I did say there were two parts :3

This is a continuation to an earlier translation (link here) to those who are unaware, and it is part of Aida Rikako’s special feature in the September 2017 issue of Seiyuu Animedia (which also includes a Q&A which you can read here if you haven’t yet).

It has come to my attention while I’d been doing this here second part that someone else picked up the translation for this (which you can find over at this here site) and while I do notice some differences in our work, most of it is pretty much spot-on (word preferences aside). The more “pressing” matter for me was that there was actually someone who was working on this with a more pronounced following within the Love Live! community, so I thought I’d lay back for a while and see if she’d translate this one as well.

It’s been a while since then and I figured “eh, might as well” and went ahead and finished my own TL. I don’t know how this post will reach it’s intended audience since I don’t have much of an LL! “presence” — but really I’m mostly doing this for myself (but if you’ve found yourself here looking for a translation or this particular feature OR you happen to be a fan of Rikyako as well and just happen to find yourself here, then hey, thanks :D)

Well then, this has been long-winded enough already. Let’s get on with it!

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Some notes before we start:
– （笑）, generally used to indicate laughter in transcribed Japanese interviews were transliterated into (xD) for this TL, ’cause lol why not (“lol” could work too I guess …)
– words found in parentheses are either words that I put in to clarify certain things, or words that I add to make up for nuances and inferences in the language.

No matter what the challenge,
“Bring it on!” is how I’m feeling (xD)

I’ll take on any challenge that comes my way
on the path that I’ve chosen.

–– Your first solo feature, not to mention being on the back-cover & special feature at the end of the magazine; all appearing in this issue!

『　When I first heard about it I thought “no way!!”, “is it really ok if it’s me……?”. But, more than anything I’m glad — my mom was really happy for me. When she’s in that state, I’m pretty sure she’s gonna end up buying three copies (xD)　』

–– How was your photoshoot in a yukata?
『　It was my first time doing a photoshoot in a yukata. At first I didn’t know what would be good movements to do, but taking shots at different places, it was really fun. We used to wear yukatas when we did rakugo* during my time at a seiyuu developmental school**, so I did get to wear one for a short amount of time. That’s why (this shoot) had a nostalgic feel to it for me.　』

*Rakugo is a type of traditional performance art in Japan. Something akin to spoken word poetry, albeit a bit more varied in terms of genre and presentation.

**The words here exactly are 声優の養成所 (seiyuu no yousei-jo), which does in fact translate to seiyuu developemental (or training) school. Both the interviewer and Rikyako drop the “seiyuu” part of it altoegther moving forward (because they already establish what kind of developmental school she attended), so I in turn opted to just refer to it as “seiyuu school” in the times they mention it after this.

–– For the yukata you wore this time around, was it perhaps Aida-san’s choice?
『　Yes! They asked if I had any requests beforehand, so I said a base of red and white for the patterns would be nice, and they prepared several options. Out of all of them the one I chose for the shoot had a very cute obi*. On the whole it (the yukata) gives off a retro feel, and the moment I laid eyes on it I liked it right away (xD)　』

*The sash used in traditional Japanese wear.

–– Earlier you mentioned seiyuu school; since when did you start aiming to become a seiyuu?
『　I’ve wanted to become an actress from a very young age . To that effect I’d been granted opportunites to do a bit of work on stages and movies. I got interested in voice work during my time in high school. At first I didn’t know much about being a “seiyuu”, and I’d always thought “this is no doubt, in one way another, (work) for specially talented people that rely on their voice” and that “an ordinary person can’t just become one”. But, instead of giving up, I looked into a lot of different things, and I found out that one way of becoming a seiyuu was by entering a seiyuu school — so I went ahead and got admission papers on my own, and submitted them behind my mom’s back (xD)　』

–– To do this much; you were serious about it huh?
『　Yes, very much. But. when I mustered all courage to consult my mom about it, she took to it unexpectedly well and said to me “why not give it a go?”. I thought to myself “becoming one or not, I won’t know unless I try” — granting me some degree of baseless self-confidence (xD). So, when I graduated from high school, I then entered a seiyuu school.　』

–– What ultimately led you to think that you wanted to be a seiyuu, for you to go to such lenghts?
『　Back in high school, the thought of continuing to perform on stage from then-on had me feeling uneasy and hesitant, and coincidentally at the time I saw the TV anime 「Gintama」. It was so meaningless, it was like everything else didn’t even really matter anymore (xD). Ah, of course, I meant that in a good way. No matter how absurd, there was still something interesting about that world. From then on I watched a lot of anime, saw different works, and as a result I thought “being a seiyuu is a wonderful job”. That’s why I always say that 「Gintama」 changed my life.　』

