Rio Kanzaki

Rio Kanzaki
Kanji	神崎莉央かんざきりお
Romaji	Kanzaki Rio
Birthday	August 28 (age 22)
Physical Information
Status	Alive
Zodiac	Virgo
Height	160cm
Weight	44kg
Three Sizes	B83 W56 H83
Character Information
Hobbies	Running Going on pancake shop tour
Affiliation	Van Production Hoshimi Production
School	Tsukinode Private High School (Graduated)
Color	Purple
Production Information
Seiyuu	Haruka Tomatsu
First Appearance	From The First Step (S01 E01) (Cameo) Everyone's Looking for the Answer (S01 E03)

Rio Kanzaki (神崎莉央) is the center and a member of the IDOLY PRIDE unit LizNoir. Her image color is purple.

Appearance

Rio has ash gray hair and velvet eyes. She wears a black choker with a star and a purple and black dress with the black part with crystals embroidered on the top and bottom of the dress. On her hands she wears half-gloves, a black doilies around her right hand and a black bracelet, black stockings, and black high heel shoes.

Personality

Rio is LizNoir's absolute center with an aggressive style and an insatiable appetite for victory. After a hiatus, she came back to break her ties with a certain person. She aims to stand at the top of the idol industry with the strongest determination.

Interviews

LisAni Q+A

First of all, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your personal life. What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? I'll take a shower and then make a cup of coffee. Do you have breakfast? Yes. It's simple, but I make hot sandwiches in the pie iron. I see. Are you a good cook? Yes. I've always made a lot of meals by myself. If I'm at home, I'll just cook what I want to eat in the evening, like Chinese or Western food. Do you pay attention to your diet? This is the kind of work I do, and of course I try to count calories and eat healthy foods. What is your favorite food? I know that's not what you said earlier, but it's pancakes... I've conquered all the restaurants that are known for good pancakes in Tokyo. You seem to have a real passion for pancakes. How do you spend your time off work? In the morning, I'll go to the gym or run for about 10 kilometers. After that, I'll go home and watch a movie or read a book, which is surprisingly low-key. You run that much even on your days off? Where do you run on your days off? There's a running course in a large park nearby. There are a lot of students in the track and field club that run there, so it's very inspiring. Do you have gym or running essentials? I sweat a lot, so as long as I have two towels and my phone, I'm good to go. Do you have a favorite place in Tokyo? I think I might prefer the nature and the old townscape to the city. I'm surprised to hear that. Don't you feel comfortable in the city, for example in areas where celebrities often congregate? It's not that I'm avoiding it, but... I often go there for meetings and events, and not so much in my free time. What are you enjoying most right now? Forgive me for being boring, but before I came here today, I bought some new running shoes from online. I'm secretly looking forward to running in them. Do you have a favorite genre of music? There is a female photographer and editor who is very knowledgeable about this, so recently I've been listening to Western music that she taught me about. I don't have a favorite. If you had to choose, which do you like better, singing or dancing? It would be singing. By the way, what was your first impression when you heard "Shock Out, Dance!!" for the first time? If I could make this song my own, I felt like I'd be one step closer to the peak of idols. How would you describe "Shock out, Dance!!" in one word? LizNoir's style. This is the music that you can feel it the most. What is your favorite lyric in "Shock out, Dance!!"? "Don't stop dancing, we all have pain. They want to see people they'll never see again". It's very much linked to how I felt when I was going through a lot... How did you feel about that? Fufu, that's a secret indeed. You can take a guess from the lyrics. So how would you describe your relationship with the members of LizNoir in one word? It's probably a bit deeper than colleagues... it's more like a partner that has your back. When was the moment you felt a bond with the members in your activities so far? When I'm having a hard time, both physically and mentally, it's strange to have one of the members next to me. When that happens, you can't help but feel a bond with them. I can see how strong the bond is. Is there someone you consider your best friend in your heart? I don't think the term "best friend" is quite appropriate, but we've known each other for a long time, especially Aoi (Igawa). I don't know how she feels about it, though. Do you have any dreams that you would like to achieve as a LizNoir member? The goal is to become the top of the idol world with these members. That's all I want. If that dream were to come true, who would you report to first? My mother, who