{"id":800,"date":"2018-05-09T16:29:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T22:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=800"},"modified":"2021-01-09T20:59:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T03:59:38","slug":"carnival-10-ashizawa-jin-interview-with-akatsuki-chisei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/09\/carnival-10-ashizawa-jin-interview-with-akatsuki-chisei\/","title":{"rendered":"CARNIVAL #10: Ashizawa Jin interview with Akatsuki Chisei"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ashizawa Jin\u2019s 2015 interview column was called CARNIVAL. This interview with Akatsuki Chisei was published in the October 2015 issue of\u00a0GRAPH<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

CARNIVAL #10: Ashizawa Jin interview with Akatsuki Chisei<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something about Akatsuki Chisei makes me think of a young highschool baseball player passionately taking on the challenge of the Koushien tournament. It\u2019s her youth and energy. Although her cuteness still catches the eye, she has an abundance of genuine talent as an otokoyaku, and her dreams are expanding as her appeal comes into full bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em>\u00a0In\u00a01789 – Les Amants de la Bastille<\/em>, you played Fersen in the main cast, and also had the lead role of Ronan in the junior performance, so you must have been having such a hard time day after day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Right. The rehearsals were really difficult, and once the performance started I was being taught so much about acting; my own performance in the show kept changing. I learned a lot from that show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Considering your level (ken-4 at the time), there must have been a lot for you to take in, so you must have been discovering new things day by day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> [My performance] was totally different comparing opening day and the last show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> What sort of things changed over that time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> I achieved a bit of breathing room, I suppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> So once you had that space, you were able to have more ideas, and make new discoveries?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> I suppose so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> At the very beginning, it must have been a struggle just delivering your lines properly. Especially since in the main cast, your acting partner was Manaki-san\u2019s character, Marie Antoinette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> You\u2019re right. It was the most I\u2019d ever been allowed to sing in a show, so I was really nervous about that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> I feel like you must have been under so much pressure from those two roles every single day for four and a half months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> It was such a long time, but looking back, it just went by in a blink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Since you spent so much time constantly thinking about your roles, didn\u2019t you just want a bit of a break at times?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> At the time, I was solely thinking \u2018I have to do this!\u2019 so that was running through my head even on my days off, and I had trouble resting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Rehearsing let you get some release from that, maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> While I was still stressed no matter how I rehearsed, it was better than doing nothing, I think. And through that, I think I picked up a bit more confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Fersen appears so often in Takarazuka, so I feel like that must have helped you settle on the character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Although I knew what he was like, it was still very hard to play him. It\u2019s difficult for me to play adult men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Since you have so much boyishness remaining, right (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Exactly (laughs). Ryuu-san and Kumichou-san (Asuka Yuu in 2015) taught me a lot about doing my makeup so I could at least look a little more mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> And how do you going about looking more adult?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Making the distance between my eyes and eyebrows a bit further, for example, or since my eyes are still quite round, trying to line them so they look longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Your voice is so good. It\u2019s very masculine, and although it\u2019s soft it carries so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Wha~t, really? But my natural voice is very high, so I struggle to make low sounds, and I\u2019ve been constantly training to lower my voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> And have you seen any difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> My method of speaking and way of using my body has changed, and I think even in normal conversation my voice has become lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> How did you manage when receiving criticism on your performance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Director Koike is really something. \u2018Your singing is fine but everything else is terrible!\u2019 he said (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Are you crushed to hear things like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki: I just take it like \u2018Oh, I get it!\u2019 Although sometimes it\u2019s frustrating, it\u2019s clear that I can\u2019t do it, so there\u2019s nothing to do but accept it. If he didn\u2019t say those sorts of things I wouldn\u2019t know, and the more errors he points out the more I can correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em>\u00a0You had your first junior lead at ken-3, in\u00a0Guide to the Future<\/em>\u00a0(Jake – Ryuu Masaki in main cast). How was that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> I didn\u2019t have a clue about anything (laughs). Although the play was only about 30 minutes, my concentration didn\u2019t even last that long. I didn\u2019t know the first thing about acting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> But you graduated from the Takarazuka Music School as the top student, so your grades in acting class must have been good, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em>\u00a0Before entering Takarazuka I had only done dance, so I didn\u2019t start singing and drama until I joined, and as a Lower Student I was really bad at those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Was Jake your first real acting role?