Fairouz Ai
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]
Fairouz Ai had a voice cameo in the fourth episode of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan TV Drama adaptation, "The Run" as a member of the gym Rohan and Yoma Hashimoto go to.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Roles
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean | Anime | 2021 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 4: The Run) |
Drama | 2021 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 5: From Behind) |
Drama | 2021 |
Commentary
CommentaryI 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.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。[8]Interviews
Gallery
With fellow voice actors of the Joestar Family in JOESTAR The Inherited Soul Event
Fairouz at JOESTAR The Inherited Soul Event
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
With Daisuke Ono
Fairouz with Mutsumi Tamura & Mariya Ise at Stone Ocean Event
Fairouz with cast & Kenichi Suzuki
With Chikahiro Kobayashi Promoting Golden Kamuy Sapporo Beer
Fairouz with Mutsumi Tamura & Mariya Ise at Netflix Festival Japan 2021
Fairouz with cast & Yugo Kanno at Netflix Festival Japan 2021
Fairouz and cast at Stone Ocean Pre-release Event
Fairouz and Daisuke Ono during Spotify ANIZONE
Videos
Trivia
- 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.[4]
- Fairouz also stated that if she were to play Jolyne in the future, she would do her best to bring out her "inner Jolyne".[4]
- Fairouz's favorite JoJo character is Jotaro Kujo, one of the reasons being his fatherly love for Jolyne.[6]
- Sports Maxx is also one of her favorite characters.[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.[6]
- 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.[6]
- 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.[6]
- In another interview, she stated she would want Bohemian Rhapsody because she's an otaku.[9]
References
- ↑ WebNewtype ファイルーズあいインタビュー
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 有限会社プロ・フィット | Pro-Fit Co., Ltd.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/GihadoKadota/status/1146223345861402624
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Seiyuu+ #228 – Oshibudo: Fairouz Ai
- ↑ Interview With Fairouz Ai | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure STONE OCEAN
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Netflix Festival Japan 2021 | Anime Day
- ↑ https://originalnews.nico/205550/2
- ↑ https://jojo-portal.com/news/anime/50
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 PASH! Magazine January 2022: Interview with Fairouz Ai
