In October this year, the "Soul of Steel" concert, a super-combustion event belonging to robot lovers, was once again held in Guangzhou, which was also the sixth performance of the concert series in China, and the theme changed from last year's "Soul of Steel V" to a new "Soul of Steel", which means to burn yourself and break through the limit! As always, the lineup of guests who took to the stage this year is also very luxurious, in addition to the six familiar ACG singers of Mizuki Ichiro, Mitsuko Horie, Maiko Iijima, Yoshiki Fukuyama, Chihiro Yonekura, and MIQ, there is also a well-known singer who has also been able to sing for many classic anime works, Hitomi Mie, whose representative songs "ひとつのハートで" and "BOYS BE AMBITIOUS" are the theme song and ending song of "The Legend of the Super Demon God", respectively. I believe that for many viewers, these two songs have left an indelible impression and memory in childhood.
As one of the special media invited by the "Soul of Steel" concert, UCG had the honor to go to Guangzhou to conduct pre-performance interviews with the singers, but due to the content review, it was a pity that it could not present the first report for everyone, and could only be shared with you on the new media platform. Without further ado, let's take a look at the content of this interview!
Polar Soul of Steel Concert Guest Interview Transcript (Selection)
Q: The theatrical version of "Demon God Z" was officially released in China this year, and Mizuki Sensei also sang for "Demon God Z" for many years, do you have any special feelings?
Ichiro Mizuki: I am very happy that the theatrical version can be released in China. Generally speaking, after the TV animation production theatrical version, the songs will be performed by other singers, and I am very happy that I can continue to sing this time.
The theatrical version of "Demon God Z" premiered in Japan in January 2018 and did not enter Chinese theaters until March this year.
Q: For Mr. Horie, what is the difference between a TV series theme song and an anime song?
Mitoko Horie: From the perspective of the theme song, in fact, which song is sung for film and television works, so as far as my personal feelings are concerned, it does not make much difference. However, when I sang "Burning えろアタック" (the theme song of the Japanese drama "Volleyball Girl"), my throat was very uncomfortable, and I couldn't pronounce it for two hours, which was really very hard.
Q: MiQ sensei has also sung many other robot-themed songs since her debut song "Hey you" (the theme song of the anime "Fighter Mecha Safingel"), in the teacher's opinion, what kind of existence is a robot song?
MIQ: Robot animations always see all kinds of life-threatening battles, full of sense of crisis, in order to express my efforts at that time, courage, and friendship of mutual help, I always sing with a kind of world peace and my presence, and every time I sing, I will have a new feeling - this is probably my view of robot songs.
Q: Fukuyama sensei once sang the social song "Yan と共に" for Agni Flare, a CG production company that has produced special effects for games such as Pokémon Fist and Dragon Quest XI.
Yoshiki Fukuyama: It's a shame to be a dynamic CG character myself, and I look a little thinner than I am (everyone laughs). But this experience is rare, and I personally find it very interesting.
CG image of Fukuyama Sensei.
Q: It is said that Yonekura Chihiro has been learning Chinese recently, can you share the difficulties and interesting points in the learning process?
Chihiro Yonekura: Chinese difficult to pronounce, but Chinese interesting (this sentence is pronounced Chinese). Although there are many similar Chinese characters in Chinese and Japanese languages, the actual pronunciation is very different, and the meaning can be vaguely understood, which is Chinese interesting place to learn. I look forward to being able to use Chinese to talk to everyone in China in the future.
Q: When Mie-sensei participated in the karaoke session of "The Legend of the Demon God Heroes" at the age of 13, how did you feel at that time? In addition, does the work "The Legend of the Super Demon God Hero" have any special meaning for you?
Hitomi Mie: When I was 13 years old, I was supposed to be in the first grade of junior high school, and at that time I was already in love with animation and dreamed of singing the theme song of animation, and it was with this idea that I attended that conference. Later, at the age of 16, I officially debuted, and the work that made my life better was "The Legend of the Super Demon God Hero" sung by me. Watching the song he sang appeared on TV for the first time, the tears really couldn't stop. Later, I have been growing up with Kodo (the protagonist of "Super Demon Heroes"), and next year, the series will continue to launch new works.
"The Legend of the Super Demon God Hero" is the childhood memories of many post-80s and post-90s in China.
Q: If any of you who are here have participated in the "Women's Division of Anime Songs", can you please tell us how this Live differs from other Lives?
Mitoko Horie: First of all, the guests who participated in this Live were all female singers. As for why this Live was opened in the first place, it is because there are not many environments in which female anime singers can work together, and in order to establish a connection with each other, they began to gather members. Later, more people joined, and when we were together, we always felt like we were staying together, and we were really happy.
Q: What is the reason why Mizuki Sensei has been singing anime songs?
