Category Archives: Fairouz Ai

#228 – Oshibudo: Fairouz Ai


A very quick feature on Oshibudo, one of my fave fluffy shows this season. I swear I’m not turning into a Fairouz Ai fanblog…it’s just that there haven’t been any pieces on my other favoured winter anime (Isyuzoku, Kyokō Suiri, ID: INVADED, Darwin’s Game, Somali & Haikyū!!) that I can cover;;;

Obviously, Oshibudo appeals to me in 2 ways – the yuri, and the idoling. I’m more of a (now very much retired) Kpop idol group maniac but there are a lot of similarities from an emotional viewpoint and watching this show does fill me with warm and fuzzy feelings…and the occasional cringey moment of regret. Recommended watch for fans of either yuri/idols just as long as you’re not crazy hardcore ‘cos the show really doesn’t go crazy hardcore on either of those aspects.

PS My oshi is Maki and of course MakiYume is my OTP \[^^]/

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Surprising mismatch between pretty visuals and surreal jokes. The study of idol otaku terminology

Q: Tell us your impressions of the series after reading the manga and acting in the anime.

A: When I read the manga, I thought that this would be a beautiful story as the art was so pretty. Like in a shojo manga (laughs). However, the surreal jokes started flying around as I read further and that discrepancy [between the art and the humour] made me laugh. Also, I realised how hard it was to actually say aloud the words that slip out of the characters’ mouths so easily in the manga.

Q: It makes you think that otaku tend to be highly-strung and speak at superhuman speeds (laughs)

A: It was a learning experience for me; there were so many phrases that I didn’t know.

Q: It’s not only the members of ChamJam, the underground idol unit the Eripiyo’s oshi Maina is attached to – all of the girls in the show are cute.

A: I can feel Hirao Auri-sensei’s passion for drawing cute girls.

Q: Your character Eripiyo is an idol otaku who supports Maina, one of the least popular members of the group.

A: She’s a character with a unique and interesting choice of words and is someone whom all otaku can relate to. She gets to the crux of the matter in such a forthright way, which makes her worthy of being a top otaku – an otaku with great presence, in my opinion.

Q: It’s not uncommon for otaku girls to chase female idols nowadays, isn’t it?

A: Around two-thirds of the fan letters I receive are from women. I’m happy to receive support from people of the same gender. I’m only too aware of the feelings involved with being a fan and now that I’m a seiyuu, I’m learning how it feels to be supported by others too. I would be glad if I had a fan like Eripiyo…well maybe Eripiyo is a bit too much (laughs). But yeah, I can definitely relate to Maina’s feelings.

Q: It seems like she’s trying to attract Maina’s attention by always appearing in front of her in that red tracksuit…

A: Well, she can’t afford to buy any other clothes since she’s spent all her money on her oshi (laughs) Eripiyo is pretty and her love for Maina is genuine, and that is what makes her look beautiful.

Fairouz-san’s unique otaku research methods

Q: Was there anything you were particularly careful with when voicing this role?

A: My personal view is that otaku’s speech patterns can be divided into 2 types – the first type consists of those whose voices go higher when they’re excited, while the other type is the opposite: their voices become extremely low in similar situations. Eripiyo is in the latter group, which is why I pitched my voice slightly lower during my performance.

I’m an otaku myself; the excitement and euphoria I feel whenever I see new info regarding my oshi is no joke, so I was able to channel those aspects without hesitation. Recording for this show started right around the time when one of my favourite anime was being broadcast and there was this one episode that focused on my oshi character who I’ve loved for 10 years. I decided to record my own reaction watching the episode on TV for the first time, thinking that it might come in handy for the role of Eripiyo. So I recorded it, watched how I screamed without inhibitions and utilised that experience towards playing Eripiyo.

Q: That’s a unique technique (laughs) Did you receive any instructions in the studio?

A: I can get quite shrieky whenever I’m excited so I was asked to restrain myself a little. This anime is more or less a gag series but I was told that the aim is to show the beauty of the emotional connections between women. Essentially, I was allowed to perform however I wished.

Q: Your oshi Maina is a humble and cute girl.

A: Auri-sensei’s female characters are all cute but Maina is especially so – she’s a girl who comprises the best of everything that Sensei likes. She’s a little reticent and is unable to get out of her shell but that is exactly what makes her so good.

Q: You’d never think that she’s bottom in the popularity stakes.

A: All of the girls are cute though. It’s the management who are fiends for holding a popularity vote (laughs). There’s one part where I fully understood what Maina was going through – when I was to take part in my first ever anime event for my first ever starring role in an anime; I remember feeling nervous and uneasy before going on stage since hardly anyone knew who I was. There’s an episode in the series where Maina feels anxious when appearing on stage at Okayama Girls Festa and we see her gaining courage from Eripiyo who calls out her name – similarly, I had friends who came to my event who helped put me at ease.

ChamJam gives off an exquisitely good underground idol feeling! Who’s Fairouz Ai’s oshimen?

Q: What’s your opinion on ChamJam, the unit Maina is part of?

A: It’s nice that they give off such an exquisite underground idol feeling (laughs) Each member is outstandingly unique and they have a wonderful balance as a group.

Q: Eripiyo’s oshi is Maina – who’s yours?

A: Maple Doll’s Mei-chan*. I like blondes so I was keen on Yumeri at first, but when it comes to personality Yuka’s the best. Take their good points, put them together and you get Mei-chan, someone who really hits the spot for me. She hasn’t appeared in the anime yet so look forward to it.

*an ex-member of Reo’s former idol group

Q: Eripiyo’s otaku friends are a unique bunch too.

A: Kumasa-san is the classic example of the otaku. He has working experience so that’s probably what makes him such a level-headed person. Maeno Tomoaki-san’s ad-libs are amazing and he adds a lot of flavour to the character. Motoi’s a bit more complicated but that’s what makes him interesting. He’s a gachikoi, the type who’ll genuinely fall in love with an idol, but he’s also lonely. He’d love to discuss his oshi with other people but he sees other fans of his favourite girl as his rivals, so it gets a bit thorny. I think gachikoi types will be able to relate to his character.

Q: What is it like in the recording studio?

A: Many of my lines are gags so the humour very much depends on my delivery. I practised very hard at home and I’d be glowing whenever my lines got a laugh out of the other cast members and the sound director during the tests.

Also, it seems that I went a little overboard when we were recording the background sounds of the otaku [audience] scenes, so much so that the sound director had to tell me ‘please stop being so disgusting’ (laughs). We’d record all the calls at the end of sessions and I’d been thinking, ‘Oh I’ll probably mix in with the rest of the guys’ but nope – Eripiyo had to do hers in a separate take while everyone else watched. That meant I was screaming ‘Salmon Pink Maina!’ and ‘Hai! Hai!’ by myself which was a bit embarrassing but still fun. I also waved a King Blade around for scenes where I needed to get a little hyped, so that my voice would match the flow.

The ED song ‘Momoiro Kataomoi’ by Eripiyo – a ballad representing the days when she was pure

Q: The ending theme is a cover of Matsuura Aya-san’s famed Momoiro Kataomoi – what are your thoughts on recording it?

A: It’s a song I listened to when I was in primary school so I was a little over-awed. I wondered if I would be covering the original Eripiyo-style but was surprised to find out that the song had been rearranged as a mellow ballad. I was asked to sing it with ‘the fresh feelings from when Eripiyo first met Maina’. The song was in fact, chosen due to how the lyrics were linked to her emotions at the time. I sang the song with the aim of bringing out that purity & without losing sight of her character.

