Minori Chihara talks about her thoughts on the new songs and character songs for her 15th anniversary best album!

Minori Chihara, who has been active as a voice actress and artist, will release her best album "SANCTUARY II - Minori Chihara Best Album" on February 5, 2020 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her debut.

DISC 1 includes the new song "We are stars!" by Q-MHz (a music production team consisting of Aki Hata, Tomokazu Tashiro, Katsuhiko Kurosu, and Tomoya Tabuchi), the lead songs of her singles from "Aitakatta Sora" to "Amy," and the lead songs of her past singles selected by her. DISC2 contains a selection of character songs she has sung in the past.

We asked Ms. Chihara to share her thoughts on the album, her memories of the character songs, and more.

I have always wanted to make a character song best

--I heard that you spent the year-end and New Year holidays in Yamanashi.

Chihara Yes, I worked until the 30th, and in the afternoon of the 31st, I searched the Internet and found that there was one room canceled at a hotel in Yamanashi. I immediately called and stayed two nights in Kiyosato, Hokuto City!

--I could see from your blog that you enjoyed your stay to the fullest.

Chihara: I have the privilege of being a "Yamanashi Ambassador," so I had always wanted to spend New Year's Eve in Yamanashi. But thankfully, last year was so productive and hectic that I didn't have time to find a place to stay for New Year's Eve. I had no choice but to spend it in Tokyo, but when the 31st actually arrived, I knew I didn't want to (laughs). (Laughs.) I had a very nice New Year's Eve, drinking alcohol, eating soft-serve ice cream, watching Kohaku (red and white rice), and soaking up the hot springs. ......

--I also had events in Hawaii, Shanghai, and Singapore. As you said in our last interview, "15 years ago, I couldn't have imagined being able to be like this," your activities are not limited to the domestic market.

Chihara: When I made my debut, I thought that if I was going to go abroad, I might as well go to various places in Japan. So I never imagined that I would be traveling around overseas in an age when visiting events overseas was the norm. But I am very happy to have the experience of actually going to various countries, where I can meet new people and have a new sense of values.

-This album is being released on the occasion of your 15th anniversary, which you never imagined. First of all, please tell us how you decided on DISC2, the first character song best album.

Chihara: We decided to release a best album for the 15th anniversary, and the producer suggested that we make a two-disc set, one of which would be a character song best. The producer suggested that we make one of the two CDs a "character song" best. There are many great character songs, and I had always wanted to collect them into a single album when the time came, so I was all for it. I am very happy that my dream has come true.

--Did you participate in the song selection process?

Chihara: Basically, I chose the songs myself. But there are so many character songs that it was hard to choose (laughs). I wanted to choose songs that fans would have strong feelings for, songs that are popular, songs that highlight the characters' personalities, and songs that will be enjoyed by a wide variety of people when the album is made into a single album. Most character songs are only completed within the world of the anime, so I am very grateful to have been given the chance to make a character song bestseller like this and to have so many people hear the voices of the characters, and I think it is very meaningful.

--The first song "I won't lose" (ending theme for OVA "Tenjo Tenge ULTIMATE FIGHT" / Natsume Aya) was released before your debut as a solo artist, which is the true starting point of your career. Do you remember those days?

Chihara: I wanted to become a singer, so I went to Avex's training school, and I was invited to a voice-over course that was offered during that time. I had always had a strong desire to sing, so I was very happy when I was chosen to sing "Won't Lose". Looking back, I was very nervous because there were many people involved in the recording, but I remember I was more happy than nervous. The song itself had a nostalgic flavor that I liked, so I was even more enthusiastic about it. I sang it thinking of Soichiro-sama, whom Aya loves so much.

--The second song was "Snow, Silence, At the Window. (Anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" Character Song / Yuki Nagato). I think that many people may know Ms. Chihara from this work and this song.

Chihara: "Snow, Silence, At the Window." is the song that led me to start my solo career at Lantis. One of the staff members who heard the song said, "She should be active in music," and Shigeru Saito (currently president of Heart Company, Inc. and producer. (currently president and producer of Heart Company, Inc. and producer of Mr. Chihara since his tenure at Lantis). That's how Mr. Saito started working on the project. It is not surprising that this song is at the root of Minori Chihara's music.

--If it weren't for this song, you wouldn't know what to do as a solo artist, would you?

Kayahara It really is. It is a fateful song.

I felt that our characters were tied together by a red thread.

--If you had to pick a particularly memorable song, which one would it be?

