Seiyuu Men Artist Side vol.2 Interview - Nakamura Shuugo x Nogami Shou

[nebulancer]

QUESTION about MUSIC:

Shugo Nakamura

—

Nakamura Shugo’s Q&A with music

Q. What was the first CD you ever bought?

The first CD I ever had as my own was the album “Hachimitsu” by Spitz, which I received from my older brother. My brother and I were very separated, age-wise, and he often took me along for drives when I was in elementary school. Around that time, Spitz was playing a lot, and I liked it a lot, so my brother gave me a present from that. I especially like “Namida ga Kirari☆.” The CD I bought on my own was, if I remember correctly, an album from Mr. Children.

Q. What about music encourages you?

I can listen to music that matches my mood; when I feel sad, I listen to sad songs, and when I feel happy, I listen to happy songs. So when I’m sad, listening to painful songs gives me incredibly sad feelings. That way, I actually get refreshed in reverse. I think there’s a part of my own memories that is linked with music. When I was in my first year of middle school, there was a sleepover at my school. During the night, a friend told me, “I have a really cool song for you!” and shoved the Walkman into my ear. That was the first time I’d ever heard BUMP OF CHICKEN’s “Tentai Kansoku.” Even now, when I hear it, I remember that night.

Q. When do you listen to music?

I set time aside to specifically listen to music. What I do during it… Actually, I sit in front of the speaker and listen to it while concentrating. I even let radio cassettes play on purpose to listen to and enjoy the rough texture from it. In hindsight, listening to them that way and having a nice taste come out of it is the best feeling. I also copy it by ear while holding my guitar, and if there’s a phrase that I think “That’s nice,” from, I can repeat just that part over and over. (laughs)

QUESTION about MUSIC:

Sho Nogami

—

Nogami Sho’s Q&A with music:

Q. What was the first CD you ever bought?

It was Porno Graffiti’s “Agehachou.” Around my middle school years, I think I saw it going up in the rankings of a music program chart and then bought it. That was around the time the people around me were beginning to listen to music, so that CD to me was a way to become a cool adult. When I bought it, I was extremely nervous. I bought it in the CD corner of my local bookstore, but there was a CD shop in that area that sold instruments as well, and the threshold was so high I couldn’t enter. (laughs) I can’t forget my heart pounding that time.

Q. What about music encourages you?

When I listen to a happy song while I’m sad, I fall into a slump about the difference between the song and my own mood. So, in the meaning that I’m being “saved,” I feel that I’m always being helped out by music when I want to improve my concentration. I’m a type of person to want personal space, so it’s necessary for me to have music to immerse myself in my own world. Being able to have something right in front of me, in my sights, and heading toward it means that being able to prepare my condition becomes easier. I’d like music to always be by my side.

Q. When do you listen to music?

It’s my habit to listen to music when I’m moving around. If I forget my music player and leave my house without it, I’ll go back and get it— that’s how necessary it is. I’d also like to improve my concentration as I go to work, and if I have to walk because of a traffic jam, I don’t like having to take in information from the outside. But if I’m with a song that I like so much that I could walk two stations with, that time is something I enjoy. Recently, I’ve been listening to Thee Michelle Gun Elephant a lot.

仲村宗悟 x 野上翔

SHUGO NAKAMURA x SHO NOGAMI

“TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION”

The unit associated with the 2.5-Dimensional “Tsukino Talent Productions,” (afterwards, TSUKIPRO) QUELL. A group of four who debuted in summer of 2016, they have a dramatic sound overflowing with a clean feeling that is like water, which is their characteristic. In it are the roles of twin characters, Kuga Issei and Ichiru’s voice actors, Nakamura Shuugo and Nogami Shou. The subject today are these two, who have gotten along entering the studio, with their breaths in sync. We heard what they had to say about QUELL’s song’s charms and their favorite songs.

Confidence that they get along more than each TSUKIPRO unit!

—The unit “QUELL” associated with TSUKIPRO is comprised of Izumi Shu (Takeuchi Shunsuke), Horimiya Eichi (Nishiyama Koutarou), Nakamura-san’s character, Kuga Issei, and Nogami-san’s character, Kuga Ichiru, in a four-man group. With different personalities, positions, and upbringings, the way these four met is more dramatic when compared to the other units. What did the two of you think at first when the casting was decided?

