#choucho

Depicting the delicate and simplistic worldview that the anime has.

——“Tsurune —Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou-bu—”, of which the ending theme you are responsible for, has an archery club as its setting. ChouCho-san, it seems you were also part of an archery club in high school.

Yes. Which is why I was extremely happy to be the one singing this ending theme. The anime’s staff apparently did not know about it, so they were very surprised when I said, “I actually used to be in an archery club” (laughs).

——What was your impression from reading the original work?

The descriptions of Japanese archery were quite real, so the feelings from back when I myself was engrossed in it were revived. For example, while the atmosphere of the tournaments was stiff, there was something awe-inspiring to it, which I believe to be a peculiarity of Japanese archery, and I could feel even that air from the original novel. It was written that realistically, so it had me very touched.

——That sense of tension is surely a comfortable thing, right?

There is something I cannot describe with words at all about the nervousness and mood from the instant when you release an arrow after everyone silently goes dead-still, so I would like people to feel them from the novel and the anime.

——What was the cue for you to join the archery club, to begin with?

In a club introduction that happened soon after I enrolled into high school, I saw a demonstration of drawing a bow by an upperclassman dressed in hakama, and I joined the club because I looked up to that hakama look. Our school was not very strong, so we did not leave behind any particularly great records, but I have memories of it being extremely fun, including that peculiar sense of mental strain. While remembering myself from back then as I read the original novel, I felt like doing archery again for the first in a long time. After doing a research, I found that there were countless archery dojos in the metropolitan area and that experienced people can rent a space, so I want to try it when I have the time.

——“Tsurune” is about club activities and also a story about friendships of youth, so what did you feel sympathy for?

There are scenes where team competitions happen, and I was able to read them while overlapping with my own tournament experiences. The shooting of each person is very important in team competitions, so just one misstep ends up greatly affecting the team. But on the other hand, if your companions hit, you can take over that feeling and hit too. It is your own fight, but there is an aspect of it where you receive support from the core of the team. I read the novel while recalling this kind of teamwork so unique to Japanese archery.

——Does any character pique your interest amongst the ones that appear in it?

Takehaya Seiya-kun, I guess. He takes care of the protagonist, Narumiya Minato-kun, in an almost motherly way, and I thought that was delightful. In the anime, characters who had not yet been written about in detail in the original work show up in early stages, and I think that is also one of the highlights. There are three female club members as well, but there still has been no illustration of them in the novel, so I was looking forward to seeing their appearances, as well as more of their personalities and what kind of girls they are, in the anime.

——Additionally, it is also a hot topic that Fuuki Harumi-san, the person who composed the soundtrack of NHK’s Taiga Drama “Segodon”, was the one in charge of this anime’s soundtrack.

I also watched the drama “Segodon” every week and thought its music was wonderful. “Tsurune” is a series with a particular, warm mood to it that is similar to “Segodon”, so I was wondering just what kind of music it would turn out to have, and although the same goes for the animation, I was looking forward to the soundtrack too.

——I thought that the ending theme of “Tsurune”, “Orange-iro”, is a song where one can picture a scene with the five main boys walking back home from club activities side by side. How was your impression when you first listened to it?

The one who made the lyrics and musical composition was Fujii Mariko-san, and it was the first time I worked on a production with her. There is a tranquility to the composition that fits perfectly with the worldview of “Tsurune”, and you can feel warmth from the song. The tune is also easy to listen, and I thought it was a simple melody that can calm you down. Kyoto Animation-san’s works all have a characteristic sensibility to them, so I felt that I wanted to make this song with care, in order not to lose to the anime’s sensible portrayal.

——It is a very simple and idyllic song, right?

Right. That is the kind of melody it is, so rather than singing it clearly, I thought it was more suitable to value the simplicity that this song has. I sang it being conscious of its simplistic warmth, bearing an image that I was not singing it, but instead leaving the words there one by one while observing a distant view.

——But it is not as if the song is just simple; there is a feeling that the song structure strikes the rhythm, right?

Agreed. It was a tune with a pattern that I had never sung before until now. When I was only aware of the rhythm that has a melody to it, I would feel like singing it no matter what, so it took me a bit of time to be able to change my feelings so that I could speak the words without being conscious of the rhythm. As a result of myself fumbling around in order to correspond to what the song demanded with all my might like this, it became a song that bears an image of me purposely erasing the quirks of my usual way of singing.

——But ChouCho-san, it solidly expressed the sense of transparency and carefreeness in your voice that are so typical of you.

I am happy if that is the case.

——About the title, what do you think “Orange-iro” (“The Color Orange”) represents?

Orange is a color with an image of warmth rather than heat. I believe the orange hues of sunset represent the passion inside one’s heart and the radiance of youth. I think people imagine red when they talk about passion, but I believe that, rather than this primary color, having an unclear side to it is more youth-like. Shouldn’t it be a color that is neither red nor yellow, which burns while bearing complicated emotions?

——Lastly, this is something that will happen a little farther into the future, but next February, Tokyo Hakuju Hall will hold your fifth acoustic live, “ChouCho Acoustic Live ‘Naked Garden’ Vol.5”. “Orange-iro” seems like it would be a good match for an acoustic version.

I think it definitely is. I want to try this song out playing the acoustic guitar by all means, so I will do my best at practicing it.

——The last live was in June, and you uploaded a photo of yourself with your acoustic guitar on social media back then, right?