#tomimori justin

previously:day 1 (shoen) report

guests: ryoutarou, justin, juudai, sonde

ryoutarou was the MC and he tried so hard bless his heart heehee but juudai and sonde, real life matsuhana, were ALLLL over him. they were giggling as he earnestly read from his script so he broke off–
ryoutarou: what?? I PRACTICED THIS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
sonde/juudai: he’s trying really hard, please cheer for him.
juudai: yesterday ryoutarou’s master (shishou) got everyone REALLY excited, we heard.
justin: that’s right. kenta-kun.
ryouotarou: today i will overcome him!!
juudai: that bar’s pretty high lol.
sonde: don’t worry. with me, you’re invincible. (ore ga ireba omae wa saikyou da.)

so then although of course ryoutarou did a great job overall, they jumped all over the little misses, like extra long pauses or flubbed lines. (ryoutarou: yesterday’s screening was shoen… how was it? justin: um, i wasn’t there???) to the point that sonde ran over, ducked down, hugged ryoutarou around the waist and yelled LET ME DO THE MC. they did the same cheering explanation/practice, only when they got to cheering for characters by name ryoutarou flubbed again–
ryoutarou: you cheer like if makki—makihara—
audience: AHAHAHA
sonde: (slinks toward him singing) ♫ tatoeba kimi ga iru dake de kokoro ga… ♫

(for the record “kimi ga iru dake de” is not in fact a makihara noriyuki song but it was immediately clear what sonde was going for, i think he got it mixed up with “donna toki mo”. XD)

then when they did a practice play on stage for us to try out our cheers on, sonde spiked on juudai’s head instead of the ball at first. (this is after he’d come running out at the beginning Extremely High Tension and spiked first on juudai then on ryoutarou, i assume he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach justin. XD)

ryoutarou: ok but let’s practice everyone’s names for real come on
sonde: makki
audience: MAKKI
juudai: mattsun
audience: MATTSUN
ryoutarou: tsukki
audienec: TSUKKI
justin: (pause)
sonde/juudai/ryoutarou: JUS
(fall about cackling pleased with themselves)
audience: jus! jus!
justin: my character has a name.
sonde/juudai/ryoutarou: asahi, yeah, asahi
justin: well, the cheering is up to you, so whatever you feel like–
audience: JUS!
justin: please stop.

last but not least, tobe tobe karasuno/ose ose seijou, but while yesterday the cheers led into the beginning of the screaming, today juudai specially asked to end with ennoshita’s don don-don-don clapping rhythem, and it turned out this was because he and sonde had practiced a pose ending with their hands on each other’s shoulders making dramatic faces at the audience. (aka the フォーリンラブ/fall in love pose if you are familiar with comedy. XD) like i said, real life matsuhana.

FINALLY, THE ACTUAL SCREENING sorry. XD during the opening, everyone got up and acted out their choreo – ryoutarou couldn’t wait for his own entrance, though, and got up and did oikawa’s part first, right down to the cutesy double v-sign. then for his own scene he held his thundersticks up to his ears as oversized headphones, ahahaha, and then started doing both tsukki and yamaguchi’s parts.

the cheering/whispering division was even worse than last night, juudai and sonde spent a solid half of their time their whispering to each other and cackling at their seijou teammates, they’re terrible. (i love them.) thanks to the screening last night, this time EVERYONE was yelling “don’t mind!!!” at kageyama failing to get into shiratorizawa and “nice catch!!!” at hinata picking up the ball. (and “nice receive!!” when kindaichi casually tossed the ball to kunimi. XD) juudai and sonde could not get over the calls for kindaichi, they were like, falling out of their chairs laughing. meanwhile, ryoutarou and justin got very into the MST3K aspect and were calling out their own oneliners on the regular. also since asahi doesn’t appear much in the first half, every time justin appeared in the background holding up the net etc he would jump up and run up to the screen and point himself out. then he got really into his own match and got up to yell (ofc) “SUGAAAA” and “uchikitte koso—”
audience: ACE!

it was fun to see who got different reactions at saien vs shoen – a BIG suga-san/ino hiroki crowd tonight, while other characters got squeals or name calls, at the loving closeups on suga the audience literally dissolved into dreamy sighs/whimpers of “KAWAII”. which, i mean, they’re not wrong. big seijou crowd as well, juudai and sonde looked so unimpressed with the screams for oikawa ahahaha.

