2015: Performing lives one after another at a frenetic pace

– Let’s begin right at the start of 「BanG Dream!」 and revisit, a year at a time, the four and a half years since the 2015 debut of Poppin’Party, or Popipa. Incidentally, do you often get chances like this to be nostalgic?

Once in a while I rewatch the Blu-ray lives. I also watch highlights of our live concerts on the TV program 「BanG Dream! STATION」 on TOKYO MX, but that just pains me. I’ll go “Ah~!” whenever I think about all the things that we were unable to accomplish in our performances.

– I apologize for putting you through this again, but let’s start our recap with the year 2015.

2015

Apr 18 「BanG_Dream! 1st LIVE 『In Spring, We Started a Band!』」 at Shimokitazawa GARDEN, Tokyo Jun 14 「BanG_Dream! 2nd LIVE 『Instruments × Girls = Justice!』」 at Shinjuku LOFT, Tokyo Aug 15 「BanG_Dream! 3rd LIVE 『It's Summer! Ban-Odori!』」 at Shibuya duo MUSIC EXCHANGE, Tokyo Sep 18 「BanG_Dream! RADIO!!!!!」 begins broadcast Sep 26 「BanG_Dream! Kansai Expedition Live 『BanG_Dream! Won't you come to Kobe?』 at Uwaya Theater, Kobe Oct 11 「BanG_Dream! 4th LIVE 『Welcome! Poppin☆PARTY!!!!!』」 at Differ Ariake, Tokyo

– During 「BanG_Dream! 1st LIVE 『In Spring, We Started a Band!』」, you appeared on stage with Nishimoto Rimi (Ba.) and Itou Ayasa (Key.) as a band for the first time. Do you remember anything about it?

All of us were just very nervous. Rimirin (Nishimoto), with her prior experiences in a band, had taught us a lot during our practice sessions. But this was her first time performing in front of an audience, so she was extremely nervous. There was a sofa in our backstage dressing room, and the whole time she was curled up in the little space between that sofa and the wall (laughs).

– Since you were active as a solo artist before Popipa, I’m guessing you were more or less used to this?

Even so, I had never performed in a band before, so my mind was distressed by uncomfortable thoughts such as “What kind of reception will we get?” and “Will we be able to perform as well as we had done in practice?” But after finishing the 1st song and seeing the crowd really enjoy it, all the nervousness and anxiety went away.

– Otsuka Sae (Gt.) was next to be welcomed into the band. And it was live after live after live, with only a month’s rest in between.

Indeed, we were performing lives on a hectic schedule back then. We mostly did cover songs, but they were modified to make it easier for us to perform, so they were not as complex as the songs we perform nowadays. But we had different songs for each live, and now when I think back, I really don’t know how we managed to deliver all those lives… I remember in that year we also sold tickets to the audience by hand and gave out sample CDs.

– At 「BanG_Dream! 4th LIVE 『Welcome! Poppin☆PARTY!!!!!』」 on October 11, Ohashi Ayaka (Dr.) was introduced and the band was fully assembled.

The reveal of Hasshi (Ohashi) was greeted with a huge cheer from the audience. This was also the point in time when the feeling of “We’re standing on the start line at last” welled up within me. I remember holding back my tears as I sang 「STAR BEAT! ~Hoshi no Kodou~」.

– We didn’t exactly follow the chronological order, but in September, 「BanG_Dream! RADIO!!!!!」 began its broadcast. In other interviews, you mentioned that the members have gotten closer thanks to this radio program. Is it because you all don’t really talk during practice sessions?

During band practice, we really cannot afford to talk about anything else. The place for that is the radio show, where we got to know each other’s personal side. These days we talk about almost anything, but back then we were focused on getting ourselves recognized as a band.

