Interview with Yuko Ohara and Riyo Takahashi, singers of the OP&ED of "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Girl"! I want you to feel the naughty and ordinary junior high school girl parts.

The TV anime "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Teacher" (original story: "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Teacher" and "Ashita wa Satsuday" by Soichiro Yamamoto, published by Shogakukan's "Gessan") is currently airing on TOKYO MX, Yomiuri TV and BS11 in the "Anime no Me" slot. We interviewed Yuko Ohara and Riyo Takahashi, who sing the theme song for this work, which has been making many people squeal over the teasing adolescent battle between Mr. Takagi and Nishikata-kun every week. We asked them about what to listen to in the song, their recording secrets, and more.

The opening theme song, "I Won't Tell You," sung by Yuiko Ohara, is sung by singer-songwriter Yuko Ohara. is a song written and composed by the singer-songwriter herself. The lyrics, which evoke the worldview of the work that she describes as having always been a big fan, and her cute voice singing along with the catchy and rhythmical melody make this a heart-curling pop song that is very comfortable.

For the ending theme, Ms. Takagi (CV: Riie Takahashi) covers a famous J-POP song. So far, three songs, "Kimagure Romantic" by Ikimono-gakari (episodes 1 and 2), "AM11:00" by HY (episodes 3 and 4), and "Jitensha" by Judy and Marry (episodes 5 and 6) have been aired, and each song is different from the original and full of Takagi's unique charm.

I thought I had done it with the "naughty" melody.

--First of all, let me ask you about the opening theme "I'm not going to tell you. First of all, let me ask you about the opening theme, "I Won't Tell You. I heard that you loved the original story, so weren't you happy when you heard about it?

Ohara Yes, I was. I was very happy because I had read the book without thinking that I would be singing. I was walking at the station when I got the call. I let out a strange voice. Is it okay? I love you so much! (laughs).

--You wrote the lyrics and composed the music yourself. Did you get the idea for the song right away? Or did you have a lot of trouble coming up with it?

Ohara: I talked with the producer first and worked out the image so that I wouldn't be told later that it wasn't what I had in mind, so I didn't have to worry about it.

--What exactly did you talk about?

Ohara: The reference songs that he suggested to me, saying, "This is the kind of song we want," matched the image I had of what I thought would be good. So, without any doubts, I decided to write some songs anyway.

--I heard that you always write melodies first.

Ohara That's right. I have the production team listen to the melody first and decide to write the lyrics only after I am satisfied with the melody.

Takahashi: Do you let them listen to the melody each time you make one?

Ohara When I have finished a song, I just send it to ...... and repeat the process, like a one-man competition (laughs).

(laughs) -- How did you feel when the melody for this song was written?

Ohara: Among the several songs I wrote, I was most moved by this melody. It was a melody that got the point across for me, so I thought to myself, "I like this one" (laughs).

--What is the point of the melody that you especially want people to hear?

Ohara: The "swinging, slightly "naughty" feel" of the B melody made me think, "Okay, I've done it! I felt like, "Okay, I've done it! This is the point that I especially want you to hear.

--In terms of the mischievousness, the lyrics are very Takagi-like, but at the same time, I felt that everyone can relate to the lyrics.

Ohara: From the first discussion, we said that if we were too close to Mr. Takagi's style, the lyrics would sound too strange. For example, there is a lyric, "I can blow away the depression of a test," but Mr. Takagi is very smart (laughs).

Takahashi: He scored 92 or something (laughs).

Ohara I was told by a music producer that "you probably don't get depressed about tests," and I thought that was true. But I thought that there were not many people who were not depressed about tests, including myself and the people who listen to my music. I wrote the song with my own opinion in mind.

--I guess you have both your own perspective and Mr. Takagi's. How did you feel when you heard this song?

How did you feel when you listened to this song? When I play Mr. Takahashi, of course I try to capture Mr. Takagi's point of view, but there are not many scenes where I can capture 100% of his point of view. Given that, I felt that this song has a very appealing balance, a worldview that conveys the work "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Artist," even though we don't know everything about Mr. Takagi personally.

Ohara Ehehehe. I feel a little embarrassed (laughs).

--How was the recording?

Ohara: I like singing, but I usually have a hard time with recording. But this time it was a fun song, so I sang it with a smile on my face without struggling.

--What were you conscious of when you sang the song, and what direction did you receive?

Ohara I was told to sing it cutely, and I wanted to sing it that way too, so I was conscious of the way I said it, the nuances, and other things to make it more pop and cuter than usual.

Takahashi: It's a song that makes you want to sing. I think people who sing it at karaoke probably copy the way I sing it. I definitely want to sing it when I go to karaoke!

Ohara I want to hear it! I wanted the girls to sing it, so I am very happy to hear you say so.

Takahashi But at the recording studio, Kaji-san (Hiroki Kaji who plays Nishikata) sings it saying, "It's a great song" (laughs).

--Music Video (MV) is available in full size on YouTube, so I am sure many of you have seen it. How was it shooting the MV using a school?

Ohara: We had shot in a studio before, but this was the first time for us to shoot on location like this. The texture of the desks in a school is really nice, isn't it? The "world of school" matched with the work and "myself holding an egg" far away from the world were combined, and I think the music video became a combination of the "theme song of the anime" and my own music.

--That object you are holding is an egg, isn't it?

Ohara It is an egg. In the end, it is an egg of sound, like a musical note, but I think it can be thought of in any way you like.

--You also said that you are open to interpretation.

Ohara That's right. Why is it so big? It is "something egg-shaped" (laughs).

Takahashi: So it is rather fluffy (laughs).

--(laughs) - Personally, I interpreted the egg as a symbol of "a feeling of love born deep inside," which finally sprouts into sound (words) and comes to the surface.

Ohara: I did not ask the art director who made the music video about the egg in detail. I thought I should just go with what I felt. Perhaps there is a meaning to this, and I hope everyone will think about it freely.

--I feel like I don't have to tell you the right answer.

Takahashi: "I won't tell you." (laughs).

Ohara Ha-ha-ha (laughs).

--In the music video, I was also impressed by the a cappella scene in the D melody.

Ohara The CD and the distributed version include an orchestra (accompaniment), but only the music video version is a cappella. I hope you will enjoy both versions.