Q: What are your thoughts on seeing the show’s visuals?

A: I haven’t actually seen the episodes completely animated at the time of writing, but there is this part in the PV where (Eripiyo attempts to) pull off the trick of conveying her feelings within 5 seconds before she’s dragged away. It felt as if even the most articulate person in the world wouldn’t be able to fit all they wanted to say within those 5 seconds. I wanna see ChamJam’s dancing as soon as possible too. Their moves were smooth in the PV so I really want to see and hear the full version.

Q: What are your favourite episodes or scenes?

A: I love the relationship dynamics between Aya and Sorane. The self-assured Aya is aggrieved that Sorane, who isn’t all that attached to the idea of being an idol, is more popular than she is, and add to that the fact that Sorane does want to get along well with Aya. Regardless, there is a mutual respect between the pair that they both acknowledge – I love that scene.

Fairouz-san’s beloved idol is 2D!?

Q: Do tell us about your favourite idols or idol songs.

A: I do have a favourite 2D idol…Takadanobaba Jōji from KING OF PRISM. If we’re talking 3D then there’s this American dining chain called Hooters where the female staff dance at night. There’s a specific girl from a branch whom I love and I often visited the restaurant and cheered her on with Hooters-themed orange colours, giving her high-fives and so on (laughs)

Q: Eripiyo’s must-have items are her red tracksuit and her pink King Blade – what are yours?

A: Headache medication. They’re indispensable for me ‘cos my head hurts when I go to places with loud sounds such as the recording studio, the cinema and concert venues.

Q: Tell us once again what the attraction and highlights of Oshi ga Budōkan ni Ittekuretara Shinu are.

A: It’s a series that everybody – not only idol otaku, but people who have someone they are a big fan of or something that they really love, can identify with. I hope that you will watch this series while thinking about your true love. Also, I’d love for you to pay attention to as well as enjoy the girls’ delicate emotions and actions – not just the relationship between Eripiyo and Maina, but also all of the other couplings and their relationships too.

Q: Please leave a message for everyone.

A: Fans of the manga will finally be able to watch ChamJam in motion so it will be especially emotional for you. Those of you who have been wondering how the calls work will get to see it for yourself in the anime so it’d be pleasing if you could join in the calls with your King Blades as you watch. For those of you who are finding out about the series through this article, I do hope that you can relate to Eripiyo and her group of idol otaku friends; that you will find your oshimen in ChamJam or another unexpectedly weird oshi character like I did – please support the series!

#227 – Fairouz Ai


Another long-form interview with my favourite rookie seiyuu of 2019, Fairouz Ai, this time by Nico Nico Douga.

Who is Fairouz Ai? A long interview with the woman within whom Cujoh Jolyne resides

Interview/text/editing: Kanazawa Shungo
Interview/supervision: Harahachibunme Taro
Photography: Kanazawa Shohei
Hair: Je suis heureuse tokyo

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Q: Fairouz-san, today you’re….

A: Ah you pronounced my name wrong, it’s Fai↑rouz – you say it the same way you say Fab-breeze (laughs)

Q: I’m sorry! So I’ll call you Fairouz-san, like Febreze.

A: But you can call me anything you like. ‘Fai-san’ is fine too!

Q: Okay (laughs) So let me start from the top again – let’s talk about all things Fairouz-san. Thanks for your time!

A: No problem!

Q: There have been rumours of Fairouz-san’s art skills making the rounds. You’ve brought some samples of your work today, can I have a look?

A: Sure! This..

Q: …eh, really?

A: …and this…

Q: …you’re too good.

A: Ah it’s embarrassing. I drew these 5 years ago (laughs)

Q: They’re amazing though.

A: I was in the graphic design department in vocational school. I’m not very good at anime-style art; my forte lies in more dramatic pieces.
I’d love to see some of these works featured in an exhibition; or maybe draw a manga and have it made into an anime someday.

Q: You’d never be able to produce such art unless you put in a lot of effort – did you like drawing from a young age?

A: When I was young I could only draw like your average person. Even when I was in junior high the most I could manage was to trace my favourite manga. When I entered high school I had a classmate who was really good at art and that inspired me to want to get better at drawing – that’s when I started drawing for real.

Q: They’re truly amazing. You use numbers as motifs etc – any particular significance behind them?

A: Not really. They’re just random. I wonder if I had anything on my mind when I was drawing these…maybe I did.

Q: It feels like there are various themes weaved into each picture. People might interpret them in their own way (laughs)

A: I’ll leave that up to the research groups then (laughs)

Q: Have you ever thought of becoming a professional artist?

A: Illustration work tends to involve drawing anime-style art or game characters but I was never good at that. My style is more theatrical so I thought it’d be better for me to draw as a hobby.

Q: Rather than drawing whatever’s required of you as part of a job, you’d rather draw the art and motifs that you wish to.

A: Yeah. Obviously, I’d be happy if anyone out there appreciates and likes what I draw.

Q: Have you been drawing anything recently?

A: Umm, not really…not since I started weight training (laughs)

Q: Didn’t expect the talk to suddenly turn to weight training (laughs)

A: I felt like my muscles might waste away if all I did was sit down and draw (laughs) But having my art being praised in this way is giving me the motivation to take up drawing once again.

The influence of ‘How Many Dumbbells Can You Lift?’

Q: You mentioned muscles – the main character of How Many Dumbbells Can You Lift?, Sakura Hibiki, has received a great reception. Your life must have undergone pretty dramatic changes because of this [role] – what are your thoughts on this?

A: How Many Dumbbells Can You Lift? happened to be my first ever TV anime so I didn’t even know what recording in a studio was like. It’s definitely my first big step as a seiyuu.

Plus, I was finally able to relate positive news to my mother and father! A lot of friends have sent me messages about the show as well; I’m really glad.

Q: It’s pleasing to get a good response from people close to you.

A: That’s true not just of people I’m close to, but also of the many people who hear my voice through the role of Hibiki; which has turned her into a much-loved character. It makes me really happy.

Q: Looking through the comments on Nico Nico, we can see many users going ‘an amazing seiyuu has appeared’.

A: I’m glad! Thank you.

But when I watched episode 1, I was thinking ‘How stiff my performance sounds’. I had a negative mindset and was prepared to see ‘So wooden www’ kind of comments.

So it was a great relief to hear a huge round of applause from the viewers at the advance screening event, and to see the anime broadcast and get a good response!!

Still, I do accept the fact that, as many suggest, I am tone-deaf when it comes to singing.

Q: Ehhh really? I thought you were very good though.

A: No way, it only seems so because ‘Onegai Muscle’ is an easy song to sing.

Q: It’s a song that includes quite a fair amount of dialogue-like parts.

A: That’s right. I’m lucky to have been given such a song. I know I’m tone-deaf but I still like to sing karaoke so I hope I get to continue singing forever. I’m glad I’ve kept singing even though I’m not so good at it. I never even imagine a day would come along when I’d be judged in such a way. It makes me happy.

The Fairouz Formula: ‘Stress Relief Method’

Q: You mention that you were ‘worried in advance of (your shows) being seen’ – what exactly does it feel like? Do you lose your appetite etc?

A: I never have problems with appetite! I’ll talk to my white rice and say ‘you’re so tasty!’ (laughs) When I’m feeling down…I start looking up the procedures to obtain permanent residence abroad (laughs)

Q: Does that mean…you want to escape from Japan? (laughs)

A: It’s more on the level of ‘where should I live if I can’t make it as a seiyuu?’ (laughs) I look for people who feel the same way on Yahoo! Answers. For example, I’ll look up phrases like ‘I don’t have confidence’ or ‘I hate myself’ on Yahoo! Answers and I’ll find that there are lots of people like me out there. It gives me courage when I realise that I’m not alone.

