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odorekijinInterview with Higuchi Yuta, playing as Zaizen Mirai, by Animate.
Published on September 29th, 2022. (original article)
――What were your first impressions of Tokyo Color Sonic's world, characters, and overall setting? What appealed to you in it?
Higuchi：When I looked through the documents and contents, I felt a simple, fresh novelty.
The originality of this story and setting lies in how singers and songwriters are paired as buddies to win the festival: though they may clash due to their different personalities, their relationship and bond gradually grow stronger through their hardships.
Although the story is set in 2080, the fashion feels very modern, which makes that world even more incredible in my opinion. I’m looking forward to how we’ll be able to make this stage both appealing and intriguing.
――Other than the one you play, who is your favorite character in Tokyo Color Sonic? Do you have a favorite song?
Higuchi：I love Mirai; in fact, we share a bunch of similarities. People are often scared to approach him when he’s actually a nice guy. I, too, faced that kind of situation: my juniors told me before that they were afraid to approach me, but once we got to talk, they relaxed and found that I’m a friendly person.
I felt that intimate closeness between the two of us when I read Mirai’s introduction: they described him as “someone who may scare some people off at first”, as well as “a caring soul with a heart of gold who cannot bear to leave someone in need behind”.
My favorite song is Towa’s “VOICE”. The bridge goes “Coming across that map of the future, [...] finally weaving a pure, everlasting melody”, using both Mirai and Towa’s names in the lyrics: I immediately thought “don’t get too deep and meta” when I noticed that (laughs).
Although the lyrics are almost all about Towa, delicate enough to be turned into a ballad, the melody and overall sound was very much like Mirai still. In my opinion, it’s a clever match-up and makes for a captivating song.
――How did you feel when you got cast for Tokyo Color Sonic the Stage?
Higuchi：Since the story is told both from the perspective of the singer and songwriter, there will be a lot of dialogue to look forward to—it’s exciting to think about how we’ll get to perform those on stage. Their backgrounds and relationships are wildly different from each other, so it’ll be interesting to see, for example, how many scenes or how much time it will take for them to open up. It’ll be interesting to see how far and deep our director, Ise Naohiro-san, will go to depict each of the buddies’ relationship.
Also, we tend to sing a lot in productions under Marvelous (laughs), but Mirai’s the songwriter here so my first reaction was naturally “WHAT!? But he can’t sing!”. I really look forward to this play; devoting myself solely to acting will feel like a fresh novelty.
Plus, deepening our bond as buddies is essential, so I hope Kitamura Kento-kun and I can become closer friends. Also, I hope we’ll have a scene where I can give Towa some cookies.
――What were your first impressions of Mirai? Did you find any differences or anything you could relate with him?
Higuchi：As I’ve already mentioned, Mirai and I are pretty much the same, like how we both hate troubles, and aren’t afraid to say what we think. But of course, there’s some sides of us that differ ever so slightly: I don’t come from a distinguished family, nor do I hang out with delinquents, for example (laughs). I believe there will be things easier for me to interpret, since we’re so similar and I can relate to him.
However, I still have no idea how I’ll channel that sense of creativity from him (laughs). I feel like Mirai composes pretty much naturally, as the inspiration comes, so I think I can just perform just how I feel.
I don’t know how deep we’ll get to delve into Mirai’s character, but I feel like the main focus will be on helping Towa open his heart first.
――In his character introduction, Mirai is described as someone with “a smile as bright as the sun”, but your smile is just as dazzling as his!
Higuchi：Thank you very much. I often play characters who are constantly smiling, so I think I’ll be alright in that regard (laughs)
Oh, by the way, I found out that Mirai’s favorite food is steak, and I happen to love meat as well. Like, the other day, I ate an entire Jingisukan (1) by myself. Although he doesn’t have any particular dislikes, I can tell you that I can't stand boiled shiitake mushrooms; the grilled ones are fine though.
Mirai’s hobby is skateboarding, which is also something I used to do. On the other hand, while I didn’t play the violin, I think we’re pretty much the same in how we can be both indoor and outdoor people. Oh, and I also go fishing and play video games on my days off.
(1) Jingisukan is a dish that contains grilled mutton and vegetables.
