[MAGAZINE] Kawashima Noeru x Matsuda Genta (Travis Japan) - Stage Navi vol. 63 (Part 1)

[dreamweavernyx]

I've translated the Genta x Noeru interview from Stage Navi which came out around the end of last year! It's a long interview and I've split it into four parts; the first 3 parts are the cross-talk, and the last part contains a short, individual interview from both of them. It's heartwarming and gave me the feels when I was translating; Genta and Noeru talk about how far they've grown individually and as a group, and their hopes for the new year!

Brief translator note: Noeru uses a ton of metaphors in the interview. I've tried to translate them directly into his intended meaning without porting over his metaphors to make things easier to understand, but a couple of the metaphors have been left in for context.

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Close Up: Travis Japan Kawashima Noeru x Matsuda Genta

Travis Japan, who successfully completed their run of “Toraja NINJAPAN 2021”; it’s said that they have improved by leaps and bounds. This year, they had their first nationwide tour “IMAGE NATION ~Zenkoku Tour Shichatte Mo Ii Desuka!?~”, and pursued numerous projects such as “+81 DANCE STUDIO”. The oldest-and-youngest combination of this group, Kawashima Noeru and Matsuda Genta, have wrapped up their 2021 for us.

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You managed to successfully complete your run of your stage production “Toraja NINJAPAN 2021” without issue. CongratulationsI

Kawashima Noeru (KN): To be frank, I think the emotion I felt the most was relief.

Matsuda Genta (MG): Yeah, it was intense (laughs).

KN: There were a total of 72 shows, and we thoroughly took into account many things that 3 years ago we wouldn’t have been too particular about for 3 months straight, which was very mentally exhausting. But it was really enjoyable, and we ended the run without incident, so that was good.

MG: We were also helped by the fact that everyone, from our staff to everyone who came to watch the show, properly took measures to prevent against (COVID-19) infection.

KN: Exactly!

MG: This year, aside from Tokyo, we also had the show in other parts of the country, namely Kyoto, Nagoya and Hiroshima, so we spent a lot of time in hotels, didn’t we.

KN: I thought living in hotels would be tough, but I kept doing puzzles (in the hotel) in Nagoya.

MG: You did!

KN: I bought a 1,000-piece puzzle of Rapunzel on the day we checked into the Nagoya hotel. A 1,000-piece puzzle would take roughly 15 hours to complete, you know. I generally put it together in our dressing-room (in between shows), but for Nagoya we only had 4 days when we had both an afternoon and a nighttime show, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish putting it together in the 2 hours we had between those shows multiplied by those 4 days, so I brought back the incomplete pieces to the hotel and secretly worked on it there.

MG: “Secretly” (laughs).

KN: In this day and age, we all have smartphones and generally connect with others online, but I was able to spend some time in an analog fashion by putting together the jigsaw puzzle. It calmed me down, and I felt like I was able to set aside some time to get in touch with myself.

MG: I see. Maybe I’ll do that next time.

KN: Yup, I recommend it! Don’t people tend to get influenced by those around them? I think it’s important to have some time to take a good look at yourself and reflect, to come out from that sea.*

[T/N: Noeru’s using the sea as a metaphor for the influence of other people]

MG: The sea… was it. Noe-san, this is a learning point for me! I didn’t really do anything in particular~ (laughs).

KN: Conversely, during the Hiroshima shows (Yoshizawa) Shizuya told me “Watch ONE PIECE!”, so I marathoned 10 episodes of it in a single night.

MG: Wow.

KN: He told me around 9pm, “It’s my favourite anime so I want to share it with others”, so between then and our meeting-time of 10am the next morning I watched 10 episodes in one go.

MG: Noe-san, your attention span is amazing no matter what you’re doing.

What kind of year was 2021 for Travis Japan?

KN: I think 2021 was a year when we had many opportunities to stand before our fans in the flesh. Just between our nationwide tour and the stage production, that’s a total of 120 shows. I have memories of each and every one of those shows. I think it was good that we had the chance to make those shared memories.

MG: We had that many?

KN: Yeah, we did. It’s like, last year (2020) we connected with fans online, but this year we got to meet them offline. I was happy that everyone who came to see us strictly took care of their health, and to be able to share our consciousness this much was really great.

MG: It was a jam-packed year, wasn’t it.

KN: Yes. Originally, Travis Japan was a group that put out the exact amount we put in. But in the past, even if we put in (the hard work), there were times when we didn’t really have the chance to show that off, and there were also times when we were doing nothing but putting out work, to the point where we were all hollowed out on the inside (laughs). But in 2021 we had a perfect balance of supply and replenishment, I think.

