EXCLUSIVE: Interviews With All 4 Anisong Artists at I Love Anisong Sydney 2019!

With AFA ID does not continue into 2019, that also means there is no more I Love Anisong, the biggest anisong event in Indonesia in the past decade. However, on the other hand KAORI has gained access to exclusive interviews to the performers at the I Love Anisong concert at SMASH! 2019 (Sydney Manga & Anime Show) in Australia! Here are the thoughts and musings of Konomi Suzuki, kz(livetune), nano, and Minori Chihara exclusively on KAORI and The Indonesian Anime Times.

Konomi Suzuki

Have you been to Australia before?

Yes this is is my first time!

Is there anything you’re excited about?

Seeing koalas! And besides them, there are also plenty of animals I saw at the zoo, such as kangaroos and wombats, and it was really fun!

Have you tried vegemite?

I’ve heard of it!

It’s often called Australia’s national food, and the way you eat it is you put some butter onto bread, and then you put  the vegemite on top of that, kind of like peanut butter, but salty.

Really? I want to try it! Maybe I’ll consider buying it as a souvenir!

You have had a history of performing overseas, in the US, Singapore, Indonesia, and other countries. For you personally, what are the things you like and dislike about performing overseas?

Let’s see, I guess the fact that people appreciate Japanese culture and love anisong so much around the world. As an anisong singer myself, I take pride in the fact that I could be a part of that. I guess that’s what I really like about performing overseas. The not so nice stuff… would probably be my well-being; there are times when I would feel really fatigued, but I think that’s the full extent of it… the audience is always warm and welcoming, and I’m always happy for it.

You entered the industry via the Animax Anisong Grand Prix in 2011, and now you have so many anime hits and have become world famous! How do you feel knowing that you’ve gone all this way?

It’s been 8 years since my debut, and I’ve had so many opportunities and many great experiences that makes it feel that time has flown by very quickly. How many singles has it been? 16 singles! I think the fact that I’ve released that many is such an amazing thing.

You’ve also branched out into a voice acting role in Lost Song, as Rin. How was that experience for you?

Being a voice actor is harder than I imagined it to be, and I think I’ve learned a lot of things from the experience. Especially hard are the small “tsu”s (っ or sokuon, which can represent a glottal stop indicating surprise or shock -ed.) and question/exclamation marks, things that you don’t actually enunciate, but that you have to express in a script. Being able to induce a reaction [by expressing these things], that’s really tough. Other than that, in daily conversation, you don’t really make a sound when you’re surprised, so I tried to make a sound here and there as practice, just to convey that extra bit of emotion.

What is your goal in your singing career? Would you also like to explore voice acting more?

As a singer, of course I’d like [to release] CDs as well, but I think my goal is to keep working hard on live shows and activities, become a better live performer, and also for more people to look forward to my performances. I also want to perform at bigger and bigger places, and reach more people with my CDs! As a voice actor, if an opportunity comes up for me, I would be happy to take it.

Any places in Sydney you would like to visit before going back home?

Maybe that one? The Opera House! I think I saw it on the way from Singapore? Wait, you can’t see it from there? (lol) Maybe I saw it in my dreams, or in images. Seeing it in person would be fun!

As a singer who took an extraordinary path to stardom, do you have a message for your fans who might aspire to become singers like you?

First of all, have fun. This is the most important point. When you do something you love as a job, sometimes you can lose the love for it, so it’s been said. When I see someone having fun on stage, I end up really liking the performance, so I always say to myself, let’s have a good time on stage. I always hold the effort to show audience the emotions of having fun and liking my own performance.

Since this is the Sydney Manga and Anime Show, what are your top three manga and anime?

Next page: kz(livetune)