上村 祐翔

Yuto Uemura-san, who will be appearing for the first time since the special feature on the front cover half a year ago. “I want to be able to see my own positive side,” he said.

There are only three months left for this year, but this year, I heard that you have been working on the theme of the single word “knowledge.” Uemura: I used the word “knowledge” in the sense that I’m accumulating knowledge within myself and want everyone to know about it. I was blessed with a job to create, and I had a live tour with SparQlew, and I really felt that what I had accumulated so far had come to fruition. On the other hand, “I was blessed with new works like “Re-Main,” and I was able to realize that “I’ve come to be able to express myself to this extent, but there are still things I haven’t been able to do.” I think that this is a year full of “knowledge.”

The keyword of “Re-Main” is also exactly “we meet the unknown self.” Did you meet a new you by playing the main character Minato Kiyomizu? Uemura: Minato is pure, has the power to push forward, and is also a wonderful boy who cares about people. Before he knew it, he was in the centre of the group, and I learned a lot from Minato. I was able to naturally behave cheerfully and happily like Minato on set, and I feel that I was able to think more strongly than ever before that I want to enjoy this work together with everyone. This is all thanks to the power of the work and the charm of the characters.

In October, the TCG x original animation “Building Divide: Code Black will begin. Teruto Kurabe, the main character is played by Uemura-san. He said he likes bread. Uemura: That’s right (laughs). It was written in the audition materials that I like bread. I’ve loved TCG since I was a kid, so I’m really happy that I was chosen to play the role of Teruto. However, I put a lot of effort into playing each episode. Teruto is a cool character, so I personally get excited about TCG battles (laughs), but as Teruto, I try not to get too excited. My feelings change depending on the battle, so I’m going to play while valuing that atmosphere. Every time, I give myself a task, saying, “I’m going to focus on this today.”

For example, what should you focus on? Uemura: Do you want to bring out the atmosphere of the battle when you say, “If you play this card, the winner will be decided,” or “should you pull back a little and make it a nuance” like “I won with ease?” Each time, I act while thinking about what I should focus on.

So that’s it. Uemura: I would like to pay attention to such scenes. Please look forward to it! Various types of bread will appear in the series, so I think it will be fun to make predictions about what kind of bread will be available this time (laughs).

SparQlew’s 1^st mini album “Daybreak” released on September 15^th. What kind of thoughts did you put into “Letter,” which was your first solo song and the first time you were in charge of writing the lyrics? Uemura: For my first solo song, above all, I had a strong desire to write the lyrics. When I think about what kind of feelings I should convey, I come up with a single word that conveys a feeling of transience and sadness amid warmth and softness. I wanted to create a world view that cannot be expressed in words. While listening to the demo by Kentarou Sonoda, who was in charge of composing and arranging the song, I decided to write down the words that came to my mind. When I think about things, I often think about colours, and this time I had an image of pale purple. From there, I unwrapped it and connected it to the “violet flower,” and ended up with the flower language of “small happiness.” It’s been a long time since I haven’t been able to see you all, and I’ve had fewer opportunities to express my feelings. I think it was more like creating a story than writing lyrics.

I felt that you used a lot of originality and ingenuity, such as not using a single word in English and using different katakana characters. Uemura: I like to create words, so I also play with words. As with the title, “Letter,” I tried to use katakana for things that are important to me, such as “Kimi” and “Kimochi.” I would be happy if you could imagine various things by looking at the lyrics.

The solo songs of other members are also rich in variety. Uemura: I think that the individuality of each of the 5 members comes out. SparQlew is made up of 5 people of the same generation with different environments and ways of thinking. It’s a place where you can return what you’ve gained to SparQlew and receive inspiration from what everyone else has brought, and you’ll always see something new. That’s what SparQlew is for me.

What is the serialization “Yuto Uemura’s Yu Yu Report” on Voice Newtype’s website “KiKi” that started in April 2018 for you? Uemura: In the midst for the rush of daily life, it is an opportunity to stop and look back and ask, “What happened in the past month?” I really enjoy the time I spend thinking about what to do with everyone. At the beginning of the serialization, I think it was written like a report submitted by a university student (laughs), but I have gradually become able to write freely, so I will continue to write what I feel comfortable with. I would like to continue searching.

In the previous interview, you said, “I’m strong, I’m moving forward properly.” You wanted to be able to see your positive side. What are your thoughts now? Uemura: Every time I go to a production site, there are still many things that I think I still have a long way to go, but compared to before, I feel that I am trying to enjoy the work more. In that sense, I would like to tell them that they are making steady progress. At the same time, it is precisely because I’ve come to think so that I want to take on various challenges. Appearing in Kiramune’s reading live and mixed martial arts recitation drama “Tamers” gave me a lot of experience that I can only get from a live play, so I hope to have more opportunities like that in the future. I want to grasp various things without being satisfied with the current situation. Personally, I want to be able to do split legs. Just once in my life, I want to open it 180 degrees (laughs). Flexibility is important because it comes alive in anything.

Column: Recommend movies for long autumn movies: At the end of the matinee

Musician played by Masaharu Fukuyama and Yuriko Ishida. This is a work depicting an adult romance set in Europe. The townscapes of Europe are also beautiful, and I think this work is perfect for the autumn of art.