Their common ground?
Anything is fine, so please talk about whatever you want for the next 30 minutes.
Ruki: Ahahaha. That's a large obstacle to get over (laughs). There are so many things we could talk about (laughs)
Shou: It's unnerving.
Ruki: Let's just relax (laughs). It's better to be open during these kinds of interviews.
That's exactly right. You picked up on that really quickly (laughs)
Ruki: Okay. First of all, let me say that I look forward to this.
Shou: Oh, sorry.
Ruki: What are you apologising for?! (laughs)
Shou: Oh no, sorry (laughs).
Ruki: That's what I'm talking about! (laughs)
Shou: Oh (laughs). It's just that this is my first time doing an interview with you, so it's a little unnerving. Previously, I've had the opportunity to talk with you while other people were around, but it's my first time being able to talk with you like this.
Ruki: Right, it's out first time talking face to face like this.
Shou: When I first started out in my band, the GazettE had already been around for a year, and we were able to perform on the same day, on the same stage at a livehouse called Takadanobaba PHASE. My band was still finding its footing, but the GazettE were already an amazing band. They've always been amazing.
Ruki: You should relax a little, Shou (laughs).
Ah, that will be your job, RUKI (laughs)
Shou: Oh, sorry. I'm always serious (laughs). On top of that, I'm with a veteran.
Ruki: Wait, just wait (laughs). Don't treat me like I'm an old person! I mean, we're from the same generation.
Shou: Well, that's true.
Ruki: I've always known of Shou ever since he was in the band before Alice Nine, even though I never spoke to him at that time.
Shou: Thank you!
the GazettE formed in 2002 and Alice Nine formed in 2004. You're two years his senior when it comes to band history.
Ruki: Yeah. So I'm not that much more experienced than you.
Shou: But two years really is a long time. I first formed a Visual Kei band in 2002. We really were only just finding our footing.
So, what were your impressions of each other, during that time you knew of each other but didn't speak to each other?
Shou: No, I don't want to know.
Ruki: Why not?! (laughs) But I didn't really have an impression of him during that time. But now that we're in the same company, I've gotten a much better idea. But my first impression was "These guys are all tall!" (laughs)Minus Hiroto.
Ruki: Oh, right (laughs). The people in my band are relatively short. If we were to ride in the same elevator as Alice Nine, we'd probably get pushed into a corner (laughs). The tallest member in my band is Uruha, but he's not even as tall as Shou. If Tora ever stands next to me, I'm definitely going to get pushed into a corner (laughs)
Shou: Because Tora's the tallest one in Alice Nine, at 182cm.
Ruki: 182cm you say?! That's on the same level as Gulliver's
Kingdom1.
Shou: Ahahaha. Gullliver's Kingdom (laughs)
But in terms of family, RUKI is the younger sibling, and Shou is the oldest. The "youngest" and "oldest" have been switched around today (laughs)
Ruki: Oh, right. Just now we were talking about who the senior and who the junior is, and even though I'm
the senior, I actually act more like the younger brother (laughs)
Shou: No, I'm the junior, so I feel like the younger brother, but that being so, I'm also adopting a bit of an older brother attitude (laughs)It seems like you were both raised in strict families.
Ruki: Yeah, my family were strict.
Shou: Same here.
Yet you're both in bands...
Ruki: Ahahaha. It was only a reaction, a reaction (laughs). Because they were strict we left and let out all our feelings. It's because I wasn't allowed to dye my hair. Were your parents strict too, Shou?
Shou: Yes, they were. After studying all the time, it's like I finally cracked during middle school. But I'm still an introvert...
Ruki: So Shou is introverted (laughs)
Shou: That's right. I'm probably the poster boy for introverts!
Ruki: R-Right... It's kind of difficult to agree (laughs). Well, you're quite radiant, being a vocalist and all (laughs). But I'm not radiant (laughs)
Shou: No, I'm sure you were only reacting to something. I think that because you have some dark parts in your heart, you seek out the light. When I was in middle school, I was in the basketball club, but not being able to participate in games because of an incident was a turning point in my life.
Ruki: An incident?
Shou: Yes. I was hit by a car and couldn't compete in any games. I couldn't do a thing, and all I saw was darkness around me. It was at that time when I saw footage of LUNA SEA performing at Yokohama Stadium. I was blown away. It was around my third year in middle school. I saw the light there.
Ruki: I see. Basketball wasn't your calling.
