#double hinata

Daigo-san, what kind of image do you have of Engeki Haikyuu? Daigo: I was able to go see it three times, and I felt like the viewing seats and the stage sort of become one, and that the audience and the cast members and getting fired up together.  The way they use the projection mapping make the flow of the volleyball matches easy to understand, and more than anything I thought that the athletic ability of the actors, and also how much they sweat, was amazing!

So the actors moving their bodies in sync with the footage and projections in their choreography seems to have left the biggest impression on you. Suga: Well there were a lot of difficulties in that choreography.  Maybe because of Karasuno’s tactics, in the sense that we’re supposed to be able to use anything as offense?   We thought about that a lot.  And as Hinata, who’s aiming to be a “Little Giant,” he has to move more than anyone and sweat more than anyone, or at least convince the audience that that’s true, so that’s how I would practice.  

Daigo-san, when you watched how Suga-san played Hinata, what sort of impression did you have? Daigo: He has an amazing presence.  Hinata Shouyou is basically the embodiment of intense energy, and I felt like that’s exactly what he was on that stage.  Suga-san does move more than anyone else, and he played him so grandly that he would draw my eye, and even if he was pretty far away, I knew exactly what expression he was making.  I would think of how incredibly good he was, and at the same time, I wondered how best I should play him.  And the Hinata that I’ll play is fundamentally unchanged, but I need to improve as a player, and I’m also trying to brainstorm and think about his character on my own.   Suga: Since he’s starting to establish how to play volleyball all on his own now. Daigo: Exactly.  That’s why I want to show Hinata as a player that’s still improving.  Right now, I’m constantly thinking about how best to show that while trying things out at rehearsals.  

How do the two of you analyze Hinata as a person? Suga: When it comes to volleyball, obviously he has a very high level of enthusiasm, but I think his ultimate motivation is “love.”  In the manga too lately, as a player, he’s been showing off his more clever side.  So I think my impression of Hinata has changed again from when I used to play him.   Daigo: When I think of Hinata, I think he is overwhelmingly optimistic.  Normally, I’m always weighing the pros and cons of a situation, so I think if I could learn something from him while playing him, I might be able to live my life a little more happily from now on. (laughs) From the bottom of my heart, I want that kind of positivity!   Suga: You really want that, huh? (laughs)

Suga-san, when you played Hinata, what sort of approach did you always keep in mind? Suga: At first I really intentionally got close to other characters.  So on-stage, when you have dialogue with your teammates, there’s naturally a bit of distance, and I would purposely try getting really close to people instead.  And then I really tried to just have honest and unguarded reactions.  An actor’s condition and responses change depending on the day, and I think the interesting thing about plays is the fact that you definitely can’t do it the exact same way every time.  The tone and nuance of your lines changes every day, and I thought that was a good thing.  How would I feel in this situation while being Hinata?  And in those situations, I would just leave it to however I was feeling.  In Engeki Haikyuu, the amount of physical activity is really a lot, and I think it was natural to just link your body’s actions with your heart and just ride those feelings.   Daigo: I see. Suga: And then I also realized that Hinata himself has a bit of a dual nature.  When it comes to volleyball, he’s so serious that it’s almost tinged with madness, so I paid a lot of careful attention to the moments when his passion just breaks the scale.  

Daigo-san, back in August at the industry presentation* you said, “I’m going to play Hinata through the filter of my own personality, and do something new.”  At rehearsals now, how are you creating that new Hinata? *The one that was on Haikyuu Day Daigo: I said “something new” but I think it was mostly because I thought we just couldn’t do the exact same things that Suga-san and the first cast did.  Suga-san was such an amazing Hinata, but I can’t just mimic him, I have to make my own interpretation.  At rehearsals, we’re all butting heads and encouraging each other to improve, and then after rehearsals we’ll go out to eat together and deepen our relationships even further, because we really want our teamwork to level up. Suga: Even if you’re not all literally “eating out of the same pot,” it’s really important to go out to eat together!  You get to learn about people that you didn’t get to know at rehearsals.  Also go to baths!  When we went on tour to other cities, we’d go to a big bathhouse with everyone and talk about the show until we were getting dizzy.   Daigo: It really is like being on a school team, isn’t it?  But actually, we’re also already talking about going to a bath together. (laughs) Suga: We’re on the exact same road. (laughs)  Today is the first time I’ve seen all eleven members of the new Karasuno generation, but even from the beginning I feel like you guys are really put together.  In our Karasuno cast, everyone was too rowdy and disorderly so at the beginning we almost couldn’t have actual conversations. (laughs)   Daigo: Was that so? (laughs)

Suga-san, if you look back on your Karasuno High Volleyball Team, with whom you spent three years together, enduring both joys and sorrows, how would you describe that team?   Suga: We all had such strong personalities and really scattered characters, so probably a “mob*” is exactly the right word for our team.  I really was very happy to have spent three years with them for this challenge, and there were countless times when they really saved me personally.  It was a time when I had the opportunity to meet the best teammates and friends.  I’m actually the one that gets lonely the easiest so even now I’m constantly reaching out to the others.  Even if they say, “Isn’t it a little early for a reunion?” they’ll still meet up for me.  So ultimately, I’d say, “I really love them!” (laughs)

*The phrasing he uses for what’s often translated as a “mob” or a “disorderly crowd” is more literally the phrase “murder of crows” when viewing the kanji.  But it does carry heavy connotations of rowdiness and unruly behavior and is not simply a grouping of crows like in English which is why it’s not translated that way.  

