YUTA on Nikkei Entertainment! – 2022 October Issue COVER with the HiGH&LOW THE WORST X Casts Kazuma, Hokuto, and Ryoki

YUTA on Nikkei Entertainment! – 2022 October Issue COVER with the HiGH&LOW THE WORST X Casts Kazuma, Hokuto, and Ryoki
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HiGH&LOW THE WORST X

Kazuma Kawamura ✕ Hokuto Yoshino ✕ Yuta Nakamoto ✕ Ryoki Miyama

[THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE]           [NCT 127]           [BE:FIRST]

Four members from top boy groups come together in a splendid co-starring of dreams in the movie HiGH&LOW THE WORST X, which releases on September 9. This special issue features an interview with four people who embody "top" and "friendship", marking the beginning of a new era of HiGH&LOW.

SPECIAL TALK

This encounter, where a friendship was nurtured while colliding with one another, is a treasure

Kazuma Kawamura, Hokuto Yoshino, Yuta Nakamoto, and Ryoki Miyama were happy to see each other again and noisily got close to one another as soon as they met at the interview site. As members of top boy groups, how did they approach HiGH&LOW THE WORST X, a movie that embodies "top" and "friendship"?

HiGH&LOW THE WORST X is a continuation of the previous work. The film is set in Oya High School, where the head Fujio Hanaoka is played by THE RAMPAGE's Kazuma Kawamura, and Tsukasa Takajo is played by Hokuto Yoshino. In addition, NCT 127's Yuta Nakamoto and BE:FIRST's Ryoki Miyama, who also works as an actor, have joined the film. This is not only a continuation of the popular series, but it is also an epoch-making work in the era of the rise of boy groups that breaks company barriers by bringing together members from different groups. In this roundtable discussion between the four main casts Kazuma, Hokuto, Yuta and Ryoki, we first ask main protagonist Kazuma about his thoughts when Yuta and Ryoki were decided to appear in this film.

KAZUMA: The HiGH&LOW series has a strong LDH image, so I was quite surprised when I heard that Yuta and Ryoki were going to appear in the film. I remember asking the producer, "Ehh, really? Are they really going to appear?" (laughs). I was very excited. I was even more excited after being on set. In fact, I think that the addition of the two of them made the work very good.

YUTA: Kazuma and Hokuto have appeared in the previous film, so I learned a lot from seeing how cool the two of them looked on set. I felt like I was being taught and pulled as I viewed their backs. In the one-on-one fight scene with Kazuma, we put in the right amount of power while feeling the synergy between us, and so we were able to perform it in harmony with one another. When the filming ended, I felt from the bottom of my heart, "I'm glad I got to film with Kazuma." It was very fun.

KAZUMA: I believe that in creating a performance, what you'd be able to come out with also depends on the performance that the other party gives you. I was able to give a good performance this time because I received such extraordinary enthusiasm from Yuta. I already felt it when we were rehearsing the action scenes, but I became even more convinced when we started the actual filming.

HOKUTO: I had a lot more to do in the action scenes this time around compared to the previous film. I struggled with it, and in the beginning, I was very careful during the action scenes with Yuta, thinking, "I must not hit Yuta!" (laughs). But before filming, the action director told us, "Because it's a fight scene, do it by letting your emotions collide!" And so we hit each other while putting our feelings into it. I had very strong feelings when I was doing it.

YUTA: Right. And if we did it in a reserved manner, we would not have been given an OK.

HOKUTO: Yes. Even though I just met Yuta for the first time through this film, he has a presence of like an older brother to me, and I received a lot of help from him. The way he gathers the staff and involves the people around him is really amazing. Watching him made me think, "This guy is amazing in so many ways." It was also said that this is his first time acting, and I [couldn't believe it and] was like, "…Ehh?"

YUTA: Ahahaha (shy).

HOKUTO: The action scenes and acting were all great, and I thought, "Really?" On the contrary, I learned a lot from him.

YUTA: I'm thankful for your words.

A relationship of trust brought about by acting

Like Yuta, it is also Ryoki's first time participating in the HiGH&LOW series. He plays the role of Kohei Amagai, the worst man. Amagai has Ryo Suzaki, played by Yuta, the strongest man in Senomon Technical High School, under his control. Ryoki said that he struggled in expressing the sense of distance between his character and Suzaki.

