Every year, a large number of newcomers emerge in the Japanese voice actor industry, and for this reason, the Japanese media specially produced a program called "New Voice Actor Illustrated Guide". The show interviews and reports on some of the most promising rookie voice actors, to understand the behind-the-scenes stories of their entry into the industry, and their prospects for the future. In the latest issue of the "Rookie Voice Actor Guide", we will introduce Ruriko Aoki, who has had an excellent performance in works such as "Idol Master Cinderella" (Tada Li Ai Nana).

Q: So, at the beginning, please let us know that you made a voice actor your target!

Aoki: There are a lot of reasons for this, so I can't say which one is the real opportunity. I've loved games since I was a kid, and I've been playing games with my brother and cousins all the time. Then, when you reach junior high school and high school, don't you realize the problem of your future dreams? But I can't imagine myself being a white-collar beauty and working somewhere. I thought about working as an announcer and then in high school I was in charge of narration at the school's radio station. Anyway, this is an unusual job, and I wanted a wider future for my future, so I went to university with the goal of a career related to broadcasting, and I was auditioned for an opportunity...... That's how we are today (laughs). I didn't go to a training center or vocational school to learn the basics, so I got a lot of help from everyone at the dubbing scene.

Q: You played the role of Langla in the TV anime "Even Though the World Is Still So Beautiful"?

Aoki: Yes. The lady I played, Lang La, was a character who supported Princess Nicole. At the dubbing scene, I saw all the top seniors, so in a good sense, I felt nervous and at the same time, I got very careful acting guidance from everyone. This dubbing scene will continue to improve the ability of newcomers, and then carefully produce zuò works.

Q: You played the role of Lee Ona Tada in "Idol Master Cinderella", and I always think that this is a character who cares about both words and deeds (laughs).

Aoki: That's right (laughs). She's a character who starts acting out of the blue, and although she doesn't have guitar knowledge, she can talk about guitar-related things very enthusiastically, and even if she just learned about it yesterday, she introduces it to everyone as if it were a perennial hobby. It's a cute character (laughs). Actually, I didn't audition for the role of Li Yicai at first. Instead, I tried to voice other characters who were very energetic, but I was told "You're too reluctant!" So, people persuaded me, "Try to match this role." And this is my encounter with Li Yicai. So although Li Yicai is always said to be a very energetic character, I don't think she's actually very energetic. It is also calm in terms of attributes.

At the audition, I looked at her profile and found that she was wearing a uniform and looked very stylish, and at that time I didn't know that she was a type of character, so I maintained a relatively calm style during the audition, but when I decided to dub this role and started recording, I realized: "Huh? It's not what I imagined!? "And being able to be built by someone to dub this character is also because I usually exude a kind of relationship with the smell of waste wood...... Oops, I don't want to say it (laughs). But to be honest, Li Yicai does have parts similar to me.

Q: You held a concert at Saitama Super Arena in February this year, and you were able to continue performing for the audience in April's "Idol Master Cinderella", so how did you feel after the performance?

Aoki: After the performance in February, I was ready for my next concert, so I felt like I had a high level of affection from the last concert to this one, rather than the feeling of the first concert of "Cinderella Girl". In Cinderella's first concert, the members who had previously starred with me were also together, and five or six more people were added.

Q: Did you find it interesting to attend the concert?

Aoki: Well, I'm listening to the voices of the people (fans). At concerts, we need to wear special headphones, so we can't hear any sound, but the people cheer us on very loudly, and the sound also passes through the headphones and reaches our ears. Originally, since we wore headphones, we should have blocked out the outside world in order to sing well, but we still want to hear the cheers! It gives you a sense of "everyone is doing a concert together". Personally, I can experience this kind of happiness, and it would be nice if I could hold concerts in the same environment in the future.

Q: On Twitter, you often interact with other voice actors. For example, Miss Tsunami Takamori......

Aoki: Natsumi-senpai got a good relationship with me because of "Idol Master Cinderella". This is a person who can talk very happily, and every time I meet her, she says, "It's great to be with Ruriko!" "I'm going to have a lot of fun~ We're having a big fight together in the coffee shop!

Q: Hey!? Coffee shop brawl!?

Aoki: Yes. Surprised, right? We play Super Smash Bros. together. We didn't always play together, but we played together because the game was just out at the time.

Q: In addition, Mr. Tomokazu Sugita will also appear inexplicably......

