[JO1] AR 220712

Talk theme:
The whereabouts of passion

What is the power source of the artist and the voice actor, each one shining in their respective fields?
We asked the uncompromising powerful two about their driving force that keeps moving forward, how they face each of their works, the feelings that inspired them and their determinations.

Shosei -> Yuki
I have loved anime for a long time and since I was a child I listened to Kaji-san’s voice. When this crosstalk had been decided I was so happy that I could not even believe it was happening… I have been fidgeting with anticipation and excitement until today! This talk is really like a dream. Also during the shooting, I thought “His voice is like ‘Meliodas’ from ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.” or “That’s ‘Mikumo-kun’ from ‘World Trigger’ now!” which left quite some impression on me. I will be happy if we can talk a lot during this opportunity.

Yuki -> Shosei
I was really happy to hear that you watched a lot of anime I was involved with and that you have supported me for a long time. Let’s talk about what we like about anime! There are rarely chances for artists of different generations to talk with each other, so I also hope to receive new motivation from JO1-san. I feel this is a place for me to learn something new. I also would like to see one of your concerts.

The “voice” is the treasure trove of one’s personality

Ohira: Thank you very much for today! The first time I came across your works was “Magi” and I can’t count how many animes with you I watched! I especially liked you as ‘Meliodas’ in ‘Seven Deadly Sins’!!
Kaji: Thank you very much. This means you know me for more than 10 years, right? Manga and anime are something familiar that transcends ages and generations. In fact, I am very happy that after all these years I am able to meet you on this schedule and share my thoughts with you.
Ohira: It is embarrassing to say this right in front of you, but I like your voice too much, so sometimes I rewatch just my favorite scenes or the ones with “sweet talk” from your anime on streaming services (embarrassed). I am practicing to sound like this, but sure enough it is difficult.
Kaji: The sweet talk! That makes me a little embarrassed (laughs). You mentioned practice, do you also have voice actor jobs?
Ohira: I participated in the movie “Poupelle of Chimney Town” and the anime “Gunjou no Fanfare” as a voice actor. I admired the work of the voice actors, but it is so difficult… I struggled a lot to create a voicetone that fits anime.
Kaji: I also kept in mind that I have to do this so-called “anime-like voice” in the past. However, even if I was only vaguely aiming for this “so-called” atmosphere, I felt something was off and I worried a lot about how to reach a 120% performance. And, after being a part of countless anime.. At some point I realized that acting is about “faithfully reproducing the real emotions that flow throughout your role”. I am sorry for being so abstract, but.. Well,I believe it is best not to get caught up in the so-called voice actor techniques and bring out your very own “character” through your role, Ohira-kun.
Ohira: I learnt something new from you! By the way, are you taking special care of your throat? I keep in mind to sleep well for my voice.
Kaji: Indeed! Sleeping is important. But I am the type of person who has a hard time falling asleep (laughs). In the past, there was a time when I took medicine out of worry once I felt the slightest discomfort in my throat. But nowadays, instead of such temporary measures, I try to be careful on a daily basis so that it doesn’t get into a bad condition. Besides, your mental state is also very important. Do you take special care of your throat, Ohira-kun?
Ohira: When I feel that my throat is dry on set for example, I make sure to eat candies with Manuka honey. Also, I make sure to drink “Throat Coat”, a herbal tea that is good for your throat!
Kaji: Ah! I have drank that one too! There are also people who say that apple juice is good for the throat and I guess everyone is looking for the best care for their throats.

Thinking of their dream collaboration

Ohira: As there was this wonderful opportunity, I would be happy if we could work on something together again!
Kaji: I could say the same! Let’s meet again. What should we do next time?
Ohira: Some time ago we performed the song “YOLO-konde” with makeup I made matching to each member and actually I am the one in charge of beauty in the group.
Kaji: Well… How about you do my makeup? (laughs)
Ohira: Yes! Please let me give you a JO1 makeup!
Kaji: Please do so (laughs). And now… Actually, since you also worked as a voice actor, what do you think about reciting something together? As recitating has no pictures or video footage, I think you can express everything just as you feel it in your heart, you can listen to your partner's lines, think about how to respond to them and you can do voice acting naturally by catching up with each other’s feelings. Perhaps this experience will help you in your future voice acting career.
Ohira: (with his eyes shining): This is just too awesome… 🤍 I will train even more! I am really happy when I am watching anime, so I was really happy to be able to talk with Kaji-san who gives me this happy feeling. Thank you very much for today!!
Kaji: Let’s go for dinner next time. Just tell me what you want to eat.
Ohira: Ah! This is really… Something that makes me beyond excited (moved). Please let me contact you about this!

