Magazines: HEVN vol. 51 feat. Kouki, D=Out

Hello again for the week! Thanks to those who responded to our Follow Friday feature about BENI! We've actually been looking for more artists to follow and recommend, and we found a very exciting talented rock band that we're hoping to do next!

On another note, woo, part 2! Thank you again to arecchikyuuun for providing us with the interview and base images! I never realized how talkative Kouki got, but I think I have a moderately good grasp of how he loves to be heard. I released a snapshot of Kouki vs. Hikaru's translation length on Facebook, and Kouki's notes came out longer by another page! What a blabbermouth (￣Д￣)

Well, let's see what exactly he likes to blabber about ヾ(´・∀・)ﾉ

The members reveal Kouki's strong and weak points!

「The person himself has permission to speak only up to 3 times?!」

--- First off, strengths please.

Ibuki: He's good at taking care of others.
Permission to speak, chance ① Kouki: Say more, more....

Ibuki: From my memories as friends, he's the type to completely stick to his opinions.

Hikaru: You're going really far back, huh. For me, he always brightens up the mood of the place. He's refreshing and was a sports-oriented guy who was burning with passion.

Reika: He's a mood maker, I guess. I've wondered before, “If Kouki didn't have this sort of a personality, what sort of vibe would this band have?” (laugh). He's the type of person that's absolutely necessary to the band. So I think that this sort of feeling has to be preserved. After that is his attention to detail. For example, even when he's warning the members of something, he doesn't just charge through and say it, but he goes about it gently. For me, I can't speak like that, and I just say it bluntly, so I'm envious of that.

Minase: By far, he's hot blooded. He's the band's version of ○ka Shuuz○ that overflows with enthusiasm. He's the type that pulls everyone along and continues maintaining the excitement while taking the initiative.

--- Does he have weaknesses?

Permission to speak, chance ② Kouki: My kindness is my weakness!

--- You're only praising yourself though...

Ibuki: The way he talks is pretty much how people talk while they're in the prime of their lives (laugh).

Hikaru: Prime of his life, eh...

Permission to speak, chance ③ Kouki: Me, I'm in the prime of my life!

--- I'm being completely serious but...you only have permission to speak up to three times, and since you used all of those, you can no longer say anything, you know.

Permission to speak, chance ④ Kouki: This is just what I would say, but I think that's also a strength. Aren't people who are at the prime of their lives interesting?

--- I got ignored...(dry laugh). Everyone else also lost to Kouki-san's “right to speak” (laugh).

Everyone: (Dry laughter)

Ibuki: Let's do our best! He chatters on unexpectedly, and he's bad at being ghost-like. Besides the chattering, we can totally spot him (laugh). Other than that, there are plenty of times when he completely overdoes it. But, it gives us all the feeling that we're also in our own golden age, so it's fun.

Permission to speak, chance ⑤ Kouki: I've had enough of this “permission to speak”. I'm going to talk when I want. It isn't for any one else's sake, since I think that I just need to have the most fun. This is the talk of someone who's in the prime of his youth! That's all I'm going to interrupt with. I don't care about trends and my surroundings. As long as it's fun, it's fine! And, that's it.

--- And with that, it seems like Hikaru-san also lost out to the “permission to speak”.

Hikaru: When we go on tour, he's the one with the most luggage.

--- Let's do questions about this. You seem to have to go on tours and have to bring a lot of luggage, but what do you bring with you?

Kouki: First off, I bring the blanket I use from home. I'm the type to prefer futons, so I'm not really for the beds that they have at the hotels. Besides that, I bring necessities. I jam a month worth of clothes and stuff like my laptops. In the end, I always only use 1 computer, but that's just me being paranoid about something breaking, so I want to be on the safe side. I have this habit of bringing whatever comes to mind. So when the office tells us we can only bring up to 2 luggage cases, I start the trip by bringing my blanket and bag.

--- On that note...there are people like that, aren't there—the people who can't sleep unless it's on a futon.

Reika: On the other hand, the explanation he gave yesterday and today are different. I'm surprised that I managed to come across it, but today I got to experience it completely (laugh).

--- What's the thing you managed to experience?

