Music Interviews

i☆Ris Idols Interview at Anime NYC 2023: Movie, New York

Published

4 months ago

December 25, 2023

Nir Regev

Interview: i☆Ris idols Saki Yamakita, Yū Serizawa, Himika Akaneya, Yūki Wakai and Miyu Kubota spoke to The Natural Aristocrat® about their favorite part of New York City, upcoming anime film, secret to sticking together and much more!

i☆Ris idol group at Anime NYC 2023. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT (NIR REGEV): What’s your favorite part of visiting New York City?

YŪ SERIZAWA: Kings Theatre! We went to see a show yesterday.

Yū Serizawa. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

MIYU KUBOTA: My favorite part is in Times Square everything is open till very late. In Japan, shops usually close early, but in New York, it’s all open! So that’s really fun.

Miyu Kubota and Himika Akaneya. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

YŪKI WAKAI: All the Pokémon cards I bought at the Nintendo store in Rockefeller Center here! (laughs) It made me really happy.

Yūki Wakai. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

MIYU KUBOTA: I love Pokémon cards too! (laughs)

Miyu Kubota. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

SAKI YAMAKITA: New York is the center of everything and I’m really excited to be here! It’s been a while since we’ve met our friends, our fans, we’ve been really looking forward to seeing them again.

Saki Yamakita. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

HIMIKA AKANEYA: I enjoyed meeting up with old friends in the city yesterday! The Coronavirus pandemic really changed things the last four years and I’m just always so happy to be here and see everyone.

Himika Akaneya. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Can you tell us about the upcoming i☆Ris the Movie -Full Energy!! anime film releasing in 2024?

SAKI YAMAKITA: It’s our 10th Anniversary project and we are acting as ourselves, so we are really excited about it!

YŪ SERIZAWA: Normally, it’s impossible for a person to have their own character and they’ve now made this a reality. So I feel like the ideal side of me can exist forever.

YŪKI WAKAI: I’ve always wanted to cosplay as my 2D self! (laughs)

MIYU KUBOTA: This is the first time that I voice myself and that’s something that I’m really looking forward to.

Yūki Wakai and Miyu Kubota. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: What was the creative process like in the recording studio for your 2023 album “Let You Know”?

YŪKI WAKAI: We did the recording one person at a time. I’m always the first one in, so when everyone’s parts are put together, that’s usually the most fun part for me!

HIMIKA AKANEYA: When we go overseas this year, we want to be on stage with TeddyLoid. We want to have as many people listen to “Queen’s Bluff” as possible!

Himika Akaneya and Miyu Kubota. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

On favorite anime songs i☆Ris members worked on:

YU SERIZAWA: For me personally, it’s going to be “Queen’s Bluff”. It’s the opening theme song for the Kakegurui Twin series. I’ve always been wanting a more adult-like role and so this song really suits me and I’m excited about it.

Yūki Wakai and Yū Serizawa. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

I am also part of singing the opening theme song for MF Ghost. There’s a lot of tension involved in the anime and this song. So for me personally, I’m really excited about it.

HIMIKA AKANEYA: My favorite is the ending theme song for MF Ghost. The anime itself is tense and there’s a lot of action in it, but the ending song is really light and subtle. I really recommend the song! (smiles) It’s a very popular anime in Japan.

Yūki Wakai and Himika Akaneya. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

YŪKI WAKAI: My first chance to open for an anime as a singer was on the anime series Kingdom. And I feel very proud of myself!

“Destiny Sky” is full of energy and I have a lot of interactions with my fans through this song. I really enjoy that.

On former i☆Ris idol member Azuki Shibuya graduating from group:

SAKI YAMAKITA: In the Japanese Idol Society or the idol scene, to have a female group that lasts for 10 years without any member change is pretty rare.

I think our trick to stay together is that we keep our distances to a certain extent. We have our own personal space and that’s how we came so far. This is our 11th anniversary. So going forward, I think we don’t know what’s ahead of us, but we want to keep the future fun.

Being fun and having fun is what we want to focus on.

YU SERIZAWA: We work so well together! It’s totally a coincidence. So when it’s work, we work. My personal thought is if we become friends first and then we work together, if the friendship breaks up, then it affects work as well.

So I think the trick is to separate work and friendship or private life. We really trust each other and I think trust matters.

On Covid Pandemic impacting i☆Ris Concerts:

SAKI YAMAKITA: There was a cancellation of our tour. For i☆Ris, the connection with our fans is really important. And so when they couldn’t say anything during our concerts… It was really, really tough.

On finding a work life balance:

YU SERIZAWA: When too much is on our plate, with voice acting and the idol schedule… I get frustrated sometimes and don’t like it. Bottom line, I don’t like an overly busy schedule, but I think that’s the business.

On performing for American Audiences vs Japanese Audiences:

HIMIKA AKANEYA: I am really am excited to see the American audience because they are usually so much more excited than Japanese audiences! They react a lot more.

MIYU KUBOTA: I really enjoy seeing the cosplay at this convention (Anime NYC). When I look at them, it’s like they jumped out from the screen!

I had a lot of fun looking at them on top of having live shows. There’s also autograph sessions here and I’m really surprised that all of my friends would speak to us in Japanese.

I saw that they worked so hard in studying Japanese and that makes me feel really happy! I can see that they also love anime.

There are actually fans who traveled with us from Japan to this convention and we would exchange pictures in X (Twitter) about the pizza that we ate today. So that was really fun. It’s like we’re traveling together!

On Favorite Animes:

YŪKI WAKAI: I’m obsessed with Pokémon card games these days! So I’m always very excited about Pokémon. I buy a lot of Pokémon cards. It’s actually one of the reasons why I got so into anime.

MIYU KUBOTA: Same, I love Pokémon! Now you’ve made me feel like buying more Pokémon cards! (laughs)

HIMIKA AKANEYA: Mine is Attack on Titan. I would listen to the theme song of this anime where I would devote my heart to the cause of protecting our country. And I would feel the same myself.

YU SERIZAWA: My favorite anime is Golden Kamuy. I watched the anime, I’ve read the manga and I even visited the real life prison!

Advice for aspiring idols:

YU SERIZAWA: I think the most important thing is to believe in ourselves. It’s my own personal motto… There are a lot of people who look cute and who are really, really good with acting. But it’s not about that.

It’s all about believing in yourself and being comfortable with my own voice and liking myself.

THE NATURAL ARISTOCRAT: Thank you i☆Ris!

i☆Ris: Thank you!

– Enjoyed this i☆Ris interview? Be sure to check out our exclusive i☆Ris Concert at Anime NYC 2023 Photos

– i☆Ris’ concert at Anime NYC took place on November 19, 2023 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center (Javits Center) in New York City.

– In 2024, an anime film based around the idol group titled “i☆Ris the Movie -Full Energy!!-“ is slated for release. Learn more about idol group at the official i☆Ris website for the anime film.

– Follow The Natural Aristocrat® / Nir Regev on Twitter / X, YouTube, and Facebook.

Himika Akaneya and Saki Yamakita. Photo Credit: © 2023 Nir Regev - The Natural Aristocrat®

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– Ambassador Mikio Mori: Anime NYC Commendation Speech

Visit the Anime NYC section for more exclusive photos, interviews, videos, news and on-site event coverage you won’t get anywhere else but The Natural Aristocrat®!

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Nir Regev

Nir Regev is the founder of The Natural Aristocrat. You can directly contact him at [email protected] for coverage consideration, interview opportunities, or general comments.