The TV anime "My Dress-up Darling" (My Dress-up Darling Koi) is based on the popular manga by Shinichi Fukuda, which was serialized in "Young Gangan" (Square Enix). Season 2, the first new TV anime in about three years since Season 1 aired from January to March 2022, is currently airing on TOKYO MX, BS11, and other stations, and popular character Inui Shinju will be making a comeback in episode 21, "I'm Not Going to Sleep Tonight," which aired on August 30th. For Hina Yomiya, who plays Shinju, "My Dress-up Darling" has become a special work. We spoke to Hitsujimiya about her thoughts on "My Dress-up Darling" and the recording of Season 2.
◇ I was saved when I met Kokoro-chan
"My Dress-up Darling" is a romantic comedy that depicts the love story between Gojo Niina, a high school boy who is training to become a head maker (kashirashi) who makes faces for Hina dolls, and Kitagawa Marin, a gal who loves anime and games and is interested in cosplay. The original work began serialization in "Young Gangan" in 2018, and the final episode was published in the 7th issue of the magazine, released on March 21st, bringing the curtain down on the approximately 7-year serialization.
Shinju, played by Hitsujimiya, is the younger sister of the beautiful cosplayer "Juju" Inui Sajuna. In contrast to her sister, she is shy and takes photos of her sister's cosplay.
Hitsujimiya is a popular voice actress who has appeared in shows such as "The Dangers in My Heart," "The Shoshimin Series," and "BanG Dream! It's My GO!!!!!," but she was a newcomer when she appeared in Season 1 of "My Dress-up Darling." "My Dress-up Darling" was also the first time she passed an audition.
"Until then, I had made it to the final selection, but never to the final one. Every time I was rejected, I thought to myself that this was just the way life was, and felt frustrated. I lived by the feeling that if I kept trying, my dreams might come true, so when I was selected for the role of Kokoro-chan, it really felt like a dream. This production made me realize that it's important to keep trying hard and to stick to what you love, because you love it. I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't come across ' My Dress-up Darling'. I'm truly grateful. I'll never forget that audition."
For Hitsujimiya, "My Dress-up Darling" was a work that marked a turning point.
"My Dress-up Darling is a special work. It's a work that values what you love, and it makes you realize that love is such a sparkling thing! Love can also be a source of strength. I've had my share of frustrations, but I continued to be a voice actor despite that. There's no guarantee that I'll make it, but I've continued doing it because I love it. At the beginning of Season 1, Kokoro was afraid that her older sister would dislike her, and didn't have the courage to cosplay. I too have worried about what others think of me, and have been afraid of being disliked, so there were moments during Season 1 when I identified with Kokoro's feelings. Meeting Kokoro allowed me to draw on all the feelings I had up until then, which I needed to play her, so it felt like my life up until that point had been saved."
◇Changes in vocalization: First experience
Season 2 was the first new anime in about three years, and it was a long-awaited new work for Hitsujimiya.
"Originally, the project was planned to be just Season 1, and I never thought I'd get to play Kokoro-chan again. I was willing to wait as long as it took, and I felt like a dream come true! When I made my debut, I was unfamiliar with the role and wasn't good at speaking mentally either, so I was able to play Kokoro-chan smoothly just by putting my emotions into it. This time, it was fine to put my emotions into it, but the difficult part was figuring out how to convey those emotions in Kokoro-chan's voice."
Over the past three years, Hitsujimiya has grown and changed as she has played a variety of roles. However, the time in the show is not exactly three years. Season 1 and Season 2 are connected in spirit.
"My voice has changed since Season 1. I've become more comfortable using my stomach muscles and I've been working on my natural vocal muscles, so my first note ends up being stronger than Kokoro's. In Season 1, I had to be conscious of making my voice sound stronger, but if I did that now, I'd sound like a pushy girl. In Season 2, I deliberately softened my pronunciation a little so that I could sing like Kokoro. When I respond to the other person's acting, I end up sounding too forceful, so I had to switch my voice in my head so that I wouldn't sound too forceful while still responding. Rather than trying to be the character as the character, I had to objectively be Kokoro. The person I was when I passed the audition is different from the person I am now, so I had no choice but to do it that way. It was a new experience for me."
You say your "vocalization has changed," but what has changed?
"As a vocalist, I've been training my stomach so that my voice won't get drowned out by the instruments. I also train my throat muscles. There are falsetto, mixed voice, and natural voice, and if I were to describe my voice musically, it would be falsetto. I tried to train my natural voice muscles so that it wouldn't get drowned out. I was able to produce mixed voice, but my normal speaking voice became lower. Kokoro-chan's voice comes out with a soft breath, but after training my natural voice muscles, it became harder to produce, and although it's hard to explain in words, it sometimes sounds painful. It was very difficult to make a trained voice sound like it wasn't trained. If the character's voice changed, it would sound completely different, so I tried not to change that."
At the recording site, I worked together with sound director Akiko Fujita to try to express Shinju.
"When Kokoro-chan talks about the things she likes, I imagine a fluffy world, like she's in a flower field. It's a flower field, but it doesn't have to be perverted. It's cute without being gross, but not just cute. I want to convey that I like it, but I can't be pushy. Fujita-san's direction also included the word 'flower field.' I wanted to incorporate Fujita-san's direction exactly as it was, but it was difficult to express it with my current voice... Fujita-san understood that, and I was very particular about the recording. It was frustrating, but it doesn't end there. Everyone on set worked with me to create the character, and I was able to live as Kokoro-chan. I was happy to be able to live as Kokoro-chan."
Hitsujimiya smiles and says, "In Season 1, there were still a lot of things I wasn't used to, and I didn't know what kind of attitude I should have on set, but I think I'm more relaxed now than I was back then, and I was able to open up to everyone." Hitsujimiya has grown and changed, and he played Shinju with special feeling. We hope you'll keep an eye out for his performance in Season 2.
