#stuppy

Please tell us how you met Saga.

Show: When I first formed a band, there was this hot topic that "the bassist in a band called Visage was so good-looking that they were quickly gaining many fans", so using my connections, I went to go see them live. But miraculously, that day was a live for "Saga leaving the band" (laughs). But as expected, he was cool from way back then.

Did you invite him to join your band knowing he would be leaving his band?

Show: No, at that time I wasn't looking for members; I really only went just to go see them, so even in the dressing room I was just looking at him from afar, and while I feeling this aura around him that wouldn't make anyone wonder why he was a hot topic, I didn't actually talk to him. After that he joined another band, some time had passed, and at around the time my next band was disbanding, Nao had invited me, saying "I was thinking of forming a band with Saga. Do you want to join us?".

It feels like fate.

Show: That's right. If it was a band with Tora, who was in my previous band, Nao and Saga (Hiroto joined later), I thought that it would definitely turn out to be an amazing band. So we first decided to meet at a fast food restaurant in Shinjuku...... but that shock I received back then in still vividly engraved in me. Saga was wearing a sleeveless light purple top paired with light-coloured jeans, and his hair and skin were just about the same light colour and he was even skinnier back then. This isn't an exaggeration, but he looked like an elf from "Lord Of The Rings".

Even just imagining it, he must have been quite godlike.

Show: Also, even though he had that appearance, he had rounded shoulders and would drag his feet along the ground when he walked (laughs)

How strange (laughs)! What was he like after you actually spoke to him?

Show: For a while, I didn't talk to Saga a good deal. 3 months after that we did our first live, and even though we rehearsed together for a day to prepare for that, I only said a word or two to him.

Were you not worried, like "Is it possible to be in a band with this person?"?

Show: Strangely enough, there was none of that. Or rather, we were really stupid back then, and we only ever said things like "If we form a band with these kinds of members, we've already won!" (Awkward Smile). Then, I guess around the time we did our first live, Saga started talking to me about some things, and then I started to think "Huh, isn't this guy just something else?!"

As in he was funny?

Show: Yes, he's funny. In any case, Saga is an airhead. Since the members tease him about his airheadedness quite a lot, he really is careful so lately he's turned into a normal person, but back then his words and actions would be really weird. For example, with the ashtray on the table at bars, he would use it as a plate without even thinking about. When we ate instant noodles together, he wouldn't close the lid and just silently stared down on his noodles. And like I said before, since he dragged his feet while walking the soles of his shoes would wear down, and whenever he would get out of the car in Summer he would walk unsteadily.

It's almost as if he were a lizard that walks on alternate legs in the piping hot desert (laughs)

Show: It must have been hot. When I asked him what was wrong, he showed me the soles of his shoes that were so worn down you could see his socks (laughs)

Somehow, it makes you think that you have to protect him.

Show: To the point there was a senior who just couldn't bear to see him like, saying "Poor thing", and gave him some shoes (laughs). He's exactly the kind of person you worry about if you don't go somewhere with him, and someone who keeps on awakening that motherly instinct inside of you.

Just now you said that he's "turned into a normal person", but do you sometimes see that airheaded side of Saga?

Show: A few years ago, when we went to Hawaii on a company trip, there was a time where the A9 members were washed out into the open sea. Apparently when Tora was seriously ready to give up, he saw Saga standing on the ocean for some reason.

And the sea must have been so deep for even Tora to drown. What kind of miracle?!

Show: Saga just happened to be around a coral reef, so he was standing on that (laughs). Tora, who was on the brink of death, apparently thought that perhaps he just saw an illusion, and just like the instant noodles, Saga was silently staring down at Tora. No matter how many times I tell this story, it's still way too funny...... (Crying with laughter)

You really look like you're having fun talking about this (laughs). On the other hand, I get this really strong impression that Saga has been the one driving the band musically ever since the release of the album "Alpha" in 2007.

Show: There definitely was that change. Just like me, Saga actually really hates losing. After about one year had passed since we joined a major label, the adults started to improve our songs so that the band could sell more...... and Saga vehemently opposed it, saying "Well if that's the case then I'll write songs that will shut those adults up!". Then after he wrote the melodious pop song "JEWELS" (a single released in 2007), he came to be the one to lead the band musically.

That he brought such results is surely because he is reliable, and it became a big turning point for the band.

Show: Originally, I was the one who thought up of things for the band to do, so when we first formed the band, we only did songs that I asked the members to write, like "write this kind of song". But when Saga became the center of the music, we started to show our identity as musicians and also a rebellious spirit towards the absurd things that the adults would say. I think that was the point where the idol band in Visual Kei, A9, started turning into a rock band. After that, we left all matters of music to him, or rather, I think that I should be like the president of a company that employs artisans. Saga is, so to speak, an artisan. And so, I think that my job is to make an environment where he can do his best in.

That's only possible if you trust each other.

Show: Ever since I met him, I kept telling Saga "You really have some amazing talent". It's because I think he's the type of person who improves when you compliment him......

Have you always given him total affirmation?

Show: Yes. And as a result, now, for example, even if I'm not at rehearsals, I can leave it to Saga. The person who was mainly known for their appearance turned into a wonderful musician.

What do you expect from Saga hereon?