"A song that makes you want them to enjoy their high school lives to the fullest." ── Love Live! New Series "Hasunosora Girls' High School Idol Club" Cast Interview Series Vol.6: Tsukine Kona, Voice of Fujishima Megumi
April 12, 2023
As a new project in the Love Live! series, details were announced on February 10th during the unveiling livestream for Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club. A new “story to be realized by everyone (school idol project)” begins at the private Hasunosora Girls’ High School, located in a secluded area of Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
The debut mini-album Dream Believers was released on March 29th, and will be followed by a release commemorative event at Toyosu PIT in Tokyo on April 21st and an opening live event at the Pacifico Yokohama National Hall on June 4th! The app Link! Like! Love Live! is also currently accepting pre-registrations.
We will be publishing a series of interviews daily in which each of the six cast members portraying the members of the talked-about Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club discusses the appeal of Hasunosora!
The sixth installment features Tsukine Kona. We talked to her about her character Fujishima Megumi, her subunit Mira-Cra Park!, her personal life, the songs she sings in the debut mini-album Dream Believers, her enthusiasm for the release commemorative event and opening live just about a month away, and more.
Please enjoy the interview along with keyword talks inspired by Love Live!.
What is Tsukine Kona, a person with many hobbies and a tendency to get bored easily, currently obsessed with? (As of March 3rd)
First, please introduce yourself.
Tsukine Kona (voice of Fujishima Megumi) (hereinafter, Tsukine): I’m Tsukine Kona. Nice to meet you. In the debut livestream, I introduced my nickname “Konachi,” so please call me Konachi from now on (laughs).
My strength is having many hobbies, while my weakness is the opposite, getting bored easily. At its worst, my favorite things change every week. So when I get asked about my hobbies during interviews, I always struggle because they might have changed by the time the article is published. That’s why I thought of a solution: just say I have “many hobbies” (laughs).
By the way, as of today, March 3rd, when I’m doing this interview (laughs), I’m really into buying high-quality strawberries. Even the expensive ones at the supermarket. They taste delicious. I also like buying various types of face masks and testing them on my own skin. If there’s a day when my skin is irritated, please think, “Was it because of that?” (laughs).
My special skill is the king cobra pose, where my feet can almost touch my chin. I can do this even when I haven’t stretched. My body is quite flexible.
I heard you also do Japanese traditional dance.
Tsukine: I’ve been doing it since I was about two years old, and I love it. I even have a certification for it. After the pandemic, there have been fewer days when I can take lessons, so I’ve temporarily stopped, though I’d like to dance more again.
You also play the guitar, right?
Tsukine: I’m still playing the guitar (laughs). The reason I started was that going to karaoke is a hassle. So I only play when I feel like singing. However, since I’m self-taught, it might look strange to someone who’s good at it, but I can play well enough to enjoy myself.
And you also draw?
Tsukine: Yes, there were times when I drew. But I haven’t drawn anything recently (laughs). I occasionally go back to drawing, playing the guitar, and doing traditional dance (laughs).
Please tell us how you felt when you were chosen for the role of Megumi.
Tsukine: I’ve always loved Love Live!, so when I found out I was chosen, I cried in public for the first time, even though I don’t usually cry (laughs). It was my third Love Live! audition and I was about to graduate from high school. I thought that if I didn’t get the role, I would either have to look for a job or go to college.
However, I was so excited about the audition that I forgot to submit my application for the college entrance exams, so either way, I couldn’t go to college (laughs).
I did say to myself, I’m gonna do my best! when I was chosen to voice Megumi, but I didn’t just feel happy. I realized that I would have the opportunity to cherish the time I spend working as part of this project and pour everything I have into playing Megumi-chan. I felt very determined.
Please tell us about your impression of Megumi, who you play, the similarities and differences between you and her, and what you find charming about her.
Tsukine: I think Megumi-chan is a cute girl who embodies the image of a school idol that everyone imagines.
I auditioned without having seen Megumi’s appearance, but at that time, with her lines like “Praise me! Praise me!”, I could tell she was someone who wants to be praised and was very skilled at calculating her cunningness. There are times when she’s in cunning mode and times when she’s just being herself. I guess she might be similar to me when she’s being herself (laughs).
Megumi-chan’s charm is, of course, her cuteness. She’s exactly my ideal type, and I’d like to become like her and turn the world upside down (laughs). Since her special skill is “drawing girls,” I might start drawing again (laughs).
Mira-Cra Park! is a subunit where anything goes!
Please tell us about Megumi and Rurino’s subunit Mira-Cra Park! and its charms and appeal points.