I am happy when you start to like some anime because of me.
Apart from my own being, I put my heart and soul into “voice acting”, so I would be more than happy if someone gets more into an anime by the voice of the character I am voicing. Or to put it another way, it is also fine when someone thinks “He is an actor who makes a good work” even when they dislike me for example. The messages from the fans of the anime who support and love the characters I am voicing, are truly the source of my strength.

My current me exists thanks to the fans.
My current self exists exactly because the fans voted for me during “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN” and supported me the whole time. I feel nothing but gratitude. Even though we were unable to meet in person because of the corona pandemic, I felt supported the whole time. There are still a lot of people I was unable to meet, so I want to continue to convey our feelings through our songs and performances. I want to hear everyone’s voices when we can do call & response games during our lives one day again!

Bitter experiences and frustration lead to inspirations

Ohira: It is the third year since we as JO1 made our debut, but how was your third year?
Kaji: My third year was a period of “Being able to take a step out of the days filled with nothing but part time jobs”. After years of failing auditions, I made it to the final list for the role of the protagonist of a new anime and it was the extreme situation that either me or someone else would get the role (laughs). I waited for them to contact me with the anticipation of “Finally my dream might come true” as it was my first big chance. It was right at the end of the year, so right in the moment I thought “I guess they won’t tell me this year, so I will wait for the next year to start.”... the rejection came to the answering machine of my phone. This made me beyond frustrated. I was at rock bottom. I thought “Doing it like now does not work, I have to change myself completely” and I started smoking despite not doing so before and I styled my hair in a Mohawk even though that did not suit me at all (laughs). That the winds suddenly changed… was surely not because of that (laughs), but somehow I was able to pass the audition I took right after! It was my first time as a main character, my first regular role and I remember the happiness I felt by going to the set every week for half a year and I was just happy.
Ohira: I understand this! Before becoming a member of JO1 I was a trainee at another agency, but when my contract ended, my schedules became empty, but from the feeling “I don’t wanna lose here!” I took the audition for JO1. Because of the frustration back then, I want to work hard to make it better now!
Kaji: The more you want to do something, the bigger the shock is when you lose it, right? But because I made the experience of “I want this job so bad”, I never had the feeling of “I hate my job” even when the stressful days continue. I am just grateful for this.
Ohira: You are one of the top leaders of the voice acting world and yet you are always humble and full of ambitions, which makes me respect you more and more.

When you are busy, stay in a fighting stance

Ohira: What are you doing on your free days? I play games with the other members and watch anime. Also, I would like to go camping or to an outdoor sauna.
Kaji: You are really close, as you are always with your members during the day and have fun with them after work, too. It seems fun because you seem like a family! I also love games and I guess I travel if I have the time for it.
Ohira: I watched you playing games on YouTube!
Kaji: You watch my content a lot, don’t you (laughs). Thank you! Also, while I have fun and rest, I actually think a lot about work also on my free days. My hobbies are like my job nowadays (laughs).
Ohira: But is it okay not to rest your throat and body?
Kaji: I don’t like losing my sensation by taking a break. Isn’t it the same for your throat? If you take a break too long, it is like your vocal cords will fall asleep and your voice cannot sound well anymore. Hence, when I am busy, I try to keep my schedule as tight as possible so there are as few gaps as possible and try to keep myself in a fighting stance. And, once I finish all these jobs, I relax, letting go of the tension all at once. How do you spend your time when there are lives and such?
Ohira: Resting also makes it hard for my voice to sound well, so during the periods we have lives, I often try to talk with the members or sing lightly during the breaks, too.
Kaji: Even though our work is different, there are similar things after all. By the way, when I was in my 20s, people tended to think “Anime = otaku culture” and actually the word “otaku” had a negative connotation, but nowadays the image has made a huge change to “that person has a deep knowledge about anime”, right? I am deeply moved that an era has come in which young artists like you say “I watch anime on my free days”. I feel there was a shift in values and the fact that the art of anime has become something more ordinary and familiar makes me really really happy.

[OWV] Instagram live 220622

[OWV] Tokyo Sports 220621

https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/news/4269650/

OWV’s Honda Kosuke: “Mangas are my advisers” “They make me stronger”

Honda Kosuke (27) of the boy group OWV attended the awards ceremony “6th Everyone’s choice TSUTAYA comic prize” taking place in the capital on the 21st.

Honda’s group OWV was formed by 4 former trainees of the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”. Manga loving Honda said “I like sports manga, action and sci-fi and read those. Like I read ebooks while taking a bath on days I don't feel well or on my free days. It keeps me going.”

Furthermore, he passionately stated “There are a lot of scenes in mangas that have helped me. I feel they are reassuring, or rather the best advisers and they make me stronger.”

