[OWV] Nylon 200928

DO YOU FEEL YOUR MUSIC? OWV who still hide their shine are spreading their wings to the world
In the middle of the world welcoming a huge change, the rookie boy group OWV appeared like a comet. In the gazes of the members, who have made both bitter and sweet experiences in the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”, a strong light is dwelling.
This interview will unravel their state of mind after the audition, the hidden stories of their formation and episodes they haven’t talked about until now. Unfolding the real faces of the four members who have a huge hidden potential.

How did you honestly feel when OWV’s formation was decided?
Kosuke: I felt grateful that once more I became able to run towards my dream. It has been so frustrating to be unable to grasp my dream after coming close to it in PDJ (as PRODUCE 101 JAPAN is shortened to) but I’m glad that I continued without ever giving up.
Shuta: In my case, I was surprised that the attention for this program was bigger than I expected. I had the wish to be active in a dance-vocal unit since I was a child, so PDJ was the chance for it, but even though I missed that chance I was looking for a new one, thinking “I’m gonna continue to do my best”. While I was wondering how I should open up a new path, the talks for this group’s formation reached me and I was honestly happy about it.
Fumiya: As I was a university student during PDJ, I felt like a loser as I was the only looking sloopy while all my friends were job hunting in suits. When I was eliminated in PDJ, I was highly anxious, thinking “What should I do with my career?”. I was really happy when this group was decided and I felt relieved that everything I have done so far was no mistake in the end.
Katsunari: I had already begun job hunting. Hence, when I got another chance to debut, I was so happy that I could have cried. But I didn’t cry (laughs). And, I had made the promise to my parents that if I fail PDJ I will start job hunting. It had been my intent to work in a normal company (laughs).
Shuta: What? So you are saying it was either being a standard company employee or OWV for you?
Katsunari: That’s what I just said? (laughs)

We both have the experience of being back dancers and we have similar worries

How were the members decided?
Kosuke: After the show ended, when the former trainees exchanged messages “What should we do from now on?”, the 4 of us naturally came together as our aim and thoughts were similar, just like our passion. For example, if you look at me and Fumiya, we both worked as back dancers and we had similar worries.
Fumiya: I feel it was at the time the agency also mentioned that “Don’t you want to do it together?”. The person in charge of us eliminated trainees had been concerned back then.

In this case, it was something spontaneous, right?
Shuta: That’s right. I feel it just happened while we were talking with each other.

In which regard did you share the feelings with the other members?
Kosuke: The biggest one was the will to be more artists than idols.
Katsunari: In my opinion, idols have more of a “young and fresh” image and as we have experienced being at the bottom and also older, I felt I want to do it as an artist with a mature feeling… How about you guys?
Shuta: Ah, yes. That‘s right (laughs).
Fumiya: I feel the border between idol and artist is disappearing more and more. Especially in K-POP.
Kosuke: We might not live up to the title artist for now, but one day I hope we become someone who is called “an artist who represents Japan”. To be recognised as someone with real abilities.
Fumiya: Both me and Honda used to be dancers, so we would like to choreograph and create our own songs.

Which member came up with the name OWV for the group?
Fumiya: Well, each one of us had his own ideas and we wrote them down on a white board.
Kosuke: The people from the agency also entrusted us with this, saying “It will be more meaningful if the members decided it together after discussing it”. However…
Fumiya: You don’t want to remember it, right? The thing we struggled the most was deciding on our group name (laughs).
Shuta: We were discussing it over and over with the members and staff and OWV was the one name we all could agree on. As this overlapped with the lockdown because of the covid pandemic, we exchanged our ideas on LINE, too.
Katsunari: Normally, we texted, but out of nowhere Honda-kun sent a picture. It was a picture with the group name written in a cool font on a black background.
Shuta: It was a chat, wasn’t it? Everything looks cool there.

Are there any people or artists you see as your role model?
Katsunari: It is hard to say ‘It’s them for sure’!
Fumiya: For example, we have the goal to be like BIGBANG-san who can make each one’s individual charm shine more by the low number of members. I personally respect G-DRAGON-san.
Kosuke: There is also WINNER-san.
Shuta: As the 4 of us get along very well… While it might be a bit ridiculous, I would like us to be like Arashi-san and be always close with each other.
Katsunari: We are really close, so I want this to be seen, too. But I think if someone set up a camera, you would understand it (laughs).
Kosuke: Like us living in a dorm again (laughs)? But this might be impossible for Shuta.