2016: Rethinking what it means to be in a band

2016

Feb 24 Poppin'Party 1st Single 「Yes! BanG_Dream!」 released Apr 24 「BanG Dream! First☆LIVE Sprin'PARTY 2016!」 at Stellar Ball, Tokyo Aug 3 Poppin'Party 2nd Single 「STAR BEAT ~Hoshi no Kodou~」 released Aug 27 「Animelo Summer Live 2016 -TOKI-」 debut appearance Oct 3 「BanG Dream! Poppin'Radio!」 begins broadcast Nov 13 「BanG Dream! Second☆LIVE Starrin'PARTY 2016!」 at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL, Tokyo Dec 7 Poppin'Party 3rd Single 「Hashiri Hajimeta Bakari no Kimi ni / Teardrops」 released

– 2016 opens with the release of the 1st single, which is followed by 「BanG Dream! First☆LIVE」. There is a sense that things are now truly getting underway. 「Yes! BanG_Dream!」, the song that you have been singing throughout the past year, has made it to the 1st single as a title song. That must have meant a lot to you.

I vividly recall having a difficult time with the recording of 「Yes! BanG_Dream!」. During my first recording session, I found that I just couldn’t sing. After some discussion with the staff, we decided to postpone it to another time.

– What is the reason for that?

I tried and tried but I wasn’t making any progress. Because this was the 1st single, I kept thinking about how this would be the song which would hopefully attract more people to listen to us… These thoughts clouded my mind and I couldn’t sing as well as I should have. Looking back on it now, I probably caused a lot of inconvenience to people around me. What on earth was I doing…

– You certainly poured all your emotions into that song. In April, 「BanG Dream! First☆LIVE Sprin’PARTY 2016!」 was held at Stellar Ball.

The five of us had performed together in a live the previous year, but Hasshi only took part in two songs. This event, however, was five of us from start to finish, so this time there was a sense of accomplishment that we did our best as a band. At this time we were still doing quite a number of cover songs. Besides myself, the other members had their own solos too. Also, we wanted to make full use of the stage, so we adopted the use of headset microphones. For our subsequent lives we would alternate between headset mics and normal mics depending on the song, but at the start it was quite challenging for us as we hadn’t gotten used to them.

[TN: Cover songs: Aimi – GLAMOROUS SKY, Rimi – God knows…, Sae – Sorairo Days, Ayasa – DISCOTHEQUE, Ayaka – Ichiban no Takaramono]

– Then in August, about a year after debut, Poppin’Party performs at 「Animelo Summer Live 2016 -TOKI-」. But you’ve performed on the stage at Keyaki Hiroba during Anisama 2012, as a solo artist. [TN: Keyaki Hiroba is an open area next to Saitama Super Arena. It has a stage to host a small-scale event in conjunction with the main Anisama in SSA.]

That’s true, but I’ve actually participated in 2010 as an Anisama dancer. That’s what makes stepping onto that stage as a performer again, this time as part of Popipa, particularly moving and enjoyable. However…

– However?

The anime hasn’t come out yet at that time, so we went out there with the mission of promoting ourselves, or rather, we wanted people to know what 「BanG Dream!」 is all about. It goes without saying that I had a mental picture of what I wanted to present for this special 「Anisama」 stage. As it turned out, it was a performance that was far from ideal. After finishing 「STAR BEAT! ~Hoshi no Kodou~」 and returning backstage, I was so frustrated with myself that I broke down and cried. I thought to myself, “The next time we’re invited, I’ll definitely show them all the progress I’ll have made.”

– It looked like an impressive debut performance from the outside, but we never know what goes on behind the scenes.

「Anisama」 taught me a great deal. Especially these words by Saitou Kouji-san, the producer of 「Anisama」 in 2016. He personally came down to our studio and said to me, “A band is made up of nothing but the sounds from each of its members. Take charge of your own sound.” It made me realize that I was probably using my band inexperience as an excuse, and I began to understand how the five of us make up one band. My perspective towards my bandmates changed completely because of that.

