Reading and live performance "Re:Union 2 - fraternity CASE Gyoen Academy" by Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama to be held on March 20-21! Official interview with Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama!

Re:Union 2 - fraternity CASE Gyoen Academy" will be performed on March 20-21, 2019. Here is an official interview with voice actors Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama, who will play the lead roles.

Voice actors Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama will play the lead roles in "Reading & Live". It is said to be a new style of performance that does not fit into any of the categories of musical, play, or reading live. The second production, "Re:Union 2 - fraternity CASE Gyoen Gakuen," is scheduled for March 20-21, 2019 at Shinjuku Theatre Sunmall.

This production is set in the year 2050, one of the eras featured in "Re:Union" (performed January 24-27, 2019). The story centers on "Shinozaki Miku" (Koiwai Kotori), the only and last member of the light music club, and "Chika-chan-sensei" (Hirayama Emi), a high school teacher and agent of the Fraternity, a government agency that controls time and space, as they prepare for a school festival.

The live performance attracts attention at the same time as the story. The theme song "be with you," which has been sung by the light music club for generations through time leaps, was written by Kotori Koiwai and composed and arranged by Akifumi Tada. The new song written for this performance was written by Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama, respectively.

An interview with Kotori Koiwai and Emi Hirayama arrived just before the performance. They talk about how they created the role, their thoughts on the lyrics, and their enthusiasm for the role. Let us introduce them here.

<Official Interview

--How did you prepare for the roles of the characters you are going to play?

Koiwai: In playing Miku, I focused on her energetic personality. As the last member of the light music club, she basically had no scenes where she talked with anyone other than Chika-chan, and (until now) she had been speaking mostly by herself. So, in order to express the "energetic but alone Miku," I tried to include ad-libs and other creative ideas.

--What is your impression of Miku Shinozaki?

Koiwai: I don't usually talk much and I am not the energetic type, but I actually admire her. That's why I like to play such cheerful and energetic characters, and Miku is a girl who is filled with my longing. Because she is the complete opposite of me, if I do the opposite, she becomes more like Miku, so in that sense, it was easy for me to play Miku.

--How did you like playing Chika-chan, Ms. Hirayama?

Hirayama: Chika-chan is the only adult character. While there are traces of her passion for the band, she also has a cool side as an adult. But he also has a cute and mischievous side that he sometimes shows, so I tried to express that naturally in my performance. In the performance, I not only have to stand still in front of the microphone, but I also have to move and show my silhouette in some parts, so I have to be careful about my movements such as how I walk.

--Do you have any similarities with yourself, including your body language?

Hirayama: In terms of body, we may not be very similar (laughs), but I think I can sympathize with her passion.

Koiwai: Pirimisan (Ms. Hirayama) is always very supportive. I think that is what makes her so like Chika-chan.

Hirayama: I don't think of myself as the type who can take care of others (laughs). (laugh) But Chika-chan can't leave Miku-chan alone and helps her out, and I want to learn from her in that caring way.

--I hope I can learn from her good attitude. You wrote the lyrics to the theme song "be with you," didn't you?

Koiwai: Actually, the title of the song was not "be with you" when it was first written in the scenario. When the title was changed, I tried my best to express the characters' feelings and scenes while making it consistent in various ways (laughs). I think the song turned out to be a pop song that people can relate to.

--This song is also a key word in the story.

Koiwai: "Re:Union" is a story about time leaps to various eras, so I placed importance on "past," "present," and "future" as keywords. I have always thought that there are many people who look at the past or the future and have trouble facing the present. They are only looking forward to their future selves, or they are only looking at past glories. I thought that not being able to face the present and take a step forward is something that everyone experiences, and that is the underlying theme of this project. Being with you (be with you) and facing the "past," "present," and "future" together created this song.

--And this time, there are also two new songs. What kind of song is "If our dreams are the same" for which you wrote the lyrics?

Koiwai: I was told that this song should have a "story music" feel to it. Miku and Chika-chan are going to sing the song together, and as I said, time leap stories are always about parting. So I decided to write a song that combines the loneliness of parting with a narrative that brings back memories of the past stories.

