HONDA KOSUKE Just like his iconic red hair passion overflows in the big brother type Honda Kosuke. He was a genuine sports boy who grew up freely in the middle of nature. Without letting his fire go out he made his big secret childhood dream of becoming an artist come true. We will follow his path in this interview.
While he put his heart into sports for a long time, he yearned for the arts at the same time.
Please introduce the region you are from along with this region’s pride. I’m from the prefecture Fukushima. I was raised there, so I know it, but generally speaking the people are kind there. I saw you at “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN” (later shortened to PDJP), so I can agree. Thank you very much –laughs- Also, my hometown is rich with nature. Surrounded by mountains, the area around my home overflows with green. It doesn’t mean that I say it was too much nature, more like it’s easy to live. Furthermore, the air was clean and, in the past, I could often see shooting stars, so I often made small wishes –laughs- There is also a nice observatory where you can watch the starry sky. What kind of boyhood did you spend in the middle of nature? In the environment that overflowed with nature I had fun as much as I could. In my daily life there were a lot of animals, I’ve raised stray cats and stray dogs, I’ve enjoyed myself by catching and throwing snakes and I was absolutely a country kid. My personality was quite attention seeking and I liked to be loud. What?... Throwing snakes?... Of course. You were a quite mischievous boy. Yes, I was mischievous –laughs-. Also, from elementary school to middle school I did swimming and baseball, and as a middle schooler and high schooler I also did track and field. All my siblings did swimming. I did baseball together with my older twin brothers and when I became middle schooler, I was team captain. I put quite my heart into baseball. That’s why, when it became night, I practised swinging the bat until I could see the shooting stars and even when there was something that was bothering me, I distracted myself with practising the bat swing. And even when I was dumped by the person, I liked, I practising bat swinging... -distant look- From a mischievous boy to a pure athlete! Ahaha –laughs- I am a boy who really loves sports. In middle school I formed a track and field club by gathering volunteers among my friends and did Quadrathlons (110 m hurdles, shot put, high jump and 400m sprint). Pretty much every day repeated itself by training the track and field disciplines and going to baseball practise. I also ranked first in a track and field competition and in baseball I was chosen for the city selection.
I think you practised more than anyone else, but you are also a model student when it comes to sports.. When I start to like something and become devoted to it, I want to do my very best and master it. I got into my high school by a track and field event recommendation. I was active as a 400 meter and relay runner, but during my 2nd year of high school I tended to get torn muscles, so gradually I wasn’t able to run seriously anymore. Because I got into the school because of track and fields and everyone around me in that school was smart, I kinda felt out of place. Because I wasn’t able to do my beloved track and field anymore, I thought I could start dancing which I had an interest in for long and I focused myself on this. Is there an episode related to love from that time? At the sports festival in high school, when the basketball match was over a junior came to me, lend me a towel, fanned me with a fan. That made me happy... -distant look- Also, occasionally I was confessed to from people from different schools. That’s bittersweet! Thank you very much. You spend your boyhood as an athlete with all your heart, but what was your childhood dream? I said all the time that I wanted to become Kamen Rider. At the same time, I had the feeling that I wanted to join a dance and vocal group, but it kinda felt embarrassing, so like a child I kept saying that I will become a hero. I knew that my aim was the same world, the one of artists, so it was okay –laughs- A dance vocal group is a quite realistic dream, isn’t it!? What was the start for this? The start of feeling a yearning for the artist world was surely when I watched the TV program “Akko ni makase!”. After that I searched for an artist agency, but there was none in Fukushima, so for a short time I belonged to an actor training school that I discovered in the newspaper. Is that so? You must have been a gallant child actor! Someone from that agency told me “Do you want to try playing theatre?”, and when I danced during lessons, I started to think “I might like dancing better”. About when I became a middle school student, I came across AAA’s cool performances, saw the drama “Highschool musical” and got into dancing, thus I stopped moving forward on the path of playing theatre. That I went to theatre acting lessons was circa from my 6th year of elementary school to 2nd year of middle school. Artist activities and dancing went side by side with the sports I did and I worked hard and seriously on those. Before starting track and fields, there was a time when you were devoted to baseball, right? That’s right. For some time, I continued with practising dance while having baseball as my main. Secluding myself in the mountains I practised hard and I danced at school festivals and took part in live events. Oh my, your practise method is also just like a country kid!