Q: So the prospect of obtaining PR overseas and Yahoo! Answers is what gives you courage.

A: Yeah and it made me think, ‘What’s the point in worrying about things that have already happened?’. For example, recording might not have gone well but that’s because of my own lack of skills – there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it after the session is over.

Q: I see. So you have the self-awareness to realise that you’ll need to switch gears.

A: Maybe so. Before I began weight training I’d tend to drag my feet about but now I tell myself ‘Just get to the gym and start moving your body before you have time to grumble!’ When I work out I’ll always go home feeling refreshed, and that stops it from feeling like a drag.

Q: But you must’ve been busy over the last few months. Do you still have time to go to the gym?

A: I have plenty of time to go to the gym! I’m not that busy (laughs) It’s a little painful to say so myself though… (laughs)

Q: I think that pretty soon, you won’t have any time to spare for it!

A: I wanna get busy!

Childhood memories

Q: Now, let’s hear about your younger days. What’s your earliest memory?

A: When I was in kindergarten I went to Disneyland with my family. Maybe it’s because I was overly excited – I ran off the moment I got there and they couldn’t find me until it was time for the night parade (laughs)

Q: Eh, all the way ‘til night? You mean you walked around alone for a half a day?

A: Yeah. My family searched high and low for me and had no time for any of the rides. So day turned into night, and one of the cast members took me to where my family was. And I was like, ‘Hey mom, where did you guys go?’. It seems I had no idea that I’d gone missing.

Q: That’s awesome (laughs)

A: I’ve been crazy since I was a kid (laughs)

Q: You were the kind of kid who’d run around non-stop.

A: There was no stopping me. My report cards would say ‘bright and cheerful child’.

Oh, and this seems a bit of a contradiction to my crazy character but my mother’s a very strict disciplinarian so I was often described as a child with impeccable manners towards her elders.

Q: I have thought that you are a very humble and polite person since we first met during the briefing session.

A: Really? I think that’s down to my mother’s education – I’m very glad.

Q: What are your parents like?

A: Normal parents (laughs). Can’t say that my personality’s similar to either one of their’s. My father’s Egyptian and my mother’s Japanese.

Q: What language do you speak at home?

A: When my father’s around, both my mother and I will speak Arabic.

Q: By the way, do you know how your parents met?

A: I’ve asked them before and the answer I got is ‘it’s a secret’.

Q: Ehhhh (laughs)

A: They even keep it a secret from their daughter! Both of my parents don’t like to talk about themselves. While I on the other hand, can’t stop talking (laughs)

Q: You’d like to find out someday, right?

A: Yeah. I used to be anxious to find out how but now, I’m not too bothered. As long as I know that I’m a child born to a loving couple like my parents, it’s really not a problem.

Q: Oh, what wonderful words!

A: Rather than knowing how they came to love each other, it’s better to know that they still do love each other right now! (laughs)

Egypt: My roots, my pride

Q: Do you remember what kind of child you were in primary school?

A: I was an outdoorsy kid. Going down to the river, building secret bases, playing with frogs.

Q: Er, you played with frogs huh (laughs). I can’t imagine it at all…

A: When I was a schoolkid, I had this toy car made from building blocks. I’d put a large frog on it and take it around for a spin (laughs)

Q: You were quite a rascal of a child (laughs)

A: I also liked Yu-Gi-Oh! It was only when Yu-Gi-Oh was popular among my classmates that I was treated like a cool kid ‘cos I was half-Egyptian. Can’t say I’ve ever been popular otherwise.

Q: That so? You seem like a person whom a group would revolve around.

A: Not at all. Throughout primary school, junior high and high school I was always seen as ‘the lame [wannabe] entertainer’ (laughs)

Q: Oh noes… (laughs)

A: Yeah I was really very lame. Though I did get paid a little more attention when the Pharaoh and Millennium Ring turned up in Yu-Gi-Oh.

Q: Does it bring a sense of familiarity to you when you see Egyptian things appearing in not just Yu-Gi-Oh, but the anime and manga world in general?

A: Yes I was so happy! I’ve always had a bit of a hang-up over being biracial. That’s why I was so happy when more and more people said to me that they liked Egypt because of anime and manga shining the spotlight [on Egypt]. That’s when I realised, ‘This shouldn’t be a complex that I have – it should be a source of pride’.

Which is why I felt so happy when I read Part 3* of JoJo. When I made friends with fellow JoJo lovers they’d go ‘Oh, you’re Avdol!’

*Part 3 of JoJo, Stardust Crusaders, is set in Egypt.

Q: I see (laughs)

A: I’d go ‘Yeah! I’ll bring out Magician’s Red!’ (laughs)

Q: And you actually went to Egypt and started living there, correct?

A: Yes, I was there from the second semester of fifth grade.

Q: It wasn’t because of your parents’ work but rather, you went there of your own free will.

A: That’s correct. My parents remained in Japan, while I went to Egypt alone. I spent one and a half years there ‘til my graduation from primary school.

Q: It wasn’t a short-term overseas study programme?

A: It wasn’t a programme of any kind. Both Japan and Egypt are my countries of origin, right? So I thought, ‘I need to know more about Egypt!’. When I mentioned that to my mother, my paternal grandmother who was living in Cairo said, ‘Why not come and study in a Japanese school in Cairo?’ and off I went.

Q: ‘I want to learn about Egypt because my roots lie there too’ – that’s a very advanced way of thinking for a fifth-grader.

A: Maybe so, but it could have been down to my environment. After all, I’d always had certain preconceived views myself. I wanted to know ‘What would xxx seem like from the eyes of an Egyptian?’!

Even if I wished to refute other people’s biased opinions, there wasn’t much I could say because I knew nothing about Egypt. That’s why I wanted to live in Egypt for real and observe the people living there. So that may have been my motivation, to ‘fight back against prejudices!’

Q: I see. You had a firm purpose, or should I call it a ‘strong will’?

A: Yes, I think so.

Q: How was life in Egypt?

A: I got homesick.

Q: Yeah, that’s to be expected.

A: Nobody in Egypt understood the Japanese aspects of who I was, y’know? Even if there was something I wanted to say, I couldn’t ‘cos the Arabic words just wouldn’t come to me. Plus, I wasn’t able to talk to my mother since there wasn’t LINE or Skype back then and international calls were too expensive.

Q: Do you recall the specific Japanese aspects that seemed incomprehensible [to Egyptians]?

A: For example, let’s talk about food.

The big supermarkets over there do sell Japanese food so I’d buy seaweed to eat and everyone would be making faces that said ‘what are you eating?’

Also, Egyptians value the family unit. But I think it’s important to spend time alone and there were days when I’d rather people not come into my room. I tried to be a little too considerate and it ended up wearing me out.

Q: Did you watch any anime or read manga while you were alone at home in Cairo?

A: Not really. I couldn’t get my hands on them anyway. You didn’t get overseas shipping back then like you do now. I did read some manga brought back by kids who’d gone home to Japan for holidays.

Q: Did you not bring any manga or videos from Japan?

A: Nope. I wasn’t much of an otaku back then. It was only when I was in 6th grade and about to return to Japan that a new student came in and they told me what was popular in Japan at the time. Gintama, D.Gray-man and BLEACH etc.

Q: They’re all Jump series.

A: I’m not sure if I was influenced by that but when I came back to Japan I pounced on shonen manga and got addicted. Since then, I’ve become a [shonen] limited otaku.