Chihara: Chiaki Minami is also a very lovable character that I love, so I definitely wanted to include a Chiaki song. There are many songs, but "Beware of Excessive Expectations. (Moshi Moshi Chiaki ga Utatara Ver.)" (Anime "Minamike" Character Song / Chiaki Minami) is a very relaxed song, and I felt like I was performing rather than singing. When I listen to or sing this song, it reminds me of the fun times I had with Chiaki in "Minamike" and makes me wish for a sequel, for God's sake!

-The fact that there is a tsk tsk in the song is also very typical of a character song.

Chihara That's right. I also really like "Because of "S "adness" (TV anime "Beyond the Boundary" character song/Mizuki Nase). Mizuki is an "S" character, so I sang it in a "S"-like manner. It is one of the songs that really makes me think that synchronizing feelings with the song is the best part of singing character songs. It's cool and exhilarating, and I recommend this song.

--I was also impressed by the beautiful and sad ballad "NAME OF FLOWER" (Anime "Nobunaga the Fool" character song/Ichihime), which you mentioned earlier that you considered balance when selecting songs.

Chihara I love this song too. I listen to it on repeat when I'm tired.

--I love this song when I'm tired, and I listen to it on repeat whenever I'm tired.

Kayahara Biku is an idol, so there are lots of energetic songs, but "My Treasure" is one that I especially cherish and love. There are many Bikyuu fans among our fans, so I hope they will be pleased with the song.

--I hope they will be pleased with the song. I really feel that I have played many different types of characters and sung character songs.

Chihara I am grateful for the encounters I have had with each and every character. With so many voice actors in the world, I think it is an amazing miracle that I was entrusted with a role. Even now, I basically fail auditions, and it is difficult to win a role. I truly believe that the characters I have encountered are the ones that I am truly tied to by a red thread.

--You were chosen from among many people at the audition and given the role of the character, so you must have special feelings about singing as the character.

Kayahara Of course there is a special feeling. Chiaki, for example, was acting without any grasp of what she was doing when she auditioned (laughs). (Laughs.) I took it upon myself to try my hand at it, and I was accepted. When the manager told me, "Chiaki Minami, you were accepted," I said, "What? I was so surprised that she was accepted! That was the beginning of my surprise (laughs).

--I was surprised and that's how it all started. On the other hand, there are times when something that you weren't sure went well gets accepted and becomes a popular work.

Kayahara "Be prepared!" (TV animation "Ikkitousen" character song/Jang Fei Masutoku), I couldn't speak Kansai dialect at all, but I was told, "There's an audition for Kansai people. I was asked to do it. I had my hair and makeup artist, who is a good friend of mine, check my Kansai dialect accent, and I took the audition. I thought I would definitely fail that audition (laughs).

--(laughs) - There are many voice actors from the Kansai region.

Chihara Yes, that's right. But since I was prepared to fail, I think I was able to enjoy the audition and be open-minded about it. I think that turned out to be a good thing. However, it was tough after I got in (laughs). Thankfully, I still have many opportunities to play Zhang Fei, so I check my accent every time I receive a script. I am glad that we have been friends for so long!

I have a deep impression of "Michishirube," the first anime tie-up song I wrote lyrics for.

--DISC 1 contains representative songs from the 10 years since her debut, lead songs since "Aitakatta Sora", and new songs, and here you can feel the progress of Minori Chihara as an artist. If you separate the 10 years before your debut, the 10 years since your debut, and the recent 5 years, have there been any changes in your awareness of singing?

Chihara Yes, there has. Before my debut, I was singing for myself. I loved singing and wanted to be a singer, which was my dream. After my debut, I found myself singing for my fans. Recently, I feel that singing itself is like a prayer, not for myself or for someone else, but for .......

--What do you mean by "prayer"?

Chihara It is difficult to put into words, but in the end, it is peace. I guess you could say that I sing to pray for peace. ...... It really is.

--I think that the songs after "Aitakitakatta Sora" in 2015 were the ending themes, so there are a lot of quiet songs in that order.

Chihara I thought of that during the birthday concert (laughs). We sang from "Junpaku Sanctuary" to "Amy" in the order of release. I wondered if we would be able to hold out for the second half of the concert, as the songs became more and more delicate from the intense first half. The most important song was "Michishirube. But it has been 13 years since I started working for Lantis. I wonder if it is because I have been doing this for so long that I have been able to create more delicate songs that I could not have expressed in the past.

--What is the most memorable song among them?

