Interview With MICHI
Location: Otakon 2016
Interview Date: 8/12/2016
I had the pleasure of interviewing Michi at this year’s Anime Expo. However, so of the more eagle-eyed readers noticed the picture at the start of the article. That shot, which was from Michi’s Twitter account, was taken at the P.A. Works booth at Otakon. An Anime Herald Easter Egg? Perhaps.
That said, I was able to sit down with her again at Otakon.
I was curious as to whether she had been able to spend some time in Baltimore prior to the convention. Perhaps she checked out some of her favorite sites from The Wire? Alas, she had just flown in from Japan. She wasn’t able to share many thoughts about Baltimore, but she was happy to talk a bit more about her experiences in Los Angeles. She has family out in LA and was happy to have had the chance to visit.
The thing that had struck her most about her Anime Expo performance was just how many of the fans were in cosplay. The American fans were familiar with her work, especially Dagashi Kashi theme song Checkmate?!.
At Otakon, Michi was repping P.A. Works’ new series Kuromukuro, for which she sings the ending theme Realistic.
This was her first time working with the studio, and she was very happy to be a part of their 15th anniversary.
“I am really honored to work with them.” -Michi
She noted that Kuromukuro is their first mecha anime series. I was surprised by that, but it’s the truth. These days, P.A. Works is best known for Shirobako and Angel Beats!, but they’ve handled a wide variety of titles. When I checked out their booth at Otakon, I was struck by the high quality of the art, especially in the backgrounds. I asked the representatives if they had any interest in putting out an artbook, but didn’t get a definitive answer. We do have a bit of their work in the wild, thanks to an art book by animator Kanami Sekiguchi. Despite the middling response, I’m sure that we’ll see more of their work put to the page as time goes on.
I’d like to note that P.A. Works isn’t the only company Michi is working with that is celebrating a major anniversary. Pony Canyon has their 50th anniversary coming up:
Congratulations to them for reaching the big five-o.
At the time of the interview, Michi was working on her first full album. For the record, she focused on songs that showed a strong woman going after her dreams. Given her life experiences, it makes sense for Michi to sing about what she knows. It’s aptly titled Sprint for the Dreams, and will be released September 21st. The limited edition comes with a DVD that shows Michi’s path from Okinawa up to Anime Expo. I should note that the DVD is region 2 (Japan and Europe), but most modern DVD players can handle all regions. Also included is a 40-page artbook, which features a photo shoot from Okinawa.
I was able to watch Michi perform at Otakon and, to be frank, it wasn’t what I expected. I was familiar with the artist’s sound, but not with the depth of her style. She was way more “punk” than any other anime singer I’ve seen. I had to think about how I’d describe her for quite some time. The best I can say is that she’s a mix of Kathleen Hanna and Shiina Ringo. Michi would have been able to hold her own at CBGB.
(For reference, I saw her live at Anime Expo. She showed off her vocal chops and range, but the performance at Otakon was a much more complete experience.)
While she doesn’t know what the future holds for her, Michi would love to return to the US and reconnect with her American fans. Personally, I’d love to see her get a chance to perform in New York, as I’d think she’d enjoy seeing the city. We were able to chat a bit and she shared that when she was growing up in Okinawa, basketball was very popular. She used to enjoy watching the Bulls. That brought back some very painful memories for me. Michi enjoyed Katy Perry’s Super Bowl performance, and she added that she likes watching rugby. Altogether, it appears that Michi is a fairly serious sports fan.
For now, though, Michi is going to focus on supporting Sprint for your Dreams. For those of you in Japan, Michi will be performing at the Pony Canyon 50th anniversary concert on October 9. For the rest of us who can’t make it, there is always Amazon.co.jp and cdjapan.
