Signed checkee as a present! In commemoration of the release of "New Challenger", the OP theme song of the TV anime "Shinkansen Transformers Shinkarion Z", which evolved further while respecting the previous song! Interview with Masaru Mizuno, Tatsuki Tsujimoto, Yuki Tamura and Yusho from "BOYS AND MEN

The opening theme song "New Challenger" for the popular TV anime "Shinkansen Deformation Robot Shinkarion Z" ("Shinkarion Z") will be released on July 28, 2021 (Wednesday).

The song was sung by BOYS AND MEN ("Boymen"), following the opening theme song "Evolution Theory" of the previous "Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion" ("Shinkarion") and "Gattan Gotton GO!" of the movie version of "Shinkansen Transformable Robot Shinkarion: Kamisoku no ALFA-X. Gat gan gan zdan dun dun! The same catchy phrases and melodies in "New Challenger" are used in "Shinkarion Z" as in "Evolution Theory," which gained popularity with the phrase "Gan Gan Zudan Dan Dan!

Akiba Research Institute interviewed Masaru Mizuno, Tatsuki Tsujimoto, Yuki Tamura, and Yusho from BOYS AND MEN. They talked about everything from what to listen to in the songs to secret production stories, robots they used to watch as children, and recommendations for food in their home ground of Nagoya.

From left: Yuki Tamura, Masaru Mizuno, Tatsuki Tsujimoto, Yusho

Gahn! Gahn! Gahn! is a reference to the previous film!

--How did you feel when you were chosen to sing the theme song for "Shinkarion Z" following the previous film and the movie version?

Tamura: I was genuinely happy. It's not often that I get to do the next season after a year and a half of working on the previous one, and the movie version as well. I am truly grateful.

Tsujimoto: That's right. I am very happy to continue to sing the theme song, even though the airing time has changed this time and the work has been completely renewed. Recently, the members have been working independently more often, but we were able to hear the announcement (of the theme song decision) in the presence of all the members, so we were able to share the joy together for the first time in a long time.

Mizuno: I am also grateful that more and more people are saying that when it comes to the song for "Shinkarion," it is Boymen that sings it. Just as there are artists who are considered to be the ones to sing the opening songs for other productions, we hope to become one of them.

Yusho: We feel that "Shinkarion" has helped us reach places that our music alone (which is not an anime tie-in) would not reach, and that is something that we have been responding to. The other day, during a radio recording, one of the staff's children told me that he loved "Shinkarion" and that he was happy that "Boy Men" was coming. I thought that the music for this song would expand even further.

--What was your first impression when you heard the opening theme song, "New Challenger," which you described as "an energetic amusement park song that fits "Shinkarion" perfectly?

Tsujimoto: I thought the song was exhilarating to the max, pleasant to the ear, and made me feel like I was in a dream.

Tamura: The inflection, or rather, the sudden low tone, like a roller coaster, never gets old listening to it.

Yusho: This song was made to fit "Shinkarion" again, and it has a speedy and familiar feel to it, so I thought it was a really good fit.

Mizuno That's right. If I may add to the "sense of speed," the lyrics also have a very fast-paced feel. When you say things like "Let's dream straight," it is usually thought of as cold by adults, isn't it? But when I was a child, I think I was able to communicate directly and straightforwardly to others without thinking about such things. That is why the lyrics are not only fast and furious but also catchy, which I think could not have been expressed if we were the only ones making the song.

--Please tell us what you focused on in the recording process, and if there were any difficulties.

Mizuno <Gahn! Gahn! Gahn! is a word pulled from "Evolutionary Theory's" "Gan-gan zdan-dan! from "Theory of Evolution. At first, it was "Burn! Boom! Boom! but "Theory of Evolution" was "GUNGUNS DUN DUN! and then [Gahn! Gahn! Gahn! is a better way of expressing the idea. In that sense, I was particular about how to express it while also respecting the "Theory of Evolution.

