Tokyo Color Sonic!! the Stage Vol.2 | Interview with Takeshi Naoki, Komiyama Arashi’s actor

[odorekijin]

Interview with Takeshi Naoki, playing as Komiyama Arashi, by Engeki Sengen.

Published on September 15th, 2023. (original article)

—“Tokyo Color Sonic!! the Stage,” which first hit the stage in February 2023, received great acclaim and set the pace for the second opus scheduled for November 2023.

“Tokyo Color Sonic!! the Stage” is the theatrical adaptation of the eponymous multimedia project, given life under popular illustrator Fujiwara Ryo’s pen. The story follows a group of young students attending a prestigious music academy, passionate about their art, who will later form duos between composer and vocalist to participate in a national festival: the ‘Tokyo Color Sonic.’

We interviewed Takeshi Naoki (playing as Komiyama Arashi, the main character) about his feelings upon being cast for the role, and his opinion on the project.

“I had seen information about the first volume floating around on social media, and I remember finding the visuals cool and striking. I was happy to have been casted for such production. But I must admit that I was nervous at the idea: if I were to accept, that means I would have to look as good and bold as those characters. I didn’t know if I would have fit in that fictional world. When the photoshoot sessions began… The staff actually praised me a lot, and when I saw the final pictures I was confident in how cool and stylish I looked, just as intended (laughs).”

—During our interview, Takeshi seemed free of apprehensions despite being a new addition to the casting. Indeed, many of his co-stars are old acquaintances of his, including Kitagawa Naoya, who plays Kirishima Sora, Arashi's buddy.

“Kishimoto Yuuta-kun, Arashi’s previous actor, and I talked a lot in private. He told me that they all were very close and had a lot of fun together, so of course there’s a certain pressure in joining an already-existing group. I hope my arrival will be a refreshing motivation: I think it’s best to think of it as a stimulus to make things around us all the more enjoyable.

I’m also happy that one of my close friends, Naoya-kun, will be playing as my buddy. We used to barely greet each other when we first met on "Touken Ranbu," about six years ago. But as time went on, we grew to become kindred spirits, so much so that we would sometimes talk until morning came.”

—In this universe, four units, including Arashi & Sora’s, face each other to win a music festival—to Takeshi, this story has a certain appeal in that “anyone can feel and empathise with the burning passions that animates the youth.”

“It's such a fantastic feeling to see these sometimes immature, other times naive students forming deep bonds through their shared passion for music, even amidst the conflicts and the fervour. I especially like the surprisingly crude side of all these characters.”

Takeshi spoke a little more on the role Arashi has in this story: “His ambition to change the world through his music is commendable and super cool. On the other hand, I find his slight awkwardness and inability to be honest in everyday situations very cute. I wouldn’t have suspected that side of him from his looks alone.” 

Takeshi also added that Arashi and him have some common traits: “We’re definitely both awkwardly shy (laughs). But I think we’re both extremely passionate to our core, as much as we seem collected on the outside… We’d sync up pretty well, in my opinion.”

 

Takeshi is “eagerly looking forward to singing as Arashi in front of an audience,” and adds a few highlights of Vol.2: “There’s an incredible scene between Arashi and Sora that honestly brought me to tears when I first read the script. They absorbed a lot to achieve such tremendous growth in a remarkably short amount of time—at the end of the road, Arashi and Sora came to a consensus, and an answer… I sincerely invite our audience to come see this scene unfold in person. Don’t worry, there’s also plenty of cute moments I’m sure everyone will enjoy!”