Reika: I completely understand when it comes to myself. Well, at any rate, it's how stubborn he is. He uses any means possible to try and do things his own way. He doesn't just do things with these vague thoughts in his head, he has a set idea on things should be done, and he thinks he knows how to do it best. Well, besides that, there's also how he's got so much luggage backstage...

Everyone: *nods* (laugh)

Permission to speak,chance ⑥ Kouki: It doesn't matter how many times I speak up!

--- You're serious about this breaking the three-time limit, eh!

Kouki: Everybody talked about the luggage in my case.

--- Case?

Kouki: I have my private case, and I put a bunch of stuff in there, like my suction extractor, Tshirts, magazines, protein powders et cetera.

Reika: And he'd also put in old fliers. He thinks,“We'll need them!” and puts everything in.

Kouki: Even though it's my personal bag (case), the other members put all their things in my bag. Somehow I end up sharing my space, and even though I put only 1 of my personal items in my bag, somehow there end up being two, and I also end up running this “safety deposit” and that leads to me handing out towels to everyone. I have to hold on to everything (laugh).

Reika: For example, it's fine for everyone to just go along with one bag for clothes, but Kouki has that bag full of clothes and an extra case.

--- There's no standard way of doing things. Everyone's belongings get deposited at the Kouki bank (laugh)!

Minase: If you look at it from a certain way, he also seems like a loner. He's the type that can't stay overnight at the hotel by himself. We think it's lucky if we've got a single room to ourselves, but for him it's no good.

Reika: But there are times when he becomes a hermit.

Minase: He's gone through both extremes. Besides that, he forgets a lot of stuff.

--- He brings that much luggage, but still forgets things?

Minase: Before we set out, there's been a bunch of times when he's gone, “Ah, I forgot ○○ at home.” Even though it'd be nice if he checked his luggage before he left the house, he only starts checking as everything gets loaded in the equipment car. There's this feeling of, “You should've done this at the start.” In addition to that, he also just leaves his phone lying around everywhere, and there ends up being a huge uproar while looking for it. He says these things that completely don't make sense, like “Even with my phone, I can't use my phone,” while causing a huge commotion.

Reika: After the live, for some reason he puts his phone in his makeup pouch. Then he suddenly starts to harass me and starts shooting off about how he can't find the phone and tells me, “I think it's in the makeup pouch” and stuff, and starts saying things that he might have absently put it in there while thinking of other things and forgot about it...

--- Can't you just hang it from your neck?

Permission to speak,chance ⑦ Kouki: Something weird happened once. I've also put my phone in my shoes before, and I thought I did it subconsciously, but there was a time when I put it in between some car tires, but no matter how much I thought about it, I didn't think it was me. I thought about who did it, and I said, “Whoever stole my identity, please return it,” but even after saying all that, no one said anything, you know...

Everyone: HAHAHAHA

Kouki: Even if it's me, I'm not that stupid, so to this day, I don't think that I was the one that left my phone there (laugh).

--- I'd like to take the chance to ask someone to explain, but with this sort of atmosphere, I don't think anyone will want to say anything (laugh).

Kouki: There's that sort of mood, isn't there.

--- Let's hear about the enthusiasm you have as you head for the Final.

Kouki: In the beginning of 2011, on January 5, we'll be performing at Akasaka Blitz. I really believe that everyone will be able to see a compilation of everything we've done on this tour, and I'll be doing my very best. We definitely would like everyone to come and watch us.

[END]

Did you make sure to see Reika's part?

If you like this interview series, do support the band and purchase HEVN, vol. 51! (OoOo, shiny pretty photos!)

We'll be posting someone next week too, so you have a whole week to let Kouki and his pack-rat habits sink in. I can't believe how many times he interrupted and how early he used up his "chances to speak"! He really just couldn't wait!

What do you all think about Kouki? Is anyone surprised about how he can be a hermit at all?! A blabbermouth like him doesn't seem like he could spend five minutes alone without breaking something...Let us know what you think in the comments please! As usual, we do love reading from and responding to you all, and, of course, please don't forget to share this with your friends who also love D=out!ヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ

And PS, does anyone else love the new look Kouki and Reika have been sporting? It's great how their makeup took a more natural turn~(〃∀〃)

Posted in: 2011,D=Out,hevn,Magazines,rock