My last two days were dedicated to meeting and interviewing creators and producers, and it was amazing! I had the chance to interview Eminence Symphony Orchestra’s founder Hiroaki Yura, SOULCALIBUR music composer Junichi Nakatsuru, SOULCALIBUR V  producers Daishi Odashima and Hisaharu Tago, and Dead or Alive 5  producers Yohei Shimbori and Yosuke Hayashi!

HIROAKI YURA (EMINENCE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA)
First, I met the adorable and talented Hiroaki Yura, the founder of Eminence Symphony Orchestra. Eminence Symphony Orchestra create anime and video game soundtracks, including SOULCALIBUR V  and Diablo III. We went to his office and I interviewed him about his life as a musician, his partnership with Namco Bandai, Blizzard, Sega, and others for the soundtracks, the live concerts and his projects for the orchestra. It was so interesting! They are organizing a music camp to train musicians to perform video game and anime music. A lot of people are interested in the idea in Japan already, and I suggested he should do it in Europe as well! He was very interested! I learned so many things about the music industry in video games and anime!

I was already a big fan of Eminence, even before knowing they would record the SCV soundtrack. They are really awesome! Hiroaki-san offered me some Eminence CDs, thanks so much!

Please support Eminence‘s projects and like them on Facebook.

NAMCO BANDAI: INTERVIEWS AND LIVE BROADCAST
I then went to Namco Bandai office for interviews and live broadcast! I was able to meet and interview Junichi Nakatsuru, SOULCALIBUR  music composer. His music is some of my favourite! I have so much nostalgia listening to SC  music, so I was very happy to finally meet him! We spoke about his inspiration, favourite music, and the changes in SOULCALIBUR  music.

After, I joined SOULCALIBUR V  producers Daishi Odashima and Hisaharu Tago for a live broadcast and interview where Japanese players could play with me in online sessions. There were so many players, I was very surprised! Thank you so much everyone for playing with me, I hope you enjoyed both my Viola and Leixia! Then I interviewed the producers to talk about the game, tournaments, Japanese players and international players. It was very interesting!

At the conclusion, they gave me an artbook and SOULCALIBUR  soundtracks signed by Daishi Odashima, Hisaharu Tago, Junichi Nakatsuru and Utoh! Thank you so much, I am very touched!

This is really awesome, I have been a huge fan of SOULCALIBUR  since I was 7 years old. I could never imagine I would someday be able to spend some time with those who make the games come alive.

Thank you very much for this special day!

4GAMER:
I was invited to the 4gamer office to take part in an interview with MarkMan and Matt from Mad Catz. They asked many different questions about my life as a professional gamer, as a person (my studies, hobbies, etc.), the community, training, and competitions. The final and funniest question was if I could choose between Daigo, Mago, or TOKIDO to be my boyfriend, who would I choose? We laughed so much at that question, lol. Maybe you’ll find out my answer when the interview is released!

TECMO KOEI OFFICE: DEAD OR ALIVE 5 PRODUCERS INTERVIEW
My final stop was at the Tecmo Koei office to interview the Dead or Alive 5  director Yohei Shimbori and the producer Yosuke Hayashi, with the product manager Marko to help me with the translation.

We discussed about the seven-year delay from Dead or Alive 4  to Dead or Alive 5, the decision to include Virtua Fighter  characters and why they selected the ones they did, the online mode, the story mode, the music, and the DOA competitive scene and if they’ll support the tournaments. Please read the full interview here.

After the interview, I played with Shimbori-san and won the three games we had. He is so funny when he plays! He expresses himself a lot! Sadly, I had to leave them to go to the airport, but I thank them for their time and kindness. I really enjoyed the interview and the games we had!

FINAL WORDS :
Sayonara Japan! I had a wonderful time playing the Japanese players, meeting amazing people, and discovering Tokyo! I wish I could speak Japanese, hopefully next time. But I want to tell you I was very happy and honored to play so many Japanese players, and that the SOULCALIBUR  level of play is very strong. I’m very surprised. Thank you for your time and your kindness!

Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity and to everyone who helped and supported me. I will never forget!

Tags: 4gamer, Blizzard, Dead or Alive 5, Diablo 3, Diablo III, Eminence Symphony Orchestra, Kayane, Marie-Laure Norindr, Namco Bandai, Sega, SOULCALIBUR V, Tecmo Koei, Virtua Fighter