[Round discussion]Kouno Fumiyo x Konatsumi x Ohara Sakurako x Angela Aki talk about the secret behind the creation of the original work and highlights of the musical version of “In This Corner of the World”

■“I feel like I gained something from all the valuable stories (lol)” (Angela Aki)

The musical “In This Corner of the World” (written and directed by Kazugo Ueda) will be released on May 9th, based on Fumiyo Kouno’s masterpiece manga and composed by Angela Aki, who has restarted her career as a musical music writer 10 years after moving to the United States. We are currently rehearsing for the opening day.

Fumiyo Kouno visits the rehearsal hall. I met Konatsumi, who played Suzu, Sakurako Ohara, and Angela Aki for the first time and talked about “In This Corner of the World.”

Angela Aki went to the United States in early April to brush up on the music to match the movements Kazugo Ueda gave the cast, but she returned to Japan in late the same month when rehearsals were in full swing. The cast members, who have become familiar with her role up until that point, show off their achievements to her, Angela, and rehearse with her over and over again, aiming for even greater heights together. The original author Fumiyo Kono visited the venue for the first time.

Before watching the rehearsal, Angela met Konatsumi and Sakurako Ohara, who play the main character Suzu, for the first time. It was a long-awaited opportunity for both of them, and they seemed to have no shortage of things they wanted to ask and convey, and talked to the fullest about the secret behind the creation of the original work and the highlights and highlights of the musical version.

OharaThank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the rehearsal room today.
KonI’m really happy to meet you. I’m nervous and don’t know if I’ll be able to speak well (lol).
KounoNo, I’m happy. Both of you were sparkling and sparkling.
angelaThat’s right. Besides, they are both Suzu-san herself. Today we’ll be watching Kon-chan’s rehearsal, but both are fascinating, so I’d like you to watch both in real life.
■The secret story behind the birth of “Suzu” from the original author
KonWhat struck me when I first read the original story was that even though it dealt with war, there was always a warm atmosphere. Rather than shouting out loud, “War should not be allowed!”, the focus is on the “human heart,” which is no different from ours today, and that is why Suzu’s sense of loss has become even more pressing. think. Since then, I’ve discovered various things every time I read it, and what I’m particularly interested in now is Suzu’s facial expressions. I am aware that there are times when I am clearly smiling or angry, but there are times when I have a more profound expression, and as I practice, I am thinking about how to incorporate it into myself.
KounoCertainly, that depends on the interpretation of the person performing the role. I’m really looking forward to seeing what will happen when Suzu’s personality overlaps with Kon’s and Ohara’s.
OharaRegarding Suzu-chan’s personality, I’d like to ask you a question: Why did you choose to make the main character a “dazed” character?
KounoI thought that would make it easier for readers who are not familiar with this time and place to get into the story. If the main character is a person who is trying his best to play Wu from the beginning, there will be no chance to explain the situation in conversation. However, if the main character is an absent-minded person from outside, she can explain the situation by asking various questions of the people around her and answering them.
angelaah I see. I really wanted to ask you about that too, and this answer makes a lot of sense to me.
■Secrets as real as non-fiction
angelaAre there any models for Suzu-san and the characters around her?
KounoShusaku’s occupation is modeled after one of my relatives, but everything else is a work of fiction.
angelaThat’s right! When I read the original story for the first time, it felt like nonfiction to me, and I thought it was about the author’s own experiences and his family’s.
OharaI get it, everyone is that real. I’m also attracted to the relationship between Suzu and Rin, but what kind of thoughts did Rin create as a character?
KounoOne of the reasons was that I wanted to express another “corner of the world” by creating a world for Suzuna with friends of the same generation, which was different from her family. Also, there was actually a red light district in Kure at the time, so it was impossible to pretend that there were people living in such harsh circumstances.
Oharathank you. It’s realistic because it’s based on historical fact.
KonThis is a little off-topic, but both tin and phosphorus are named after the names of elements. When I looked into it, all of them were like that and I got goosebumps, but why is that?
KounoWhen it comes to character names, if I come up with them they tend to be similar, so I often think about them systematically. At first, I thought of using Kure place names, but Kure has a lot of hard place names. When I was thinking about it, I happened to have a periodic table nearby, so I decided to use it (lol). Among the many elements, I chose “Suzu” as the main character because of my pet parakeet, “Suzushiro.” One day, he passed away, but I wanted him to remain healthy somewhere, and I put that feeling into the main character who is working hard in a new world.
OharaIt had such important feelings in it! I’m glad to hear from you.
angelaReally. There were so many valuable stories, and I feel like I got something out of it (lol).
■The hardships and joys unique to original works
KounoI love Disney’s musical animations, so it was like a dream to have my manga turned into a musical, and I was moved to listen to the demo tape sung by Angela. It’s exciting to get a glimpse of the process of a musical being completed, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it in the future.What do you find particularly difficult during rehearsals?
angelaSince this is the first original work, there is still the difficulty of not being able to see the final form. But that’s why I feel like I’m working with the cast and it’s so much fun. Suzu in particular is a reliable person who gives me feedback like “I don’t think Suzu would say things like this,” and I even change the lyrics based on that feedback. I hope this series continues for a long time, but I really liked the first Suzu with these two.
OharaWell, welcome. Angie also consults on changes to the music and lyrics, so although there is some pain in creating an original, I am also enjoying the rehearsals.
KonAlthough Angela must have created the music with strong feelings, she took our feelings into consideration and made changes flexibly. It’s a rehearsal room where you get the feeling that warm-hearted people are coming together to create warm works based on the warm original work created by Mr. Kono.
KounoIt’s wonderful. Manga is basically created by one person, and there is vertical involvement with editors, but unlike musicals, there are not many people involved horizontally at the same time. But I think that by making it into a musical, I realized that there are actually a lot of people involved in the manga, even though they may not be visible.
angelaMusicals are a comprehensive art form. I usually work alone when I make my own albums, but this time I’m playing catch with everyone while making them, so even though it’s tough, I’m by no means alone. Maybe that’s the real thrill of musicals.
KonAnother thing I struggle with is keeping the atmosphere of the original work intact. In the original story, every episode always has a punch line, which is what I love about it, but the musical is about two and a half hours long, so it doesn’t include all the episodes that make you laugh. I am conscious of keeping a warm atmosphere as a base even though it has been cut down.
Kounoah I see. I think that will be a highlight of the musical.
■Musical highlights and highlights
OharaIf I had to introduce the highlight to you, it would be the date scene between Suzu and Shusaku. In particular, the song “Awakenai Yume” is filled with the cuteness of the two of them, and it’s really wonderful. It’s fun to act, and I’d like teachers to experience that sparkling atmosphere as well.
KonI would be happy if you could pay attention to the phrase “everywhere in this world,” which appears twice. I love the structure of the song, which is sung once before the audience knows what kind of story will unfold from now on, and is sung again when Suzu has found her true self. It’s a song that makes you desperately hold back your tears the second time you sing it.
OharaThere are so many songs that you can’t stop crying just by listening to them. I’m moved by how Angie can come up with so many different melodies and words by herself. I love all of them, but the one I think is especially worth listening to is “Freedom Color” sung by Keiko. This is the song that changed Suzu’s way of life and way of thinking, and I think each customer will discover their own “color of freedom” and feel like they have been saved.
Kouno“Color of Freedom” has always been on my mind ever since I heard it at Angela’s demo.
Thank you Angela. You can hear the voices of the cast today, so please look forward to it. What I would like you to pay attention to is the machine gun shooting scene.
KounoIn the manga, the scene progresses with close-ups of faces, so I was wondering how they would play it.
OharaThat’s right. I think the expression is unique to a musical, since it cannot be done in the same way as a manga.
angelaIn addition, both of their performances are simply amazing. From around this scene, Suzu’s emotions crescendo, and then gently decrescendo at the end, and all of that is a highlight. I think it’s really difficult to express Suzu’s energy, but both of them have so much power that the only words I can say are “overwhelming” and “dangerous” (lol). Today’s rehearsal is scheduled for Kon-chan, but I’m also looking forward to seeing the teacher actually watch it.
KonUm, please be gentle with me (lol).
KounoDon’t worry, I won’t say “Hey, let’s try again!” (lol). If comics are my children, film and stage adaptations are like my grandchildren. It’s just cute to me. After talking to them today, I felt that both of them were Suzu in their own ways, so I’m really looking forward to the rehearsal and the actual performance.

