保住有哉

Yuya Hozumi, who is also active as a member of SparQlew, is active as a new era voice actor who expresses himself. We searched for the search of power to enjoy any kind of work with all one’s might.

Since this is your first appearance in this magazine, could you tell us what inspired you to become a voice actor? Hozumi: When I was in the first grade of elementary school, I admired Kamen Rider after watching “Kamen Rider Dark Uga.” Even after that, the desire to become a Kamen Rider never disappeared. When I became a junior high school student, I looked it up on the internet and found out that I had to be an actor to become a Kamen Rider. When I looked up what I should do to become an actor, I couldn’t find anything about it, even if I looked it up on the internet. After that, I saw a lot of voice actors’ names written in “Kamen Rider Den-O”, and there was a boom in anime at school, so I recognized the profession of a voice actor. I wanted to be both an actor and a voice actor, but I couldn’t do both at the same time. I wonder if it’s okay. It turns out later that it was a shallow idea (laughs).

After that, you went on to a voice acting school. Hozumi: A high school friend told me that he was going to Tokyo Announce Gakuin for a trial admission, so I went with him and decided to enrol. To become a voice actor, you have to enter an agency after graduation, but among the many voice acting agencies out there, it was said that it would be difficult to get into Ken Productions because of the high odds. At the time, my school didn’t have an on-campus audition for Ken Pro, so I thought I’d give it a try, so I applied for the general competition. I couldn’t get in at that time, but Ken Pro invited me to join the newly established basic class, and after that I was able to join.

You want to go to the direction that you think is difficult. Hozumi: I thought that if I didn’t go where it was said to be difficult, I wouldn’t be able to become a voice actor anyway. But then I appeared in a live-action drama with SparQlew. It was then that I realized how amazing the actors were… It wasn’t easy at all (laughs).

What are you going to do as a voice actor? Hozumi: Every day I think it’s difficult. There are things that depend on my condition, and most of all, it’s difficult to manage my emotions while acting. Not only the throat, but also the physical condition of the nose and stomach are greatly affected. Emotionally, it’s difficult to keep up with the fluctuations in the character’s emotions. Even if you are good at reading the lines, even if you are good at reading the script, that alone is not enough. Even if I understood the director’s direction in my head, I couldn’t get it to work the way I thought it would in an instant. Every aspect is difficult.

What kind of voice actor do you aim to be? Hozumi: Everyone is amazing, and I don’t look up to a specific person or imitate someone. I have my own style. It may be impertinent to someone, because I don’t think I can create my own style if I’m admiring someone else. Of course, there are people who refer to it depends on their role. But rather than chasing someone else, I think running in my own way suits me better. I don’t talk to people much, but sometimes I talk to my seniors as a chat in the studio.

Recently, you’ve been working as a voice actor too. Hozumi: There are more things to put things. I love to stand out, so I think my current job is my vocation. But when I first debuted, I was unconsciously nervous and couldn’t speak. When I go out in public, I think I must do it properly, but I think too much. At that time, I always tried to maximise my potential, but compared to those days, I think I have become more relaxed.

Is there anything that you consider important in your activities? Hozumi: Be satisfied with yourself. I don’t think you can make others happy when you are not happy with yourself. I’m usually concerned about my appearance because I want to be satisfied when I look in the mirror. I don’t call the people who support me “fans”, but “everyone”, but since everyone is an important existence inside of me, I feel that the expression “fans” draws a line. I love everyone, so I always try to tell them how I feel.

SparQlew’s live on August 9^th was a livestream without an audience to the cancellation of the scheduled tour. Hozumi: Since I had the experience of appearing in live performances that I had been to before, I was able to perform live with a warm feeling that everyone was in front of me, even without an audience. We were able to show it in a way that could only be done through a live broadcast, such as filming the stage with a single camera, and we were able to show our new charms, so I was able to face it with a positive feeling.

You have a new tour planned for next year. Hozumi: Be prepared! I really don’t know what’s going to happen (laughs). I was able to calm during the broadcast live, but I think there are a lot more things I can do with everyone, so I want to hit it with all my might!

The unit “Sakutasuke” born from the TV anime “Actors – Songs Connection” has been released. Hozumi: It’s a unit that was born in anime, but I’m really grateful that we were able to put out an album with just the three of us, Saku, Aosuke, and Uta. We were able to make it happen because there were a lot of voices from everyone who supported us through the anime and the original drama CD, who wanted to hear Sakutasuke’s CD. Sakutasuke’s three voices are well balanced. It’s something that I’ve felt since the time it aired, so I’m glad it became a CD.

The CD “Boku to de Iijanai E.P.” will be released on October 7^th. “Parahos” is a new type of content that combines parara x host. Hozumi: I play a popular host named Kaguya Kou. The song of the club “Dream Love” that we belong to is full of euro beat feeling. Above all, Kishou Taniyama-san’s singing voice in “Night Of Fire” is the best (laughs). They asked me to sing in a relaxed way, so I sing in a very intense way. We even had a champagne call, but it was OK (laughs).

What kind of person do you want to be in the near future? Hozumi: Right now, I’m an incomplete “Yuya Hozumi”, but I want to become more complete. I want to complete myself as a work of art. I’ve been blessed with so many people that I’ve been able to make it this far, and with everyone’s help, I’d like to get closer to my ideals.

Column: Little Happiness

It’s work. I’m the type of person who can’t start running without a destination, so when I have work to do, I really enjoy the preparations. I was previously interviewed by KiKi, and this time I was able to appear in this magazine. I feel happy to be able to build relationships like this!