[Honey's Anime Interview] Azusa Tadokoro (Musaigen no Phantom World, Denpa Kyoushi, Trickster)

1:00 AM October 25, 2017

Azusa Tadokoro is a very busy seiyuu and anisong singer. As a seiyuu she was the voice of Astaroth in Sin: Nanatsu no Taizai. Currently she is the voice of Yuzu Nikaidou in Aikatsu Stars which is airing in this anime season fall 2017. We can also hear her voice in anime series like Bakuon!!, Big Order, Hibike! Euphonium, Divine Gate and many more.

As a singer she has released two Oricon charted albums: “Beyond Myself!” And “It’s My CUE.” And today, she is releasing her third album titled “So What?” Which is the reason why Bee-kun and Honey-chan flew off to her apartment in order to catch her before she’s gone to work on her seiyuu and album promotion stuff. They arrived safely to her place and after invading her privacy, she sat down with them and kindly answered questions about this new album and her upcoming projects in anime.

About Your 3rd album “So What?”

You are releasing your 3rd album titled “So What?”. Can you tell us what is the idea behind the title and the concept of the album?

My first album is titled “BEYOND MYSELF”, meaning quite literally “to go beyond myself”. My second album is titled “It’s my CUE.” meaning “it is my turn”. The concept I was going for was growing bit by bit, and I wondered how I could use a followup phrase in English to continue to express growth. That was when I tried going with the strong title of “So What?” for my third album as a way to incorporate the idea of proceeding on the path I had personally chosen without losing my way.

Fans would like to know about the process of making a new album. Can you tell us what sort of challenges you faced while recording this album?

There are difficult and trying parts when it comes to each song, but if we are talking about the technical side of things, then it is the new challenge of rolling my tongue in my songs! In my song “Gimme Shelter・Brightness”, I have to roll my tongue during a part of the hook while singing. I do have past experience practicing rolling my tongue, and I am glad that I was able to put that skill to use. *laughs*

We can see how your musicianship has evolved from the first album to the second. What new elements can we find in this third album?

Following with my second album “It’s my CUE.”, this album continues to probe further into rock, but this time I squeezed different types of rock into the album. I challenged myself by trying many types of rock songs by trying go-go and stadium rock. I also challenged myself further to put more emotion into my singing. So, if you can listen for it in my album, then I believe that you will be able to notice how much I have grown!

In your latest video for the song “Story Teller” we see you looking sexy in a car and wearing a badass outfit in scenes where you perform with the band. Can you tell us something that happened behind the scenes while making this video?

The music video was actually shot in the summer. Since the release was set for October, we went with an autumn/winter look for the image. I had to wear slightly thicker clothes, so it was really hot. While we were shooting the music video, the band members and I sweat so much, that it looked like we had just taken a shower! *laughs* We shot it in an abandoned building that was dim and did not have good ventilation. The band scenes were shot in this palpably hot environment, but for that part, we faced the shooting with our hearts and minds as one and a fighting spirit of “let’s do this in one go!”. Thanks to that, we were able to be give off a lot of energy in the band scenes. In fact, I think that the viewers can tell even through the lens of the camera.

田所あずさ / 3rdAlbum - So What? - ストーリーテラー - Music Video Full Size

BUY IT NOW !

“So What?”
by
Azusa Tadokoro

BUY IT NOW !

"So What?"
by
Azusa Tadokoro

About Anime

What anime or manga series is your favorite of all time?

I have a lot of them, but I really love Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends)! Natsume, the main character, is unfortunately able to see spirits. This in turn, results in those who are around Natsume not getting along well with him, and he gets dragged into whatever disasters that the spirits may cause. I really enjoy how he does grow by meeting wonderful people in a new environment and he is able to feel warmth from others.

Many of your fans overseas were first exposed to your music from the many songs you have performed for anime series, and they would like to know what are the differences between making a song for an anime series and making songs for a full-length album?

When it comes to songs for anime, as one would expect, one has to write lyrics and music that suit both the worldviews and emotions of the characters. Even when that anime goes off air, I still continue to sing those songs at live shows, so I make sure to have a piece added to each song that suits my image as well. On the other hand, when it comes to songs for an album, I challenge myself with free expression, and there is more freedom for me to express what I want. That is what is different between a song for an anime and songs for an album.

You have performed the voice for many anime characters, what are some of the challenges you face as a seiyuu? What is the most enjoyable part of interpreting anime characters?

There are many daily tasks that I am up against and there are many things that I still cannot do which makes me worry. However, I really do feel that because this job is like this, it is such an appealing job. When I am allowed to perform for an anime, I am extremely thankful that I work in an environment where I am able to watch and listen to other actors performing right next to me. As I said above, there are tasks that I am up against daily, but I will overcome them, or, at the very least, face them directly and I will not just give up. I want to continue to face each and every job wholeheartedly one by one, and not just be someone who falls into a work routine doing it because I have to.

BUY IT NOW !

“So What?”
by
Azusa Tadokoro

BUY IT NOW !

"So What?"
by
Azusa Tadokoro

About Your Upcoming Projects

Can you tell us about the upcoming activities and events you will be doing to promote your 3rd album “So What?

I am going to be embarking on a nationwide release event for the first time in a while! This time it is going to be in a place where I can talk with and shake the hands of my fans directly. I absolutely want to hear their impressions of my album. Also, I think it is going to be something where I will be able to normally tell my fans directly how thankful I am for them, so, to my fans in Japan, please look forward to it!

Here is the opportunity to greet and send a message to all your fans around the world who are looking forward to hearing new music from you.

This time I believe I have created a polished album and there are with three anime tie-up songs in the album that fans are very well-acquainted with, so I truly think that you can enjoy it! I will also be going on tour starting in December and I will be holding my first solo concert in Shanghai. I am going to continue to work hard so that my overseas fans will be able to know me even better. I would be so happy if you could please wait a little bit longer for me.