[MAGAZINE] Ukisho Hidaka & Nasu Yuto (Bi Shounen) - Shukan Asahi (3 & 10 June 2022)( Part 2)

[dreamweavernyx]

Here's the cross-talk! ^^

~

A talk with Bi Shounen’s highly-educated pair, “UkiNasu”

We’re with Bi Shounen’s, Nasu Yuto and Ukisho Hidaka, otherwise known as “UkiNasu”, who are good friends and yet as different as chalk and cheese.  For this pair who experienced the middle school entrance examinations together, and are now both studying in top-class universities, we had them talk about their studies and campus life. Do enjoy their perfectly-in-sync jokes and witty comebacks, that have been acknowledged both by themselves and others!

~

Do you consciously regard the other as a comrade who’s been through the same circumstances as you, such as sitting for entrance exams and getting into a top-tier university?

Ukisho: As expected, I do. I think that having a few members who are working hard at their studies will definitely become a strength of the group, so the both of us have always told each other that we’ll give it our all.

Nasu: We’ve had a friendly rivalry, and have both improved through that. At first, we didn’t really talk much with each other, but slowly but surely we became good friends.

Ukisho: He’s a close friend who I can count on, one who I’ve gone through good and bad with, such as the fixed-term tests in high school. Something like that. Did I sum that up nicely?

Nasu: You didn’t.

Ukisho: Ahaha!

Nasu: But whether you click with someone or not, that’s less about your circumstances and more about your personality, I think.

Ukisho: (visibly pleased) That’s good, keep going!

Nasu: Where I feel that we really click is in our trading of jokes and witty comebacks. We’ll keep trading back and forth between the two, you know.

Which of you is better at his studies?

Nasu: If you’re asking about that, well, I think I probably am better at it~.

Ukisho: How should I respond to that? (whispers)

Nasu: Think of that on your own. You’ve got to be independent and self-respecting, y’know?!

Ukisho: I’m better at (studies).

Nasu: Oh, there we go.

Ukisho: Well, uh, I guess I depends. What I definitely won’t lose (to Nasu) at is... P.E.!

Nasu: Physical education, huh.

Ukisho: Also, I won’t lose at how fast I can come up with 10 by applying the four basic (mathematical) operators to the 4 digits you see on a car’s licence plate.

Nasu: That’s not related to studies...

Ukisho: When I was in middle school I was so good at mathematics that I’d always get around 100 marks on the fixed-term tests, but when I entered high school and became unable to go to class my grades fell. I didn’t really understand stuff like sine and cosine.

Nasu: If that’s the case, then I definitely won’t lose (to you) at mathematics.

Ukisho: Eh! You’re really coming for me like that? How about history. World history? Japanese history?

Nasu: Either is good. I prefer Japanese history, I guess.

Ukisho: Which era do you like?

Nasu: You’re trying to go somewhere with this, huh..

Ukisho: Like the Showa era or the start of the Meiji era, or the Jomon era... like, their pottery* and stuff!

[ TN: The Jomon Era was known for its pottery, which was among the oldest in the world. ]

Nasu: Why are we talking about pottery? Talk about historical eras, come on.

Ukisho: Something like the Asuka-Himiko* era.

[ T/N: The Asuka era is an early period in Japanese history. There is no Himiko era, but Himiko was a famous shamaness-queen who ruled during the Yayoi era. ]

Nasu: That doesn’t exist.

What was your campus life like, with COVID-19?

Ukisho: Lessons were both online and in-person, but I absorbed things better during in-person lessons, so there were times that I’d go to school 2-3 times a week just to take one lesson.

Nasu: For me, I had remote lessons all the way, but for some reason only my tests were done in-person (laughs). But I met high school friends I hadn’t seen for very long at the canteen, which was really fun; we talked for ages. We talked freely without holding anything back. At times like that, I’ll think, “Ah, I’m a university student, huh”.

How about your friends in university?

Ukisho: I’ll hang out with my friends from middle and high school. I really don’t stand out much in university, and since it’s mostly online, (making new friends) is pretty tough. Eh, you mean you made new friends?

Nasu: Quite a few. We got grouped together for group work.

Ukisho: Ah~ I guess that’s about as good as you can get.

What do you look forward to about university?

Ukisho: Going to school in my own clothes (i.e. rather than a uniform)! I’ll go in really relaxed, dressed-down clothes, and sometimes I’ll go in stylish clothes, too. Hey, you know, the clothes that Johnnys’ wear in private, they really have a Johnnys’ feel to them, don’t you think?

Nasu: Just a little.

Ukisho: Like if I wear a long coat with boots, people around me will be like “Woah!”, but I don’t pay much mind to it any more.

Recently, you’ve been active on quiz shows with other highly-educated members of Johnnys’ haven’t you?

Nasu: The vibe of each of our groups is different, but our conversations all fall in sync. And our interviews go really smoothly (laughs). It’s because everyone really uses their brains and thinks (their answers) through.

Ukisho: It’s like, you’ll end up with nothing left to say. It’s a high-level interview (laughs).

Nasu: That’s right, that’s right.

Ukisho: I think those members really suit the term “amazing”. People like (Snow Man’s) Abe (Ryohei)-kun or (Travis Japan’s Kawashima) Noel-kun will be able to read kanji that are so complicated that you’d be like, “How can you read that?!”, which is really cool; and (Ae!Group’s Fukumoto) Taisei-kun can remember all the flags of the world, too. I love puzzle-style stuff such as riddles, but strategising for those is tough, so I think that I really have to study harder to find something I can claim as my own strength.