Interview with Taisei Iwasaki, composer of the OP & ED themes and accompaniment for this season's much-talked-about "Hizune and Masotan!

Taisei Iwasaki is a composer of music for movies, TV dramas, and commercials. He received the 35th Japan Academy Award for Best Music for the movie "Moteki" and has composed music for the TV animation "Bloodline". He is now in charge of "Hizune to Masotan," a much talked-about work directed by Higuchi Shinji. This soundtrack has a completely different taste from his previous works. We asked him how the sound of "Hizumaso" was created. We asked him about the whole process.

Starting from scratch to create the music

───Please tell us how you came to be in charge of the music for "Hizune and Masotan".

Taisei Iwasaki (Iwasaki) It was quite a while ago, about two years ago, when I was asked in a very casual manner by the general director, Shinji Higuchi. He said, "I may have something for you to do next time. I didn't even know what it was about yet, and it was just something I might do with BONES. A while later, about a year ago, the group was finalized and we were finally going to do it. When I heard that we were going to work with Mari Okada, things started to get more concrete. I had worked with Director Higuchi on the tokusatsu movie "Giant Warrior in Tokyo" (released in 2012), so I don't know if it was a kind of nepotistic hiring (laughs).

(laughs) ─ ─ As for Mr. Iwasaki, did you have a desire to work together again?

Iwasaki Yes, I did. I didn't have a bad impression of him at all. It was the same with "The Giant Warrior Appears in Tokyo." He would change the pictures if he wanted to, but he would ask me to make the music properly. Higuchi-san's passion for music is very strong, and he has the idea that he wants to do things in a way that makes the music work. Such a general director is hard to come by, and the pictures tend to come first, especially in animation, which takes a lot of time. This is not an easy thing to do, especially in animation, where it takes time to create the pictures, but Higuchi-san has always had that kind of mindset, and I had hoped to work with him again since that time.

─ ─ I often get requests to match the sound to the picture. I guess it's not easy, because then you have to change not only that part, but also the front and back.

Iwasaki But that is not a bad thing at all. It depends on the director's approach. But the fact that you have that kind of mindset in itself makes the musicians want to work with you, or ....... I am grateful for that.

─ So, when you received the offer, did you have a specific idea of the story and message you wanted to convey?

Iwasaki: There was nothing. Higuchi-san rarely explained anything to me (laughs).

─ What?　Then where did you start?

Iwasaki: I had a script for one or two episodes, so that was it. I didn't have any kind of order sheet, but rather a prose poem. All I wrote was that it was this kind of story, so I had these feelings, and then I was told to do whatever I wanted (laughs).

───Ehh~~ (surprise)!　Isn't there usually an order form or a list of how many songs are needed?

Iwasaki: Not at all.

───It was like being told to work a lot (laughs).

Iwasaki Ha-ha-ha (laughs). That's right. You have to feel it. That is why I voluntarily made a kind of menu. But in my way of doing things, it was very easy to do, and I was very grateful. But when I first talked with Higuchi-san about the soundtrack, we talked about 80s synth sounds, like Fumi Itakura and Masao Omura. He gave me two copies of the soundtrack and said it would be something like this, but after reading the script, it didn't seem like it, so I submitted a completely different soundtrack.

─ ─ I can't connect the synth sound with the current soundtrack, but was that okay?

Iwasaki: To be honest, I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but as it turned out, Higuchi-san used it as it was. I only had him listen to it a little at first, but I hardly even sent him a demo.

─ ─ I think that trust was a given, and perhaps Higuchi was receptive to any kind of music. Did you do anything else while composing?　Did you go to the stage, for example?

Iwasaki: Before I started talking about it, I felt like I had to get started, so I went to Toyama Prefecture and saw a festival called "Owara Kaze no Bon Festival.

─ ─ What was the reason for that?

Iwasaki That festival was very interesting, and it only lasts for three days in September. There is a place in Toyama Prefecture called Ecchu Yatsuo City, where you can see a special townscape, and the festival is held throughout the night.

When I heard about "Hizune and Masotan," I had the keyword "miko" and knew about this festival from the beginning, so I wanted to go see it. Moreover, there were some dances that only children between the ages of 18 and 20 could participate in. So, seeing this festival was the first time for me to be involved in this work. The girls who participated in the festival were also just graduating from high school, and I felt that their dedication to that particular period of their lives overlapped with the work.

─ Does the festival have anything to do with the story at all?

Iwasaki: It has nothing to do with the story at all. I just went to see the festival because I somehow felt the same kind of mindset there. I wanted to see girls of that age group doing something, taking on a role.

─ ─ It's like that's where I got some of my inspiration.

Iwasaki It sounds cool to say so, but it's hard to say (laughs). (laughs) I think I could sense the godliness of the girls whose deadlines had been cut off.

