Fairouz Ai

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Jolyne Cujoh is the bravest, most beautiful, strongest, most loving, and most wonderful person I've come across. My admiration for her hasn't changed in 12 years. I'm really happy to be able to go on this bizarre adventure with her, and I'll put my life into my performance so that I can acquire the same "amazingness" as Jolyne through the recording process.

Fairouz Ai (ファイルーズ あい, Fairūzu Ai)[a] is a Japanese voice actress and singer, affiliated with the Raccoon Dog talent agency, who voices Jolyne Cujoh in the fifth season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, Stone Ocean.

Fairouz Ai is also known for her work on other anime such as being the voice of Manatsu Natsuumi in Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure, Hibiki Sakura in How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, Emily Orange in Kandagawa Jet Girls, Eripiyo in If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Takechiyo in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, Power in Chainsaw Man, Cirno in the Touhou Project series, Kiriko in Overwatch 2, Delta in The Eminence in Shadow, and Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Biography

Fairouz Ai-Kadota was born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an Egyptian father. Her brother, Gihado Kadota (門田 ギハード, Kadota Gihādo), is an athlete who represents Japan in ice climbing competitions.[3] Fairouz was raised in Egypt and studied at the Cairo Japanese School in Giza from fifth grade of elementary school until graduation. According to her, she used to walk to school on the same bridge where Jotaro Kujo and DIO fought in Stardust Crusaders.[4] She would later return to Japan during high school.

After graduating from high school, Fairouz did not immediately start a career in voice acting due to her parents' opposition. She first entered a graphic design school but her desire to become a voice actress rekindled during her third year. She worked as a dental assistant for one year to save money and entered the Profit Voice Actor Training Center, graduating in 2019 and debuting as a nameless female citizen in One Punch Man. In the same year, she starred in the role of Hibiki Sakura in the anime How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?.

In 2020, at the 14th Seiyu Awards, Fairouz Ai won an award in the "New Actress" category for her role as Hibiki Sakura.

Fairouz Ai is fond of drawing, watching horror movies, reading manga such as Prison School, Fist of the North Star, Akagi, and Kaiji, and muscle training. She has a grade 3 certification in Business Skill and a grade 4 certification in Horseback Riding.[5]

On March 31, 2022, Fairouz transferred to the Raccoon Dog talent agency along with several other voice actors from Pro-Fit after Pro-Fit ceased production operations.[6]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Fairouz with Giorno Giovanna's hairstyle and pose

Fairouz has long been a fan of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, particularly Stone Ocean, which she first learned of by reading comments on videos that referenced the series. She began collecting the first five volumes of Stone Ocean during her second year of junior high school because she liked the dramatic art and was fascinated by the female protagonist,[7] though she mistakenly thought it was the first story arc due to the reset volume numbers. She couldn't understand anything but wanted to know more about Jolyne, whom she thought was cool. After reading the second volume of the sixth part, she restarted all the way back to Phantom Blood, and eventually completed the entire set by her freshman year of high school.[8]

Fairouz found it tough to adjust in high school but stayed optimistic and motivated herself by thinking that she wants to be like Jolyne. Being half-Egyptian, Fairouz was really happy when she read Stardust Crusaders as she met several people who told her they liked Egypt because of the manga and anime which featured the country. After making friends with other JoJo fans, they called her Avdol so she would joke that she would bring out Magician's Red.

She participated in an online reading session of the manga through Skype group calls and was praised within her online community for her skill in reading the dialogue out loud, leading her to begin to regularly act out scenes from JoJo. The character of Jolyne has even helped her to stay optimistic while job hunting or working, and inspired her dream to appearing in an anime adaptation of the manga and into her career as a a voice actor. In a 2019 interview, Fairouz stated that she couldn't pull off Jolyne, but would've loved to play a supporting character, like Foo Fighters. Fairouz also stated that if she were to play Jolyne in the future, she would do her best to bring out her "inner Jolyne".[5]