the aftertalk: as i remember it, mainly embarrassing seijou stories from juudai. he explained that when seijou was the Seijou Chorus in white coats, naturally they’d take a breath before reciting their lines, then exposed the fact that arisawa shoutarou was so earnest and serious about being in unison that he would specially practice taking the breath and settling his shoulders, and as a result you can pick him out super easy in the background because when he takes a breath the movement goes from the top of his head all the way down his spine.

furthermore worry-san held auditions for the rap bit and the one most enthusiastic was kaito, all I’LL DO IT, I’LL DO IT. and then when he did…
juudai: the rap was me, sonde-san, kenshin.
sonde: i remember it super well.
juudai: we were lined up like this
sonde: and yamagiwa kaito-kun was?
juudai: not there.

when hinata gets hit in the face during the neighborhood association match, kindaichi runs out with the ball – sakamoto kouta also volunteered for this role. (“in shoen it was masa-san – wada masanari –” “BUT NOT KAITO.”) but he always had to hurry to get his coat zipped up and hood down in time. during one show, he was too rushed and just had to run out with his coat thrown on but not zipped or hooded – so instead of a faceless ensemble person it just looked like kindaichi was really cold and threw on a coat before running out to smack hinata in the face.

then ryoutarou said, “this is just between us here, but when were out on tour everyone got pretty close, right, and juudai and i were always sharing a room–
juudai: um what do you mean JUST BETWEEN US, that’s not a secret?? you’re making it sound like it’s a different kind of relationship–
justin/sonde: (nod nod nod) ahh, i see, i see how it is.

oh, and of course ryoutarou and justin dragged ken-chan for his very unique interpretation of the choreo. XDD

ryoutarou: so, after today, are there any of the other screenings you want to join?
juudai/sonde: …shousha to haisha.
sonde: obviously.
juudai: it’s the only other one we’re in.

then ryoutarou and justin started talking about – was it hajimari no kyojin? and it just KEPT GOING so eventually juudai and sonde turned toward each other and started a faux-conversation like, "what are you doing tomorrow?” “nothing much just mumble mumble” “oh yeah cool sounds fun” until karasuno noticed. “oh, no, go ahead, we’re talking, it’s fine.”

oh yeah and ryoutarou mentioned that HE would be back for shousha to haisha.
ryoutarou: i’m supposed to be the MC but… that might change after tonight.
ryoutarou: what if we make kairi the MC
audience: (screams)
ryoutarou: I WON’T GIVE UP TIL I OVERCOME MY MASTER
sonde: …then why did you ask.

finally, they also each said a few words about “saikyou no team” – not as heavy as the shoen quartet, iirc, but nice! juudai talked about joining in from saien, sonde talked about how watching saien made him look forward to rejoining the production for their last show, justin talked about all the changes in and how they planned to do their best on behalf of the cast members who’d left as well, and i can’t even remember what ryoutarou said because i, along with the rest of the audience and guests, was hanging on the edge of my seat to see if he’d get through it without tearing up. XDD IT WAS CLOSE BUT HE MANAGED, justin and juudai both had these evil grins like they knew exactly what was going on ahahaha.

tonight, fukkatsu with shouri, naoki, arai sho, and kimura atsushi! i’ll check in again tomorrow!

Translator’s Notes:
1. This interview was conducted before Hajimari no Kyojin rehearsals began.
2. Engeki Haikyuu is rendered as “Haikyuu Stage” and Gekidan Haikyuu as “Haikyuu Theater Troupe” – not sure if I will stick with this in the future but. for now. Individual productions are given their more-or-less official translations.
3. If you’d like to take a look at the original text yourself, @engekihaikyuuhaskindly provided scans.

Believing in themselves as they stand at a new starting line, refining and tempering their specialties. This is the latest model of Karasuno, racing toward their autumn goal.

Question: Suga-san, you’ve said “one of the themes [of the previous show, Summer of Evolution] is ‘What if Haikyuu Stage were produced in a different way…?’”

Suga: Yeah, yeah. Thinking back, it was a mega-experiment. Even at practice, as the days went by we’d lose the ability to tell, like, “is this actually working?”

Tomimori: Starting from the staging of the opening it was completely different from what we’d done before. I still remember the “what just happened??” buzz from opening day. (laughter)

Suga: But the Hamlet opening was created expanding on a minor element there in the original manga. The previous show is the one most influenced by that theatric frame of mind. I think it showed “the point of theater”. So coming from that to this production, I’m really excited. Because in a way, we’re back to doing our specialty.

Q: That tough “unrelenting matches” structure that’s peak Haikyuu Stage.

