The Miracle of Five Members Taking the Stage as "Houkago Tea Time After 10 Years"--"Animelo Summer Live" General Producer Koji Saito's "Animelo Summer Live 2019 -STORY-" Review Interview (Part 2)

An interview with General Producer Koji Saito, the key man who has overseen Anisama for so long and created the stage for the world's largest anisong festival!

In the second part, we will focus more on the story behind "Animelo Summer Live 2019 -STORY-" (Anisama 2019).
⇒From Kohaku Uta Gassen to Kiyo Hikawa and Chihaya Kisaragi, we will discuss this year's anisong scene and "Anisama"!　Anisama General Producer Koji Saito's "Animelo Summer Live 2019 -STORY-" Review Interview (Part 1)

─ Looking at the recent Anisama, I feel that it is not a collection of individual artists' stages, but rather a single live performance with a flow that is connected to each other. Are you conscious of that?

Saito: That is exactly what we are thinking about. I think Anisama has matured, and as a producer, I may be taking it in that direction. I think the theme of "Story" this year is also significant. The order of performances and the songs to be sung will be determined after discussions with the artists, taking into consideration their wishes to the greatest extent possible. So naturally, we can't always realize collaborations, songs we want them to sing, or anything else we think is interesting, but we do sometimes put a little intention into the set list and so on. It is up to the audience to decide how they will read and understand it.

─ ─ I think that the range of what you can do will increase as you communicate with each other every year.

Saito: It is very important to share the successful experience of creating a stage together and the memory of eating from the same pot. This time, Houkago Tea Time took the stage at Anisama. Toyosaki-san and Kotobuki-san have worked together in Sphere, Hikasa-san sang at Anisama as a solo artist, and Taketatsu-san ate meat on stage as Calorie Queen. I see. If it's Anisama, a place you know well, then "K-ON! I think we can return the favor for the 10th year of "K-ON! If there is a wish to sing in a new costume, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill it. Once an artist has experienced Anisama, they will have a wish to do something like this in the next year.

─ I heard that you sometimes change the direction slightly after seeing the performance of the artists before and after the performance at the rehearsal.

Saito: I talked about i☆Ris who appeared after ReoNa in the sideline voice broadcast on NHK BS Premium. For "Gensyoku WONDERLAND," I started with a line like, "Where am I? I felt it was better to send a signal to the audience that "It's time for i☆Ris from now on, you can get excited", so I advised them to start with a light opening to switch the audience's attention. I advised them to switch off the audience by making a light stirring at the beginning of the show. I think we were conscious of the difference in temperature and the change of atmosphere between fhāna and Sfia. Talking about the flow of the setlist, we actually added Ayla Yuki's "Violet Snow" and Minori Chihara's "Amy" to the once completed setlist for DAY 2 later. Originally, Kita-Uji Quartet's "Tutti! by Kita-Uji Quartet to Minase Inori's "Wonder Caravan! I think it is because of Minase's ability to pull the audience back into her own world.

─ ─ I heard that you added "Violet Snow" and "Amy" from "Violet Evergarden," but I think you must have had a difficult decision whether to focus on Kyoto Animation in the set list at this time.

Saito: I was very worried here. I think both the fans and the artists on stage had various feelings about what had happened, even if they did not put them into words. I think the music on the stage conveyed what might not be conveyed well in words, or what they did not know how to put into words. Mr. Chihara has a strong connection with KyoAni's works, and I talked with Mr. Chihara, TRUE, Yuki, Sato and towana of fhāna, Kurosawa, Toyosaki, Hikasa, and other cast members about their thoughts and feelings before the performance.

─ ─ Last year, we also did a structure to connect the baton of "Violet Evergarden" and I feel that we were able to incorporate that flow naturally because of Anisama, where we have created a stage for KyoAni's works.

Saito: Of course there was anger and sadness over the tragic incident, but we also had to convey the importance of continuing with happy everyday life and looking forward to the future. So, I didn't do anything special. Toyosaki-san and the others who performed as Houkago Tea Time gave their best performance to convey their love for "K-ON! with their best performance. Moeshi (Moe Toyoda) of the Kita-Uji Quartet also did her best with a smile on her face while almost crying. I am truly grateful to everyone involved who, during this difficult time, agreed to grant us permission to play anime footage in the background.

─ I felt the origin of the artists who have accumulated history together with Anisama in Minori Chihara's "Junpaku Sanctuary" and Minami Kuribayashi's "Crystal Energy," who returned to the name Minami Kuribayashi.

Saito: "Junpaku Sanctuary" was proposed by us, and Ms. Chihara wanted to sing it as well. I am truly grateful to people like Minami Kuribayashi, Masami Okui, JAM PROJECT, and Nana Mizuki who helped us when we were not as recognized as we are today. And it is truly amazing and precious to see them singing and looking even cooler than they did back then. I think there is a meaning that comes from singing the songs that you have accumulated on the stage of Anisama, which has been going on for so long.

─ ─ The revival of Houkago Tea Time this time also has a flow from Anisama, doesn't it?

Saito: When Toyosaki-san heard about the revival stage of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" SOS group in 2017, he wanted to do it for "K-ON! he wanted to do it again. So Mr. Toyosaki and Ms. Hikasa lobbied for us to be on stage, which led to the realization of this event.

─ As a surprise, "K-ON! The cheers when Houkago Tea Time appeared on stage were truly overwhelming, and it was interesting to see the gradation of cheers from those who noticed during the introduction video with plenty of pauses.

Saito: First on the screen, I showed a black-and-white image with close-ups of the guitar and bass. Those who could understand cheered here. As we showed Mr. Toyosaki's (Yui) hand and so on, the audience gradually got a sense of who was going to appear on stage.

