Interview] I'm thrilled to see her in "his shirt! We take a closer look at the charms of Haruka Yamazaki's first photo book "Ontoofu," in which she shows various expressions in eight different outfits!

Haruka Yamazaki, who entered her 10th anniversary year as a voice actress in April 2020, released her 1st photo book "On and Off" on April 10 as the first part of her anniversary project.

As the title suggests, the theme of the book is "on and off," and the book features eight different patterns of photos of her in various poses, making it a photo book that fans should definitely check out.

Akiba Research Institute asked Ms. Yamazaki about the highlights of the book and her thoughts on the 10th anniversary year. Akiba Research Institute asked Ms. Yamazaki about the highlights of the photo book and her thoughts on the 10th anniversary year.

We hope you enjoy the interview as well as the making-of video released today!

We take a closer look at the theme and thoughts behind each outfit!

Q: How was the concept for this photo book decided?

Yamazaki: When the publisher proposed the project, there was a theme of "on and off," and I thought, "This is it! I thought, "This is it! The image in the proposal was something like "casual clothes and loungewear," but I wanted to do a variety of things, and I thought I could expand the character to include Lolita, men's clothing, and other things that were more my style. So rather than "on" and "off," I see them as opposites. When I told him that, he said, "That sounds interesting.

Q: I think you look too good in men's clothing!

Yamazaki I often dress up as a hobby, and when I posted it on my Instagram page, I got a good reaction from people to my male attire, so I decided I wanted to do this.

I would love to see you perform live in this outfit.

Yamazaki Then Shiki Aoki would be our guest (laughs). (laughs) "I invited my friend. The costume I did with Shiki before got a great response. In that sense, too, I wanted to give it a cosplay-like feel. Lolita is exactly like that, and I even wore my hair in a vertical roll, taking advantage of the fact that it is blonde (laugh).

Laughs] It's a situation that you don't often see in a voice actor's photo book.

Yamazaki: I'm also an otaku, so I often look at cosplayers' collections, and this is very similar to that image. I thought it would be interesting to see a voice actor doing a photo book that the audience would enjoy.

Q: Now let's talk about the contents of the photo book.

Yamazaki: The first one is the orthodox "on and off," consisting of plain clothes and loungewear. I think this is the same as in other photo collections. In both cases, I was photographed as "Haruka Yamazaki," as I always am.

Do you also wear private clothes like this in your private collection?

Yamazaki: Yes, I do. I told the stylist, "I like this brand the best and have been wearing only their clothes lately," and asked her to coordinate everything with my favorite brands. The shoes are also Dr. Martens, which I always wear to live shows and jackets, and I tried on a lot of accessories, but in the end the earrings and bracelets were my own, and the pajama picture also turned out to be very private, since I always play games like this.

Q: So this loungewear also looks like what you are actually wearing?

Yamazaki Is it gelato pique?　I sometimes receive them as gifts, and I wear them gratefully (laughs). (laughs) Also, the image in this photo is like looking into the room of a single person living alone. In the pattern of loungewear, there is a photo of me wearing his shirt after this one, but you can think of that one as a peek into the reader's house and this one as a peek into my room.

Q: The next "on and off" is the Lolita and men's clothing that you talked about earlier. What kind of setting did you have in mind?

Yamazaki: For Lolita, I wanted her to look like a doll in motion, so I had a lot of photos taken of her with no expression on her face. She looks like a doll! I don't mean that, I'm imagining a real doll. That's why she is smiling a little, that's how she looks to me! That's how I feel.

As for the male character, I liked this kind of two-dimensional male character, so that's how I ended up with my hair. I thought it would be nice to have something a little rougher, but since Lolita was looking so good, I decided to wear a tailcoat as a counterpoint.

Q: And what shocked me was the suit and the "he shirt" I mentioned earlier.

Yamazaki: The suit was not like, "I can see this kind of girl in real life at work! but rather, think of them as girls in suits in a fantasy world.

You don't see them in real life.

Yamazaki: That's why I didn't choose to wear black or gray suits. But when I was filming, I felt like a female president of an apparel company.