Is that so? Why?
Fumiya: Shuta’s mother is very worried about him.
Shuta: When we stayed in the dorm in Korea for the program, I was unable to reply to the LINE messages of my mother and when I opened the app afterwards, 214 messages from her had come. She even told me yesterday and this morning “Don’t live in a dorm again” (laughs). She would surely follow me if I ever moved into a dorm again. For real!
Katsunari: Among the 101 trainees, your mother was there, too, right? (laughs)
Shuta: No (laughs).
Kosuke: But you don’t seem to dislike your mother being worried about you?
Shuta: I really dislike it (laughs).
Kosuke: Only Shuta lives a little far from the city center with his family, so it would be better if he moved closer for work.
Katsunari: Your commuting expenses must be high (laughs).
Shuta: They are! But, I stay there for my family as I’m a kind guy.
Katsunari: You said so (laughs).
Kosuke: Another goal of ours might be to have our own show where we could have private talks like this. We are always laughing with each other over the most trivial things and everyone always thinks about topics to talk about.
Fumiya: Sometimes, our discussions about talks are far more intense than the one about singing and dancing. We only have evaluation meetings that go “At this point, we make more people laugh if we do it like this”. (laughs)
Kosuke: We think about a flow like if we come to this point we reply like that. It would be nice to showcase this chatty side along with our artist activities.
Fumiya: Yes.
Kosuke: Also, personally, I would like to produce one day. But as we are still before our debut, it is not the time to say that, right? (laughs) For this, I would like to become first someone who can produce his own group. I would like to advance with the goal of becoming the number 1 in Japan and becoming someone the world pays attention to.

By the way, has been OWV’s leader decided?
Fumiya: Right now a leader hasn’t been formally appointed. However, sure enough Honda-kun is the one who leads us in various aspects. I’m sure the fans also agree with this.
Shuta: Because he is “Nation’s aniki”.
Katsunari: We rely on him.
Shuta: After all that’s because he is “Nation’s aniki”.
Katsunari: I heard you (laughs).
Kosuke: When we come to the point of deciding a leader, we will once more refer to everyone’s opinions and decide him based on this. The result might be that Shuta becomes the leader (laughs).
Everyone: (laughs)
Shuta: Why are you laughing?
Fumiya: But I think this is impossible.
Shuta: Hey!
Kosuke: (laughs) We also need to decide on the member colors.

I am deeply moved that we have become friends who rush through life together.

Please tell us about the reason each one of you started to aim for the entertainment world. You surely yearned for it since your childhood?
Shuta: In my case yes. I have watched K-POP since I was young and the quality of the dancing, singing and performances was amazing and I started to feel that I want to do this, too. I think the first ones were SHINee-san.
Katsunari: I only entered the entertainment world when I was 20 years old and started dancing after that. I think I’m a late bloomer. To the point that I expected my future career will involve a normal job hunting. .
Fumiya: I am also a late bloomer. I only started dancing in my second year of university. It had been a hurdle that I learnt everything myself instead of being part of a circle or going to dance lessons. I didn’t like studying. I learnt it by watching dance competitions and analyzing myself. I learnt dancing while competing at events at live houses late at night. Also, my work as a back dancer comes from people approaching me at such events. Hence, my mindset is more like the street style. Maybe that’s why I am really bad at teaching others. That’s why I entrusted this to Honda-kun.
Kosuke: I am the full opposite of Fumiya. I began visiting the dance school which I always wanted to do after leaving my school club because of an injury in high school. Afterwards, I moved to Tokyo to visit a dance vocational school and this led to me starting to work as a back dancer.Judging from your characters, I assumed Honda-kun comes from the street style and Fumiya was the one who was taught at a school.
Kosuke: Right! The impression is the opposite, isn’t it?

By the way, in what kind of club were you?
Kosuke: In high school I was in the track and field club.
Fumiya: We are the same. Baseball club in middle school and track and field in high school.