Nakamura: I thought that Issei’s quietness and genius were completely opposite from me. And also, the Kuga twins are from Hokkaido— but I’m from Okinawa.* (laughs) Even up until now, I’ve had more roles that are energetic that resemble Ichiru, so it was surprising to me that I was chosen to play Issei.

Nogami: I thought that it was nice that I didn’t have to build [the role] too much, in a good meaning. For Ichiru, who acts on emotion, I thought that it was my chance to make use of how I, myself, act naturally while voicing him; when I received the information, I was very glad.

Nakamura: That part was something I was glad to challenge myself with. In regards to getting a new role, there were many things I had to think about for what I had to do.

—What were your thoughts of each other when it was decided that the two of you would be voicing twins?

Nakamura: We worked together before, so when I heard that, I went, “Ah, it’s Nogami.” (laughs)

Nogami: (laughs). When being told that they were established to be twins, of course you’d be interested in who your partner is. At the time this work was decided, I had much less experience and knew fewer seiyuu acquaintances than now, so I was relieved upon hearing that Shuugo was the other twin. (laughs) I feel that with this work as the turning point, we work together often.

Nakamura: That’s probably true. I could easily accept that Nogami was voicing him.

Nogami: That time, I hadn’t met Shun-chan nor Kou-chan, so it was relieving that there was someone I knew.

Nakamura: I met Takeuchi-kun before, but not Koutarou. All four of us get along very well now.

—All the members of QUELL get along, don’t they.

Nogami: QUELL was the last released idol group associated in TSUKIPRO. But, in order for us to get to know each other better, we quickly released a Drama CD in a short amount of time, and we even participated in an event. As a result, the distance between us naturally lessened.

Nakamura: That’s right. Even regarding lives, we had our first showing at Pacifico Yokohama, and at that time I thought, “We’re going to be somewhere this big…” But after that, we went to the Ryougoku Kokugikan! Because we were performing in Ryougoku Kokugikan’s 360-degree hall, all of us had to have a meeting beforehand to prepare the details. We spent a lot of quality time on that, and our teamwork pulled it off perfectly.

Nogami: I think the other units’ members may be good friends, but if we’re going by how well we get along, then we won’t lose either!

Nakamura: The day before we appeared at “S.Q.P 2017 SUMMER” in Ryougoku Kokugikan on July 16, Takeuchi-kun had brought games, so the night before, we all gathered in the hotel room and played games.

Nogami: I felt that we should’ve been listening to our own songs at that point. (laughs) But being with everyone was able to distract me from my nervousness, so that really saved me. I’m the type to not talk very much before a live due to nerves.

Nakamura: You did talk a lot, though. (laughs)

Nogami: I think that was after I overcame the mountains of [singing] my solo song and everything else. (laughs) When the live began, I’d be able to enjoy it alongside Ichiru, so it would be okay; but before a live begins, that’s the period of time I’m always bad with……

—Backstage, though, you had different ways of spending time.

Nakamura: We had the same backstage room as the members of SolidS, but we passed our time in different periods, it seemed. It was my first time singing Issei’s solo, and on top of that, I sang it before the CD’s full version was released. I thought about how I could perform the song. And, during rehearsal that day, my throat wasn’t doing well either…… Until my performance, I prepared with cough drops and hot water, so it went away completely. Once I stood on stage, I felt so much better, it was as if I could bring out the falsetto part even higher; that was a relief to me. That day, Koutarou was also incredibly nervous.

Nogami: Yes. Eichi’s solo was still in the stage at which its sample wasn’t released yet, so even right before he had to show up, he was completely immersed in listening to the song. Despite all that, Shun-chan was……. dancing in the backstage room.

Nakamura: Yeah. He was dancing to Michael Jackson’s songs. (laughs)

Nogami: Order-wise, Shun-chan’s solo was the first out of all of us, so when he finished his solo, you could feel his sense of freedom! He yelled, “WHOOOOO!!” and stuff. He really is an interesting kid. (laughs)

Nakamura: That’s right, he was a good 19-year old. Cute and honest, too. (laughs)

How they’re twins but not similar: That’s how Issei and Ichiru are interesting

—Have the two of you ever considered, “This would be how the Kuga brothers would converse” or such?

Nogami: Issei and Ichiru are twins, but they don’t resemble each other, but I think that’s their good point. If you’re given how they look at first, then they’ll seem similar, but their personalities and ways of talking are completely opposite of each other. That part of them strangely didn’t have to be built up.