I totally understand (laughs).

Yamazaki: Sitting on a chair and taking pictures, I felt like a female president who would immediately start to take out her clothes. I was like a woman president who immediately submits a photo for rejection! Let's redo it!" (laughs). (Laughs.) So she must be the president of a lingerie brand or something.

I wonder if this shirt is off-duty for such a president.

Yamazaki I wonder. For me, it's closer to that one, but it doesn't have to be the same person in terms of the setting.

When I see a neat-looking girl wearing a he shirt, I think, "That's definitely not true! I think, "That's definitely not true! There is no way that such a neat-looking girl is in my room wearing his shirt!" And I think, "No way! But when I see a girl wearing a boyfriend shirt, I think to myself, "Of course she's there! I think.

Ha-ha-ha (laughs).

Yamazaki I want them to think that if I asked them out and took them home, they would sleep with me dressed like this (laughs). (laughs) Haruka Yamazaki would probably sleep in this outfit if I asked her out, wouldn't she? (laughs). It would be a fantasy if a neat girl wore this outfit, but if it was Haruka Yamazaki, she might give it a shot.

I feel like I'm losing out as a man in this picture, which is frustrating, but it's really good (laughs).

Yamazaki Hahaha (laughs). By the way, these glasses were not part of the plan, but the stylist and photographer agreed that the glasses were nice, so we decided to take them. The first picture in the pajamas and this shirt are set at home, so the makeup is a little light and the look is very plain.

A photo book where all my dreams came true

Q: After such an impact, we end with a Japanese kimono and a wedding dress.

Yamazaki: The Japanese kimono was very popular when we showed off shots of her in it. Blonde hair and kimono is a contrast you don't see often, so maybe that had a big impact. But when I went to Asakusa or Kamakura with my friends to experience wearing kimono, I asked the kimono shop, "Do you have any clothes that go with blonde hair? I asked the kimono shop owner, "Do you have any clothes that go with blonde hair?

Q: Did you choose this pattern yourself?

Yamazaki: Yes. I had a red kimono or something, but I chose a pattern that I don't usually wear because it was so special. I was nervous because I don't usually choose light blue, but the staff liked it a lot.

Q: What about the hakama?

Yamazaki: Since I didn't go to college, I had never worn hakama to a graduation ceremony, so I wanted to try it on. So I had the Hakama in mind from the beginning.

Q: Next is the wedding dress.

Yamazaki: There was a suggestion to use a colored dress, but I thought that would not feel realistic. I wanted the readers to feel as if they could see me as the person they were marrying, so I thought a white dress would be good. （I wrote the last message to say that it would be okay if you publish it (as my wife) (laughs). Please enjoy the message as well.

The female manager was also present at the meeting, and she asked me, "Aren't you going to be late for your wedding? But she said, "You don't know when you'll be able to wear it!　I answered, "It's definitely better to wear it now than when it's wrinkled. I would like to show this to my child someday when he or she is born (laughs).

It's like a photo wedding, and it fits with the atmosphere of the studio.

Yamazaki I was allowed to choose the studio myself from among the candidates. I wanted a place that looked like it would be used for a wedding.

The bouquet is also very stylish.

Yamazaki These are dried flowers. I realized for the first time that these were dried flowers. When I first said, "I want dried flowers," no one understood me, and then the stylist showed me a photo and asked, "Could it be these? I didn't know they were dried flowers until the stylist showed me a picture of them (laughs).

Q: Is this pair of photos of Haruka Yamazaki as close to the real you as you can be?

Yamazaki Yes, that's right. The photo here is me! I am!" in this photo.

Q: Did you feel like you were able to wear the clothes you wanted this time?

Yamazaki Yes, I was able to wear what I wanted!　I had seen people wearing Lolita among my friends and in Harajuku, and I had always wanted to wear it myself someday. But it takes a lot of knowledge to be able to wear such clothes properly, so I couldn't wear them before, but on this occasion, with the help of my stylist, I was able to get it just right. I was also able to wear a tailcoat and hakama, so I was very happy that all of my dreams came true.

