The TV anime "Vigilante - My Hero Academia ILLEGALS -", an official spin-off of the popular manga " My Hero Academia Hero Academia" by Kohei Horikoshi , will feature a new song written by artist Kocchi no Kento called "Kekka O-rai" as the opening theme (OP). Kocchi no Kento, who also made headlines last year when he made his first appearance at the 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve. We asked him about the behind-the-scenes production of "Kekka O-rai" and what his ideal image of a hero is.
◇What is a hero? "Until recently, he was my older brother."
"Vigilante -My My Hero Academia ILLEGALS-" is a manga written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Arata Betsuki, which was serialized on Shueisha's manga app "Shonen Jump+" from 2017 to 2022. Set in Japan several years before the main story of "My Hero Academia," the drama depicts the drama of illegal heroes, the Vigilantes, who cannot help but save someone even if they are not recognized by anyone, behind the scenes of heroes who are recognized and active by the people.
As he gets older and as he gets involved in "Vigilante," Kocchino Kento says he has been thinking more and more about what a hero is. When asked, "Who do you consider to be your hero?" he answered, " Kocchi no Kento, it's definitely my wife."Kocchi no Kento is also the younger brother of actor and singer Masaki Suda, and said, "Until recently, my wife was my older brother, or my father."
"In the world of ' My Hero Academia,' I think my hero would be Masaki Suda, but I'm currently living in the world of 'Vigilante,' and in that world, my hero would be my wife. Rather than being strong, my wife is someone who helps me out without me realizing it. For me, my hero is my wife, in the sense that she's a hero I feel very close to."
The very way we perceive heroes has changed.
"Originally, I thought of heroes as people to aspire to, as stars, but now I think of the word hero in the sense of being someone close to me. Would you call someone who is saving the world in a way that has nothing to do with you a hero, or would you call someone who is next to you a hero? For me, it's the latter."
He says that these feelings are also put into the song "Kekkaoraai."
"The word 'hero' has a big, sparkly image, so through this song I want to convey that the people closest to us, like our parents, children and other people close to us, are also heroes."
◇ Expressing the "vigilante" through song: Music for the people
He said that "Kekkaoraai," his first song to be tied to an anime, was a challenge.
"When I was writing this song, the vigilante is neither a hero nor a villain, so the challenge for me was to somehow express this in the song. In the end, the solution was to make the voice a little brighter, or to use a twisted vocal technique, in the part before the chorus. It's like singing in a villainous style, or rather, if there is an angel and a devil inside me, I sing in a devilish style, and by singing the chorus in a more heroic style, I think I've been able to express the word 'vigilante.' I hope that this leads to a sense of illegality, and that it conveys an eerie coolness."
Kocchi no Kento says he has a special feeling for Illegal Heroes.
"I admire honest heroes, but I don't think I can become one, so I'd like to be an illegal, or someone close to me. I'm not the type of person who can do everything, so I'd like to be of help to people within my capabilities."
He says that the feeling of "doing something for others" is something he values in his musical activities.
"If there weren't people who liked my music, I wouldn't be doing it. In that sense, it really is 'for others'. At first I was writing songs for myself. But as I gradually realized that they were helping others, I started to feel proud of my songs and myself, and my self-esteem went up. Ultimately, it leads to peace of mind, so I move my body for others. In short, I think that a spirit of service, a spirit of hospitality, is a good thing for me too. In the end, it's my own desire to 'be useful to others', but I think that's an important thing in life."
"Kekkaoraai" is a Kocchi no Kento Kocchino's thoughts on "Vigilante" and heroes. I want to enjoy the song along with the anime.