Shou: It wasn't. I thought "This is it!". You were also influenced by LUNA SEA, right?
Ruki: Of course. So in that way, our musical roots are the same.
Shou: Yes.
Ruki: It doesn't feel like we have any common ground, because of how this conversation has played out (laughs). I mean Shou is really holding back when he speaks. Seriously, ease up already~. Be a little more open~.
Shou: Oh, okay. Sorry!
Ruki: There you go again (laughs). Why don't we change today's plan to "Getting Shou to Lighten Up Intervention"? (laughs)
Shou: No, no. No matter how much you instruct me to be more open, Ruki, I can't do that unless I drink a lot (laughs)
Ruki: "Instruct"?! You're so formal! But I guess it's a part of his personality. He's really serious. It's one of his good points. On top of that, we come from a generation that puts emphasis on the senior-junior relationship, so it's been ingrained. It's only because we're from the same generation that I can understand why he's like this.
You're really serious too, Ruki.
Ruki: I am, I am. I know it might not mean much coming from me, but I'm really serious too.
Shou: You are. But after joining the company, I get more and more serious with each year (laughs). I don't think I was ever this serious when I first joined the company. I was just an idiot (laughs). But I decided to take a serious approach to the band, so the longer I'm in a band, the more I come to realise just how amazing my seniors are. My respect for them also grows more and more.
Ruki: Well, we were also a sharp, straight line when Alice Nine joined the company. We also had this aura about us that kept people away.
Shou: I couldn't get close to them at first. They were too scary.
Ruki: When we joined the company, it was around the time when the "vertically structured society" was appearing, so we were really difficult to deal with. We might have even given off this "Don't talk to us!" atmosphere. That impression of us may have just stuck with Shou (laughs). I've softened up ever since becoming an adult. I even surprise the people I meet for the first time. They think "This guy actually talks a lot!" (laughs).
Shou: Ahahaha. But I think a vertically structured society is important. I really think so.
Ruki: That's right. I'm not sure what it's like in other places, but I think there's a need to establish who the superior is, even if it's in terms of age. Shou will never stray away from that way of thinking, so he's different from how he looks in that he's masculine. According to the people around us, Shou has an easy-going atmosphere about him, but he's apparently the one you shouldn't bother the most when he's angry (laughs).
Shou: Ahahaha. That's not true.
Usually, he's gentle, but Shou can actually be quite obstinate (laughs)
Shou: Yes, I'm really obstinate.
Ruki: I think it's a good thing. I think you need an attribute like that. That's why people these days are no good. Oh, crap. Lately, whenever I open my mouth, all I talk about are young people these days (laughs)
Shou: Ah, me too! I'd really like to give them a piece of my mind!
Ruki: I could go on forever about them. Should we talk about that then? I'm okay with it. But will your gentle image survive if we talk about it, Shou? (laughs)
Shou: Ahahaha, It'll be fine!
Ruki: You'll definitely come to think that way once you get a little older, and experience this vertically structured society. Like "Hey you, don't blame it on shyness!" or "Don't blame it on your clumsiness!"
Shou: Yes. I completely understand. Sometimes I think "You should greet people with the respect they deserve!"
Ruki: Yeah. I think "You should still greet them, even if you are shy!" or "You should live by a proper set of rules!". Trying saying something like that, Shou.
Ah, you avoided having to do it (laughs)
Ruki: No, no. It's just that I'm the only one complaining here (laughs)
Shou: I think that young people these days lack the effort to sincerely and seriously build a stable foundation.
Ruki: Ahahaha. There it is! It's like two old men talking to each other (laughs). Keep going!!
Shou: It's like they're always looking for the quick and easy way out.
Ruki: Right. That's right. That's exactly right. They call it the "care-free generation", but it all started with our generation, right? We had Saturdays off. That's why I don't think that flexibility is to blame. It's like Neo-Flexibility.
Shou: It's Neo-flexibility! Of course, in our generation, it's not like we were all friends with each other, and held hands while running towards our goal.
Ruki: We weren't. We had nothing like that. I get you (Agrees). We were all fired up, though. Like even if we got along with each other, we were rivals. We were all passionate. I think you need something like that. You need to struggle. I think you won't be able to mature unless there is something pushing you to the brink of crisis. That's what Shou thinks, even though he looks so gentle! How scary!
Shou: Ahahaha. It's normal.
