… I’m sorry, Fujita Akane
(Thanks to SilverKanon for providing scans, and digiroko for QC :D)

Now, I still plan to do the joint interview thing from Seiyuu Animedia January 2018 don’t you worry, but… this came out, so……  *clears throat* “This” being VOICE Channel vol.2 which features yet another 30-page special on, you guessed it, Aida Rikako! This feature has two interviews this time (*phew*), a Twitter-sourced Q&A (cool, would’ve submitted a question if I knew this was going to be a thing >.<), and a special “A to Z” word association type feature which would be this one right here.

I did this one first because it looked interesting and unique, and totally not because this is a Rikyako-related article that has English words but you don’t have to take my word for it. Read on!

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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.

Ａｉｄａ　Ｒｉｋａｋｏ
Ａ　ｔｏ　Ｚ

Rikyako Digs Deep ?!
From A to Z of the alphabet, words that start with those letters are the themes that Rikyako will relate to her very self, laying it all out as she tells us all about ’em.

Ａｃｔ.
I’ve been shy ever since, and for me who’s not good at letting out my emotions, I think that the only place where I can express my feelings is through performing. If I become unable to perform, I feel as if I won’t be myself anymore — that’s how important it is to me.

Ｂａｔｔｌｅ．
Whether it’s a live (show) or an event, it’s always a battle being on the stage. In order to get my presence out there I’m always thinking about how I can be seen. It’s the same for everyone during talks too but it can’t be helped — where to keep silent, where to speak up — wherever the conversation goes you have to be able to rack your brain while reading the atmosphere.

Ｃｏｌｌｅｃｔｉｏｎ．
I collect cosmetics quite often so I wonder if that counts. I like the smell of hand creams so much that when a new scent comes out, even if I haven’t finished off the ones I have, I end up buying it (xD)

Ｄｅｓｔｉｎｙ．
I believe in destiny. I love the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime” so I think that, whether at work or in my private life, my encounters are all destined — and I treasure them all.

Ｅｍｅｒｇｅｎｃｙ．
In times where I’m in an emergency situation, my head would white out for a moment, and from there on I’d very impatiently try to get out of it. But, looking at it from the onset I might appear calm. I’m scatterbrained so, I’ll forget like my wallet, and I end up getting caught in emergency situations very often. My just desserts right? (xD)

Ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅ．
Movies are therapeutic for me, and I love them very much. I primarily go for Japanese movies that are Suspense or Police/Detective stuff. After having seen「The Devotion of Suspect X」back in high school, if there was a movie I got interested in I’d try to go to the theater for it if at all possible.

Ｇａｍｅ．
I really don’t play games all that much. I mostly don’t fiddle with apps either. It’s not because I don’t have any interest but if I start I won’t be able to stop — I’m exercising self-control.

Ｈａｐｐｙ．
The times when I get into a bath, when I’m eating a meal, when I sleep …….. I want to fully feel these kinds of little joys.

Ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ．
In my private time I use it to look up stuff, then there’s Twitter and Instagram; I only use it for those I think. I like talking with friends directly better, and as for exchanging texts, I don’t do that as often.

Ｊｅａｌｏｕｓｙ．
I have a strong inferiority complex so I think I get pretty jealous too. It can’t be helped when people betray you, but once I suspect something’s going on there’s really no turning back. I’m the type to hold a grudge after all (xD).

Ｋｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅ．
I’m only knowledgeable on stuff that I know about the things that I like……. When a word that I’m unfamiliar with shows up while I’m reading I’ll look it up but really I’m no good at studying.

Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ．
Words are living things; if you think about the things you say as being like that, then bad things won’t come out of your mouth. I’m trying not to say stuff like “I’m tired” or “I’m sleepy” as much anymore.

Ｍｏｎｅｙ．
For savings and such; I used to think that you can’t really use it where you’re dead so I didn’t set one up. But I’ve come to realize that it’s better to have money (than not) as I feel it sets the heart at ease, so I’ve started saving up now.

Ｎａｍｅ．
So that I’d “grow up beautiful”, my mother named me after the “Tears of Yang Gui-Fei”*. I love how it sounds and, it’s a bit embarrassing that I’m saying all this, but I really do think that it’s a good name.

*Note: “Tears of Yang Gui-Fei” is another name for Pear Blossoms. The kanji for “pear” is 梨 — the same 梨 in Rikyako’s name (梨香子 rikako). By the by, the “ka” in her name is the same one found in the word 香り(kaori) which means “scent”.子 (ko) means “child”. All together, Rikyako’s name reads “Child with the fragrance of pear [blossoms]“.