– I think you successfully avenged that setback with your 2018 and 2019 「Anisama」 performances. What other memories from 2016 do you have?

In December when we released our 3rd single 「Hashiri Hajimeta Bakari no Kimi ni / Teardrops」, the advertisements were all over the electronic billboards. The voices of Kasumi and the sounds of Popipa resounded through the streets. It made me really emotional to see for myself how big 「BanG Dream!」 has become, and I took photos and shared them with my parents (laughs).

2017: The anime and game further increases the popularity of 「BanG Dream!」, but behind the scenes…

2017

Jan ~ Apr TV anime 「BanG Dream!」 airs Feb 1 Poppin'Party 4th Single 「Tokimeki Experience!」 released Feb 2 「Gekkan Bushiroad TV with BanG Dream!」 starts broadcast Feb 5 「BanG Dream! 3rd☆LIVE Sparklin'PARTY 2017!」 at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL, Tokyo Feb 15 Poppin'Party 5th Single 「Kirakira datoka Yume datoka ~Sing Girls~」 released Mar 16 Smartphone game 「BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!」 launched Apr 19 Roselia 1st Single 「BLACK SHOUT」 released May 10 Poppin'Party 6th Single 「Mae e Susume! / Yumemiru Sunflower」 released Jun 28 Roselia 2nd Single 「Re:birth day」 released Jun 30 「Roselia 1st Live 『Rosenlied』」 at Shibuya duo MUSIC EXCHANGE, Tokyo Jul 12 Pastel＊Palettes 1st Single 「Shuwarin☆Drea~min」 released Jul 29 「Roselia 1st Live 『Rosenlied』」 additional show at Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo Aug 2 Hello, Happy World! 1st Single 「Egao no Orchestra」 released Aug 21 「BanG Dream! 4th☆LIVE Miracle PARTY 2017! at Nippon Budokan」 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Aug 30 Roselia 3rd Single 「Nesshoku Starmine」 released Sep 6 Afterglow 1st Single 「That Is How I Roll!」 released Sep 20 Poppin'Party 7th Single 「Time Lapse」 released Oct 8 「Roselia 2nd Live 『Zeit』」 at Makuhari Messe Event Hall, Chiba Oct 29 「GaruParty! in Osaka」 at INTEX Osaka, Osaka Nov 4 「Poppin'Party Fan Meeting 2017!」 at Team Smile Toyosu PIT Nov 29 Roselia 4th Single 「ONENESS」 released Dec 13 Poppin'Party 8th Single 「Christmas no Uta」 released

– The popularity of 「BanG Dream!」 seemed to receive a huge boost following the airing of the anime in January 2017 and the launch of the smartphone game 「BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!」 in March. Let’s start with Season 1 of the anime. Do you have any memories regarding that?

I struggled a lot with the recording of the anime. I wasn’t able to match my acting with the image of Kasumi that 「BanG Dream!」 was going for. I did lots of retakes because of that, including the whole of episode 1.

– But I’m sure the repeated recordings did wonders to your growth over the course of the season.

I felt incompetent in everything I did… All I wanted was to portray how amazing this girl Kasumi is, but I was unable to convey that through the recordings, and it made me frustrated at how useless I was. In the anime’s 「2nd Season」 I think I was able to make Kasumi shine more brightly, because I’d been recording consistently for 「Garupa」.

– So 「Garupa」 in a way enabled you to solidify your image of Kasumi. It can be said that this game helped to drive the popularity of the 「BanG Dream!」 project to the next level.

「Garupa」 has lots of cover songs, so even people who haven’t heard of any original 「BanG Dream!」 songs can still pick it up and find it enjoyable. By making it easier to get into the game, I think we were able to get ourselves known by more people.

– The 「BanG Dream!」 lives attract a fair number of female fans. Might that also be due to 「Garupa」?

The game itself is fun, but I think the appeal of 「Garupa」 lies in its characters and stories. That’s perhaps the reason it’s so well-loved regardless of gender.