Q: A limited otaku (laughs). Was there any kind of such anime or manga culture in Egypt back then? Did they show series on TV every week, for example?

A: They were showing Detective Conan and Captain Tsubasa, things like that. Oh, and Naruto. But due to censorship rules they couldn’t show naked women or swimsuits etc, so the series that they could broadcast was limited. The Sexy Technique in Naruto was censored too.

A cat with bloodshot eyes in Egypt

A: There was one unforgettable event that happened in Egypt. It’s a bit of a horror story, can I talk about it?

Q: Do go ahead.

A: There’re a lot of stray cats in Egypt and they’re filthy (laughs). It’s not like in Japan where you get your cute ‘nyaaa~~’ kitties – instead, you get cats with bloodshot eyes.

Q: And they’re always hunting prey?

A: They’re hungry beasts, these cats (laughs) So I had some parakeets at the time. Two budgies, to be exact.

Q: I have a bad feeling about this…

A: I came back from school one day and 1 of the budgies was gone. So I asked our maid ‘why is one of the budgies missing?’ and she said ‘it was dead when I came in so I dumped it in the rubbish bin’ (laughs)

Q: Nooo! That’s cruel!

A: I was thinking ‘Oh god, it must be a bug!’ (laughs) Bird flu was going around at the time so it was dumped as it was deemed dangerous. So I was going to the rubbish dump with tears in my eyes when I came across a cat with bloodshot eyes that had a budgie in its mouth – it looked right into my eyes and went ‘Miaoww!!’.

It had my beloved budgie in between its teeth! I was so traumatised (laughs)

Q: I’m not sure I should laugh.. you’re laughing, Fairouz-san, that’s why I’m laughing too.

A: Ah I’m sorry I shouldn’t be laughing, right? (laughs) And that, sums up my 1.5 years in Egypt!

A cheerful personality cultivated in Egypt

Q: How was your life in Japan after spending time in Egypt?

A: I found it even harder to get along with other students than before I went to Egypt. As a ‘returnee’, I had no idea what was trendy in Japan at the time so I couldn’t keep up with the conversations.

There’s also one other thing I regret. I took English classes in Egypt but I couldn’t understand them at all and was disappointed. So when I returned to Japan I started attending English tuition when I was in my first year of junior high. One day in class, kids started making fun of me saying ‘this person’s showing off her English just ‘cos she lived overseas’. I was frustrated, thinking to myself ‘That’s not even true! I only started learning after I came back!’

Q: Ah…that’s infuriating to hear.

A: Yeah, that happened. But still, my cheerful personality is probably due to my time spent in Egypt, I think.

Q: So there are many cheerful people in Egypt?

A: Lots of cheerful people there. Everyone was so kind and considerate. People are also very chatty and they’d be keen to strike up a conversation with anyone.

Q: I think that’s contributed a lot to your charming nature now, Fairouz-san.

A: Yeah, I’m thankful!

I want to be strong like Jolyne

Q: When did you start thinking of becoming a seiyuu?

A: When I was in high school, and it was thanks to Nico Nico Douga.

Q: Our company! We’re all pleased to hear that.

A: It’s not lip service either – it’s the truth. I became a top class otaku in my 1st year of junior high and was constantly watching videos on Nico Nico.

Q: Thank you.

A: I should be the one thanking you.

So yeah, you’d see certain comments in videos going ‘Ora ora ora ora’, ‘Muda muda muda muda muda’ or ‘But I refuse’, right? I was just so curious about them so I looked them up and discovered that they were lines from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The art happens to be in my favoured dramatic style too.

So I was in junior high and didn’t have much money, but I went ahead and bought the first 5 volumes of Stone Ocean. I’d mistakenly thought that it was the first arc of JoJo. I read it, but couldn’t understand anything at all. I was like, “Huh? What? Who’s DIO? Who’s Jotaro?” (laughs)

Q: They reset the volume count starting from Stone Ocean*.

A: Regardless, I did think the protagonist Cujoh Jolyne was so cool and I wanted to know more about here. I started collecting JoJo bit by bit and by my 1st year of high school I had the entire set. I still found it tough to adjust when I entered high school but I’d find courage whenever I looked at Jolyne.

Jolyne is a 19-year old girl who was betrayed by her boyfriend and falsely imprisoned despite her innocence, and all the while her dad is in critical condition. She’s in dire straits and completely messed up at first, but her resolve only strengthens.

She’s exactly the kind of woman I want to be. I thought, ‘I want to be as strong as Jolyne!’

My worries over my inability to adjust in school seem trivial when compared to Jolyne. I’d fire myself up with the thought that ‘Jolyne wouldn’t cry over something like this!’ and thanks to that, I’ve overcome many painful situations since. And not just in high school – [she’s helped me] even when I was job hunting or working, and now that I’ve gotten into this industry. I tend to contemplate things a lot, and it is Jolyne whom I’m devoted to. Jolyne, and the JoJo series has been the Bible of my life.

*The original JoJo series consists of 63 volumes across 5 arcs. From the 6th arc Stone Ocean, the volume count was reset to Volume 1.

Q: It’s amazing…just listening to you speak about this makes me feel overwhelmed. Is there anything special that you do so that you can become as strong as Jolyne?

A: The one scene that resonates with me and gives me strength is when Jolyne is sent to the prison quarters and gets faeces thrown in her face. Normal girls would go ‘what century are we living in again?’ or something like that, but she replies with ‘the one thing I can’t do in here is to build up unnecessary stress or allow my mental strength to wilt – I have a mission to fulfil while I’m here so I’m going to grow stronger in these circumstances’.

I just love how inspiring this scene is. I still go back and re-read it whenever I’m low on confidence or feeling a bit down to gain a bit of courage. ‘Jolyne’s doing her best too!’

Q: Jolyne resides in your heart now.

A: That’s right. She’s the key to my optimism!

JoJo also happens to be my first taste of voice acting. A group of JoJo fans gathered and started doing something similar to recitals through Skype group calls. We’d decide on which episode of which part we’d do that day, and rotate the various roles amongst ourselves.

Q: So such meetings do exist. Did you take part as well, Fairouz-san?

A: I took part in the recitals when I was a freshman in high school. I’d never done any acting prior to that – I was just keen to join in with the thought of ‘wanting to be a character in JoJo!’, but I ended up being praised for what I did. I couldn’t wait for each JoJo recital after that and would often do readings on my own. The thought did occur to me that I wanted to act in a JoJo anime adaptation and voice a character who aids Jolyne’ – and that is why I became a seiyuu!

Q: Ohhh!

A: Sorry for being long-winded….

Q: It’s alright. I thought it was wonderful, that you went from putting voices to a manga, to actually becoming a seiyuu.

A: Yeah.

Q: Do you still read JoJo?

A: Of course! And I still do my own recitals. I’ll listen to what I’ve read, and go ‘Nope, that sucked’ (laughs)

Q: If arc 6 of JoJo were to be animated, you’d really want to be in it.

A: I’d probably cry if that were to happen (laughs) But I couldn’t pull off Jolyne. I’d love to play a character that fights alongside Jolyne, someone who’s there to lend her a hand.

Q: You never know, you might get an offer to do Jolyne…

A: Obviously if that was the case then I’d do my best to bring out the ‘Jolyne inside me’ that I’ve carefully nurtured – so watch out! But of course I’d love for Jolyne to be voiced by the worthiest woman in the world and for me to observe from behind.