You didn’t consider continuing baseball in high school?
Kosuke: I hated being bald (laughs).
Fumiya: I disliked team sports.
Everyone: (laughs)
Fumiya: Back then! I hated losing because of the faults of others. At the same time, I hated if the team lost because of my mistakes. As track and field is an individual sport, I chose that in high school.

Do you remember your first impression of the other members?
Kosuke: I knew Fumiya already before the show, but back then I had no idea that he was that much of a street like dancer. I didn't expect him to be such a cool and ambitious person who worked his way up. ”You are such a person!” As I am the type of person who didn’t have such a hurdle and examined everything closely through the lessons, I had the feeling of wanting to have some hurdle deep inside of me. When I see someone who has such a background, I can tell that directly. It makes me wish to live like this too.
Fumiya: But I just jumped into the dance battle world without having a clue what I was actually doing, so I was really bad. No matter which event I joined, there was no positive result. But if you keep on trying, you will eventually hit.
Kosuke: It is amazing that you endured such a period without being discouraged.
Fumiya: Because I am competitive. The first time me and Honda-kun met, it was that Honda-kun was one of the performing artists and I was back dancer for another group.
Kosuke: Back then I was in an indie dance and vocal group and on that day we had a live show with another dance and vocal group for which Fumiya was the back dancer. Back then, I wouldn’t have believed that now we would be in the same group.
Fumiya: Me too.
Shuta: Me and Fumiya were friends already before we appeared on the show.
Fumiya: That’s the truth.
Shuta: Since we were good friends for a while, I am deeply moved that we have become friends who rush through life together.
Kosuke: My image of Shuta never changed.
Fumiya: It’s just the part (which never changed) that I assumed “That guy seems kind” and he proved to be kind after becoming friends (laughs).
Katsunari: Shuta felt like a funny moodmaker from the start. This image barely changed (laughs). He is a common kind guy.
Shuta: Why is everyone teasing me? (laughs) I also felt from the start that Katsu-kun is a funny guy.
Kosuke: He has no hidden side (laughs). I felt that Katsu was a scary guy in the beginning. His way of replying was really short. A way only a truly handsome guy can reply (laughs). I thought “I can’t do that!”. But once I started talking to him, he was the typical funny older brother from Kansai.
Fumiya: He was tall and back then his hair was blonde. My first impression was “There are people who are cool just by their height”. When we were together for the second screening, I ended up thinking “This guy will advance to a good place”.
Kosuke: The outlook of a producer (laughs).
Katsunari: Speaking of this, I also thought Honda-kun was scary? Because I often witnessed his passion exploding during PDJ.
Shuta: I thought so, too. Kosuke-kun is just “THE GUY”, so I was nervous initially. But when we were in the same group he was really kind and I started to like him. He also got a cute side with him always rolling his little face roller in his face.
Katsunari: We are always borrowing sunscreen from Honda-kun, because he always has it with him.
Shuta: He got the one which is the best for the skin (laughs). I guess I only realized that gap about him after the group was formed. Speaking of gaps, you would think on the first glance that Fumiya is no joker at all as he seems cool, but surprisingly he talks a lot and tries to get some laughs.
Katsunari: My first impression of Fumiya was the same. After we became friends I was surprised that he is such a mischievous person.