Q: You made the most of the "on and off" theme (laughs).

Yamazaki: Indeed. Without this theme, I could not have worn 8 outfits.

Haruka Yamazaki's "on and off" style

Q: By the way, what is your actual "on and off" life like?

Yamazaki: I play games so much that I think the reason I haven't been sleeping well lately is because of games. The first thing I do when I get home is turn on my PlayStation 4 or Switch, and the startup sound is like my off-time startup sound (laughs). Even if I haven't decided what I'm going to do, I turn it on first. If I see a friend online, I call him or her and we play games together, or if I think, "I think that girl might be playing games at this time of day," I contact her myself. So, my life is all about games. Also, I've been reading a lot of manga lately, and my Kindle searches are going very well (laughs). (Laughs.) I have always been a manga fan, so I spend my time reading manga, games, and fanzines.

Q: That's the ideal otaku life, isn't it?

Yamazaki: That's why my room is full of cardboard boxes from mail-order sales these days. I keep my doujinshi in a closet case that is the perfect size.

I'd like to see some stiff off-camera photos (laughs).

Yamazaki I have a cat now, and if he gets on top of a book and claws at it, he gets very angry. So basically, I only put out books that I read, so the picture is surrounded by a wardrobe and cardboard boxes (laughs). (Laughs.) If I had a game controller there and a microphone set, it would be perfect!

Q: On the other hand, what about when you are at home in work mode?

Yamazaki: Watching anime at work is completely different from watching anime offline. When I am on, I watch anime and check out the works I am in, write lyrics, and memorize the next song I am going to record. I can't do both at the same time, so I keep my "on" time and "off" time separate. And I definitely work first!

I may check photos or scripts at home, but once I decide to do something, I do it until it's all done, no matter what time it is. If I take a break somewhere and read a comic book or something, I'll read it forever, so when I do it, I finish it without taking a break.

The 10th anniversary year is full of plans!

It is important to have a sense of balance, isn't it? Now, you started your 10th anniversary year as a voice actor in April 2020.

Yamazaki My voice started on April 3, 2010, and although Wikipedia says that my voice acting debut was in 2011, I actually made my debut in April 2010. The work aired for a year, and the actor was undisclosed for a long time, but his name was mentioned for the first time in the final episode. Counting from that debut, this is my 10th anniversary.

Q: I hear that you are also releasing a mini-album to mark this 10th anniversary year.

Yamazaki The title is "Mystère" (Mystère) and it will be released on June 3. The title "Mystère" means "mystery" in French. The title "Mystère" means "riddle" in French. The word "riddle" may sound a bit dark, but I wanted to make it more like a pop song. （I hope this mini-album will be a mini album where people can solve the mysteries of Haruka Yamazaki through the songs and lyrics.

The previous 1st full-length album "Cʼest Parti! (Cʼest Parti!) was based on the concept of a theme park and had a fun and crazy feel to it, and it created an image of Haruka Yamazaki's music and live performances being fun and interesting. Some of the songs are front and back, some have different saturation levels, and some of them unravel my views on love, so I think it will be a very enjoyable work.

Since I am participating from the competition this time, I listened to a lot of songs. I asked them to revise the melodies, and I told them what I wanted the jacket photo to look like, and I think it will be a piece with a lot of my favorite feeling.

Q: And you are scheduled to perform live in September.

Yamazaki: I would be happy if the live concert is not just "You sang well," but "I had a good time today. I have always had the image of creating a day that will give you energy and inspiration for your future work and studies.

I would also like to hold a 10th anniversary event, where I can say "thank you" and "keep up the good work" to everyone, some of whom have been following me for the past 10 years and some of whom have only recently become acquainted with me. I haven't decided what I'm going to do at all yet, and I don't have a clear idea for the event, but I have a year to plan it, so I hope to be able to do something during that time.

(Interview and text by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Product Information

Haruka Yamazaki's 1st photo book "Onto Ofu

Release date: April 10, 2020

Price: 3,200 yen (tax not included)

Style: A4 size, 96 pages, 4c (soft cover)

Publisher: Cosmic Publishing Co.