——Can you tell us candidly how you’re feeling about your major debut?
I’m guessing the fans were pretty surprised, but I was even surprised myself. At first my reaction was honestly just “me, making a major music debut?!” But I heard from a lot of people, and much like acting, dancing, and stage work, singing is just another tool I can use to express myself. I’ll be very happy if I can express my post-Takarazuka feelings through song.
——Takarazuka is not a place you can stay forever. So when you finally thought about retiring, did music become one of your choices for a post-Takarazuka career?
I never really thought to myself that singing was something I absolutely must do. Really, I just thought that if there’s anything at all I can do to express myself, that would be great. I originally joined Takarazuka on my love of acting, but what you present when you’re playing a role is not 100% your true self. From that perspective, since getting into music allows me to approach things not as someone playing a role but as 100% Nanami Hiroki, this has become the realm where I can express my true self. Up until now, a place where I could do that has been something I’ve wanted but never had, so music piqued my intersest. With that in mind, I’m excited for what’s coming as I move forward.
——Until now you’ve been safe behind the veil of acting, so now that you’ve torn it off, is there anything embarrassing or awkward?
Not really, but in terms of putting myself out there, there was some work involved in facing my true self. The otokoyaku version of me in Takarazuka was kind of a known entity, so when that went away, I had to think about what this “unbranded” Nanami Hiroki would think, feel, and do, and it was envisioning myself as an artist that enabled me to do that.
——What are the differences between the Takarazuka Nanami Hiroki and the “unbranded” Nanami Hiroki?
The Takarazuka otokoyaku Nanami Hiroki is actually very close to my genuine self. So comparatively, suddenly becoming a very feminine woman would have been more unnatural for me, but at the same time it’s not like I’m a guy either. So rather than making music that only a real man could sing, I think it would be interesting to make a whole new “Nanami Hiroki genre,” singing while occupying the space somewhere between masculine and feminine. My concept was “a Nanami Hiroki with whom my audience could have a flourishing romance.” I’ve left Takarazuka and may no longer be an otokoyaku, but regardless, I want to make people think I’m dreamy and fall in love with me just as a person.
——What are your thoughts about your singing voice?
Regarding my singing voice, I discussed the concept I just explained with the music composers, who wrote the songs accordingly, and the staff and I talked it over and decided on the key, etc. Even if it’s the same song, If the key is too high I’ll come across as girly and it won’t mesh with the song’s mood, but on the other hand if it’s too low I won’t be able to sing it. We looked for a happy medium, and eventually arrived at one through trial and error.
——You were considering how to express your “inner cool guy”?
I don’t know if I’m a “cool guy” on the inside (haha). But, since I’m not playing a part, I think it’s important for me to be straightforward in expressing myself. I thought about what I want to convey to the audience, what about myself I want to express, and the staff helped me land on the right voice.
——I think there is a difference between vocalizing on stage and in a pop song, do you feel that?
To me, the words are REALLY important. So if we’re talking about theater, I think in that way it’s actually pretty similar to a musical. I’m not that well versed in music yet, but I do think that even in pop songs the relationship between words and sound is about the same, so to speak. I want to put an even greater emphasis on words and lyrics in my music. The balance in volume between my voice and the music is also something that we decided on after discussing it in great detail.
——Now that you mention it, I did find your lyrics really easy to hear.
Of course I want not just my Takarazuka fans, but also people who are like “who is this person??” to listen to my music… but I sang with an emphasis on blending in the words smoothly so the people who have been supporting me since Takarazuka could listen and get a good feeling, and I’m going to continue keeping that in mind going forward.
——You wrote the lyrics to 5 of the songs on your mini album GALAXY. Do you have past experience writing lyrics too?
I’ve written lyrics for TV programs on Takarazuka’s exclusive channel Sky Stage, and I thoroughly enjoyed it at that time. I’m actually pretty bad at putting the more sensitive feelings in my heart into words and saying them, and there have been a lot of times where I didn’t try hard enough to say something and then regretted it. Putting my feelings into song lyrics gives me a sense of being able to convey them more directly.
——You get tongue-tied normally, but in song lyrics you’re talkative?
Yes, something like that. So since writing lyrics is something I’ve always wanted to try, I told them “I wanna do it!” and they let me give it a shot.
——To do 5 songs in total, you really put your heart into it.
At first I thought okay, I’ll try one song, and I wrote “Ambition,” and King Records and the production staff thought it was really good, so they let me do the rest of them too. I’m really uncomfortable bragging, but being told by pros that my songs were good was encouraging, and I challenged myself to do all of them. Each song made me think “this is what I want to express here,” or I at least had some idea of a concept for each one, so I’m happy I was able to write all the lyrics myself.