Aoki: I've dubbed with Mr. Sugida on set, but I've met a few times in other places. I said to him, "Mr. Sugida, you've worked hard," and he replied, "Oh," and then said, "Aoki-kun's hamster is named Alex, and there's a Gundam named Alex in the Gundam, so let's buy a GUNPLA, take two shots of it, and post it on Twitter!" …… Okay, I'm still in a hurry, let's have dinner together next time! So he left. I followed his instructions and tried to assemble the model for the first time, and I posted it on Twitter (laughs).

Q: Speaking of Ms. Aoki, it seems that many people call you a "game maniac"! Please tell us about your gaming experience so far.

Aoki: The first games I played were when I was 2 or 3 years old, and I played Dragon Quest and Mario on the red and white machines. In fact, in terms of age, my generation should have played Super Nintendo, but my father took the red and white machine from the company and put it at home. However, the red and white machine cannot be saved. As soon as I shook the body a little, it stopped, and then I started crying...... there was a resurrection spell in Dragon Quest, and I wrote this on the paper to prevent the machine from crashing, but if I played with my mother, she lost the paper, and I started crying again...... (laughs)

That's pretty much how it feels. In my life, the appearance of games seems very natural, so I can remember that I was exposed to the remote control earlier than the pencil (laughs). After that, I didn't expect the game to have such a big impact on me. Of course, it may also have something to do with the fact that I don't have any girls around. From that time on, I often played with my younger brother, childhood sweethearts, cousins of the same age, etc., all boys. In terms of toys, the ones I got from my cousins were figures like Ultraman and Godzilla, or toys from the Sentai series. Actually, I really want toys for girls! But there are no girls around, and the director doesn't buy it for me at home.

Q: Well, I'm still going on to play games after that.

Aoki: My love for games has grown. I've played both the Sega Saturn and the PS, and when the Nintendo 64 first came out, I was hooked on the 64 again. It's perfect for 4 people. As soon as school ended, I went to my cousin's house to play games. Like Super Smash Bros. ...... In addition, I also played "Star Fire Fox", "ゴールデンアイ", "ドンキーコング", "ディディーコングレーシング", "F-ZEROX" and so on. All I have left in my life is games.

Q: Is there a game you'd like to play?

Aoki: At that time, I still had some girlish moods in my heart, and I sometimes bought cute games like Pokemon, サンリオタイムネット, and Ranch Story.

Also, I should have said I wanted GAMEBOY. And both my cousins and my childhood sweethearts are about 4 years older than me, so I take this thing for granted. From the perspective of the second grade of elementary school, the sixth grader should be a great big brother, right? That's why I think the GAMEBOY is the equipment that the big brother has. The early gameboy was very thick and looked like a bento box. Seeing this, I kept clamoring to buy it, so I got my wish when I was in the 2nd~3rd grade.

Q: What games have you played since you got the GAMEBOY?

Aoki: At that time, I got games like "パチスロ", "Digimon", and "Badge Warrior" from my father's friend. It is estimated that because my father is engaged in the work of precision instruments, there are many people around him who love games. In that environment, it was only natural that there were shonen magazines and manga that I had read (laughs).

Q: Speaking of games from that period, some of the strategies that tell about hidden skills are also exciting.

Aoki: I have a book of hidden skills called "Daijirin", which is as thick as an encyclopedic dictionary. Like the cheats contained in those games of the past, almost all of them can be found here. On the surface, it looks like it's just a normal game, but once you use cheats, it's like you can spy on someone taking a shower (laughs). For example, if you want to go to the bathhouse after solving an event, and if you press the corresponding button between the bamboo tubes, you will be able to peek into the women's bathhouse. The book reads, "Everyone wants to read it!" "At that time, there was no good Internet environment, so just reading the book was exciting enough! So, I know a lot of well-known information like this cheat.

Q: You're so crazy about games that you read books (laughs).

Aoki: That's the case (laughs). Although I also play in the park, I don't always play hide and seek, and I will exchange Pokemon with other people while playing. Then I would go to someone's house and play games...... Speaking of which, during the coming-of-age ceremony, one of my elementary school classmates said, "I can only think of exchanging pocket monsters from my memories with Aoki-san," which made me sad...... But it may be...... Ah, but when I was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, I bought some dolls to sleep with and some props for children (laughs). Because I've always wanted to! Actually, I wasn't quite suitable for my age at the time, but I still played until junior high school.

