Eriko Nakamura Q/A Notes - Rough

When you were a kid, what did you want to grow up to be?
- "I wanted to be a beautiful woman. As I am now."

Radio show: how is it different from voice acting?
- *nervous laugh* Lots of of freedom - I have more freedom to do what I want. I don't have to be a character, I can

be myself. I'd like to continue to do more work like it in the future

IM@S Cast: difference working with everyone on anime and recording music?
- experience is very similar between the two. It's hard to compare.
- since it's so fun, it's hard to differentiate. We're all good friends

Singing/Recording, done alone?
- Of course.
- Find it easier to sing along with a previous recordings of her colleagues.

Role models in the industry?
- There's no one I can't admire in this line of work
- Just being able to do the work - applies to everyone
- The others one works with is very influential
- But the person that most influences one is the character themselves

[Asks to just hang on a sec]
[Gets up and gives person in the front coughing a lozenge]
[Others start to cough]
[Coughing intensifies]


Happy/Embarassing moments with coworkers?
- Lots. Difficulty pacing her lines. Sometimes she has to catch up, sometimes she continues talking until out of sync with a character's mouth movement.
- Starting out she could get away with it, but now after all this time it's kind of hard to use as an excuse.
[Audience member compares it to Yukiho's stuttering]
[Eriko agrees, does a Yukiho impersonation]

Future: what roles would you like to play?
- being in anime, she got to experience playing a hamster
- wants to try more animals, since instead of tyring to express herself through words she needs to express herself

through sound (read: lazy)
- would write in her script what types of feelings hamzou would be trying to convey in a situation as a reminder,

but would forget and speak. Needed lots of retakes
- usually her voices for Haruka and Hamuzou are different, even able to maintain a conversation between the two

characters, but she would occasionally make mistakes

Was playing Harukasan fun?
- Yes.

Since arriving here in Canada, what do you find great about it?
- streetlight orientation - vertical as opposed to horizontal, because snow
- inversion of left and right conventions, like elevators and roads
- likes the huge hotel room. Says the king sized bed is about as big as her own room in Japan. She didn't know what

to do with a king sized bed.
[Starts making rolling around noises]

Most crazy fan experience so far?
- During one of her character performances she said the line "you should die"
- Afterwards during a signing she was shaking hands with a fan. She sort of misunderstood them since they kept

repeating that line to her all the while smiling. Turns out they were asking her to say that line.
- Just a misunderstaning. Overall no real bad experiences.

Are there any similariries/differences voicing Haruka offstage and voicing her during a live?
- There are differences.
- In the anime, it feels like there's a more direct line to the character of Haruka
- When live, it feels less like that, like there is an added layer
- Very different when having to act like a 17 year old girl

Experiences recording for Chisato?
- during the recording of the series, she was really into Magica Madoka. When she did the episode where Chisato got

to dress up like her she thought it was fun
- Desired to have Mami involved somehow. Found herself cracking up with Mizuhashi Kaori's delivery

Favorite Meguca? Kyouko

Is there a difference between tracks for personal albums and ones recorded for anime?
- "I would need 3 hours to answer that."
- Finds it easier to be herself while singing vs. singing while keeping up the image that she is a 17 year old

girl.


Have you played the idolmaster game?
- Yes, but I couldn't clear it.
- First idol she tried out was Haruka, but she finished it quickly. The next idol she tried out was Iori.
- One day she came home to find her father playing the game. He played as Asuza and in many instances this

relegated Iori to being somewhere in the back. With Azusa being bigger, she would be covered up. She got into a

litte fight with her dad about it.

What do you think of the official AKB48 anime AKB0048?
- It's a cool idea since it's a reversal in adaptation
- For idolmaster, they exist first in 2D and have to be brought to life
- For AKB, it's the opposite - it's 3D going 2D

Favorite Anime?
- Totoro, Naussica, Kiki, Other Ghibli stuff, Eden of the East, and Evangelion
What about Gundam?
- Never watched it before. Finds the sheer number of series daunting so she doesn't know where to start
[Audience makes recommendations]
- She'll keep them in mind

Have you been watching any North American shows? Any favorites?
- Yes. CP24, Roger commercials, teeth cleaning commercials, Swiss Chalet - so much that the jingle is stuck in her

head

Tried any Canadian food?
- Of course! Tim Hortons.
- Ice Cap, Timbits.
[Holds up box of Timbits]
- Happy that there's maple syrup on everything

Favorite song to sing? Town

Difficult song to sing?
- They're all hard to sing.
- "My Song" w/ others. The trouble was with the link between the audio and video. She couldn't really hear the music so she had to listen to the others, but since they're so close with each other she was really helped out by them

What do you think of Music anime like K-On?
- I love musicals.
- The music in anime is a big influence on characters themselves - developing through these songs

Can you sing for us?
- You'd need to go through my manager first.
- However, she'd like to come back and do a concert.

Would you come back to Canada for Anime North?
- "You don't have to ask. Of course!"