Suga: Right. When we get back to that, I myself am really interested to see what we’ll be like now that we’ve been through all this experimentation.

Q: Kageyama-san, last show was your first performance with the Haikyuu Theater Troupe.

Kageyama: I think it was easier for me to come in there rather than suddenly come in for another match like “Winners and Losers” – I could enjoy the character and get a grasp on interpersonal relationships. The Haikyuu Stage rehearsal atmosphere and creative methods are completely different from other productions, so I was able to adjust to that as well. Kenta would listen to pretty much anything, so from the beginning I could really trust and be up front with him. The whole company has that kind of attitude, and I think that’s why I was able to build a relationship with them as Kageyama.

Q: Tanaka Naoki-san, this production will be your first performance.

Naoki: Yes. I actually saw the last show, and at first when The Moon came out I was like “Whaa, this is how it’s starting?” While it was kinda surprising (laughter), I could feel the cast’s enthusiasm and it ended up being a really valuable time for me as an actor. But as I was watching, I was thinking “Aww, nice, how fun,” and I started to relax, naturally. More than anything it seemed like the cast were having fun, and they won me over just like anyone in the audience. I knew they were acting, but it really seemed like they were genuinely enjoying themselves… I’m glad my wish back then – “I want to be in a play like this” – came true.

Tomimori: Last show was fun. We’d go “ohshit” when we knocked the barbecue equipment over and stuff. (laughter) The set was different, and there were a lot of accidents. (laughter)

Suga: Jus was our ideaman, he had all kinds of suggestions from rehearsal.

Tomimori: Well… that’s the kind of place this is, right, it’s fun when everyone shares their ideas to create something together. And especially since part of “Summer of Evolution” was about a play, there was a lot of room for creativity. I hope this time we can think about things from a different angle.

Q: And then Tanaka Keita-san, you’re back as Sawamura Daichi for the first time since shoen.

Keita: Yes. I also saw the last show in theaters. Everyone doing Shakespeare was so unexpected and fun. Because I knew the next part of the plot, I followed the story thinking, “They’re all going to get stronger to face the next thing, huh.” You could really see the steps leading up to them taking flight during the matches coming up now, and I wanted to carry those feelings over.

Q: After training camp there are two matches, Johzenji and Wakutani Minami.

Suga: I feel like it resembles the approach of “Karasuno, Revival!”… Well, for Karasuno, the keys this time will be Kawahara Kazuma who’s been waiting in the wings and Tanaka Keita who we’re welcoming back. All of a sudden Sawamura has to shoulder some big things.

Keita: That’s right.

Q: Furthermore… one gets the impression that those two aside, the drama accumulates for Karasuno as the two matches continue.

Suga: First of all, making one show out of Johzenji and Wakunan is, like, this is Haikyuu Stage, quite a challenge. I think. In the original, both matches are concluded relatively easily, or rather… a lot happens, but in terms of the result they’re “safe” matches for Karasuno, so it’s not like we couldn’t do both matches in thirty minutes, hypothetically. But to spend that extra time on them, and get a real grip on the drama portrayed there, is particularly Haikyuu Stage-esque. The Tokoname match was the same. “Including these stories is what makes Haikyuu Stage what it is.” The way this show pays close attention to that point is something I really like.

Tomimori: You’ve got Ushiwaka there too so… right? “Born from the concrete.”

Suga: That Hinata/Ushiwaka scene is so good. As the protagonist that’s a point I have to deliver on. I have to show it right. I still don’t know how I’m going to express it but… I’m thinking about it a lot. I want to make it a standout piece.

Q: How about the rest of you? What are your personal issues and themes this time?

Suga: From what I’ve heard, Tanaka-kun [Naoki] has some pretty good moves.

Tomimori: Yeah, yeah. Our rising star.

Naoki: ….is what I would like to be, but. Sugawara has the feel of a character that supports everyone from the shadows, but I hope that both on stage and in rehearsal, my joining in will result in a new performance expression, even just slightly. I can teach　people acrobatics, too.

Suga: That’s awesome.

Naoki: Since I have this special opportunity, I want to take on the character from a slightly different angle than before, to add a new shade to him. In the original manga, at first Sugawara has a very earnest and kind image, but recently there have been these spots where he kind of flips out, like, “Oh, there’s another side to him,” so I want to show that part on stage, too. I mean, I’m pretty competitive. (laughs) I want to make the most of that “get your teeth into it” part. I hope I can portray a Sugawara unique to me, one that everyone will accept, while at the same time carrying on the Sugawara of previous Haikyuu Stages.

