The OP theme song for "KARAKUSAI UE NO TAKAGI-SAN 2" is a play on words that teases listeners? Interview with YUIKO OHARA "Zero Centimeter!

The opening theme "Zero Centimeters" for "Karakajide no Takagi-san 2," which started on July 7, 2019, is a refreshing song that is also close to Takagi-san's heart.

We interviewed singer-songwriter Yuko Ohara, whose refreshing voice further enhances the world of the anime!

The coupling includes two songs on each of the artist and anime editions. Both songs are filled with her charm as a singer-songwriter, so please listen to both!

How can we get people to think, "When you think of Ms. Takagi, you think of this song.

ーYou are once again doing your favorite "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Artist" song, aren't you?

Ohara: I always feel the strength of the work.

Ms. Ohara, you love this work. Is the heroine, Ms. Takagi, who is loved by everyone, cute even from a female point of view?

Ohara Yes, she is. But I also look at it from the perspective of wishing I had a boy like Nishikata, and I often writhe in agony at their interactions (laughs).

Q: What do you find attractive about Nishikata?

Ohara I think it's her purity. If someone actually did something like that to me (Mr. Takagi), I would normally fall in love with them!　I would definitely fall for him (laughs), but he doesn't realize it at all, so I wonder if junior high school students are that pure. I wonder if junior high school students are that pure.

If I were bad at it, I would think of Mr. Takagi as my rival! He thinks of you as his rival.

Ohara That's right (laughs)!　That's why I sometimes think it's unfair.

Q: When you write songs for Mr. Takagi, do you have an order for the kind of music you want?

Ohara I don't get that many requests, but I feel pressure on my own (laughs). (Laughs) Since this is a work that everyone cherishes and that I also love, I have been thinking a lot about how to give shape to this love. ...... I also had the opportunity to meet Riie Takahashi, who plays Takagi-san, several times, so I knew how she approached her work. So I had an idea of how I should approach her.

Q: I have the impression that you are very stoic about your roles.

Ohara: When I spoke with you during the first season, I thought that you were very dedicated to your work and that you studied a lot. I am not a performer, so I don't know, but I thought that voice actors think about the way characters open their mouths and other details when they speak and sing, and that anime is very deep! I thought, "Anime is so deep!

The song from the first season, "I Won't Tell You," was a smash hit. must have been quite a challenge for the second season to surpass that smash hit.

Ohara: I knew that I had to overcome that hurdle. However, the TV animation "Mr. Takagi the Teasing Teacher" is a very popular work, so I couldn't do anything too unconventional, nor did I want to. So I had to think about how to make the song memorable and make people think of Mr. Takagi again. What kind of words could be used as a hook? I wondered. I don't say it. Then, when the phrase "It's okay if you're misunderstood" came out, I felt it was a great moment for me.

Q: So you just had to wait for it to come out?

Ohara Yes, I waited. I waited for the lyrics until the very last minute, but when "Sukima wa Zero Centimeter" came out, I don't remember much about it, just like when I wrote "It's OK if I'm Misunderstood". But gradually, I began to wonder if it was a phrase that would make people think, "Does it sound like Mr. Takagi? I started to wonder if it was a phrase that would make people think, "Is this like Mr. Takagi?

I think it is "very Mr. Takagi-like!

Ohara What are you talking about? Did you feel like "what are you talking about?

I thought of the scene in episode 4 of the first season when Takagi-san and Nishikata are hiding.

Ohara Ah, yes, there was that (laughs).

(Laughs) - That's probably why I felt like it was Takagi-san so much! That's probably why I felt so much like Takagi-san!

Ohara It is easy to imagine. And even people who don't know the work can hear what he is saying on the radio and think, "What is he talking about? I hope people who don't know my work will wonder what I'm talking about when they hear it on the radio.

Q: Yes, that's right. I didn't understand "Sukima" until I looked at the lyric card and thought it was saying "I love you. That was on purpose, wasn't it?

Ohara That's right. We recorded it in many takes, but when people who don't know the lyrics look at them after listening to the song, they think, "So this is what the song is about, huh? I thought it would be nice if people who don't know the lyrics would think, "That's why it's this kind of work! I thought I might have made fun of everyone (laughs).

I didn't realize that "teasing" was in the lyrics!　I hadn't noticed. But you say "suki" at the end, don't you?

Ohara Actually, I thought this could also be taken to mean that there are a lot of gaps in the story. I thought so. I wondered if I liked it or if it was a gap.