Both: Ahahhaha! (laughs)

In Engeki Haikyuu, we have another very important figure, who is Hinata’s partner and rival, who is a genius setter, whose name is Kageyama Tobio.  For the both of you, how do you deal with your different Kageyama Tobio actors? Suga: In my case, I had Kimura Tatsunari from the first show (2015) to “Winners and Losers” (2017) and then Kageyama Tatsuya from “Summer of Evolution” (2017) to “The Strongest Team” (2018), so I have two Kageyama Tobios.  And I would say that the two of them are exactly opposite in nature.  Tatsunari was the type to always point out to people if there was anything wrong, so he’d help me in going around and finding those trouble spots.  Kage-chan is someone who doesn’t talk that much, so I’d naturally end up pulling him along.  I had a good balance with both of them though, so it was an interesting way to make a company.  However Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio get along changes the entire production and also the atmosphere of the cast as a whole, I think.  

And in this case, we have Akana Ryuunosuke-san playing Kageyama Tobio in the new generation. Daigo: Akana-kun is the same age as me, but this is his first time acting.  And I’ve been acting this whole time but I’ve never danced, and in contrast, Akana-kun is really good at dancing, so we sort of fill in where the other’s lacking, and we end up as a sort of odd duo, in a good way.  For the new Karasuno cast, rather than making Hinata and Kageyama the focus, we want the company as a whole and our team to get better together.   Suga: In my time, the Karasuno team was always too aggressive so we always had a sense of, “The rival team is the rival team.”  “Since we’ve improved this much, you have to catch up!!” and that was how we’d antagonize and motivate everyone else.  But because of that, other teams did used to say, “Karasuno’s scary.” (laughs)  Karasuno was always running ahead and it was because we felt like we had to pull everyone else along that we’d behave that way.  If someone was slacking off, even if we were on the same team, we’d say so, and we’d talk and talk until we all came to an agreement on things.  But we had a baseline of mutual trust, which was why we could be strict with one another, and it’s actually something I’m proud of.   Daigo: I also think a team that doesn’t give up is great, and there are times I don’t want to give in.  Everyone is tackling rehearsals very seriously... for example there are people who have trouble remembering layouts and plans and so they’re always taking notes, and I think that’s a wonderful attitude to have, so I really love our current team.  They make me want to do my absolute best too.  Although I can’t be as grand as Suga-san... Suga: You won’t get anything from me just with flattery! (laughs) Daigo: Then maybe when you come to rehearsals... we’ll do something... (laughs) Suga: I’ll send a care package... all right? Both: Ahahaha! (laughs) Suga: I really want to hurry up and see all of you in the play.  Maybe next time I’ll go to see you rehearse in secret.  (laughs)

Managing this Haikyuu company is the director, Worry Kinoshita-san.  Suga-san, how would you describe Worry-san as a director? Suga: Worry-san really loves theater, so he watches the actors carefully.  He’s someone that made me think that level of craftsmanship could be fun again.  And he leaves everything to us to the very end.  Even when Worry-san has the answer, he waits until the actors realize it themselves.  And when we’re changing our approach to things, he’s the one having the most fun and the one who laughs and smiles the most for us.  There were rehearsals that felt like we were really just there to try and make Worry-san smile.   Daigo: He really does laugh and smile more than anyone else at rehearsals.  And he always notices even the tiniest changes in your performance.  But when I thought about how much he was paying attention to the little details, it made me happy.  Leaving it up to us, I think we as actors get to realize our true potential, and it sort of feels like he’s raising us.  I’m really grateful that I get to improve myself in this kind of environment.  

Engeki Haikyuu is a play with a long run, so it seems as though you really do need a lot of stamina.  Hinata’s favorite food is rice with egg on top, but what gives the two of you power, so to speak? Suga: Yakiniku!  When we go out to eat all together, yakiniku is usually a top choice.  Really, any meat!  (laughs)  What about you, Daigo-kun?   Daigo: I’m really embarrassed saying this but... I... what I actually like best is... melon bread. 

Fucking relatable, Daigo.

Suga: Ahahah! (laughs)  But I like sweet things too.   Daigo: That moment when I bite into a melon bread is supreme bliss... Suga: You should just eat whatever you like.  Engeki Haikyuu has you moving around so much that when you’re playing Hinata you can eat whatever you want and you won’t get fat. (laughs) Daigo: Then I’ll eat a lot! (laughs)

You’ll make me jealous saying you won’t get fat. (laughs)   Engeki Haikyuu will continue to aim for the “top” with this new cast, but Suga-san can you give us a cheer for Daigo-san? Suga: It’s a show where you’re constantly moving your body, so the very first thing is to be careful and try not to get hurt.  This was true for us, and I’m sure it’ll be true for Daigo-kun and the new Karasuno generation, that there’s some charm that only you can show us, so I want you to think about that carefully.  I try as much as possible to avoid lying, and giving all your might for a role is easier said than done.  But accomplishing something that difficult together with everyone else is the amazing thing about Engeki Haikyuu, so I hope you put on a show that’s overflowing with energy! Daigo: Thank you so much!  I’ll become one with the company, make a show that’s definitely fun and interesting, and connect with the emotions and memories of Suga-san and his team.   Suga: I’m looking forward to it!

=====

Translated by @nimbus-cloud Please do not repost my translations

If you appreciate the work I do for this blog and want to support my translation efforts, please consider donating a ko-fi!  (x)