“The character of Azul Ashengrotto is, if I may say so myself, very peculiar! He is a gentleman, but he is also calculating and cold-hearted, he demands a ‘price’ for everything, and he has two very distinct sides. I was sure to be conscious of this duality while I was becoming the character.
I feel that the duality of villains overlaps with the duality of Azul. It was a lot of fun to portray him in scenes where he appears very calm but then suddenly expresses a lot of emotion, and risks losing control.
In terms of tone of voice and creating my own image of the character, I always had to be aware of Jade and Floyd, the two brothers who are also in Octavinelle dorm. Since we all recorded our parts separately, I had to try to imagine what the other characters in a scene would be like while reading through the script, and the director filled in the gaps.
Let’s leave Floyd and his unique personality to one side (laughs). I had this image of Jade that he would be a rather matter-of-fact and distant character, and I wanted to create a clear distinction between him and Azul, so at first I would do recordings in a high-pitched voice with a very exaggerated energy in order to emphasize Azul’s pompous nature.
But then I was given instructions to be more cool-headed, so I slightly deepened my voice and changed to a calmer tone.
The most difficult part was, of course, the end of the third chapter of the main story, The Merchant from the Depths. There is a scene where the director told me, ‘throw a temper tantrum like an infant!.’
It couldn’t be just losing my temper. I started out speaking heavy and low, then exploded, then became quiet again…I went through so many changes in tone that it sounded like Azul had become an entirely different character.
Also, high-school-age students living in a dormitory and running a lounge on their school campus? It’s a wild idea, but it has a charm to it. I would love to visit a place where the lighting has been designed like jellyfish to be reminiscent of the deep sea. But I wouldn’t want to live in Octavinelle dorm, and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near Azul! I feel like I might be talked into signing some kind of strange contract. I’m sure I’d get on his bad side, and slipping up would be scary.
I don’t think the Savanaclaw dorm is the right place for me, either, so as long as there isn’t any conflict, I think the Scarabia dorm with all its banquets and feasts would be the most appealing! But I also wonder if I might feel most at home in the Ramshackle dorm (laughs).”
-Twisted Wonderland Fanbook vol.1 (2020)
In the November, 2025 issue of Da Vinci Magazine, Tamaru commented the following:
“(Azul) is really exceptional. But I think his charm lies in the fact that he’s not a natural-born genius.
He overcame painful experiences in the past through extraordinary effort. And now, having broken free from being an ordinary person, he undoubtedly possesses remarkable talent, but precisely because of that he has a complex about people who are true geniuses.
I deliberately use a unique verbal tic where my tone undulates up and down…but it is really difficult. If the intonation is too strong it sounds cheap, and if it’s too restrained the individuality gets watered down.
When I want to show his miserly side I go stronger, and in serious scenes I tone it down, so it changes scene by scene. As the story progresses even more unexpected sides of him start to peek through, and sometimes he goes so full-on comedic that it makes me think, ‘Are we really going to go this far!?’ It’s fun how the range within the performance keeps expanding, but choosing the tone that perfectly matches each scene is becoming more and more difficult.
Floyd Leech, who physically strangles anyone he doesn’t like. Jade Leech, who seems gentlemanly at a glance, but is impossible to read. Working in tandem with their Housewarden, who calmly corners others with logic, they steadily go after their prey…or so it seems, but they’re both so willful that they absolutely won’t do anything they don’t want to, and before you know it everything falls apart. That’s what makes them interesting.
The twins especially are unpredictable and free-spirited. Suddenly getting bored and switching off without warning, or pretending to be refined while actually being the one who stirs things up the most. The Housewarden is the one who gets dragged around the most, unable to carry out his plans as intended.
The unclear, ambiguous bond between the three, whether they’re actually united or not, is reflected in the very nature of Octavinelle Dorm itself. They are coordinated yet unstable, and I think that dangerous, uncertain balance is part of their charm.”
– Tamaru Atsushi, DaVinci magazine (2025)
In August 2026, the official Twisted Wonderland Twitter account published the following comments from Tamaru on the character song/dorm song soundtrack and karaoke box implementation (source):
>> Memories from Recording
When singing, you can’t use the same kind of pronounced changes in intonation as you would in spoken dialogue, so I’m always experimenting through trial and error. If I overdo that undulating way of singing, it ends up sounding too affected…I worked through this while discussing with staff how far the characteristics of Azul’s spoken dialogue should be brought out.
>> What should fans pay attention to in the songs you participated in?
Inside the pop-like, bright sound of “Entanglement” you can feel something like the pressure of the three of them smiling. “Abyss,” being an overblot song, made me more conscious of its strength in comparison with the other. (Although it is not included on this CD) I struggled quite a bit with “Wish Resound,” thinking about how close I should keep to Malleus, and also because it was my first time singing as Azul.
>> Which song would you like to sing at karaoke?
The sustained high notes in ‘Absolutely Beautiful’ are really wonderful and I listen to it often. So I’d like to be able to sing it comfortably, but I can’t imitate it myself…I also like ‘Obedience’ because I get the image of the five of them moving with discipline, but it seems like it would be difficult to sing alone.
>> A message for the fans, please.
This time, I participated in two songs. I sang several different versions for each, trying to figure out how to fit both Azul and the song itself best. They were recorded through a process of trial and error. Please listen to them over and over again and immerse yourself in the world.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 