RYOKI: Between Suzaki and Amagai, it is not just about Amagai being the top of Senomon and having Suzaki as his follower. There is this subtle sense of distance between them. Amagai has built up a wall, closed his heart to everyone, and uses his power to rule others, but he has slightly different feelings for Suzaki than he has for other people. Because of this, there must be something special in his gestures or in the tone of his voice when speaking to him. I struggled to properly express that kind of feeling.

But when I first met Yuta, we got along really well. I instinctively felt, "If I'm going to act with him, it will work out well if I trust him and we act out our feelings as they are." From an actor's point of view, it might be a rather simplistic way of thinking, but a part of me thought that it would be better to believe in my instincts. From then on, I became close with him very quickly… In private, our relationship is the complete opposite of that shown in the movie (laughs).

However, I think it is precisely because of the relationship of trust we have established that we were able to find a good balance in our performance. I think that I was able to do it because, just as Kazuma and Hokuto have said earlier, the level of passion that emits from Yuta never changes whether he's in an on or off state. I thought that this aspect of him is amazing, and it made me trust in him even more. And naturally, it felt like the relationship between Amagai and Suzaki was built with ease.

YUTA: Ryoki himself is very friendly, so the atmosphere on set was lighter because of him. I thought that a person like him is absolutely necessary. Thanks to Ryoki, everyone was brought closer together.

HOKUTO: It's amazing how he was able to shorten the distance from day one.

KAZUMA: Right.

YUTA: Entertainment is not something that can be established by one person alone. It is very important to coordinate with the people around you. Because of Ryoki's presence, everyone's morale was raised even higher.

Yuta and Ryoki were friends in their previous life?

After filming ended, they developed a close relationship and met in private. They often upload photos of their time together on social media.

KAZUMA: It's not easy to become good friends with everyone you meet on set, but if it was a relationship limited only to the time of filming, then I think it would feel lonely. So I want to continue on maintaining the relationship I have with the people I like and the people I get along with even after filming is over. Just recently, there was a day when all the wonderful members gathered together.

YUTA: Yes, but only Hoku-chan couldn't come.

HOKUTO: (with a slightly lonely expression) I'm so jealous.

RYOKI: I called Hokuto late at night.

HOKUTO: Right.

YUTA: When guys get together, there will be a lot of talk that is nonsense (laughs).

RYOKI: It was so much fun that we talked nonstop.

YUTA: Even when it was time to go home, Ryoki wouldn't let anyone go (laughs).

KAZUMA: Ahahaha (laughs).

RYOKI: Yuta was about to go home, so we went out of the restaurant and prepared to call a cab, but we still kept talking. Then, Yuta started backing away step by step. So Aki (Akihisa Shiono who plays Housen Academy's Yuken Odajima) said, "It's time to let him go home." (laughs).

YUTA: That's right. Aki said that (laughs).

RYOKI: Yuta usually works in South Korea, making it hard to meet, so I want to be with him whenever I can (laughs).

YUTA: But two days before that, you and I went out to eat burgers.

RYOKI: Right. That's when he gave me my birthday present. I'm still wearing the matching ring I got with him then.

YUTA&RYOKI: Look. (Showing their rings)

RYOKI: It's already an irreplaceable treasure.

YUTA: You're not going to lose it, right? (laughs).

RYOKI: (laughs). I'll try not to wake up one morning and go, "Wah, where did the ring go?" Yuta and I really hit it off.

YUTA: Yes. I wonder if we've been together in our previous life.

RYOKI: It does feel like that. And really, from the first day of filming, we talked without barriers.

YUTA: The whole set had that kind of atmosphere. Because there were intense fighting scenes, it was important that we thoroughly communicated. If we were not careful, it would have become very dangerous, but if we cut corners in our acting, we would not have gotten an OK. I think it is precisely because we were hitting each other that such a friendship was born. Because I was 16 when I moved to South Korea, I never really experienced that youth. But filming this gave me thoughts like, "If I had gone to high school, would the atmosphere have been like this?" In the process of making this film, I felt like I was experiencing a belated youth. This was very valuable to me. I'm very happy to have been able to work together with everyone for my first film.

In the previous work HiGH&LOW THE WORST X (2019), Kazuma represented the next generation of EXILE TRIBE and took over the baton of the HiGH&LOW series. In the eyes of Yuta and Ryoki who are participating in the battle for the first time, how do they view his existence as the "chairman"? Yuta described him as having a "mysterious aura". To this, Ryoki responded with a unique expression and described him saying, "He's like a gemstone that has been shining since the very beginning and he continues to emit such radiance."

