( interview kento for messiah - trickster age vol. 22 )

[devilism]

Messiah and Ono Kento

The comeback work Messiah.

An actor in Messiah - Hisui no Shou. At the same time Ono Kento's stage comeback work, the graduation mission of Mitsumi Haku (played by Ono) and his Messiah Kaidou Eiri (played by Matsuda Ryo) has become a main theme. It's the equivalent of a graduation work. Beginning with the shock of the opening, the story develops to the main point of Mitsumi Haku's suffering at being caught stuck between the bond with his Messiah and the bond with his sibling.

Immediately after finishing the final day performance in Tokyo, first I'd like to hear Ono Kento's thoughts on being on the stage after a year.

I was so nervous for the drama Messiah - Eisei no Shou. When we celebrated the first day, I thought my nervousness would be obvious, because there was a gap. I thought the level of practice would cause that feeling to come back a lot, but instead because of the union between the cast members the tension didn't come out at all. I think that instead I was holding on to Mitsumi Haku's motivation all this time.

From a drama to a stage play in 3 powerful months. Do you feel like a gap like that is a problem?

It feels like the story is being tied together in the stage play and the drama, even as I think about how things are different. The course of the play is also different than before, which is why I felt very nervous about coming out to the public again since I was starting to become the main point of the story. But the performance ended up not making me nervous at all.

It's expected that going out to the public with a big stage play would usually make one nervous, but Kento gave us a surprising answer.

When I went to practice I thought "this feeling, it's been a long while since I've felt it." It was different than any nervous feeling. "I have to do this," I found that was the source of my motivation. I think it probably wasn't something like feeling nervous. I became nervous as I started thinking various absurd things. Things like missing my cue for lines, or technical things like showing up at the wrong place, showing up with the wrong costume. All because I wasn't used to theatre anymore. Standing on top of the stage is also pretty difficult. Furthermore, it was Sunshine Theatre. Because I'm not good at going through the theatre basement there, it seemed like a maze.

Sunshine Theatre was the location of the last play, Messiah Shibi no Shou, and it's been used in many productions. It's unusual and unexpected that it's Ono's first time there. Like that the first day of the comeback stage play welcomed him, when he finally saw the audience during the curtain call, Ono had a deep feeling.

It was a beautiful sight. I wanted to be able to say I came back with the production called Messiah, rather than this or that, so that the feeling of changing from old to new was strong. Although it's my comeback work, Messiah is not just my own story, but remains a story of relationships. Even so, it keeps having a comeback feeling.

Usually such a comeback work would put pressure on you. You'd be prone to think of many things. Ono realised that he doesn't just want to keep talking about comeback this, comeback that. A drama, and now a stage play: how has Ono had a role development in both of these comeback works?

It's not really possible to say yet, since the situation was different back then. Haku and Eiri have slowly but steadily become the main focus of the story, before that I didn't think about how I wanted to show that off. When the news of my appearance in the drama came out, it made me get more excited and thinking more about how I wanted to show everything. The news of the stage play stirred my feelings further, and this time I really want to do that important thing. The director Nishimori-san said that too.

Precisely because the story is starting to revolve more about Haku's feelings, Ono wants to make sure to show it off well.

That being said, it doesn't change the fact that doing a stage play is more difficult. I'm not the type who experiences a stage play the same way I expensive a tv drama. The way of acting on stage is done in a much bigger way, while it's smaller and more subdued for a tv drama. It's possible to speak your lines rapidly instead of having to speak slowly. The stage is also a much bigger place than most filming locations, so I think you might not be able to do it if you don't have confidence in yourself.

Until now Haku always looked calmly at his surroundings, but in Messiah - Hisui no Shou there are many scenes where his emotions also show up on the outside. For Ono showing Haku's emotions was difficult, because he's never done it like that before.