――What is your first impression of your buddy, Towa?
Higuchi：Towa is a pretty mysterious character, but I’m personally used to these kinds of people around me, so I can say that I’m good at opening up to them. In terms of being my buddy and personality-wise, Towa is probably my favorite type of person; they’re worth the tease and trouble (laughs).
Towa doesn't talk much about his emotions, so I hope we’ll be able to build up their relationship to that climax: I believe their emotional connection can reveal its full exciting potential when it'll unfold on stage.
――Have you ever worked with Towa’s actor, Kitamura Kento-san, for private or professional means?
Higuchi：We have performed together in "Katekyo Hitman REBORN! the STAGE" and more recently in the musical "Hakuouki Shinkai". Although we only talked a bit during “Katekyo Hitman REBORN! the STAGE”, we grew much closer during “Hakuouki Shinkai”.
I never thought I would be buddies with Kento-kun this time around, but I think we’ll make for an unrivaled duo together.
Kento-kun is an earnest person who also takes time to open up with others—that’s something I noticed only from our gradual friendship; I guess that’d be similar to Towa’s spoiling, in a sense. When I offer Kento-kun cookies, it’s not in an attempt to tame him though (laughs).
One of my most striking memories with Kento-kun was during the “Hakuouki Shinkai ‘Souma Kazue-hen’” musical. When Heisuke Todo, my character, and Kento-kun’s Okita Soji were confronting the enemies, our eyes met for a split second: we managed to understand each other without a word, simply with our gaze. I’m excited to see if that kind of thing will happen again by having him as my buddy.
――A message to Kitamura-san?
Higuchi：I’d tell him that I may get him something other than cookies (laughs).
――This project has a music battle as its core. In that regard, what is a song that you like the most, one that left a strong impact on you?
Higuchi：I often play Disney music when I’m home. They really get me going before acting on stage, and push me to perform. People often tell me that I’m an odd one since I especially like Disneyland's Splash Mountain background music (laughs).
――Have you ever been to a music festival before?
Higuchi：No, I didn’t; I don’t like places with a lot of people—at all. All the people that have attended one of those keep on saying that it’s fun, but honestly I think the crowd would end up spooking me. I suppose I would be fine as a performer, but still…
――Do you have any manga or anime you like or are currently into?
Higuchi：I’ve been interested in “Ranking of Kings” these days: I’ve heard there’s an anime adaptation, which one of my friends recommended to me. Now that I have more free time, I’ll take the opportunity to start reading it.
――To you, what’s the appeal of 2.5 dimension stages?
Higuchi：Although there is an original story to follow, I think there’s a greater meaning for what we do on stage. Only in theaters can you see these characters jump out from their still panels, who probably had no lines of dialogue, and move around: there’s room for yet unseen episodes and scenes to unfold. I perform every show with the intent of conveying feelings and passion.
――Is there any memorable role or stage you can tell us about?
Higuchi：”Hakuouki” may be the one—it’s a really serious play. On stage, when we cross swords, both parties really go at each other to take the opponent out, and even the timing for the killings is made to be different. You could really feel the fear and bloodlust.
The show was so intense that "Hakuouki" was the first time I nearly collapsed when I returned backstage. We sang, we danced, we killed, and running back and forth from the backstages was extenuating—even the makeup artists were running around behind the scenes.
A single performance used up a day's worth of physical energy, and it was hard to catch even a 10 minutes break between the matinée and soirée performance. It was exhausting, but an amazing experience nonetheless.
――A message to the audience?
Higuchi：This is the first stage adaptation for Tokyo Color Sonic!!, and I hope to be able to showcase the story’s full appeal. Deepening my bond with Kento-kun’s Towa as my buddy, we’ll do our absolute best to win the festival.
Each pair has their own quirks, and because humanity and relations are core topics here, we hope that you’ll be able to find a duo you’ll like—I’d recommend supporting Towa and Mirai, just saying (laughs).
All actors will put their soul into their acting, with the same passion as the characters in-story. With singing as its main theme, Tokyo Color Sonic!! is a one-of-a-kind production that you should definitely give a try to, be it that you’re a veteran fan or a curious attendee. Don’t miss it!
