#show: haisute special

[kosaka-ryoutarou]

24 April 2018

“Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! Location shoot Special! Volume 2 Part 1″

This time, it’s a location shoot in Tokyo Dome City! It was really fun!

It’ll be broadcasted on CS-TBS Channel 2 on May 20 at 8:30 PM (JST)!

Please look forward to it~ (x)

[engekihaikyuu]

Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu - Fly High

Shungo (Akaashi) and Takeru (Yaku) went to go see the show!  

(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) 

[315-no-stage]

It's Thanksgiving here so cheers to all of you who celebrate. I personally don't celebrate (plus I'm fighting off an awful stomach bug, bummer) but there are so many things to be thankful for each and every day.

If a few days, I will be seeing that adorable face again for, what... the 9th time this year? Lol. Not bad for a 海外 fan, eh? 😜 This was the year in which I went through amazing things in both my personal and fangirl lives. As awful as my work life sounds when I talk about it, I'm still very thankful for the flexibility it grants me and the means to go on overseas trips as much as I have this year. I'm grateful for Haisute and the many mutuals I found through the fandom. Also, the wonderful actors I discovered on the show. 東京の陣 will always hold a special place in my heart as the first #engekihaikyuu I saw in person but it also introduced me to 桜庭大翔！

(Yeah, shallow post is shallow but ya girl needs something to post lol. No, seriously... 2019 is one big Thanksgiving Day - Year - that I can't wait to see how much more it can be!)

[triananero]

Wada Shunsuke Birthday Project!

You might not have heard his name, but if you’re reading this, chances are you heard his music: this amazing Japanese composer is the genius behind the 2.5D soundtracks for Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu, Live Spectacle Naruto, Kuromyuu (Kuroshitsuji), One Piece (Live Attractions), Fairy Tale (Live Fantasy), Daiya no Ace The LIVE stage adaptations and many, many other plays (he will also be working on Boku no Hero Academia stage this year). Composers rarely get direct feedback from the audience, and while during the latest Haisute tour Wada-san thankfully had such a wonderful opportunity, many foreign fans couldn’t use it, unable to go to Japan and watch the show. We want to show Wada-san some of the appreciation that people have for his wonderful music overseas, so we came up with this birthday project that we would like you to join if you’re also a fan of his works!

We don’t have much time, since his birthday is on January 30th, and we decided to make a video (if you’re too shy to record it/don’t have an opportunity, don’t just scroll down, please keep reading). We are going to create a clip from small videos from the fans. You can participate in this project in 2 following ways:

— make a video (preferable);

— take a picture (if you are unable to make a video or if you’re too shy for it, for example);

— if you don’t have an opportunity to do either, but you still really want to participate, do contact me, and we’ll try to figure something out.

The pictures will also be a part of the clip, of course.

VIDEO: you have to make a video of yourself (10-15 sec) where you can a) thank the composer for his music, b) describe what kind of feelings and emotions his music makes you feel, c) wish him something good, d) do something else (something nice). As usual we recommend that you speak your native language, because it’s really cool to be able to show that his fans come from many different places (if you can and if you want, however, of course you can speak Japanese or English, it’s up to you). Naturally, we will translate your words into Japanese (and add subtitles).

— the video should be 15-20 seconds long (can only be longer if you’re doing something very creative or if you really have many meaningful things to say, but please, keep in mind our poor translator who just had to work for a similar project for another composer);

— horizontal format;

— GOOD QUALITY (480p at least; if you can’t manage that, better take a picture);

— make sure that you can be seen clearly and that the video isn’t too dark;

— SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR, preferably without background noise (it’s much easier for us to make your video quieter than make background music quieter so that we could hear your voice, so please, please speak louder);

— if you have an opportunity to record this video in a beautiful place, or near a famous spot of your town, that would be awesome (unless it’s too noisy);

— your pets can definitely take part in the video if you want them to;

— you could also make a video near/with your musical instrument and maybe say something about how his music inspires you to play etc;

— please do not go anywhere near CDs/Youtube/any other illegal ways of listening to his music that you probably used in your short speech (unless you actually have CDs);

— please refer to the composer politely: Wada-san;

— send us a TEXT of what you’re saying along with the video as it will speed up the translation process significantly (the text should be in English if you’re speaking your native language).

PHOTO: you can take a picture of yourself with a piece of paper and write something nice on it (or you can paste something right onto your picture, but keep an eye on the composition).

— the picture should also be horizontal;

— please make sure its quality is high enough so we can clearly see&read everything;

— really shy people can take a pic of their pet instead or draw something;

— please also provide us with a text you write/paste on the picture;

— you can find some examples of interesting pictures here or here (you might not be able to view the last link).

ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS should be sent to the following email address titled “Wada Shunsuke Birthday Project”: ksseniya777@yandex.ru

Please do not forget to send us the TEXT of what you’ve said/written along with the media material!

DEADLINE: we would REALLY love to receive all your intros before JANUARY 25th so that we’d still have some time left for translating and editing. If you are somehow not making it, but still want to participate, please warn me by email in advance, and then we can figure something out. There’s also a special service available for airheads like me: message me on Tumblr or email me, and I will put you on the “kicking list”, meaning I will remind you about the project from time to time until you send me the stuff (because you can simply forget about it in 2 weeks, trust me, I know).

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Tumblr or Twitter! 

It won’t take you much time nor much effort (unless you wish to, which is very appreciated), but it will be a wonderful present to show our gratitude for Wada-san’s hard work. I’ve organized 3 of such projects already, and the result is always so, so worth it, because composers really value and appreciate our support, and that is the least we can give to them for blessing us with such amazing music!

We would be really grateful to everyone who participates! ;>

[tsukkinode]

Cosmania 2018: Ino Hiroki and Asuma Kousuke Fan Meet Report

Hello! I’m back with a new fan report, and it’s from the recent Cosmania 2018 in the Philippines where Hiroki and Kousuke came as special guests! It was a pretty fun and wild(?) fan meeting, so I hope you enjoy my report!

Note: I know that a lot of fan reports have emerged from Twitter, but I would appreciate it if you would link back to this post if you ever decide to share any parts from this post. This is ging to be as detailed as possible esp the talk part. Thank you!

I also have a Ko-fi account, so if you ever want to give me some coffee, I’ll be grateful!

The MC introduced both of them with their respectful 2.5D roles, and the screams were really loud without them appearing yet. They entered from the center of the stage, as the backdrop display splits into two. Hiroki is wearing a dark navy suit with a black shirt underneath, while Kousuke is wearing a light brown suit with a white shirt underneath. They both look so handsome in person! We were lucky to be seated on the fourth row near the stage!

Hiroki and Kousuke greeted the fans to the front! Hiroki greeted everyone in English along with a “Mabuhay!” Kousuke mentioned how he’s finally in the Philippines. (Fun fact: I got a Hiroki calendar from a friend, and the friend with me used it as a signage. We decided to use the July page bc it’s a very sexy one. Hiroki couldn’t help but laugh to himself bc there were at least 3 Hiroki calendars in those pages waving at him lol I love my friends. He was looking at us when he laughed, it’s so precious XD)

The first part is a talk event where the MC asks questions, and they basically have to answer them. (Stylistic note: Anything that’s italicized is spoken in English.)

Q: How did you start as an actor?

