In-depth reviews of new albums by Momo Asakura, Nanaka Suwa, Aina Aiba, Aino Nanjo, and Kiyono Anno - the female voice actresses you need to listen to this spring! Seiyu Artists Bulletin - April 2020 issue

This month's Seiyu Artists Bulletin is a series of articles introducing the latest releases by voice-over artists. This April, we will be focusing on fresh, spring-like works, starting with Momo Asakura's album, which is filled with a particular attention to "mixing" of sounds.

As if in line with her role in her unit "TrySail," Momo Asakura has released a number of cute love songs that girls can relate to. Her second album "Agapanthus," released on April 8, is the culmination of her past work and is titled "Agapanthus," which means "flower of love," as the name implies.

As noted at the beginning of this article, the album should be viewed with a mixing technique in mind. Suddenly, if you are an avid fan of voice actors, you may have seen a pitch-black doll with realistic ear decorations on its neck at least once on Nico Nico Live broadcasts or other distribution programs. That doll is equipped with a dedicated microphone for "ASMR," which is generally defined as "sounds that give you a sense of comfort and pleasure," such as typing sounds. The songs "Twinkle Love" and "Agapanthus" in this album offer a listening experience similar to ASMR.

For example, when recording the B melody of "Agapanthus," Ms. Asakura sang as if she were speaking softly to the microphone by bringing her face as close to the microphone as possible. In addition, by dubbing Ms. Asakura's vocals, the spatial distance between the singer and the audience is shortened when listening through headphones or other devices, giving the listener the feeling that she is whispering in his or her ear. The chorus of the song, therefore, gives off a more open feeling than usual, as if a field of flowers is spreading out before your eyes.

Of course, there is no shortage of things to say about the track. Sho Watanabe and Tatsuya Kurauchi, who produced this song, are a masterful duo who specialize in elegant and delicate sound design, and have previously worked on TrySail's "Whiz. In "Agapanthus," their skills shone through in the fantastic harp playing in the middle of the chorus and the light guitars that consistently colored the background of the song. Of course, all of the songs on this album are worth a listen, as they all convey Asakura's current full energy, in a good way.

Nanaka Suwa is also a member of the popular unit "Aqours. Her debut album as a solo artist, "So Sweet Dolce," released for distribution on April 15, was unified by a sweet, fairy-tale worldview that seemed to reflect her "Sanrio"-loving personality. When the music video for the lead track "So Sweet" was first released, it seemed that the main focus of the album would be a glittering electro sound, but when the album opened its doors, I was surprised by the wide range of genres represented, with guitar pop and intense rock songs appearing as the album progressed into the second half.

The high tone and slightly solid voice of Ms. Suwa seems to match well with the electro tones, and I am sure many fans were caught off guard by the loud rock "Strawberry Egoist" and others. However, even on this song, which was intended for live performances, the singer's "cuteness" was never forgotten, even while using a lot of choruses and other elements, showing that she can handle even the most intense sounds. The production director has written a review of all the songs, so please refer to that for more details (reference: Nanaka Suwa Music Official Website ).

Aina Aiba is also known as the vocalist of the girl band unit "Roselia. Her mini-album "SiGN," released on April 15 and fully produced by Elements Garden, a group of composers, is a work that makes full use of her unique background as a former professional wrestler. The lead track, "Beauty or Beast," was chosen as the 2020 theme song for the women's professional wrestling organization "Stardom," and the song combines her straightforward and urgent voice with a dynamic and powerful track, which seems to have an affinity with Roselia's voice.

In contrast to "Beauty or Beast," the third song, "Sense of Wonder," brings out her "Aiai" as she is affectionately called. The song is a positive impression of her will to leave for a new world, and you can feel her life-sized cheerfulness in the song. Although Ms. Aiba tends to focus more on her powerful works, such as those mentioned above, her warmer songs like "Sense of Wonder" shine even more brightly.

Also related to "Elega" is Aino Nanjo's single "Yabu no Naka no Zintese" to be released on April 29. The title track is the ending theme song for the TV anime "Bungo to Alchemist: Judgment No Gear" (TV Tokyo, etc.), and is an exquisite marriage of Nanjo's deep, gentle voice and the rich violin with its overtones. It is a song that makes one feel a slight sense of regret, as if the song is forever fluttering around inside a kaleidoscope.

In addition, the lyrics were written by Ishiijiro, who also supervised the worldview of the anime. The lyrics of the song pay homage to memorable phrases from the works of various literary giants. The title of the song is also thought to be a reference to Ryunosuke Akutagawa's "Yabu no Naka" (In the Yabu). It will be interesting to see how it compares to the main story in the anime.

Lastly, we will introduce Kiyono Yasuno's second single "Haruuremata" to be released on April 29. The title track was chosen as the ending theme for the TV anime "Arte" (TOKYO MX, etc.). The song features gently strummed acoustic guitar, an emotionally rich accordion reminiscent of a country landscape, and Yasuno's soothing voice. The evergreen expression is also evident in the nostalgic music video in which she takes a bicycle ride around a seaside town. It is in times like these that we can truly appreciate the birth of "Harematou," with its soothing tones.

The new coronavirus that is currently raging is having a major impact on voice-over artists as well. The physical release of Ms. Suwa's debut album, mentioned above, has been postponed until May or later, and the same possibility is expected for the next month's releases. It is precisely because we are in such a situation now that we would like to spend our gradually warming daily lives in peace while enjoying at home the works of wonderful voice-over artists such as those discussed in this article.

(Text by Kota Ichijo)