Mimyu Tomita, Miki Ito, Yui Ogura, Akari Kito - this month we also focus on the creators of the music! In-depth Review of New Albums by Seasonal Female Seiyu Artists [Monthly Seiyu Artist Bulletin, June 2020 issue]!

In the June 2020 issue, we picked up the works of four voice-over singers. In this issue, we will try a new approach: we will introduce the works of each creator who writes lyrics and arranges songs, linking them together in a baton style.

Mimyu Tomita released her second single "Tsubasa to Kokuhaku" on June 3, 2020, and made her debut as a voice actress with the single "Present Moment" in November 2019. The title track is an ambitious work in which she pursues her "own personality. The title song is about the duality of "yin and yang" and the meaning of strength that comes from weakness. Natsumi Tadano wrote the lyrics for the song. She excels at writing lyrics that are feminine and somewhat motherly, and that are close to the strong feelings that people hold inside, making them a perfect fit for the mature Ms. Tomita.

The song was written and arranged by Shuhei Mutsuki, as in the previous title song. The strings give the song a grand impression of a rock tune, but the parts of the song that are not overly cheerful are probably in keeping with the lyrics. The track makes good use of Ms. Tomita's supple and well-developed voice, while leaving a lingering aftertaste with her strong singing voice.

Ms. Miki Ito released her 7th single "Lonely dark" on June 17, 2020. The title track was used as the opening theme song for the second season of the TV anime "Prandara," and she has been singing the theme song continuously since the previous season.

Among the songs, we would like to focus on the coupling song "Sweet Bitter Sweet Days" in this report. Mutsuki is the creator of this song, which bridges the gap with Tomita's item mentioned above. Unfortunately, Ms. Mutsuki did not participate in this song, as Shoko Omori wrote the lyrics and Ruka Kawada composed and arranged the music. However, Mutsuki is an indispensable figure in her career as a creator of pop songs with an excellent sense of escapism, and has provided Ito with pop songs such as "Nanairo Cookie" and "all yours" in the past.

Sweet Bitter Sweet Days" also has a natural and rhythmic atmosphere similar to that of "Nanairo Cookie. Because she is one of the people who pioneered this line in Ms. Ito's musical career, it would not be out of place to introduce Ms. Mutsuki here. In addition, we hope you will enjoy the song with an awareness of her work, friends' marriages, etc., as you will naturally be encouraged by her life-size lyrics, which she can sing convincingly now that she is older.

Yui Ogura released her 12th single "Happiness*Sensation" on June 10, 2020. The title song is the ending theme song for the TV anime "Shadowverse," in which Ms. Ogura herself plays the role of Alice Kurou, with lyrics by Kamy and arrangement by Terukazu Tsurusaki. The song has a "three-piece happiness set" with positive lyrics, Ms. Ogura's lovely and cheerful voice, and a refreshing track with rich fanfares.

Alice, who plays the role of the singer, is also involved in the coupling song "Look@Me♡".

The lyrics of the song were written by Ms. Omori, whom we mentioned earlier, and she sings about her feelings toward her fans that she has felt on stage, overlapping her own circumstances with those of Alice, who is active as an idol. When Ms. Ogura asked Mr. Omori to write the lyrics, she gave him a rough order, trusting in his skill. When he read the lyrics after they were completed, he found that they spelled out what was typical of Ms. Ogura, who has a strong core as a professional and is stoic in her efforts, and there was no doubt about the quality of the work. Like Ms. Ito's coupling song, Ms. Omori's ability to grasp a person's thoughts and feelings from a distance may be similar to that of an "esper.

Akari Kito released her first album "STYLE" on June 10, 2020. The theme of this album is literally to show various "styles" of expression as an artist. Before discussing the overall picture, we would like to look back on the following two songs.

First, let's take a look at the lead track, "23:00 Spring Thunder Girl". This song is particularly pop and catchy throughout the album, and when you hear that Tomoya Tabuchi (UNISON SQUARE GARDEN) wrote the lyrics and Yashikin and Haneda Narita (PASPIERE) arranged the music, you will understand why. The creators are like an "ultimate weapon," and no one is better than them when it comes to writing anomalous music.

The actual song is filled with "Tabuchi's verses," such as the floating chorus and the hi-hat clang in the second loop that follows the fast-moving chorus. The D melody is even trickier than usual, with a light keyboard melody played at high speed to express the heartbeat of the song's main character, a young girl.

The album's opening track, "INNOCENT," is a serious song for which Mr. Tsurusaki, who appeared in the previous section, wrote all the lyrics and arranged the music. The first thing that surprised me about this song was that the guitar's sound pressure and distortion made Ms. Kito's own singing voice a bit "muffled" (this is a compliment). She described the song as a "ballad," but its somewhat indie feel and slow track could be classified in the so-called "shoegaze" genre. The lyrics of the song describe the process of confessing one's feelings to one's lover, and Kito's voice is dignified yet somehow melancholy, as if he were looking up at a cloudy sky.

If you are a listener in your 20s or older, this album may have brought you back to the days when you spent your days as a junior and senior high school student. This album successfully combines guitar rock elements from around 2010, such as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, STEREO PONY, and, within the framework of anime songs, early supercell, and so on. Some of the songs on the album may be linked to the past, and some of you may have felt a strange "sting".

In addition, while some of the songs were intended for live performances, Mr. Kito's own character was somewhat absent from this album, and the overall mood remained somewhat serious. In other words, one could get the impression that the songs were supremacist in nature. In addition, she sang all the songs with different vocal approaches, which made us realize just how terrifying she is as a voice-over artist.

Another group that I would like to mention in connection with Tabuchi-san is DIALOGUE+, who released their Kyanime & limited distribution single "Atarimae dakara (Because it's natural)" on June 17. Their labelmate Suzuko Mimori also participates in their activities, and we hope that you will pay attention to them.

As noted in this article, it goes without saying that you should enjoy the expressions of the voice-over artists as they are, but you should also enjoy the process of finding your own favorite lyrical patterns and sound views through the creators of their music activities. I promise you that you will experience the fun of voice-over artists' music from a different angle.

(Text by Kota Ichijo)