Interview] "a-chi-a-chi," the diva of "Wataru: The Legend of Heroes of Majin Wataru," held her first solo live performance as a new unit "Eikyuu~Towa~! The secret story of their formation and their thoughts on their live performance are told once again.

a-chi-a-chi" is a vocal unit featuring the beautiful unison and harmony work of twins Nori Imai and Hisa Imai. Their debut songs "Step" and "a-chi-a-chi Adventure", the OP theme and ED theme of "Majin Eiyuuden Wataru", are masterpieces that fully demonstrate the appeal of their fresh voices, and are still sung to this day as representative songs of 80's anime songs.

However, in a career spanning 36 years, they have only sung a handful of times and have never performed live alone. Fans could only see the girls sing when they appeared at anime events.

However, on July 13, 2024 (Saturday), for the first time in the unit's history, the girls performed with a live band! For the first time in the unit's history, a solo live concert "Eikyuu~Towa~ Concert Vol.1" with a live band will be held under the new unit name "Eikyuu~Towa~".

This is a milestone in the history of ani-song. In this interview, we asked the two members of Eikyuu~Towa~ (a-chi-a-chi), who will be performing their first solo live concert, about their secret debut, their enthusiasm for the concert, their future activities, and other interesting topics.

─ Please tell us how you changed the name of your unit to "Eikyuu~Towa~" and resumed your activities.

Ei When we were going to perform as a-chi-a-chi for the first time, we wanted to keep the names "Ei" (Nori) and "Hisa" (Hisa), so we decided to make a fresh start and perform under the unit name "Eien-Towa-".

Hisa I think the "Wataru: The Legend of Heroes" 35th anniversary celebration on January 13th was one of the triggers. Wataru" gave us a boost, and I think it made everyone realize that a-chi-a-chi was still active.

─ Actually, it has been 36 years since your debut, but the July 13th live will be the first time you will hold a solo live concert, right?

Two, yes.

Hisashi: Up until now, we have only sung at anime events, and we have not sung full-size songs that often. ......

───A few days ago, a secret live was held for the purpose of shooting a live video prior to the "Eikyuu~Towa~Concert Vol.1", how did you feel about singing up close to the audience?

Hisa I felt that I need to work on my voice training a little more, or if I want to be a professional singer, I need to work a little harder.

Ei: Yes. So, for the July 13 concert, we are really going to risk our lives together. Now that both of us have changed our lifestyles, it is not easy for us to meet each other, so we have to do our best.

A roller-coaster ride of musical activities that began with the encounter with Wataru

─ ─ I think "Wataru: The Legend of Heroes" is an important work for both of you as it was the catalyst for your debut.

Hisashi: I was still in high school, and the decision to sing the theme song for "Wataru" came to me in the same way that it did for this live performance.

─ So that's how it was. How was your debut decided in the first place?

Hisashi: You might want to check Wikipedia for that information (laughs). (laughs) There is no doubt about what is written there. My aunt was the one who first promoted it.

Ei My hometown is a hot spring resort called Oojin Onsen, and my mother's sister happens to be the proprietress of a ryokan (Japanese inn). ......

I sang a few songs in the hall, and about a week later I got a call to come to the Victor studio in Aoyama and record a demo tape. Then he told me that he was looking for an artist for a new anime that was about to start and that he thought it might be a good idea for me.

Ei: I was surprised that it was so easy to decide. It was an unrealistic feeling.

Hisashi: Because until then we were just ordinary high school students living in a hot spring resort town.

───Did you feel that your song was being broadcast nationwide as the theme song of an animated TV series?

Ei When "Wataru" started on TV, I was staying in a boarding house to go to high school. I saw the first episode of "Wataru" on TV there. I saw the first episode of "Wataru" on TV there and I was like, "Wow, it's real. It's our voice!

Hisa: I sat on my knees and watched it (laughs). (laughs) But I didn't know the story line of "Wataru" at all. I couldn't watch it because my priority was my schoolwork, so I couldn't watch it because of the air time. I do sing the songs, though. ......

