#hirarin

Hosted Panel Questions

Q: So is this your first time in LA? H: Yes Q: First time coming to America, right? H: Yes Q: So we can say that you came specifically for us? H: Of course!

Q: ?? H: I was really happy to see all of the cosplays here.

Q: Are you more of a dog or a cat person? H: Neko! Q: Why do you like cats more? H: I have 2 cats and they are my children. Their names are Tororo and Komu (unsure of names/spellings sorry;;/)

Q: Are you a good swimmer? (Free! reference question) H: I can swim pretty well and in different styles, including butterfly ;) Q: Were you on a team for swimming at school? H: No. (He said something about a club but I missed it)

Q: Have you ever broken into spontaneous song and dance in public? H: No *laughs* Do people really do that? Audience says yes and he raises arms cheerfully surprised.

Q: Please tell us the reason you became a seiyuu. H: I used to love American TV Shows such as A-Team and ??. So when I found out that the voices dubbing the live action was the same as those for animation, I thought this job was interesting. I also used to want to be a kindergarten teacher and entertain kids. So when I do voice acting, I can also reach my goal of entertaining kids.

Q: Do you prefer gaining skills for swordsmanship or for gunsmanship? H: I prefer swordsmanship. I have tried ?? [a type of choreographed swordsplay] before and it was really tough but also interesting.

Q: Do you also travel often outside of Japan? (JoJo reference question) H: I do when I get invited to events and conventions, but I have never traveled at my leisure. I especially have never been to Egypt. Q: Where would you like to travel? H: Australia. And New Zealand because I have played the voice of Legolas.

Audience Q&A Session (I apologize that I actually had a hard time catching the questions so I mostly only have the answers given by Hirarin)

(Question about favorite role) H: I love all of my characters but my favorite role was Legolas.

(Question about visiting Canada for 100th year celebration?) H: I would like to visit Canada someday. And also do snowboarding while there.

(Question about behind the scenes of otome guy roles, ie DiaLovers etc and if the lines are ever embarassing to him to say) H: If I have to say those lines for myself, it would be very embarassing. However, as long as it is for a character, it is ok.

(Question about favorite current American TV Show) [I missed the answer due to some noise]

(Casual Cardia cosplay asked a question about playing roles of Earls vs normal people? - Could not clearly hear) H: Just because the character is an Earl, it doesn’t change their core character. So each character has a different personality I try to portray and bring forth from their script.

Q: Do you like singing roles?

H: I do like singing as a character and I try my best to stay in character as I sing.

Q: Do you enjoy recording as your characters? H: It is very difficult and to keep my voice in character as well. But it is a fun challenge.

(Question about Free or JoJo?) H: We have specific seating arrangements for each production. So we have fun and chat before and after the recording but during is all professional mode.

(Question about food or what has he done in America?) H: In N’ Out

(Question about JoJo with spoilers - How do you handle all the different ranges of emotions?) H: Kakyoin is very important to me. It is a character that a lot of people love too. I was really nervous before the recording trying to figure out how to perform such a scene and didn’t figure it out until the end. So when I recorded that scene, because I was with Dio, Kakyoin’s lines just came out from me. So I found that it is important to listen to the other actors to determine my own acting.

(San Cosplayer asks about personal role model or motto for himself) H: I don’t have any personal role model but my motto is ?? [simple explanation is: The taller the wheat grows, it bends]. So even if I get more popular and famous, I want to stay humble and hardworking with everyone.

~~ I missed a few questions since some kind of concert or dance started up next door and the rooms are divided by thin panel walls ~~

(Question about new Free!) H: New Free! will be about Rei and Nagisa protecting the swimming club, maybe? I don’t knot much about the story but I look forward to acting for it.

(Question about chara in DiaLovers?) H: Do-S, Hentai, and ??: These are the 3 points I needed to be focused on. I feel like the more I did this character, the more...Do-M he actually feels..?

So Hirarin is introduced by the fangirling hostess and he arrived dressed in a grey cardigan over a striped shirt!  Very cute and delicate-looking.  He seemed excited and happy to be here and said so himself.  My first impression of him is that he seemed very understated and either my old ears are dying or the sound system was poor, but he was VERY hard to hear.  He spoke softly and carefully.  His translator also spoke very softly, so it really was hard to hear everything said.