The tone of the song is cheerful like a musical, but it is a grand symphonic arrangement. I felt that this suited the loneliness of the time leap very well.

--How about "SOUND SOUL" for which you wrote the lyrics?

Hirayama: It is a song by the band that Chika-chan-sensei was in when she was in high school. I was asked to depict the youthful vigor and confidence of the band, and the song depicts an adolescence that would be a little embarrassing for an adult Chika-chan to sing. I also wanted to express the recklessness characteristic of high school students, so I included that in the lyrics. I felt that she loves the band in both the voice drama and the reading play, so I wrote the lyrics with the personal theme of "wanting to convey my voice through music. The song itself is very cool and rhythmic and makes you want to pump your fist in the air.

--I heard that there is a scene in the performance where the two of you sing together.

Koiwai: That's right. I was looking forward to singing with Pirimisan (Hirayama-san) since we sang on different days at the previous performance. It's been a long time coming.

Hirayama: I was able to experience firsthand the worldview that Kokko-chan (Ms. Koiwai) wrote the lyrics for, so I'm really looking forward to singing them with her. Moreover, "If Our Dreams Are the Same" is a song that we both sing together, so I hope we can throw our feelings back at each other on stage.

Koiwai: I have worked with Pirimi-san (Hirayama-san) in other productions, and I think of her as someone who has seen many dreams together. I wanted to be able to sing about that as well, so I hope that everyone can see the dreams we have shared together.

--Please tell us about your enthusiasm for "Re:Union 2".

Koiwai: This performance is very close (between the actors and the audience), so you can really see the performance right in front of you. When you see the actors expressing themselves in front of you, you can feel the story and the feelings of the characters, and you can feel as if you are in the world and experiencing it with them. The live performance is a "good combination" of the story and the live performance. Although the story has been developed in a different era, I am sure you will be able to relate to it because human feelings have a lot in common even if the time period has changed. I hope you will enjoy it.

Hirayama: I believe that "readings and live performances" are not just about sitting back and enjoying the story, but also about the audience becoming characters in the story. So I would be happy if you could enjoy watching, listening, moving, and enjoying yourself while experiencing various things at ....... This time, there will be more songs than last time, so I will do my best to perform the songs in the hope that they will inspire you in various ways. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Event Information】 ※Titles omitted
Re:Union 2 ~fraternity CASE Gyoen Academy
・Performance Timetable
March 20, 2019 (Wed) 19:30
March 21, 2019 (Thursday) 13:00/17:00
*Doors will open 45 minutes prior to the performance start time.
Theater
Shinjuku Theatre Sun Mall
*B1 Sunmall Crest, 1-19-10 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

<Cast
Miku Shinozaki: Kotori Koiwai
Chika-chan: Shomi Hirayama
Jimbo Satoru: Nozawa Satoshi
Sui Ichigaya: Tamako Miyazaki
Arthur: Ai Nagano
Shiro: Rena Morishita
Izumi Machiya：Mizuki Maruyama
Kugenuma Yoyo: Nanba Matsui
Gotanda vice principal：Toshimitsu Oda

＜Staff
Writer/Director : Jun Furuta (Furutamaru Gekidan)
Music : Akifumi Tada (Imagine)
Production Supervisor：Morimichi Mizuguchi (Hugh & Mint), Yui Serizawa (bluefish&Co.), Chisato Orihara (Laplace)

Ticket information
Ticket Reservations
Confetti：http://confetti-web.com/i-ReUnion2

Advance Tickets
RADI-UNI NicoLive members-only seats (with privilege) 8,800 yen
Special seats for cast support (with special offer): 6,800 yen
Non-reserved seats: 4,800 yen
Please refer to the official website for more information about the benefits of each seat.

Same-day tickets
Same-day tickets (advance tickets + 700 yen) will be sold at the venue only when seats are available.
Day-of-performance ticket sales will be announced on the day of the performance via official Twitter, etc.