With the excitement for SACRA Music Fes. 2024 brewing up, we got a lovely opportunity to have a chat with Akase Akari, a talented individual in the anime industry who many may recognize as the singer who cosplays as many of Marin’s cosplay in My Dress-Up Darling for its ending theme, “Koi no Yukue”.

It goes without saying that Akase Akari has a colorful career, making her splash in television as an actress in 2021 and beginning singing in 2022 with her popular debut song “Koi no Yukue” as the ending theme for the romance anime My Dress-Up Darling.

Before television, Akase Akari also got into gravure modeling and appearing in photobooks and magazines such as Weekly Playboy. She is also an active cosplayer and internet personality, gaining much of her popularity on TikTok and YouTube.

Marin Kitagawa

As previously mentioned, she made her solo singer debut singing the song “Koi no Yukue” for the My Dress-Up Darling anime adaptation. In the music video for the song, she cosplayed many of the characters that the protagonist Marin Kitagawa also cosplayed in the show.

Akase Akari certainly has a lot of fond memories when filming the music video, saying “Given that it was my first time portraying a gal character, I put in a lot of effort into studying her makeup, especially the fake eyelashes… I struggled on that because I couldn’t wear them well.”

As for her favorite outfit among the many Marin’s coplay, she said it was Black Robelia. “It’s not about the costume, but the reason why Marin dresses like Neon Onētama, saying, ‘I like Shion-tan, but I don’t want to ruin the character’s image, so I’m going to be Neon Onētama.’ When talking about a series that I’ve loved since childhood, there’s a very strong emotional connection, so this is that feeling. I’m pretty much endorsing her as my version of a magical girl from Pretty Cure.”

Given her past experience with cosplay and knowing the ins and outs, we asked if she ever wishes she would wish to have a shy ikemen (Japanese slang for attractive young men) making costumes for her like what Wakana Gojo in My Dress-Up Darling did for Marin.

To that, she responded, “I am torn between asking for help and making it myself. One of the cool parts of Gojo-kun is that he is diligently learning about cosplay. His handiwork and detailed designs are amazing, but personally, I also find the creation process fun. However, my strong virtues might cause difficulties, so instead of something I’m not very good at, I would like to simply judge to create it myself.”

Akase Akari’s Colorful Career

Considering her bright singing career ahead of her, we asked Akase Akari if she has any anime that she would love to be featured in, either singing the opening or ending theme and so on.

Immediately, she said 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, an upcoming romance anime adapted from the manga series of the same name by Yu Hashimoto. “It’s cosplay-related and I’m very interested to be in it because Makarin (Mikari Tachibana) looks so cute!”

She also mentioned the Pretty Cure series, a franchise about magical girls which first aired in 2004. “I’ve been a huge fan since a child, so it would be a dream come true to be involved with Pretty Cure someday!”

Akase Akari is a woman of many talents, working professionally not only as a singer, but also as an actress, designer, cosplayer, and internet personality on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.  When asked about her colorful career and if she finds it difficult to find a balance between them all, she responded by saying, “Balancing everything might be challenging, but I’m quite ambitious, so I want to continue working on everything while I can!”

SACRA Music Fes Malaysia 

Now that she is in Malaysia, ready to give us a wonderful live performance, we asked if there are any local dishes she would love to try as Malaysia is a country proud of its diverse food.

“I have a lot of likes and dislikes, so I hope to take this opportunity to try out something new. Maybe there’s a food that I could try…?”

Since her debut, she has gained a lot of fans around the world, especially in the Southeast Asian region. And to that, she was very happy and said, “I really hope that my first performance outside of Japan will be a wonderful memory for everyone. Also, it would be amazing if we could sing together in some parts! Please stay excited and look forward!”

We’d like to thank Akase Akari for taking the time to answer our question, and we cannot wait to see her perform live at Zepp KL on 3rd February.