Nakamura: It was important to keep in mind the feeling that they give off upon getting a look at them for the first time.

Nogami: Since they’re twins that look alike, I thought it was important in the way their voices are similar or how they build off each other. With only that however, their conflicting personalities would be treated as a set, so instead, when each of them acts as individuals, that by itself would be when they would be thought of as being their own characters.

Nakamura: We had those parts free to us. But on the other hand, there are moments you think, “They’re kind of similar” too, so I think that’s what twins are.

—Other than their being twins, is there something that you have to keep in mind?

Nogami: In Ichiru’s case, it’s how straightforward he is. Whether good or bad, he always stays direct about things.

Nakamura: Issei actually has that upfront point to him as well. He doesn’t fire off his words one after the other, but he says things clearly. He’s the type to think about what would get to the core of people’s hearts while declaring it. I form my words with that in mind. His pauses are the points to pay attention to. He’s thinking while talking, so during conversations, those spaces are created.

Nogami: Yep. There was a part in the Kuga brothers’ history in which they were picked up (saved) by Shu on the street, and somehow it showed a type of stray-dog feeling to them. At the moment, I think all the members are used to it by now, but only when they eat is when Ichiru eats too much he can chew, stuffing his face, which is what I act out. It’s a way of eating that’ll prompt Issei to warn him, “Ichiru, those are bad manners.”

Nakamura: (laughs). But, speaking of Ichiru, when he takes caution, he’s very careful. He wouldn’t respond with, “Shut up!” I believe that he understands, and he can accept it. The twins’ trusting relationship is scattered here and there at every turn like that, so I think that part is vital as well.

Nogami: It seems as if the chances for the four of us to discuss things like, “This is a nice part,” or “I wanted to put an adlib here; what do you think?” have increased. We have strong feelings to want to bring out the good parts of our respective characters, so our ability to collaborate with each other is working hard.

Nakamura: It’s amazing to have a workplace where we can ask for suggestions such as, “Do you think it’s fine for me to say it this way?” Even if I were advised not to do so in the end, as we’re proposing what we think of QUELL ourselves, it’s very reassuring to have a conversation about how Issei would want to do something.

Songs in which all of QUELL’s members have their wills and thoughts packed in them

—Please tell us your favorite songs in QUELL.

Nakamura: Mine is “NEMOPHILA”. I think you can see a new side of QUELL through this song.

Nogami: “Aoi Mizu”, I guess. I’ve always liked rock-themed songs, and it’s a fresh sense from QUELL too.

—In TSUKIPRO, only QUELL’s songs have a different composer, right?

Nakamura: Yes, that’s right.

Nogami: Hama Takeshi-san writes them.

Nakamura: Because of that, I feel that they have a different atmosphere from the other units.

—The TV anime that will be aired in October will have the new song “Because you are” as a theme song. What song will it be?

Nakamura: “Because you are” is a song with yet another different atmosphere, which is easy to get in the flow of. With a four-on-the-floor rhythm pattern, it might be easy to take in. Although it’s the opening, it has a sense of gentleness to it. That matches with how easy it is to get along to, and it’s a song with an ending that finishes well.

Nogami: As the beginning of a story, it’s a song that perfectly fits QUELL’s beginning. After that, you can feel it expanding from here on. I felt as if the future that came from their experience beginning in the Drama CD is packed into [the song].

Nakamura: What I’m saying isn’t specific to this song, but when Hama-san was in the middle of proceeding with the recording, he came up with an idea right on the spot, and he asked me, “Could you try this out?” On the other hand, if we were the ones to suggest something, we’d think about it all together. Being able to have everyone’s opinion on just one song, it feels as if all of us have come together and are working as one. When that point comes up as we’re thinking, the result of “Wanting to put good things into our songs” is what makes up QUELL’s songs.

Nogami: That’s right. We feel as if our own opinions are being made heard as well.

—We think it might be nice to have a duet between the Kuga brothers as well, but……

Nakamura: I want one too! We’re also very interested about it.

Nogami: The melody would be interesting. It feels like we could definitely put harmonizations in there! I’d like us to make one someday.

—

*Hokkaido and Okinawa are two different islands of Japan. The reason why it’s such a huge difference is because Okinawa is very warm and humid due to being a southern island, while Hokkaido is incredibly cold due to its northernmost position.