It was very difficult during practice. I thought the most difficult thing was in the beginning, it's the scene where Haku remembers Eiri and screams. It's just a flashback, so he screams when the scene goes back to reality. It would be no good to screw up one of the most emotional scenes. If his emotions would slowly go their most extreme, I'd say it would be simple to show, but it's hard to instantly go to that extreme. I've been holding myself back while performing before because Haku isn't the type to show his emotions, so since the utmost limit of his emotions was reached in that flashback scene with Eiri, it became a difficult scene. It was hard even during the performances. In the beginning I wasn't satisfied with that part, I didn't manage to mix it well with my own feelings. I wonder if these days it's a little closer to how I intended it to be. Of course there's also other difficult scenes like the fights, but this is the scene I wanted to avoid doing the most. Especially since I thought that if I didn't do it well, the audience wouldn't be able to go along with it.

But Ono says just expressing emotions isn't the goal. He wants to have a better way of performing a play that's unique to theatre.

I think that strength and variation were very important during the play. In the beginning I can show a display of pretending to be tough, and then during the second half Haku's feelings of feeling bad and being worried came out. I think that flow works really well.

The focus this time is how Haku's two most important bonds, the one with his Messiah Eiri and the one with his older brother Mitsumi Sou who is now an enemy called Serizawa, start to shake up Haku's state of mind.

Juri, who plays Serizawa, also was part of the drama Messiah - Eisei no Shou. But since we didn't interact at all during the drama, we have to build up a bond from scratch this time around. Since Juri has had a longer career, he inspired me a lot. When the brother who Haku hasn't seen in a long time suddenly shows up, Haku isn't able to think of what he should do. He can't hurt him, and he can't mourn him either. Since his older brother Sou has appeared, Haku can't move. Juri really helped me out with those scenes, I was able to skillfully show how Haku's emotions were moving.

PICTURE BLURB (Haku and Eiri arguing in the "they're waaatching" scene):

Haku interacts calmly with Eiri, entirely unfazed by him as he's scolded about not cleaning up their messy room. Usually when Eiri starts to complain, Haku wards it off many times without doing so much as batting an eyelash. In Messiah - Dou no Shou, the two of them got closer due to the mutual wounds from their pasts. The two people who had been awkward with each other came to trust each other, the Messiah they entrusted themselves to. It's a scene that symbolizes the bond of trust between the two of them.

PICTURE BLURB (Serizawa sitting alone handcuffed):

One of the higher ups of the Northern Union, restrained by the Church. Serizawa is actually Haku's older brother who has been seperated from him for most of their life, Mitsumi Sou. Their sudden reunion shakes Haku up. All this time it was actually Haku's brother who killed two of his Messiah in the past. Serizawa invites Haku along to the Northern Union: "let's change this country together."

So Haku isn't able to make a move. Furthermore, Eiri can't make a move either because of Haku. Ono worries about his Messiah Matsuda: "this scene might be the most difficult for Eiri."

Before Eiri meets Sou and before the two of them came across him, they might have been able to bear all of it. But then the two of them get caught up in a fight like a couple. (laughs) They don't spit out their complaints though, like Serizawa and the feeling of distance between them. Ryo also worried because of it. He asked me to help him out and encourage him. So I always took him into consideration while acting. Although all the movements are fixed for the performances, the dialogue and way of speaking is always different. Because the two of us do it that way according to our feelings, it ends up being fun every time.

There was something else you were worried about. Haku's signature phrase, "naisu da," isn't heard a lot in this play.

It's there once at the end of the story, when we've become Sakura. It's since when I first got the script, I had a discussion with Mori-san and Nishimori-san. "It just has to be once at the end." It's what I thought all along from the beginning. The phrase "naisu da" has become Haku's signature phrase, but this time the phrase felt off, a little out of place. It would be strange to say it while Eiri wasn't there. But I thought I would regret it if I would stop saying it altogether. In the beginning the idea was still vague, but gradually it became stronger later on. I made the proposal at the dress rehearsal, and it was decided I could have a go at it.

PICTURE BLURB (Haku with gun):

Haku and Eiri have retrieved the New Virus together from his older brother. But he hesitates when his older brother stabs Eiri in the leg with a knife that he had concealed and Eiri is taken hostage. His brother demands that he passes over the virus in exchange for Eiri and his brother points his gun at him. The bond with his Messiah and the bond with his older brother. During the violent conflict he just has to believe in Eiri's jinx, the guy who won't die...