Tsukine: “Mira-Cra Park!” is a unit name derived from the words “miracle,” “dizzy” (cra from クラクラ), and “park.” They have a wide range of expressions like a roller coaster, so it’s difficult to describe it in a single term, but it’s a subunit that everyone can enjoy together.
We’re also going to be singing songs that don’t sound like anything from Love Live! before, so I hope not only fans of Love Live! but also many others will enjoy listening to our subunit.
Ah!? I thought of a term! It’s an “anything goes” kind of subunit (laughs). If Cerise Bouquet is beautiful and cute, and DOLLCHESTRA is cool, then Mira-Cra Park! is like a mix of everything else (laughs). We’re also looking forward to seeing what kind of subunit Mira-Cra Park! becomes.
Rurino-chan, who is part of the duo with Megumi-chan, is someone who has always been there for her. Rurino-chan is very important to her. Although they have a one-year age gap, I’m sure Megumi-chan is very happy to be able to stand next to her as part of the subunit. I also think their voices complement each other well.
After the recording of “Do! Do! Do!”, I listened to the solo versions, and I thought, What if their singing voices clash? (laughs). But when I heard the finished version, I was very pleased as they matched very well.
Please tell us how you felt when you sang the debut song “Dream Believers” and anything you’d like to highlight.
Tsukine: I’m happy that many people have said things like, “It’s a Love Live!-like song” and “I love this song.” We recorded it about a year ago, and at that time, we were still trying and testing things. But you could say that the awkwardness we felt was because of the excitement and nervousness of starting something brand new, and I love that feeling.
I think we’ll be able to deliver a more mature “Dream Believers” during our live performances. It’s certainly a song that brings me back to our beginnings.
When I have tough or unpleasant moments in my daily life and listen to this song, I feel like it says to me, “You have to remember those feelings and keep going.” It reminds me of how I was trying to portray Megumi-chan in the beginning and how I was trying to get started with working on Hasunosora.
I also like the sparkling feeling when each subunit sings the hook. It makes me go, “Here it comes! Here it comes!”
Please introduce “Do! Do! Do!” by Mira-Cra Park!, which is included in the debut mini-album.
Tsukine: Among the three units, we received this song last. The more I listened to the song, the more I started to like it. It’s fun to sing, but dancing while singing it is even more fun for us, right?
(Kan-san, the voice of Rurino: “Yeah!”)
Tsukine: Whether you listen to Megumi-chan singing through the screen or listen to us singing in front of you, I think you’ll enjoy it even more when you see the choreography and our performance.
But it’s a fast BPM song, so the performance will probably involve a lot of movement. Is it difficult for you?
Tsukine: It’s definitely difficult (laughs). The recording was also challenging.
(Kan: “We’re quite slow during the first practice of the day.”)
Tsukine: That’s right! We start to catch up to the speed the second time. It might be best if we practice three times right before performing it live (laughs).
Also, when you listen to the song after reading the story, there are touching moments from the story that you’ll be able to associate with the lyrics, so it’d be great if everyone enjoys the story in the app Link! Like! Love Live! as well.
Thoughts on Standing on the Stage You’ve Been Watching
The mini-album release event is scheduled for April 21st at Toyosu PIT, and the opening live event is set for June 4th at Pacifico Yokohama. Please share your enthusiasm for these events.
Tsukine: Since I used to be in the audience watching live performances, I can’t help but wonder, “Can I really stand on such an amazing stage?” I would be happy if people could enjoy Hasunosora through all of us, and Megumi-chan through me.
The six of us have spent a lot of time together, so we understand each other well, but we haven’t been able to meet our supporters except for the debut livestream. At the release commemoration event, I’d like to let people get to know more about us. I hope that they’ll smile and come to like us even more.
The release commemoration event will be your first performance in front of everyone. Are you very nervous?
Tsukine: But we’ve practiced so many times that I feel like we’ve already done the live performance. Am I the only one feeling that way?
(Kan: “Definitely, it’s just you, Konachi!” *Looking at Sasaki, the voice Tsuzuri* Do you feel like you’ve performed already?”) (Sasaki: “Not at all.”)
If you say that, everyone will think you’re a natural on stage.
Tsukine: No way~! It’s just my feelings, only my feelings! Please watch over me warmly without raising the bar too high on the day of the performance (laughs).
Please give a message to everyone.
Tsukine: I hope Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club can become something that many people come to like and know about.
I think you’ll be able to feel the connection between the unique members and us, the cast, in various ways through our livestreams, live performances, events, and the app’s story. I hope everyone can freely enjoy our work in various forms.
We’re going to continue our lessons and keep putting effort in to be able to perform at 100% or more at any given time. We look forward to your support.
