Rio Kanzaki

* Promotional
* Anime

**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

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.*
## References

1. ↑ Rio Kanzaki Q+A on the LisAni website.