Fairouz jokingly proclaims herself to be a "Jolyne otaku". During her audition for the role, she tied her hair into buns and even brought a Stone Ocean clear folder with pictures of Jolyne and Jotaro for display. Despite her cheerfulness during the audition, she nearly cried while nervously showing her Stone Ocean clear folder to the casting directors.[8] She teared up while recording a scene in the fifth episode of Stone Ocean - where Jotaro tells Jolyne how much he cherishes her as his daughter - saying that as a JoJo fan, she felt Jotaro's unseen kindness in just those lines alone.[9] When asked to describe her role as Jolyne in one word, Fairouz said that "love" would be the most fitting because all of the character's actions stemmed from love, including her resolve, strength and conviction.[8]

Fairouz says that she affiliated herself with the agency Pro-Fit because the teacher of the training center was Yoku Shioya, who voiced Will Anthonio Zeppeli, and that it would help her appear in the anime adaptation. She received her certification in horseback riding after reading Steel Ball Run which inspired her to learn how to ride a horse.[10]

Fairouz Ai had a voice cameo in all three episodes of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan TV drama's second season.

During the recording session for the fight against Viviano Westwood, Fairouz had been yelling out her lines so much that she had to go to the hospital after her throat was found to have various black spots in it. She was diagnosed with internal bleeding, but returned to finish recording her lines not long after. Despite this, her throat healed, making her jokingly comment about her Stamina stat being "A". Fairouz also mentioned that this recording session was the most she has ever screamed in her entire life.[11]

On December 1, 2022, Fairouz Ai posted that she cried after recording the final episode of the Part 6 anime.[12]

Roles

Title Media Year
Stone Ocean Anime 2021-2022
Spotify ANIZONE Radio 2021
ORAORAdio S Radio 2022
Last Survivor Video Game 2022
Monster Strike Video Game 2022
All-Star Battle R Video Game 2022
Puzzle & Dragons Video Game 2022
Title Media Year
Stone Ocean Anime 2021-2022
Last Survivor Video Game 2022
Monster Strike Video Game 2022
All-Star Battle R Video Game 2022
Puzzle & Dragons Video Game 2022
Minor Roles
Role
Title Media Year
All-Star Battle R Video Game 2022
Stone Ocean Anime 2022
Title Media Year
Stone Ocean Anime 2022
Role
Gym member (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 4: The Run)
Drama 2021
Role
Paramedic (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 5: From Behind)
Drama 2021
Role
Village Broadcasting (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 6: Mutsu-kabe Hill)
Drama 2021

Commentary

Link to this sectionCommentary
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the reason why I wanted to become a voice actor, and it is a very important work in my life, so when I found out that I would be appearing in it, it felt like a "shock that would even send my Stand flying to the moon"... I was really speechless and I couldn't stop crying because I was so happy that my dream that I had been chasing for 12 years had come true.

I got a lot of courage from seeing Jolyne's strong and beautiful figure, especially when I was a student. So to have the opportunity to play Jolyne, who I love and admire the most, I am really grateful that I can't describe it in words.

Jolyne Cujoh is the bravest, most beautiful, strongest, most loving, and most wonderful person I've come across. My admiration for her hasn't changed in 12 years. I'm really happy to be able to go on this bizarre adventure with her, and I'll put my life into my performance so that I can acquire the same "amazingness" as Jolyne through the recording process.
「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」は私が声優を目指したきっかけであり、私の人生にはなくてはならないとても大切な作品なので、出演させて頂けることを知った時はまさに「スタンドも月までブッ飛ぶこの衝撃」というか…本当に言葉が出てこなくて、12年間追い続けていた夢が叶ったことの喜びで涙が止まりませんでした。

特に学生時代に、徐倫の強く美しい姿を見てたくさんの勇気をもらっていたので、そんな大好きで1番の憧れである徐倫を演じる機会を頂けて、本当に言葉では形容できないほど感謝の思いでいっぱいです。