– 2017 is also the year when Roselia began ramping up their activities and became a hot topic.

In February, Roselia made a surprise appearance at 「BanG Dream! 3rd☆LIVE」 and performed live for the first time. Not only had they captured Roselia’s style and worldview to perfection, but it seemed like right from the start, everyone in the band already had a clear idea of what they needed to show to the fans. That was a rude awakening for me and I thought to myself, “It will never do for Popipa to remain like this”.

Breaking the record for being the fastest to reach Nippon Budokan

– 「BanG Dream! 3rd☆LIVE」 was also where the Nippon Budokan live in August was announced. At the time you said, “I never thought I’d be performing at Nippon Budokan in my lifetime”.

I’d never once imagined myself performing guitar and singing at the holy ground for bands. Not even in my dreams (laughs). It’s true that ever since 「BanG Dream!」 started we often talked about “Someday we’ll have a live at Nippon Budokan”, but my first reaction when I got the news was “Really? So fast?” I was shocked.

– Indeed, Poppin’Party broke the record and became the fastest act since debut to perform at Nippon Budokan at the time.

All of us were fully committed to the live. We did everything we could, from doing our best in practice to racking our brains on the staging. We just went all out.

– I heard that the MC segments for the Nippon Budokan live were so much of a concern right till the end, that all of you hardly slept during the week before the live.

There were lots of things to settle on top of rehearsing. Even the setlist was changed last-minute and we had to relearn and practice the whole sequence from scratch… We were full of anxiety and insecurity. Every day was chaotic.

– In addition to this being Popipa’s Budokan debut, the circular stage in the middle that provided an all-round 360° view was also something extraordinary.

We had initial worries about whether we could fill the venue, but the fans came in droves to support us. When you stand on that stage, you actually feel really close to the audience. That’s why I love it so much.

– There was a memorable moment during the final MC segment, when you said “I didn’t do much as a leader…” only to be met by disagreement from all the other members.

There was just so much preparation to be done, and everyone was busy double-checking all the possible events that could crop up so as not to leave any regrets. I wasn’t able to communicate with the other members as often as I should have. So I was reflecting on that. We really should be working as one to deal with all this, but it was hard to find the time. I felt I didn’t do my part as a leader.

– Has your stance on being a leader changed since that moment of reflection?

Instead of me pulling the others along, I have everyone walking freely now. Looking back, Nippon Budokan was undoubtedly the highest point of 2017. Those were the toughest days of these last five years.

2018: The three bands Popipa, Roselia, and RAS keeping the franchise in constant excitement