–– And then from your developmental school, to your current agency
『　I got into my current agency right around the same time it was decided that I would perform for 「Love Live! Sunshine!!」, not just with my voice (as a seiyuu), but I even had to dance and sing. From that point it was just a massive upheaval (xD)　』

–– Did you lose yourself in this sudden turn of events?
『　I didn’t, no. It was my dream since I was little to appear in front of people, so I decided to take on whatever challenge that comes with it. Moreover, since this is the path that I’ve chosen, I’ve ventured to think that this much in the way of arduity is necessary.　』

–– That’s quite the resolve. How was your state of mind at the time that it was decided that you would have your live at Kanagawa’s Yokohama Arena?
『　I was surprised. To tell you the truth, when I received the call that I got the part for 「Love Live! Sunshine!!」, at the time I’d just seen B’z live at Yokohama Arena* Not even in my dreams did I think that after just two years I’d be at that performance hall standing on the same stage.　』

*Ｔhis would be around April 2015, which does in fact coincide with the official announcement for the Love Live! Sunshine!! project

–– How serendipitous indeed. Well then, did that “massive upheaval” from two years ago ever make its way back to you?
『 Standing on such a large stage has its fair share of troubles sure, but those are just walls I’ve torn down a number of times already. But, more than anything, I’m having a lot of fun. Even lately I’ve been feeling that I really am glad that I didn’t give up so I can get to where I am now. That’s why on this massive stage and in events I want people to see the “me” that’s having fun, as a show of my reciprocation for the cheers and the support that I’ve been given by everyone up till now. That is why, and I have a lot of these thoughts, from here on I want to take on a lot of different challenges! 』

–– Just shy off of your debut, you’ve already experienced a lot of different and “big” things; do you really have anything else to fear?
『　That may very well be the case. Whatever it is, “Bring it on!” is how I’m feeling (xD)　』

–– (xD) Now then, your latest work; your performance for the upcoming movie 「Eiga Kuma no Gakkou: Pattisier Jackie to Ohisama no Sweets」 has been announced.
『　I didn’t think I’d get the part when I got done with the auditions, so when I received word that “It’s been settled”, not even thinking about it I wondered “To what are you referring to?” (xD) For the post-recording, I used strengths that even now I don’t really think I have. Jackie is an innocent and tomboy-ish little bear-girl so her manner of speaking is like that of a kid’s. “She’s a child which means, normally they have to be this merry” and so the rotation was always problematic for me especially. After the recording it was like I had shed off old skin (xD)　』

–– Are you yourself familiar with the work this is based on?
『　Of course! That character is very much beloved by all, and even now I still can’t believe I’d been given the opportunity to play such an important role. But, when someone from the staff had said to me “Aida-san, I want to make a new Jackie with you” I diligently took those words to heart. It’s fairly certain that most of the viewers are gonna be children, and as such I think it would be nice if I can manage to zip straight into the hearts of the kids through Jackie　』

***Thoughts and Take-Aways
– Comparing her answers to the first half of the interview, she came across as a bit more… comfortable, almost. At the very least no more of those wry smiles (which really only came up when she was talking about how shy she was).
– I mean, I knew seiyuu developmental schools existed, but seeing someone talk about it really does put into perspective how much goes into the craft of voice acting.
– And lol, the whole anecdote about her secretly applying to go to seiyuu school
– Loved the part where she talks about breaking down walls (No Brand Girls, anyone?), but yeah no, this goes back to an earlier comment she made that in spite of being an overtly shy person, she still goes out there and performs.
– On the whole (meaning across both parts of the interview and her Q&A) I noticed she liked using “多い” a whole lot — almost beyond its intended usage almost, where at times she throws it out as an adverb. I don’t know if this is just colloquial practice, a generation thing, or just a verbal tic on Rikyako’s end. I dunno, just thought it was interesting.

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はい、終わり～. I still have one more Rikyako-related piece I might get around to translating and after that, well, we’ll see. Translations of the various media portrayals of Love Live! personalities is a fairly saturated field (as far as JP-EN TLs are concerned) so no use for me to contribute to redundacy by doing stuff that other people may do a better job at (and would most likely be “more visible” than this ol’ blog here).

I do however have quite a bit of of fun doing this and I’ve continuously found myself catching more and more familiarity with a lot of different words with each passage that I translate — so I will be looking into more stuff that I could do.

But, well. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
Plus I really should talk about anime at some point, haha!