Ei: But I did see the first episode, and I also went to see the movie "Seven Souls of Ryujinmaru".

─ ─ Did you feel that "Wataru" was gaining momentum in the world?

Hisashi: I made my debut with "Wataru 1" and when I heard that the next "Wataru 2" was going to start, I thought "I can sing again! I thought, "I can sing again!" But then Yumiko (Takahashi) decided to sing for ...... (wry smile). So it was a roller coaster of activities. When I could sing, I could sing, but when I couldn't sing, I couldn't sing at all.

─ ─ As a unit, a-chi-a-chi-chi was active for about 10 years, from 1988 to 1998. Looking back, what was that time like for you?

Hisa: It was fun.

Ei: Because you don't get to experience this kind of thing very often.

───But it is also strange that there were no solo concerts.

Hisashi: I was never very good at being in front of people.

Ei If we were the type to get excited in front of people, I think the people around us would have said, "Let's do a solo concert this time," but we would have just gone "Shun" (laughs).

Hisa: That's why I didn't want to show my face when I was first asked to do so (for the single "Koi no Vacance"). I had to wear a straw hat. ......

Ei I thought, "Why wear this outfit when I'm going to show my face? I thought, "Why wear this outfit when I'm going to show my face? The outfit was a bit too much (laughs).

Hisashi: I was more like a studio musician. On the contrary, that may have piqued people's interest in what kind of people they were.

I would like to sing songs other than "Wataru" in the future.

─ As I mentioned at the beginning, a secret live performance was held for the purpose of filming a video prior to the one-man live. This was the first time you had a session with a live band.

Ei: The band sound was great. Exhilarating (laughs).

Hisa It was powerful and amazing. After that, everyone (in the audience) brought penlights and asked "What is your favorite color? I said, "Blue," and they all went with blue.

Ei: It was great to see a sense of unity.

─ ─ It was a bit strange to ask a career artist how he/she felt about his/her first live performance with a live band. It may seem a little strange to ask an artist with a long career how it is like to play live with a live band for the first time. ......

Ei: That's why we are so strange. We don't seem like artists, and I wonder if it's okay to do such things. I wonder if it's okay to do that kind of thing.

Hisashi: We are not in a production company, so we didn't think we could do this kind of thing.

─ ─ Now that all the conditions have been met and you will be performing solo for the first time, I would like to ask you about your enthusiasm for the event.

Hisashi: I hope that I will be able to perform better than I did at the secret concert. Also, I would like to be able to make a pause during the intro.

Ei: We have to put something in there. I've been doing music without thinking about that until now. ......

Hisashi: I had been concentrating on singing. But that was the opposite of what people around me liked. They said, "a-chia-chi is unmotivated" (laughs).

Ei: Mayumi Tanaka also said to me, "a-chia-chi is good at this. But while that is fine for such an event, I don't think that is the way it should be for a solo live performance by the two of us.

Hisashi: So the other day was the first time I felt professionalism on stage.

Everyone laughed.

─ By the way, do you plan to continue your activities after the concert?

Ei: If I can do it, I would like to do it.

Hisashi: I have sung songs other than "Wataru," so I would like to sing those songs again.

Event Information

Eikyuu ~Towa~ Concert Vol. 1

Date: Saturday, July 13, 2024 Doors open 12:30 Concert begins 13:30 (tentative)

(*This may change slightly depending on the progress of the event.

Place: Live in Buddy (Ekoda) Futaba Kaikan B2F, 1-77-8 Asahigaoka, Nerima-ku, Tokyo

Fee: 7500 yen + 1D (700 yen)

Tickets are SOLD OUT.
No tickets will be available on the day of the event.

Performer：Eternal Towa - Noriko & Hisa

Performed by: JUN (Junichi Saito) keyboard manipulator, Hiroyuki Deguchi bass, Kento Satori guitar, Masahiko Okumura drums

Production: Junichi Saito, Star Hillsong

Supported by and in cooperation with Fairy Tail Inc.