Just as he is about to make his major debut, Kyosuke Tsurumaki loses his partner Kai Amano in an accident. However, three years later, Kai, who was supposed to be dead, appears in front of Kyosuke… The debut work of Miyata, who is known as one of the biggest anime fans in the idol world, is attracting attention from various quarters.
Animate Times brings you an interview commemorating the publication of this work. We spoke with them about a variety of topics, including the process leading up to their writing, the thoughts they put into each character, and anecdotes from when they were writing.
Toshiya Miyata
Born in 1988 in Kanagawa Prefecture. He made his CD debut in August 2011 as a member of “Kis-My-Ft2”. He is active in various fields such as dramas, movies, variety shows, information programs, stage plays, and radio. His 10th original album “Synopsis” will be released on May 8th, and a three-dome tour will be held from early summer.
–In the first place, what made you decide to become a creator?
Toshiya Miyata (hereinafter referred to as Miyata): Actually, I’ve always had a dream of making an anime. Up until now, I have been doing work that involves public expression, such as singing, dancing, and acting. However, I felt that the people who are making things behind the scenes spend more time working on their work.
There are moments when I look at these people and feel cool. It’s been 19 years since Kis-My-Ft2 was formed, but when I thought, “Did I leave something behind?”, I strongly thought, “After all, I have to make an anime.” From there, I went to talk to people who had experience in creative writing.
–I wanted to leave proof of my life as an anime.
Miyata: That’s right. Of course, we’ve done a lot of different things as a group, and I’m sure there are a lot of songs that remain in people’s hearts. Of course, the group is the most important thing, but I wonder if Toshiya Miyata was able to leave something behind as an individual, not just the idol Toshiya Miyata.
Additionally, if there was a textbook on Japanese anime,'' I would like to include the sentence Toshiya Miyata…”. National songs are even included in music textbooks, right? I wonder if that would be proof that I was alive in the truest sense.
――Now, I would like to ask you about the circumstances leading up to the production of “Boundary Melody,” which is the first step.
Miyata: There was a time when I felt it was important to listen to various people. However, I didn’t know any writers who were writing about it, so I asked the staff, “How did you turn this work into an anime?”
During that time, someone told me, You should just try writing about it,'' and with that support, I thought, Okay, let’s give it a try!” I brought five plots to the agency and they said, This looks interesting,'' and the story was Boundary Melody.”
–Did each of the five plots have a different theme?
Miyata: That’s right. However, I didn’t think it would be convincing unless I included my own experience. Out of the five, the one that felt the best to me was Kyoukai no Melody.'' I would say that wonderful people connected me with my desire to do what I wanted to do. For example, it's like being a warashibe chōja”.
–So the points you’ve seen so far have become lines.
Miyata: Even while I was an idol, I kept saying that I liked what I liked. As I did so, I realized that my life was surrounded by things that I liked. I truly feel like I have a good life, and I’m surrounded by everything I love, which is why we were able to connect at this timing.
I realized once again that I like Toshiya Miyata as a person. I think there was a time when there were people who saw it as a negative thing to say “I love anime.” Thanks to the efforts of everyone in the anime industry, our status as otakus has gradually increased. It’s a lot of coincidences.
–It seems like that kind of feeling can be reflected in your work as well.
Miyata: However, while writing, there are moments when I think, I'm a dirty person.'' "This kind of development isn't good, but it's dramatic." They are not two sides of the same coin, but I think they are human beings, including their bad parts. I want those who read Kyoukai no Melody” to accept the good and bad points of each person and feel that “that’s who Kyosuke and Kai are.”
–How did you create the characters of Kyosuke and Kai, the main characters of this work?
Miyata: I tried to distribute Toshiya Miyata’s ingredients little by little to all the characters that appear. And actually, I’m not really a positive person at heart…or rather, I’m an “artificial positive person” (lol). Kyosuke has the element of maybe this is what I would be like if I didn't become an artificial positive person”.” Kai, on the other hand, is a naturally positive person'' who thinks I wish I had someone like him.”
— Kyosuke is closer to Miyata-san himself.
Miyata: I’m sure that if someone important to me were to die, I would end up like Kyosuke. To tell you the truth, only a few changes have been made since the initial setup. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things as I’ve been active up until now, and I’ve incorporated them based on my own experiences.
–And Kai has a personality that is best described as a “naturally cheerful person.”
Miyata: There are people who can naturally talk to older people. I like people like that. Kai wanted to be the boy of his dreams.
–Mr. Miyata’s current feelings are reflected in the character.
宮田：ライバルポジションのキャラクターもいるのですが、「自分ならファンになっちゃうな」という少しワイルドな男の子たちなんです。カラーレンズのサングラスをかけて歌っていて、「格好良い……。俺もライブでかけちゃおうかな……あぁ〜ダメだ！」みたいな（笑）。憧ればかり書いていて、マジで陰キャですね！
――いやいや（笑）。宮田さんは自分自身の経験を作品に取り入れるタイプですね。
宮田：もちろん想像の部分もありますが、自分の経験を基に膨らませることは多いと思います。それこそ、「こんな先輩と後輩がいたら良いな」と思っていた子たちが主人公のふたりなんです。「自分が後輩ならこういう先輩が欲しい」というキョウスケと「こんな後輩がいたら最高だな」というカイ。ある意味で、主人公のふたりはファンタジーなのかもしれません。
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