Keita: I feel that this is a part that really makes you understand the importance of the captain, through these two matches. Sawamura talks a lot during these matches. More than ever before. There’s a ton of drama in the run up to switching with Ennoshita, so if we get those parts right, the parts like “Give it all you’ve got” and the collision and injury will be even more impactful.

Kageyama: I heard that the Johzenji and Wakutani casts are both physically talented, so with rival schools spurring us on, how high can we go? I think the average level demanded of us is going to rise pretty high, so I’ve been thinking all over again about what it would take to beat that. This is my own first official match, so I want to put that this-isn’t-practice nervousness to use. We can’t lose, right.

Tomimori: Yeah. I… you know, personally I enjoy it when I have some challenges, whether in rehearsal or on stage. So I wonder what issue I should choose this time… Hm, maybe I’ll lose some weight.

Suga: He always says that!

Kageyama/Keita/Naoki/Tomimori: (explosion of laughter)

Tomimori: No, when we go on tour there’s delicious food everywhere… Especially Fukuoka, Asahi-san likes tonkotsu ramen.

Suga: Oh, yeah, Asahi-san does like that, so that’s fine… yeah right?!

Keita/Naoki: (laughter)

Kageyama: The lifts get heavier day by day, so that’s something to watch out for. (laughter)

Suga: But in previous productions, you were always playing in the match. Jus and… Shio-san.

Tomimori: Yeah. Alllllways playing. Furthermore… we’re the relatively older guys. (laughter) Well, as long as everyone seeing that cheers us on.

Naoki: I’ve only seen the finished product, so I’m wondering what rehearsals are like, with so much going on… This is a totally unknown world for me.

Suga: It’s fine. You’ll get used to it within three days.

Naoki: That’s pretty high speed! I’ll have to keep up.

Suga: Putting together the matches is really something we do together, so go step by step and say “I want to include this move” and you’ll be fine.

Tomimori: Karasuno in particular are self-centered, so if you don’t speak up for yourself you won’t have anything left to do.

Kageyama: I learned that last time. (laughter)

Keita: There are also times when all of a sudden we’ll break down the thing we’ve been working on and start again from zero. But to get past that and successfully usher in a completed show is really rewarding.

Suga: Speaking of, have you learned to count yet?

Q: Eh, you mean…

Suga: He was really bad at first. (laughter)

Suga: Bad, right?

Keita: So after that… when I went to see the show as a spectator, I’d find myself following everyone along… counting the beat…

Suga/Kageyama/Naoki/Tomimori: (laughter)

Keita: I’m fine now. No need for taps. (laughter)

Q: Rehearsals begin soon. A new Karasuno will take shape.

Suga: I’m going to be hard on everyone this time. We’ve got a lot of new people, and we tried so many new things during “Summer of Evolution”, that I don’t think it would be good to get too caught up in novelty, unnaturally so… I want us to take a steady look around and lay some firm groundwork. Though I also want the new people to go all out in expressing their individuality… In any case, I want Karasuno to hunker down and solidify the team. Quickly identifying a weapon unique to us, then refining and intensifying it… that’s what I want to focus on.

Tomimori: Karasuno’s weapon, huh… That would be “passion”, no?

Suga: Right? That super analog sweating our hearts out thing suits us, I think.

Tomimori: For us third years, we’re standing at a new starting line in this form. I want us to rely on each other as we build up our strength and trust, both professionally and personally, with an eye to both “The Start of the Giant” and our final production this autumn.

Keita: Yeah. I want to connect this to everything the Haikyuu Theater Troupe’s done so far, but without abandoning our attacking mindset. And, amidst that, to convey a proper sense of “captaincy”.

Naoki: I don’t want to just get along with everyone, I want to earn their trust on the basis of my ability and contribute to the team. Cheers!

Kageyama: I want to prioritize the balance of the team even more… As Kageyama-Tatsuya-the-actor, I think of this show as a real fight. Not exactly that I’m breaking my own limits but… I’m going to raise myself even higher and drive toward the autumn goal!

Suga: Now, with our graduation announced and the future decided, we’ve truly, genuninely accumulated a lot here, bit by bit… Until the very end, I want us to be a Karasuno that makes everyone say “They were Haikyuu Stage.’” I think we will be. As Hinata Shouyou I’m going to work harder than anyone else this time. And I think if everyone else also “lives” their characters on stage, that’s the most important. It should absolutely be an exhilirating production—no, we’ll make sure it is! We’ll be waiting for you.

hirokiiiiino: