C3AFA 2017 B-Pro Stage Report
Alright folks… so I promised some of you that I would be writing a detailed post about my C3AFA Singapore 2017 experience of the B-pro Stage and Meet and Greet sessions. I’m a rambly person by nature, so the post turned out longer than expected. Hence, it’ll come in two parts – I’ll post about the Meet and Greet session separately. Also, Kakki said that he’s a 35-year-old ojisan (like repeatedly!), so please forgive this obasan (who is of the same age) for having a memory like Swiss cheese! My proficiency in Japanese is really low, so I couldn’t catch most of the finer details. Please correct me if some of the quotations are wrong! Also, some details may be in the wrong sequence, so I’d appreciate any comments or suggested corrections from those who also attended the event. Please note also that there may be a huge Kakki-bias in this report, but I’ll try to be fair to the Tosshi fans who are reading this write-up. Do be mentally prepared for unabashed gushing ahead though! Sigh… they’re both so adorkable!
First up, the B-Pro Stage!
The emcees (translators) did a short round of self-introduction before inviting Kakki and Tosshi to come onstage to wild applause and screams from the mostly female crowd. Tosshi had a black hat on and wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a checkered design and dark pants, while Kakki wore a black T-shirt, grey pants, a black long-sleeved shirt over the T-shirt and dark sneakers with white laces. (Which begs the question… why the added layer, Kakki? You’ve got beautiful muscled arms and Singapore’s a swelteringly hot country… single layers next time yo! Sorry, I digress…) We screamed “konnichiwa!” at both of them once they greeted us. Tosshi attempted to add English words whenever he could, which was really cute! Kakki greeted us impersonating Morikubo Showtaro’s voice, before switching to his regular voice. Tosshi remarked that we, the audience, were really able to understand Japanese well! ("Yappari, nihongo wakarimasu desu ne!") and the fans screamed in response. They then sat towards stage left (*my side! Yay!*), with Kakki on the outermost bar stool, which he kept spinning back and forth on throughout the Q&A. (He’s so twitchy! XD)
B-project = Beard Project?
Before the interview could commence properly, the seiyuus began commenting on the bushy appearance of the male emcee, who is an ethnic Sikh currently studying to become a voice actor in Japan. According to the female emcee, Kakki and Tosshi were saying that they were amazed by the male emcee’s beard, for they did not know where it ended and where his black jacket began! The emcee is 26 years old, and been growing his beard ever since he was 13. (Note: Traditionally, the Sikhs are unshorn from birth.) Kakki and Tosshi couldn’t believe that he was only 26 (the beard made him look so much older), which cued the male emcee asked them how old they were. Tosshi said he was 33 while Kakki said he was 35 – an ojisan; then remarked that they looked the same age as the male emcee. They then said that they aimed to grow their own beards too, so B-project would now mean ‘Beard Project’!
On Singapore and speaking English
The emcees asked if they had been to Singapore before. Tosshi said that he was in Singapore for the first time, and repeated “first time” in English once he heard the translation. This became a running joke throughout the Q&A, because whenever he could, Tosshi would suddenly say “first time!”. Kakki said that he had come once when he was very young, so he did not remember his first experience here. However, he believed that this trip would be much more memorable. When the male emcee translated his words, Kakki listened intently and then pointed at him and said “Yes, exactly!” to the cheers of the audience upon hearing the English words. Tosshi then remarked that Kakki should just speak in English without the translator’s help since he could understand the language so well, but Kakki said that he would rather not because English is hard for him and it gives him a headache to think in English. At this point, he mimicked collapsing from overexertion on his stool. (So cute!) The interviewers then asked what food they have tried / want to try in Singapore. Tosshi immediately said “Jumbo” (a Chinese seafood restaurant chain), where they ate chilli crab and cereal prawns. According to Kakki, Tosshi liked the prawns so much that he ate everything - tails, shell and all! Tosshi added “First time!” to emphasise his enjoyment of the dish.
Kakki’s “I woke up late” Story
Next, the seiyuus were asked if they had any tips for the male emcee on becoming a seiyuu. I blanked out at this stage and don’t remember what Tosshi’s response was because Kakki chose this moment to stare at my side of the audience (dare I say it, right at me!) and was smiling flirtatiously! (I should have waved or blown him a kiss damn it…. But I was just frozen to the spot, staring and smiling dumbly back at him!) So anyway, Tosshi called him out for his inattention and Kakki had to ask what the question was again. Once he heard it, Kakki sheepishly said that it is the most important to be on time for their recordings. Tosshi immediately began laughing and said that the C3AFA panel almost didn’t happen because Kakki woke up late the day before, and almost didn’t make the plane to Singapore! However, he also said that rather than being worried about having to come to Singapore to do the panel by himself, he was more amused at the thought of the face Kakki would have upon his arrival at the airport.
