“Hello Kitty” 50th Anniversary Project – Voice Cast Interview Part 2: Wataru Urata, voice of “Hangyodon” | I think the team of me and “Hangyodon” is the strongest, so please look forward to it!To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sanrio’s “Hello Kitty” in 2024, Sanrio characters and voice cast members will collaborate!

The album “Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Presents My Bestie Voice Collection with Sanrio characters,” which includes many of the long-loved Sanrio character songs and other classic songs that have captivated a wide range of generations, as well as heartwarming readings, was released on Wednesday, June 26th.

The voice cast includes Miyu Irino, Wataru Urata, Takeo Otsuka, Kazuki Kato, Ryohei Kimura, Ryota Suzuki, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Shugo Nakamura, Shun Horie, Hikaru Makishima, and Shuto Mori (BUDDiiS) (in alphabetical order). The album also includes the songs “KAWAII FESTIVAL” and “Hello Kitty” sung by the entire cast.

In addition, a concert featuring Sanrio characters and the entire cast will be held on Sunday, November 24th!

To celebrate the release of the album, Animate Times will be delivering interviews with the cast for 12 consecutive days. This is the second in our series, and this time we have Urata Wataru, who sings “Hangyodon’s Ikeike Samba” [Hangyodon]. We asked him about his memories with Sanrio characters and his thoughts on this project.

–How did you feel when you heard about doing an album of Sanrio character song covers?

Wataru Urata (hereinafter Urata): This job gave me the opportunity to learn that there are many Sanrio character songs, which was interesting. The song I collaborated on, “Hangyodon’s Ikeike Samba,” has the word “samba” in the title, so I had a lot of fun recording it. I thought for a moment about messing around a bit more, but I sang seriously because of the balance with the other cast members (laughs).

──Are there any lyrics from “Hangyodon’s Ikeike Samba” that you like?

Urata: I like how “Hangyodon” is in every song! I especially like the mysterious lyrics like “Do you know, Hangyodon on a midsummer night?♪” and “Are you riding with me, Hangyodon?♪” which I think are unique to Hangyodon.

–Please tell us about your memories of Sanrio characters.

Urata: I love Pom Pom Purin and I often get merchandise from the other members (laughs).

I haven’t been to Sanrio Puroland yet, but the Miracle Gift Parade near the Tree of Wisdom that I saw in the video is so wonderful because you can meet your favorite idols over and over again. I also thought the “KAWAII KABUKI ~Momotaro with the Hello Kitty Troupe~” and greetings with the characters looked fun, so I definitely want to go.

— Are there any characters that you were familiar with since childhood?

Urata: “Hello Kitty” is the character I’m most familiar with. My parents had Hello Kitty merchandise, so I used a lunch bag with a Hello Kitty pattern on it. That’s where I first got to know Sanrio characters.

–Are there any characters other than your own that you’re interested in?

Urata: I’m interested in “KIRIMI-chan.”

–What do you think are similar to the characters you play?

Urata: I think Hangyodon’s lonely personality is similar to mine. Also, I’m not good at making people laugh, but I want the people around me to always be laughing, so I think we have a lot in common with my lonely and romantic personality.