riemaynine | [TRANSLATION] MASSU'S SOLO INTERVIEW FOR VOICE 2

Source: TVfan CROSS, vol.39

2019 drama "Voice: 110 Emergency Control Room", which has gained popularity for being a time-limit suspense that can't take one's eyes off even for a moment, is back. Continuing from the previous work, Masuda, who is working out to take his role as Ishikawa Tooru, is keenly looking into where the story will go.

What did you feel when you heard that you will be playing Ishikawa Tooru again in the second season?

Two years ago, when we were in the middle of shooting (for Voice), we were talking about wanting to do part two for this. Karasawa (Toshiaki)-san and the producer are talking about it, and considering the ending of the previous season, I may not appear in the second one, but I closely listened to them thinking about how I would get into it if there would be a second season. I was positioning a little away from the two of them and listening, and finally I got there (laughs). I've been mostly thinking about having the second season, so I didn't have much to rework or to remember about doing the same role again.

What are the highlights of "Voice 2"?

The fast timeline, or rather, the fast development of the case, and simultaneous occurrences of different events at different places. We are also shooting in different locations, and I'm looking forward to being able to go ahead while being thrilled together. Of course an original story has been added, there are more original elements than in the previous season, so I think that even those who have seen the original will enjoy the content.

The shooting will take place during midsummer.

Since it will be really hot during shooting in the coming season, I am looking forward to the ice cream that Karasawa-san will be bringing! The last time that we also had the shooting at the same time of that year, he had always brought a huge quantity of ice cream and drinks for us.

In connection with the title, how do you feel about the balance of the NEWS members' voices?

According to music experts, the balance among three people seems to be great when singing in unison. The more people there are, the harder the [individual] voices will be recognized and more likely to be out of tune, but with the three persons singing, it seems that these individual voices are easier to hear. So far, this is where the meaning of our voices, or rather, the meaning of the three of us, had properly been brought out. I think it is more beautiful if the two persons harmonize, since it is quite difficult for the two to sing in unison all the time. Musically speaking, it is quite meaningful for the three of us to sing together. In addition to that, it would be nice if we could show more of the "color [of the performance] because of the three of us". Moreover, the NEWS music team is also making music that matches with our voices and ranges. They come up with music that will bring out the best parts of ourselves. Koyama has a mellow and heavy yet clear voice. His key is also low, and mostly sings in a lower octave. Shige's voice is firm and has an ephemeral feeling.

Do you like your own voice?

I like it, yeah. Though when I heard my own voice during our first recording, I thought "What a weird voice~". Now I am able to hear my normal voice, my voice from the television and my voice on the CD together without any feeling of discomfort. I think that I'm usually the one thinking about my own voice, but when the three of us sing, I imagine that "Koyama will be like this, Shige will be like this". I often say "channel", and in the chorus of this song, I am thinking about which channel should I match with my singing voice. When I harmonize with Koyama or with Shige, I have my own channel for each song. It is also interesting to think about that, right? It is fun to change channels and to search for the right one. I am also thinking about how to improve our vocal images and would like to take on more challenges.

(TN: Channel here may be defined as a medium or way of how something can be expressed, in this case, for singing.)

Vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, which among these five senses do you think you're excelling at?

Vision. When I was a kid, I didn't study, read books or play games, so my eyesight is really good. I was watching the television from a distance as I was told to do, and I was a kid who was playing outside all the time, so I'm proud of that. No, I shouldn't be proud of the fact that I didn't study or read books though (laughs). I think my eyesight is still better than 1.5. But I would like to keep all my senses sharp though. In doing this job, I think it is better to have excellent sensory perception. Moreover, I would also like to excel in so-called the sixth sense (intuition). This is the part that I always want to improve.

(TN: Normal eyesight in Japan is 0.0, equivalent to US 20/20 vision.)