MG: I think that we managed to amass more special skills as a group through various work projects.

KN: What do you mean by that?

MG: Travis Japan is a dance group after all, and on the dance front we became stronger through “+81 DANCE STUDIO”. We got to know how fun and how complex dance is, and I think all 7 of us came to realise once again that we should work harder to make this our special skill.

KN: Yes. We were able to utilise the things we learnt in “+81 DANCE STUDIO” when we did “Toraja NINJAPAN 2021”, and I think we managed to improve twice over in the span of a year. But when we first started the “+81 DANCE STUDIO” project it was really intense, both physically and mentally, wasn’t it (laughs).

MG: Especially in the period before we’d formally announced it. We couldn’t see the reactions before the video went live, so we were like, “What will happen after this video goes up”? It really felt as though we’d just finished “Toraja”, we’d all lost so much weight.

KN: Ahaha!

MG: Everyone’s cheeks were so sunken. But it was a huge opportunity to be able to learn from all those choreographers, so it was enjoyable.

KN: The assets we’ve received from them are huge.

MG: The genres that the choreographers specialised in were all different, so it felt like we were rapidly increasing our (dance) knowledge.

KN: Ohhh?

MG: Like, I’d think, “If I put together what choreographer A and choreographer B are saying, maybe it’ll turn into what choreographer C is saying”. It was fun to put that to practice in other venues as well.

KN: Genta~ What a great comment!

MG: (Laughs) In any case, I think we increased and broadened the scope of our knowledge.

KN: Following that line of thought, I think that as a group, we’ve raised our calibre, and we’ve become more confident, this year.

MG: Yes. I feel like we’ve been increasingly able to think for ourselves and speak out on our own.

KN: Certainly.

MG: At the start there were times when we’d get a big role, and we’d think, “Will we be okay?” and be very conscious of that as we worked hard, but gradually the work we got started to become work that we already had experience in, and so it feels like we’ve been able to become more confident and calm about it.

KN: When you think about back then, for example at the very first press conference for “NINJAPAN”, it felt almost like we were floating off the ground.

MG: We were floating (laughs).

KN: It really is “confidence”, that we’ve been furnished with (laughs).

MG: Takizawa (Hideaki)-kun also told us that, didn’t he.

KN: Yes, yes.

MG: For example, in the context of a stage production, we’ve become able to have people tell us that “You suit the position of the show’s lead”, haven’t we.

KN: We’re happy when we get told that. To be able to stand on stage confidently, and to have that appraised from an audience perspective is really huge for us.

MG: We got told that a couple of times last year, but this year we were told this a lot, weren’t we. Even among the staff there were people who told us stuff like that, it made me happy.

KN: Yes, the staff also told us “Your growth is amazing”, didn’t they.

MG: That, and, like Takizawa-kun and Johnny-san have always been saying, “Become able to think for yourself” “Learn the things you should learn, and when you don’t understand just ask”; recently, I feel like we’ve become able to think for ourselves. Everyone really voices out their opinions. Mostly Chaka-chan (Miyachika Kaito), though (laughs).

KN: It really feels like our capacity has grown wider. Back then, it felt like we had to make everything perfect, but now we’ve become able to just easily put out whatever we have on the spot. As expected, that’s the value of experience.

MG: I guess so.

KN: In the past, it felt like we always had to be leaning / pushing forward, that because we weren’t given anything we had to gain it through our own ambition. But now, Travis Japan’s core has been properly and firmly formed, so we can properly stand up straight (without constantly pushing forward).

MG: Ohhh!

KN: Even within this year, at the start of our tour it got postponed; didn’t it feel a little like our start had been dampened, that we’d lost the momentum of our starting dash? Although we still felt like we wanted to do the concert as soon as we could, it felt like we were able to be prepared to go out and do the show at full power at any time. It felt like, we’ll absorb anything, so just bring it on.

MG: Certainly, our feelings were different, weren’t they.

KN: But looking back right now from where we are, where we are is the best place to be! But I’d like to get to a point where we can look back next year and go, “No, that was just the halfway point”.

MG: I like that.

KN: That we are able to create this calm and confidence in our hearts is thanks to our fans, who filled every venue to the brim even despite the sheer number of seats. I’d like to keep taking on many projects vigilantly and eagerly, so that we don’t let that go to waste.

>> Part 2

Comments

[tsubakisaitoh.livejournal.com]

[coralie-eilaroc.livejournal.com]

[haltomdah.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this amazing job🥰. You are completely wonderful that you wanted to do it for us who don't understand Japanese!

[haltomdah.livejournal.com]