Tamura: I was very particular about my part of the song, "Go! Go! Raise your voice! I thought I could handle it because the key was pretty low, but it was surprisingly difficult to match the pitch. ......

Tsujimoto: You didn't prepare enough? (Laughs)

Tamura: No, I gave it 100%! By the way, I always record in "pants only" (pants only). I take off my pants before entering the booth.

Tsujimoto: We record in a booth I built in my office, but it is not air-conditioned. It is extremely hot, and if we turn on a fan, the sound comes in.

Tamura: When it gets to the limit, I take off my pants (laughs). (laughs) Because of the height of the booth, I couldn't see all the way down from the window.

Tsujimoto: You don't have to go that far!

Tamura Everyone likes the word "supponpon," right? (Laughs)

(laughs) -- putting aside whether you like "Supponpon" or not (laughs), how did you and Yusho Tsujimoto like the recording?

Yusho <Gahn! Gahn! Gahn! was hard for me to grasp the transition between singing at the top (height) and singing at the bottom. I had to re-record it many times during the recording.

Tsujimoto: I was able to record this song very easily. I imagined there was a child in front of me, and I thought I could do it if I sang as if I were a child. I just sang happily with a smile on my face, and it was easy. Even though it was a recording session, my facial expressions are reflected in my voice, so I was very conscious of that.

The music video also features choreography by Lucky Ikeda!

--The music video for this song is available on YouTube. Where did you shoot the music video?

Mizuno: It was filmed at the Da Keien in Chiba.

Tsujimoto: It was fun because there were various sports and amusement facilities. We spent all the time between shootings playing.

Yusho We all played basketball together, didn't we?

Tamura I took a high-pressure washer from the arcade there (laughs). But when I brought it home, I found there was no place to plug in the water supply. ......

Tsujimoto: In the end, you just end up taking it. I was satisfied with that (laughs).

--Do you have any other memories from that day?

Tsujimoto: As I mentioned earlier, we played basketball in between recordings. I reminded them of the greatness of the Boymens (laughs).

Tamura: At first the manager said, "Don't do it because you'll sweat," but halfway through the game, he started playing along with us. He used to be a member of the basketball team, and I guess watching him made him want to do it (laughs).

--The choreography in the music video is not only cool but also humorous.

Mizuno: Yes. Lucky Ikeda-san added the choreography.

--What was the most exciting or impressive part of the dance?

Tsujimoto: I think it was the digging part (of the choreography).

Tamura: Also, I was thinking that the children would laugh when I danced the "GO GO GO! I knew that only Lucky Ikeda could come up with this kind of idea.

--Did you spend a lot of time recording?

Yusho: No, we finished shooting outdoors before the sun set, so I think it was quicker.

Tsujimoto: We did the indoor shooting after the sun set, though.

Yusho But there were often times when the sun went down, so it was nothing compared to that.

Mizuno: We would shoot from morning till morning (laughs).

--Tsujimoto: That's how the music video was completed. I was also impressed by the fact that it had subtitles just like the opening of the anime.

Tsujimoto: That was an idea from the members. We thought about it a lot, like "I want the kids to remember this song, so should I put all the words in hiragana? We thought about it a lot and settled on the current form with furigana. I also got to choose the font.

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of collaborations there will be in this work!

--I would also like to ask you about the full-length anime. What do you feel has evolved further with "Shinkarion Z" and are there any characters you are interested in?

Mizuno: I thought the Xyliner was innovative. Shinkansen trains are stylish, whereas conventional trains are too familiar or something you see everyday. I thought it would be interesting to see it transform.

The "Shinkarion" team seems to be more aggressive than other anime, and they collaborated with various anime in their previous work. There was even a controversial scene with the song "Cruel Angel's Thesis," and I thought it was great that they were so aggressive as to make a conventional train appear in the new work.

Yusho: The previous work was more about Shinkansen, but I have the impression that this work has been expanded to include all railroads, including the Xyliner. The first base is the Usui Pass Railway Cultural Village, and the content is related to the trains that used to run in the area. I think that each region where Shinkarion Z appears in the series has been made into a work that conveys the local qualities of that region in more depth.