Hiroki: Oh. Alright, I’m gonna start talking (Fans started screaming when he started talking in English, and he said that we’ll probably like it if he does speak in English)... So, when I was 15, I worked in Harajuku and I was scouted by a manager. But at first, I was not interested in being an actor... Oh, sorry! Okay, in Japanese!

Everyone was laughing because he really did his best but he gave up midway. He wanted to probably answer it properly.

Hiroki: In my very first stage play, during the curtain call, I could properly see everyone’s face. From then on, that’s when I started getting interested in acting so I decided to become an actor.

When it was Kousuke’s turn and he started talking, fans were so loud. He really has a lot of fans here in the Philippines.

Kousuke: As for me, I was introduced into the entertainment scene by my friend.

MC: I think it’s fate that they have met several people into becoming actors, and now they’re here with us!

Hiroki: Right! That’s it!

(Please stop Hiroki, he’s too cool and funny in this panel.)

Q: We understand acting is not easy. What are the challenges you faced as an actor?

Hiroki: It actually varies on the characters you get as an actor like you could be required to know sword fighting. And there, we actually have to study those skills.

Kousuke: For me... Well, as I’ve been into different 2.5D production, with every single character that differs, you have to keep studying the (original) work and so every day there’s a challenge you face. But right now! It’s (the character) Jollibee.

Right after he mentioned Jollibee, everybody just lost it. I did too because that’s too extra of him to say tbh.

Hiroki: Do you want to try (acting it)?

Kousuke: Jollibee?

HIS FACE WHEN HIROKI SUGGESTED THAT. Seriously, Hiroki is so good with this adlib thing, Kousuke looked like he wasn’t prepared for it. But anyway, Kousuke went in front to try doing Jollibee. What he did is he’s like doing this holding a tray thing and serving it in a cute way. XD

MC: Is that Jollibee?

Fans were screaming, “Noooo!” and were disagreeing.

Hiroki: Where’s Jollibee? XD

Kousuke turned to Hiroki while laughing bc he got so shy and embarrassed. Suddenly, the fans were asking for Hiroki’s turn to show his Jollibee. Fan went, “Hiroki! Hiroki!” along with Kousuke. So when Hiroki went in front, he just did this cute pose and went, “This is! Jollibee Spaghetti!” And the whole audience went wild and cheering for him!

Hiroki: Is this Jollibee? (The fans said yes!)

Hiroki, looking/pointing at Kousuke: I’m Jollibee, you’re not. XD

Kousuke looked so dejected though. Both of them are so cute in that segment.

Q: Which character you portrayed is your favorite?

Hiroki: I know you want to, you want, ehh... (He gets flustered here bc of his pause and the fans were just cheering him on XD) Okay, okay! What you want to is... Koushi Sugawara? (Fans: Yesssss!) I know, I know. But the question is difficult for me because it’s like, “Hey, who’s your favorite, your mother or father?” So yeah, it’s hard because I can’t choose.

(My friend and I were like, “Awww that’s so sweet” lol)

MC: Everyone is your favorite.

Hiroki: Yeah! Hmm yeah!

(This is just me, but it’s weird for the MC to ask the audience if we accept that... Of course, we do lol what are you saying)

Kousuke: Uhm, well... it’s Haikyuu’s Oikawa Tooru.

The fans just went screaming (seriously though, Oikawa’s a fan favorite, and a lot of PH fans became his fans bc of Oikawa). The MC asked if we can hear his “Yaho!”

Kousuke went to the front and went, “Yaho, Tobio-chan!” The screams were louder than usual, and then some started chanting, “Iwa-chan!” Kousuke didn’t understand it at first, until Hiroki told him (without the mic) to say Iwa-chan too. And so he did that too!

Q: What was your happiest moment as an actor?

Hiroki: It makes me the happiest when I get to see everyone laughing or crying because of stage plays. (Hiroki does these crying motions too, and he was just so adorable).

Kousuke: Well, I feel just the same as Hiroki, but also from getting into Haisute, I get to be in different amazing stage plays. And the fact that I am here in the Philippines. How do you say this... I’m very grateful for everything.

Q: What advice do you have for people aiming to be an actor?

Hiroki: So... Actors cannot be alone. You’re here, and we’re here.

Tbh, I got what he meant by this. He said this in English and I went, “Awwww. Holy crap, I want to cry.” Hiroki said it in Japanese to his interpreter which she basically said the same thing, “If not for you, they won’t be here.” With an addition of “Never forget that feeling of gratitude towards your fans.”

Kousuke: For me... Well, I know everyone’s aiming for it, but we won’t know when we would be debuting exactly. Until then, I think it’s important that we keep studying and improving ourselves so we can be much more prepared for it. That’s what I want to share.

From here, questions are asked from the audience.

Q: What future roles would you want to be in?

Hiroki: I wanna be a prime minister! President! Or Spider-Man!

Kousuke: I’ve said this earlier, but it’s Jollibee! A 2.5D version of Jollibee!

Good heavens, you don’t know how much we laughed at this part bc it ended up as Hiroki and Kosuke arguing about Jollibee. XD

Hiroki: Hey, you said Jollibee is me?!

Kousuke: I’m gonna steal it from you!

Q: For Asuma-san, have you every adlibed on stage? If so, how did you execute it?

Kousuke: Adlib... a little. I’m bad at it.

The audience went silent, and Kousuke got so confused with the reaction, so he went, “Eh? Eh??” Hiroki saved him by saying, “They’re saying ‘ooooh’”

Kousuke: Well, so not to forget my character’s lines, I always make sure to really study them very well so I can tell them properly.

Q: For Ino-san, out of all the characters you have portrayed, whom do you relate the most, and why?

Hiroki: Uhm, Koushi Sugawara. He’s the most normal human out of all the characters I’ve played, which is like me who’s pretty much normal and doesn’t want the kouhais to steal the position from me. I think that’s how much I relate to him.

Q: What is your reaction when you were invited for an overseas event for the first time?

Hiroki: Yesterday, I was really nervous because this is my first time to be with you. But now! I am so excited to see you! Thanks to you!

Kousuke: Uhm... I was really worried that there wouldn’t be a lot of people who would come, but now, if we could make each and every one of you even a little bit happier, then... Until the end, let’s have fun with what we have today!

Second half is more of the fun stuff! The first challenge is making them speak Tagalog. Sentences were flashed on the screen and they basically have to pronounce them.

The first one is “Ako si __. Ako ay ipinaganak sa __. (I am __. I was born in __.)”

MC: Can you do it, Hiroki-san?

Hiroki: Of course!

Hiroki was actually good in pronouncing words so he was able to speak the sentences well.

Hiroki: Ako ay si... Hiroki! Ako ay ipinanganak sa... Japan! (Fans were cheering him on!) Masarap... Jolly Spaghetti!

He also asked if it was good, so the fans were satisfied and gave him an okay sign. Kousuke went up next.

Kousuke: Ako ey si... Kousuke Asuma. Ako ey pen? pen?... (Fans were teaching him by this time, shouting “ipinanganak/pinanganak) pinanganak! Sa... Japanese!

