Q.Why did you become a voice actor?

Yoshino Aoyama：I’ve loved anime even as an elementary school girl and have wanted to be a voice actor from the time I was born. On a deeper level I’ve always thought of myself as a voice actor and it is really the only job for me.

Nanami Yamashita：For me, this “Wake Up, Girls! Audition” (the second “Animation Song Vocalist Audition”) was the start of everything. After passing the audition only then did I realize just how much I liked voice acting.

Q.What are the hardest parts of being an actor? What is the most fun about it?

Nanami Yamashita：A lot of the time we don’t use our natural voices to sing, but rather our characters’. Since it’s a bit forced, a lot of that pressure is redirected to my throat so sometimes I go through a tough time.

Q.Who do you admire? Who are some people that influenced you?

Yoshino Aoyama：I feel I owe a lot of my success to my middle school club activity advising teacher. I was in choir at school and our activities were as hard as athletic clubs. While it was intense the teacher taught us a lot - everything from manners and Japanese culture to how to write a letter and basic knowledge for living as members of society. I really appreciate that.

Nanami Yamashita：I really look up to the voice actor, Ms. Marina Inoue. She voices the character Armin from “Attack on Titan.” I had thought the voice actor was male this whole time [the character, Armin, is also male] but it was a woman and I was very surprised. I want to be able to be as versatile one day. She is one of the best.

Q.What are some of your future goals?

Nanami Yamashita：“Wake Up, Girls!” has had their season finale and with this anime coming to a close I’m filled with both a deep sense of satisfaction and loss. While it is still unconfirmed, I really hope we will be able to do a second season and for that reason I’ll be giving all my upcoming events and live performances my all.

Yoshino Aoyama：I would like to become a more versatile as a voice actor. I’ve been mostly focused on voicing Yoshino Nanase up to now, so I would like to try voicing a completely different character. Since I am also currently a student, I hope to continue to put my full effort into both work and my studies.

Q.Can you tell us your favorite anime shows and manga series.

Yoshino Aoyama：(said with great enthusiasm) I absolutely love “SAMURAI DEEPER KYO.” I also like “SEKIREI.” I like a wide variety. While of course I have a soft spot for my own anime “Wake Up, Girls!”, I am quite fond of “KILL la KILL.”

Nanami Yamashita：I like the manga version of “Gakuen Alice” and 3 other members of Wake Up, Girls! also like it. So between the three, we will often lend one another parts of the series. We will also get together and talk about the anime series of it, as well. Another anime series I enjoy is “Ano hi mita hana no namae o bokutachi wa mada shiranai.(anohana)” and “Attack on Titan.”

Q.Where in Asia have you been?

Yoshino Aoyama：When I was small, I would often travel with my family to Bintan Island and Bali, Indonesia. My grandfather lives in Indonesia and he even taught me the local language. I’ve also been to Thailand and would someday like to return there!

Nanami Yamashita：Wow!

Q.Is there anything you would like to tell your fans?

Yoshino Aoyama：The title of the anime is already in English (Wake Up, Girls!), so I hope the series will eventually make its way overseas. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we did and to see you at our performance!

Nanami Yamashita：We hope to see you there!

Yoshino Aoyama：While it is still unconfirmed, no matter what we hope to bump into you!

Nanami Yamashita：Since Japan is a part of Asia, we hope to connect with you through anime and I’m happy if a lot of people overseas enjoy our anime, “Wake UP, Girls!.” And that one day we can come to you or you can come to us. We look forward to seeing you around!