Duhuhu~

koroazu-eng:

Source:https://entertainmentstation.jp/121352

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In the short PR time that I had, I was saved by my ‘special skills’

- First of all, I would like to ask about the trigger that made you want to participate in the “Horipro’s Talent Scout Caravan”

 

Azusa Tadokoro When I was in my second grade of junior high, I saw [Inuyasha] and thought, “It’s amazing how the voices alone can become the backbone of the characters! What is this occupation!?” It was from there that “I want to be someone like that, that can move people’s hearts through acting” started to become my aspiration and ultimately became the trigger.

 

- The subtitle that was attached to the Scout Caravan was “Audition for the next generation’s Seiyuu-Artist”, so your goal from the beginning was to be a voice actress

 

Tadokoro That’s right. Even then I still really liked singing, it in turn felt perfect. But buying audition magazines and such was a first for me……so you’d end up thinking that this “audition” might just be a scam, wouldn’t you?

 

- Hahaha (lol) Just a little bit I guess

 

Tadokoro However, “Horipro’s Talent Scout Caravan” was a name even I knew, so I thought to myself, “This definitely won’t be a scam,” So I thought that even if the whole thing was rigged, they wouldn’t take and scam me of my money…..(lol) But in reality, to personally prove that it wasn’t rigged definitely surprised me..

 

- Then, the moment when you realized “I’m taking an audition”, was it during the selection process?

 

Tadokoro That’s right. I was getting more and more scared at the time. Of course I had the “I want to be a seiyuu” feeling, but it was also my first time in an audition, so my feelings at that time was to “try and get used to the audition atmosphere”

 

- During the audition, was there anything that happened that left a lasting impression on you?

 

Tadokoro It was after the documentation screening during the second judging, where it was done in a face-to-face manner. Before you go for it, you’d look up, “What should I do in an audition?” wouldn’t you? And it was written “You’ll be given about a minute do your self-PR” on the internet. But at the during the actual audition, I was told “You will be given 30 seconds for your self-PR.” So since I only had 30 seconds, I thought it would be better if I showed off my special skills instead of talking (lol).

(TL Note: PR means appeal time)

- I see. So what you prepared beforehand became unusable.

 

Tadokoro But, I liked the seiyuu Akiko Yajima, and I was good at doing a Crayon Shin-chan impression and that saved me… or rather I was glad that “I had it with me.” Even now I still feel that I was really lucky.

 

- The final round was held at the Shinagawa Stella Ball. Do you remember the sight from that stage?

 

Tadokoro I don’t remember a thing! It was really bright, and it didn’t feel real at all. I didn’t expect to get the Grand Prix at all, and when they played the drum roll (before the results announcement), I felt a little lonely thinking, “It’s over……..” So when my name was called to receive the Grand Prix, I thought, “It can’t be, I won!?”

 

- In your eyes, what points of yourself do you think helped capture the judges’ eyes?

 

Tadokoro Well….. After it was done, during an interview I had with Kanari-san (Mr. Kanari was the person who awarded Azusa Tadokoro with the Grand Prix award in the final round of “Horipro’s 36^th Talent Scout Caravan”, and is currently Tadokoro’s manager) he said something about “soothing” but…… I don’t really get it myself (lol).

 

[Aikatsu!]’s script is my “textbook”

 

- Next, following the Grand Prix award and your debut, I would like to ask if there were anything that left a deep impression within you be it from your lessons or something you started working on personally

 

Tadokoro I didn’t receive any voice acting related work at all, and I was also falling behind other people during lessons. So, I also participated something like a workshop that teaches pronunciation. But I think that my first real voice acting work was the dubbing for [Aikatsu!] (A TV anime that aired on December 2012)

 

- I see, so you improved from that job

 

Tadokoro That’s right. It was a job that I started almost immediately after passing the audition…..I couldn’t really do it well, and that really surprised me (lol). Later on, I found out that the Sound Director had, “Is this her best?” thoughts. From there, that Sound Director personally came to the office and took time to give me personal lessons. I was really learning every single time, and I did it so many times that it was up to the point where I thought, “[Aikatsu!]’s script is my textbook.” All the scripts I have received since my early days are all my treasures.

 

- On the other hand, before you debuted as a seiyuu-artist, you did lives in a small live house didn’t you

 

Tadokoro That’s right. Initially, I would tremble when standing in front of people, and my voice would also be trembling which caused my singing to be all over the place. I first need to do something about this…….was where I started working on in the beginning. So my vocal teacher said, “Stand diagonally (not perpendicular to the stage), put your hand on your chest, don’t move and sing like that” to me because if I had more detailed moves to remember, I wouldn’t be able to sing anymore.

 

- So, through the lives, you built the courage within you too?