2018

Jan 17 Pastel＊Palettes 2nd Single 「Yura・Yura Ring-Dong-Dance」 released Jan 31 Afterglow 2nd Single 「Hey-day Capriccio」 released Feb 14 Hello, Happy World! 2nd Single 「Goka! Gokai!? Phantom Thief!」 released Mar 21 Poppin'Party 9th Single 「CiRCLING」 released Roselia 5th Single 「Opera of the wasteland」 released Mar 25 「THE THIRD (tentative) 1st Live」 at Shimokitazawa GARDEN, Tokyo May 2 Roselia 1st Album 「Anfang」 released May 12 「BanG Dream! 5th☆LIVE Day1:Poppin'Party HAPPY PARTY 2018!」 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 1~3, Chiba May 13 「BanG Dream! 5th☆LIVE Day2:Roselia -Ewigkeit-」 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 1~3, Chiba Jul ~ Dec Mini-anime 「BanG Dream! GARUPA☆PICO」 airs Jul 11 Poppin'Party 10th Single 「Double Rainbow / Saikou! (Saa Ikou!)」 released Jul 17 「THE THIRD (tentative) 2nd Live」 at Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka, Tokyo Jul 25 Roselia 6th Single 「R」 released Aug 8 Pastel＊Palettes 3rd Single 「Mou Ichido Luminous」 released Aug 22 Kasumi×Ran×Aya×Yukina×Kokoro Single 「Picotto! Papitto!! GARUPA☆PICO!!!」 released Sep 17 「Roselia Fan Meeting 2018」 at Culttz Kawasaki, Kanagawa Sep 24 Aya×Moca×Lisa×Kanon×Tsugumi Digital Single 「Hitori Janain Dakara」 released Sep 26 THE THIRD (tentative) Album 「THE THIRD (tentative) 1st Live」 released Oct 3 Poppin'Party 11th Single 「Girl's Code」 released Oct 31 Afterglow 3rd Single 「Tsunagu, Soramoyou」 released Nov 7 「Roselia Live 『Vier』」 at Shinagawa Stellar Ball, Tokyo Nov 21 Glitter*Green Single 「Don't be afraid!」 released Dec 5 Hello, Happy World! 3rd Single 「Kimi ga Inakucha!」 released Dec 7 「BanG Dream! 6th☆LIVE RAISE A SUILEN 『Brave New World』」 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo Dec 8 「BanG Dream! 6th☆LIVE Poppin'Party 『Let's Go! Poppin'Party!』」 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo Dec 12 Poppin'Party 12th Single 「KIZUNA MUSIC♪」 released Roselia 7th Single 「BRAVE JEWEL」 released RAISE A SUILEN 1st Single 「R·I·O·T」 released

– THE THIRD (tentative), now RAISE A SUILEN, held their first live in Mar 2018.

I remember watching THE THIRD (tentative)’s first live from the side of the stage and being blown away. Their performance was astoundingly good even then. I already knew how good they were, as they were the backing band for the various 「BanG Dream!」 bands, but they took it up a notch for their solo live. Their 2nd Live, when TsumuTsumu (Tsumugi Risa) joined, was also really impressive. It was a great example on how the addition of a DJ can make a live more entertaining and visually compelling.

– It was in that 2nd Live that THE THIRD (tentative) changed their name to RAISE A SUILEN, and the year was rounded off with them, Poppin’Party, and Roselia taking turns to hold lives.

As for Popipa, we performed at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall in May and Ryogoku Kokugikan in December, both large venues. The live in May was when we changed our approach to guitar playing. We’d discussed the idea during the Nippon Budokan live the previous year, but 「BanG Dream! 5th☆LIVE」 was when it was implemented.

– More specifically, what was the change?

In the past, because we wanted to accurately reproduce the sounds from the original using both Saechi’s (Otsuka) guitar and my guitar, I had to sing and play complicated phrases at the same time. We’ve cut back on those complicated phrases now so that I can concentrate better on the singing.

– You must have had a pretty hard time back then. What if you were asked to revert to that earlier style?

I probably couldn’t do it (laughs). Although for some older songs like 「Poppin’Shuffle」, I had gotten so used to playing in the old style that people often tell me “You don’t have to play that now”.

– How was the live at Ryogoku Kokugikan in December?

We didn’t include our usual cover song and acoustic segments, and Hasshi used the standing drums for the first time. We had an eye on our return to Nippon Budokan the following year, and so we experimented with quite a few things in this live in preparation for that.

