[NJSJ EN] Alban Knox Pash October 2022 Interview

[fascinates]

ALBAN KNOX 

The phantom thief who might be mischievous, but is also sincere deep down

 

PROFILE:

Alban Knox is a phantom thief who likes playing light pranks and who has a weakness for cute things. However, he is also a hardworking Nijisanji EN liver who is always earnest about his streaming. Here, we talk to him about his personal streaming style as well as his experiences in studying Japanese.

 

 

Please tell us your thoughts about being a (Nijisanji) liver for about half a year.

Alban: I have done so many things since I debuted half a year ago, so I am genuinely happy. Whenever I read comments from fans like “My day is made thanks to Alban’s stream,” and knowing that my fans’ daily lives have become happier, even just a little, makes me happy, too. Rather than me trying to make everyone happy, it’s more of I want to help the fans find their own sources of happiness.

 

 

Being a liver is a busy life, but are there things that have changed in your daily life when you became a liver?

Alban: I don’t think anything has changed that much. Even before I’ve debuted as a liver, I have been working hard on some things, so that was just replaced by me doing my best as a live streamer. I don’t think there were significant changes (in my daily life).

 

 

Is there anything in particular that you are focusing on right now?

Alban: Right now, I’m pouring all my efforts into learning Japanese. I found reading, writing, and speaking in Japanese is very hard, and I feel a little bad that I’m not improving much. I found kanji the most difficult!

 

 

How are you practicing your Japanese pronunciation?

Alban: I do a lot of shadowing (a type of practice wherein you listen to a [Japanese] source and imitate their way of speaking). I practice by shadowing streams of my senpai from the JP branch.

 

 

Whose and what kind of streams do you use as reference?

Alban: I watch a lot of streams by Kuzuha-senpai, Kanae-senpai, Inui Toko-senpai, as well as EN’s Yamino Shu-senpai.

 

 

It would be nice if Alban-san also uses Inui Toko-san’s dialect.

Alban: Ookini~! (LOL)

 

(* This means “thank you” in Kansai-ben, which is Toko-san’s dialect.)

 

 

Are there other Nijisanji livers that you watch a lot?

Alban: I watch a lot of Nagao Kei-senpai’s streams. His content is really interesting. Senpai is also studying English at the moment, so we are kind of rivals in terms of learning languages. I secretly watch his English streams (LOL).

 

 

Do you have plans to do a Japanese stream sometime?

Alban: Recently, I have collaborated with JP senpai in some Minecraft streams, so I’d like to study and use Japanese more and more. However, I would like to have a firm understanding of honorifics and formal Japanese first before I do that. I know that based on your use of Japanese honorifics, grammar, as well as way of speaking, you can come off as quite rude. With that in mind, I want to study harder to be able to communicate properly. In the future, I want to collaborate with a lot of people using Japanese. I find studying fun and I am excited to know just how much more I can learn about Japanese and Japan’s culture.

 

 

What particular aspect of Japanese culture are you interested in?

Alban: I’m interested in Japanese festivals. I think it’s interesting, especially festivals wherein a lot of people dance, like Bon Odori.

 

 

 

There are some volunteers in Nijisanji who are already preparing for the summer festival in Minecraft next year. Are you interested in participating?

Alban: Of course, I’d like to participate. Next year, I think I would also be better in Japanese, so I would like to be a bridge to help various livers during the event.

 

 

Is there anything you keep in mind when you are streaming?

Alban: I absolutely have to start preparing at least one hour before the stream. I really hate it when I have to delay starting the stream. I also talk a lot, so I prepare a big bottle of water so I don’t get thirsty. Recently, I have also made it a habit to look back at my notebook. Especially when I am about to collab with the JP senpai, I repeatedly review the Japanese stuff I’ve written in my notebook and look for content or material that I can use in the stream.

 

 

What is written in that notebook of yours?

