“
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) is a Japanese voice actress and singer who is affiliated with Pro-Fit. On April 4, 2021, it was announced at the JOESTAR The Inherited Soul event that she would be the voice of Jolyne Cujoh in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean anime.
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, and Takechiyo in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
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. 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.[4]
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
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[5], 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.[6]
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.
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.[6]
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.[7]
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Roles
Gallery
Fairouz styled like Giorno on the Japanese TV Show "Manga Saves the World"
Fairouz in the "How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?" Special Training Video
Fairouz with Mutsumi Tamura & Mariya Ise at Stone Ocean Event
Fairouz with cast & Yugo Kanno at Netflix Festival Japan 2021
Fairouz and cast at Stone Ocean Pre-release Event
Videos
Trivia
- In a 2019 interview, Fairouz stated that she doesn't think she could pull off Jolyne, but she would love to play a character that helps Jolyne like Foo Fighters. However, she stated that if she does happen to play Jolyne, she would do her best to bring out the "Jolyne inside her".[4]
- Fairouz's favorite JoJo's Bizarre Adventure character is Jotaro Kujo, one of the reasons being his fatherly love for Jolyne.[6]
- When asked to describe her role as Jolyne in one kanji, Fairouz said that the kanji for love (愛) would be the most fitting because all of the character's actions stemmed from love, including her resolving strength and conviction.[6]
- During the Stone Ocean program in the Netflix Festival Japan 2021 event, Fairouz jokingly called herself as a "Stand coordinator" for Mutsumi Tamura and Mariya Ise due to her expansive knowledge of Stands as well as the JoJo franchise as a whole.[6]
- Fairouz said that if she were to have a Stand, she would prefer Crazy Diamond and Khnum, the former of which would be the most useful because of its versatility and its ability to fix broken things and heal anyone. With Khnum, however, she would want to play tricks with people because of its ability to disguise the user as anybody.[6]
References
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