The accompaniment was thoroughly tailored to the visuals.

───What kind of music did you write after the synth sound became impossible?

Iwasaki: When I heard Mari Okada's script and Higuchi-san's image, I felt that synth sound was a bit different. I thought it was a more essential story. When Higuchi-san and I talk, we tend to joke around, and I get the feeling that we're just going to go with the flow, but I didn't think that would be the case, so I thought it would be more of a head-to-head battle.

─ ─ Did you see Toshinao Aoki's character drafts at that time?

Iwasaki: No, I did not.

───I think the drawings are a bit loose and pop-like, but didn't that surprise you?

Iwasaki: No, I was not surprised. I accepted it easily. The story was well told, so I thought the pictures were rather good. On the other hand, if the pictures were very sharp, I don't think I would have liked them.

─ Indeed. I was impressed by the exquisite match between the pictures, which made the serious aspects of the story pop, and the authentic orchestral sound.

Iwasaki: I am a theatrical accompanist, so my first priority is to match the work. I don't want to overtake the work, and I don't think it's a good idea to do that. That's why I am most happy when people think that my work fits the work.

─ ─ In the second episode, when Mr. Nao starts riding on the stolen motorcycle, a very grand music plays, and when Hiroki Ikushima appears, a detective-like music plays, and when Masotan is sulking, a piano melody with the same melody as in the preview plays. I thought the synchronization between the music and the development of the story was really wonderful.

Iwasaki: General director Higuchi uses it a lot. It is Higuchi-san who adds the music to the video. He chooses the music himself and guesses it for us. Then, the sound director, Yo Yamada, listens to the music and makes sure it is consistent, so I think that is Higuchi's skill, and he really likes music.

─ ─ There are many different types of music, aren't there?

Iwasaki That is a bit intentional. But I leave it to Mr. Higuchi to put the music. He asks me, "How do you like this?" so I just respond to his question.

─ ─ Is it sometimes used in places you did not intend?

Iwasaki: No, I basically don't have any intention in the placement of the music. I do not write down what I want the music to be like, or what I imagine it to be like, so it is like we are exchanging prose poems with each other using letters and music.

─ That's because we know each other's senses, isn't it?

Iwasaki I think you have a very special way of doing things. But there are also places where the sound is perfectly matched to the pictures.

───This is the OTF flight scene in episode 4, isn't it?

Iwasaki Yes. We even had a storyboard for that scene, so we looked at the number of minutes and made adjustments to make the music change in tune with the movements of the plane.

─ That's film scoring, isn't it?

Iwasaki Yes, that's something you don't do for a TV series, isn't it?

─ ─ Yes, that's right. On the contrary, why did you decide to do it?

Iwasaki I did it on my own (laughs). (laughs) If I were to go into a bit of detail, the story stops during the action scenes. The story doesn't move, so the music has to make a statement. In other scenes, the story is moving forward, so the music needs to act on and match the emotions and feelings of the play, but the mock battle is an action scene, so it is a part of the script that would end up as a scribble. In order to create a sense of dynamism in such a scene, tempo and music are important, so the emphasis is placed on these elements. If the tempo is not in sync with the music, or if the tempo is off, it will look like something completely different. I personally believe that if that is the case, the music should match the music, so I decided to do it (laughs).

─ ─ I can see that you are very particular about this, can't I?

Iwasaki I think you can sense it, whether consciously or unconsciously. Anybody who listens to it will think that it was somehow good. So I don't think we should take our audience for granted.

───So, will there be more scenes like that in the future?

Iwasaki: Yes, there will be (laughs).

(laughs) ─ Will the musical taste change as well?

Iwasaki: It will change quite a bit. We don't play in Japan, and we only play in Japan. I am thinking of doing something that is not done anywhere else.

───Can you give us some hints?

Iwasaki It's gagaku (national style song and dance). There was a miko (shrine maiden) component to the story, so I wanted to make it very legitimate, so I made sure not to make a mistake in even a single gesture.

─ Is this a new challenge for you as well?

Iwasaki: I have never done anything like this before. Gagaku is a very special kind of music, and Japan is truly a unique country. The more I learned about Gagaku, the more I thought about it, so it was a great experience.

The deciding factor for the OP theme was "not being a singer

─ ─ On May 30, the CDs of the OP theme "Shoujo wa ano sora wo wataru" (A girl crosses that sky) and the ED theme "Le temps de la rentrée ~Le temps de la rentrée ~Love's way home (new term) ~" will be released, and both were really impactful, especially the ED theme was amazing. Where did you get the idea for this cover?

