When I was younger, Megumi Hayashibara was really popular in the world of anime entertainment. It was easy for me to recognize her voice in any characters she played, that's how famous she was.

Beginning in 1999, the anime magazine Newtype hired Hayashibara to interview various celebrities. It was a job she loved to do. In the July Newtype issue of 2002, Hayashibara wrote a wonderful personal essay about her experiences during these interviews. This essay is a rare glimpse into her viewpoints concerning talent, people and life in general. As always, this was personally translated by me from the physical article. ^_^

Recollections About My Interviews
by Megumi Hayashibara

When I look back the history of my interviews for these past three years, I feel so nostalgic. Through the interviews, I didn't just want to tell the readers that there are all these amazing famous people out there. I actually wanted celebrities to find out more about their audiences through these interviews; what fans like, dislike, and feel passionate about. Or maybe celebrities have something to offer the audience as far as dreams go. Like giving readers hints or tips as to how to achieve their personal visions. That was what I wanted to share with the audience.

This might sound cold, but people really are judged by how much talent they have. And I think everyone has some kind of talent. If someone thinks himself born without talent, I believe that he just hasn't noticed what his inner talent is. There exist many reasons why he can’t realize it. Sometimes it's because the individual doesn't want to notice that he has something special inside of him. Maybe it's his environment that doesn't let him realize his potential. Yet everyone has something very talented about them. I always hope people have that turning point moment where they realize this is true. And actually, every single person I've interviewed has reached where they are because of that turning point moment.

People don't have to use their talent as a hobby; it doesn't have to be a part of your daily job. It doesn't matter which type of environment you use your talent in, only that you realize it.

In interviewing my guests, I've learned that even if I'm upset or in some kind of bad life situation, I should focus on how I can share an enjoyable time with this person. This has taught me to observe the way I think. If someone says to themselves "Terrible things always happen to me" then no matter what the person does, this will indeed be the case. Yes, it's hard to quickly change your mood, but even standing on that ledge, it's always better to think positively. This is a way to begin overcoming difficult problems in front of us. Then we might actually start enjoying life. This leads to finding out our true purpose in the coming future.

However, even those of us who think we know what our true purposes are run into problems. Clearly talented people sometimes forget what they set out to do when they find themselves focusing too much on being accepted by others within their world. For example, a good musician might focus on wanting to perform on a huge stage, only really caring about high status. Or a novelist publishes his first book and suddenly starts calculating how much money his next work will bring in. Most of the people I've interviewed have a bigger picture in their minds. And that seems to be the reason why they can continue to inspire an audience.

Another one of my life's themes is the idea of "encounter."

When I was a high school student, I felt that I should not dislike or reject people in any way. I've changed since then. Now, if I don't like someone, then I just don't like him or her. I know it sounds harsh, but I have my reasons for not liking someone! That's why I choose to put distance between myself and that person. It's kind of hard to explain, but this originates from love and caring. If I force myself to get along with that person, it can't possibly make that person feel good either. So I accept that where I am in life and where she/he stands are two totally different places. Yes, I make that distance, but it's not a forever kind of thing. After one year, maybe both people have grown up and we might have grown to understand each other as well. Not liking someone is not a permanent thing.

It happens that sometimes you can't escape from a person you don't like. This is another important life-lesson for me. I think there's always something new that I can learn from observing interactions that we can't escape from. Patience, compromise, and adjusting to a person we don't like is important. Taking time to "understand" each other is less important in these kinds of circumstances. Through many of my interviews, "understanding" them wasn't something I felt I had to do. Sometimes, I just had to accept that we are just too different in age, sexual preference or just career in general.

Most of my interviews lasted for about an hour. And some of them were guests I met for the first time ever. Even in those kinds of circumstances, I could quickly get through it and just do what I have to do. I also met some guests that I would love to talk to later on while having alcoholic drinks in hand.