He accumulated “his very own” accomplishments to fill the career column on his resume.
Since starting dancing, what kind of student life did you have? I started going a dance school in my hometown. As I said before, I want to master thingsI like, so I did practise on my own and took a lot of lessons, and at the dance contest in Fukushima where I appeared with 5 friends, we won a prize. That's because you have physical abilities that you cultivated by continuing sports for a long time. Nonetheless, it’s surprising. Because of that I thought “Dancing is easy”. With that spirit I’ve decided to go to a vocational school for dancing and move to Tokyo. Although I entered the school in high and proud spirits, the level of the other students around me was too different, and I was ashamed of myself who just enjoyed himself in the countryside. Dancing wasn’t easy at all. I truly felt “that’s the capital.” -laughs- Everyone was really good at dancing. But you seem quite encouraged by that. Exactly. There were subsequently auditions in which a guide came to school. Because I thought I had to improve my abilities regardless whether there were good results (I took part in those). To be able to fill my resume I had nothing but the prize from the dance contest, so I wanted to fill the blank spaces and I took part in one after another. “The stoic Honda” that I also used to see at PDJP. The more blank spaces were filled with achievements, the more I took part in large scaled auditions. I underwent a lot of experiences, accumulated more of them, and got jobs. Dancing as a back dancer in music videos and so on. After graduating from the school, my seniors gave me jobs. While doing various jobs as a dancer, I felt that I also wanted to become someone who baths in the spotlight. I appeared in CMs of actors and played the role of walking by their side, and after all I thought that I wanted to go to “that side”. The things I wanted to do were blurry back then, but I started to think about whether I should make sure that it was work that only I could do. You mean that in order to improve yourself you went to the bottom of the roles that only you can do? By doing this, like the former auditions, the large scaled works certainly increased. On the other hand, even when I was able to dance my favourite dances on big stages like arenas or domes, people might not have seen my performance, and on a larger stage you can’t say it was my work. Exactly because I was close to the artist and creators, I thought that might be the thing I actually wanted to do and I decided to quit working as a dancer all together. You focused ahead, but also that’s why it was a bold decision. That’s right. After that, I made choreographies as a choreographer and I started to be active in an unsigned indie dance and vocal group. Your former dream surely took form there. I was active there for about 2 or 3 years. We had about 15-20 lives a month. It happened in a pace of about one live every two days. I believe that the experiences from back then are linked to now. That you can do it to that extent is amazing. There was some fumbling regarding the group management and merchandise production and so, but we did everything ourselves. It was really hard to make cash flow and to do the management properly –laughs- That it became that the staff around us is doing that work now, makes me feel nothing but thankfulness.
There was unchanging encouragement from the family and the initial dream was finally reached.
You experienced group activities already and with determination you participated in PDJP, but during that time what did you think and what did you wrestle with? I was always serious. Very serious! Speaking from my feelings, I was among the 11 people who could debut from the beginning. However, I started from the 47th place and during the first class evaluation I was placed in the B class. Because I thought that it was bad that I wasn’t in the A class, there were also times when I panicked. At the position battle where my assigned song was “OVER THE TOP” I’ve noticed that when only I stand out among the people who I danced together with for the first time, it wouldn’t be good. From that on, I’ve decided that we can only win when the 6 of us form a strong team. Did you feel pressure about going after a higher rank? I was too desperate to win while of course raising the power of the group but also my own one, so I didn’t think about raising my rank. Even more, I felt in the moment the group lost it would be over, so I could think about nothing but winning. I thought that in order to utilise the experiences I’ve made until that point, I should support everyone while looking over them. It was wonderful that you aimed to win with everyone. Your team placed first and you also placed first in the dance section. I was so happy. I felt that by doing something myself honestly, I can place first and that it was connected to my own evaluation. There was a little extra in what I did to win. Was there something you were careful about or something you were aware of during PDJP? There was also a part of me that thought too much of how I should proceed from my first evaluation. The position battle was also like that, but it might have been just right that I became desperate to digest the situation of that time and act carefully without aiming at the high