——I imagine that among your fans, there were a lot of people who told you they didn’t want you to quit Takarazuka. Of course I’m sure there were people who promised to support you no matter what, but I’m guessing there were also people who were agonizing over the reason you quit, and felt anxious about your future. I know you can’t answer every single person, but I can’t help but feel this was a gift to your fans to put their anxieties to rest.
Thanks for thinking about it so deeply! That’s exactly right, now being at the start of something new, I put together my feelings of what’s come before and what I want to do going forward, and I’ll be happy if my fans will continue the journey with this version of me. It’s all thanks to the fans that I was able to make it through 15 years of Takarazuka, and it’s really important to me to convey my feelings about that to the fans in the lyrics I write.
——Tell me about “Ambition.”
In those initial lyrics, I wrote about the feelings at the very bottom of my heart. I got into the music and gradually they were pulled out of me, like “These are the feelings deep down inside me! Here they are!” When I was still an underclassman in Takarazuka, I was really bad at asserting myself, and I’m sure there were a lot of people who thought, “your presence is weak,” or, “I have no idea what you’re trying to do.” That changed slowly over the years, and now I’m finally able to express myself and take things on in ways true to myself. It makes me really happy to be able to feel that growth.
——Ah, asserting yourself. Can you tell me about an ambition you have now?
The first thing that comes to mind…. is I think it would be amazing if, in a huge hall, with all the fans who support me, we could have fun together and yell back and forth. I can’t really say specifically, but I want to keep dreaming big.
——Then in “START!!” which is a rock song, you’re unmistakably singing about beginning your new career path. Did you have the opportunity to sing rock songs in Takarazuka?
No. Even when we’d occasionally sing them in shows we’d always be singing and dancing all the way through, and it would end up more “rock-ish.” This is my first time definitively singing a real rock song. But I do listen to a lot of rock music in my day to day life.
——What sorts of artists do you listen to?
I love Visual Kei, bands like PENICILLIN and X JAPAN. More than current bands, I still love the ones I listened to when I was in school. I think the music of my adolescence will probably stay with me until I die. So even now I love the songs I listened to back then. While I may not necessarily want to sing Visual Kei, I do feel like I want to sing stuff with an intense rock soul, so I combined that with my feelings of starting anew together with everyone.
——Then “To My Unrequited Love” is a piano ballad
The ballad was born out of some of the roles I’ve played, and just things I’ve imagined. As I listened to the song over and over, these scenes and words somehow or other popped into my head. I love novels and stories, so as I pictured these scenes while listening to the music, I jotted down words little by little, and then I took those and began matching them to the melody. Like this part has this many syllables, so let’s go with this word.
——Did you write these lyrics at home?
Yes, usually in my room. But if I get a bit stuck, I go outside and look at the scenery, or go to a coffee shop or cafe and people watch. I love going to cafes, and I often went to watch people and get ideas for my roles when I was in Takarazuka. There was a period of time where I’d go specifically to study people, like if I was playing an older character I’d look at how they walk, or what sorts of gestures they make while drinking coffee, etc. This time, I wanted to figure out some way to incorporate that again, so I went out and did some people watching.
——Did any lyrics come to you from doing that?
Whenever I’d go to coffee shops and look around at the other seats, I’d see all kinds of meetings and interviews, and thought ah, there are so many different lives out there. And then I thought, well if I consider my life, aren’t I the star of it?! When I wrote the lyrics for “START!!”, I was influenced a lot by that thought. I was aiming for lyrics that weren’t TOO deep in my own world, so I think it would be great if the people listening could also project themselves onto it.
——Then there’s “GALAXY,” which is also the title of your album. Did the song title come first?
No, I decided on GALAXY as the album title before the song. By “galaxy” I mean the Milky Way, and during my time in Takarazuka I was in both Cosmos and Star troupes, so the next logical step is the Milky Way (haha). I titled the album GALAXY with the image of all of us going on an expedition into the Milky Way together.
——The “Galaxy” track isn’t really a song, but more of a spoken word piece, would you say?
As I was working on this variety of songs, I thought I’d also like to try a poetry reading. In that track, I talk about my Takarazuka memories with all my fans, and then I write, so this is the direction I’m going, let’s all go together.
——And there’s another song, “Thank You.” I imagine this represents your feelings of gratitude toward your fans.
Yes, exactly. I just wanted to sing my feelings of gratitude as they are. I hope everyone can understand my feelings through the lyrics.
——The last two tracks are covers you recorded, starting with T.M. Revolution’s “WHITE BREATH.”
T.M. Revolution debuted with this presence I’d never seen before, and I think it’s so cool that that’s persisting even now and I really like him. At the time “WHITE BREATH” was released, it was my favorite song to sing every time I went to karaoke, and I even sang it at events when I was in Takarazuka, and had the opportunity to sing it in front of fans, so I thought I definitely want to include it now too.