空条徐倫は私が今まで出会った中で、世界一勇敢で美しくて強くて愛情深い、素晴らしい人間です。12年前から彼女に対する憧れの気持ちは変わっていません。そんな彼女と一緒に奇妙な冒険ができることが本当にうれしいですし、私もアフレコを通じて、徐倫のような『スゴ味』を身につけられるように、命を込めて演技させて頂きます。[13]

Interviews

# Interview Type Media Published
1 Ultra Jump (November 2021)
Commentary
Magazine
November 19, 2021
2 PASH! Magazine (December 2021)
Interview
Magazine
December 9, 2021
3 Ultra Jump (December 2021)
Interview
Magazine
December 18, 2021
4 Parent-Child Special Talk! Fairouz Ai x Daisuke Ono (March 2022)
Interview
Magazine
March 19, 2022
5 Ultra Jump (May 2022)
Interview
Magazine
May 19, 2022
6 NEXT GENERATIONS CROSS TALK - Fairouz Ai x Noriko Dohi (December 2022)
Interview
Magazine
December 19, 2022
7 Escape From JoJo's Bizarre Nightmare (October 2023)
Interview & Commentary
Pamphlet
October 19, 2023

Gallery

Videos

Trivia

  • Fairouz's favorite JoJo character is Jotaro Kujo, one of the reasons being his fatherly love for Jolyne.[8]
  • During the Netflix Festival Japan 2021 event, Fairouz jokingly called herself the "Stand coordinator" for Mutsumi Tamura and Mariya Ise due to her expansive knowledge of Stands as well as the JoJo franchise as a whole.[8]
  • Fairouz said that if she were to have a Stand, she would pick either Crazy Diamond or Khnum, the former due to its versatility and ability to heal people and fix broken things. And the latter, because of its ability to impersonate anyone, which she would use to play tricks on people.[8]
  • As a fashion fan, Fairouz states that her most favorite costume among the JoJo characters is Vento Aureo's Cioccolata. She also adds that the cross décor on his costume (which usually signifies a good character) did not match the character's villainous demeanor, stating Araki's genius for combining the two.[4]
  • One of the scenes that impressed Fairouz was the scene where Bruno Bucciarati spoke to Vinegar Doppio (under the guise of Trish Una) before the final battle of Vento Aureo. She quotes Bucciarati's simple dialogue for Trish to have a normal life, saying that he displayed his kindness and was always ready to sacrifice himself.[4]

Notes

  1. Born Fairouz Ai-Kadota (門田 ファイルーズ あい, Kadota Fairūzu Ai)

References

  1. はるのおと (July 2, 2019), "ファイルーズあいインタビュー", WebNewtype.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Raccoon Dog - Fairouz Ai
  3. https://twitter.com/GihadoKadota/status/1146223345861402624
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 シュプールTV | "JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE STONE OCEAN" × SPUR Special Collaboration Interview
  5. 5.0 5.1 Seiyuu Plus, "#228 – Oshibudo: Fairouz Ai".
  6. Rafael Antonio Pineda (December 16, 2021), "34 Pro Fit Voice Actors Move to Nobuhiko Okamoto's Raccoon Dog Agency", AnimeNewsNetwork.
  7. Interview With Fairouz Ai | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure STONE OCEAN
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "Netflix Festival Japan 2021 Anime Day" (Archived).
  9. TUDUM Japan | A Full Look at Featured Netflix Anime Titles!
  10. "『ダンベル』主演声優「ファイルーズあい」とは何者だ? 心にジョジョ「空条徐倫」を住まわせる彼女の素顔に迫ったロングインタビュー", Nico Nico News, September 11, 2019.
  11. "Fairouz Ai: Growing up with Jolyne of "JoJo," a hot "blood-soaked" recording, and the strong feelings behind "seeing the stars".", MANTANWEB, October 7, 2022.
  12. @fairouzzzzzz on Twitter: "これはジョジョ最終話アフレコ直後のわたし (撮影:浪川さん)"
  13. "「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 ストーンオーシャン」アニメ化決定!!", JOJO Portal, April 4, 2021.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Vish (December 9, 2021), "PASH! Magazine January 2022: Interview with Fairouz Ai", JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia News.

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