A talk between two beautiful female announcers! Reina Sumi and Misato Ugaki: “Being a freelance announcer is tough, but it’s fun!

Ugaki-chan is a very honest and righteous person. She has a strong core. When I’m with her, she helps me a lot.”

Reina-san is like a fierce beast (laughs). She is kind to me because I am a free spirit!

Reina Sumi (33, formerly of TV Tokyo) and Misato Ugaki (32, formerly of TBS), both freelance announcers, sometimes looked at each other and talked about their impressions of each other.

At first glance, Ugaki, known for her love of manga, anime, and novels, and Washimi, who has been active in soccer and other sports since childhood and has appeared on “Athletics on Fire” (TBS), seem to be complete opposites. However, they actually have something in common in that they became freelance at about the same time and at the height of their careers as station announcers, and they are so close in private that they “ate samgyeopsal together” just the other day. How has this friendship that transcends the bureaucratic boundaries been nurtured?

Sumi: I became friends with Ugaki when I became the PR ambassador for Paravi, a joint TBS, TV TOKYO, and WOWOW video streaming service in 2006.

Reina Ugaki is just so kind. I was shy, but she asked me if I wanted some sweets. and she talked to me while giving me sweets.

Sumi: I was aware that I, as the older one, had to be more proactive in talking to her. Ugaki talked to me more than I expected, which made me happy.

Ugaki: Actually, I am a talker myself, so if you talk to me, I can talk more and more. But I couldn’t talk to her because I thought, “No one would want to talk to me,” or “I don’t want to take up your time, …….

Sumi: I really enjoyed our conversations because I could sense Ugaki’s sense of language and the interesting way she talked about the episodes.

Ugaki: It’s difficult to put it this way, but my senpai at TBS and Reina at TV TOKYO were different types. Many TBS announcers, including myself, had strong personalities. So, when I first spoke with a senior TV TOKYO announcer, I was impressed that she was listening to me so well. It’s not that the senior TBS announcers didn’t listen to me (laughs).

Sumi: TV TOKYO was more of a station where you were expected not to show your personality, so I worked while paying attention to the atmosphere of the other person and what was needed in that situation.

Ugaki: Many of my seniors at TBS were like “going my own way,” and watching their backs made me feel at ease. I was happy because I felt like they were telling me, “It’s okay to be yourself.
So when I see something that is not right, I immediately show it on my face. I would be so ocular that anyone could see it. I would get so upset that anyone could see it, but Reina-san was able to communicate it to the staff and keep things running smoothly.

Washimi: Ugaki gets it out of her before I do, so I can calm down before anger builds up.

Ugaki But when we went to the haunted house location together, it showed on your face. It was fun to see the really disgusted look on your face at that time (laughs).

Sumi: I was crying so hard, but Ugaki was laughing beside me (laughs). I just can’t do the haunted house. I tried to dash away at the end, and when I finally managed to escape, I hit my foot on the exit platform and got a big bruise. I wondered if I would get workman’s compensation.　The worst part was that even though I had already told them that I would not go to the haunted house again, the next time or so, they asked me to go again. That was unforgivable!　In the end, I gave up and asked Ugaki to go alone (laughs).

Ugaki: At the haunted house, I said, “Because it’s a doll! I was the type of person who thinks, “They’re using good speakers. Reina-san was amazing that time. I thought to myself, “People really do lose their backs.
Earlier, I said that Reina-san is an adjusting type, but she does not give in to everything, and she has a firm will. I thought, “That’s how it should be! I think.

Sumi: I respect Ugaki’s talent for writing. I admire the way you are able to show your sense in various fields, and I wish I could be like you as an announcer.