The award went to the manga ‘Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi o Suru’. Honda shared his thoughts as “Since it was nominated last year, too, I started to pay attention to it and read it. I felt the gap between reality and the game world was modern.”

In addition, in front of the Yoshimoto Kyogo comedians that also attended, Honda said “As everyone here is my senior, I am a bit nervous.” To this Kuki Kaidan’s Mizukawa Katamari mumbled “It would be better to let go of this perception.”

[JO1] QJ Web 220607

https://qjweb.jp/feature/73135/

Shiroiwa Ruki, Sato Keigo and Mamehara Issei talk about “JO1’s All Night Nippon X”. The idea of “the vibe of a night during a study trip”.

Since April 2022 “JO1’s All Night Nippon X” (later shortened to ANNX) has been airing. Shiroiwa Ruki, who serves as the main personality of it., welcomes two other JO1’s members as partners each week and the program features a free talk and various activities.

Each week the Twitter hashtag “#JO1ANNX” takes the first place of the Trend ranking (*excluding 22 June when “‘#HappyTakumiDay”, celebrating JO1’s Kawanishi Takumi’s birthday, took the first place) and unexpected chemistries, born from the units, are one of the charms of this program. QJWeb closely followed the 22 June broadcast in which Sato Keigo and Mamehara Issei appeared. Before the broadcast we held an interview with the three members.

The way they spend the day before the radio and the broadcast day

At the two partners, when did you get to know about your appearance?
Issei: It was quite early this time.
Keigo: Right. But it depends.

After your appearance is decided, does the way you spend the day before or the broadcast day change?
Keigo: I do not really prepare myself, but I try to get a good sleep, so that I will not come here being exhausted. Today, too, I slept well.
Issei: Because it is a program at a late hour, right. Normally at this time… I play games or sleep (laughs).

Shiroiwa-san, are you told about the appearing members at the same time as them?
Ruki: Yes, mostly at the same time.

What do you think about the two today?
Ruki: Yes… Right (laughs). Keigo has times when he is in a good form and times when he is in a bad form.
Keigo: Right.
Ruki: When we match, we really do.
Issei: (laughs)
Ruki: However, there are times when he gets out of control, so… each time I am doing it, wondering “How is his form today?”.
Issei: Like a director (laughs).
Keigo: Today I hope to match with Ruki-kun.
Ruki: Oh! I am really grateful.

Keeping in mind the whole group

You have this fixed schedule each week and I am sure that you must have a lot of things going around in your head during your broadcast, Shiroiwa-san. Is there anything that has changed in your daily life or have you started a routine since ANNX has started?
Ruki: That’s right… I have started to meditate. There is quite a lot of what I think about. Like the radio, but also other things like work. So, I close my eyes and meditate for 15 minutes during the day, while not thinking of anything and reset my mind once. I have started to do so every day.
Keigo: That’s amazing.
Ruki: I used to have the habit of overthinking before sleeping and I wanted to stop that. In order to lighten both my mind and heart, I made time to close my eyes and not to think of anything before I go to sleep. Since I started to do this, I became able to talk more relaxed.

Have you thought “Ah, I could talk about this on the radio” when something funny or interesting happened in your life?
Ruki: I do. In addition, as the members change weekly, I try to keep in mind to remember something that is related to the whole group rather than an individual episode.

Do you feel like you are preparing yourself for the radio on a daily basis?
Ruki: Yes. I even take memos in order not to forget things. For example, today, I made sure to remember what Keigo and Mame talked about when they last came here. Because I hope to create a flow that connects to these previous broadcasts.

When your appearance is decided, do you think about your stories for free talk in advance, Sato-san and Mamehara-san?
Keigo: No, not really.
Issei: Right. I feel the same.
Keigo: Because I feel it is better to talk following the flow naturally than to prepare for it.

His future task as the main personality

However, isn’t a live broadcast scary?
Keigo: I think it could be easier to have our usual casual conversations like this.
Ruki: This is my ideal, too. I hope we can bring a carefree and relaxed atmosphere as if we were in the dressing room to the fans and listeners. Because we like the vibe of the nights of a study trip (laughs), we have the hope that people hear and know us in a casual state and not in our usual work mood. But, once it starts, sure enough, everyone will watch us and there are also reactions and we cannot help but get tense.
Keigo: I tend to get into it. After all, it is a live broadcast.
Ruki: Right. But, I have the ideal that I would like to do it in a just casual manner.

Sato-san you expressed that “you get into it”, but you do not get nervous?
Ruki: In the beginning he was? Like before it started?
Keigo: I do. Because it is a live broadcast and it is a place to do it properly. So… it is hard for me to… get into the right form. For today, I hope to do it calmly.