In an interview immediately following his comeback, Ono talked about how he didn't want to let down the people who had been waiting for him in suspense after a 1 year break. Although Ono said that he himself doesn't know how he could live up to the expectations either.

Rather than that I don't know it, I think it's more that I don't decide it. I'd already be satisfied if I felt that I was able to deliver a well-made production like Messiah - Hisui no Shou to everyone. Everything else is of secondary importance compared to that. Of course the sight of us on our final day of the play gave me pleasure, it made me feel that I wasn't wrong. The final day in Tokyo felt just a little bit like a comeback, but it still isn't over yet. I don't want to show a weak scene, instead I want to end it with a figure that's going towards even further heights. But to really have gotten a standing ovation, that gave me the feeling of steadily moving closer towards the goal.

PICTURE BLURB (Haku holding Eiri at the end of Hisui):

Haku, having become aware that his reason to live is living for Eiri's sake, doesn't hesitate to shoot Eiri who is being used as a shield by his brother. And so he shoots his brother while holding back tears. "Goodbye, big brother..." After that Haku rushes over to Eiri. "I'm a guy who definitely won't die," Eiri laughs as he bears the pain, and Haku answers with a "Naisu da." Then Kamikita tells them that they have cleared their graduation mission.

When the rest of the cast and staff asked him how the comeback was, Ono wryly smiled and said it didn't feel much like it.

It's simply my turn too many times. (laughs) There were a lot of lines, and also a lot of things I had to do. There were so many things I had to do that I didn't even really have much of a break between scenes. Since I was worried I wouldn't be able to deal with all of it properly, it felt like there wasn't a comeback at all. I couldn't even afford to think of that. Back when I got the script I thought "wow, there's an absurd amount of times when it's not my turn to go on stage." (laughs) There were only a lot of times in the beginning. Somehow it didn't feel that way though. I was surprised that Haku had become the main point of the story. But since I felt grateful, I thought I had no choice but to work as hard as I could. I didn't know the direction of the play when I first came to practice. Since I was standing in the practice hall after such a long time, I had to think all over again about how I could move with this or that feeling. At first my sense for it had been weakened, but then it immediately came back again. When someone told me at the opening day of the play that they didn't feel like there had been a hiatus at all, I felt relieved.

PICTURE BLURB (Eiri drinking a juicebox post-graduation):

After graduating from the Church, Eiri somehow manages to kill the enemies that surrounded him during an undercover investigation as Sakura. During a brief moment of rest he takes out a Nanny from his uniform's pockets. Even though Eiri doesn't like sweets, there's a secret sort of meaning to it, like a charm. After that he jumps out again into the battlefield.

But just like in an interview you did directly following your comeback where you talked about Messiah, we can't disregard the bonds between Mitsumi Haku and Kaidou Eiri, and Ono Kento and Matsuda Ryo. "We did it so Eiri and Haku would seem natural," Ono says.

There's absolutely a bond between Haku and Eiri after having been together continuously for many years. Now, during the first time that Haku and Eiri are seperated, they have gone beyond just being on good terms with each other. It never really occurred to them before that they could be seperated like that, without a way to meet up or have contact. Even though Ryo and I have no experience being seperated like that, it wouldn't be good for us to not show it well either. When we thought about how we'd act in the play, we both thought up a plan to strongly come together on the stage. During the performance I think I got the feeling of getting used to it again in a fairly short time. It's not like I'm doing the same thing over and over every time, but I still want to do all of it properly. Sometimes I might be a little lacking, and even though I'll say "I'll follow," there's still the kind of feeling that I'm falling. At those times I still thought "ah, it's no good," but I knew I always had to recover.

And yet Ono declares that with the exception of that, it's perfect. "Or maybe I should say that I wouldn't have been able to do it if Ryo wasn't there." It must be like that for Haku too. Eiri's absence certainly gives him a very big sense of loss. Ono says that applies to himself as well.

When Eiri isn't there, Haku gets frustrated. He can't believe that Eiri couldn't be there with him; it's been unthinkable for Haku that Eiri wouldn't be there. But I think that when I'm performing it on the stage, enduring that sort of reality feels impossible even to me.





Messiah as a graduation work.

