古川慎

The new song “Honjitsu mo Makoto ni Seiten nari” is a modern and gorgeous new song with vocals that make you feel Japanese culture.  How did you feel when you heard the song? Furukawa: I thought it was a jazzy song with plenty of stylish and modern atmosphere. I like the gorgeousness of the live sound of the musical instruments in the background. The anime staff were also present during the recording, so I was able to proceed without worrying about what to do if it didn’t fit the work.

The phrase at the beginning of the song, which sounds like a song, is also impressive. Furukawa: This word comes from a line from a poem by Takuboku Ishikawa, the protagonist of “Kitsutsuki tantei Nari”, but there are no audio records of how the people of that time composed the poem. We have no choice but to imagine it, so I’m trying to create an image of chanting “Hyakunin Isshu”, and I’m trying to make people feel Japanese culture.

That’s why you can hear every single sound. This is a song that is closely related to the world view of the work, but what part do you think is the most distinctive feature of Furukawa-san? Furukawa: I don’t there are many male voice actors who sing songs with a jazz taste, but the first thing is that I’m doing songs in this genre. The other sing is that I’m singing with my voice. In the 1^st verse, which you can hear in the opening of the anime, I am conscious of how to sing it in a glossy way, but in the final chorus, along with the excitement of the song itself, I wondered if it would be okay to put out “Makoto Furukawa” a little more and express it in a big way. I’m doing it.

Bokusui Wakayam in “Kitsutsuki tantei Nari”, you’re also appearing as a character, but what is the most important part of acting? Furukawa: He is a very easy-going person and basically doesn’t get angry. He loves to travel and is cheerful. Bokusui Wakayama in this work is a person who makes you feel the depth of his bosom. He is based on the fact that he is a person with a positive way of standing and living. While I say that he is positive, I try to portray him as a person who is laid-back rather than energetic and enthusiastic about everything. A cane that was proposed on-site has been transformed into a key item!

The music video for “Honjitsu mo Makoto ni Seiten nari” is impressive with its modern and glossy images. How was the recording? Furukawa: First, I was really nervous about being able to join the dancers. I never thought a day like this would ever come (laughs). When I saw the completed video, the worldview, and the performance of the two dancers were amazing, so I wondered if I was able to express myself as well as that. And there are parts where I want to look away (laughs). But the staff made it a really nice MV, so I’m really grateful.

In the MV, Furukawa-san plays the student wearing a hat and the colourfully dressed person in the singing scene. Furukawa: There was a setting that when Shosei investigated the kaleidoscope he found in his room, there was a show going on inside. I think that the act of looking into a kaleidoscope invites you to a mysterious world = a double meaning that leads to the world of “Kitsutsuki tantei Nari”. The director may have more detailed settings, but I hope that those who have seen the MV will be able to interpret them freely. Come to think of it, in the MV the walking stick is an item that suddenly appeared on the scene. I thought it would be nice to have a small accessory when filming the singing scene, so I asked the staff if there was a cane. He made me a cane on the spot. Thanks to this, I was able to do the performance that I wanted to do in the singing scene, and it happened to be one of the key items in the MV.

This time “Voice Animage” interfered with the jacket photo shoot. Furukawa: The jacket matches the era setting of “Kitsutsuki tantei Nari”, with clothes such as a suit and a black hat, and a Japanese umbrella in the background, which is somehow very stylish. Please forgive me for making me look like an enka singer, perhaps because of my features.

Makoto Furukawa-san’s “Pathos” is a coupling song “Pathos no Katachi” that is poured into the play and song. Furukawa-san wrote the lyrics himself. Furukawa: I’ve been wanting to do a Latin-style song since before, so I took on the challenge this time. But is it so difficult to write lyrics in Latin? I realized, when it comes to Latin songs, it’s easy to imagine flamenco songs with the theme of love, such as “I love you”, but I wanted to express it in a different way from love. I wanted to put a big focus on the word “passion”, so I wrote “Pathos no Katachi” after a lot of trial and error. The lyrics are written with various forms of passion, but they are also the forms of passion that I think of. For example, in the case of work, by being included as a part of something that many people are involved in, I want to devote myself to working together with the staff as a member of the production team. I also included my experiences and thoughts as a voice actor. This is the shape of my batos, and I think that it is different for each person, so I would be happy if the people who listened to it could take it as the shape of their own pathos.

So, what are you currently passionate about, Furuawa-san? Furukawa: After all, it’s a play and a song. I love it, and I hope to continue to live my life with these two passions.

I heard that you had a hard time writing the lyrics, but how was the recording? Furukawa: It was also difficult. As much as I focused on “passion” more than the songs I’ve done so far, it’s a song with a high amount of heat, and the full-power vocals that show my true self are released in this coupling song. The phrase that I assumed was “I wonder if I should lower my voice there”, but there was also a direction like, “You should raise your voice there”, and the overall enthusiasm was more than was I had expected. It was also a big deal that it became a lot of songs. And I can say this about any song I’ve done so far, but if I sing this song live with the usual tension, it’s going to be a big deal (laughs).

I would love to hear it live. Please give a message to the readers. Furukawa: Honjitsu mo Makoto ni Seiten nari”, which incorporates the world view of my work, and the passionate “Pathos no Katachi”, I think that both songs are as good as the previous two works, so hope to see you again. I would be happy if you could listen to it again and again. The animation “Kitsutsuki tantei Nari” is also a very interesting work, so I would like everyone to watch it.