Tsujimoto: I'm really interested in Abuto Usui. He is played by Akari Kito, who played Priestess Nezuko in "Demon Slayer," and he is a completely different character. It is hard to believe that the same person is playing the role, and Abuto is fun to watch.

--Did you have a chance to meet Mr. Kito?

Tsujimoto: I bumped into Mr. Kito when I was recording as a voice actor the other day, just as he was recording in front of me.

Tamura Did he say "Bakketsu" to you? (Laughs)

Tsujimoto: No, I was before the show, and Kito-san was in the middle of the show and didn't have time to waste his time talking (laughs). (Laughs.) I am good friends with Natsuki Hanae, so I wanted to talk about that, too, but I only said hello to Mr. Kito. But I think (Abto) is a really fascinating role.

Tamura As Masaru (Mizuno) mentioned, I am looking forward to seeing what kind of collaboration there will be in "Shinkarion Z". I'm hoping that I will appear in the anime, if possible (laughs). (Laughs) I would be happy to play an antagonist or in any way I can. I don't care if I'm just a mob character that appears for a moment.

--If you could give a personal wish, what would you like to see in a work that would fit the world of "Shinkarion Z"?

Tamura Ummm......... "Macross" series would be too obvious, wouldn't it? How about "Gurren Lagann"? How about "Gurren Lagann" with its gunmen (a generic name for the robots that appear in the work) (laughs)?

On the other hand, it is possible to collaborate with a work that is not a robot work because it is a robot, but a work that is not at all similar to it. You could collaborate with "Doraemon," or you could collaborate with "Maji Iruma-kun! Iruma-kun" would be fine.

--I'd be surprised if that comes along. And as you mentioned earlier, Mr. Tsujimoto appeared as a voice actor in episode 14. You have appeared as a voice actor several times before, but what did you think of the recording this time?

Tsujimoto: I played myself in "Shinkarion" and played the role of Watashima Kamui in the movie version. I was a guest voice actor, but when I played Kamui, I had the sound director, Masafumi Mima, give me a lot of guidance, and we went through nearly 20 takes just for the first word. I realized how hard it is to be a voice actor.

So, I went into the recording with a lot of preparation and determination. ...... But this time I was playing myself again, so Mima-san said to me, "It's going to be hard. It's me after all" (laughs). (Laughs.) "I'm right, aren't I? (Laughs.) He gave me a one-shot OK. I was also very happy because I tried a little ad-libbing and it went through. Next time, I would like to play a role that is not mine, and I would like to be able to struggle with it again.

Tatsuki Tsujimoto, BOYS AND MEN

--So, what was your impression when you actually saw the opening of the anime with "New Challenger" playing?

Tamura: It fits perfectly! I thought. I was really into it, and I was really excited.

Tsujimoto: Yes, yes, yes! I was like, "Yes, yes, yes!

Mizuno: When I say "Go," there is an effect (like a route map), and I was personally happy about that. I recorded several patterns of "Go" and the current one was adopted.

Yusho: Including that, the images are beautiful. The colors are colorful. I was really happy to see our song played on TV every week, and I thought it was a great song once again.

The four of them introduce their favorite "Nagoya meshi" (Nagoya rice)!

--We also ask you about other things besides your works. Akiba Research Institute readers have a strong image of you as a group that sings the theme song for "Shinkarion," so please tell us about the appeal of Boimen that goes beyond that.

Mizuno: The attraction is that we value our hometown. It is very important to take care of one's hometown. We are a group that wants to make Nagoya a lively city, and we are also spreading this message nationwide, so I would like you to see our love for our hometown. I also hope that everyone will cherish their hometowns.

Actually, it seems that not many other groups have an entrance like ours. The other day, Tsunku wrote a song called "Doeryaaa JUMP!" and he said, "You guys are probably the longest male group based in a regional city. I know there will be hard times, but the longer you continue your activities, the more proud you will be of being No. 1 in Japan. I had never looked at it objectively like that, so I thought I should have more pride.