ranks. From there on my ranks raised on their own. Also, during the participation, because we lived together and everyone was able to see my state, it was difficult to keep the balance of the valuing the big brother character that I got during the first evaluation and showing my individuality. When you start to think like this, it will be hard, so I believed that I should be calm constantly. I think both are the true you, but once you feel like that it might be difficult to decide on how to show yourself... What is something you think of as “a thing that made me now” after gathering various experiences? The glittering part that I want to show as an artist is based on my yearning to become like the stars and idols who I’ve been closely involved with. I think as a person the feelings of respect and thankfulness towards my dance teachers and the PDJP staff are formed by my experiences. I always respected my dance teachers whose way of thinking and attitude towards dancing were really cool. There were a lot of chances to talk with the PDJP both during and after my participation, but they often said “I have to be thankful for the people around me”. It’s absolutely like that and I try to remember to be thankful to the many people who constantly supported us. You absorbed everything you got on your way and now you finally arrived. That’s how I feel when listening to your story. When I went to Tokyo and to the vocational school, I thought I would become a back dancer. However, I finally reached my original dream that I pictured as a child. Still, it wasn’t something I achieved on my own. My parents knew about what I wanted to do and they supported me. In the family LINE group, they share with me when OWV appears on TV –laughs- I can hardly go home, but I diligently message them. If there is merchandise, I will send it to my family. What a close family. Your family's support will become your power for the future activities! That’s heartening. Yes. I was 25 years old when OWV was formed and the activities started. It might be a bit late to start with a group, but my family supports me and tells me "You don’t have to come back home, so give your best in doing all the artist activities.” My parents are people who told me from the beginning that I should do what I want to do. They supported me from behind and they were happier than anyone else that I am able to stand at OWV’s start line. I work hard so that they can be glad about supporting me from behind. And, I want to let my parents who have supported me strongly until now, have good feelings. I would like to continue to work on various jobs with the feeling of gratitude.
100 Q&A 001: A message to the fans who bought the first photobook! Thank you very much for buying our first photobook. It’s a book that will let you see appearances and pictures we have never shown before. I hope it will become your treasure. Thank you for your support always. 002: Your childhood dream? Kamen Rider 003: A moment when you think you are happy? When I stand on stage 004: If you compare yourself to an animal? Lion 005: Your charm point? Eyes 006: What would you eat as your last supper? Teriyaki burger 007: Comment on your fashion today? The one from the photobook, including my hair I look like a member of an 80’s rock band 008: Tell us about your favourite pair of shoes? Boots with heels 009: What's the most favourite fashion item right now? Wide pants 010: If you appeared in a drama, what role would you play? The role of someone who is the bad guy at first, but in the later half he comes someone really good 011: You are the director. What kind of movie would you make? High School baseball drama (with a love plotline) 012: The muscles you are the most confident about? Chest muscles 013: A part of your body that you like? Arms 014: A part of your body that you dislike? Head 015: A song you sing for sure during Karaoke? Fukuyama Masaharu’s milk tea 016: Which is the most memorable YouTube video? What else do you want to try? Memorable was the Manzai one. I want to do make a video in which everyone plays games (for example video games) 017: What makes you feel secure if you have it? My towel 018: How does your family call you? Kosuke 019: How do your friends call you? Yasupon 020: What’s your lock screen? The default one of the iPhone 021: How long do you sleep? About 6 hours? 022: Speaking of café menus? Coffee (with sugar) 023: Speaking of home cooking? Karaage 024: A hairstyle you want to try? Or a hair colour? Long hair, blonde 025: Do you easily gain weight or is it hard for you? I gain weight easily 026: If you compared yourself to a thing? Battery 027: A colour that fits you? Also, a colour that doesn’t fit you? A colour that fits to me is red, and a colour that I think that doesn’t fit is light blue 028: Are you better with hot or cold weather? Cold 029: Your taste in interior design of your home? Monotone 030: Your favourite spot at home? On my gaming chair 031: Do you have a lot of luggage? Or only a bit? A lot 032: Your favourite manga? “Dragonball” 033: Your favourite book? “When I switch on” Switch wo osu toki by Yamada Yusuke 034: Your favourite movie? Aladdin 035: Your favourite drama? Operation Love 036: If you suddenly had tomorrow off, what would you do? Watching the video recordings I’ve saved 037: Your speaking habit? Shirankedo (used to soften