Interview With Mari Iijima
Location: Anime Expo 2017
Interview Date: 7/3/2017
I actually had to stop myself from typing “Interview with Lynn Minmay”. Lynn Minmay is a fictional character. Mari Iijima, on the other hand, is a singer/songwriter/producer with 25 albums to her name and a 26th on the way. If not for Lynn Minmay, though, Iijima’s career may have been entirely different. Let’s start back at the beginning, when Iijima was an aspiring pianist.
Mari Iijima was a student at the Kunitachi College of Music, an elite private institution in Tokyo. During her time at the institution, Iijima had studied under numerous prestigious instructors, such as Shuko Sugitani, Daniel Adni, and Meiko Miyazawa. Iijima was considering continuing her studies in Germany when she performed for Shuko Sugitani. Sugitani suggested that Iijima showed much more joy when performing her own music, rather than that of Ludwig van Beethoven.
“Please note that I like Beethoven, but I was very serious when I played his music. I was much more free when playing my own.” -Mari Iijima
Taking Sugitani’s advice, Iijima forsook further education and decided to pursue a career as a musician, signing with JVC Victor. JVC recommended her to the producers of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. She tried out, and was selected for the role of Lynn Minmay. This was her first time working as a voice actress.
“I never aspired to be a voice actress. I never thought of it.” -Mari Iijima
The show was an enormous success, which put Iijima into the public sphere. Here first album, Rosé, was released the following year (1983). Of note to me is the jazzy opening song, Blueberry Jam. A subtle nod to fellow Kunitachi alum Yōsuke Yamashita?
The success of Macross was double-edged, though:
“I was overwhelmed by the fame. People thought I was complaining, which was unusual for Japanese women. I was bashed a lot.” -Mari Iijima
That didn’t slow the pace of her songwriting or recording, as she produced fourteen more albums from 1984-1998. Sadly, on Thanksgiving day 1999, Warner let Iijima know that they were cutting her loose.
“It was the end of the bubble. A lot of medium artists got squeezed.” -Mari Iijima
That wasn’t going to stop her, though. The loss of Warner meant that Iijima no longer had to appease a corporate overlord. She formed her own label and released No Limit, which earned her a nomination for Best Pop Artist at the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards. She maintained her frenetic pace, releasing three more albums from 2001-2004.
In 2006, Iijima released Uncompromising Innocence under the label Marimusic. It contained her treatise on love versus sex, Broken Computer.
Iijima’s currently planning a major concert at Tokyo’s Hakuju Hall on January 6th, to celebrate the release of her 26th album. She’ll also be performing ballet (another of her skills) for the audience. This will be her 10th consecutive year performing at Hakuju Hall, and her 35th year as a professional.
If you’d like to see Iijima live before then, she’ll be performing at the Macross 35th Anniversary celebration.
“I have no hard feelings for Macross or Minmay.” -Mari Iijima
I was able to see Iijima perform at Anime Expo. Before she started, she did a surprise Q&A with the audience. It’s unclear if Iijima misheard a questioner asking about her boots, but her answer was an all-time classic:
“Where did you get yours boots?” -Audience
“You want to know about my boobs? I don’t have any. Oh, my boots. They’re 20 years old.”
-Mari Iijima
The performance itself was lovely and a reminder that her skills are still in full effect. It wasn’t her first performance at Anime Expo though, as she had performed songs from No Limit at the convention in 1999. It was a long eighteen year gap between AX appearances for Iijima. For Iijima, that eighteen year gap seemed like an eternity, dotted with moments of dejection.
“I heard some rumors as to why I wasn’t invited back to Anime Expo. I felt a bit sad and isolated, watching all the Japanese singers I know perform there.” -Mari Iijima
In terms of her current work, Iijima’s perspective has changed a little bit:
“Silence has become more important to me.” -Mari Iijima
That’s not to say she hasn’t kept up with the music scene. She liked Haim’s performance on Saturday Night Live, as well as some of the current Brit Pop scene.
Iijima takes pride in her ballet skills, but that doesn’t stop her from branching out into other sports. She’s also a pretty big fan of both the Lakers and the Dodgers. I asked her to choose between them, and she could not.
“If you ask me Lakers or Clippers. Of course the clear answer is the LAKERS!” -Mari Iijima
The Dodgers are on their way to another trip to the playoffs, but we’ll see if they can snag the pennant. As for the Lakers, their future is brighter than it has been in years.
You can follow Mari Iijima on Instagram, Facebook, or through her website.
In addition to her upcoming album, Iijima’s also working on a book. By the way, for those of you who clicked on her Facebook or Instagram, the terrier is a rescue named Yuuki. You may also have seen some photos of a rabbit, appropriately named Bunny. Iijima wore a necklace with Bunny and Yuuki’s names stacked together to our interview, which is how I came to learn their stories.
One final anecdote in closing. Iijima mentioned that her parents are retired dentists. However, their passion for music is very strong, and one of their favorite activities was to sing karaoke together at home. A home karaoke machine! Mari shared that her brother sings with the Yokohama Choral Society:
“Karaoke may have prevented my parents from fighting.” -Mari Iijima
In Karaoke, there is peace. Let that be a lesson to us all.
Special thanks to Mari Iijima and her assistant Kurumi.