Yusho If you got to know Boimen through "New Challenger," I think you will see a different side of us when you listen to our other songs. For example, there is a song called "Nagoyameshi no Uta," in which they do a cheerleading dance with pom-poms in the middle of the song (laughs).

(laughs) -- Are the cheerleaders doing the cheerleading?

Yusho: No, we do it ourselves. The lyrics are also about Nagoya-meshi, such as "miso katsu" and "tebasaki" (fried chicken wings), and the song is about continuing to eat Nagoya-meshi.

--I hope you will listen to the song and watch the video. By the way, other than the famous foods like miso katsu and chicken wings, are there any other foods that the locals recommend?

Mizuno: I would have to say Taiwanese ramen.

Tsujimoto: Onimanju, I think.

--I think more and more people know about Taiwanese ramen, but devil's manju may not be so well known. What kind of manjuu is it?

Tsujimoto: It is a steamed bun-like bun filled with sweet potatoes. In the Tokai area, it is usually served at school lunches. When I was a child, I was not allowed to eat sweets, but I was allowed to eat onimanju. Because they are sweet potatoes. Even as an adult, I still like onimanju, and I buy it whenever I see it at a Japanese sweets shop.

--I have been to Nagoya many times, but I have never had onimanju.

Tsujimoto: There is a custom that onimanju is basically not allowed to be eaten by people outside of the city. ...... No, that's not true (laughs).

Tamura, says a Gifu person (laughs).

Yusho You probably don't see many onimanjyu in the city. There is no such thing as an "onimanju shop.

Tsujimoto: It's so much soul food that they don't really sell it, but it's always around. You can always find it at supermarkets.

--It's good. It's something that only the people of the region know.

Mizuno Then, how about Ajisen's salt ramen (salt Taiwan ramen)?

Tamura: Salt ramen is rare.

Mizuno Only 0.2% of people in Nagoya know about it (laughs).

I had the feeling--I went to Ajisen to eat regular Taiwanese ramen.

Tsujimoto: That's usually the case. I think the scallion ramen is good, too.

Mizuno That is delicious, too.

Tamura I also recommend miso oden.

Yusho: That and ankake spaghetti (spaghetti with starchy sauce).

Mizuno: Personally, I think "Pasta de Coco" is the best.

Tamura "Pasta de Coco" is seriously good.

Tsujimoto: There is a restaurant affiliated with Curry House CoCo Ichibanya called "Pasta de Coco" that serves ankake spaghetti. For ankake spaghetti, I think Yokoi is another good choice.

Mizuno: That is also a famous restaurant.

What were the four of you addicted to as children?

--Shinkarion" series is full of elements that boys love, such as bullet trains transforming and merging into robots. What kind of robots and toys did you play with as a child?

Tsujimoto: "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger" and "Choryoku Sentai Oranger," I think.

Mizuno That part comes through, doesn't it?

Yusho: For me, it was "Geki Sentai Car Rangers"; there were two patterns in which five units combined to form a giant robot (five Ranger Vehicles combined to form an RV robot and five VRV machines combined to form a VRV robot), and I had both.

Mizuno: "Five Star Sentai Dairanger," I think. But my favorite was "Heavy Armored Be-Fighter. Because of that, I started keeping beetles (laughs).

Yusho Ah! From there it was "Bee Fighter Beetle" (a special effects program that is a sequel to "Heavy Armored Bee Fighter"), wasn't it?

Mizuno: That's right. I really liked "Heavy Armored Beefighter" and watched "Beefighter Kabuto" as well. I even bought some sausages.

Yusho: The concept was insects, and the beat machine was not a humanoid, but a big stag beetle with tires, like a work machine.

Mizuno: The transformation goods are also like the wings of a beetle opening.

Yusho: I think it was the "Beefighter Beetle" one. You just snap in the card and go to .......

Mizuno I had that one too!

Mizuno-san and Yusho-san get even more excited talking about the core of Beefighter.

