Inami Anju Interview ① Motivated by the words「No matter what, just have a go」

We are featuring Inami Anju in our second entry in our “Cover Girl” series, a highly popular female seiyuu who has been in the spotlight recently. Her roles include Hinata from the anime short film “Hinata no Aoshigure / Sonny Boy & Dewdrop Girl” and Takami Chika from the TV anime series “Love Live! Sunshine!!”.



Got to know anime and seiyuu during middle school through 『CLANNAD』



Inami-san has starred in quite a few series recently, but when exactly did she first start thinking about embarking on the path of being a seiyuu? We asked about her experiences on this.

Please tell us about what inspired you to get into the acting scene.

It first started during the upper grades of elementary school, when I saw Kuroki Hitomi-san’s acting skills in television dramas, and that was the impetus for me start thinking that “I also want to be a fantastic actress”. At that time, it was just a very naive kind of aspiration, but as I watched more dramas, I gradually had these negative thoughts that I had to be pretty in order to become an actress. My thoughts then were even more pessimistic than they are now, so eventually I gave up on the idea of becoming an actress.

Around when was your first encounter with voice acting?

When I was in middle school, I was in love with the anime series “CLANNAD” that was airing late at night at that night. At the same time, I watched the series “Zettai Karen Children”, and thought to myself, “hmm, I seem to have this person’s voice before somewhere…”. As a result, I did some research and found that the same seiyuu had appeared in CLANNAD as well. That was the first time I learnt about the existence of the seiyuu profession. Before that, I just as if the characters themselves were speaking, and didn’t consider that there was a person behind them at all (laughs). I realised then that as a seiyuu, I would be able to perform even without showing my face, so I decided to aim towards that goal.

From that point onwards, did you make being a seiyuu your sole aim?

That’s wasn’t the case as well. During the 3 years that I was in middle school, I had been doing karate all the way, and at that time I even prioritised it over my schoolwork. Even though I knew about the seiyuu profession, that was still a period when I was very troubled over what exactly I wanted to do in the future.

It so happened that at that time, my father told me that a vocational school was holding an audition. Up till that point, among other things, I had had no experience in acting, so I was really troubled about what I should do, but I received words of encouragement saying that “if it’s something you want to do, then just do it. No matter what, just have a go.” Because of that, I decided to try and go for the audition regardless of everything. I ended up winning the second place and the special judges award, and decided to enter the vocational school.

The experience with karate was definitely not in vain

Inami-san gave up karate that she had dedicated her 3 years of middle school to, and moved on to the entirely different world of acting. She talked about how it has been applicable to her life even now, and the meaning of martial arts to her.

I’m sure karate has played a very important part in your life, but has affected you in any way as a seiyuu?

After I enrolled in vocational school, I put aside karate. I figured that since I wanted to do acting, I should put aside karate for the moment. However, I definitely felt that my experience in karate has been very useful to me. For one, when we had to introduce ourselves to the class, people were showcasing their various special skills, and the only thing I could think of was karate, so I decided to demonstrate a roundhouse kick (laughs). But I was wearing a pair of sports shoes that I hadn’t gotten used to, so my shoe flew off during the kick. I think that left a scary impression of me in everyone’s minds (laughs). Even now, I still get teased by my classmates for that incident.

How about in terms of your mentality, did karate play a role in that as well?

That’s true as well. Part of my lessons in school was about “releasing your feelings”, and it’s certainly very tiresome to express feelings that you don’t normally experience, but I felt like I was supported by the strength of my willpower that karate had inculcated in me. In addition to this willpower that is a core aspect of martial arts in general, the other aspects of karate like etiquette and greetings have also played a part in my life even till now.

Not wanting to lie about things that she likes

As a person who has been supported by a strong willpower inculcated in her by martial arts. Surely the adjective “tough” would come to mind when you think of her, but what kind of personality does she normally have?

You talked previously about giving people a scary impression of you because of your roundhouse kick, but what kind of personality does the normal Inami-san have?

I feel like I’m the kind of person who makes my yes’s and no’s very clear. Even though I’m a very easygoing kind of person at home… (laughs). But when I’m working, because I feel that I should do my work properly and seriously, it probably makes my “ON” and “OFF” mode a lot more clearly defined, I guess. Also, I think that because of how I clearly express my yes’s and no’s, it would also make it easier for the people around me to be more open as well.

It seems that you’re very level-headed, isn’t that right.

I was only able to become this way thanks to everyone around me. Sometimes when I say feel that something should be done a certain way and people around me say “but shouldn’t it be done in another way?”, I see that their way of thinking is also a valid one, and I reconsider my decision. As a result, I’ve become able to think from a wide variety of perspectives before making my decision on whether it’s a “yes” or a “no”.

Wouldn’t there be times where it’s difficult to draw the line between “yes” and “no”?

You know, I don’t want to lie about things that I like. I feel like if you like something, you really should like it. I want it to be something that you wouldn’t waver on even if others tell you how much they dislike it, but instead makes you want to treasure it even more. On the other hand, because “no” often carries with it the negative connotations of “being bad at it” or “disliking it” and so on, I make a conscious effort not to be set my opinions in stone. Instead, within the limits of my abilities, I want to actively influence my feelings to try and change some of these no’s to yes’s. Because of this, I’m always holding on to this courage that I require to change my no’s to yes’s.

Inami-san’s smile is often a refreshing one. Rather of saying it heals people, it would be more accurate to say that it naturally makes people energetic. Inami-san is indeed such a charming person who brings along cheerfulness along with her. “I’ll aim towards being a seiyuu since I can perform even without showing my face”, she once said. Even though she once said that, this same person has now suddenly become this almost unbelievably confident and unreserved person. Surely this has been her gift from the martial arts.

In our second part of this interview, Inami-san talks about what kind of experiences she faced when she was in vocational school, and what kind if seiyuu she aimed to become.

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Text and interview: 佐藤響子

Photograph: 山本絢子

Hairdo: 清水有希子

Stylist: 望月めぐ