Ichiro Mizuki: The reason is that I really want to pass on love and courage to children, and these children will continue to pass on their spirit when they grow up, and it is precisely because children all over the world have such characteristics that Japanese animation songs can be praised all over the world. For the songs of "Demon God Z", I will not get tired even if I sing them thousands of times, tens of thousands of times, whether it is an animated song or a robot song, I believe that even after decades, it is still fresh for today's children, which is the charm of such songs. I don't plan to develop into other music genres, and I will always sing anime songs in the future. In fact, the anime songs also include various musical genres, of course, I don't want to go with the flow, or hope to be able to continue singing on the genre that I like and am good at.
Q: Now that anime songs have become very diverse, how do you think about these anime songs?
Ichiro Mizuki: Let's talk about it here. [Laughs]
Chihiro Yonekura: I don't dare to be afraid to be, I can only talk about music. As far as the theme song is concerned, just as the times will change, the music is also constantly changing, and many beautiful songs have emerged in this era, and the meaning of continuing to sing is to cherish the music they have created, but also to continue to sing in the present, if you can't sing, it is probably equivalent to being abandoned by the times. Therefore, it is necessary to accept the music of the present, discover the advantages of it and absorb it for your own use. I think it should be the same for animation works and anime songs, all of which are changing with the trend of the times. But no matter how it changes, there must be some connection in these works, something that wants to be transmitted, some courage, dreams, vitality, friendship, and love and peace that only animation can express.
Q: Mizuki-sensei is 71 years old this year, but we can still see your energetic figure on the stage, what is the secret and motivation to support you to always maintain your youth on the stage?
Ichiro Mizuki: Although I have been debuting for decades, it is actually the happiest and most youthful moment for me now. Whenever I stand on stage and keep singing, I feel like I'm going back forty years, and then I'm immediately enthusiastic, which may also be related to the concept of "energy" conveyed by the animation. Of course, I think a positive way of thinking is also very important, I have always felt that I am loved by this job, and I can continue to sing in the voice of the past, which is the source of my vitality today.
Q: Fukuyama's songs often have a strong rock style, can you talk about your love of rock and roll and the opportunity to go on the road of rock and roll?
Yoshiki Fukuyama: Although I have become a singer now, from the beginning, my goal was to become a keyboard player in a rock band, and I have been working in this direction, that's it.
Q: The theme songs of classic robot animations such as "Heavy Fighter L-Gaim" and "Holy Warrior Denbain" sung by MIQ teachers are deeply loved by robot animation fans, if you choose to recommend a robot animation song that you have sung, which one would you recommend?
MIQ: There are a lot of songs that I like, and it's really hard to choose. However, the ending song of "Fighter Mech Savinger" is "GET IT!" I especially like it, this song conveys a belief in "believing in the power of life", very positive, if I can only choose one, I would recommend this song.
Classic old robot animation "Fighter Mech Safingel".
Q: How do you think robot animations differ from the past?
Ichiro Mizuki: I think there are already different works in the past, and now there are many good songs in the new robot works. In fact, no matter what era, good music can always be praised for a long time, even after thirty or forty years, it can maintain a certain popularity.
Mitoko Horie: At that time, "Demon God Z" still had only one protagonist, and by the time of "Super Electromagnetic Man Porugis V", it had become five protagonists, the robot could also fit into the setting of deformation, and the story also derived from the "complete punishment" at the beginning, deriving a side plot such as the villain will also have sad feelings. Later, there was such an innovative work as "Gundam", and what shocked me the most was that by the time of "Chrono Fortress", the protagonist could actually sing (everyone laughed), and the original robot animation could become like this, although it seems that it will no longer be surprising. As new ideas continue to emerge, many robot animations are gradually changing, a process that I find very interesting.
Ichiro Mizuki: Speaking of which, Chrono Fortress has maintained a good popularity for a long time.
Yoshiki Fukuyama: Yes, this series is 37 years old.
Ichiro Mizuki: It's because they're all good things that they've survived to this day.
In addition to singing battles, the real chaotic love triangle in your circle is also the series tradition of "Chrono Fortress".
epilogue
Since 2014, a "Soul of Steel" concert has been held every year in China, and although the guests who come every time are different, the passion and robot feelings they want to convey in the song have always remained the same. Perhaps many ACG enthusiasts have heard such a sentence: steel, is the romance of men! So where is the romance of this "steel", and what is the "soul" of steel? The author believes that the audience who has been exposed to many robot works has its own answer in their hearts - it can be the will to never yield, it can also be the courage to move forward, and it can be the pursuit of transcending the limit. But no matter what form it takes, as the eternal big brother Mizuki Ichiro said, good things will never go out of style, and because the times have been inherited, the spirit of "Steel Soul" will continue to continue in the future. I hope that next year, we can once again see the figure of several singers and the inheritance of the soul of steel!