Tadokoro Yeah I did. Without that, I think it would have taken a little more time. But, as I continued my activities, I got to stand on the same stage with other people who were ‘standing on stage for their first time’ and watching them I would think to myself, “I really couldn’t do that.” (lol). They were so brilliant even when they were just starting out.

- But Tadokoro-san also just recently showed a brilliant performance on the Anisama stage (Animelo Summer Live 2017 that was held at Saitama Super Arena)

 

Tadokoro That’s true. My senses were kind of paralyzed at the time.

 

- You were paralyzed? (lol)

 

Tadokoro When I stood on the stage solo last year, I of course thought that the it was ‘really wide and big’. However when I was there as a group, I didn’t really feel the size of the venue. But, the scene/view you get to see from the Saitama Super Arena stage or the Nippon Budoukan stage, it isn’t something you would normally be able to see right? And just being able to see that, I am certainly grateful for it.

 

[Wasureranneyo] Shibata-san’s scratch track is the permanent track

 

- So to continue on with Tadokoro-san’s seiyuu-artist activites, you’ll be releasing your new album, ‘So What?’ on the 25^th of October. This time, regarding the song “Super Star Loser” which was the coupling song of the “Unmei Dilemma” single, a special “So What? Mix” was made for the album where Tadokoro-san herself played the guitar for the song. How was the recording for the guitar part?

 

Tadokoro First of all, not being in the recording booth with the microphone but instead an amplifier took my place, I thought that was really amusing (lol). I thought that I would be sitting in front of a microphone and playing the guitar, but it was actually just me, playing the guitar with everyone sitting down around me. I also thought, “My flaws/poor playing would definitely stand out in the recording” but it surprisingly sounded cool once the sound went through the microphone and that made me go “Ooohhh!.” Furthermore, Yohske Yamamoto, who was in charge of the music arrangement was making changes to the arrangement during the actual recording, and putting it even cooler sounds that evolved the song even more, so I would be happy if you are looking forward to listening to it.

 

 

- By the way for this album, if you had to name one song that you would like everyone to listen to carefully, which song would it be?

 

Tadokoro If it were me, I’d strongly recommend the song “Koro Aruki”. Shibata-san from my beloved band, “Wasureranneyo” kindly offered to write lyrics for one of my songs, and that really touched me……”Things like this really do happen!?” was how surprised I was coupled with happiness, and the feelings are still overflowing to this day. I still do not know how the song arrangement will turn out to be (※In production stage), but when I received the demo version with Shibata-san playing and singing the song, “This, this is already the final product!” was what I thought (lol). The song itself is also really good, so I’d like for everyone to look forward to it.

 

The story that started with “I will take this audition”, I think it’s interesting

- Regarding your activities as a seiyuu-artist, do you have any goals to strive for or things you want to do at the moment?

 

Tadokoro I do have a lot of things I want to do. But I think I would to try my hand at stage performances and musicals.

 

- If you were to try them out, what kind of genre would it be?

 

Tadokoro If I were to be involved in a play that has a lot of conversation in it, I think it will be fun and I will be able to learn a lot from it. I actually did a storytelling live this year, it was filled with conversations, and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from it. So I want to be able to do more things like that. Furthermore, I belong to Horipro so I’m always shown a lot of musicals, being able to combine your emotions with the song is really wonderful isn’t it? I feel like I’ll learn a lot from it, so I want to try it out too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Then finally, please give some advice to the people who are trying out for the “Next Generation Voice Actor ☆ Miracle Audition”

 

Tadokoro I was saved by my special skill when I was going through my audition, wouldn’t it be good to bring along something you’re good at with you to the audition? Is what I think. Also, I think that enjoying life normally is a good thing. For example, even if you are hosting a radio, it’ll be more fun to listen to if you talk about topics that you want and like to talk about. And even if you were to fail the audition, the stories of you having the chance to “take this audition” and telling them will be kind of interesting, won’t it? So, no matter what, I think you won’t lose anything from trying it out.

 

- I see. It is important to save the food you have to live, but at the same time taking this opportunity could end up producing the food you need, or something like that (This phrase is hard to translate to English and retain it’s original meaning, but it basically means that this audition could possibly become your job and provide you with a stable income, rather than not taking the audition and aiming to be a normal worker somewhere)

 

Tadokoro Well, I think it’s also fun to challenge and try a lot of different things. By going through the audition, I think you will be able to gain a lot of courage from it too. So ‘taking’ this audition can somewhat help you in your life whether you pass or not. Also, this is really important……this audition is of course, not a scam! (lol)

 

- Yes, that’s definitely important (lol)

 

Tadokoro This is a real, proper audition. So, if you happen to be interested, I think it wouldn’t hurt for you to apply!