Well, then I would like to ask you about the sides you respect about each other.
Fumiya: I try to absorb the movements of a body by watching them, but Shuta has an excellent ear. You might know that he can play the piano, but he can also do voice percussion. He is good in absorbuíng music with his ears. I envy this. I think there are many things I can learn from him in this regard.
Katsunari: That’s right. I think that Shuta is not just good at singing, but he also has a human side. I am a bit ashamed to say it again but I feel I have to imitate his side of brighting the atmosphere as the moodmaker (laughs).
Shuta: (laughs) I believe Katsu-kun is amazing. I think it is because he brings a different balance than a moodmaker. His gentleness of pacifying the atmosphere and his ability to read the mood. Moodmakers tend to hype up the atmosphere and that’s it, but in Katsu-kun’s case, he adjusts the mood so that the whole place feels good.
Katsunari: Right.
Shuta: Don’t say “right” (laughs). But I truly think you are amazing.
Katsunari: Thank you very much (embarrassed). Fumiya’s desire to pursue and his hunger for dance, of course, but also for the things he is interested in is amazing. This is the part I lack the most or rather I just do everything averagely, so I respect this side of him.
Kosuke: Sure enough I admire Fumiya for competing on the streets. Because this is something you can only do if you have the right self esteem and resolution and you have to fully go to the bottom of expressing yourself.
Shuta: Compared to the time I first met Fumiya, I feel he has become quite good and he has become able to devote himself to dancing. Also, that he is competitive. He is not only competitive, but also works hard until the very end and this side brings him into a good direction, or rather, it is giving him a certain confidence. Next, let’s talk about Aniki (Honda-kun).
Katsunari: Naturally, I highly respect Aniki’s dancing. Regarding his personality I already said that, but I think it is cool that he is reliable, that he really values personal relationships and that he is a proper adult in that way. I think this is important no matter the industry.
Fumiya: After all, he always leads us and he is also good at teaching us. He really feels like an older brother (= aniki).
Shuta: There is a lot (that I respect) like him valuing the relationships between people, his passionate heart and his leadership, but I think what I respect the most is that he “can pay attention”. For example, when someone asks me “What do you think of this move?”, I am the type of person who barely can give honest feedback. I would just say “It’s good” and that’s it. But Kosuke-kun would tell me flatly everything up to what was not so good. But he doesn’t make me feel bad about being admonished or being warned. I can tell he really thinks about the other person when he says those things. He understands them and tells them so, in order for everyone to improve together. I think that is something hard to do.

What is your goal as OWV?
Kosuke: Both us and the staff decided that in the 1 or 2 years after our debut we want to stand on stage of the Budokan, so this is what we want to make come true.
Fumiya: In addition, there is also the goal that we want to become fashion icons as OWV. For us, BIGBANG-san are like this and we want to become a group that is influential in a lot of areas.
Kosuke: We want to become a group that can be also liked by guys, right?
Shuta: Yes. We want to become someone who is imitated. I would be happy if someone made dance covers of our songs. Or that someone thinks “Because they are wearing this, I want to wear this, too”.
Katsunari: To say it boldly, we hope to become a trend.
Shuta: It would be awesome, if we really became such a group. Someone that makes people say “That clothes are typical OWV”.
Katsunari: That’s great! I want to do my best in this regard!
Fumiya: I also want to us to become a strong group that can tell our own story on documentary programs like “Jonetsu Tairiku” or “Pro no ugokikata”. I want us to become a strong group who is told “Please appear on our program” instead of us saying “We want to appear there”.
Kosuke: But you seem already ready to appear there, Fumiya (laughs). With all your ups and downs of competing on the street after you started dancing and your debut happening even though you were eliminated during the audition.
TN: It seems like since 2021 the second program is named “Why not? Watashitachi no ugokikata”.

Next I would like to ask about music. First of all, which kind of music or which artists do each of you like?
Katsunari: I’m often listening to western music. I like R&B and I’m often listening to Shawn Mendes. When it comes to enjoying music, including the videos, I often listen to K-POP. It is not one group I like, but rather there are songs that I enjoy.
Kosuke: I mainly listen to Japanese bands. I only listen to western music when I look for songs to dance to. But I think this is typical for people who have been back dancers (laughs). The bands I often listen to include SHE’S-san and I Don’t Like Mondays-san. Also, back number-san. And I’m listening to the hits of Higedan-san (Official Higedan dism).
Fumiya: I mainly listen to Western hip hop, R&B and pop music. When it comes to Japanese songs, I love Obukuro Nariaki-san. I think this person is a genius who does it amazingly without being tied to a genre. I originally got into Western music through hip hop and it was also the reason why I got interested in dancing.
Shuta: Since I was a child classical music was played at home, so I’m extremely familiar with it. Also during breakfast these days, classical music is played.
Katsunari: There are really such families…
Kosuke: What kind of classical music?
Shuta: Eh… the usual stuff. Like Mozart-san or Chopin-san…
Everyone: (laugh)
Kosuke: You use “san” for them (laughs)
Fumiya: Another one. I want to know another one.
Shuta: Eh… Who else. I think Tschaikowski.
Kosuke: Now, there was no “san” (laughs).
Katsunari: You really live like a royal.
Shuta: But my meals are not royal at all. Normally, it’s bacon and eggs or bread.
Kosuke: Bread-san?
Shuta: Yes, I eat bread-san. And as music-san I add Mozert-san to it. And, during my school years I started to like SHINee and since then I also listen to K-POP.
Kosuke: No no no. You have to add a “san” to SHINee-san.
Everyone: (laugh)
Shuta: I have no idea anymore where I should add the “san”.