How do you differentiate it from your fan club web radio “Jamming with JO1”?
Issei: This is because well… it is our close circle (laughs).
Keigo: Right, we can do inside jokes.
Ruki: It is our “home” where only people listen who know us well and like us, so every single teasing changes it. I was told that by Keigo, but during ANNX my teasing towards him becomes nicer (laughs). Sure enough, during ANNX I have to pay attention to the way people see me. I have to be considerate to various things because there are listeners who do not know about JO1. We can take a step away from this in “Jamming”.
But I hope ANNX will become like this. I hope that we can gradually make it our home. I want to make the radio more JO1-like. It is still kinda difficult… So this is my future task.

The chemistries with the weekly changing members

Did you ever have some typical live broadcast accidents that made you say “Back then, I was actually really panicking”?
Ruki: There was one.. During the one for which Sukai and Shion joined. It was a prerecorded broadcast, however. Out of nowhere, a staff member explained that we have to cut one song. We could not play 3 songs, but only two. This is not something rare, but back then the arrangement between the staff member (who sat next to me in the booth) and me did not go well and they told me “After you said the announcement, the jingle comes”, but there was no “announcement” in the script. I did not understand what I was supposed to say and I stayed silent for about two minutes during the conversation. I was panicking at that moment. But Sukai and Shion kept on talking for me the whole time.

Kinjo-san and Tsurubo-san understood the situation and followed it, right?
Ruki: I was communicating with a staff member right in front of them, so I think they made the connection for me. Actually I should have been the one to lead, but I feel bad for making the two younger members take care of it for me. Yes, there was such an episode.

Lastly, please tell us once more what you recommend about “JO1’s ALL NIGHT NIPPON X”.
Ruki: Each week, two different members appear, but I think one of the points that make the show enjoyable is the chemistry that is created by these units.It is interesting to see the differences in who comes together and the ones in age. I also do my best to make it work each time and I hope you will enjoy the various chemical reactions.

By the way, do some members volunteer, saying “I want to appear”? For example, in the broadcast you mentioned that Kono Junki-san is a “semi-regular” for it.
Issei: Recently, he has not come, right?
Ruki: Indeed (laughs). I want him to appear and I want more and more members to come, but hardly everyone… It is, in fact, a live broadcast and there are some who are still nervous, so they say “It is something I am not used to” (laughs).
Issei: (laughs)
Ruki: But after it ended we went home together, saying “It was so much”. I hope they will grow accustomed to it slowly and keep on coming.
TN: The next week (29 June) however, Junki did appear again.

[JO1] Nippon Housou News Online 220622

https://news.1242.com/article/368843

JO1, their new song ‘ALL HOURS’ is completely in English “We also checked the pronunciation remotely”

On the night of the 15th June (Wednesday), the radio program ‘JO1 All Night Nippon X’ (every Wednesday at 24~24:58 on Nippon Housou) aired in which Shiroiwa Ruki of the 11 member global boy group JO1 acts as the main personality. As the weekly changing personalities Yonashiro Sho and Kawashiri Ren appeared in this episode and they talked about the new song ‘ALL HOURS’.

The new song ‘ALL HOURS’ is JO1’s first song with all English lyrics. From a listener a mail came, asking “As all lyrics are in English, were there any points you had a hard time with or a point where you think ‘It’s awesome over here, please pay attention to it’?” and the three of them answered.

Sho: These lyrics are JO1’s first time challenging all English lyrics. Something difficult, sure enough it should be pronunciation, right?
Ren: That’s right~
Ruki: We divided ourselves into smaller groups and for the first time we checked our pronunciation remotely with people who speak English. It took quite some time, didn’t it?
Sho: Because it is something that goes out to the whole world, and we wanted to do the pronunciation properly, it was like this. In the beginning, we had study sessions from the morning on.
Ruki: But, it was good, wasn’t it?
Sho: Yes, it was good after all. We learned things we didn’t know before.
Ruki: Do you have a point where you think “It’s awesome over here, please pay attention to it”?
Ren: I have! In the lyrics there is the word Elevatin’ and if you would read it normally it would be “ereveitin”, but native speakers say it rather like “erevei…”, they tune down the sound in the middle. I was taught that this sounds a little more like a native speaker.
Ruki: Right. There are various patterns to try, like pronouncing it like a native, or saying it Japanese-like on purpose. Out of all those options for pronunciation, we chose the one we felt was the coolest one. It was interesting.

They revealed that they spent a lot of time and carefully added life to lyrics, including in their morning English study sessions.

Furthermore, JO1’s performance leader Kawashiri had been in charge of the choreography for ‘ALL HOURS’. Shiroiwa and Yonashiro commented on it “I like the movement here!” and “This time there are a lot of sexy movements, right?”, to which Kawashiri listened with satisfaction.