Q: So you were trying various things. But in terms of the lyrics, the last song had a teasing feel to it, but this time, I think it conveys more of your inner feelings toward Nishikata.

Ohara When he sang "I'm not going to tell you," he was too close to Takagi. I was careful not to make the song too close to Takagi-san and make it sound like a character song. I was conscious of maintaining the same sense of distance this time, but there was a scene at the end of the first season in which she blushed a lot and flapped her legs in joy. I thought it was okay to move forward a little since they were moving on to the next grade and becoming adults (laughs). (Laughs.) So, the emotions are very much like Takagi's. Not sad, not happy, but happy.

It's not sad or happy, but "precious and tearful.

Q: For the second song, I think you might be wondering whether to completely change the taste or to carry on the same style.

Ohara: I was asked to keep the same taste. However, I felt that it would not be good if the songs were very similar, so I sent some reference songs to Jo Yoshida, who has been in charge of arranging the music since the first season, and told him that I wanted the songs to be pop songs with a touch of sadness. I think that is what makes it different from "I'm not going to tell you. I think that's what makes it different from "I'm not going to tell you.

Q: Did the director or cast give you any feedback after listening to the song?

Ohara The director didn't say anything in particular. ......

Staff They liked it very much.

Ohara That's good (laughs). I was afraid that I would have been self-centered. I had the opportunity to work with Ms. Takahashi (Rie) on another interview before, and she told me that she "loved" Zero Centimeters, so I wanted to record her voice (laughs). I was wondering if you could give me the file that the reporter had recorded. He said such nice things about me.

That gives me a lot of confidence. By the way, do you have a favorite episode from the first season?

Ohara: Yes, I do!　In episode 12, when Nishikata writes a letter to Mr. Takagi and he flaps his legs when he sees it!　When Takagi-san's song "Like When We Met" (Every Little Thing) came on, I started to cry!　I wondered what it meant to cry, not because I was sad, not because I was happy, but because I was crying! I wondered what it meant to cry, not because I was sad or happy, but because I was crying. I think that feeling is unique to Mr. Takagi. I was really crying and writhing with him. I read the script when I write lyrics, and there was a story that made me cry again, and I realized that this is what it means to cry because it is precious. It's not about being sad or happy!　It's precious!

Q: There are a lot of coupling songs in the album. The artist's version includes "Love Beam Naka" and "Chance". The anime version will include "If You Don't Know" and "Kimi to Hikari".

Ohara The artist's version includes songs with an anime flavor, and "Chance," a song tied to a high school baseball game. The anime version includes summer songs and songs that I think will resonate with people who watch "Mr. Takagi" in their personal lives. I hope that people who watch "Mr. Takagi" will be able to listen to both versions of the song.

Q: The songs have different tones, don't they?

Ohara That's right. But in my mind, the songs (except for "Chance") were written about love from various perspectives, so I think both songs will reach people who are watching "Mr. Takagi.

Q: This single also shows off your charm as a singer-songwriter, doesn't it?

Ohara: I think that people will learn that I also sing this kind of song, and for those who have known and supported me from the beginning, "Love Beam Middle" and "If You Don't Know" will sound surprisingly fresh. But I would be happy if you think that I write songs like these as well.

(Interview and text by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Product Information
Zero Centimeter / YUIKO OHARA
Release date: July 17, 2019 (Wed.)
Price: 1,500 yen (excluding tax)

＜Artist's Disc Includes
Zero Centimeter" lyrics and music by YUIKO OHARA Arrangement by YOSHIDA Minoru
Opening theme song for the TV anime "Karakajouite no Takagi-san 2" airing in July 2019
Love Beam Naka" Words & Music: Yuiko Ohara Arrangement: Masayuki Fukutomi
Chance" lyrics and music by Yuko Ohara, arrangement by Minoru Yoshida
Opening theme for Chiba Television Broadcasting's "High School Baseball Digest
4. "Zero Centimeter" (Instrumental)
Love Beam Naka" (Instrumental)
Chance" (Instrumental)

<Contents of the anime version

1. "Zero Centimeter" Lyrics/Composition by Yuko Ohara
Opening theme song for the TV anime "Karakajoue no Takagi-san 2" airing in July 2019
If you don't know" lyrics & music by YUIKO OHARA Arrangement by YOSHIDA Minoru
Kimi to Hikari" Words & Music: Yuiko Ohara Arrangement: MANYO
Zero Centimeter" (Instrumental)
If you don't know" (Instrumental)
Kimi to Hikari" (Instrumental)