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em>\u00a0No, before that I was in\u00a0The Merry Widow<\/em>, where I was able to play Hokushou-san\u2019s character Danilo\u2019s butler, and in my first junior performance I was given Seijou-san\u2019s character, Ganimard. But it was my first time having to advance the story as the lead, so it was really difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em>\u00a0For some reason my impression of you ended up being a rather minor-league performer, but when I saw the next junior performance,\u00a0PUCK<\/em>, where you played Bobby (Tamaki Ryou in main cast), you were really going all out and giving such an amazing performance, so I thought \u2018this can\u2019t be the same person?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Ah\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> That was a really life-sized role, so were you able to achieve some freedom in the performance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Since playing Bobby, I started to realize how fun acting can be. The character was also close to my age, so that was really fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> When did you start studying ballet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> When I was 5 years old, and continuing until my second year of middle school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Was it at your mother\u2019s urging?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> No, apparently, when I went to see a friend\u2019s recital, I was dancing in the audience seats afterwards (laughs). So then my parents say they thought \u2018let\u2019s get her lessons!\u2019 (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa: <\/em>So you liked dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> I enjoyed it a lot. Although I would go to the studio every day, when I started going to middle school it dropped to around once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa: <\/em>Why was that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Um, I ended up overdoing it, and then I didn\u2019t like it so much (laughs). In middle school I ended up joining the volleyball club, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em>\u00a0Oh!? Ballet and volleyball?1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki: <\/em>Yes (laughs). At the time I preferred volleyball, and I was the club captain, so I only began concentrating on ballet again in my second year of middle school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> The agility from that must have helped you bring Bobby to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> That might be it (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> When did you first encounter Takarazuka?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> When I was in my third year of middle school, the mother of one of my ballet friends said \u2018have you thought about Takarazuka?\u2019 and was recommending it, but I didn\u2019t know much about Takarazuka, and I wasn\u2019t really into the idea of women playing men\u2026 But I thought I might as well watch it once, so when a national tour came to Hiroshima I went to see it. That was Flower Troupe\u2019s Sorrowful Cordoba <\/em>and Red Hot Sea II<\/em>, and when I saw Matobu Sei\u2019s back I thought \u2018I\u2019ve got to get in there!\u2019, and totally fell in love with Takarazuka immediately (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Coming up is your first Bow Hall lead, (double lead with Asami Jun) A-EN<\/em>. You must feel a lot of pressure from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em>\u00a0Obviously (laughs). Since I have to be the one building up the show from the center, I\u2019m wondering how to lead everyone else\u2026 And I also have to keep going over several days. A junior performance is one time only, so it works if you just put everything out there and go for it, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> It seems like you dance a lot in the revue portion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Yes. Apparently there are both modern dance and ballet sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Since I\u2019ve heard dance is your strongest point, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what sort of dance you will show us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Oh no, if you put so much expectation on me it will only make me more nervous (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Is there any sort of dance that you dream of performing in the revue portion, for example?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> I\u2019d like to dance barefoot. In Takarazuka I dance wearing heels most of the time, but it\u2019s difficult. I want to dance freely in bare feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> What is your biggest issue performing as an otokoyaku currently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> There\u2019s a lot, but as for the biggest one, hmmm\u2026 there is a lot about the way of moving that I don\u2019t get at all yet, and I don\u2019t really have enough charisma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> If you could do all that at  your level you would have a terrifying degree of star-power (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki: <\/em>Haha\u2026 (laughs) Those people who can make you think \u2018wow, they\u2019re so cool\u2019 when they\u2019re just standing there are really great, I think. I want to be able to make the audience swoon with just my expressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> Is there anything where you think \u2018I want people to notice this aspect of Akatsuki Chisei!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:<\/em> Hmmm, I mean, I really want people to look at me when I\u2019m dancing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashizawa:<\/em> I see. When compared to singing and acting, you like dance a bit better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akatsuki:\u00a0<\/em>Just a little (laughs). But I\u2019m bad at remembering choreography, and I\u2019m not the type who can just do it right away, so if I don\u2019t rehearse a lot I\u2019ll be embarrassed to have people see me (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – In Japanese, the words for \u2018ballet\u2019 and \u2018volleyball\u2019 are near-identical so Ashizawa is making a joke about that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ashizawa Jin\u2019s 2015 interview column was called CARNIVAL. This interview with Akatsuki Chisei was published in the October 2015 issue of\u00a0GRAPH.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[13,360,242,73,38,241],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":801,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions\/801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}