2019: Rising up to new challenges

2019

Jan ~ Mar Anime 「BanG Dream! 2nd Season」 airs Jan 30 Poppin'Party 1st Album 「Poppin'on!」 released Feb 20 Poppin'Party 13th Single 「Jumpin'」 released Afterglow 4th Single 「Y.O.L.O!!!!!」 released Pastel＊Palettes 4th Single 「Tenka Toitsu A to Z☆」 released Roselia 8th Single 「Safe and Sound」 released Hello, Happy World! 4th Single 「High Five ∞ Adventure」 released RAISE A SUILEN 2nd Single 「A DECLARATION OF ×××」 released Feb 21 「TOKYO MX presents 『BanG Dream! 7th☆LIVE』 DAY1:Roselia 『Hitze』」 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Feb 22 「TOKYO MX presents 『BanG Dream! 7th☆LIVE』 DAY2:RAISE A SUILEN 『Genesis』」 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Feb 23 「TOKYO MX presents 『BanG Dream! 7th☆LIVE』 DAY3:Poppin'Party 『Jumpin' Music♪』 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo May 15 Poppin'Party 14th Single 「Dreamers Go! / Returns」 released May 18, May 19 Poppin'Party×SILENT SIREN Versus Live 「NO GIRL NO CRY」 at MetLife Dome, Saitama Jun 19 RAISE A SUILEN 3rd Single 「Invincible Fighter」 released Jul 13, Jul 14 RAISE A SUILEN 「Heaven and Earth」 at World Memorial Hall, Hyogo Jul 21 「RAISE A SUILEN 『Heaven and Earth』 Additional Performance UNSTOPPABLE LIVE」 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 1 Jul 24 Roselia 9th Single 「FIRE BIRD」 released Jul 31 Poppin'Party×SILENT SIREN Single 「NO GIRL NO CRY」 released Aug 3, Aug 4 Roselia 「Flamme」/「Wasser」 at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest, Yamanashi Aug 11 Poppin'Party 「ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2019」 debut appearance Aug 21 Hello, Happy World! 5th Single 「Egao・Sing・A・Song」 released Sep 5, Sep 13, Sep 14, Sep 26, Oct 3 「Poppin'Party Fan Meeting Tour 2019!」 at Zepp Nagoya, Aichi; Zepp Osaka Bayside, Osaka; Zepp Fukuoka, Fukuoka; Zepp Sapporo, Hokkaido; Zepp DiverCity TOKYO, Tokyo Sep 13 Anime film 「BanG Dream! FILM LIVE」 premieres Sep 18 Pastel＊Palettes 5th Single 「Kyu~mai＊flower」 released Oct 23 Afterglow 5th Single 「ON YOUR MARK」 Nov 30, Dec 1 Roselia×RAISE A SUILEN Joint Live 「Rausch und/and Craziness」 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 4~6, Chiba Dec 9 Poppin'Party Digital Single 「White Afternoon」 released Dec 30 Poppin'Party 「COUNTDOWN JAPAN 19/20」 debut appearance

– 2019 began with the broadcast of the anime’s 「2nd Season」. In February, while it was still airing, Popipa returned to the Nippon Budokan stage for the 「BanG Dream! 7th☆LIVE」.

The 「BanG Dream! 7th☆LIVE」 at Nippon Budokan was held over three days, with Roselia and RAISE A SUILEN having solo lives on the first two days. Although our live was on the third day, I attended both the first and second days and came away with profound admiration for the two bands. But since I know the Popipa members are the type who would crumble easily under pressure, I tried not to focus so much on us being the final act of the live. Instead I kept emphasizing “Let’s show the fans the colors of Popipa” as if I was chanting (laughs). The mood among ourselves was noticeably different from our previous Budokan live. It was a relaxed atmosphere and we brought that onto the stage.

– Next was the Versus Live with SILENT SIREN held at MetLife Dome in May, as well as appearances at outdoor festivals such as 「ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2019」 in summer. 2019 seems to be a year in which Popipa ventured outside the comfort zone of 「BanG Dream!」 and took on new challenges.

That’s true. They were all inspirational outings from Popipa’s point of view. We learned a lot from these experiences. Take for instance the Versus Live with SaiSai-san. Even before this we had been shown videos of their lives as reference, but to experience it first hand was a different matter altogether.

– Specifically?

For example the way they hype up the crowd. The songs that SaiSai-san selected for the Versus Live were songs that would excite even the fans listening to them for the first time. Suu-chan (Vo, Gt) explained to me, “Depending on the type of audience, we often change up our setlist and also how we engage with the audience. Since this live mainly consists of BanG Dreamers, we specially picked songs that even first-timers can enjoy.” Adapting our performance to cater to the audience was one of the lessons we learned, and I think we showed the results of that in the summer festival performance.

