The TV anime "Vigilante - My Hero Academia ILLEGALS -", an official spin-off of Kohei Horikoshi's popular manga "My Hero Academia (Hiroaka)", will feature artist Kocchi no Kento 's newly written song "Kekka O-rai" as the opening theme (OP). This will be the first anime tie-up for Kocchi no Kento , who made headlines last year when he made his first appearance at the 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve. Kocchino loves anime and manga, and was a big fan of "Vigilante" even before he began his artist career. We spoke to Kocchi no Kento about the thoughts he put into the song and the behind-the-scenes story of its production.
◇The story of a man who couldn't become the main character. Empathize with Haimai Koichi.
"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.
Kocchi no Kento"My Hero Academia" and "Vigilante," says that the appeal of the series is its "realism."
"For example, in the case of a hero who can use the 'quirk' of fire, if he uses too much fire his body will overheat and go out of control, so he has to cool himself down a little before fighting, that's a very realistic aspect. I really liked how the heroes also had their struggles depicted in detail, which I found fascinating. An interesting example of 'quirks' and real life is the character Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from 'My Hero Academia', whose body turns to iron to become strong, but if he properly consumes plenty of iron in his daily life he becomes even harder. I love Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, including the name. In the anime, it was great to hear Present Mike's voice introduce him as 'Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!' It's mind-blowing."
He says that he often likes minor characters in manga, including Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, but when it comes to "Vigilante," he loves the main character, Haimai Koichi. "When I thought about why that was, I realized that Vigilante is a spin-off, and it's the story of someone who couldn't become the main character in the first place. That's why I like him even more, and I really empathize with him," he said.
Before starting his career as an artist, Kocchi no Kento had once worked as a company employee, but had to quit due to ill health.
"When I first entered the workforce, I thought I'd be able to go out into society with everyone, that I'd become a hero, but in the end I couldn't. At that point, similar feelings to Haimai were beginning to emerge in me, so I could really empathize with him. Also, I can really empathize with the sense of a person having these contradictory feelings of wanting to run away, but at the same time wanting to help others. My Hero Academia also depicts the struggles of heroes, but even so, they're still strong, or rather, they're a symbolic image. In Vigilante, especially with Haimai Koichi, I'm like, 'Can you really call him a hero?' I like how there's a strange sense of balance, like, 'He's weak, but he can save you.'"
◇The life of Haimai Koichi overlaps with my own life in 2024 The meaning of "Kekkaoraai"
How was the opening theme song for "Vigilante", "Kekkao-rai", created?
"The themes that emerged from combining my life experiences with 'Vigilante' were 'immaturity' and 'I want to help people.' I myself have been immature in life, but before I knew it, I was able to help people, so I started this project with that in mind, with the aim of spreading the word."
This multiplication seems to be expressed in the lyrics at the beginning of the A-melody of the song, "From an impressive novice to a rolling star, Reach out beyond the kindness you've scattered."
"It's really strange, but after reading the manga up to the last volume, I wondered what the life of Haimai Koichi would be like in four lines, and when I wrote it down, it actually applied quite well to my current situation in 2024 (laughs). I was really surprised by that, and thought that maybe I could use my own experience to help me, so I just kept building it up."
He says that his own experiences are also reflected in the lyrics, "I pray now for the day when I will be able to do what I am capable of."
"Right now I'm not up to the task, but hoping that one day my desires and my abilities will match up, for now I'll keep running, and I think that can be applied to my experiences and my life. Plus, when I think about the lives of Haimawaru, it's the same feeling. Even if I were to defeat a big enemy, Haimawaru Koichi wouldn't change at all. For me, that wouldn't change even if I were to appear on the Red and White Song Battle or sing an anime song. A cute, somewhat timid feel is also my ideal. I think that's reflected quite a bit in the lyrics."
The title "Kekka Orai" is also one of the conclusions of Kocchi no Kento's life so far.
"All the failures I've made up until now, and the things I wondered if I was doing right, all turned out to be good for me in the end, or rather, it all turned out all right. When I was able to become the one saving people, I was able to help people who had the same experience because I had experienced the troubles I had. In that sense, I came to the conclusion that it all turned out all right, so I chose this title. I chose the title in hiragana because I wanted to convey the feeling of immaturity. If I wrote it in kanji, katakana, or English, it sounds too cool, or maybe macho. Rather than being cool and talking with his back, I thought it would be better to be the type like Haimawa Koichi who turns around and looks people in the eye to help them, so I used hiragana."
◇ Creating music different from before. The joy of feeling the sync with the work.
When he was offered the theme song, he didn't have any particular requests for it, but he said, "I wasn't confident when I was told to create an anime song for this work. But when I looked at it objectively, I wondered who would be suitable to write a theme song for this work, and I thought of myself. I wasn't confident, but I felt like I could fulfill the request, so I created it freely with my love for the work."
Because it was a tie-up, there were some differences in the way they usually write songs.
"Up until now, when I got stuck in the middle of writing a song, I would read things like my yearbook or my monologues that I had written down on my smartphone, and incorporate them into the song. I prepare my notes and yearbook like a palette when painting a picture, but this time it was turned into a manga. It has a proper story and is complete, so I read it over and over again. What's more, it's like I get so excited reading it that I stop writing songs (laughs). It was a really strange feeling to have lyrics and melodies come to my head while reading a manga. People often say that they 'come down from the sky,' but it was more like they seeped in. They slowly entered my head, and I was like, 'Ah, let's make something.'"
Kocchi no Kento also spoke about "Kekka O-rai" as a piece he is confident in, saying, "I was really happy that I felt like it matched the work. It was my first time making an anime song, so I was wondering which type of song I was, as there are definitely some that match and some that don't. It was interesting to be able to confirm this for myself."
Finally, he sent a message saying, "Vigilante is seriously the best, it's fun to watch and interesting in the sense that it's intriguing. It's a work that combines all of those things, so I hope you enjoy it along with my music. I would be happy if you can watch it while looking back on your life and thinking that it wasn't wrong and that it all turned out well."