There aren't other people we can entrust it to. I only want to see you guys perform Messiah.

This time in Messiah - Hisui no Shou, Haku and Eiri graduate from the Church. That is to say, it's also a graduation from Messiah for Ono Kento.

On the last day of performances in Tokyo, the next production in the series Messiah - Hagane no Shou was announced. The junior Sakura cadets continue their training now Haku and Eiri have graduated from the Church. In there lie the bonds of the Messiah Ariga and Mamiya, and Shirasaki and Yuri.....

The existence of the new Sakura, the disappearance of Amane, Misu beginning to move, and a new case. All the speculation is starting to blend together.

What does Ono entrust to the remaining Messiah kohai?

There isn't anything I want to entrust to them. Messiah was originally a story of Shuusuke, Souma, Eiri and Haku. Now the four kouhai have joined in, the story of the original four has reached its end. We have passed down the baton of the Messiah series, it's not necessary for the remaining 4 people to continue what we have built up until now. As for what is important to do, I think that I want them to create a new Messiah. So that the things that we have built up won't be completely broken down after putting on the final touches. I think I will be satisfied that way. Things like "passing on the baton from us" or "just like us", I don't want to have to listen to those kind of words if at all possible. I don't know how everyone else thinks about it, because the four people who were part of the original work have already graduated, but I think they would also rather see a new sort of production being made. Haku and Eiri originally received the baton from Souma and Shuusuke when there were 4 people. I was aware we had to protect that, but now it's no longer like that. They're the original senpai who said to take care of us. The kouhai are going to build up a new period. Advice would then certainly be presumptuous.

For this reason it's becoming a new second chapter of Messiah. Ono purposefully, regardless of his own connection, can only wish for these four people to make a new Messiah. In Messiah - Hagane no Shou, one of the original Messiah who has graduated to become a Sakura appears, Ota Motohiro who plays Gojyo Souma is in the play.

I think he himself is the most complex. Even though leaving might have been something pleasant, his position has become the most difficult. Just like Misu, he might have to fight alone this time, he might not even have full knowledge of the battle. Even so, I want him to go for it.

In Messiah - Hisui no Shou, many ways of Haku's growth have been shown. I wonder how Ono himself felt while acting that out.

I wonder what Haku will become after this. I think he has grown a lot as a person, you can say he took off his mask. Maybe he wasn't even aware of the mask before.

I wonder if some part of Ono wants to be submerged in the world of Messiah just a little bit longer.

It's difficult. The hope might emerge that I could be brought back, but I think I don't want to come back if Ryo isn't there. If it's together with the two of us, I would consider it no matter what kind of situation. It isn't practical to be Haku without Eiri, and the actor Ono Kento also wouldn't be able to do it. So it depends on Matsuda Ryo whether I come back or not. After graduating under Kamikita-san and Ichijima-san and becoming Sakura, now they're in a position to be able to teach. So if we can return after 3 or 4 years, there's a possibility it could be as teachers. In that sense it could be interesting. I'd have to start wearing my Messiah coat on my shoulders. (laughs) So I'd like to be able to oversee everything.

When Ono Kento was asked what Messiah means, he gave this sort of answer once again after thinking about it.

I think Messiah has various meanings. There's a Messiah for each person. Whether it's family or friends, I think no one is doomed to be entirely by themselves. We're all together as well, and although it won't change that my Messiah is Matsuda Ryo, there are other people who each are like Messiah to me as well, like the people who gave their support, the staff and the rest of the cast. It might seem like a convenient answer, but I can't decide the order, I think it's a mystery Messiah. Thinking about the meaning of Messiah, it's very deep, and I don't have the will to pick a person like that. It's fine if you decide to not want to pick a single person. The word Messiah has taught me many things. It's not limited to people, I think it could be anything. It's possible for me to say that I was taught various things by Messiah, there's a strong feeling that I've learned.

It's been about 3 years since you've played Mitsumi Haku from Messiah - Dou no Shou. You're an actor graduating from the Messiah series. I asked what Messiah as a production means to Ono Kento.

In any case, it was a long period to perform. There's an emotional attachment. Many other works are going to follow in Ono Kento's life, but this seems so important that I'll take it to my grave.