'With Such Seasoned Veterans Gathered Around Us...' Voice Actor Fuka Izumi on the 'Reassurance' She Felt Recording Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden

——I can't wait to see that appearance lol. Was there anything else memorable, such as direction during the recording sessions?

Izumi: This is also something Kikuta said: the characters at the center (of the work) are the ones who can move the story, while the people surrounding them are the ones who can build the world.

It's true that the characters Honoka and I play move the story, and it was reassuring to have such seasoned veterans gathered around us, building the world. However we performed, they made sure it was still the world of Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden.

——The world is divided into the classes of nobles and commoners, and it sounds like the powerhouse cast firmly laid the groundwork.

Izumi: Exactly! The series truly works thanks to everyone around us, and it was a set where I strongly felt that we were able to perform freely.

——Finally, could you tell us once more about the appeal of Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden?

Izumi: I think it's the careful build-up: the relationships between Nia and the others don't change all at once, but shift so gradually that both the characters and we viewers notice only after the fact that they have changed.

The "Godslayer Hero" she was once called (the warrior persona from before reincarnating as Nia) isn't explored in detail, but I feel she is gradually becoming someone different from both the warrior and the (originally frail) Nia Liston.

——True, her memories as a warrior are fading more and more, while she steadily accumulates years as Nia Liston after reincarnation.

Izumi: I thought it was lovely how trust with Linokis and the others is built up from there, and how each character's individuality increasingly shines through. Linokis is a character whose love for her young mistress overflows to the point of clicking her tongue, and I think she also contributes to the series as a comic fool, so I hope you'll enjoy her expressions and performance every week.

We hope you'll look forward to the broadcast to see the grounded world-building, the performances of the characters, and what kind of exploits Nia Liston, hailed as the "Merciless Maiden," will show.

Report, Photography, and Text: kato
(C)南野海風・ホビージャパン/凶乱令嬢ニア・リストン製作委員会