I’ll believe in the words of the people who support me

Q: Knowing that you wished to become a seiyuu, was there any reason that you chose to enrol in Pro-Fit’s training school amongst the many available schools?

A: The instructor at the training school was Shioya Yoku, the voice of Zepelli in JoJo. I thought that if I joined Pro-Fit, I might have a chance to appear in JoJo (laughs)

Q: So you went to Pro-Fit in a calculated attempt to get into JoJo (laughs)

A: I was in regular employment when I started attending seiyuu training, so I had to pay my own way through school. There were financial and time constraints naturally but yes, I agree with the reason you gave (laughs)

Q: What did you do in training school?

A: Basic vocalisation skills, enunciation, etudes, acting basics.

Q: What were your thoughts on the professional industry, once you dipped your toes in it?

A: I had no idea how far I could go but I decided that my voice would be louder than anyone else’s. During lessons or roll call I’d scream ‘YESSS!!!’.

Q: Sounds good!

A: Even in the recording studio nowadays, people tell me ‘you always greet people so cheerfully’. It’s a habit from my training school days.

Q: You must have gone through a lot during training school, affiliation tests included. Did you feel nervous?

A: The intention was to give up the dream of becoming a seiyuu after a year if things hadn’t gone well in Pro-Fit’s training school. Since I’d already made that decision, I didn’t feel too many nerves – I was determined to push myself as hard as I possibly could without cutting any corners.

Q: You’d strengthened your resolve. Do you remember how you felt when you made your seiyuu debut?

A: My first thought was ‘maybe my type of personality won’t be easily accepted’. But a friend said to me, ‘Don’t listen to anyone who thinks negatively about you; rather, just believe in the words of those who support you’. That’s the way to go!

Q: That really is the way to go!

A: I came to think, ‘Who cares what the masses say!’ (laughs) So yes, it’s helped to strengthen my spirit.

Q: And you’ll get tens or hundreds of thousands of people who watch a series and say or write whatever they want to.

A: When I was in my 1st year as a seiyuu, I was sometimes shocked by what I saw when I googled myself but I’ve stopped doing it lately.

But more importantly, fan letters! I’ve realised that I should prioritise listening to people who’ve taken the time, effort and have the heart; as well as spending on stamps and delivery costs, to get their words to me. In that sense I think I’ve grown up a lot.

Q: I feel like writing a fan letter to you now.

A: Fan letters can be read and re-read endlessly!

I want to be known as ‘the filthy voice’

Q: You mentioned that you like karaoke and singing. What kind of songs do you sing?

A: I’ve always listened to Vocaloids on Nico Nico Douga or anisong on Nico Nico medleys and oh, I love Maximum the Hormone! My friends are super happy when I do my ‘death voice’.

Q: Fairouz-san, you have a beautiful, clear voice by nature that’s suitable for acting. Somehow, a death voice is…

A: Oh it’s fine to describe it as a ‘filthy voice’ (laughs)

Q: No way (laughs)

A: It’s okay, everyone says the same thing (laughs)

Q: I love how your voice has got a slightly gritty edge to it. There aren’t too many people who can do it very well.

A: Ah, I’m not really aiming for that though; it’s just what I normally sound like. In fact, what you hear now is just my voice putting on its ‘Sunday best’ (laughs)

Q: (laughs)

A: When I’m talking to friends I’ll be saying things like ‘Uheheeeee’ and they’ll go ‘that’s a disgusting voice!’. It’s just normal to me so I’m not really conscious about it, but I suppose I like producing all these filthy sounds – it’d be great if they made people happy.

Q: Are you sure you want your fans to say that you’ve got a ‘filthy voice’?

A: I’d be glad. I want to be told, ‘Fairouz-san, your voice is so dirty today!’ (laughs) I’d like to make that a kind of signature chant or cheer!

Q: Okay, I’ll make sure that phrase is set in bold (laughs).

NICE, FILTHY VOICE

I’ll try to spam it all over Nico Nico.

A: Thank you (lol)!

Always smiling, illuminating others

Q: You’ve discussed how your roots lie in Egypt. Is there anything you can think of doing that involves Egypt?

A: Interest in Japanese anime is growing at a tremendous pace, not only in Egypt but throughout the Arab world. There was even an event called the Dubai Comiket. I have seen both Japanese and Arab culture for myself so I hope that as a Japanese seiyuu, I can be the link between Japan and the Arab world.

Q: It’d be great if Japan and Arab could produce something together.

A: Co-produced anime sounds like a good idea. I’d love to produce something like that. Work on character designs too.

Q: As a seiyuu, you might even voice characters in Arabic.

A: I can only manage conversational Arab. If I had to say things like ‘I’ll X or Y to overcome my destiny!’ I’d be completely lost (laughs). I need to study Arabic more from now on.

Q: The possibilities are endless for you.

A: Thanks. I’d be glad if it was so. Obviously voice acting is my main calling but there are a wide range of activities I could get involved in. Seiyuu don’t only have to voice act. I want to be a multi-talented [actor] and try out a bunch of different things!

Q: Lastly. You’re so versatile and have many gifts – what do you think is your greatest strength; your greatest asset?

A: My positive attitude! Thanks to Jolyne I have unwavering, sturdy feelings, so I want to be a cheerful person who’s always smiling and illuminating others, so that everyone can say ‘Looking at Fai-chan brings me joy’.

Q: You’ve already brightened up many people’s days, and you’ll continue to shine your light on many others in future.

A: Thank you. Someone wrote ‘Fai-chan, you are someone I admire’ and ‘Fai-chan, I want to be like you’ in a fan letter…I used to be a person who thought that about others. I’ve always been an admirer so I never thought that I could be a person that someone else admires. To have that said unto me; to think that I could be a shining light for someone else makes me extremely happy. From now on, I want to become a person who can make other people cheerful and bright.

Q: I look forward to your future success! Thank you so much for giving up your time today.

A: Thank you! I really enjoyed talking to you freely today!

#214 – Dumbbell Nankilo Moteru? Newtype Interview #1: Fairouz Ai


While I’m still hot on muscles, here’s the first in a series of Web Newtype features with the Dumbbell cast. Rookie Fairouz Ai plays MC Sakura Hibiki and I’m finding her a breath of fresh air in this industry. She’s one of a handful of ‘half’s that have emerged in the seiyuu biz in recent years, with a bit more of a unique flavour to her given her Egyptian heritage where most others are half-Caucasian (Arthur Lounsbery, Lynn) or half-Filipino (Mark Ishii, Nakajima Megumi).

If you’ve heard her on radio she seems like a pretty fun character – very open-minded with no filter and not afraid of joking around with her seniors. It’s early days for Fairouz yet, but her performance in Dumbbell is polished to the point where you wouldn’t believe that it’s her first major role of any kind. She trained at the Pro-Fit academy and is still a junior (azukari) there but the agency has good form, having produced the likes of Okamoto Nobuhiko, Ishikawa Kaito, Kayano Ai, Ishigami Shizuka, Kito Akari, Iwami Manaka and Horie Shun despite taking on very few talents (generally 2-3 per year). Keep an eye on this one!
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The high school girls’ comedy manga ‘Dumbbell Nankilo Moteru?’ has been adapted to anime! The main character in this series is high school girl Sakura Hibiki, who starts going to the gym as part of an attempt to diet, and she’s voiced by up-and-coming seiyuu Fairouz Ai. Web Newtype will deliver a series of interview with the main cast and staff.

We kick off the project with Fairouz-san. The child of an Egyptian father and Japanese mother, Fairouz talks about the many detours she took until she arrived at her debut in Dumbbell, all in a bid to become a seiyuu.