Yusho: Then, around the time I entered elementary school, I started playing "Zoids.

Tsujimoto: "Zoids" had a lot of commercials, didn't it?

--How about you, Mr. Tamura? You were silent.

Tamura...... I never went through any hero or robot stuff (laughs). I was an insect collector all the time. My father loved insects, so I basically went to the mountains and forests with him. To help my father make specimens, I used to go and catch all kinds of insects during my childhood holidays.

That's why he didn't buy me many hero toys (which he was doing at the time). I have four siblings, so all I got were hand-me-downs from my older brothers.

--I think insect collecting is also a valuable experience. Lastly, the DVD on the limited first edition B includes footage from last year's BOYS AND MEN 10th Anniversary Boimen nationwide live tour "BARI BARI★PARTY," so please tell us your thoughts on the tour again.

Mizuno: Until the tour started last September, I had hardly stood in front of fans for about seven months. We had one festival with Shigeru Matsuzaki, but it had been a long time since we had our own one-man show, so I was very happy. （I couldn't speak (to prevent infection), but the fans seemed happy, and some of them cried during the first song. It was a tour that reaffirmed for me how important it is to sing in front of people.

Yusho: So far we have been saying that we "deliver energy" at our live performances, but I realized that we were actually getting energy from the audience as well.

Tsujimoto: We are by far a group that enjoys watching live performances more than enjoying CDs. In that sense, there was something about our online live performances that was not satisfying. When we first formed the group, there were times when there were only a few people in the audience, so we have always felt the gratitude of the audience, but this tour has made us realize how happy we are to be able to see the audience in front of us.

Tamura: I feel that the online live performances and the distribution of our music have given us more opportunities to be seen by people all over the country and the world. During this concert tour, we were able to have a lot of people watch us face to face with the audience in person at the venue, and online. In a sense, I think we have a new weapon.

--And how do you want to sing "New Challenger" in the future, and what do you want to do to make it more popular?

Mizuno: Let's do the Z Dance together! So we had a "Z Dance Relay" project with the members and junior members. We did this, and we had fans dancing and uploading their dances on SNS, and actual drivers dancing, so we felt that we were expanding and getting a good response. Of course, it is important to release CDs and promote them, but I would like to put more effort into this kind of movement and excitement. It would be nice if everyone could be energized by dancing!

-I look forward to such activities along with the music and animation. Thank you very much!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Kenichi Chiba)


CD Information
New Challenger / BOYS AND MEN
July 28, 2021 release date
Price: <First Limited Edition A> CD + DVD 1,840 yen (including tax), <First Limited Edition B> CD + DVD 4,400 yen (including tax), <First Limited Edition C> CD + Shinkarion Z original file jacket 1,700 yen (including tax), <Normal Edition> CD only 1,320 yen (including tax)

<Contents of CDs
Limited First Edition A, Limited First Edition B, Normal Edition

1. new challenger

TRAIN-TRAIN

Do-Dah-Dah

Limited First Edition C

New Challenger

TRAIN-TRAIN

3. evolution theory

Normal Edition

1. new challenger

2. TRAIN-TRAIN

3. do-dah-dah

New Challenger Inst.

TRAIN-TRAIN Inst.

Do-Dah-Dah Inst.

＜DVD Contents
Limited First Edition A

New Challenger" -Making of Music Video- (DVD)

New Challenger" -Making of Music Video

Limited First Edition B

BOYS AND MEN 10th Anniversary Boimen National Live Tour "BARI BARI★PARTY" Finale Live Video @ Kobe International Conference Hall (26 songs to be recorded)

Outline of Gift Campaign (Japanese only)

<Prize

One lucky winner will receive a cheki autographed by Masaru Mizuno, Tatsuki Tsujimoto, Yuki Tamura, and Yusho from "BOYS AND MEN".

＜Application Guidelines
Entry period: July 26, 2021 (Mon.) - August 2, 2021 (Mon.) 23:59
Number of winners: 1
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How to apply: Please fill out the application form below.

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