Suwawa’s interview from Seiyuu Animedia - 09/18
From the September 2018 issue of Seiyuu Animedia.
Breaking through our anxiety was due to everyone’s growth.
Q: Good job with the 3rd Live tour. Frankly, how do you feel now?
A: Well it was fast! It ended in a blink of an eye. It was big that there was barely a week between finishing in the Metlife Dome till we were at Osaka Castle Hall.
Q: What do you feel changed between the 1st and 2nd Live tours?
A: This time there were barely any MC portions in the 2nd half of the show. Aqours has an image that they have a lot of MC sections so that was rare.
Q: How was the stage performance?
A: Going through 5 songs without changing costumes was a first, I think it was an interesting challenge. But the jacket for the costume for “Mirai no Bokura ha Shitteru yo” is long sleeved, it was really hot! Even dancing in a t-shirt is hot, so going crazy dancing in long sleeves for 5 songs was a bit much! (lol)
Q: Could you tell us the songs that left an impression during the first half of the performance?
A: It’d have to be “Miracle Wave”. Anju worked really hard for the back flip. During rehearsals and she practiced by herself after we were done. Watching her, it was more like ‘I want her to succeed’ rather than ‘I want her to try her best’.
Q: After “Miracle Wave” on the first day of the you hugging Inami-san left an impression.
A: Actually, I wanted to go over to her as soon as she did the backflip. But we had to keep dancing so I held myself back (lol). I definitely think the rest of the cast felt the same way. It felt like everyone’s movements were pumped up.
Q: You performed “Sakanakanandaka?”
A: Performing solo at an Aqours show was fresh. I was wondering how it would feel, but because I was performing the 2nd day I was able to imagine the atmosphere on stage would be like from watching everyone’s performances. Mari was up before me. Her song was was quite emotional, with everyone thinking that was the end and with my song about wanting to become a fish. It was an interesting setlist, wasn’t it?
Q: Being your first solo performance, were you able to have fun singing?
A: It was fun! It was fun and mysterious, being able to stand among everyone waving Kanan’s image color. I think it’s quite an experience you can’t really get anywhere else.
Q: Could you give us some insight on your choice to use a baton for your song?
A: When you hear this song, the first thing you imagine is being in front of Kanan’s house and going into the sea. The second thing you imagine is playing with all your friends from the sea and returning back to reality, so I thought I wanted to use a baton somewhere in there. I used a real baton to practice at first, but it was super heavy. It wasn’t that I couldn’t throw it and catch it, but I were to drop it or it fell on myself, or flew into the seats it’d be dangerous, so I changed to using a cute baton instead.
Q: How do you think the reaction was?
A: I think it left an impact! It looked simple but it was hard. I couldn’t use it well so I thought about giving up, I was worried about actually using it in the performance or not. So I ended up taking it home to practice, I was relieved when I was able to make it through to the end.
Q: Well then, could you tell us which songs from the 2nd half left impressions at all the tour venues?
A: “Awaken the power”. It was fresh to perform with Saint Snow.
Q: Was there a different feeling to perform with 11 people instead of the usual 9?
A: Yeah. I had the sensation that, “We have a different voice than the normal Aqours!”. At first it was a mysterious feeling, but before I knew it I was having fun with that.
Q: How was the fan reaction?
A: Everyone’s calls felt great. Especially all the people sitting near the center of the stage, I could see them getting excited and I got a lot of power from them!
Q: Could you tell us a bit about the encore?
A: It was happy to perform the full version of “Yuki ha doko ni? Kimi no mune ni!” for the first time. Furthermore, everyone sang along with us. Also, being so close to everyone while riding on the carts. It was especially amazing at Osaka Castle Hall. It felt like I was close enough to reach everyone when just reaching out. When we were rehearsing, some of the cast were in the stands and we said to each other “I can touch you!” (lol).
Q: Again, looking back at the 1st and 2nd live tours, do you think you have grown?
A: The weird sense of eagerness has gone away. For the 2nd live tour, the opening of the first song “Happy Party Train” was Kanan so I was really nervous. But the 3rd tour, the first part is Chika so I feel a bit liberated. It’s not quite growth, but I think it was a big change.
Q: Are there any aspects Aqours has grown in?
A: Honestly, before we started the 3rd tour, I was worried about whether or not we could really pull off the setlist. For example, could we really make it with barely any rest until “Miracle Wave”? And for the 5th song “Kimi no kokoro ha kagayaiteru kai?” there’s some leapfrogging in the choreography…… Being so tired, could we really pull it off? Is what I thought, but in reality we were able to pull it off without any trouble at for the first day at the Metlife Dome, so I wonder if this was a sign of how much we had all grown.
Q: Aqours raises the hurdle every time, but you guys make it over every time.
A: It’s due to everyone’s hard work. For me I just ride that momentum (lol). Unexpectedly, I was negative up until right before the performance. For the performance I don’t have any other choice so I just have to go for it. And then, I just hoped I could make everyone watching happy. I tried my hardest with that in mind.
Q: And finally, could you give us a highlight point of Aqours’ shows?
A: For all the tours so far, there’s definitely been a new challenge. The songs are obviously going to differ, but what we show, the production, our ability to perform, all these things keep changing and growing. I think that having different highlights for every show is Aqours’s strength.