Kousuke was so cute, but because of that little mistake, fans were giving him an NG sign and telling him to try it again. He also cannot pronounce ‘ipinanganak’ well so he fumbles his words too. He did it again and he said that he was born in ‘Japanese’ until Hiroki taught him the proper word and said that Japanese is a person, Japan is the place. When Kousuke did it again, he said, “Ako ay si Kosuuke Asuma. Ako ay pinanganak sa... in Gifu!”

Second sentence is “Ang paborito kong pagkain Pinoy ay __ (My favorite Filipino food is __).” A lot of fans are actually chanting Jollibee here, but I kinda shouted adobo lol

Hiroki: Alright. Paborito kong... pagkaing Pinoy ay... adobo!... Perfect?

When it was Kousuke’s turn, I had to cheer him with ganbare!

Kousuke: Paborito kong... pegkein? Pagkain? Pinoy? Pinyoy? ay... Philippine meat! Philippine meat... Chicken, chicken.

The fans were not so convinced so he went, “I like lapu-lapu!” Which is a kind of fish in the Philippines.

The last sentence is, “Mahal ko kayo” and omg the fans were losing it lol.

Hiroki went to start, and he turned his back to us. He started this countdown, 3, 2, 1, then he went to turn to us and say, “Mahal ko kayo” in quite a sexy voice lol

Kousuke also did the same, and his countdown is in Japanese, san, ni, ichi. AND GAHD KOUSUKE WAS SO SOFT but his voice is deeper. It was so good! Both of them were so good! Thank you for the food lol

The next challenge is an improvisation game/acting challenge. They have to pick a noun they have to portray and an adjective to describe their character. Now, this is also a contest so there would be voting at the end of the challenge. The loser would have to dance. I told my friend that I hope Hiroki loses so he would have to dance.

For the first round, Hiroki picked up a cheerful gay person (it’s actually okama, but it doesn’t have a good connatation imo) while Kousuke picked up a dog that is surprised easily. Hiroki actually laughed when he first picked his paper. Funny thing is when Kousuke picked up ‘dog’, he went back to the bowl to try to change it, but he was stopped. 

They have to act together too, and all I can say is... Hiroki went too all out XD Kousuke was on all-fours because he was a dog, while Hiroki started as “Oh no. It’s so hot!” And he suddenly screamed and ran after dog!Kousuke! Hiroki went, “Come on, dog!! Come on!” There was a part that he was grabbing dog!Kousuke by the pants lmao just to call him towards him. 

Kousuke looked so scared of how gay!Hiroki was acting obviously. He was doing this gesture with his hands in front of him to make gay!Hiroki calm down too (he’s being too friendly with this dog lmao). 

Gay!Hiroki kept trying to get dog!Kousuke’s attention and asked for his name, to which Kousuke answered, “Jollibee” lmao. Dog!Kousuke kept walking around the stage (in all-four), but Hiroki kept grabbing him (by his leg/feet). And then Hiroki called him while bringing a bottled water, “Do you want this?” Kousuke is just looking at him even though he’s scared.

Hiroki: Do you want this from my mouth?

istg I think the venue went a bit hotter during this segment. Kousuke couldn’t understand him tbh, so Hiroki told him in Japanese, and KOUSUKE’S SHOCKED FACE LMAO. So they continued with the segment, with Kousuke saying he’ll drink it. HAHA Even Hiroki didn’t expect that hah.

They were actually sitting on the floor, the bottled water placed in between them, and Hiroki suddenly went, “Do it yourself! Do it yourself!” and shoved it to Kousuke XD And then Kousuke walked away looking sad HAHAHA PLEASE STOP THIS.

Hiroki: Oh, sorry, sorry, my puppy! Puppy!

Kousuke went back to him, and then Hiroki asked him to stand up (tbh whyyyy). Kousuke did, and they were just looking at each other’s eyes, and suddenly Kousuke fell to his knees, and GOOD HEAVENS THE POSITION THEY WERE IN. Kousuke looked up to Hiroki and just akslgalkgjalkg. And then Hiroki put his hand on Kousuke’s shoulder and went, “Finished!”

Note that there were two screens on the side of the stage so we can see their faces close up. And istg it was that good, just from seeing Kousuke’s face lmao. From our seat, we can vividly see their faces, but thanks to the screen, we can see their expressions bigger lmao

Voting was done and the screams were just so loud for both of them. It was decided that they would do one more. They will have to pick another character, but there will be a change.

Hiroki: I picked a dog! Well it’s okay because I like dogs.

Kousuke: I got a drunk! (and he acted this for a bit lmao)

The setting would be in a school.

Kousuke: Going drunk in school is bad though!

Which is true lmao, but they have to act in this setting. Hiroki was also in all-four but he’s towards the back of the stage, while Kousuke was in front. And then Kousuke went moving around the stage, he even went down towards the left side almost near the audience, looking for “San Miguel”

When he went back to the stage, he saw dog!Hiroki and asked for San Miguel. “San Miguel please? San Miguel!”

Hiroki: What!? San Miguel?

Kousuke: San Miguel. Uh.. San Miguel, San Miguel! (does a drinking motion lmao)

Hiroki: What you saying?!... Hey, don’t touch the puppy! What are you talking about? DON’T TOUCH ME! Don’t touch the puppy! You don’t touch the puppy! Holy shit!

Kousuke was actually touching Hiroki the entire time on his back lmao. So when Hiroki said not to touch him, he was trying to walk away (in all-fours) but he was so cute being grumpy like that lmao 

Kousuke: I... I don’t speak in English a little. Okay? Koko (here)

Hiroki: Annyeong.

Kousuke: Japanese.

Hiroki: Ni hao.

Kousuke: Japanese. I speak Japanese.

Hiroki: You speak Japanese... Ohhh. Annyeong.

Kousuke seemed to give up because Hiroki won’t speak to him in Japanese, so he kept looking for San Miguel. They have a table full of bottled water and Kousuke acted as if he found beer (San Miguel), and then he brought one to Hiroki. 

Hiroki was so cute because he was just sitting there and just being such a diva puppy tbh. XD And then he put the bottled water on the floor, and then he just drank from the straw. 

Hiroki: I’m a dog.

Kousuke: Dog?

Hiroki: No, a puppy. That is so cutie puppy!

Kousuke: Want to drink? Want to drink?

Hiroki: I want to drink.

And then Kousuke took the bottle and he drank from it. Of course everyone exclaimed and just lost it (bc indirect kiss lol)

Kousuke: Oh this is water! Water! No San Miguel, water!

Hiroki: IT’S MINE! PUPPY’S! THIS IS PUPPY’S!

Kousuke: Puppy’s?

Hiroki: Yeah!

Kousuke: Oh, sorry. Sorry... I didn’t know. My house? You want to come my house?

Hiroki: Your house is big?

Kousuke couldn’t understand it, so Hiroki repeated if his bag is big XD

Kousuke: Oh! Big! Yes, big!

Hiroki: Ooooh okay, I go your house!

And that’s when they end the skit. LOL. Of course, there’s also the voting. Voting started with Hiroki, and he was like “More!!” When voting started for Kousuke, Hiroki went, “booo!” In the end, Hiroki won, and Kousuke like, “No, no!!”

The punishment is dancing to MOMOLAND’S Boom Boom because it’s trending here in the Philippines. They showed the video on the screen and Kousuke was trying to follow it. He was so cute as he tried to do it. Hiroki was actually dancing along with it. Kousuke was so unprepared because they only showed the video once, and he had to dance to it already.