[TN: Popipa performed Teardrops, Natsu no Don, NO GIRL NO CRY, Time Lapse, and Kizuna Music at the festival]

– So even though it was Popipa’s debut appearance at 「ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2019」, you received a warm reception from the crowd?

I’d assumed almost nobody would recognize us there. I even thought about taking more time to introduce each song to the audience. But the moment I stepped onto the stage, I realized there were lots of BanG Dreamers in the crowd (laughs).

– That must have been really heartening.

Absolutely. To the extent that we didn’t even have to practice the call-and-response with them. I was both surprised and delighted seeing how well we were received by the audience. Maybe it’s because the 「BanG Dream!」 franchise has music at its core, and most of the fans there simply loved our music. I could see on Twitter, that people seemed to enjoy the performances of the other artists as well.

– Did the other band members enjoy this performance too?

Ever since the band was formed, it had been our dream to perform at festivals like this, so we were over the moon when it came true for us. Also the catering was really good just like we heard, so we kept gorging ourselves with all the food (laughs). Other than that, we walked over to the 「GRASS STAGE」, the biggest stage in the festival, as we were curious what big-name acts were performing there. We ended up really paying attention to their performances.

[TN: To put into perspective the scale of this event, there were 7 stages for around 200 artists spread over 5 days, and the biggest 「GRASS STAGE」 was more than 15 times the size of Poppin’Party’s 「BUZZ STAGE」.]

– The thought of someday performing on that main stage crossed your mind I’m sure. Popipa then took a break from lives and embarked on a Fan Meeting Tour from September to October, stopping at five locations in the country.

We’ve always talked about doing a nationwide tour, and we’re glad to be able to accomplish this in the form of a fan meeting this year. The BanG Dreamers have often been the ones making the journey to come and see us, so this was an opportunity to repay their support by bringing ourselves closer to them. Being from the countryside myself, there were times during my student days when I couldn’t afford to travel to lives. I emphathize with the fans in similar circumstances as I was, so that’s why I want to go out to them. If it were me, even if I’m unable to go to my favorite artists’ lives, just knowing they’re near me would make me so happy. I’ll be like, “We’re breathing the same air right now!” (laughs)



New single showcases a different side of Popipa

Fans’ perspective on title songs will change after watching 「3rd Season」

– We’ve finished reviewing the four-and-a-half years of 「BanG Dream!」. Having been the guitarist-vocalist in a band for 5 years now, do you feel any difference between this and your previous days as a solo artist?

It’s totally different! First of all, being in a band means that the sounds we make are always different every time. I’ve also developed the ability to tell who’s not feeling well just by listening to their playing (laughs). Moreover, we often have discussions when all five of us each have our own opinions, and this is also something you don’t experience as a solo artist.

– The next few questions will be about Popipa’s 15th Single 「Initial / Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」. The two title songs will be the opening and ending songs for the anime’s 「3rd Season」.

Season 1 of 「BanG Dream!」 was about Popipa’s formation. 「2nd Season」 delved into the relationships between the bands, as well as how Popipa overcame challenges that they faced. What’s in store for 「3rd Season」 will be something quite different from what we’ve seen before. The animation for the opening song 「Initial」 is also worth looking out for.

– The description for the opening song 「Initial」 states that it is a “rock tune similar to 「Teardrops」 and 「Time Lapse」”, but this song does seem to be considerably harder than the two songs. It was a bit of a surprise hearing Popipa sing outside of their usual style.

I can definitely see people thinking that way. It has been a while since I sang such a cool rock song as Kasumi, so during the recording I was a little uncertain about how much of her cheerfulness and cuteness to put into the song. Nevertheless, I wanted to portray the coolness of Kasumi after her growth in the 「2nd Season」. Hopefully listeners will be able to notice the difference in her singing style compared to her previous songs.

