The TV anime "Rock wa Lady no Tashinamideshite" based on the manga by Fukuda Hiroshi currently being serialized in "Young Animal" (Hakusensha) will be broadcast nationwide on 28 TBS affiliates from 11:56 pm on April 3rd. The story is about adolescence with the theme of "rich ladies x rock". Suzunomiya Ririsa, a former commoner and former rock girl, is forced to live a cramped life after her mother remarries and becomes super rich. In order to behave like a lady at her school, she has to give up her beloved guitar and rock. However, when she meets Lilisa Suzunomiya, a highly skilled rich drummer who attends the same school, she is inspired to play rock music again and starts a band. We spoke to Akira Sekine, who plays Ririsa, and Miyuri Shimabukuro, who plays Otoha, about the show, whose intense performance scenes are one of the highlights.
◇ Performances that touch the soul
-What is your impression of the work?
I was touched by the intensity and passion of Sekine-san , and the expressions that revealed their emotions. When I was recording the tape audition, I told my manager, "It's really interesting!" and asked him to let me know as soon as the results are out. I remember being curious about the rest of the story and reading it engrossingly. However, on the day of the studio audition, I caught the flu and was very depressed because I couldn't audition, but I was able to get a chance to audition on another day. Since I had just recovered from the flu, the staff told me, "You don't have to push yourself," but I took on the challenge with the feeling that I would do it someday without pushing myself too hard!
Shimabukuro-san was shocking. Watching the performance scenes, I felt more than just passion, my blood was pumping. I wanted to act as I was carried away by the passion, but I got the balance wrong in the tape audition and my voice became hoarse, so I auditioned for other roles, but my voice became hoarse halfway through. I didn't practice too much in the studio audition, and tried to put my heart into it, but my voice became hoarse after all... I was reminded of the comfort that the play gives, which does not allow the performers to hold back at all, and the strength of the play. It is a powerful play with momentum that does not allow you to put on the brakes.
--What is Ririsa's appeal?
Shimabukuro-san is simple and cute, isn't she? Seeing her through Otoha-san, I think she's an easy girl to manipulate (laughs). She's a powerful girl who always goes all out. She doesn't cut corners on anything. Once she decides to become a young lady, she doesn't cut corners and strives to be perfect. I think her determination is cool. When I think about the background in which she has to be perfect, I sometimes worry that she doesn't need to take on so much at her age. That's how strong she is.
Sekine wants to be a noble maiden, the most noble lady, but it's not for herself, and I feel her kindness in that. But there are things inside her that she won't compromise on. She doesn't "catch two rabbits, catch neither," and I think she's a really strong-willed girl who tries to get both. However, she's also easily provoked and has a cute, easy-going side (laughs). She's a girl with very strong beliefs, so I'm taking on many challenges while playing her.
--What about Otoha?
When I heard Sekine-san and Shimabukuro-san's first words, I thought, "That's Otoha!" I felt Shimabukuro-san's elegance and refinement. His elegance, like flowers blooming all around, is really wonderful. When I read the script, I sometimes feel like I don't want to lose! In the scenes where we are insulting each other, he always comes at me as if to crush what I throw at him, so I often get heated up during the test, thinking, "Are you going to lose!" (laughs). Also, in the scenes where Otoha puts pressure on me, he never uses rough words, and his expressions and lines are cheerful, but he is really scary... Why? Why don't you do it? He crushes me as if to cover me with a pure curiosity, so I thought that in a sense, purity is very scary.
Shimabukuro and Otoha are seen as the object of everyone's admiration, and I think they have been educated since childhood so that they will not be embarrassed wherever they go. Therefore, when they are not playing rock, they have a thick coating on themselves. I don't know if it is unconscious or conscious, but I think they understand the image that is expected of them, and they communicate and behave as a model. I feel that they have to keep their back straight when acting, and since they are beautiful and elegant, they are graceful in front of the microphone. When they are playing rock, they are really free-spirited and seem to enjoy the happiness they have now. For the sake of their own happiness, they even drag the other person's life into it. They have found and valued the pleasure of rock to that extent. In the scene where they argue, Sekine said, "I don't want to lose," but because Ririsa can be open, Otoha herself is also open. I didn't want to lose either, and I finally found someone who I could enjoy music with on an equal footing, and it looks like a lot of fun.