Q: Ms. Aoki mentioned earlier that you often play games by chanting lines. So what game do you play?

Aoki: The one that I remember the most is "Port Town Serial Murders". The line "The prisoner is Yas" is very famous and has also become popular in the game. It's a messy game (laughs). Of course, I say it out of praise! The protagonist plays the role of a police officer, and the first subordinate to appear is Yas, but Yas is the prisoner. I didn't have internet access at the time, but I had heard rumors that the prisoner was Yas. Even so, the game is still very difficult to play, and I had a lot of fun.

Elementary school students often record these lines. I remember everything from the way I speak to the tone of my voice, and I can tell any child. GAMEBOY GAMES DIDN'T HAVE FULL-VOICE TITLES UNTIL RECENTLY, SO I SPENT DUBBING GAMES IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL. Even in audio games, I read the lines along with the characters (laughs).

Q: So, what games have you been playing lately?

Aoki: Actually, I just paid attention to it, but I didn't buy it because it was very difficult...... Even if I can't advertise it loudly (laughs), I'll say that Titanfall is a very fun game. If it's an ordinary FPS, then in the case of people being opponents of each other, you have to run as a soldier and become a transformed person, but in the end, it still maintains the size of a human being, but in "Titan Skyfall", you can summon a titan like a machine qì person, and then sit in it! Of course, there are players who deliberately use characters to play the game, and there are also players who summon Titans early and then sweep away their enemies.

However, when summoning Titans, if the timing is right, they can land directly on the enemy and defeat them. It's a very fortuitous thing that can't be specially prepared, but it's a lot of fun. On the contrary, if you are defeated because of this, it will be too unwilling. It felt like I was killed in an accident (laughs).

Also, the MMORPG "Destiny" on PS4 is also a game that I like very much. We can live with players who land elsewhere and fight in teams. This kind of online game-like premise has been moved into the FPS. It's a lot of fun, but it's a waste of time...... I thought it would be a lot of pressure for me to think about whether or not to buy this game, so I haven't bought it (laughs). Anyway, even if I don't play, my brother will go crazy.

Q: Looks like your brother will grow up to be a game freak like you?

Aoki: He still enjoys games, but he keeps emphasizing that "I don't want to be like my sister" (laughs). So now he's just an ordinary college student, a cash charge. But although it is now charged, but if there is a sister, there must be a brother, and that kind of nature still can't be changed...... (laughs)

Q: So, you've been so busy lately, are you neglecting to play......

Aoki: No, I play games whenever I have a little time. It's better to just play games when I'm on vacation. Even when I'm not at work, I play games on a 3DS or someone else's smartphone. In addition, the new work of "Monster Hunter" will be released soon, and it will definitely be a national carnival at that time.

Q: National carnival?

Aoki: Depending on the game, the buttons are different. In other words, although the B button is common to all games, the R button and the like sometimes play a role in making the character run, etc. In order to play the game better, we will all familiarize ourselves with the operation first. I play a lot of games at the same time, so I don't have this habit, and in Xbox, the A button and the B button are reversed. The "OK" button is different from the "back" button, which makes a big difference (laughs).

Q: I would like to give you a very personal impression. My first impression of Ms. Aoki was the exact opposite of what I felt when we chatted. Of course, this is in a good sense (laughs). I'm complimenting you (laughs).

Aoki: That's what I'm told about occasionally. Many people say: I am different from what they imagined, and my first impression is different from mine. It's really, it's so hard to live in this world~ Ahaha (next part).

Q: What kind of voice actor do you want to be in the future? Needless to say, you should want to participate in the voice acting of the game......?

Aoki: Yes. Personally, I look forward to entering a fantasy world, a world that is different from the environment in which I live, and becoming a person with a different way of life than what role I play and survive in the industry. In short, I want to be an actor who can play a variety of roles, regardless of gender, young or old.

Q: Finally, would you like to say a few words to the readers who read this interview?

Aoki: I'm really sorry that everyone watched it for so long, and I ended up talking about the game. However, I often feel that as a person involved in the entertainment industry, I should not forget my original purpose. In the future, I will try to participate in some fun things as much as possible, and I will have fun alone rather than in the crowd, which is my purpose, and I will work hard to achieve my goals. Of course, I'm very serious when I'm acting! So please don't feel disillusioned even if you see my thoughts on Twitter (laughs).

Q: Thank you for your time today!