– First and foremost, the title of the ending song 「Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」 is just remarkable. The first part, “Yume wo Uchinuku”, essentially has the same meaning as the title of the 「BanG Dream!」 project. It is clear that the production team intended for both title songs of this single to be equally important.

I think people will feel even more strongly about these two songs after watching the anime. Especially 「Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」. Your impression of it is likely to change.

– What’s also interesting is that 「Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」 is the more kirakira song, and more similar to the opening songs we’ve had.

It does have that nostalgic tinge of youth that is characteristic of ending songs. Also, the word “aishiteiru” [TN: I love you] appears in both 「Initial」 and 「Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」. Since Kasumi is the one who comes up with the lyrics for Popipa, I’m curious what kind of emotions she was feeling when she wrote “aishiteiru” into these two songs. I believe it is the culmination of the numerous struggles they’ve encountered and overcome, all wrapped up in a bundle of love that she holds dear to her heart.

We still have lots of dreams yet to fulfill!

– Let’s move on to the coupling tracks. The CD has 2 versions, <Kirakira Ver.> and <Dokidoki Ver.>, each of them coupled with an original song from 「Garupa」. In the <Kirakira Ver.>, this song is 「SAKURA MEMORIES」. How would you describe this song?

「SAKURA MEMORIES」 is the song for an in-game event that I really love. It was an event that had Kasumi representing all the students in giving a speech at their end-of-term ceremony. The words that she said during the speech were just so touching… The song itself sounds pleasant and cheerful, but it also encourages us to “shine as brightly as we can, because youth doesn’t last forever”. I’d love it if many students get to listen to this song.

– The <Dokidoki Ver.> comes with the song 「Anniversary」. Besides having solo parts in this song, the rallying call “Popipa Pipopa Popipapapipopa” also appears in the lyrics. I can foresee this song being really fun to listen to during lives.

This song was made for the 「Garupa」 event story about Kasumi wanting to have anniversaries for all sorts of events. While recording this song I was fondly imagining to myself, that Kasumi would surely be singing this song loudly in front of everyone on each and every anniversary she celebrates.

– Lastly, although it seems as though you’ve achieved your dreams by performing at Nippon Budokan and at music festivals in these 5 years, is there still anything that you personally want to accomplish with regards to 「BanG Dream!」?

I have numerous other dreams that have yet to come true. Such as flying.

– You did talk about wanting to fly during a fan meeting in 2017. Indeed this has not been turned into reality yet.

I’m up for anything. If there’s a part of a song that’s too difficult to play, I can just fly off with my guitar. Even skydiving as a band is not out of the question. Other than that, I want to get #1 on the Oricon someday. (After this interview, 「Initial / Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」 placed #1 on the Oricon Daily Ranking upon its release on Jan 8). I will be doing what I can for this project to realize that dream. And also, a live on our 60th birthday.

[TN: At the time of this translation, 「Initial / Yume wo Uchinuku Shunkan ni!」 has even climbed to the top of the Oricon Weekly Ranking! This is their first ever #1 since the debut of Poppin’Party and the start of BanG Dream! :)]

[TN: 60th birthdays have tremendous significance in Japan, and it’s not uncommon for singers to commemorate it with a live]

– If you maintain the current pace of releasing 3 singles per year, the 100th single would come out at around the time you hold that live.

100th… (laughs) I wonder how Popipa will change over the years… I don’t have a clear answer for that, but I’m sure since the expressions we give and the atmosphere within Popipa are always evolving with every live, we’d probably become even more seasoned by the passage of time when we reach 60 years old. I’d love it if we could all gather and perform 「Anniversary」 on that special day!

Thanks for reading! Let’s continue to support Aimi and BanG Dream! ＼(^-^)／

Source:

– Aimi’s interview in Music Natalie’s 「BanG Dream!」 interview series (2020-01-09)

– https://natalie.mu/music/pp/bangdream01