your statement and thus taking some responsibility from it. It's added to the end of the sentence and actually part of the dialect from Kansai/Osaka) 038: Your ideal image of an adult man? People who are very big-hearted 039: An actor you admire? Sato Takeru (he was lead actor in Kamen Rider Den-O) 040: Your type? Someone reliable 041: What’s your image of meeting your lover? A situation when I’m alone in a bar and I’m told “This drink is from that guest” 042: What kind of scent would you like your lover to use? Soap 043: Do you want to spoil your lover? Or to be spoiled by them? Both 044: How do you appeal to the person you like? Casually inviting them 045: Do you believe in love at the first sight? It happened once during high school 046: When were you the most popular (with the other gender)? Either during middle or high school 047: Are you someone jealous? Or not? Not jealous I think 048: What do you do when you are heartbroken? I will dance a lot (I don't remember –laughs-) 049: What is the ideal fashion of your lover? I don’t have that 050: What is the ideal hairstyle of your lover? Everything is fine if it fits to them 051: What is your ideal way of proposing and in which situation? At a super expensive restaurant 052: Your ideal image of a family? I haven’t thought about that once, but I would like a family in which we could do things like games all together 053: What would you like for your lover to cook for you? Omuraisu 054: What was your strong subject back in school? P.E. 055: What was your weak subject back in school? Classic Japanese 056: Your motto? Be unparalleled in history 057: Something you value? Thankfulness 058: What do you want to do the most right now? A live with actual audience 059: What do you think you will do in 10 years? Singing and dancing 060: Do you act superstitiously? If yes, what do you do? Cleaning the drain (it’s believed that cleaning everything related to water which contains your own dirt will make your home will become happy and peaceful and that your love luck will increase) 061: Your favourite Sushi ingredient? Soused mackerel 062: Which kind of ramen do you like? Iekei-styled Ramen (the broth is made from pork marrow and soy sauce and it has thick and straight noodles) 063: Please tell us your blood type with adjectives? My pace A type 064: Something other than singing or dancing you want to improve? everything from song writing, performance to talking 065: A drink you always buy? I LOHAS (a brand of mineral water) 066: How much do you spend each month on beauty items? About 5000 yen 067: Is there a must have beauty item? Which is it? Face roller 068: A beauty item you always carry with you? What I always carry with me is hair oil and during shootings I have my face roller with me 069: Please tell us how you train your body? Push ups 070: If you compared each member to a family? Everyone is my little brother 071: What is your position inside the group? Leader 072: Is there something you don’t lose to the other members? The redness of my hair 073: What do you want to challenge with all OWV members? Bungee jumping 074: Do you celebrate your birthday with the members? Did you get gifts? We celebrate. During my previous birthday I got a dragon ball shirt and glasses 075: What do you like about Shuta? What do you want him to change? That he is quick-thinking. that he lengthens the briefing sessions with complains from time to time 076: What do you like about Fumiya? What do you want him to change? That he is cool. That he acts rashly from time to time 077: What do you like about Katsunari? What do you want him to change? That he is calm. That he suddenly starts to talk without thinking 078: Please tell us something common among the members? Suddenly something becomes popular and passes suddenly 079: To what would you compare the members’ love? Family 080: An episode that made the members inexpectly laugh? When I won the match in Momotaro Dentetsu 081: Please tell us about one time when a member sent you a message? On a free day photos were sent to the member group chat the whole time 082: Please tell us who is NO.1 of ___ among the members? Shuta -> NO.1 of nimbleness, Fumiya -> NO.1 of PUBG, Katsu -> NO.1 prankster 083: Have you fought with the members? no 084: Who is the most passionate one of the members? Fumiya 085: What would you do now if there was no OWV? Dancer 086: A habit that you often end up doing? Touching my bangs 087: What is the first impression that other people often tell you? Scary 088: What is your lucky number? 1 089: Your favourite season? Spring 090: A country you would like to visit? Singapore 091: A prefecture you would like to visit? The member’s homeprefectures 092: A celebrity you would like to meet Nagasawa Masami (main actress of his favourite drama) 093: If you could use magic, what would you do? I want to fly in the sky -laughs- 094: If you compared yourself to a colour? Red 095: Something you want to insist on? Becoming BIG! 096: The thing you dislike the most in this world? Tomatoes 097: Your future dream? OWV performing at the Tokyo Dome 098: What is something OWV doesn’t lose to other groups? We get along well 099: If you could go out alone with QWV, what would you do? Going to the cinema 100: Something you want to promise to QWV? That we will take you to the Budokan for sure
No comments:
Post a Comment