Q: First of all, let’s talk about your background.

A: I was born in Tokyo and mostly lived in Japan. I did spend some time in Cairo in Egypt, from my 5th year of primary school ‘til I graduated. I don’t know if that period of time had that big of an influence on me but I’m often told that my personality is ‘very Egyptian’. Apparently Egyptians say that they’d rather die than shut up and not talk (laughs)

Q: Do you still speak Arabic?

A: It’s sort of faded away over time but I can still manage normal daily conversations. It seems my parents wanted to raise me as bilingual so we’d speak Arabic whenever my dad was at home. Once I got to junior high, everyone around me started saying ‘it’s fine now’ so I’d just speak Japanese normally.

Q: It seems like you’ll be the leading Arabic seiyuu in future. How did you end up in Egypt?

A: When I was in primary school I was the kind of kid whose head was always in the clouds. I was looking at a website for a Japanese school in Cairo and they had fun school events like pyramid endurance running and parent-and-child mango picking and I thought, ‘That looks fun! Maybe something in my life will change if I spend time in my other home’. So I talked about it with my parents and they agreed, thinking ‘it’s a shame that she only knows about the Japanese side of her heritage’. So they sent me to live with my paternal grandmother and I attended Japanese school there.

Q: Before we move on, allow me to mention something that’s piqued my interest…a pyramid endurance run, what’s that?

A: Yes, that’s a marathon event where everyone runs around the pyramids in the desert. We had 50 primary and junior high school students from Japanese schools all running together and it was fun. The celebrations after Ramadhan fasting were enjoyable too!

Q: Your Egypt stories are very intriguing but let’s get back on track. When did you decide that you wanted to become a seiyuu?

A: I returned to Tokyo to enter junior high, but I found that I didn’t really fit in. That’s when I first came across JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I was reading it and thinking ‘Everyone is fighting for what they believe in or fighting to protect something. But I am only thinking about myself and that’s no good’ – I realised that my troubles seemed so trivial by comparison…

Q: Which arc were you reading?

A: The 6th part, Stone Ocean. I was greatly encouraged by reading it, thinking ‘I’ve gotta be strong like Jolyne!’. I started meeting fellow JoJo lovers online and it was common for fans to post videos of themselves reading the lines from the manga. I’d take part in JoJo-related Skype reading sessions and got a lot of good feedback. I was really happy, and these recitals made me feel like I was a resident of the JoJo world…the sessions were only held sporadically but I was impatient and I ended up reciting the entirety of Volume 1 of JoJo by myself – not only the dialogue but the sound effects too. While I was doing all this I started thinking ‘I should become a seiyuu for real and appear in JoJo when it gets animated!’, and that’s how I got started on this path.

Q: So if they do animate the 6th part I suppose you would definitely be going all out to voice Jolyne.

A: I want to be Foo Fighters!

Q: Not Jolyne?

A: Jolyne is the one I adore. So I want to be Foo Fighters, the one who lends her a hand.

Q: Your love for JoJo is pretty full on. Could it be that the Horse Riding Skill Certification Level 4 that I see from the qualifications column of your profile is related…?

A: Of course I read Steel Ball Run (JoJo Arc 7) and thought ‘I wanna ride a horse!’. I can now ride across the Americas!

Q: I see. Did you not read shojo manga etc?

A: Almost not at all. I prefer masculine works like Prison School, Sakigake!! Otokojuku and Fist of the North Star, as well as Fukumoto Nobuyuki-sensei’s works such as Akagi and Kaiji.

Q: I see you love hot-blooded series. Back to the topic, did you start on the voice acting path while doing all those recitals and after graduating from high school?

A: Nope, my parents were against it so I gave up on it for a while and went to graphic design school to study illustration. By my 3rd year I still hadn’t lost that desire to become a seiyuu so I told my mother, ‘I’d like to attend a seiyuu training school after I graduate’. Her reply was ‘you’re only saying that ‘cos you don’t wanna go job-hunting. I’ll only agree if you get a proper job, work for a year and pay your way through school with your own savings’. So after I graduated from graphic design school, I worked as a dental assistant for 1 year while attending seiyuu training school on the side.

Q: And then you graduated from training school and became a seiyuu. Are you friendly with any other seiyuu, including those from your training days?

A: I hit it off with Uchida Shu-san who’s in Kantai Collection etc, ‘cos we both spent time overseas as kids – we do go out for meals. I’ve also become friends with Amamiya Sora-chan (who plays Sōryuin Akemi) after working together on Dumbbell. Just recently, the two of us went for a date where we had a meal and went shopping for clothes. I find that our personalities are compatible so we get along very well…ah don’t worry I’m not doing yuri business, it’s 100% true (laughs). We started talking about how I’d like to draw a caricature of Sora-chan and [showing picture] this is what I sent her.

Q: Let me see….isn’t this way too good though?

A: Nah, it’s not that great really. I’m just good friends with Sora-chan so we send each other stuff like this.

Q: You do list ‘illustrating’ under your hobbies and skills so I am quite convinced of it. Have you been drawing for a long time?

A: When I was in junior high it only went as far as trying to copy my favourite manga, but once I got to high school I bought my own graphics tablet and started drawing in earnest.

Q: Had you not considered going down the art route instead of voice acting?

A: I did, but it’s just a hobby for me to draw the things that I love.

Q: Let’s talk about Dumbbell. How did you prepare for recordings?

A: Everyday I’d read aloud all the lines for every character in the manga. I’d record myself, play it back, do some corrections, memorise the lines. It was first time taking part in afureko sessions so I was just trying my best not to be a burden on my cast-mates.

Q: How did you feel about the actual recording process?

A: When recording started I was thinking ‘there’re still 12 more episodes to go’ but they were soon over in the blink of an eye. It goes without saying that my cast-mates were way better than the performances I’d recorded at home and I learned a lot every week. Many people have been saying to me ‘I’m looking forward to Dumbbell’  when I attend recording sessions for other shows so I’m truly glad that Dumbbell was my first series.

Q: It appears that you go to the gym on a regular basis. As someone who works out, how do you view the series?

A: For me, strength training used to be a silent, inner battle with myself. Once I read Dumbbell, I realised that working out with friends could be enjoyable. Strength training is pretty tough, especially for women, but I’m sure that once you look at the fun aspects of the process through Dumbbell, you’ll definitely be intrigued.

Q: For this series of interviews we’re interviewing the 4 main cast members. Do you have any thoughts on them?

A: Time is always of essence during recording sessions and I don’t really get much chance to chat when I’m away from my seat. So it’s great that we’ve got a chance to talk through this feature and now I can understand things better, like ‘Oh, so he or she is actually like this’ – I appreciate being able to get closer to the rest of the cast.

Q: It seems everyone enjoys chatting with someone as cheerful as you, Fairouz-san.

A: Do they really?

Q: It seems that Amamiya-san’s started working out thanks to your influence.

A: That’s right. She’s got a personal (one-on-one) trainer so we can’t work out together, but we’ve started talking about things like ‘what (muscles) are you working on today?’, like training buddies would. I’m happy that we’ve managed to paint Sora-chan in the same colours as people like myself and Ishikawa Kaito-san.

Q: We look forward to future interviews with the other cast members. Lastly, please tell us about your future aspirations as a seiyuu.

A: Yes. I’m gonna use these abs that I’ve trained to produce better acting with an improved voice – do my best, I mus(t)-cular!* [note: while doing macho body building pose]

*she says Ganbari-muscular

Q: …is that how you want to end this first interview?

A: I actually thought about it & came up with this as the closing line (laughs) I’m gonna do my best!

