original:https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASTBS2W32TBSUCVL06YM.html?iref=subscribe_done
Interviewer: Takumi Terui
The Asahi Shimbun is one of Japan's national newspapers, published by the Asahi Shimbun, with a circulation second only to the Yomiuri Shimbun. On October 26, the Asahi Shimbun published an interview with the voice actress Takamori Nazumi, who plays Kokoro Shigure/Cure Kyun Kyun in "You and Idol Pretty Cure".
Natsumi Takamori's "Kimi to Kirakki Ran Ran"rotten
A monthly series "Kimi to Kirakki Ran Ran" where the cast of the currently airing anime "Kimi to Idol Precure♪" (ABC TV/TV Asahi Network, Sunday 8:30 AM) shares their thoughts. For the end of October, it's Natsumi Takamori, who plays Shiame Kokoro, the girl who transforms into Cure Kyun Kyun.
Kokoro is stoic about dance and is also the number one fan of the Idol Precure. Recently, she has been showing various expressions. First, let's start with the behind-the-scenes story of that episode where she showed an unexpected side...
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Shall I tease him a bit!
I feel that as the KimiPuri episodes have surpassed 30, the range of emotions Kokoro-chan can express has expanded.
The staff, including Series Director Chiaki Kon, accept the things we voice actors freely bring to the role. I think it's because we've gradually come to understand, over time, that it's such a supportive, open-minded set.
For example, if I ask, "Maybe this line should be changed a bit?", sometimes they ask me back, "What would Kokoro say?"
Oh, so it's okay for me to think about it? It's okay for me to think about Kokoro. That realization was quite significant for me.
I started thinking, based on my own free image of Kokoro, that I didn't want to limit her emotions or what she could do.
In Episode 31 "The Idol Precure Center⁉" (aired September 7), there was a scene where Kokoro asks the fairy Zachlin, "By that logic, are you a Cure Wink fan, Zachlin?" It was a scene where Kokoro teases Zachlin, who won't honestly say he's a Wink fan.
When I saw the broadcast, I was surprised to see for the first time that Kokoro-chan was provoking Zachlin with such a cute face, that she makes this kind of expression. During the dubbing stage, we often record while looking at the unfinished screen, so I hadn't seen Kokoro-chan's expression in this scene until it aired.
The stage directions for this line didn't specifically say "tease." There was also the option to ask in a more straightforward, matter-of-fact tone.
However, I felt that the accumulation of episodes up to that point had solidly built their relationship.
Zachlin was once a member of the Chokkiri Gang and stole the Kirarira from Kokoro's mother. For Kokoro, if she wanted to dislike him, there were plenty of opportunities to do so.
But Zachlin himself got his Kirarira back. Kokoro-chan has a straightforward side to her, and now she accepts Zachlin as a comrade and works hard with him on fan club activities.
Also, among the cast members participating in KimiPuri, starting with Mr. Setsuji Sato who plays Zachlin, everyone has a sense of "playfulness" in their acting. I sometimes feel that if we were just being serious, we might lose out in some aspects.
Within that accumulation, I thought, "Maybe Kokoro-chan can tease Zachlin?" So, I tried saying that line in a tone that teased Zachlin.
There hadn't been a scene before where Kokoro provokes someone, but I decided, "Let's try teasing Zachlin!" (laughs)
Sometimes, Mr. Kon and the others accept such challenges with an open heart and use them as is. Thanks to that, I think Kokoro's range of emotions appears broader.
I'm glad I performed that way in an environment where I'm allowed to do things freely.
It comes full circle here
I deeply feel that "nothing is unconnected."
I also feel a connection regarding my "oshi" (favorite) and the role of Kyun Kyun. Haven't I talked about my oshi before?
Last time, did I only talk about Mr. Soji Itao? Ahahahaha (laughs).
From late elementary school until around middle school, I was a huge fan of "Morning Musume." and Ami Suzuki.
Back then, it was the audition boom. I watched "ASAYAN" (TV Tokyo network) too, and I'd record music shows, learn the choreography, and sing and dance with my friends.
I even took the Morning Musume audition with a friend. The first time I ever went to Tokyo in my life was for that.
The result was that I failed in the first round of selection at the Tokyo venue. But that gave me a sense that the dream "I want to be an idol" had reached a conclusion within me. It didn't become a dream I wanted to fulfill as an adult.
From there, I became a voice actor, and now, I've been blessed with this connection to the role of Cure Kyun Kyun. I think it's truly amazing.
Among all the Pretty Cure series works, for me to become a Pretty Cure in "KimiPuri," which has an idol motif.
When I was cast in this role after the audition, I was quietly moved, thinking, "My childhood admiration is being fulfilled here."
I also feel a strange connection in the fact that active idols have told me they like Kyun Kyun.
The other day, I appeared on the podcast program "Wasuta's Nyandeful Radio!" (distributed on the YouTube channel "ABC Radio Podcast," etc.) by the idol group "Wasuta (The World Standard)."
I was invited because member Ruka Mishina is a Kyun Kyun fan.
Before recording, Mishina-san said, "There's no water, is there?" and went outside the studio to get water for me. Ririka Kodama also kept telling me how much Mishina-san loves Kyun Kyun.
Huh, I can become their fan...? I might end up liking them~~? That's how I felt.
I had never directly heard what people active as idols thought about watching KimiPuri. Being able to hear how they enjoy it was very interesting and fun.
I had never directly heard what people active as idols thought about watching KimiPuri. Being able to hear how they enjoy it was very interesting and fun.
I felt "happily embarrassed" that they loved Kyun Kyun so much.
It's all connections
Personally, I have the confidence that I love Kyun Kyun the most. When I see Kyun Kyun being supported like this or receiving cheers, it makes me happy.
However, that is ultimately the character being supported.
I'm the type who thinks that even when singing character songs at live performances as a voice actor, there's no need for any element of me, Natsumi Takamori as a person, to be there.
On October 18th, there's the live "Kimi to Idol Precure♪ LIVE2025 You＆I＝We're IDOL PRECURE" at Pacifico Yokohama. By the time this article is distributed, the live might already be over.
I will also stand on the stage alongside Kyun Kyun and the other Idol Precure. It's a strange feeling. I always thought, "Don't look at me, look at the Pretty Cure."
But this time, I was told, "We want you to stand on stage with the feeling that not only the Pretty Cure on stage, but we voice actors are also Pretty Cure."
Indeed, unlike what I worry about, children are very flexible, and they probably won't look at me and think, "What is this adult?" When an Idol Precure song plays, that alone makes them enjoy it to the fullest, singing and dancing.
Small children might not yet understand the feeling of having an "oshi," but I feel that within young children, the feeling of "I love this" coexists with "I want to be this." Emotions that we graduated from as adults still exist within them.
With the mindset of believing in those children who love Kyun Kyun so purely and "want to be Kyun Kyun," I am now resolved to stand on that stage.
Kyun Kyun made my dream come true. Of course, I didn't become an idol myself, but I think it's a way of fulfilling a dream unique to being a voice actor.
Even things that seem far apart at first glance, nothing is wasted. I truly feel that everything is connected by bonds.