An interesting note that I feel worth mentioning is that the host requested the audience that during the Q&A, people refrain from asking Hirakawa anything about his personal relationships.  They also asked that people not request Hirarin to re-enact a certain voice or character.  I thought that was interesting since as a veteran attendee of various panels at AX and San Diego Comic-Con, I never had a host request these type of restrictions before.  

Here are some highlights dug from my tired memory after 3 straight days Expo-ing.  They will not be in perfect order or 100% accurate, so please bear with me.

-Hirarin explained the path that lead him to becoming an accomplished seiyuu.  He originally wanted to be a kindergarten teacher and enjoys taking care of and entertaining children.  He feels very fortunate that during his career as a seiyuu, he gets to accomplish exactly that- entertaining young people.

-He was a big fan of American TV shows like A-Team and Greatest American Hero.  He was fascinated over the voice-overs that dubbed his favorite foreign series, so he decided to explore becoming a seiyuu and the rest is history.  He was surprised that we even remember these series.  Heck, I’m about the same age as you, Hirarin, of course some of us remember!

-This is his first time in Los Angeles and first time in America.

-He mentioned that LA weather is nice and sunny, but can't get over how dry the air is here compared to humid Japan.  He's been chugging water all weeked to say hydrated and take care of his throat.

-He'd also like to visit Australia and New Zealand one day.  He'd love to see the sights filmed in Lord of the Rings series, which was filmed in NZ.  He is fond of this series since he voiced Legolas in the Japanese dub.

-When asked, his favorite role is that of Legolas.

-He did some sight-seeing and visited Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Paramount Pictures Studios.  He found the studio tour very interesting and was fascinated with the huge and numerous sets.

-His favorite/ most memorable meal that he tried here was In-n-Out Burger!  They asked if he tried their animal fries and he said yes.  He even pantomimed picking up fries one after another and eating them!  Cute!

-He was asked whether he was a dog or cat person.  "Neko!" was his answer.  He has 2 cats named Tororo and Konbu.  He considers them his children.

-He was asked if there was a certain role he wished he had and regretted not getting.  He was very respectful and did not name a role.  He mentions that there so many talented seiyuus out there and he just does his best in any role given to him.

-He was asked how he was able to switch from his seductive lovey-sweet otome roles to bastard type "bitch-chan" (reference to his Laito character in Diabolik Lovers) roles and if he was ever embarrased over the cringey lines that he's forced to act.  Hirarin answers that as long as he is playing a character, it's okay and not embarrasing to speak such lines.  He wouldn't dare do such things in real life!

-He was asked about his role as Rei in Free!  He mentions enjoying voicing Rei and being delighted that the series is continuing with its movies.  He says that the upcoming movie sequel may cover Haru's time after high school as a swimming competitor.  Hirarin then backtracks and says he may be wrong, and maybe the movie will cover his time in high school.  He concludes that he's not sure, hasn't been told anything for sure and we'll just have to find out!

-He was in the swimming club in high school and could do all the strokes, even the butterfly, just like Rei!

-He was asked whether he had a tendency to break out in song and dance spontaneously, given his roles that requires him to sing.  Hirarin's response was hilarious.  He was shocked and horrified and asks us do people really do this???!!!!  Some of the audience answered in the affirmative and Hirakawa was in utter disbelief and reacted all cutely as if we Americans were weird!

-We got to play jankenpon with Hirarin twice!  Last person standing gets either a signed photograph and a high five from Hirarin or a signed shirt/high-five.  He mentioned he was doing some shopping here and found a touristy shirt and thought it would be nice to give it to an audience member (awww!).  We all had fun and being jealous of the 2 lucky winners.

-The panel concluded when we were asked to pose for a picture with Hirarin.  He turned around and we all gathered around him for pictures.  The picture is supposed to end up on Facebook or Twitter somewhere, but I haven't seen it yet.

It really was a delightful panel, though I was frustrated that halfway through the event, obnoxious noise and pounding music from a neighboring panel made things very hard to hear.  Hirakawa's lovely voice was already soft, so the unwelcome noise was really a downer.