Kayahara It would have to be "Michishirube". It was the first song I wrote lyrics for an anime tie-in, and since it was the ending song for "Violet Evergarden," which Kyoto Animation put a lot of effort into producing, I was under a lot of pressure to write lyrics that would meet expectations. The simplicity of the song made it really difficult, and I still get very nervous when I sing it.

--I still get very nervous when I sing it, because it is a song that I want to listen to live while chewing the lyrics.

Chihara: But I also feel that encountering this song must have been a time when I needed to grow even more. Up until now, I have always been nurtured by the music while performing. I always think that after overcoming a hurdle, there is another hurdle, and that by overcoming these hurdles one by one, we will be able to connect to the future.

I felt that the challenging new song was very "me.

--I felt that the new song "We are stars!

Chihara: Well, it's been a lot of work (laughs).

--(laughs) - I thought it was a great song.

Chihara I was also surprised when I received the demo tape. What the heck is this? (laughs). (Laughs.) I was shocked because I had not said a single word about including dialogue or rapping in the song!

--I was surprised that you started with a line. I was surprised that you started with a line, but did you have a theme or request?

Chihara: When I was asked to write a song for the 15th anniversary, I thought, "I don't want it to be a sparkling, moving ballad that says 'thank you' or 'please keep up the good work,'" and "I want it to be a song about birth, a song that is aggressive and expressive because of who I am today. I wanted to make an aggressive song with a birth theme that I could express because of who I am today. I wanted to make a song that would push out the cool side of Minori Chihara, so I asked Q-MHz to write it for me.

The members of Q-MHz have known me for a long time, and the fact that this song starts with the line "Snow, silence, at the window. The beginning of this song is a clever way of linking it with the line "Three years since I was born" in the song "Snow, Silence, by the Window" (laughs). (Laughs.) So, while there was a sense of déjà vu, I felt as if a high and thrilling hurdle had been prepared for me, which I could challenge and overcome because I am the person I am today.

--By the way, the lyrics, music, and arrangements are all by Q-MHz.

Chihara I heard that everyone worked together on this! It's a mystery how they all made it, and I'd like to know (laughs). (Laughs) It is attacked from all angles, there is even rap, but the chorus is very refreshing and .......

--The refreshing chorus has an atmosphere from the early days, but the challenging parts such as rapping have a cool image from the recent past. The song also has a charm that has never been seen before, and I feel that it expresses everything about Ms. Chihara. In other words, it is like a character song for the artist Minori Chihara.

Chihara: As one would expect. It's one of those songs that pushes you to think back on your past and say, "I'm going to take it all in stride and move forward from here! It was a song that pushed me forward. It was hard to memorize, but once I got it into my body, I really started to feel that it was like me. I was surprised because I didn't expect to receive such a song on our 15th anniversary, but how do you plan to make it your own? I was surprised to receive such a song on my 15th anniversary, but I thought, how can I make it my own and move forward with it?

--How was everyone's reaction?

Chihara: Mr. Tabuchi (Tomoya) directed the recording, and he was very complimentary. The people who came to the concert and listened to the song, who have been very supportive, said it was great that we could still try new things like this after celebrating our 15th anniversary.

--In our last interview, you also said, "I am more forward-thinking than at any other time on our 15th anniversary. I thought that this new song matched those words very well.

Chihara That's right. My life is a place where I can encounter songs like this, isn't it?

--I have been blessed with many wonderful people, as well as works and characters.

Chihara I am truly blessed with good fortune. I have the unfounded confidence and certainty that I will continue to be blessed with good relationships in the future (laugh), so I want to cherish each and every one of them. I hope that I can make all my fans happy and lead to new encounters in my life.

--In that sense, the last line of the new song, "So, the rest of the story will follow... See you soon." is impressive because it seems to lead to the future.

Chihara It's cool, isn't it? There are a lot of interactions in the song, and it really gets you up in the air, so I think it's a song that is really worth singing live and nurturing with the fans.

--I think it is a song that can be sung live and nurtured with the fans.

Chihara "Da Da Da Da!" is also the title track of the first album "Contact" released by Lantis, "da-da-da-da dive" (lyrics by Aki Hata, music by Daisuke Kikuta), so I feel love when I think that you may have pulled this song from there.

--I know it's a little early to say this, but what kind of person do you want to be by the time of the next memorial, the 20th anniversary?

Chihara: This time, while we were already working on the best album, we were talking about "If we made it for the 15th anniversary, we will make it for the 20th anniversary as well, right? If we were going to release SANCTUARY III on our 20th anniversary, what should we make of it? (Laughs) I would like to continue to do solo concerts overseas, and I would also like to return to the Budokan. I would like to achieve these goals, and when we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I would like to be able to look forward to our 25th anniversary. What about "SANCTUARY IV"? I hope to be able to release "SANCTUARY III" while saying, "What about 'SANCTUARY IV'?

