“Love Live!” has quickly become a highly-recognized name when it comes to anime. With its popularity having spread worldwide, many fans have connected with the sentimental and positive message of the music and the series, along with the lovable and cute characters from the series. From the casual fan to the cosplayers, to live concert goers and everything in between, the popularity of the genre of idols in anime is undeniable.
As one of the big musical acts of Anime Expo’s 2017 ANISONG WORLD MATSURI ~JAPAN KAWAII LIVE~, the members of Aqours of Love Live! Sunshine!! were greeted by a completely sold out concert at the Microsoft Theater with fans awaiting to see their first US and international performance.
We had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the nine members of Aqours at Anime Expo this year to talk about the Love Live! Sunshine!! anime series, their experience being here in the US and performing for the 1st time internationally. We also inquired about what we can look forward to in the future, with their 2nd Live Concert Tour themed Happy Party Train and the 2nd Season of the anime series just around the corner.
Please introduce “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and the character you represent.
Anju Inami: I would like to introduce Love Live! Sunshine!!, which takes place in Uchiura, located in the prefecture of Shizuoka. I voice the role of Chika Takami. She is a very energetic girl who is a little awkward, but tries her very best!
Rikako Aida: I voice the role of Riko Sakurauchi. She is a very calm and mature girl. She is a piano player and has a dislike of dogs. At the same time, she has a very childish side of her, but overall is a great girl.
Nanaka Suwa: I voice Kanan Matsuura. She works at a diving shop. She’s a very athletic girl and runs every day. She is a 3rd year student and is a mentor for the whole group. She loves to dance and pulls the group along in order to make them better dancers. To her personality, she is very considerate of all her friends and thinks about them a lot.
Arisa Komiya: I voice Dia Kurosawa. She is the Student Council President for Uranohoshi Girls’ High School and is a very strict girl. She acts strict towards all the other students, but because she is Ruby’s older sister, she tries very hard, and still has that very childish side to her. She is also a very human person. She is very cute and a big fan of school idols, which she tries to hide. But once she becomes a member of Aqours, she works very hard on dancing and singing with everyone.
Shuka Saito: The member of Aqours that I voice, You Watanabe, is a bit of a tomboy. She is very good at what she does, but at the same time can be very awkward. She also has a very maidenly side to her and tries very hard in everything she does.
Aika Kobayashi: The member of Aqours that I voice is Yoshiko Tsushima. She is a girl that has had a lot of unlucky things happen to her to the point that she feels that she is so unlucky that she feels she must be a fallen angel. She refers to herself as “The Fallen Angel, Yohane”. There is a bit of her that is in an adolescent, emo age. Part of her feels that she represents the part of her name that says she is a good girl, a fallen angel and an angel as well.
Kanako Takatsuki: The member that I voice, Hanamaru Kunikida, is a very scholarly girl. She loves books and is the daughter of the family that runs a temple. Because of her Shizuoka dialect, she tends to say “zura” a lot.
Aina Suzuki: I voice Mari Ohara. She is a very cheerful girl and her feelings are very shiny. She becomes the Director of Uranohoshi Girls’ High School. She is very sensitive to people’s feelings and is very kind at heart.
Ai Furihata: I voice Ruby Kurosawa, who is the younger sister of Dia. She is a person who is afraid of people that she doesn’t really know at first and it takes a little bit of time for her to warm up to people. Like her sister, she loves school idols. When she joins Aqours, she tries very hard at dancing and singing as well.
This is the first time that Aqours has come to Los Angeles with all 9 members together. How does it feel being here in Los Angeles with everyone?
A.Inami (Chika): I’m really glad that we are here in Los Angeles with all 9 members of Aqours. There’s a lot of things that we can only do here that we wouldn’t be able to do in Japan, and I’m really glad to be able to experience this.
N. Suwa (Kanan): So last year, we came here with 6 of us, but this time all 9 of us are here. Yesterday, we were part of the ANISONG WORLD MATSURI ~JAPAN KAWAII LIVE~. It was our first concert overseas, and it was an awesome experience to be part of with everyone, including the fans.
A. Kobayashi (Yoshiko): It’s the first time for me being in America. It’s the first time for doing a concert in Los Angeles, the first overseas live together with everyone, a lot of first experiences actually this time around. There were a lot of worries as well, but we’re glad that we as a group are able to bring the happiness, the excitement, and the shininess of who we are to fans overseas.
A. Suzuki (Mari): It’s my first time coming to LA and coming to America. All of the fans have been warm and cheerful towards us. It makes me want to know more about Los Angeles and experience more of it as well.
How was the Anisong World Matsuri yesterday? How did you feel seeing the response from American “Love Live! Sunshine!!” fans?
R. Aida (Riko): So last year, we did a talk show with 6 of us here, but now that we came back to do a concert with all 9 members, we were already very surprised with everyone that cheered at that talk show last year, and now, even stronger, louder with the concert yesterday. We are glad that we were able to come and do the live yesterday with all of us here.