In the end, Hiroki also danced to it together with Kousuke. We even danced with them too. It was so nice! So it ended up as the audience are their teachers while dancing haha. Also there was this part that Hiroki is doing the Gangnam Style dance steps instead haha.

After that, we took a photo together! After the official photographer, Hiroki asked to take one from his phone too (he actually brought it with him on stage haha).

And then onto the last messages:

Hiroki: Thank you for coming today. It’s my very first time to come here so... How do you say it. I was really nervous. Just like what Kousuke said earlier, I worried if people would come. For the sake of people who came and those who have fun, I will keep doing my best as an actor. I love you all.

Kousuke: Thank you to everyone who came here today. When I get home, we’ll start with Haikyuu, so I’ll be doing my best for that. Also, with everyone’s continuous support, maybe we can return to the Philippines.... I will come back Philippines!

Hiroki: Which you like... Me and Jolly Pasta? I mean Jolly Spaghetti?

At this part, he has acctually looking at our side, and because I was motioning that I like him more than Jollibee, he saw me and went, “Me?”

I thought his question was like that, until Kousuke reacted with, “No! Me Jollibee!” And both of them were just a laughing mess.

Before they actually went off the stage, they actually went down towards the audience so we were able to see them closer! Hiroki touched some fans from the other side haha. But aah, they were really handsome and funny! Such nice people too!

I was able to meet and talk to Kousuke too because of the high touch event!  He was so fun to talk to, and he got excited when I told him I will see him again for Haisute~ He also remembered me talking to him on his very first even in 2016. My request of telling him to go to the Philippines because he has a lot of fans here has come true. That time, he told he that he wants to. ;A; (Yep, I lined up more than once for the high touch event, thanks to some people! You know who you are! <3 No regrets lining up for 3 hours for the goods and getting so hungry just before the talk panel.)

I hope you enjoy this fan report! I tried to be as detailed as possible, so please direct people here instead of lifting/reposting them. 

Again, my ko-fi account is also open for coffee donations! Thank you! 

[kosuukeh]

2018/05/03 [x][x] - Kousuke went to watch Haisute “Hajimari no Kyojin” during the evening show~

Twitter:

"I went to see Haikyuu today!!!

I thought over and over again how Haikyuu was so special to me. It is such an exciting stage!!!

I met everyone, We got to talk a lot, Please run without injury until the end.

I'll post pictures on instagram too (ﾟ∀ﾟ)"

Instagram:

"Today I came to watch Haikyuu at theater. I was happy I got to meet everyone. For Autumn, I will show my growth to all of you. I'm going to do my best!!!"

[tamushins-blog]

Jprime interview - Torigoe Yuuki x Arisawa Shoutarou

I’ve translated the first 3 pages of the Jprime interview with Torigoe Yuuki & Arisawa Shoutarou! Pages 4 & 5 are special solo Q&A pages, where Torippiyo is asked questions about Shoutarou, and Shoutarou is asked questions about Torippiyo. I’ll translate those later, and put them in a separate post because I fear that this post will be too long if I put it all here! (lol) The original article is here, and the full translations are under the Read More. Enjoy~

Just like the Shinsengumi swords, their personalities are all over the place, but their team power is strong.

Q: What kind of atmosphere did the cast of Musical Touken Ranbu Bakumatsu Tenrouden have?

Tori: Just like the Shinsengumi swords, our personalities were all over the place. It felt like the show had already begun even when it hadn’t. (laugh)

Shou: Those all-over-the-place members were brought together by Tori-san and Goumoto Naoya-san. We were really different, but when we came together we could work successfully.

Tori: That was something strangely nice about the cast, don’t you think? Everyone’s personalities were way different, but we all shared the simple feeling of, “I want to make this production interesting, I really want to get in the shoes of the character I’m playing,” so that was probably what brought us all together so nicely. We had some really passionate conversations too, didn’t we?

Shou: When we became a team, everyone silently began improving in dancing, singing, acting, and sword fighting. I think our teamwork was really strong. We helped each other a lot.

Tori: We teased each other a lot too. (laugh) When we toured around the country during our performances we got to eat at a lot of nice places, didn’t we? 

Shou: We sure did. One that left a particularly big impression on me was when we had the performance at Itsukushima Shrine. It happened in the middle of Bakumatsu Tenrouden’s Japan performances, so it was particularly rigorous, huh.

Tori: That performance was really rigorous.

Shou: Because we were co-starring with the cast of the first Toumyu, Atsukashiyama Ibun, I was worried about things like, “Am I going to pull a leg muscle?” Takahashi Kensuke-kun and I both got really frustrated trying to learn the new dances. (Bitter smile) But Tori-san encouraged me and told me, “Shoutarou, don’t let this get you down.” Everyone really took me under their wings until I properly understood how to perform Atsukashiyama’s songs and dances.

Tori: I thought, “I won’t allow myself to lose to the Atsukashiyama members, I’ll have to keep laughing!”

Shou: Ahahahaha!

Tori: But yeah, the performance at Itsukushima Shrine really was an amazing experience.

Shou: It really was incredible.

~ ~ ~ pg2

The gourmet, Tori-san, has only messed up once when choosing a place to eat...

Interviewer: When you traveled to different parts of the country for performances, did you all get to eat delicious food?

Shou: Everywhere we went, Tori-san did research to find delicious restaurants for us to eat at.

Tori: But there was that one time when I messed up~ (laugh)

Shou: Ah, it was that place we went to when we were in Osaka for performances, wasn’t it...

Tori: It was a sushi restaurant.

Shou: When we walked into the restaurant, what we saw was entirely different from the pictures we found of it online, and we started to suspect that what we saw online was completely fake. There was only one staff member in the restaurant, and that guy was a picture-perfect example of stubbornness, it was really pressurising. (laugh)

Tori: It was an atmosphere in which we felt we couldn’t really talk, so the 6 of us (Torigoe, Arisawa, Sato Ryuji, Ogoe Yuuki, Takahashi Kensuke, Imari Yu) ate silently the whole time. As soon as we left the restaurant, I kept apologising, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Shou: Tori-san was the one who brought us all to the restaurant, so no one voiced any complaints. “Unn~... That was….” I didn’t voice it, but in my mind…

Tori: I could see it clearly on everyone’s faces. At that time, you were really making a bad face (warui kao) you know~ (laugh)

Shou: Ahahahahaha!

Interviewer: What are the main factors that lead to the cast members having a relationship in which everyone can just be themselves?

Tori: A large part of it was really that we spent so much time together over the period of rehearsals and performances. That, and the fact that the oldest one of us all, Imari Yu, didn’t give us the feeling that he was older than us at all. Shoutarou, Yu-kun has always taken care of you and Kensuke, hasn’t he?

Shou: I can’t deny that. (laugh)

Interviewer: All of you meet up on your own free time to go eat together, and even go bowling, right?

Tori: That’s right. Though we haven’t gone out bowling together since that time we went after coming back from the India Gaming Show. (laugh)

Shou: I was jealous that I couldn’t go bowling with the rest of you that time because I was already heading to rehearsals for another stage play (Haisute), so I’m really looking forward to going bowling with you today.*

(*After this interview, the pair went out bowling together with Ogoe Yuuki-san and Takagi Tomoyuki-san.)

