GL!TTER VOL.01│Pair Interview: Wataru x Tooru [English]

Gl!TTER by V!NYL SYNDICATE │Pair Interview: Wataru Miyawaki x Tooru Kawauchi

Volumen: 001
Interview: "Kawauchi Tooru x Miyawaki Wataru "
Published: Jun 20th, 2008

Wataru Miyawaki x Tooru Kawauchi

--- You two usually spend a lot of time together, don’t you?
Miyawaki: He’s easiest to be with. But perhaps I’m not the only one thinking that way.
Kawauchi: I’m always carrying his bag, saying “Yes, I got it.” (laughs)
Miyawaki: It’s not like he’s my servant. (laughs) I like his manly way of thinking, also there’s nothing about him that especially bugs me. He’s someone I can confide in. Perhaps we’re emotionally close.
Kawauchi: He’s kinda easy to talk to and we like similar food and such.
Miyawaki: When I say “Today is really like this and that,” he says, “You’re right.”

--- In short, your biorhythm is similar.
Miyawaki: Yes, so we don’t have to care about each others needs. (laughs)

--- But Tohru does care.
Kawauchi: Lately I did. When we had just met, Wataru-san was totally absorbed in his older band and I admired that. But that’s his strong point.
As for me, I thought I could never adopt such an attitude since I’m younger… for example, even when I’m acting a bit stupid he laughs.
Miyawaki: But my eyes don’t look as if I’m laughing.
Kawauchi: What the…!
Miyawaki: Just kidding. (laughs)
Kawauchi: That's a relief. (laughs) Anyway I’m glad I can be in a band with someone I admire.
Thereupon, I’m really happy that he’s threats me so nicely although I’m 3 years younger.
I couldn’t do that, since I’m not very fond of younger people. So 12012 is perfect because everyone is older than me.

--- Conversely seen from Wataru-san’s POV, there are certain things about Tohru-san you appreciate, right ?
Miyawaki: That’s right. I hate people that use double talk. Of course there’s no such person among the members, but particularly Tohru is exactly the opposite.
When I say something that I think would annoy him, he’ll be annoyed and when I say something that I think would make him happy, he’ll be making a happy face. He’s really easy to figure out.

--- In private, do you also go out together a lot?
Miyawaki: Recently we have no free time at all, so recently we haven’t. But earlier our houses were close so we hung out with each other.
Kawauchi: Also, we went to game centers and played medal games together. We were really just fooling around. But recently Wataru has settled down and doesn’t come to hang out anymore, which is making me feel lonely. Just recently we’re still fooling around and making merry but somehow now it’s like rolling a bottle of brandy.  
Miyawaki: It didn’t change at all. Tohru as well doesn’t come to hang out lately. Up until now he has had a lot of free time and was really easy to ask out but recently he’s like: “It’s no good when you try to invite me against my will”.

---Now that Tohru-san has his own world, it’s a little lonely. Well from now on it’s your turn to invite Wataru-san.
Kawauchi: No, that’s something the older person should do after all.
Miyawaki: This is the only time you say such things. (laughs)
Kawauchi: But at my last birthday he invited me to go eat chanko (traditional sumo stew). Every year when we had time we go drinking together on my birthday. Also on Wataru-san’s birthday, but then it’s my treat. It feels like being normal friends at school.

--- So even if you had met as class mates, would you also have become close friends?
Kawauchi: We would have.
Miyawaki: We probably would have. For example, even Tohru is still using Keigo (very polite way of speaking) towards me, although there’s no need for it. Tohru is the most earnest person.
He’s always moving forward without any limits, so I like being with him. In the past he wasn’t able to write songs, but recently it seems like he started composing. I guess it’d be nice if he kept going.

--- Indeed Tohru-san is associated with the image of a hard worker, isn’t he?
Kawauchi: Is that so? (smiles shyly)
Miyawaki: Also, I think there’s a difference between string instruments and drums.
As the vocalist, I have the leading part and we both take the center of the stage. Especially the drums because they create the beat of the songs. So when one of the string instruments makes a mistake it won’t mess up the whole song, but we definitely can’t make mistakes.
In the end everything depends on the drummer, so for me being a drummer would be annoying in many ways. I think Tohru’s POV on those things is quite the opposite after all.
Kawauchi: Behind the vocalist I just want to concentrate on drumming and not distract anyone.
When he sees me drumming with all my strength I want him to also sing with all his strength.
Miyawaki: Indeed during a live, when my tension gets extremely high, it happened that when I looked at the string instrument party they didn’t really join in, but Tohru did.
It is also the other way around, when I see Tohru drumming all passionate, my tension also increases.
Kawauchi: We have different views on many things we usually talk about, but we do understand when the other is happy or high tensed.

---It’s a bit of an unkind question, but is there something about the other you hate or you want him to stop doing?
Miyawaki: Not really.
Kawauchi: Me too. If I had to say something, it’s his way of writing E-Mails.
Sometimes he uses Emoji  , sometimes he doesn’t, so I’d like him to decide for one way.
Don’t you start to worry when someone who always uses them, suddenly doesn’t?
Miyawaki: I don’t use Emoji when mailing to sempais. So when I am mailing to sempais and suddenly there was an E-Mail from Tohru, I won’t use them. Sometimes it’s also the other way around.
I end up using Emoji when mailing to a sempai and think “Oh noes!” (laughs)

--- So you’re very strict about social rankings?
Miyawaki: That just applies to people with higher rank than me, it’s different for people with lower rank.
You might say if Tohru was part of my family, he’d be my younger brother.

--- Is there something you’d like to tell this younger brother?
Miyawaki: Yes there is. Not just to Tohru, but to all of the members: The more busy you are, the more important it becomes to also have fun. When you’re busy you feel oppressed and don’t talk much to each other, but I think especially at such times you have to intensify communication and keep the spirit up. Right now we’re all into video games, it’s important to do such things too.

--- Talking about the most popular game among the members of 12012, it’s Mario Kart isn’t it?
Even though monster hunter is overwhelmingly popular in the whole industry.
Miyawaki: I had been playing Monster Hunter, but none of the other members had been, so I gave up because it was no fun alone. Then I was told by Sakai-san that the good thing about Mario Kart was that you stop playing whenever you want. Indeed in Monster Hunter you can’t since you can only save once you finished a certain level.
Kawauchi: Also in Monster Hunter you can only advance, when many people work together, right?
But we’d rather smash each other.

--- I see. That’s likely for a Band, where almost everyone is blood type B. *
Kawauchi: There’s something I’d like to say to Wataru-san as vocalist. Please beware of the individuality that you had since the very beginning. 12012 is a rock band after all.
I’d like him to keep doing things in his way.
No matter what you say, Wataru-san is the face of 12012.
Miywaki: Thank you very much!

* In Japan people with blood type B are said to be selfish.

Credits: shinoryu