A.Komiya (Dia): It’s the first time to for us to do an overseas live. I was pretty excited, but also anxious as well. But that’s when I learned that music really is a global language, so I’m glad that everyone was excited and enjoyed it. I’m really happy that we were able to come, all of us together as a full group.
S.Saito (You): This was my first LA trip and I’m really glad it was with the full group of nine of us. When we were seeing all of the fans, smiling widely at us, I was so happy that at one point during one of our songs while our backs were turned towards the audience, I almost cried when I turned to face them. We all enjoyed it so much that we really want to come back to LA with all of us again in the future.
K. Takatsuki (Hanamaru): For this being the first live in America, I kind of wondered how the culture for cheering at the concert would be different here compared to how fans do it in Japan. But actually, it turns out it was very similar. It’s like the concert culture for Japan had come over here to America as well. I was so glad that I was able to experience that.
We had done a few lives in Japan already and now have done one overseas. We want to do more lives overseas.
A.Furihata (Ruby): It was really interesting to see how people cosplay, especially the “Love Live! Sunshine!!” costumes. We’re really glad we got to see that. A lot of people are really good with the Japanese language, including how they said, “Ganbaruby!” Being able to see that made me feel so much better and makes me want to work even harder to convey that.
Translator: I’m not really sure how “Ganbaruby” translates to English?
A.Furihata: Just like that. Also, “Rubesty” is the translation that’s been used in English.
All Aqours members: (laughing)
Which scene is most memorable from the 1st season of “Love Live! Sunshine!!”?
A. Inami (Chika): There are a lot of really memorable moments throughout the anime but for each episode where there is a scene right before that member joins, it really sticks out. It’s because of their words, their feelings that come through when they’re about to join.
R. Aida (Riko): My most memorable moment is in the 1st episode where my character Riko pulls off her uniform and with her bathing suit you see, she is about to jump in the water. For me, it has a really strong impact, also because it’s when she first meets Chika.
N. Suwa (Kanan): The most memorable scene for me is in Episode 9 when up until then, all of the third years had been having quite a bit of drama between them. This is when everything is resolved. Up until then, Kanan never smiled and that is the first time that you do see her smile. That made an impact on me.
A. Komiya (Dia): For me, the most memorable scene is when Dia wrote the name “Aqours” into the sand and then realized that the second years were coming towards her. She got really nervous and ran away. But that goes to show how much she really loves school idols.
S. Saito (You): For me, the most memorable scene is in Episode 11 when you see You-chan crying, as this is the first time you really see that from her.
A. Kobayashi (Yoshiko): There’s a lot of “Fallen Angel Yohane” moments, but for me, it is Episode 8, where Chika is really frustrated that they received a 0 votes score at the competition in Tokyo. At the beach, all of them are crying, though Yoshiko is the only one that is half-buried in the sand. And for her, it’s like she has to be strong in sense but at the same time not. It was definitely something different to see in my character, and I really liked that.
K. Takatsuki (Hanamaru): For me, it’s Episode 5. Because Hanamaru lives at a temple, she is not use to modern technology. And so, you get to see all of her reactions to the different types of machines we have, and I thought these were really nice moments for her.
A. Suzuki (Mari): For me, it’s Episode 10 where there’s the Stewshine which for me was amazing. For Mari, Stewshine means that it has to be an expensive stew with using expensive ingredients which make it cost about $1000 a bowl. That made a strong impression on me.
A. Furihata (Ruby): For me, my favorite scene is when Ruby’s older sister, Dia joins Aqours. Because Ruby had always been with her sister, she knew how much her sister loved school idols, but couldn’t be honest with herself. She really enjoys the moment where she sees that Dia could be honest with herself and become a member of Aqours.
What is your favorite song from “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and why?
S. Saito (You): The song I really like is “Koini Naritai AQUARIUM” (I Want to Fall in Love Aquarium). It’s a really important song to me as You-chan.
N. Suwa (Kanan): My favorite song is “HAPPY PARTY TRAIN”, this is our newest song where my character Kanan is the center, so it’s a special song for both me and Kanan.
A. Kobayashi (Yoshiko): My favorite song is “Waku-Waku-Week”, where it’s really special because you can tell where all of the first years are putting the song together, and you get a sense of how they go about doing that.
Fans around the world voted and decided on the “Love Live! Sunshine!!” World Poster Girls. Mari is in charge of USA. How do you feel being voted for the ambassador of USA and why do you think you were selected?
A.Suzuki (Mari): I’m really glad that I was chosen as the poster girl for America. I want to know more about America and be a very good ambassador for it.
There are a lot of users of rhythm action game “Love Live!! School idol festival” in US. We heard Suwa-san is a good player for this game. Could you please give the message for game users in US?
N. Suwa (Kanan): You can play a lot of songs for both Love Live! and Love Live! Sunshine!! You’ll see a lot of songs that are not in the anime as well and a lot of different outfits and cards. So please give playing the game a try.
It’s already half way through 2017, what has been your most memorable activity this so far?