has always supported me. Are there any problems that you are having recently? To put it nicely, we have a group of unique members, so it's hard to train them so that they don't have any rough edges. Next, I'd like to ask you a few questions about idols. Kanzaki, please tell us why you wanted to become an idol. Initially, it wasn't for a reason that I can say here... but in this industry, it's all about winning, no matter what the reason is. I see. When was the last time you worked the hardest in your life? Hmm... I've been working as hard as ever since before my debut. I work hard to make sure more people can see our performances. What is the most important thing for you as an idol? I always aim for the best performance to satisfy my fans. For that reason, I pay a lot of attention to my daily lessons and conditions. Aoi and Kokoro (Akasaki) are not good at it sometimes, so I scold them. I'd like to see the members getting scolded by Kanzaki-san. What do you think your fans are like to you? There's no doubt that they're the most important people in our lives. Also, our fans are very remarkable. That's why I have to stand up straight, and I can't show them how sloppy I am. What was the happiest gift you received from those fans? It's hard to decide what's the best. But sometimes when I receive a bouquet of flowers, I feel very energized. Maybe it's not really my style, but... No, no, it's a very good look for you. Then, with the phrase "I'm not going to lose to anyone at this!" in mind, what are your strengths as an idol? I never want to lose to other idols in terms of singing, dancing and overall performance at the live shows. How did you feel when you first got on stage as LizNoir? I think I may have been trying to be strong, thinking that this was finally going to happen. When I watch the video now, I'm reflecting on a lot of things. If you think about it that way, LizNoir is evolving more and more. What does a (live performance) mean to you? It's a place where you can connect with your fans. It's like a conversation through a live concert. I'm glad to hear stories that are typical of you as a frontline performer. If you hadn't become an idol, what do you think you'd be doing? I can't imagine, because I ran at full speed to become an idol. But I might have still been with my mother in my hometown. What is your favorite memory from your childhood? My parents' house is a coffee shop, and my mother would be tending the counter. When I came home from school and opened the door, the bell would ring. I remember the sound of the bell. What kind of child were you at that time, do you think? I think I was quite a precocious child. I was tall and fashion-conscious, and my mother got mad for playing with her cosmetics. That's cute. Can you tell us about your dreams at the time? I was already interested in idols. But until I got serious about it, it may have felt somewhat distant. So let's talk about some of your school days. How did you spend your time at school? I've enjoyed running since those days, and I was on the track club. We competed against each other every morning and night, running all day long, so I think my competitive nature may have been formed at that time. So you liked to run even then? How about your studies? I'm good at studying, I think. I was good at it, and I didn't slack off in my studies. Kanzaki-san, you don't seem to be one to slack on anything. What's the happiest moment you've ever had? There was a time when I took a break from performing, but when I saw the members who had been waiting for me and believed in me again. Then, what was the most frustrating moment for you so far? That was the first time I saw a certain idol. To be honest, I didn't want to admit that they existed. I'm very curious about it. Is that person a rival of yours? A rival... yes, I guess that's right. It's safe to assume so. What is your ideal image of an idol? Idols that will remain in the hearts of everyone. I think there are only a few idols like that out there. What would you like to say to yourself 10 years from now? Is it true that you've already retired? Either way, I'm sure you're making your dream come true with all of LizNoir. What does an idol mean to you? I think we need to create a space that fans can only experience at that time and place, and make them happy. Lastly, could you give a word to your fans? Thank you for your support. LizNoir tends to be seen as a rather hard-core band, but we hope that people who haven't seen us perform live will feel free to come and enjoy it.

Trivia

• Rio's VA, Haruka Tomatsu, and Aoi's VA, Ayahi Takagaki both members of LizNoir, also worked together in Sword Art Online series, as VAs of Asuna Yuuki and Rika Shinozaki.

Etymology

• The name Rio means "white jasmine" (莉) (ri) and "center" (央) (o).
• Rio's surname Kanzaki means "god" (神) (kan) and "cape, peninsula" (崎) (saki/zaki).

Gallery

Please refer to this character's Image Gallery.