Ruki: Even back then, when he was looking for gellow band members, he wrote things about "professionals"(laughs)
Shou: Ahahaha. I did. I wrote "Females, and those aiming to be professionals need not apply" (laughs)
Ruki: Yeah (laughs). You should have that kind of mentality. Thinking things like "We'll be able to sell more if we make a major debut" or "If we join a company, they can promote us" isn't a good thing. I think that no matter what it is, you have to go at it with your own strength. Even though we joined a company, if we don't work hard with our own strength, the company won't help us out either.
Shou: We joined after the GazettE, but PS COMPANY felt like a brand to us. I really respect that about them. But ever since joining PS COMPANY, I didn't want them to say to us "Don't worry if you're bad, you'll still be able to sell well", so we practiced like hell.Ruki: That's it! That mentality. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. But I think that Alice Nine are really exceptional. In order to grow as a band, they stick to the music that they think is good. I really want to them to keep on doing that. As for my band, we still can't accept things that we don't understand. I think we're an annoying band, but we wouldn't be us if we weren't.
Shou: That's right.
Ruki: We really are serious (laughs)
Shou: We are (laughs)
You both aren't that sociable, but you still have some common ground.
Ruki: I'm not sociable.
Shou: Neither am I.
Ruki: I don't really consider talking more with someone I have no interest in.
Shou: I get what you mean.
Ruki: I know, right? It's not like I'm purposely only talking to certain people, it's just that I want to know more about the people who catch my interest. I don't really talk to people to whom I have no interest in.
Ruki: I do things like the designing and direction of jackets, so the people who do that in their own band interest me. I don't really have an interest in band members who have no interest in that. I guess it's important to share the same senses.
So in that respect, you get along with Shou. He used to work at a clothing store, and he's in charge of all visual aspects of Alice Nine.
Shou: That's right. Because I'm in charge of that, I really think that Ruki is amazing. It's like Ruki always does the things that I want to do before me. I always feel vexed, like "He beat me to it!". Ruki really is an interesting person.
What do you think your fans think of you?
Shou: They probably think I'm a weirdo.
Ruki: As if!
Wouldn't they think you're a prince?
Ruki: They would. They would after all. You're a prince.
But, without a doubt, you're not a prince, Ruki.
Ruki: Ahahaha. No, I'm not. I think Saga's true colours are finally showing though (laughs). But Shou is the perfect prince.
Shou: I've always felt this way, but I don't really like being thought of as cool.
Ruki: But there's nothing you can do about that, since you're cool.
Shou: No, no. I'm not cool. I don't really like being thought of as cool, so I'm hoping to break that image. With my own hands.
Ruki: Right, that's what it feels like. I get that feeling when I see your live shows. But it's such a waste. You should stick to the cool character, because you really are cool.
Shou: That's impossible!
Ruki: Are you shy?
Shou: I am.
Ruki How cute (laughs).
We've almost reached the half an hour time limit.
Shou: Oh, can I say something? There is something that I've wanted to ask Ruki.
Ruki: Go ahead (laughs)
Shou: Where exactly do you get and build up your ideas from? I thought you could perhaps teach me how you incorporate everything. I can die happy if you would just teach me that.
Ruki: "Die happy"? (laughs). Don't die happy! (laughs). Well, I don't exactly know. It's not like I do these things on purpose. I don't really listen to music or my own band's music. For me, music and design are the same thing, so it's not like I do things differently when it comes to doing those activities... But I really like hearing back stories (laughs). I love gossip (laughs). That's where I get a variety of information from (laughs). I'm not sociable, but I like how you can get various bits of information from that.
Shou: I just think that concept of human nature really shows in your lyrics. It's not something you could write if your mind wasn't pure. You don't think corrupt things as corrupt in his lyrics. That's why I think that Ruki must have a pure heart whenever I read his lyrics. As for me, I've write plenty of clean lyrics, so it makes me think that a part of me isn't so pure.
Ruki: I see.
Shou: That's why I think that Ruki is a good person!
Ruki: Ahahahaha. What's with you all of a sudden (laughs)? But thanks for complimenting me (laughs).
Shou: I wanted to talk more. Please take me out drinking one day soon!
Ruki: Right. We can take all the time we want. Anyway, I hope Alice Nine tries their hardest. We'll be trying out hardest too, of course. I think that we have to do our best to support out company.
Shou: Yes, I'll do my best! Thank you very much for today!
Ruki: Same here. When we go out drinking, ease up a little (laughs)
Shou: I'll try my best (laughs).
Credits: aliceinrainbows
Orihinal na Wika
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