Alban: It’s basically my Japanese study notebook. Right now, I’ve written about 50 pages in it. That is how serious I am in studying Japanese.

 

 

Alban-san has the reputation of someone who “likes playing pranks” but you give off such a sincere impression.

Alban: I think it all comes down to balancing them. I like playing pranks, but I also want to seriously exert my effort on somethings, so I think of them separately.

 

 

Do you have a fun prank you have done recently?

Alban: I do small pranks on my EN senpai a lot. Like, in Discord I surprise them by entering their VC while they’re talking, or in Minecraft I steal one item from a person’s box and put it in another person’s box, basically things that I can enjoy to an extent (LOL)

 

 

It’s been a topic that you like cute things very much. What kind of cute things pique your interest?

Alban: I actually like stuffed toys a lot! At my bedside I have quite the collection of various small plushies. I place them on my bed when I sleep.

 

 

Do you have a particular plush toy that you like?

Alban: I have liked Pikachu since way back. I also collect dinosaur plushies. The T-rex ones are especially cute.

 

 

You debuted as a unit with Noctyx, but what are your impressions about your senpai in EN?

Alban: During our debut, I was very nervous. One of the reasons for that was because I have seen the force of our senpai, Luxiem, after their debut. Luxiem debuted in December and Noctyx debuted in February. There was just a short span of time between our debuts so I felt immense pressure. However, I tried not to let the pressure get to me. Since our debut, everyone has been doing their best in what they do, and I’m very satisfied with the outcome of our efforts.

 

 

Alban-san, and Noctyx as well, is growing in popularity quite fast, too.

Alban: Not to boast about myself, but as an entertainer and a member of Nijisanji EN’s Noctyx, I’m very happy to be able to make various people enjoy themselves and make them happy no matter what their language or nationality is.

 

 

How do you feel about fans’ reactions towards Noctyx?

Alban: I feel that our fans also have a lot of fun, and they warmly accept us every single day. For us Noctyx, that makes us feel like we are doing something good.

 

 

When do you feel your fans’ warmth towards you?

Alban: Every single day! Whenever I try something new and the fans accept and enjoy it, I can feel their warmth.

 

 

You seem to like Vocaloid a lot. Can you please tell us how you became hooked on Vocaloid?

Alban: Some time back, I saw a Vocaloid song ranking in Nico Nico Douga, and I was like “What is this?” So I started watching them and eventually got hooked on them. Even now I’m still addicted to (listening) to them. When it comes to music, I listen to everything from EDM to heavy metal.

 

 

Do you have any plans to do/work on music this time?  

Alban: It’s a very long-term goal of mine, but I do want to create my own music in the future. I have not really decided on what kind or form it will be, and it’s important that I study about it first. However, there were times in my life when music had saved me, so I want to create my own someday, too.

 

 

Including music, what things or activities would you like to try out this time?

Alban: I can’t really say anything in detail, but I do want to try out something related to music. I’ll probably start it soon but the details are a secret! I want to prepare in advance and plan and think of how to make it enjoyable for everyone.

 

 

What new thing would you like to challenge?

Alban: I have a lot of plans, but most of them are still in secret. I’ll just say one thing—I want to have a cooking stream. I want to plan on something that will be a new way to interact with the fans.

 

(* This interview was done in August and released in early September, so by this time Alban has already done a cooking stream ^^.)

 

 

Are you good at cooking?

Alban: I love cooking. I love baking sweets like cookies and cake. If ever I have a cooking stream, I’ll do my very best!

 

 

What is your dream as a Vtuber?

 

Alban: I’ve said this a lot during my debut, but I will be happy if I am able to make a lot of people happy. I don’t have a goal that I wan to achieve. Instead, I want to entertain as many people as possible through my activities. Instead of being someone who steals other people’s things, I want to be a phantom thief who makes it easier for people to obtain their hopes and dreams.  My dream is everyone’s happiness.

Translator Notes:

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