Interviewer: Who are the best at bowling?

Tori: Kensuke and Yu-kun are seriously good at bowling. Their scores by the second half of the game were already over 200, but they were still hungry for more. (laugh)

Shou: Kensuke-kun’s also really good at Table tennis. Darts and billiards too.

Tori: I’m angry, he’s good at so many things~ For real. (laugh)

Shou: Ahahahahaha! You and Kensuke-kun are both really interesting. At night in Osaka, the two of you were chasing each other around like children. (laugh)

Tori: Well, I’ve always kind of felt like we were brothers. (laugh)

~ ~ ~ pg3

Shoutarou needs to be scolded by someone frank & honest

Interviewer: Does this team ever talk about love?

Tori: We’re all like, “Talk about love? Eh, it doesn’t really matter to me.” We’re all too self-absorbed.

Shou: It’s true. (laugh)

Interviewer: Then, do you not know what each others’ types are?

Tori: Not at all.

Shou: Man, we really don’t talk about that stuff at all, do we?

Interviewer: Then, what are your types when it comes to love?

Shou: For me, I’m fine with my significant other being younger or older than me, but I really like people who are tolerant. People who make you feel like you’re being wrapped in a kind, gentle aura are great.

Tori: Shoutarou’s always so fluffy, I think he needs to be with someone frank and honest so that they can scold him.

Shou: Eeh~ (laugh) Then again, I may be attracted to people like that.

Tori: I have this great dream. I want to fart, at home. And then I want my girlfriend to yell at me, “THAT REALLY STINKS, CAN YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF?!” (laugh)

Shou: Ahahahahaha!

Interviewer: But is it okay if your girlfriend farts?

Tori: That’s fine! It doesn’t matter to me at all. (laugh) Strangely, I think it would be nice for us both to be open like that around each other.

Interviewer: Do you have a desire to get married?

Tori: I really want to get married. Because I want to have children. I want us all to watch Pretty Cure (magical girl anime series) together. But if I have a daughter, I may worry too much about her and become a little bit of a stalker. (laugh) I think I might set a really severe curfew for her. Like around 5pm. (laugh)

Shou: Telling her to go home when it’s still bright outside? (laugh) As for me, I really feel no rush to get married. But I do love children, so I think maybe one day I’ll want to have children myself.

Tori: You’ll be a really cool papa for sure, Shoutarou.

Shou: Oh no, no. But in any case, daughters can be difficult to deal with when they grow up, so I think I’d rather have a son.

Tori: Hahahahaha! I want to have a daughter so I can go shopping with her.

Interviewer: Lastly, how do you view each other?

Tori: Somehow or other, I’ve always had this feeling that Shoutarou’s my cute little brother. He’s an amiable person, and he comes when you call him. (laugh)

Shou: Hearing that makes me happy. I see Tori-san as a role model, someone who’s reliable even while performing, someone who is certain to put his all into everything he does. That’s why I see him as someone I really can’t afford to lose. Plus, he always takes me to eat delicious food when we go out to eat together (laugh), so I feel like I really want to meet up with him once every two days.

Tori: You want to meet up once every two days?

Shou: Do you?

Tori: We’d get tired of each other~ (laugh)

Shou: Ahahahahaha!

[pelvic-mochi]

Just got home from Japan and I just want to make a quick fukurodani/bkak report on haisute!

- Bokuto was only in swimming shorts during the intro. 

- Other cast members harassing cross dressing Komi.

- Bokuto was so touchy. Specially to Akaashi like the boy can’t keep his hands off him!

- Actual mom akaashi

- Akaashi literally being bokuto’s owner 

- that part where it was raining and for some reason bokuto decides to sit on the wet ground and realized his shorts got wet and he shouts “akaashi” while showing akaashi his wet shorts and akaashi being all “bokuto-san let’s go” and bokuto just following diligently like a puppy

- akaashi(kousei)’s “bokuto san” 

- Fukurodani killing it with the fab dance moves (I think sarukui did a lot of ballroom like moves) they were all so great

- the bokuakahina family was strong

- akaashi (kousei) playing one of the middle school kids coach ukai teaches. he was literally like a kid my japanese friend literally called him “aho” (stupid) LOL but he was so gosh damn cute

- bokuto (kouki)’s dejected mode was everything

- During the bbq part, bokuto kept holding a sausage and offering it to literally anyone he sees. but in the end only kageyama took it (aaw)

- also, I wasn’t at the curtain call since I didn;t watch the last show (the 6pm one) but according to my friend who did watch (and some other friends on twitter), akaashi (kousei) upped the bokuaka game with asking the audience what do they think he’ll say the first thing he wakes up tomorrow morning, and of course everyone thought he’d say “good morning” but kousei answered with “bokuto-san” and everyone just lost their shit. even kouki also looked a tad bit embarrassed but happy LOL

- not sure, but some of the fukurodani members cried during the curtain call. i still need to confirm this again asljfglf

- also, fukurodani messed up their thank you speech. somehow it seems kouki was supposed to lead it (like what shouri does with nekoma) but he messed up and the others were like “aho ka” and he was so sorry and nervous LOL

I have more reports but they’re on my phone I’ll update this post maybe tomorrow :)

[heartythrills]

Haikyuu Stage - to note all that’s left of my memories, however little

On the first day of the stage, my sister and I were seated on the first floor, last row on the right. It was a bit far for me as I am not farsighted, but it wasn’t bad. I have vague memories of the show since it’s been like a week since I last watched it (even though I watched it 4 times ><; 

 But here are some things I remember...the stage includes: (spoilers ahead)

-when Hinata and Kageyama meet Ushijima at Shiratorizawa. 

-when Hinata saves Kiyoko from Johzenji 

-Johzenji’s game (their theme reminds me of DDR. It was really fun to watch) 

-Tanaka and Noya wanting Kiyoko to hit their behinds 

-Hinata being Spiderman (Kenta literally had the string spray) 

-Kageyama’s nosebleed, and Tanaka offering himself up for a punch from Noya when Kiyoko took care of Kageyama 

-Sugawara’s synchronize attack 

-After Johzenji’s game was the Fukurodani vs Nekoma game. This came to me as a surprise. It was done so well, it’s actually my favorite game of the stage this time. I didn’t particularly pay too much attention to the game when reading since I’m not a huge fan of Nekoma (or Kenma), but I did like the game because Fukurodani is one of my favorite teams. But the integration of this game is just amazing, and the soundtrack. OMG, THE SOUNDTRACK. Anyways, Kenta switches out from Hinata to an announcer as mirrors are brought onto the stage to give you that illusion of a full stage. He announces Nekoma’s entrance first. Kuroo throws his robe up in the air and completely misses it. On the first show, it looked like it was an actual accident, but he did it again in the following shows. Kenma had asked if he was nervous, in which Kuroo responded ‘of course’ he was and took Kenma’s robe and left the stage. Fukurodani was announced next. Takumi is much thinner than Kouki, and he was definitely nervous for the first show, but I think he played Bokuto well. When he threw his robe, Akaashi caught it, obviously. Then all the guys holding the mirrors started chanting Bokuto’s name. It really gets you hyped up. There’s a coin flip to see who goes first, and Nekoma goes first, but before the game can actually start, Kenta comes between the two teams to stop them so they can take a break, pointing to Kuroo’s ‘1’ and Kenma’s ‘5’ as they turned their backs to show the 15 for the intermission. 

