

Suzuki: He wrote the lyrics with the priority of respecting the world view of "Tejinsei Senpai," but since I had many opportunities to meet and talk with acane_madder directly, I think he also included myself in the lyrics. I felt acane_madder's love for me, especially in the lyrics "Don't cry, Don't mind" and "I'm always lost, crying, worrying, crying, but in the end I want to laugh".

─ I think the vocalist's expression changes from verse to verse, which makes the song even more interesting.

Suzuki: In the past songs, I've added various nuances to the song to give the impression of acting, but this time, the vocals are full of those elements. acane-san was present during the recording of the vocals and gave me direction while actually singing, saying, "If you sing it like this, the cuteness of Minoringo will stand out even more. Acane-san, Kitagawa-san, and Fukuda-san, the director, were good friends and seemed to be having a lot of fun laughing together. I had to put in a lot of theatrical elements, so it was physically demanding (laughs).

(Laughs) ─ They kept saying, "No? No!" but at the end of the song, she says, "It's okay. That part was especially cute.

Suzuki: "Okay" was decided at the very last minute after Kitagawa-san and Fukuda-san talked about how they wanted to put something at the end of the song. I followed the direction of Mr. Fukuda and the others and said the line.

What kind of direction did they give you?

Suzuki: "No? No! I sang, "No!" and when I sang it, I was staring at the person I was singing to, but then I looked away, fidgeted, and said, "Okay," with a downcast look on my face.

─ ─ It's full-blown cuteness (laughs).

Suzuki: Then there would be a short pause, and then the gongs would go off. Then I would look up and smile.

─ Is the sound of the gong a symbol of a happy ending?

Suzuki: I wonder (laughs).

───Mr. Suzuki is well known for his interesting music videos (MV), and this one was also unexpected.

Suzuki: I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Tramp Man!　He was a very gentlemanly man on the set, actually performing magic tricks and teaching me many things. When my mother showed the music video uploaded on YouTube to my grandfather and grandmother, they were surprised that Mr. Trumpman was in it before they were surprised about me.

─ ─ I think people above a certain age would definitely be surprised (laughs).

Suzuki: It seems so. When I looked at the reactions of the fans, some were surprised and some were stunned, which made me realize once again that people of all ages are listening to my music.

─ Your costumes were retro, and the bedroom set up on the roof of the building was cute.

Suzuki: The interior and accessories were cute, and the night view from the window was beautiful. I think this may be the most girlish picture of me in all the past music videos.


───The jacket photo is also cute with the knight-like outfit.

Suzuki: The art director, who has been a great help to me for a long time, first suggested the idea of a samurai cutting a flag. That was also nice, but the music video for "Jump before you look! music video was set in a temple, so I wanted to make something different from the Japanese worldview. However, I wanted to keep the idea of cutting the flag, so I suggested "How about something like 'Knight of the Ribbon'? I suggested it, and it was adopted.

I see...the wide-brimmed hat is indeed reminiscent of "Knight of the Ribbon".

Suzuki: I enjoyed wearing this costume with its many frills. However, the sword was heavy, and I felt like I was doing muscle training when I stayed still in the pose of cutting the flag (laughs).