The lyrics about the feeling of living in a far away town stick with me

(laughs) Now, please tell us the first CD or song you bought from your pocket money or part time salary.
Katsunari: It was from Bangtan-san (BTS). I think it was the album “DARK&WILD” which included the song “War of Hormones”. I also bought a CD of BIGBANG-san released at the same time.
TN: As Dark & Wild was released in August 2014, he likely refers to “The Best of Big Bang 2006-2014” or the live album “2014 BIGBANG +a IN SEOUL”.
Kosuke: It was Mr. Children-san’s “Hanabi”.
Shuta: This is such a nice song~
Kosuke: I remember the case not being plastic but paper.
Fumiya: In my case it was something like a best of CD that featured hit songs from various hip hop artists. I often listened to the CD when my family went somewhere by car and gradually my parents also knew those well (laughs). Eventually, my father nodded along while driving.
Katsunari: What a cool family (laughs).

After the hip hop family I would like to hear about the classic family next.
Shuta: The very first CD I bought was in fact a classical one.
Kosuke: For real?
Shuta: Yes, really. Because in order to improve my piano skills it was good to listen to this kind of music.
Fumiya: That’s true however (laughs). It’s kinda different and funny, Shuta.
Shuta: I think it was a CD that features a lot of famous works from various composers. It was played during breakfast for example.
Kosuke: Powerful. Everything you have said so far.
Katsunari: Really! Someone we feel so small compared with your excellence (laughs)
Shuta: You don't have to!

Please tell us whether there is a memorable song for you.
Kosuke: For me it is the song “Tegami” by back number-san. The song text is really like a letter to one’s parents, telling them “I’m working hard to reach my dreams”. When I was on the verge of being discouraged and wanted to go home again, this was the song that made me think “I will work hard again”. It’s like going back to the start. Because when I moved to Tokyo to chase my dreams, I thought about my parents a lot before making my decision.
Shuta: For me it is Mr. Children-san’s “Owarinaki tabi”. I like the lyrics that hit you right into the heart. I like the part “I feel great when I climb progressively higher walls.”, but when I first heard it it shocked me, thinking “what are those lyrics…”.
Fumiya: For me it is Shimizu Shota-san’s “Tokyo”. The lyrics about the feeling of living in a far away town stick with me, because I long felt stuck at the bottom after moving from the countryside to Tokyo, too. I often listened to it when I felt I was buried under everything.
Shuta: When you were buried under (laughs).
TN: 下積み has a double meaning by once being literally buried by something or be at the bottom layer of something and feeling it metaphorical to the point of being a loser, a failure. While Fumiya meant it in a metaphorical way, Shuta tries to lighten the mood by putting up the image of Fumiya being literally buried under something while listening to the song.
Katsunari: This song is great. As someone who also moved from the countryside to Tokyo I can understand. For me it is ONE OK ROCK-san’s “Yokubou ni michita seinendan”. I often listened to it when I was part of a small agency and felt insecure, thinking “If I can’t make it with the next chance, I’ll give up.” Back then I felt I could link the lyrics to my own situation.

I hope to remember the times when there was no reward.