─ ─ The stage costume for "Don't say "lazy"" was new, wasn't it?

Saito: Toyosaki-san and the other members requested to wear those costumes, so we made new ones just for that stage. The opening film of "K-ON! is a video of a performance in a club room, but the ending video is like a professional music video, isn't it? In fact, that video is set in an after-school tea time 10 years after the anime. So this year's Anisama will be a performance by the girls dressed in Houkago Tea Time costumes 10 years after the K-ON! K-ON!", wearing Houkago Tea Time costumes, will take the stage at Anisama 10 years after the anime.

─ ─ It was a great feeling when I found out about it.

Saito: At Anisama, we place importance on both universal and maniacal aspects. The meaning of "Don't say "lazy"" 10 years later is the maniacal aspect that people who know it can understand. It's the same if you can tell the moment you see the equipment on the screen, and the way you receive it depends on your feelings toward the work and the degree of gormaniacism (mania). However, the loud cheers that break the venue when "Don't say "lazy"" comes on, the flames that blow up as JAM Project sings, or the feeling that everyone is having fun on stage when many people appear for fhāna's "Rhapsody of the Blue Sky" are things that everyone can enjoy, even if only somewhat. It's something that everyone can enjoy. We want to convey both universal and maniacal emotions.

───The configuration of Houkago Tea Time closing before the intermission and JAM Project starting after the intermission is very extravagant, and at the same time, it shows how difficult it is to organize a live concert where there are many artists who can play the leading roles.

Saito: We were able to do this because JAM-san is an active artist, so it felt like a battle. It would have been impossible for a human to take over after "Skill," which JAM Project and Anisama Friends sang together in the middle of the live, so I asked the hamsters, Yui Ogura and Mare Uchida, to do "Hamtaro Totto Kota" (laughs).

─ Was that something you were aware of that was popular at Anikura?

Saito: Of course we were a little conscious of the song selection, but Ogura-san and Uchida-san were surprised by the audience's call because they didn't know (about Anikura). I think it is good that the calls are not meant to hurt anyone or to be selfish, but to have fun together, which is like ani-songs.

─ ─ This time, there were many collaborations at the band level, such as Roselia feat. Konomi Suzuki performing "This game" and Poppin'Party performing "Teardrops" as "feat. I think this is something that can only be done with a certain level of trust as a band.

Saito: It is very difficult to collaborate with other artists as a band, and I put a little pressure on Ms. Aiba (who sang with Ms. Suzuki as the vocalist of Roselia), saying that the vocalist Konomi Suzuki is a monster. I thought that Ms. Aiba could be passive in the face of such pressure. I gave him detailed instructions on how to match the bass and drums, and I think he responded in the end with his performance. I would not have asked them to perform with us if I didn't think they would be able to handle it. （The drummer Ayaka Ohashi's recording of "NOISY LOVE POWER" was played by masshoi, a drummer in the Anisama Band, and she really likes his drumming. So she was very happy when masshoi taught her some drumming tips during the rehearsal. It was a very valuable experience for her now, though.

─ ─ On December 4, 2019, Masaru Yamauchi "masshoi" Yamauchi, who played the drums in Anisama Band, passed away. Since the announcement was made just before this interview, could you tell us about Mr. masshoi?

Saito: I received the news of his death from heart failure on December 4 immediately after the interview. According to his family's wishes, the funeral was attended only by his next of kin and really close musicians. He was a freelance musician without an office, so we were able to help him with this announcement at Anisama.

─ What are your memories of Mr. Masaru "masshoi" Yamauchi and what was the most impressive thing about him?

Saito: He was a great drummer and I always relied on him. He was a cool guy with a gentle personality. I was really proud to work with him.

Saito's passing was mourned by many people, not only in the anisong industry. Many names of artists and works he was involved in were reported, and I think many people were reminded of the fact that he was so widely active.

Saito: He was a member of the Anisama band, but he really participated in live performances and recordings of various artists. Among the artists who have performed at Anisama, LiSA, angela, Nao Higashiyama, Oishi, Masami Okui and Shokotan (Shoko Nakagawa) also played drums in their live performances. I also played drums for Ayaka Ohashi, Mare Uchida, and "Kemono Friends. The fact that he is no longer there, even though he is playing the drums in front of us in the NHK BS Premium broadcast of this year's Anisama, is still a mystery to me. It is still strange and unbelievable to me.

─ ─ I was also impressed by the coolness of the way he played the drums in the DAY2 video that was broadcasted before the obituary was announced. I know that Anisama videos often focus on the band members.

Saito: I am conscious of this when I direct the videos. The main actors are the artists, but the music and stage are created by everyone, including dancers, choreographers, lighting, PA staff, and band members. So when I make a video of live music, if the drum sound is an impressive part, I want to show that part and make it look three-dimensional. I want people to see their expressions behind the rim and the fact that the sound they play is so cool and that they are having fun playing. Musicians leave behind sounds and images, so I want people to remember him by seeing and hearing that he was an amazing drummer.

─ ─ Finally, do you have a message for Anisama fans?

Saito: The theme of this year's Anisama was "Story." Story is not only about fun, but also about sadness and pain. 2019 Anisama was not only a year of happy memories, but also a year when many feelings crossed my mind. But that is why I believe that both the performers and the fans will share the desire to make next year an even better year and a better concert. Just as we were able to witness the miracle that was Houkago Tea Time this year, I hope that people will look forward to what they will be able to see next year. Not only for Anisama, but for the bigger story of the world, I hope that next year will be better than this year, and the year after that better than next year. Music has a special power, and I would like to continue to deliver it.

(Reporting and writing by Kiri Nakazato)