Ｏｆｆ．
I think I’m one of those who can switch On and Off. I’m usually very shy and I don’t talk that often to people, but when I’m working I can go and converse properly.

Ｐｅｒｆｅｃｔ．
Relatively speaking I think of myself as a perfectionist. Just a perfectionist though, I’m not that perfect (xD) I’m hard on my own weirdnesses.

Ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎ．
In letting people know about the “me” that’s separate from the works I’m associated with, I find it fun answering different kinds of questions. There hasn’t been much talk about my private life so you can be more frank with me! I still have a bunch of “episodes”  that haven’t been put into question yet!

Ｒｅｍｅｍｂｅｒ．
I think, comparatively speaking, I have good memory. But, I wonder if I just don’t have that much stuff to remember from my past.

Ｓｔａｇｅ．
I love the Shiki Theatre Company’s rendition of the musicals「Wicked」and「Cats」. I don’t see fantasy movies all that often but if it’s a stage play I end up seeing fantasy stuff. It’s a mystery to me.

Ｔｅａｒ．
I haven’t really cried that much lately, but I cry easily. I feel like I become easily moved to tears with each passing year, so much that I’ve been called an “obasan” by my fellow voice actors (xD)

Ｕｍｂｒｅｌｌａ．
As much as possible I don’t carry an umbrella with me. Even if the weather forecast shows the marker for rain, if by the time I go out it hasn’t started raining yet, I won’t bring one. When (the rain) stops, no matter which way, it ends up being a bother (having it with me).

Ｖｏｉｃｅ．
I had a complex about my own voice not having a redeeming quality, and the voice actors I looked up the time had cuter voices, so I was really envious. But now I’ve come to think that maybe not having any special trait is fine — it’s a weapon in itself — and as such I’ve come to love my voice too.

Ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ．
Vinegar and pickled plums are my main sources of energy so I can’t be without them. I always stock up on them where I live, and if I’m going someplace far I’ll carry a pack of plums with me.  My favorite plums are the ones sold by a co-op near my grandfather’s house.

Ｘｍａｓ．
Whether it’s Christmas or Halloween, in times where there are a lot of people, I’m the type that won’t go out, and I’m perfectly fine eating chicken at home by myself. I had work during 2017’s Christmas and on my way home I bought a cake and ate that!

Ｙｅａｒ．
Every time I’d be asked in interviews about what my “Kanji of the Year” for 2017 would be, I almost always came up with a different word (each time), and it’s because a lot of things happened in that one year. But. I’d end up feeling worried if I hadn’t been able to work, so I do feel very grateful for such a busy year.

Ｚｅａｌ．
I think I’m a pretty passionate person. “I want to do this” or, “I want that”, or for the times that I think I want to get a hold of something I get fairly fired up.

***Thoughts and Takeaways
– Some of you who come across this may already be aware that Rikyako is on the shortlist of Aqours seiyuu that uses her real name (her first name at least), but if not, well now you know — both by my telling you this now and this neat little reveal of the origin of the name “Rikako”. Funny story actually; you see, normally I’d put up links whenever I make translation notes to at least lend some level of credence to what I’m actually trying to give a side-note on, but this time around nothing really definitive came up when I searched for “Tears of Yang Gui-Fei”. All there was were JP blog posts, message boards, and (amusingly enough) a cocktail recipe — which ended being one of the top search results. Now, while it’s entirely possible that her mom did name her after a lychee-flavored liquer, I decided to dig a bit deeper. Eventually I found myself here; a lengthy cross-cultural account on pear blossoms as they appear in classic Chinese and Japanese literature. Long story short, pear blossoms comes up often in these texts alongside Yang Gui-Fei, who is a figure very much known for her beauty — which ties back to Rikyako’s mom wanting her to grow up “beauitiful” *gives mom a thumbs up*
– Speaking of “fragrance” being part of her name; other members of Aqours have noted, on fairly multiple occassions, how good Rikyako smells. Yeah… names man, I tell ya.
– Rikyako also shares the kanji in her name with the character that she voices for Love Live! Sunshine!!, Sakurauchi Riko (梨子, riko)
– Her vehemence towards umbrellas is something else.
– I love how confident she’s become with her voice. I hope she continues to soldier on in the voice acting industry with that mindset (even though I think she’s way more talented than she gives herself credit for)

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There you have it. I’m still on the fence on whether I want to do the Twitter Q&A so that one’s on a bit of a lower priority, so I’ll probably start working on the interviews soon-ish, and well, Rikyako was not the only Aqours seiyuu featured in this mag.

As always, I’m more so a learner before I am a proper translator so I can’t say for certain that these TLs are as good or accurate as they could be, but I do do what I can whenever I do these so take that as you will.

Till I see ya next!