-Oh, another other thing I forgot to mention was then Tanaka said that he could become captain, but then you get the first years walking by in the back with signs. I couldn’t catch what the signs said T-T 

-At the beginning of the second half, the family of Takeru Nakashima (Wakunan’s captain) comes out first, introducing themselves as the father, mother, brother, sister, and baby brother (5 of the Johzenji casts were playing the family). The mom then asks for a favor from the audience and taught us a chant. “Wakunan, Wakunan, Waku Waku” clap clap “Wakunan, Wakunan, Waku Waku Go! Go!” Which obviously, we all made the mistake of clapping when the Wakunan portion was repeated. It was really fun. We practiced a few times, making the expected mistakes since they were prepared to correct us, before the music came on and Wakunan came running through the aisle from the right. I wished I had seats in the first sections instead. Shimada, Yachi, and Saeko got on stage and taught the audience Karasuno’s chant, and as you would expect, Karasuno came running through the aisle from the left. Naoki (Suga) actually made it up to a few rows in front of us before going on stage. 

-During the Wakunan game, the kids show up and entertained the stage with Ukai in a beard. 

-There was a switch back and forth between the Wakunan game and Fukurodani vs Nekoma game. Wakunan’s theme is more rock-ish with really strong dance moves. They also have a kind of dance battle moment towards the end. 

-Fukurodani vs Nekoma game included Bokuto’s weakness #37 moment. This was done absolutely perfectly. Shungo played Akaashi so flawless during this moment; I swear Akaashi was there on stage for real. They made me love Bokuto and Akaashi more than I already do. 

-Enoshita’s moment! After Tanaka and Daichi crashed into each other and Daichi had to be sent to the infirmary, Enoshita covers as the main defense. His memories of running away from volleyball are projected on the back screen. This was also done beautifully. 

-Yamaguchi’s pinch-serve. The way it was done, just wow. I think there were 4 or 5 volleyballs hanging from the ceiling that would light up and they would move the net to emphasize on where the ball was to the net as Yamaguchi doubts himself. 

-Toward the end of the game, there’s this moment in which Karasuno does a kind of remix dance that included dance moves from all the teams they’ve encountered. This scene reminded me of power rangers because of the different colored lights circling around. You’ll get it once you see the stage. 

-After the game, the beautiful game comes back on and we get Yamaguchi wanting another chance, we get Wakunan crying, see the filmed game between Aoba Johsai and Dateko. Then they do the credits before Hinata and Kageyama sees Ushijima again at the end? And then another credit…I’ve seen it so many times, I’ve gotten confused. 

-Curtain call. I’ve mentioned this in my tweet, but Kenta took a moment to talk about Kouki’s injury and put the spotlight on Takumi as the stand in. Kenta felt that he had to address it and talked about taking care ones health, and several other things that I couldn’t quite catch. And when he called Takumi, Takumi started crying and walked backstage. Shungo and Kenta went back to get him of course. It was just a really touching moment. I think that Kenta is truly a blessing as he takes into account all the things that happen surrounding the stage. 

There were some differences in the 4 shows we watched. 

The first, second, and last show, Kenta and Tatsuya came out for curtain call. The third show, however, Kazuma was the one that came out with Kenta, while Tatsuya is peeking behind them in the back. The crowd went wild when we realized it was Kazuma instead of Tatsuya. It was a special one time thing to never happen ever again, Kenta says. 

On the last day I went 5/5, Kenma and Kuroo were actually standing in the wrong spots and instead of 15 minutes, it became 51, in which Kenta was like…51? How’d it become 51 minutes of break? Wakunan mom was also really worked up that day lol since most audience knew about the chants by then so Wakunan mom started nitpicking and saying that we were slacking or not paying attention for doing the wrong Go! Go! Hands (it’s supposed to be left fist pump, right fist pump) and Wakunan dad and brother had to calm Wakunan mom down lol. It was beautiful 

I can’t seem to recall much other differences so I’ll leave it as this for now. 

Overall, I may be a bit biased since this is the first Haisute I’ve seen, but I think this has to be one of the best Haisute for me. I’m thinking I like the one with Dateko most and then this one second. But the soundtrack of this one definitely wins. EVERY SONG WAS GOOD! I felt like none of the stage actors (ok, shouri a little) was being extra. Everything was just perfect. There’s just so much that I can’t even begin to truly describe how much of a masterpiece this stage is. I just want to say that you definitely, DEFINITELY HAVE TO BUY IT! Don’t wait for someone to put it up online. You just need to buy both the DVD and Soundtrack. You won’t regret a single thing, I promise.

Here’s the link on Amazon.jp to pre-order.

What I recommend is that if you haven’t read the manga and don’t understand Japanese, now’s the time to read that manga so you’ll understand what’s going on during the Fukurodani vs Nekoma game.

[sambart93]

Top Things I Did This Year

More like things I'm thankful that happened xD This year has been absolutely incredible and as far as stages and actors are concerned, I've been pretty damn lucky and got to experience so many amazing things! So here's some of the massive highlights of this year!

1. Went on a Bus Tour!

I've always wanted to go on a bus tour and what's even more amazing is that I managed to get onto MakiChan's Bus Tour! It was such a great two days! MakiChan is just so sweet and so much fun to be around! Also we got cheki's with him, he went around talking to people on the bus stops and lunch times, he came around to everyone's room and did pretty much whatever we requested of him, he must've been absolutely shattered by the end but he was still full of energy and smiling and having fun! I legit cried when he waved us off at the end.... I do hope if he ever does another that I can go again!

2. See TouStage Live

While I only ever appear to complain about TouStage; I absolutely love the series and Touken Ranbu in general and I do think of myself as bloody damn lucky that I've managed to see the LV three times this year (Saien, Akatsuki and Jyoden) as well as go IN PERSON twice (Akatsugi and Jyoden) ALSO I feel pride for the fact they performed at Odawara castle which is literally ONE stop away from where I live! I do feel blessed, I've always felt blessed for how many times I've been able to see this stage series.

3. Went to ALL my Oshi’s BDay Events

Well at least to all the Oshis who DID Birthday Events (HirokiKun and Tomo didn't do one this year but has said he will next year and I only knew about YuuKun AFTER his birthday!). I've been to Domoto's, JP's and MakiChan's! I was also able to go to ShoSans! To be honest, I wanted to get to all the major TokiEnta's boys' birthdays (including Shouta and KishiTaku) but just didn't have time, so hopefully next year I can reach that goal of going to all TokiEnta's Boys' Birthday Events! xD But I'm super happy I managed to get to all my oshis'! Hopefully next year too!

4. Safely completed MakiChan goods collections every time

This one is really silly but MakiChan's characters are super popular; Kuro (K), Ritsu (Ensemble), Manba (Touken), Okita (Hakuouki) so trading and being able to get one full set of his trading goods is super, super difficult! But by a miracle I managed to do it every time! And I'm super thankful that I could! Hopefully next year too!