-Have you ever performed together before?
I think this is the first time I've seen Sekine-san so well. Her way of dealing with the character is really wonderful, so I want to learn from her. She's always been so kind and supportive during recording, and I'm really grateful.
Shimabukuro-san's acting is always raw and confrontational, so when we insult each other, I feel like I'm not going to lose to what he's thrown at me here! No matter how many times we redo it, the passion doesn't decrease, and sometimes it even increases, so I feel like he values the present when he acts. Sekine-san's acting resonates with my soul. Listening to him from the side, the scenes where he is conflicted are so moving that I almost cry. But because I'm playing Otoha, I can't let myself be shaken, and I feel the conflict of having to not listen too much is born. I want to listen, but I won't!
◇ Overlap feelings like a session
--You say some impressive things like "Non-burnable garbage!" Do you feel good about being able to say things you normally wouldn't say?
There are a lot of things that Shimabukuro-san said for the first time.
Sekine-san: Those kinds of words come out in a lot of passionate scenes, so I feel more of a sense of accomplishment than satisfaction. . In the scenes where we insult each other, I wanted to pay particular attention to the tempo and the heat we build up, so I was directed not to worry about overlapping. Also, in the scene where we had to say the same thing, we deliberately didn't make eye contact with each other. . In the test for episode 1, we happened to do it without looking at each other, and it was perfectly synchronized. After that, if we worried about each other, it would end up not matching, so we decided to just go with the tension of the moment...!
Shimabukuro-san, we haven't seen each other since then.
Sekine: That's right. We both got more and more heated up from the test onwards, so it was fun when we were able to agree on the words and let our enthusiasm flow.
Shimabukuro: There are many times when amazing words come out as the goal after piling up words, so I think it was a good feeling to get my feelings out when I got that far. I tried to say words that I shouldn't say with all my heart, so I think it was a good feeling to convey my inner thoughts through words.
-Are you piling up words like in a session?
Sekine-san sometimes ad-libs, but sometimes it annoys me when I hear it (laughs).
Shimabukuro-san and I don't get along badly (laughs). It's like a session, and there's a comfortable feeling of mutual feelings piling up, and sometimes I feel like, "It's too noisy!" and other times I feel like, "Wow!" I wonder how hot it will get! I try not to turn into a runaway train. It's a lot of fun.
◇It really warms my heart!
--The theme is rock, do you listen to rock?
I'm ashamed to say that Sekine-san's knowledge is shallow... At first, I was worried about how to express the passion and heartbeat of Ririsa and the others, but the rehearsal video for the recording included music played by Ririsa and the others, so I recorded while listening to the music with headphones. I think the music really gave me a push.
I think things would have been completely different if Shimabukuro-san hadn't been there.
Sekine-san, I once again realized the power of music.
Shimabukuro: When I was in high school, I used to borrow and listen to Japanese rock CDs every week, but I thought about what the definition of rock is, and I'm trying to break it down and act it out as something I can get excited about because I'm doing what I love. In the performance scenes, I'm sweating, but I wonder how much I'm sweating? I've never played the drums, so I started taking a subscription drum class. It's still 8 beats, but it's too difficult and I'm not at the level where I'm sweating (laughs). I felt the efforts that Otoha and Ririsa have made.
--Will we ever get to see Shimabukuro play the drums?
Shimabukuro-san, that's... (laughs).
-Is playing the drums fun?
Shimabukuro-san is having fun, but I get annoyed when I can't do it well (laughs). Each hand has to move separately, and while it seems like the same four bars are repeated, there are changes and there's too much to do! I was able to see how hard they are trying. I was naive to think that I could do it.