After this roundtable discussion, a rehearsal was held with Konatsumi playing the role of Suzu.

Kouno said to the entire company after the performance, with a look of emotion on his face, “Thank you for your hard work. It was a wonderful stage performance. I was a little bit nervous, or rather, I was a little bit nervous.” Suzu was so cute, I wrote this a few years ago, so I would like to say, “Good job!” (laughs) Thank you very much.” The company seemed very encouraged.

Book information

“In This Corner of the World[New Edition]”
Author: Fumiyo Kouno
Release: Core Mix
(C) Fumiyo Kouno/Core Mix Volumes 1 and 2 are now on sale

event information

Musical “In This Corner of the World”
05/09 (Thursday) – 05/30 (Thursday) Nissay Theater, Tokyo
June Hokkaido/Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater Hitaru
June Iwate/Tosai Classic Hall Iwate Great Hall (Iwate Prefectural Civic Hall)
June Niigata/Niigata Prefectural Civic Hall Large Hall
June Aichi/Misonoza
July Nagano/Matsumoto Civic Art Museum
July Ibaraki/Mito Civic Center Globis Hall
July Osaka/Sky Theater MBS
July Hiroshima/Kure Shinkin Bank Hall

Original work: Fumiyo Kono “In This Corner of the World” (Zenon Comics/Core Mix)
Music: Angela Aki
Screenplay/Direction: Kazugo Ueda
Suzu Urano: Natsumi Kon/Sakurako Ohara (Double cast)
Shusaku Hojo: Naoto Kaiho/Yoshihiro Murai (W cast)
Rin Shiraki: Aya Hirano/Reika Sakurai (Double cast)
Satoshi Mizuhara: Hayato Onozuka/Yui Kobayashi (W cast)
Sumi Urano: Naru Komukai
Keiko Kuromura: Katsura Otsuki
Mikiko Shiraki Tatsuya Kawaguchi Junichi Kato
Megumi Iino Atsuko Iezuka Rin Garan Ryosuke Kobayashi Yukari Suzuki Yuji Takase Ripho Tanso
Noboru Nakayama Manami Hannya Rintaro Higashi Chikako Funayama Jundai Furukawa Maho Mugishima
Hiroyoshi Kuwahara Anna Sawada Haru Shimase
Tsubaki Omura Rina Tomo Risa Masuda