5. Able to see almost all of KAT-TUN in some form.

KAT-TUN were unforutnately forced to stay on their Hiatus this year for the entire year, but thankfully all three boys got solo events and things that allowed fans to go and see them! So in the end, I saw SOME form of them. I went to Ueda’s play for my birthday ON my birthday and it was a lot of fun and very funny and Ueda did amazing! I watched Kame’s movies and doramas and they were great, also I managed to go and get his concert goods even though I couldn't go to the actual concerts. AND I watched Nakamaru’s show which was absolutely ridiculous and hilarious and one of the best entertainments-ness things of this year. It still cracks me up thinking about it! xD

6. Multiple Showings

Again, I am super duper thankful that I got to see HakuMyu 4 times, Hatsukoi Monster twice, and K Stage 3 times -- while I may not hit for things like TouMyu, EnStage etc. I’m super thankful that for the slightly less popular shows that I’m able to go a ridiculous amount of times! And they were all ones MakiChan was in too! So I felt I could properly support him in quite a lot of things this year even when other things it was more difficult to do! These kinds of chances keeps my motivation, love and support for him going strong!

7. Finally Meeting UeChan!

I was so freaking nervous and I've liked him for a long time (well not really technically) and he was everything I expected him to be like and he was so professional and lovely! It's like a dream meeting him...

8. Unexpected Chances

A few things happened this year that I never thought or imagined possible; for a start:

- The TokiEnta events and seeing the Shachou between events or even seeing him at MakiChan events and him remembering and acknowledging me ^_^ 

Other unexpected things like:

- A Haisute actor helping out at JP's event and just being able to talk to him and have a proper conversaiton with him! And lets not forget THAT Domoto Birthday event and what happened there!! 

- Things like YuuKun yelling 'you're not going back to England are you Alex?!?!?' are just amazing chances and experiences! 

- And Domoto thanking me for 'always sending letter' to him *dead*

- And HirokiKun always taking time to properly talk to me after his events and stages too and remembering what I've told him in letters etc. And doing things like taking my hands and going 'oh they're so cold! Are you okay?!’ and then the next time I see him, he’s like ‘are they cold again this time?! No? You sure? Oh, I'm glad' *dead*

- ANNNND freaking MakiChan on the bus tour patting my head and saying 'I like you' literally inches from my face during his 'going around the rooms' and EVERYONE fucking knowing the next day xD while it definitely wasn't true, I still feel super special and happy that only I got that from him! 

- ALSO lets not forget Shosan sitting on my chair during TokiEnta Events! 

I literally could go on with the amount of unexpect but amazing chances I've had this year! I hope everyone else can have just as many amazing experiences as I do, if not more!

And just to bring it all back to reality:

9. Friends Not Abandoning Me

I can be a super shitty person and I can be super snappy and negative towards the, but they're still by my side, still wanting to spend time with me, still wanting to hang out whenever we get chance and I am always and will always be thankful that they still accept me and don't mind me being in their lives *now I start crying* I'M LOOKING AT YOU ALKOI AND TONBO!

10. Seeing My Grandparents

I may not say it much but I absolutely love my grandparents and I miss them much much more than I do my parents (I can skype my parents whenever and more often than I do my grandparents, and they’re still young and healthy enough to come and see me). They can't travel anymore so I'm super thankful how much I'm able to see them whenever I go back home, even though I'm usually in a pissy-jet-lagged mood. But I love them with all my heart! I think about them every day and I always count down the days to when I can next see them! I always want to see them!

11. See My Friend Getting Married

The first person in my group of friends got married this year and I'm going to be honest, I cried inside the ENTIRE fucking day. This is a friend who I've been friends with since we were 8/9 years old. We've been through some stuff together, we've also had bad times and times we weren't talking but we’ve also had a lot hilarious and fun times. And seeing her in that dress on her wedding day; I died inside. And she deserves all the happiness and all the success! And her partner is just the sweetest person ever! I'm seriously like a proud father giving a daughter away, that's how I feel about this situation. And I wish her nothing but laughs, safety and happiness in the future. Seeing her get married also made me realise, few friendships last, but the ones that do; they REALLY last and me and her are definitely one of those friendships <3

*

What were some highlights of your year?

I'm gunna go and get rid of these tears of joy from everything xD

[sound-piece]

Kondou Shouri’s Birthday Plan Report

Hi everyone! If you’ve seen my previous post, I asked for Kondou Shouri fans to submit a letter/fanart to me for his birthday since I’ve met a fan in Osaka (Natsuha) who was collecting birthday messages to give him on the first day of Haisute’s Osaka leg :)  Anyway, here’s the message book that she did!

Shouri mentioned in his blog before that he has read every single birthday messages that was sent to him, and even if it’s just as short as “congratulations” he was really happy about it.

Today, Natsuha-san was able to talk to him since he’s back in Osaka for Patch stage vol.10 Habu Rentarou, he’s a special guest there! (He’s so hardworking, I hope he gets a lot of rest after orz He left Fukuoka early today to get to Osaka for this). She said that Shouri commented about how many of the messages were in English, and that’s he’s thankful for all the greetings! ♡ I’m just so glad that we were able to show him that he’s being cheered on and supported in different parts of the world! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Thank you so much to everyone who participated! You guys are the best~ Also, huge thanks to Natsuha-san for planning all of this and making that really cute birthday messages book! ♡♡♡

[kosaka-ryoutarou]

(1) Itadakimasu!

(2) Karasuno team won the game so they received a high-grade beef. Everyone got a bite except Ryoutarou and Kenta went for a “second round” among them. Let Ryoutarou have a bite too!

From the Haisute Special Location Program under TBS Channel 2. Download here.

Please DO NOT repost gifs.

[engekihaikyuu]

Cast Size Special Summer edition 2019 

with Daigo Kotarou

The interview spans most of Daigo’s career and isn’t exclusively about Haisute.  They only ask him one question about it, and he mentions that he’s gone to see the show 3 times before this, that he thinks Haikyuu along with other sports series are very uplifting kinds of stories, and that he’s looking forward to the challenge and actually feels zero pressure.  

If you’d like to purchase the original magazine: (x) Please do not repost my scans!

[kosaka-ryoutarou]

Ryoutarou was tasked to grill the meat; however, he burned one of them that his onii-sans had to jump in and help him. Kenta scolded him that one grilling plate is for the fish. aka don’t let him cook your meat alone

From the Haisute Special Location Program under TBS Channel 2. Download here.

Please DO NOT repost gifs.

[kosaka-ryoutarou]

As Suga Kenta has been appointed as the 2.5D Ambassador, there will also be a show catering to this booming industry!

Here’s the preview for the first episode of What’s 2.5D? with its first guest, Suzuki Hiroki-san! Haisute’s Karasuno First Years, Kageyama Tatsuya, Kosaka Ryoutarou and Miura Kairi, will also be appearing in the special corner!

Please do check it out on April 25!

[tamushins-blog]

ENG Translations for Arisawa Shoutarou & Takahashi Kensuke’s Castsize March Special 2017 feature!!

Hello! Under the Read More are my translations for Arisawa Shoutarou & Takahashi Kensuke’s feature in Castsize March Special 2017 magazine! The scans for their feature are not provided in this post. Hope you enjoy!!