Next, please tell us your favorite lyrics.
Katsunari: From the song “Tabako” from Koresawa-san. There are the lyrics “I set the clock five minutes early for my lower who tends to oversleep, but this has no meaning anymore.”. Their point is that the two have already broken up. I think this kind of technical writing style makes the melancholy of the song stronger and better.
Shuta: For me it is the lyrics of the song “My Pace” from the K-POP group Stray Kids. I feel it fits our situation. It feels that we go on in our pace without being compared to others, but especially the parts “Don’t give up Don’t give up Even if you compare there is no meaning in it” gives me energy.
Fumiya: For me it is the song “Kadode” by Obukuro Nariaki. There is the phrase “Somehow I miss being alive”. I guess there are a lot of interpretations regarding this but.. It’s hard to speak of such a highly intellectual level.
Katsunari: I am curious. Would it be quicker to listen to it myself?
Fumiya: Yes. It’s hard to explain. Try to listen to it.
Kosuke: For me it is the song “Alarm” by tensaibonzin. During my indie times I appeared along with tensaibonzin and I listened to this song from then on often. It is a song for people who are trying to reach their dreams, but I like the lyrics “What is the right answer I only decide that I trust my choices”. It clearly fit my situation back then and it renewed my motivation to give my all.

There are a lot of songs that are hungry to reach one’s dreams in your choices.
Fumiya: Because there has been a long time of us being losers.

What kind of worries did you have in your times at back dancers, Honda-san and Sano-san?
Kosuke: I originally started dancing because I wanted to work in the spotlight and I felt I wasn’t cut to be a back dancer. I quit when I felt a bit frustrated about not being in the spotlight. Of course, it is a matter of being suited for it, so I am not saying that dancing at the front is superior to dancing in the back. It was simply not something for me. After realizing this, I started my former indie group.
Fumiya: It was the same for me. There was a time when I felt extremely uncomfortable about receiving a lot of cheers while being on stage as none of those cheers were for me. I believed in myself being a back dancer, but at one point I felt “I can’t keep on doing this…”. That’s why I am really grateful for what I am doing now.
Kosuke: Both in my times as a back dancer and during my indie days it was hard to continue with the activities. Even when I appeared at some dance event, I had to prepare my costume myself, pay for the participation, pay for the dance studio to practice until the performance, there was also a ticket quota… I really appreciate the current environment. We are the ones who were eliminated from the audition once, and I hope to remember the times when there was no reward.

Now I would like to ask you for one song “that you want to listen to with someone special by sharing your earphones”.
Katsunari: Hm.. which one… There is the song “Eat” by Zion.T, which might be good. It is a song for people who are always working hard and it says “Don’t exert yourself too much, relax a bit while eating chocolate and listen to this song”. I want to listen to it together when my special one is exhausted from being busy.
Fumiya: Special someone… I have no interest in that. I only listen to songs based on whether I want to dance to them or not.
Everyone: Wow~ So cool.
Fumiya: (laughs) However, I think “Closer feat. Haley” by Chainsmokers which has a slightly sad atmosphere but a melody that lifts your mood, might be good.
Kosuke: It is a song I often listened to in the past, but it would be “milk tea” by Fukuyama Masaharu. The lyrics scream of love from the bottom of one’s heart. It has a very moving composition with the milk tea from the title finally coming up towards the end “On a rainy slope Under one umbrella The milk tea you gave me”.
Shuta: …. is a classical song okay?
Members: (laugh)
Shuta: I pick “Liebestraum” (Love Dream) by Liszt. The impact from the melody of the intro is great and it makes me feel at peace… Classical music has no lyrics, so you can only guess the message of the song based on the title “Liebestraum”, but the impression is greatly different for each person. I imagine it to be fun to see how the other one would interpret the song and try to compare it with mine. I think it is perfect for listening with your partner. Classical music is really great (for this).
Kosuke: Wow, he is so cool.
Fumiya: It’s so different from the rest of us (laughs). You can feel him being an intellectual.
Since the lockdown to fight the Corona virus has started, how do you spend your days?
Katsunari: We announced OWV’s formation on Honda-kun’s birthday (11th April), but we first came together shortly before the implementation of the emergency state. Just when we decided “We are gonna start our activities as OWV!” The emergency state began, so we discussed it and every day we called each other for a long time.
Kosuke: We barely even talked, we were just connected to each other (laughs).
Shuta: Really we were connected to each other the whooole time.
Kosuke: We had no idea when to end the calls.
Shuta: Right, we are all not the people to end calls.
Katsunari: As we were all like this, it ended up being like a marathon (laughs).
Fumiya: It was pretty much as if we lived together.
Shuta: It was often until 2 or 3 am.

To be continued...