YUTA: I've said this to Ryoki before, but I think Kazuma has a mysterious aura.

RYOKI: Yes, it's mysterious.

YUTA: He is not the type that talks a lot.

RYOKI: It's not like he's forcing himself to push through with vigor and passion, but rather he charges forward with the rawness that he has. Not long ago, when Kazuma and I were in an interview, he said something like, "I try my best to be as natural as possible and not be inconsistent with my own self." When I heard him say that, I then understood, "Ah, so this is how he is." There's often a saying "polishing a rough stone", but in Kazuma's case, it feels like he's a stone that has been shining since the very beginning and he continues to emit such radiance. I think that this is very attractive.

YUTA: That is why my impression of him is that he's very composed.

RYOKI: Yes. Yes.

YUTA: I think that makes him a trustworthy person.

KAZUMA: I'm happy to hear that. But I try to consciously maintain that feeling. I don't want to force myself to add embellishments. Of course, I have to adjust depending on where I'm working, but because I don't like lies, I want to show my original self as much as possible. However, because I'm naturally too relaxed, there may be cases when my attitude can come off as bad. I think there's a fine line that exists between the two. I'm only human, so what I show outside may not always be the same with what I feel inside, but I'll be conscious of trying to eliminate this divide as much as possible.

The deep message in the collaboration

In parallel with their activities as actors, the four of them are energetically active as members of their respective boy groups. In this collaboration, were there conversations unique to only artists?

KAZUMA: On the set of HiGH&LOW, I would switch off the artist part of myself, so when we're filming, it just felt like interacting as one ordinary person to another. But this time, we created something interesting together in terms of music (the four of us singing "Wings" for the movie), I am happy that I was able to take part in it.

YUTA: That's true. We didn't specifically talk about being in groups while on set. But whether it's THE RAMPAGE, BE:FIRST, or NCT 127, we all sing and dance to bring happiness and to move people. This time allowed us to sing a song together. I think that there is meaning in multiple groups gathered like this to perform one single piece of work. And I would be the happiest if fans receive happiness from it.

HOKUTO: As they both have said, although we have something in common among us as artists, I don't think I was conscious of it while I was acting. Everyone treated this work seriously as actors. I didn't feel like anyone was making excuses like, "I'm an artist, so my acting…" I held a feeling of respect seeing everyone treat this work with such passion, and I felt, "Everyone is amazing."

RYOKI: For me, to be able to work in the same place with three people who I have liked, admired, and respected for a long time, it already feels like winning the lottery. Truly like "I've made it!" (laughs). Actually, it also allowed me to grow a lot.

As Yuta mentioned earlier, the encounter that occurred through this work in itself is a treasure that will never be forgotten in this lifetime. Even though we are all artists, it's not like appearing in the same music festival. Instead, it is through acting, which is different from music, that we were able to collide energies with one another. I believe our emotion will surely reach the audience. I think that more people will become interested in each other's groups through this work. This allows fandoms to connect and thus expands the boy group scene as a whole. In that sense, I think that having group members from different agencies collaborate together like this is revolutionary in the entertainment industry.

YUTA: That's right. We are both good rivals and friends at the same time. I think it would be best if we create great entertainment in the future by having this friendly competition with each other.

After finishing the interview…

The precious interview that gathered together four people with busy schedules ended in a blink of an eye. As if they didn't want to go yet, they let us in on a conversation after it ended.

YUTA: We usually talk in a casual manner, so I was nervous.

HOKUTO: Right. We rarely talk about serious topics.

YUTA: It's my first time seeing Ryoki be so serious.

RYOKI: Hey hey hey!! (laughs).

HOKUTO&KAZUMA: Ahahaha (laughs).

YUTA: (laughs). I thought you would joke around, but you were so serious.

RYOKI: But I was also serious when we were filming on set? (laughs).

KAZUMA: He really is such a talker.

RYOKI: Always calling me talkative right away. I'm not going to talk anymore! (laughs).

EVERYONE: (laughs).

✽ ✽ ✽


You can still buy your copy of the magazine here.

The publication's official list of online retailers can also be found here.

HiGH&LOW THE WORST X is now available on DVD and Blu-ray with ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Buy your copy now here:

HiGH&LOW THE WORST X is now available on Netflix in over 60 different countries. Watch it now here.

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