Iwasaki: At first I was talking about making it a duet and changing it for each episode, but Higuchi-san was talking about how nice it would be to cover something, so he was the one who selected the music. But then he came along and pasted a YouTube clip and said, "How about this?" (laughs). He said, "It's good, but will you sing it (in French)?" He said, "I don't know" (laughs).

(laughs) ─ He did sing it for me, didn't he (laughs)?

(laughs). Iwasaki: I had to force him to do it. I gave them the French words in katakana, but they took it very seriously and memorized it. They practiced very hard.

I wondered if they sang one phrase at a time. I thought so.

Iwasaki No, no, no, no, no!　Not at all. Everyone practiced in their own way. Tomoyo Kurosawa (who played Nao Kaizaki) was wonderful, taking notes on how to cut off the katakana characters here and there. I was very aware of the difficulties involved, but the recording process went much faster than I expected.

─ ─ Maki Kawase (played by Eru Hoshino), this was the first time for you to record a character song, wasn't it?

Iwasaki: Is that so?　I can only apologize for that (laughs). (Laughs.) But I could tell that she had practiced a lot.

─ ─ But I am glad that it became a topic of conversation. I even looked up the original song and listened to it.

IwasakiI am glad that it became a topic of conversation. That original song is a minor song among the "France Gal" songs, so Higuchi-san must really like music.

─ ─ And the OP theme "Shoujo wa ano sora wo wataru" (A girl crosses that sky), it's a very nice song.

Iwasaki But the full length is the best done.

─ ─ I'll have to buy that one (laughs).

Iwasaki: We didn't order the details of the opening at first. No one had mentioned anything about an opening, and we were talking vaguely about it, but eventually a great person came to us and said rather lightly, "Do the opening" (laughs). (Laughs.) I said, "If you have such a great opportunity, I'd love to do it! (laughs). But there was no specific order, so I thought about the script and Higuchi's image, and I thought it would be nice to have a vocal by a girl who does not sing for a living.

　As with the Owara Kaze no Bon Festival, I always thought it would be nice if I could capture something that only children of a certain age have.

─ ─ What kind of music did you decide to write?

Iwasaki: I thought it would be hard to find a theme song sung by a girl with a proper orchestral orchestra. That was one thing, and I wanted the song to be a blessing to the story. At that point, I didn't know how the story would turn out. So after I had just written the song, there was a day when I met Okada-san for the first time. And the second thing I said to him was, "Nice to meet you," and I asked him for the lyrics on our first meeting (laughs).

(Laughs) ─ ─ They match very well, don't they?

Iwasaki: We didn't share any images. I didn't have anything to say. It's the story you are creating, so it's best if you write the lyrics the way you want them to be written! I mean. I was very surprised because they came out exactly as I had imagined.

─ ─ That is the power of music. I guess what Mr. Okada felt from the music and what Mr. Iwasaki felt from reading the script were very close.

Iwasaki: The script was only for one episode. For some reason I wanted to make it a blessing song. But I really didn't feel any discrepancy at all, so I thought it was amazing.

─ ─ And Riko Fukumoto, the vocalist, has a great voice without any hesitation, doesn't she?

Iwasaki: She's the girl I mentioned earlier who doesn't sing for a living. A friend or classmate of mine happens to be her manager, and when we were drinking together, I told him I was looking for a girl like her, and he said, "Why don't you listen to one of our girls sing? She said, "Why don't you listen to our girl sing? She was the grand prix winner of the "Toho Cinderella" audition, but she wasn't active at the time and had only sung in a few commercials, so we met her first, went to karaoke, listened to her voice, and decided that she was the one.

So you were attracted by her voice?

Iwasaki: I was very lucky that she was not a "singer. When you become a singer, your singing becomes complete, so it was more like a person's voice before becoming a singer. I wanted it to be something that would fit the voice of Hizune and the other D-Pai girls.

─ ─ It doesn't sound finished, does it?

Iwasaki Of course I can sing well, and I am a good singer, but I am not a singer. I liked that. This time, I created the image of a person who is not a good singer, so I thought there is a voice that only a 17-year-old can produce at that age. I was attracted to the fact that she is neither a child nor a fully developed adult woman. That is why I asked high school girls from the Suginami Chorus to join the chorus in the middle of the song. I asked them to compose the chorus with only those who had the voices of that time.

─ ─ The song "La la la la la la la" in the preview is also really good. Just listening to it is a moving experience.

Iwasaki That's right. That was also done by the Suginami Choir. It was important for us to use the voices of girls of that age group. They are really professional and good at what they do, but if it were an adult choir, I don't think it would sound like that.

─ ─ I am looking forward to the soundtrack as well as the theme song.

Iwasaki As you may have noticed, we have been playing a branching opening song since last week. There will be many more songs to come, so please look forward to them!

(Reporting and writing by Junichi Tsukagoshi)