22/7 (pronounced "Nanabun no Nijyuuni") is a project that has been in production for quite a while but may have flown under your radar.  Three of the eleven members made the trek to last year’s Anime Expo and this year they find themselves at Crunchyroll Expo. They’ve released a total of four singles and come early 2020 will have their anime premiere.  Today we find ourselves spending time with California native Sally Amaki (voice of Sakura Fujima), Ruri Umino (voice of Jun Toda), and Kanae Shirosawa (voice of Akane Maruyama) to learn a little more about the group and their histories.

Photographer and questions: Brian Lee
Translation and proofreading: Ally McWilliams

Q: Many of your fans love how sentimental your music is. Do you have strong reactions yourselves?

Amaki: I feel that our lyrics are relatable and a lot of people can find things in common with them.  We’re a voice-acting idol group so we take acting lessons too. Those lessons help connect us to how we act on stage. We also have a meeting before every performance and talk about the lyrics and the story behind it. We share our thoughts with each other so we can have a common concept of the stage that we want to create.

Umino: In our live performances, we have a chance to dance and sing on stage. There are times when we relate to the song too much and have actually started crying mid-song. During those performances, I feel like our emotions spill out.

Shirosawa: We do get emotional during performances but each member has their understanding of the lyrics so it is very interesting. On the surface, it can be happy lyrics but others might see them as sad lyrics. That’s a fascinating part of our performances.

Q: Each of you plays a different character in the group. How much can you relate to your character and if not, do you grow into your character?

Amaki: I play Sakura Fujima. Two of the things similar between us are that we are both from Los Angeles and both know how to figure skate. Other than that, personality-wise, we're very different: Sakura is bright and energetic 24/7 while I have a hard time making friends, talking to people, and talking backstage. Unlike Sakura, I get very nervous but I look up to her. On our television show, Keisanchu, I feel like I can live through her for a different lifestyle.

Umino: Sally just mentioned our television show but that show actually has no script. We have to act upon what we think the character is like and try to think what the character is thinking. I try to be very bright on the show. At other times I try to be very straightforward and say what I like and what I do not like. Of course, I get mad when it doesn’t seem right. I try to portray my feelings more on the show.

Q: Do you channel yourself through the character then?

Umino: I tried to create more emotions, so I do my best to act like my character while also showing my true feelings. As a matter of fact, we, the actresses, have our own television show and because we act like our characters so much tend to act like our characters in real life as well.

Shirosawa: The character that I play, Akane Maruyama, is very calm. I try to make myself calmer, sit properly instead of slouching and try to make my real life like hers so I can stay in character.

Q: When the project first started live streaming and virtual YouTubers were still fairly new. What was your reaction after you were told you would be acting and entering that new field of work?

Amaki: When we first started as virtual YouTubers, as you said, there weren’t that many virtual YouTube channels. We couldn’t look at other channels to see how we should act as virtual YouTubers. We had a meeting with the staff to discuss the characters we were playing so we wouldn’t go off of the character setting. A lot of the time virtual YouTubers only have a light script, not set-in-stone like in anime, so someone could ad-lib things the character wouldn’t normally say.  We had to sit down and talk about how the characters would act and what they would or wouldn’t say, that kind of thing.

Shirosawa: When I was given the role of a virtual YouTuber I had never actually played a role as a character before. Knowing that I can grow with this character step by step made me very happy and excited about what the future entailed for us.

Umino: Virtual YouTubers in Japan are extremely popular. I was surprised to learn that I will not be the one watching but instead be the one acting backstage.

Q: Your group has done a lot of promotions and events since you started but the anime itself hasn’t started yet. Now that it’s close to airing how do you feel about it?

Amaki: From the very start, the group’s goal was to have the anime air. It’s been a little more than three years since that announcement and ever since then we really wanted the anime to be broadcasted. Now that it is finally happening, people oftentimes think that the anime was the end goal. For us, the anime is a starting point so that more people will know who we are. As a voice-acting idol group, I feel like the anime could be a turning point for the entire group and we’re really excited about that.

Umino: There has been nothing released for the anime except for the visuals and a little footage of the characters. I hope that everyone will like the character for who they are and what their character entails. We are not that popular and many think that we are just idols but I would like everyone to know that we are voice actors too.

Shirosawa: When we auditioned for the role, the characters were already created and we had to see how to portray them. I was very happy when I heard that there was going to be an anime too. There are a lot of popular idol anime groups and I hope we do simply blend in but become more famous. I don’t want to lose to them.

Q: Were anime or idol fans before you got into this line of work? Who or what series inspires you and who do you inspire to be like?

Amaki: A lot of our members were idol fans, anime fans, or both. I’ve always been a fan of Hello Project, Buono!, Berryz Koubou, and the 48 groups. The very first anime that got me into voice acting is Gintama. It really inspired me and I love anime in general so I really got into it. Maybe one day I will be like Gintoki (the protagonist of Gintama).

Umino: I liked both anime and idols before joining 22/7. I am a fan of Matsui Rena from SKE48. As for anime, I like Inuyasha, particularly Sango. I also like Maki Nishikino from Love Live!

Shirosawa: For idols, I really like Keyakizaka46. For anime, I love action titles from the Jump line. Right now I like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Q: Is it surreal to see yourselves singing and dancing as your virtual selves? Is it an out-of-body experience when you see yourselves dancing and hear your voice? Do you feel disconnected?

Amaki: I don’t look at my character as myself but instead look at Sakura more like my daughter. I want what’s best for her. For the music video and everything else, we wear motion capture suits and it captures our posture too. If I’m slouching, Sakura will slouch too, and I don’t want my daughter to be slouching. I make sure to walk around the set with the best posture ever and practice the dance so people will think Sakura is good at dancing. It is an out-of-body experience because whatever you do is onscreen but in a different fictional form. As an anime lover, that’s really exciting.

Umino: Whenever my character shows up, I’m like, “Oh that’s my daughter, she’s so cute!” and I end up apologizing. When she messes up I apologize on her behalf. I’m also an idol fan and I cheer her on and I’m like, “There you go, my girl, you’re on the stage.”  Another thing is that I will listen to the voice and think, “Oh, do I sound like the character? Do I not sound like the character? Maybe next time I’ll try to sound more like the character.” I’ll think about it and reflect on how my character appears to me.

Shirosawa: I also share the same feelings as Sally and Ruri about how I view the character as my daughter. I never actually felt like the character on-screen is myself; instead, I see her as my very cute daughter on screen.

So there you have it.  A group of voice-acting idols who also happen to be idol parents.  The next chapter of 22/7's story is set to begin soon so don't wait too long to get on board!  This is one of the few groups who have really made strides to be accessible to their fans.  The girls go as far as to do live streams where they just chat with viewers for a few hours straight.  With Sally Amaki spearheading their overseas efforts there's a lot for even us English-only speakers to come to like.  Please visit http://www.nanabunnonijyuuni.com/ for more information and keep your eyes peeled for the 2020 anime season.  If we're lucky we might even witness an overseas concert or two in the future.  

Thanks to Crunchyroll, Aniplex, and Sony Music for this opportunity.  

Stay tuned for our thoughts on Sakura Fujima's virtual hi-touch!