( interview yuuki for messiah - trickster age october 2015 )

[devilism]

The relationship between Messiah - Hagane no Shou and Izawa Yuuki

Izawa Yuuki plays the role of Mamiya's Messiah, Ariga Ryo. This installment showed a different side of the calm and collected Ariga. We heard his thoughts about actually performing that, his feelings for his Messiah Mamiya Seiren and for Someya Toshiyuki, and about the next installment that will be released this autumn, the movie Messiah - Shinku no Shou.


Even though he was betrayed, Ariga wanted a different future for Mamiya.

When it comes to Some-kun, I have 99% confidence and faith. Although it's actually 100%, the remaining 1% percent is because of whatever happens on stage, it's the 1% I have to supplement as an actor.

Beyond just making a play, there's a higher degree of dependability on your partner in the Messiah series. But as an actor it isn't laziness to trust someone so much that you can depend on them. We perceive that kind of philosophy as an actor from Izawa's words.

When asked what he was the most glad for in this series, he said it's that he and his partner Someya Toshiyuki supported each other in this work. The bond that was born between them in Eisei no Shou and Hisui no Shou became stronger. And he showed us the depths of his interpretation of his role, Ariga Ryo.

I think Ariga is a pretty awkward guy. Since Ariga's feelings didn't show on the outside during Hisui no Shou, it was pretty difficult for me. "I wonder if it would be easy if he just vented his feelings here like this," I thought that all the time. But this time, while talking about things when facing Mamiya, I was pretty worried because Ariga was showing his feelings and it was different from how I've ever played Ariga up until now. Although we haven't caught a glimpse of that kind of behaviour from Ariga until now in Messiah, I was fussing about how to show the emotions because I wanted to show the reason as to why he takes such a cold attitude towards Mamiya in this work.

Following up the Ariga from until now, this time he plays a new Ariga. But although he talks about how it was fun to do it, just like Someya, Izawa also encountered new problems.

During the scenes where Ariga is interrogated, there's a scene where he talks about his past to Yuuri Kaito played by Hirose (Daisuke)-kun. That scene troubled me the most. I think it felt even more like a problem since I couldn't use my hands in that scene. Since they were tied behind my back the whole time, my movements were restricted. Moreover, since it's after I was interrogated, my body was in a worn-out state. So I had to take all of those things into account while I was talking about Ariga's past.

Just like Mamiya, Ariga has various emotions that don't show up on the outside. Looking at the thing that moved him the most means we're turning towards the end again, the confrontation scene between Ariga and Mamiya.

During the second half, his feelings for Mamiya grew stronger. Mamiya came to save him after he was worn out from fighting Persian. Ariga's feelings at that moment were that he wanted to return to Church with Mamiya, have a meal with him and tell him "thanks." He wondered if they couldn't do something like that, or so I thought. After that the scene from Hisui no Shou where those two fight comes to mind. In the fight in this play, the practice fight from Hisui no Shou is recalled. But even though he's been betrayed, Ariga wanted a different future for Mamiya.

Those emotions reach the maximum level during the scene where they point their guns at each other.

After they shoot, it only takes a short moment for Mamiya to crumble to the floor, but it feels 3 times as long with how it stirs your emotions. In the scene before that, Shirasaki and Yuuri say "go, Ariga!" and then only I run off. After that we have a little bit before we have to get back on the stage, but I remember having a conversation with those two so the emotions aren't interrupted. Although I don't remember the exact words, the feeling was that Shirasaki and Yuuri said "bring Mamiya back for sure" as I was running off.

While fighting with Mamiya, I thought that now he wouldn't be able to go back, and if I wouldn't kill him then other people would die. That's why Ariga decided to kill Mamiya. But when he shot Mamiya, it felt like he should take him back to the Church's infimary so he could still be saved. Although Mamiya told Ariga "kill me," as Ariga I thought "don't say anything more." When Mamiya was playing the violin at the end, and Ariga heard the music that saved him in the past, I thought it would be wrong to kill him while listening to that music. In any case, my feelings were being moved.

Listening to these two talking about the things they felt, it isn't Someya Toshiyuki and Izawa Yuuki talking about the play, but it's certainly Mamiya and Ariga. I fell into the hallucination that rather than the actors who play the roles, it were the very characters themselves that were talking. Of course that's because of the depths of their understanding of the characters, as well as their acting ability. Like that Messiah - Hagane no Shou was made. In this work we bid farewell to Someya, and therefore to Mamiya.

Although it wasn't a very long relationship from Eisei no Shou on, it still feels lonely. I think that at the end, when Ariga faced Mamiya while talking about the rules of Church and then shot him - that's when Ariga and Mamiya became true Messiah. They have to kill their Messiah with their own hands. Although it seems cruel, if you look at it from another perspective, I think it's about a feeling of rather wanting to kill them yourself than having them be killed by other people. That's why Ariga used the gun he also used during his days with the assassination organisation in the past.

Similar to his role, when I asked him what kind of Messiah the actor Someya Toshiyuki was, I got the reply "I think he's a great actor."

I think he was worried until the very end. Since Some-kun isn't the type to give in. Looking at Someya, I thought he wouldn't be able to play Mamiya. "Some-kun is incredible," something like that. Although I'm not telling him that myself. (laughs)

This Messiah pair was formed in Eisei no Shou and continued in Hisui no Shou. Although his partner Mamiya has passed away, Ariga continues on with his fellow Sakura cadets, Shirasaki and Yuuri. How does Izawa view the bond between those two?

Since Shirasaki and Yuuri have appeared before us in Shibi no Shou, they have a longer relationship than Ariga and Mamiya. Because they're also childhood friends on top of it, I think they're really complete as Messiah. Watching them, I wonder if Ariga doesn't also want to have that kind of bond as Messiah. But since Ariga is so awkward, it doesn't show very well in his actions. Just like Eiri and Haku are like Messiah in real life, it would be nice to have a relationship like real Messiah just like those two in real life as an actor. Ah, but I wonder if Shirasaki and Yuuri are the opposite. Although there isn't the feeling that people can't see how much Yuuri loves Shirasaki (laughs), I wonder if it isn't the opposite in real life. Since when I see them, it feels more like Akazawa-kun is the one doting on Hirose-kun.

Before we talked about how Nishimori-san had said, "The atmosphere during exchanges in the practice hall is the same as on stage. The casting is excellent." The bond between each Messiah pair is tightened with every new installment in the series. And now it'll continue with the movie Messiah - Shinku no Shou. I wonder what will become now of Ariga who has lost Mamiya.

I think that through Mamiya's death, Ariga's way of thinking about the concept of a Messiah has changed considerably. Perhaps the audience might be wondering why, since he seemed cold to Mamiya the entire time. (laughs) Especially since he now has a Messiah that's very much a problem child, or perhaps I should say he comparatively has to take care of him more and there are many scenes where he has to cover for him. So they might think "why isn't he being cold now?" But I think that is since Ariga has been changed through Mamiya's death.

Izawa seems to also think of Mamiya's death as an end.

After Hagane no Shou, everyone in the audience left the theater in a daze. (laughs) After the graduation in last time's Hisui no Shou they felt something like "ah, I'm glad," but this time they just thought "no way..." I'm really sorry for that. (laughs) But if I'm allowed to reveal a little bit of the foreshadowing for Shinku no Shou to clear up some of the haze.. Since you should be able to leave the theater with the feeling of "ah, I'm glad," please come see Shinku no Shou by all means!

( link to the original )