R. Aida (Riko): For me, the most memorable activity is our 1st Live that we did at Yokohoma Arena with all of us.
A.Komiya (Dia): For me also, our 1st Live was a very memorable activity, but also, being overseas and being able to do our 1st overseas live.
A. Furihata (Ruby): For me as well, our 1st Live in Yokohama, which was a 2 Day Live. It was deep and full of a lot of emotion. There’s a moment in “Aozora Jumping Heart” where we turn towards the audience. That moment is something that we can only see as all of them together.
Are you excited for the Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 2nd LoveLive! HAPPY PARTY TRAIN TOUR. What kind of live do you want it to be?
A.Inami (Chika): It’s going to be the first tour live that will take place in different cities. We’re happy about going to different places. We want to able to enjoy a type of live that we can only do at each particular location and make it special that way.
K. Takatsuki (Hanamaru): There have been a lot of chances for us to go to the fans both in Japan and overseas. We want to make the 2nd Live more of a type of live with a more involved Aqours.
A. Suzuki (Mari): We did the 1st Live in Yokohama. For this tour, I’m really happy that we’re going to be able to see a lot of people in different places. We want to convey that happiness to everyone that comes to see us.
A 2nd season for the TV series will start this Fall. What should the fans anticipate for 2nd season?
A. Inami (Chika): Just like we were excited for the 1st season last year, we want the fans to be just as excited for the 2nd season and to look forward to it.
Any words for your American fans?
A. Inami (Chika): Thank you so much for all of your support! In the future, we would love to do a live concert that is just us, Aqours. We will do our best going forward so that can happen. So keep supporting us! Thank you very, very much!
(The following questions are individual questions for each newsgroup in attendance. Each press outlet and their representative will be credited accordingly.)
–Fandom Post–
”Love Live! Sunshine!!” has had a massive amount of interest on the international level. As you’ve probably noticed, there are a lot of fans of Love Live here in the US. In fact, tickets for live viewing in a lot of theaters across the US were sold out or near filled to capacity to see your 1st Live concert at Yokohoma. Did you expect Love Live to have this amount of reach worldwide as it has?
A. Inami (Chika): I would’ve been happy even if the US had only just known a little bit about us. It was really surprising to find out that there is so much support that existed and I’m really glad to hear about it.
Please describe the feeling you had on stage looking at the audience at 1st Live concert in Yokohama Arena who were there to cheer you on.
R. Aida(Riko): Seeing all the fans and how they were cheering us on was a really warm feeling. We felt less nervous because of them and we were really glad to see that.
”Love Live! Sunshine!!” takes place in Numazu and Uchiura, known for its coast line with great views of Mt. Fuji and they attract a lot of tourists. I’ve actually had the opportunity to travel to this area myself a few times and really enjoyed Awashima Island. Please name one spot you would recommend.
S. Saito (You): There’s a lot of nice, wonderful spots in both Numazu and Uchiura, so picking one is kind of hard. But if I had to choose one, it would have to be Izu-Mito Sea Paradise. There’s a small mascot that’s really cute named Uchicchi. I really would like people to visit that place.
–My Anime List–
This question is for Miss Furihata. What do you like about Hanamaru?
A.Furihata (Ruby): Hanamaru is Ruby’s best friend. She always listens to her. Although their hobbies are very different, they get along very well. She’s always so warm to her and accepting of her. I also like the fact that Hanamaru will eat her leftovers.
For Miss Takatsuki, what do you like about Ruby?
K. Takatsuki (Hanamaru): Ruby is cute! Very cute!! (In English) (Everyone laughing) Hanamaru thinks that Ruby is so cute! They get along really well.
–Doki Press–
In the first season of the Anime, what challenges does your member overcome and how did it help the member development?
N. Suwa (Kanan): I feel that Kanan kind of grew/developed because as the 3rd years, they were thinking too much about each other. They ended up having so many struggles because they didn’t see eye to eye. So when they overcame that, she’s feels that they had grown that at that point.
Suzuki (Mari): Mari has a lot of trouble being able to convey what she feels and what she really wants. She had a lot of trouble with both Dia and Kanan, but when she is finally able to do so, they are able to grow and move forward.
–Anime Herald–
Have you ever been surprised by your character in the first season of the anime?
A. Kobayashi (Yoshiko): (Laughs) I was really surprised by the fact that Yoshiko keeps saying she’s a fallen angel with all of the dramatics, and to me I thought she was really strong. At the same time, although she is not at times, she has the good girl part of her. She’s also very observant and would be very considerate of others.
That concludes our interview. Thank you very much everyone. It was a pleasure being able to talk you today.
All: It’s been a pleasure. Thank you very much!
Questions for the interview provided by members of the following newsgroups:
The Fandom Post – Sahvin Panichpong
MyAnimeList – Victoria Timar
Doki Press – Jimmy Pham
Anime Herald – Seth Burn
Kawaii Kokkoii Sugoi – Risa Light
Japan-A-Radio – Anthony Low and Brian Lee
Special thanks: Anthony Low of Japan-A-Radio for audio and transcription assistance
