( interview yuuki, tomoru and taishi for messiah - illip february 12th 2017 )

[devilism]

The bonds and spy actions of the beautiful men who keep gathering enthusiastic support from women. A rehearsal report and interview of the stage play Messiah - Akatsuki no Toki

The Messiah series that has crazy popularity, first derived from a novel but which has then become stage plays, movies and a television drama. Now, for the first time in two years, a new stage play as part of a "new series" will be performed from February 11th on.

The story in this work is about spies (intending to kill, also known as "Sakura") who belong to a fictional organisation called Special Public Security Bureau Section 5. They rely on an absolute partner called a "Messiah", the only person they're allowed to form an emotional bond with, throwing themselves into their duty that always toes close to death. It's a unique and wonderful world, a story that shows the extreme bonds between fellow male spies and extreme action. Due to these various mixed together elements, the series has gotten a lot of enthusiastic support, mainly from women.

Continuing from the previous installment in the series, the main character this time is Shirasaki Mamoru, played by Akazawa Tomoru, who is given his graduation mission after his Messiah, Yuuri Kaito, disappeared.

Why does this series fascinate so many people and why is it so popular? While carrying out an interview with Akazawa Tomoru, Izawa Yuuki and Sugie Taishi, who appear in this installment, I tried to find the secret behind this question after being welcomed into the practice hall.

What I understood is that among the few stage plays that get turned into series, the Messiah series is checked out by not only people who love stage plays, but also by girls who like entertainment, aka who usually enjoy movies and TV dramas.

A world with a unique aesthetic, spies and action, handsome actors that you can watch and friendship full of firm male bonding.

A stage play as a reality you can experience.

It doesn't exist in movies, nor in dramas. Right here is a space you definitely can't miss if you like entertainment.


Please all tell us about the charm of "Messiah".

Akazawa: Following the name "Messiah", which refers to the pairs, it's a story about bonds. Moreover, various other elements like spies, gun action and life and death come together in it as well. Since Messiah doesn't use stand-ins, your role can only be played by you. That's why the affection towards a role increases. When your role progresses throughout the series, it's the most interesting to see the change in that role while we grow both as actors and as people.

Izawa: I think wars that might be possible in the future like information wars are interesting since it feels both like fiction, but also like the near future, something close to yourself. And just like Tomoru said just now, the bonds and the action are also highlights.

Sugie: Although the setting is in the future, it also feels realistic. I think that you can see the growth of the young Sakura while the difficulties they have to confront also grow as friendship, past events and individual enemies all pass by in the series.

Please tell us about the highlights of this installment, Akatsuki no Toki.

Izawa: While I was playing Ariga, he's experienced several things like the betrayal and death of His Messiah and his new Messiah, Kagami.. He had to get over several things and his humanity started to show up more, so I'd be glad if you could watch that, and also how he's dealing with his new Messiah.


Izawa and Sugie during practice.
Akazawa: Since it's a "new series" this time around, you can look forward to seeing new Sakura cadets and villains enter the stage and see how they're involved in the series. As for me personally, since I'm graduating in a situation where my Messiah isn't present, I'd be glad if you could pay attention to how that will turn out.

Izawa: I personally think that this time's Akatsuki no Toki was made for that scene. Until now in the series any graduation was a brilliant event where you were facing forward. But since until now no one has graduated by themselves, speaking as Izawa Yuuki, I'd like to help bring this graduation to a magnificent level this time.


What kind of conclusion is awaiting them...?
How is the atmosphere during practice?

Akazawa: Although the work is grave, the cast is full of bright people. They're so congenial that it's overwhelming, it's peaceful. (laughs)


On this day before practice started there was a surprise birthday party held by the staff, and so the cast and staff all started off very harmoniously. Even as practice progressed the tension and concentration kept up, and you could feel the passion of all the people present for this production.
Practice gets subconsciously more passionate when the sound is used as well. (laughs) Especially when the sound effects are used for battle scenes, it makes you subconsciously more excited and powerful while acting.

Sugie: When the tension gets too much, even I end up like "it's dangerous, it's dangerous!" (laughs) During practice we work on the degree of passion so it doesn't show up more than the emotions.


This expression of Izawa's during the action! Even though it's just practice, he's transmitting a tremendous drive.

In the action scenes the actors brilliantly put together the music, sound effects and battle movements. That beautiful and live feeling of overflowing force of amazingly handsome men is a must see!
Izawa: This time around I really like Tomoru's opening action. The tense feeling of a play beginning also comes out on the stage, it's a very important scene. I was the one who did it last time around, but it made me really nervous since I could only rely on myself. Since your mind and body can't gradually get adjusted to it when there's no action, I was always worried about whether it'd go as well during the performance as it did during practice.

Sugie: Taking care of the beginning is a big responsibility. I could really feel a sense of responsibility from Tomoru-kun this time, that he was going to carry this production on his back. Although I'm not sure to what extent I can be a source of strength for him, I still feel like I want to at least somehow support him.

Akazawa: I'm very thankful. I actually really feel that sort of feeling coming from these two and everyone else. Since there were always sets of 2 people until now, two people could always lead the group together. But this time around there's only me by myself. Because of that I could really feel Izawa and Taishi worrying over me and watching my back. It's very reassuring.

There must be a lot of teamwork since you've been doing it together as a series.

Izawa: Although that's a thing as well, we were all also simply just pulled along by Tomoru's approach and thoughts. We were charmed by it.


Akazawa, who yelled as the leader of the troupe to everyone else before practice, "let's do our best!" Although he tightened up the atmosphere of the practice hall during practice, during breaks he had a friendly chat with Izawa, Sugie and other actors, and there was a very harmonious and good atmosphere.
Finally, please say a few things to people who are interested in this stage play.

Sugie: Of course Messiah is about action, everyone is acting out things that aren't easy to do. But I love this place so much since everyone doesn't run away and doesn't get discouraged. Instead they just goes for it to tackle their role straight on. If even one person would skip out on that, the whole world that this production tries to create would collapse. Since this is such a deep production which all of us have an emotional attachment to and passion for, I hope to be able to show that passion to everyone.


The same scenes are repeated many times over, each time coupled with a discussion. Both the director and the actors talk about their intepretations and repeatedly discuss how the fine details of the acting have to be carried out. By discussing why they did a specific thing, the persuasive power of each scene is enhanced.

The discussion gets more intense, and the actors think about how to apply the ideas.

All actors watch the acting of the others with great seriousness and think about various things.

Spirit and force fill the practice hall, even though you usually wouldn't see those during practice. Akazawa (on the left) showed acting that hit you straight in the heart.

Izawa: I think that for people who don't go see stage plays, this production can show people the feeling of seeing the magnificence of a live space and experience. During the play you can feel various things in that space like the breathing and action of the actors and the moment where the emotions of us actors and the audience get linked. An entertainment space with a live feeling that you can't find in movies is born. I'd be glad if even people who have never come to see it could experience the action, the live acting and the world of Messiah, even if it's just once. We also want to show off good things through trial and error and repeated discussions.

Akazawa: For the people who already know about Messiah this is a new series, and I think they'll be able to enjoy a production that's a little different from everything up until now. Even for the people who have never seen a stage play, there's a lot of highlights like the action in the beginning and a lot of fun entertainment-like things that could get women worked up. We want to give our all to make it something that's worthy of being thought of like that.

( link to the original here. )