Shopping Guide
The work of a voice actor in Japan goes far beyond recording voices for anime. Previously, we introduced one aspect of that work when we featured voice actors recording for a radio show, and in this feature we will be visiting CD work that includes the work of a voice actor. It should be noted that it has not been rare for music albums released by voice actors to make the top 10 weekly music charts in Japan, and many voice actors are gaining recognition as regular singers. Music CDs released by voice actors can be broken down into the following two major types: CDs released under the name of a character that voice actor plays in a game or anime and CDs the voice actor releases as an individual artist. We will be looking at the latter in this article.
An event being referred to as the “First SupeSha AniKen Club Meeting” was held on June 16, 2013, at Asagaya Loft A in Tokyo. The SupeSha AniKen (Space Shower Anime Lab - “SupeSha” is short for “Space Shower”) is an anime music appreciation group started by group president Takuji Shinbori, who works at Space Shower Network 1. The First SupeSha AniKen Club Meeting was a talk event open to the general public aimed at informing them about the activities of the SupeSha AniKen.
At the beginning of the event, they shared a history of the group with the guests, which revealed the very unique way in which it came about. First, as part of a new project for the Space Shower Network, Shinbori set out to make a real, grown-up label for anime-related music and tried enthusiastically to recruit people to participate, but ended up with no one. Not letting that deter him, Shinbori looked for project members outside the company. Through this, he met Hakase from IOSYS 2, which deals with musical content, and Suga of Souen 3, who both took part in this event. And now, the group has gone so far as to make a CD with a popular voice actor.
The CD they have released is titled SupeSha Aniken Vol. 1 Feat. Kaori Fukuhara and ARM. That's right, it’s a CD featuring songs by popular voice actress Kaori Fukuhara, who played Hiiragi Tsukasa in the TV anime Lucky Star. The CD includes four songs any anime fan has heard at least once––such as “Rinbu Revolution,” the opening theme to the TV anime Revolutionary Girl Utena, and the opening theme from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, “Innocent Starter”––that, through Fukuhara’s covers, have been given a new sound. In addition, the album features ARM, who worked on numerous well-known songs such as “Chiruno no Perfect Sansuu Kyoushitsu” from Touhou Project, working here as both sound producer and arranger (aside from “Ready!!” which was arranged by Void of IOSYS), which has resulted in one superb CD.
At the event, numerous photos that didn’t make it into the CD booklet, such as candid post-recording shots of Fukuhara and scenes from the photo shoot for the CD cover, were displayed on a large screen, and the three group members sat in front of the photos on stage and reminisced about recording the songs. Some of the behind-the-scenes stories that they revealed included how Fukuhara surprised everyone by being able to sing following ARM’s direction due to the fact that she could read music, or how she was more relaxed at the photo shoot than the recording and enjoyed taking photos, and that they had her hold onto a base and jump over and over to get her best shot. They were stories that could only be told by someone who had been there, and the three members were smiling the entire time. Their expressions were evidence they felt satisfied that the CD turned out how they wanted, and it was an event where even the guests could sense the feeling of accomplishment among the three of them.
With the simple motivation of wanting to do anime/otaku music, SupeSha AniKen has crossed company lines to work with professional voice actors and to succeed at making fans happy. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for what kind of collaborations they’ll be doing in the future for their second and third albums.
^1^ Space Shower Network is a broadcasting network and television production company for communication satellite cable television that specializes in music. Its programming features a lot of music content, and they also distribute, sell, produce, and design music software.
^2^ A fan group based in Hokkaido that revolves mostly around music activities such as producing CDs of musical arrangements and songs from games. Member artists span a variety of MCs, DJs, and more, and activities include producing anime-related music and CDs on the Touhou Project.
^3^ A company based in Akihabara that is themed around otaku culture and sightseeing. Its activities involve music-related projects such as developing and producing songs, and members are well-versed in music.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