Introduction

From Musical Touken Ranbu Bakumatsu Tenrouden; Arisawa Shoutarou-san who plays the beloved sword of Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi, Izuminokami Kanesada, and Takahashi Kensuke-san who plays the uchigatana, Hachisuka Kotetsu, which was smithed by the swordsmith Kotetsu who was active in the Edo period. This pair, who met each other for the first time in this production, have truly deepened their bond with each other in less than half a year. 

It’s their first interview together, and they’re dressed in matching outfits!? What is Toumyu to these two people?

Q1: What were your first impressions of each other?

Kensuke: The first time we met each other face-to-face, we were in our Toumyu costumes, and I thought he looked really stylish. He looked really tall from behind, but his face looked around the same age as mine, and I had this feeling that he was the youngest one out of all of us. That’s the first impression I got of him.

Shoutarou: I actually talked to him when we were at the audition, but it seems Kensuke-kun has forgotten about that. (laugh)

Kensuke: Ah...... (laugh)

Shoutarou: I recognised Kensuke-kun from Ultraman. (laugh) My first impression of him was.....................................................

Kensuke: Are you going to say something nice?

Shoutarou: Ahaha. (laugh) My very first impression when I saw him at the audition was, naturally, the thought that, “Ah. Ultraman’s here.” The thought that Ultraman wanted to be in Toumyu too - that was my first impression of him. That, as well as the thought that Kensuke-kun would definitely be cast as Hachisuka.

Kensuke: Well, that makes me happy to hear.

Q2: How does it feel to give life to the Touken Danshi, who have always been stuck in their game? Really, how does it feel to bring something from the computer screen into real life?

Shoutarou: It’s a really great feeling. I’m extremely different from the character I play, so I’m really happy when people tell me, “You really are Izuminokami.” Before this, I was already very interested in history, but I feel that I found a far deeper understanding of the Shinsengumi through this role.

Kensuke: Something I like about Toumyu is that when we see the characters we’re going to play, it’s as if we’re only looking at them from one side. It’s up to us, the actors, to each try and interpret and understand our characters’ expressions and personalities based on their immobile images, and then bring them to life. The final product is what we created with constructive criticism from Kayano-san (the Toumyu director) and his staff, and from there on, we want to see what the audience’s evaluation of it is. That’s how this production has become so widely popular, and personally, I’ll be really happy if I’ve managed to show everyone a brand new side of Hachisuka Kotetsu.

Q3: I see. Then, do you feel like you have gained anything from being in Toumyu?

Kensuke: Right now, I feel that my personal target in the 2.5D industry is for myself to overcome the barrier that I face in the skills of singing and dancing. When I watched “Romeo & Juliet” recently, I noticed that nearly everything was being expressed through song. All 65 performances of Toumyu have already been completed, but after seeing this different way of expressing oneself, I suddenly got the feeling that I wanted to try doing it again. But I realised that my own skills in singing and dancing aren’t at the level where I can do something like that yet, so that was when I found this new goal to set my sights on.

Shoutarou: Because I played the role of the manly Izuminokami, I gained self-confidence. I learned that my self-confidence waits until something good happens to me before it appears. This production was the first musical I’ve been in, just like Kensuke-kun, and I think that the singing and dancing was the main attraction of this production, so as a result, I now also feel like I want to try doing more singing and dancing in this industry.

Q4: I’m sure the two of you have gone through many experiences together at this point. Have any of them left an unshakeable impression on you?

Kensuke: The performance at Itsukushima Shrine was truly an incredible experience. When the Sanjou swords were performing on the raised stage, we could only watch them from behind, but the view that could only be seen from where we were is one that I just can’t forget. We could see the Torii - what it looked like at night - as well as the faces of all the people in the audience. There was a very dignified atmosphere there, and it made me wonder whether or not the audience would really be able to cheer loudly. Even the air there tasted different. The experience of climbing onto the raised stage and dancing wasn’t particularly easy either. I- This isn’t one of my strongest points, so I can’t properly express what I felt when performing at Itsukushima Shrine, but I will say that I really felt like the atmosphere there was something special.

Shoutarou: The feeling that we got to stand somewhere that we would otherwise never have gotten the chance to stand at in our lives is really strong. Of course, at the time of the performance, there were problems that arose, but overall it was an amazing experience anyway. I don’t really believe that putting my feelings into words is one of my strongest points either, but.. I felt an extremely strong power within me when we were there. Aside from that, I also encountered this feeling that Itsukushima Shrine itself is a place that truly contains a lot of power. It really was an incredible experience.

Q5: So that’s how the two of you feel. The two of you met for the first time in Toumyu, but over the long period of Bakuten performances, you’ve built a very close relationship with each other, haven’t you?

Kensuke: I’ve spent about half a year with Arisawa since the start of rehearsals, and at this point, we don’t use proper punctuation anymore when we text each other, and we do stuff like go out for dinner together after performances. Arisawa is one year younger than me, but because I was raised downtown, I don’t want to let people who are younger than me pay for me. So during meal times, I’ll take out my wallet to pay, but something cute about this guy is that he’ll say once, “No, I’ll pay.” It’s natural for him to want to pay, and when I realised that, I thought it was adorable.

Shoutarou: Kensuke-kun is easy to get close to. He doesn’t always make you feel like he’s older than you, and he gives you this feeling that, “You can mess around with me.” I talk about plays with him even when we go out to eat together, and he’s always really serious about it. No matter what he’s doing, he’ll put in effort to go about doing it the right way.

Q6: Please tell me what projects the two of you have lined up from here on.

Kensuke: For the first half of last year, I was working on Ultraman X, and for the second half I was working on Toumyu. At the very start of this year I went back to Ultraman X again, and I realised that my movements had unintentionally become more graceful than they were the last time, and I had made improvements in, as well as gotten rid of, some of both the good and bad expressions that I’d made. Since I’ll be performing in Musical Starmyu starting this April, I’ll do my best to polish and refine the skills of singing and dancing that were cultivated in me while I was in Toumyu.

Shoutarou: As for me, I was working on Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! for the first half of the year, and Toumyu for the second half of the year. Starting this March, I’ll be in Haikyuu!! again, and this time, I want to be able to make people say, “He’s levelled up,” about the Kunimi that I show them, as compared to the Kunimi that I showed them the last time. The last time, I had this consciousness that what I wanted to do was to show everyone Aoba Jousai as a team, but this time, I feel like I want to focus more on showing everyone Kunimi’s true colours, and deepening everyone’s understanding of Kunimi. I’m really looking forward to it.

Kensuke: I want to go watch Haisute!

Shoutarou: I’ll go watch Starmyu as well! Because I’ll get to see you sing and dance, won’t I, Kensuke-kun?

Kensuke: Alright! I’ll show you just how far my skills will have levelled up by then!

- End of interview -

Bonus fun fact (that got a little lost in translation): - in their replies to Q4, Kensuke & Shoutarou both referred to the ability to phrase their words properly to fully convey their emotions and thoughts as “not one of [their] power spots( パワースポット )”

In case anyone is interested to read the interview in Japanese (perhaps your Japanese is stronger than mine, or you’re interested to see the exact expressions they used) here is a link to the original untranslated questions & answers! I translated this interview to the best of my ability, but of course there’s still a chance that my translations are not 100% accurate, in which case I apologise! If any of you spot me making any mistakes, please do let me know and I’ll update the post!