[Interview & text: Haruno Oto]

#213 – Dumbbell Nankilo Moteru?: Fairouz Ai & Amamiya Sora


Interview with the main pairing from muscle porn anime Dumbbell Nankilo Moteru? – half-Egyptian rookie Fairouz Ai (Sakura Hibiki) and Amamiya Sora (Soryuin Akemi). One of the shows that I’d been looking forward to most this summer, though I daresay it still won’t make me get my ass off my chair (unless 10ch ‘persuadesme…)

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The anime captures the global bodybuilding boom!

Q: NHK’s ‘Bodybuilding For Everyone’ (Minna no Kinniku Taisō) became such a big hit that its stars were invited to the 2018 NHK Kohaku Utagassen – the bodybuilding boom really seems to be making waves!

Fairouz: Yeah (laughs)!

Q: Have you seen ‘Bodybuilding For Everyone’?

Fairouz: I did! I really love Murasame (Tatsumasa)-san!

Amamiya: Eh?

Fairouz: He’s a Swedish guy who became a naturalised Japanese citizen. He’s so cool!

Amamiya: Is he a bulging (muscles) guy?

Fairouz: He’s muscly! Plus, he’s a gardener. He’s totally cool.

Amamiya: Oh~~! I didn’t know that. Are the bodybuilding workouts similar to radio calisthenics?

Fairouz: Erm, it’s got poker-faced macho guys doing strength training exercises.

Amamiya: …Is it supposed to be a surreal kind of thing?

Q: The show is pretty surreal. When it first started, people were wondering ‘What the heck is this?’

Fairouz: I was thinking ‘Is this really showing on NHK?’ (laughs) Let’s do some strength training exercises!

Amamiya: I-I’ll make up my mind after I see it first…

Fairouz-san’s unstoppable muscle love

Q: Fairouz Ai-san, you love strength training and muscles, don’t you?

Fairouz: I love them! I love them as much as I love eating three meals a day.

Q: So you must’ve been fated to meet Hibiki.

Fairouz: That’s right. When I heard about this title I thought to myself, ‘I wanna be in this show!’. I wondered if the reason I’d been training all this while was because I was destined to encounter this series. I’ve been training for a year and 9 months now.

Q: Amamiya-san, do you like muscles?

Amamiya: Nope, I don’t like them at all (laughs) I think a lot of women have muscle fetishes. Like, ‘Oh my god those arm muscles are insane!’. Not me though – in fact, I can’t stand them. But now that I’ve tried working out myself, I can imagine how tough it is to actually get to that point so I do have a lot of respect for them!

Q: So you do work out, correct?

Amamiya: I go to the gym twice a week.

Q: Great! I was just about to ask about your gym experience.

Fairouz: I was working at a gym around 2 years ago, but that’s not why I started strength training, it’s the opposite – I got a part-time job there because I was interested in strength training. I can get specialist tips on the job and use the gym for free – it was totally worth it! Obviously I’ve already quit the job but the knowledge I gained from my time there has proved to be useful for this part.

Q: What sort of strength training do you do?

Fairouz: I get asked that question a lot! (laughs) Right now, I go to the gym around 3 times a week and I split them up into leg, chest and back days. For wide stance squats, I do them while lifting around 50kg of weights…

Amamiya: T-that’s amazing.

Fairouz: For leg days I do Bulgarian squats and leg curls to strengthen my hamstrings and I also use abdominal machines to work on my abs. I do dead-lifts and one-hand rowing for back days, as well as arm curls and dumbbell kickbacks as well as ab machines for my abs. For chest days I do bench presses, dumbbell bench presses, dumbbell flyes, shoulder presses, side raises and ab crunches.

Amamiya: Amazing…

Q: I understand your reaction (laughs). What’s the aim with all this training?

Fairouz: I kinda think I wanna be like a gorilla.

Amamiya: That’s unusual (laughs)

Fairouz: People like (muscle idol) Saiki Reika and the trainer AYA are super cool. I wanna be a strong, cool woman who can knock people out with one punch. But yeah, I think I need to narrow it down a bit. After a workout I’ll go ‘Yay I did my best!’ and then go home while eating fried chicken and ice cream.

Q: The more I hear the more I’m convinced you’re really just Hibiki in disguise…it’d be great if a balloon showing the amount of calories popped up next to your ice cream, wouldn’t it?

Fairouz: Nooooo! I wouldn’t be able to eat it (laughs). Don’t wanna see those calories~

Q: Amamiya-san, you perform in concerts so you’d have to train for them, correct?

Amamiya: I got frustrated trying to work out at the gym and things like that, so there was a period of time where I’d given up but I’ve started going again thanks to this series. My goal is purely to work on target areas – I’m not looking to bulk up but to slim down certain chubby bits. So yeah, I work with a personal trainer on my upper arms, buttocks, thighs and back.

Q: It’s nice to have a dedicated trainer.

Amamiya: To be honest, working out is really not my thing and I’m not fond of anything that requires hard work or is painful, so I think it’s kinda impossible for someone like me to persist unless I have a personal trainer.

Q: You’d get frustrated.

Amamiya: If you work alone there are days where you’ll think ‘I can’t be bothered today, let’s just not do it’, plus I don’t have the interest nor the knowledge so I can’t figure out how to do things properly unless someone demonstrates it for me. So yeah I’d recommend a personal trainer. There’s also the fact that I’m also working on this series so I don’t want to feel embarrassed about it – I have a friend like Fai-chan after all. Many of the cast members do strength training too and having them around inspires me to work hard.

Also, I made a promise with Fai-chan where we’d both work towards our goals; Fai-chan to bulk up and me to slim down to my ideal figure, so that we can show each other the results of our efforts at the (anime’s) event – and that’s why I’m doing my best.

She’ll get switched out if she slims down!? Maintaining the status quo in hopes of a 2nd season!?

Q: By the way, can you tell me what I should do to get a six-pack? I’m doing planking, which the manga is covering now, but can you really get abs without using any training equipment?

Fairouz: Yes you can! The latest publication (vol 7 released on June 19) has a story about ‘how to get abs within 2 weeks’ so do check it out!

Amamiya: Ahahaha.

Q: Oh, you’re shilling the series (laughs)

Fairouz: But they do show you how to train without any weights. I have to warn you though – it’s super-duper tough! Though I’ve got to say that everyone has abs – it’s just a matter of whether it’s visible through all that subcutaneous fat. If your body fat ratio goes down, those abs will definitely shine through!

Amamiya: You’re right. When I was thin, I could form a 4-pack if I strained hard enough. I wish I could go back to that level. I’m not saying that I want to get ripped though…

Fairouz: Let’s both do our best~

Q: Speaking of the series – the manga is really interesting; how did you find it?

Fairouz: It was like strength training had finally obtained its citizenship! I was super happy. There hasn’t been a series that focuses mainly on diet and working out and now that we’re seeing a fitness boom, I think it’s very timely for the manga to ride the wave of popularity.

Also, there are so many misleading diet plans out there. They promise stuff like ‘you definitely won’t relapse!’. If young people fall for those tricks they might eventually end up with eating disorders etc, so this manga aims to put an end to such problems by introducing proper dieting methods and setting good examples. ‘If you read this manga, you’ll learn the right way!’

Q: It does cover how you can continue eating normally but still gain muscles by working out. I guess Hibiki eats way more than she’s supposed to, which is why she can’t shift the weight.

Fairouz: The day Hibiki slims down is the day the manga serialisation will end (laughs)

Amamiya: What shall we do if the 2nd season of the anime has a different main character?