——The last song is ulfuls’ “Banzai”
What I love about ulfuls is that they have a lot of songs with straightforward lyrics that just make you feel good, and out of those “Banzai” is my favorite. It’s also the song I chose for the ending theme to the radio show that I had the privilege of doing back in June. I also sang it for my fans at my kickoff event, where I explained what I’d be doing going forward. I chose it because the lyrics, “I’m so glad I’ve loved you, I want to stay happy like this for the rest of my life,” were words I wanted to convey directly to my fans.
——How did it feel to finish your 7-song mini album?
As a musical artist, rather than playing a role, you’re winning and losing as yourself, so there was a lot of trial and error leading up to the completion of the album. When it was actually finished, I felt a sense of fulfillment, and even just listening to it myself all the songs made me want to get it out to my fans as soon as possible, so I think I was able to make a pretty good and extremely satisfying album. I’m so grateful to King Records and the production staff for understanding my vision and helping me turn it into a reality.
——You’ve also announced that you’ll be voice acting the role of Shizuno in the upcoming anime, “Somali and the Forest Spirit,” in January.
Yes. I had the opportunity to try it once already while I was still in Takarazuka, but voice acting has been a dream of mine. So I’m thrilled to have been given this chance.
——You like anime, don’t you. Even your name is an anime reference.
I got the name “Nanami Hiroki” from “The Seven Seas are Wide” (TN: pronounced Nanatsu no Umi wa Hiroi”). The “Seven Seas” phrase comes from an anime I like, “Tico of the Seven Seas,” a story about traveling the ocean, and I thought ah, wouldn’t it be nice if I could take the audience on a journey over the wide ocean with me? So I used it for stage name. I’ve loved anime ever since I was a kid, and even now I still feel influenced by the hearts and souls of the anime heroes and heroines I admired back then. I think even my decision to try for Takarazuka is tied to that.
——Like Sailor Moon, for example?
I LOVED it. Sailor Moon was the first thing that taught me the power of giving something your all as a team. Nearly all anime heroes/heroines have pure hearts, and this sense that I also wanted to live like that took strong root in me. I think it’s because of that that I am who I am today.
——The Sailor Moon characters also model their names after planets in our solar system. It’s yet another connection with Cosmos Troupe, Star Troupe, and GALAXY.
It is! Thinking about that is so moving to me.
——So you were more into the hero/heroine genre of anime than, say, romantic comedies?
Yes, I preferred stories of saving the world over love and romance.
——Do you wish you could save Japan or the world?
I guess I don’t NOT feel that way (haha). It’s not like my singing and dancing ever made a tiny bit of difference in the world at large, but I like to think it could make a difference in the heart of an individual person watching and listening to me. It’s through song and acting that I’m able to do that. In Takarazuka, there were even quite a few people who told me they felt they wanted to quit or couldn’t go on, but changed their minds after watching me perform. When you’re on the battlefield at your wits end, this kind of pleasure and escapism is really important. If I can even just make a positive impact on the people I’m close to, or the people who support me, I think that’s a beautiful thing.
——After the release of your album, you’ll be doing a one-man live show. What kind of show will it be?
I want to do something that even the last person in the very last row can enjoy. Among musical artists, I’m sure there are people who are just intent on presenting themselves, but I want this live show to be a journey the audience can join me on and enjoy with me. I’m going to sing the songs I recorded for this album, other songs I like, and songs that I think everyone will enjoy.
——Will you sing songs from Takarazuka also?
I’m having a dinner show this winter, and I’m planning to sing plenty of them there, so I thought I’d hold off for now (haha). In this show, I’m going to sing the songs I want to sing now, as the new Nanami Hiroki.
——Going forward, are you planning to focus your career on releasing albums and doing concerts?
My music-related activities will be along those lines. The songs I wrote this time heavily relate to the people who have been in my life up until now, so next time I’d like to focus on reaching out to new listeners, and I’d like to work on making songs that will also excite people who don’t know me from Takarazuka. Using the current album as a starting point, I’m going to do my best to give everyone something new, so please look forward to that!
——Will you continue to write the lyrics?
Having the privilege of writing the lyrics this time, part of me feels like I’m really suited to it, so going forward I’d like to continue doing it to the best of my ability. I plan to keep going until I get to the point where it’s really impossible. Additionally, I love like watching dramas and imagining the characters’ feelings, and then imagining how I’d think and feel in their situation, so I think it would be fun to write some lyrics in the future with that as an inspiration as well.
——It seems like you’re pretty confident about the future!
Because it’s all about people. Whether you’re someone who loves Takarazuka, or someone who doesn’t, I think the fact our hearts are all struck by song is something that doesn’t change. Everyone holds onto these pure, intense emotions somewhere, and we all get run down and sad and lonely, we all have parts of us that hold onto those feelings, and no matter who you are that doesn’t change. I hope I can approach things with that in mind. This is who I am, and I hope you’ll support me in the future!