Shuka Saito and Akase Akari Bloom in an interview at Cosplay Carnival: Spring Serenade

On March 22 and 23, the whole of Mall of Asia was buzzing with a different kind of vibe. Vibrant wigs, flashy outfits and other eye-catching embellishments were spotted all over the place. That weekend, it would not have been unusual to see Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen), Maomao (Apothecary Diaries) and Sunday (Honkai Star Rail) grabbing a bite at a cafe. White-haired chubby Sakamotos (from Sakamoto Days) were strolling around in their trademark bright yellow shirt and green apron. Several groups of Frieren’s party were seen making their way to a certain place.

Such was the trail created by Cosplay Carnival: Spring Serenade which was held at the SMX Convention Center. Thousands of attendees flocked the event for the love of anime and cosplay. The hall was lined with a lot of merch booths featuring illustrations from homegrown artists and anime merch (action figures, plushies, etc.) – which was a delight for anime fans. The center stage featured various activities like Cosplay Karaoke, Trivia Games and Cosplay Competition.

What made this year’s Cosplay Carnival extra special, however, was the Spring Serenade component. This time, the organizers added the JAM (Japan Anime Music) Concert featuring two lovely artists: Shuka Saito and Akase Akari. Philippine Concerts was one of the lucky few media outlets that got the exclusive interview with them prior to their concert. See highlights below.

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SHUKA SAITO

Making her entrance in a crimson long-sleeved tulle dress, matched with white platform sneakers and long socks, Shuka Saito was striking in person. The petite and cheery singer was all smiles for the media. Soft-spoken as she was, her answers were succinct yet insightful.

Shuka Saito started her career as a singer and voice actress during her teenage years. When she was a highschool student, she snagged the role of You Watanabe in the popular anime mixed media series Love Live! Sunshine!! which became her platform to get recognized by fans worldwide. She had also provided voice acting for anime shows including Oresuki and Wonder Egg Priority and video games including Phantasy Star Online and Granblue Fantasy. In 2019, she made her debut as a solo artist, releasing her debut album titled “Patchwork”.

Philippine Concerts asked her, “What do you love most about being a singer and a voice actress?”

“It’s the ability to convey different emotions, whether it is as a voice actress or a singer,” she said.

Shuka Saito has a significant following in the Philippines, and she was aware that her fans wanted to see her here. When she received the invitation to be part of the event, she was surprised. It made her very happy.

In the same manner, it seems that the Philippines also made a significant impact on her. Having landed in the country just a day before the event, she excitedly told us that she was able to go around for a bit and she saw a lot of things she liked. She even said she wanted to live here.

We also discovered some more fun facts about her. First, despite her energetic aura on stage, she shared that she had a rather introverted side to her during her rest days as she prefers to just relax and laze around.

Second, even though she has been a singer for a long time, she still gets nervous before every performance. During her pre-show routine, she always makes it a point to pray to God for a successful performance.

Lastly, she credits curry rice as her #1 energizer. (Her face lit up when she said this.)

So moving forward, what is her dream? Shuka Saito did not provide a specific project or role, but her goal is far-reaching: she said she wants to perform in different parts of the world.

As parting words, Shuka Saito told us that she was very excited to meet her fans and she hoped that her performance would energize them. She also hopes to come back here again.

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AKASE AKARI

Known as the singer of “Koi on Yukue”, the ending song for the anime My Dress Up Darling, Akase Akari was chosen as one of the performers for Cosplay Carnival’s Spring Serenade JAM Concert. The singer entered the room as Marin Kitagawa, the protagonist of the anime. She got Marin’s main points down a T – the long blonde hair with pinkish ombre tips, the white blouse with the blue tie, the plaid skirt, and the dark pink eyes. Beyond that, Akase and Marin also shared one important trait: the immense passion for the craft of cosplaying.

One quick Google search and you could easily tell that Akase Akari is a cosplay aficionado, and she excels at it, too. Some of her popular cosplays include Kamisato Ayaka and Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact, Makima from Chainsaw Man, and Himmel from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. During the interview, she offered many insights about her favorite anime titles, cosplay principles, and her goals.

Philippine Concerts asked, “You cosplayed a lot of different anime characters in your career. Who is your favorite so far and why?”

“My favorite is Nino Nakano, from Gotoubun No Hanayome” (English title: Quintessential Quintuplets),” she responded. Although she loves all the characters she has cosplayed, she loves Nino Nakano so much that her room is filled with posters of her. (In the story, Nino Nakano is known as the strong-willed and sharp-tongued sister in the quintuplets.)

We also asked, “Are there any other characters you wish to cosplay soon?”

Akase Akari replied, “The first character that I actually liked was Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail.” She told us she wanted to try cosplaying her, too. (Erza Scarlet is one of the strongest female characters in the anime. She has red hair and she wears an armored suit.)

When she was asked which anime character she would like to cosplay and perform on stage as, her immediate response was Haruhi Suzumiya singing “God Knows”, referring to it as one of the shows she liked when she was very young. The anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was a huge hit when it was released in 2006, at which time Akase would have been around 5 years old. (The scene she was referring to is the one where Haruhi performed in a bunny costume as the lead vocalist of ENOZ during the school’s Cultural Festival.)

Judging from her answers, one could easily recognize that she is indeed the real deal: a true-blue otaku/anime fan. (To add to this, she also has an affinity for tsundere characters as the characters she mentioned above fall under that trope.)

Akase Akari shared that she decided to start cosplaying and singing mainly because of her love for anime. She was not influenced by a specific person. As for choosing which character to dress up as, she said she goes with titles and characters she likes, regardless of their gender.

When she was chosen as the singer for the ending song of My Dress Up Darling, she fondly recalled that it came as a surprise to her. Upon the revelation, she was so thrilled about it that she ended up reading the manga again.

Her passion for cosplaying has led her to become extremely detail-oriented. During the shoot for the music video for “Koi No Yukue”, which was also her debut song, she narrated that she was ecstatic to give her inputs to the production team by specifying which parts to highlight and even created her own wigs and make-up.

Akase Akari also revealed that she was very nervous about performing live for a face-to-face crowd for the first time. Up until then, she had only done video streamings for a virtual crowd. However, her anxiety was dispelled when she saw everyone was having fun while she was on stage. “Different from video streaming, when you’re doing live, you can see the audience’s feedback directly. So that was really great to see. So I thought it was really nice to have a live performance,” she explained.

The concert that evening was her first time performing in the Philippines. Trivia: As it turned out, Akase Akari has a familiar bond with our country. When she was in elementary school, she had a Filipino friend. Whenever she visited her house, she would get to eat Filipino food.

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As per Cosplay PH, the organizers of the series of cosplay events in the Philippines (including Cosplay Carnival, Cosplay Mania, and FanFes), they plan to feature more Japanese artists in their JAM Concert series. Who could be next?