Fairouz: Noooooo!

Q: Let’s not allow Hibiki to lose weight (laughs)

Fairouz: To be honest, if you tried to read training guides and looked up websites on muscles you’d stop right away after seeing all the baffling katakana. With this series you get cute girls teaching you how to do everything in lively ways, so you can easily slip into the manga and soak up the information with an open heart. That’s what’s attractive about the series to me.

Amamiya: A newbie like me who knows little about working out could read this manga and learn about how you can train without having to use special equipment. People have this impression of strength training being painful and severe but the characters are always enjoying working out, plus you’ll discover that it’s surprisingly fine to eat normally, and that makes you want to give it a try.

Fairouz: It’s the kind of manga that motivates you more and more as you read it.

Amamiya: It does make you want to give it a shot.

The passion for muscles and gags is amazing!

Q: What do you think of your respective roles?

Fairouz: I actually auditioned for Gina, not Hibiki. When I read my lines I was told ‘let’s get you to read for Hibiki instead’. Gina’s a lot of fun obviously, but when I read the manga I thought to myself ‘I’m actually Hibiki though’ (laughs)

Amamiya: Ahahahaha.

Fairouz: Since I was thinking ‘Ah I’m definitely Hibiki’, I was really happy when I was selected. She’s a character I can really identify with. As for my approach towards the role, I tried to recall what kind of person I was in my high school days and ended up going to read my diary from that period of time.

And what I saw written was ‘I ate and drank too much today. Let’s start again from tomorrow’ and for the next entry ‘I’m pressing the reset button right now. I won’t do it again’, which means that I’d overeaten two days in a row (laughs). That’s how similar I am to Hibiki.

Hibiki’s the optimistic type who thinks ‘Well, I’ll just work it off in the gym’ and I’m like that too. We’re positive fools…also, Director Yamazaki instructed me, ‘Don’t forget she’s a Shibuya JK*!’ but I was like ‘I’m not a gyaru so how am I supposed to talk again?’. I ended up learning by watching a gyaru Youtuber’s videos and incorporating it into my acting.

*JK – jōshikōsei, high school girl

Amamiya: But it’s still difficult. Since she’s definitely not like the high school girls of today.

Fairouz: It’s tough ‘cos she’s not very girlish but she wants to be popular with the boys so she is cute in a way that fits her age. I express my character in an honest way and all my seniors…Sora-san included, along with Horie (Yui)-san and Ishigami (Shizuka)-san, adapt their acting to complement what I do, which makes it easy for me.

Q: Amamiya-san, having read the manga I thought you were perfect for the role. Do you share that view?

Amamiya: For some reason, going all out when I’m doing comedies really makes me feel like I’m alive….Akemi’s audition script included parts where she has heart-shaped irises in her eyes, the perfect example of a gag scene.

When I saw that and had read the manga, I understood that yes, she’s a pretty girl but she’s also a crazy kind of comic relief character so I really wanted to voice her! I did go all out for my audition and I was very happy when I got cast in the role. She does seem pretty refined at times but her unusual love and passion for her beloved muscles is amazing, and I have a lot of fun playing her.

Q: You really like comedic acting, don’t you?

Amamiya: I do love it. It feels like I’ve been set free (laughs). I’ve always loved gags and making people laugh so I had fun with this. I was wondering maybe I could go an extra mile, so I tried out stuff in the studio that I’d been doing at home. It was fun to bring out voices that go beyond what I normally do, and the Director was quite receptive to them as well. I found that a lot of what I wanted to do or had come up with got a good reception.

Fairouz: She’d also actively ask the Director questions and discuss her character – I was just watching from the side but I thought the enthusiasm you had for your role was amazing.

Amamiya: You’re embarrassing me! But if you say that, then Fai-chan’s always making notes in the empty pages of the script comparing parts from the manga and the anime, about which turns of phrase are better and writing down any questions you have. You’ll bring that and carefully ask your questions one by one. You love the original manga so much and read it from cover to cover, making use of that knowledge for recordings – I’ve got much to learn from you.

Q: The 2 of you do have so much passion for muscles and gags (laughs)

Fairouz: There’s another aspect I think Sora-san has in common with Akemi – the fact that they both look cool at first but once she opens up and starts talking about something she’s passionate about, she just doesn’t stop.

Amamiya: Ahahahahaha.

Fairouz: When she talks at such great speed I’m like ‘Ohhhhhh~Sora-san what’s happened to you~~~~?’

Q: That totally sounds like an otaku thing.

Fairouz: I can tell that she’s talking at a speed that only otaku could. On the other hand, I’m the same when it comes to muscles and I yap non-stop about ‘how this is effective and that is the best!!’ and it makes Sora-san flinch. We are similar in some ways.

We want women who are interested in fitness to watch this show!

Q: A gag anime from Director Yamazaki is an interesting proposition. You mentioned that she was receptive to improvisation, didn’t you?

Fairouz: She’s receptive and her instructions are precise and easy to understand. Last week, the Director mentioned how I was similar to Hibiki in a certain way so I took what she said and interpreted it in my own way and she was fine with what I did. There are times when I can get quite close to what the Director is looking for. And most importantly, she’s a kind person.

Amamiya: You can definitely tell that she’s taking great care with all the characters, giving each and every one of them the utmost attention.

Fairouz: She’s so thorough with all of the roles, giving equal treatment to every character whether they’re mobs or main roles.

Amamiya: Though we say that the Director is receptive to our ideas, it’s not a case of her saying ‘that’s great’ or ‘that’s no good’ – she’ll say ‘Hmm, so what shall we do about it?’ and we’ll brainstorm together. It gets me thinking about whether there’s a different way to approach something and to consider everything objectively – it inspires me to work harder!

Fairouz: Since this is a comedy it’s important to have good tempo but I’ll be honest – this is my first ever TV anime never mind my first time doing a comedy, so I didn’t have a good grasp of the gags or the timing at all. The Director would say things like ‘this is a part where she’s deliberately acting cute and fluffy and then there’ll be a huge shift in mood in the next scene’ – her instructions are all very precise and gives me a good idea of what comedy is about. It was a very valuable experience for me.

Q: Feels like the response to this series will be positive when it comes to its quality.

Fairouz: Yes yes yes. I want to see the anime as soon as possible!

Amamiya: There’s obviously a lot of passion going into this and I absolutely believe it’ll be an awesome show.

Fairouz: No compromises!

Amamiya: Yeah! There’s so much care going into every aspect – for the segment after the ending sequence where we teach strength training, one of the actors mentioned that the pace the characters were doing them at was too fast, so the Director took that on board and made the necessary corrections. We do want to make sure that people can actually pick up strength training from watching this show in addition to bringing out the comedy aspects well during the gag scenes – this series really is a labour of love.

Fairouz: I think the fact that the Director has started going to the gym herself also plays a big part (laughs). It’s kind of hard to give advice to actors when you don’t have the knowledge yourself so it’s great for us in this case.

Q: What it is like working with a female director?

Amamiya: The source material has quite a few risqué scenes but those change up a bit for the anime. In the manga there are parts where the characters get shy and cover up their bits but in the anime they’ll show off their bodies with confidence!

I think that’s the significance of having a female director. We want to spread the message that it’s okay to go and do strength training and that you’re amazing for doing it! It’s not vulgar at all and made in a way that’s easy for girls to watch it, which I think is something unique to a female director.

Q: After all, there are many women getting into fitness now.

Fairouz: So yeah, we want girls to watch this show too!

[Interview & Text: Tsukagoshi Junichi]