When I started these interviews, I actually hoped and wished that my final interviewee would be Charles Schultz, who created Snoopy. Unfortunately the author passed away, and I think I knew I would never get that chance from the beginning. It's sad that he's not here anymore, but I'm grateful that we were alive at the same time. I've actually learned to express so many emotions from reading Snoopy. I love that character even more now. And somehow, I just felt it wouldn't be right to include this somewhere and thank him for creating Snoopy.

I also get so many different types of fan-letters. Even if we don’t see each other in person, my fans write me regarding their opinions about my work. Some wrote me that my songs encourage them. I’m always glad to hear that, and I’m so grateful that I have this job. Getting these delightful letters is not my goal, though. I don’t really mind how people feel about my work one way or the other. There are just so many people. Of course each person will feel a different way about my work! My music might not stand out for some, forever stick in some people's minds and, like I said, encourage others. It's hard for me to explain this well, but I just feel appreciative that someone merely watched my work and that my voice reached out to another person.

Through these Newtype interviews I've listened to many interesting, personal, and inspiring stories. I am also one of those people who has been influenced by my guests and their stories.

I have realize that there are many endless news sites out there that are quick to find recent Japanese news and translate it. I'm just one person trying to connect my culture to the English speaking world. There is no way I can compete with sites like japanator.com or dannychoo.com, which have a direct connection to Japanese happenings. It's so difficult to be the first site to publish breaking news. And this has led to some sites completely transforming into yellow-journalism portals. The Sankaku Complex website for example, has such a hard time finding news that they frequently choose one ecchi image that leads to their soft-porn gallery and then they make that image their daily update.

Sites like Sankaku label their site as a portal to Japan, or viewpoint from Japan. But they do not primarily focus on news. They focus on exploitation of Japanese culture. I am not a career journalist, but I understand that my news site helps to create the image of Japan that other people see. This doesn't mean I have to make Japan always look positive and wonderful. In the past, Kiss-sui.com has definitely published very negative news items about Japan! But I have to try and remember that real people live in Japan. People with feelings, dreams and very real life struggles. This is one reason why I have included articles about my own personal feelings and preferences alongside articles about Japanese child sex crimes and victimization. It's to remind me that I have to take accountability for what I publish. I cannot separate my own reputation from the reputation of the things I write about!

This is why kiss-sui.com had to take a break during January. By late 2009, kiss-sui.com was getting thousands of unique hits every month. All of these people were depending on me to learn about Japanese culture! It was alot for me to digest. I had to stop and figure out in which direction I wanted to take kiss-sui , my audience, and the spirit of Japan. This doesn't mean we still can't have fun. It just means I don't want to go in the direction of sites like Sankaku.

I will still try to cover major news items that I think don't have a real Japanese perspective here in the United States. But from now on, I will devote this site to mostly focus on the foundation of recent Japanese culture. These are topics from the late 90s and early 00s that were stuck in print, and maybe never made it to the internet. Rare interviews with anime creators, seiyuu, and other Japanese personalities. Articles that directly help explain why Japan of 2010 is the Japan of 2010.

I hope you can follow me on the continuation of this journey here at kiss-sui.com. ^_^

The other day I was sitting in one of the washroom stalls at Depaul. One girl came to use the toilet next to me. Then suddenly I squeeze naturally and ...

poot pooooot!

Suddenly my mind started thinking if she heard me fart. Then I was surprised! I was shocked to realize that here in the USA I really don't worry about who listens to my farting, pooping and peeing! If you have to go, you just go~!



In Japan, it's such a social taboo to let others hear your fart and pee-sound! In fact we have a machine called the Oto-hime 音姫, or water princess. It is a little machine that is in every public washroom. It's job is to make some sound (beeping, buzzer, flushing) when you have to make intimate body sounds. If you feel like your pee is coming, you would push one button on the machine and it would completely hide the noise.

It seems silly to me. When you push the button, it's obvious why you push the button. You are pooing or peeing and you want to hide noise! Isn't it just better to do your "business" and then get out and leave? It's human to fart, right? Maybe it's done in Japan to be polite, but does this mean there is no limit to being polite and hiding who you really are?

In Japan, there is nowhere to hide from hiding yourself?



♣♣~~Bonus Stage~~♣♣