"If it's not something I want to become, it won't even catch my eye." What is the true self that constantly-challenging voice actress Ayasa Ito expressed in her third photo book?

Voice actress Ayasa Ito's third photo book, "Ayasage," will be released on June 24. Not only active as a voice actress, playing roles such as Vivlos in "Umamusume: Pretty Derby" and Arisa Ichigaya in "BanG Dream!", Ito continues to express herself through her photo books. At the finale of her twenties, she conducted on-location photo shoots on Bintan Island, Indonesia, and in Singapore.

Focusing on swimwear and lingerie shots that showcase Ito's style, which she pursued through body shaping challenges, the book features photos filled with her cute yet mature charm.

In this article, we bring you an interview that digs deep into the thoughts behind the title "Ayasage," which bears her own name, and the driving force behind her energetic pursuit of various challenges.

—The title of your third photo book, "Ayasage," carries the nuance of "a slightly more mature me, but still cherishing my true self." We'd like to start by asking how you arrived at this title.

Ito: First, the cover photo was decided beforehand, so I thought of a title that would match this cover, which represents everything about this photo book. Elegance was one of the things I treasured, and while wanting to include classical elements, I tried hard to come up with a coined word that also had a bit of a French feel.

—It's a title that combines the French word "sage" with your own name, right?

Ito: While words with sounds like "mariage" came to mind, when I tried combining it with "Ayasa" and looked up the meaning of "sage," it meant a wise, mature, or calm state. It was a word that perfectly represented the kind of maturity I envisioned.

It fits perfectly with the theme of "grown-up cute" (otona-kawaii) that I have for this photo book, and since I love cute things myself, I arrived at this title thinking it could express that as well. I was actually conscious of things like the stroke count of the characters, too!

—Did the title come to you pretty smoothly?

Ito: I struggled so much! I also thought Japanese titles were very attractive, so I tried thinking about how many catchy phrases I could come up with from a limited selection of Japanese words.

—Speaking of "a slightly more mature me," the fact that this is a photo book marking the finale of your twenties is also a key point, isn't it?

Ito: Yes, it is. Since the current me is the most mature I've ever been, the first thing I thought of expressing at the end of my twenties was maturity. However, when it came to adding my own uniqueness to it, it couldn't just be purely mature. I thought that by blending it with a bit of playfulness, I could bring out the exact kind of maturity I wanted to express.

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