--I think it is wonderful that when the memorial comes, there is always a continuation rather than an end.

Chihara That's right. I won't let it end! (Laughs)

--I am looking forward to it. Thank you very much!

(Interview, text, and photos by Kenichi Chiba)

CD Information
SANCTUARY II - Minori Chihara Best Album - / Minori Chihara

Release date: February 5, 2020
Price: 3,600 yen (excluding tax)
Label: Lantis
Label: Lantis ・Sold by: Namco Bandai Arts Inc.
Distributor: Namco Bandai Arts Inc.

＜Songs included in the album
Disc - 1
1. pure white sanctuary
Paradise Lost
3．TERMINATED
4．SELF PRODUCER
5．Beyond the Boundary
6．FOOL THE WORLD
7．Meitakatta Sora
8. thank you, daisuki
9. love
10．LOVE BLOSSOM
11．MICHISHIRUBE
12．Remained dream
13. dream SPIRAL
14．Amy
15. we are stars!

Disc - 2
1. "We won't lose
(OVA "Tenjo Tenge ULTIMATE FIGHT" ending theme / Natsume Anya)
2. snow, silence, at the window.
(TV anime "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" character song/Yuki Nagato)
3．Only Lonely Rain
(TV Animation "Venus Versus Vialas" Character Song / Sumire Takahana)
4．Cherry Blossom Dance in This Promised Land
(TV animation "Gakuen Yutopia Manabi-Straight! Insert Song/Students of Light Music Club)
5. "Gear up!
(TV Animation "Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny" Character Song / Zhang Fei Masutoku)
6. shut up and rest time
(TV Animation "Lucky Star" Character Song / Minami Iwasaki)
7. cherry blossom smile Kimi wo Souou
(TV Animation "D.C.II - Da Capo II" Insert Song / Nanaka Shirakawa)
8. beware of excessive expectations. (If Chiacchi Sang Ver.)
(TV animation "Minamike" Character Song / Chiaki Minami)
9. don't miss it... (TV anime "Minamike" character song / Chiaki Minami) 10!
(TV anime "Saki" Character Song/Ryumonbuchi Tohka)
10. Be Together
(TV Animation "SEISEI OCCULT GAKUIN" Insert Song / Miu Nakagawa)
11．Through Road Song
(Insert song for TV animation "Horizon on the borderline" / Horizon Ariadust)
12．Because of "S "adness
(TV Animation "Beyond the Boundary" Character Song / Mizuki Nase)
13，NAME OF FLOWER
(TV Animation "Nobunaga the Fool" Character Song/Ichihime)
14. my treasure
(TV Animation "Date A Live II" Character Song / Mikyuu Kusei)
15.Borderless journey
(TV animation "RAIL WARS!" Insert song/Character song/Noa Kashima)

Commemorating the release of "SANCTUARY II - Minori Chihara Best Album"! Minori Chihara autograph card will be given away to one person!

In commemoration of the release of "SANCTUARY II - Minori Chihara Best Album", we are giving away a paper autographed by Minori Chihara to one lucky winner!

<Prize
Minori Chihara autograph card

<Prize＞ - Minori Chihara's autograph
Application period: February 4, 2020 (Tue) - February 11, 2020 (Tue) 23:59
Number of winners: 1
Prize delivery: Scheduled to be sent by the end of April 2020.
How to apply: Use the application form below.

<Caution> ・Please register as a member (free of charge) in order to apply.
Registration (free of charge) is required to enter the contest.
Only one entry per person is allowed.
We will not be able to respond to any inquiries regarding the results of the drawing or shipping status.
Transfer or resale of the prize or rights to the prize winner to a third party is prohibited.
Kakaku.com Group employees and related parties are not eligible to participate.
Prizes must be shipped within Japan.
We will take the utmost care in packaging the prizes, but please note that we cannot accept returns or exchanges in the event that the prizes are damaged due to an accident during transportation.
Please note that the prize will be invalidated in the following cases
　Multiple winners at the same address or in the same household
　If you have entered the contest using an unauthorized account (e.g., multiple accounts by the same person)
　If a prize cannot be delivered due to the winner's address, change of address, long-term absence, etc.
　Prizes cannot be delivered due to incomplete contact or delivery address information.
　Prize winners who fail to contact us by the prize delivery address notification deadline
　If there is any fraudulent activity related to the application.