'A Game, a Journey, and a Partner We Spent Together' — Voice Actors Ayako Kawasumi and Maaya Sakamoto Look Back on FGO's Journey

After sharing their impressions of the exhibition's production materials room area and event story archive area, the conversation turned to looking back on FGO's 11-year journey. Both women have actually been involved even longer than that once recording and music production periods are included, and Sakamoto, who also wrote the lyrics for the theme song "Shikisai," said, "I was probably involved for close to two years before launch, so it feels like a child I've known since before it was born has grown this big before I knew it, but time-wise it felt like it flew by in an instant. Looking back, there are things that make me nostalgic, but what I feel most strongly is that we've been together the whole time."

Kawasumi looked back, saying, "This is the longest I've ever played a game in my life. Once I became deeply involved with FGO, I kept playing it as hard as I could even though I'm not very good at it, and it's been 11 years we spent together, to the point where I can even remember what was going on in my life during each event. Because it's a smartphone game, I was able to be with it no matter where I was, so it really was, in every sense of the word, a game, a journey, and a partner we spent together."

In the Hoshimi no Kairou area, the final chapter battle from Part 2 of the main story, "Cosmos in the Lostbelt," which was released in December 2025, is depicted with video effects.

After experiencing the exhibition, Kawasumi shared her impressions: "I think a lot of Masters felt like, of all times, why did we have to fight such a tough battle at the end of the year, but it reminded me of the time we spent working hard alongside the Servants we've been with for 11 years to get everything back. I was so focused on the screen where the footage plays that I was genuinely moved by what was projected onto the cube."

The conversation then moved on to looking back at the FGO theme songs Sakamoto has performed over the years, including the Part 2 theme song "Gyakkou" and the final chapter theme song "Tokei." Sakamoto said, "The upcoming album (the theme song best album Yoin, releasing on July 29, 2026) is packed with music that would never have existed if I hadn't encountered this work, and the song 'Shikisai' is the one track where it all began.

At first I never imagined it would become such a long journey, and I wrote it thinking it might be the only song, but thanks to how it kept being woven more deeply into the story, it grew into a song that has stayed in the hearts of all the Masters, I feel."

Regarding "Tokei," she told us, "At the very end, I wanted to write the song myself to bring this long journey to a close (she handled both the lyrics and composition). There are FGO fans on every set I work on, and just yesterday someone told me that hearing the song still brings tears to their eyes without fail. Given how closely the music resonates with the story, I'm happy to feel that it has reached everyone as something even more powerful than the music alone."

Kawasumi, who said she also cried as 11 years of memories flashed before her like a lantern, shared her impressions: "With Maaya's gentle voice and melody, it's such a leisurely song that, after the intensity of the battle, it feels like a warm, heartfelt song that makes you glad you met everyone along the journey. I think I'd cry too if I listened to it right now."

Why not visit the currently running Fate/Grand Order Exhibition -Hoshimi no Kairou- and look back on the trajectory of this 11-year journey, together with each Master's own path, just as these two performers did?

Fate/Grand Order Exhibition -Hoshimi no Kairou-
Venue: Mori Arts Center Gallery (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 52nd floor)
Dates: Friday, July 17, 2026 – Monday, September 14, 2026

Reporting, photography, and text: kato
(C)TYPE-MOON / FGO PROJECT