Here’s a recount of the hilarious incident. Apparently Kakki was supposed to leave at 8.30am that morning, but ended up WAKING UP AT 8.30am. Kakki began demonstrating his rushed packing of the suitcase, yelling “zen zen dame da!” (“Everything is NOT okay!”) when his manager called to ask if everything was alright, his wild drive to the airport and finally his arrival there, where he had to find the way to get to the ticket counter the most quickly. He had wanted to make a cool and suave entry, but basically ended up sprawling on top of his suitcase and sliding all the way to the check-in counter! At this point, he used the bar stool to demonstrate the undignified position he was in, complete with legs raised off the floor. The audience was in stitches by then, whether they understood Japanese or not. The male emcee then translated his words (and Kakki again said, “That’s right, exactly!” to the translation), but added that he would not repeat the physical demonstration.
I Voice Therefore I Am
The actors were asked about what they had in common with the B-pro characters they were voicing. Tosshi is quite the comedian actually, so he has very little in common with Kaneshiro Goshi, who is a tsundere type character. Completely straight-faced, he said, “I sing. We share the same voice!” much to the audience’s amusement. Kakki reacted with great enthusiasm to the background screen which showed the characters’ pictures and their profiles, and his attention was drawn to Momotarou Onzai’s blood type. He was like “Eh?! It’s AB too?” and then he said that another similarity was that both he and Momo are “machi shokai” (city boys). (Note to those who don’t know: Kakki’s hobby is asking for and memorising the blood types of other people, because he himself has the rarest blood type, ABRh-.)
Being a Seiyuu = taihen desu yo!
The actors were asked what the recording atmosphere is like. Tosshi gravely said, “Taihen desu yo!” (“It’s very tough!”) with a pointed look at Kakki, who was like “Who, me?”. Then, Tosshi added that he actually also plays around with the others sometimes, and they made sheep sounds together (or rather, they both attempted to impersonate Morikubo Showtaro! XD) Apparently, in the recording studio, many of the actors who are familiar with one another tend to fool around, and Tosshi is often the mature and adult-like one who tries to bring everyone back to serious mode while Kakki plays around a lot. That said, they all have a lot of fun during the recording, especially because they are all familiar with their characters by the time they step into the studio to record the songs.
On surprises
The actors were asked what has surprised them since becoming a seiyuu. Tosshi said that he was surprised that B-project has fans even in Singapore. Another thing that surprised him about their job is the need for seiyuus to go for tv shows, interviews and events. As for Kakki, he said that when male voice actors enter the industry, they expect to voice shonen characters in mecha animes, but here he was voicing an idol bishounen years younger than himself. It is surprising to him that he gets to act as an idol-type character at his age. At this point, he stood up and said dramatically, “I’m a 35-year-old ojisan!” (You’re not old, Kakki, damn it! By the way, I’m born in the same year as you, so does that make me an ancient relic?! Besides, you look much younger than your actual age, you ageless freak… ok sorry, I really love you!)
Wonderful Japan?
The emcees asked Kakki and Tosshi what they thought was wonderful about Japan. Both of them looked quite clueless about where to begin, then Kakki said that the fans should know better what is wonderful about Japan, because to them, they take a lot of things for granted living there. They don’t understand what is wonderful about Tokyo Tower and rarely even go there, but tourists seem to know a lot more about it. They said that the food is delicious there, but that food is also delicious here in Singapore. They also asked the audience what we loved most about Japan, to which we yelled “Anime!”
Final words
Tosshi expressed his gratitude to Kakki for inviting him to accompany him to C3AFA Singapore 2017. Apparently, Kakki had been asked which fellow voice actor he wanted to come to Singapore with, and he had said, “I want Toyonaga-kun to come with me.” Hence, Tosshi was in Singapore for his “first time!”. Kakki said that he was grateful for the opportunity to come here. Both Kakki and Tosshi were only told that the anime would have a second season and they did not know any more details about it, yet here they were all the way from Japan to promote it. Both of them said that they were happy that we were able to learn Japanese by watching anime. They thanked the fans for making the stage event a truly enjoyable one. When they headed backstage, Kakki turned around to wave at the audience again before they disappeared behind the curtain.
Overall thoughts (Warning: gushfest ahead)
Both of them were adorable and so down-to-earth! I didn’t know much about Tosshi prior to this event, but I had a really good impression of him after this! By the way, the way Tosshi yells “Urusaiiii!” is so manly and assertive. He may be small-sized, but he has a huge presence. I was greatly amused by his sense of comedic timing.
Kakki is beautiful… and so twitchy! Kakki kept swivelling from side to side on his bar stool, and also adjusted the height at one point so that he could swivel more comfortably. It was hypnotizing to watch actually! His eyes look really large even from a distance, and when he stared in my direction I was just struck dumb by the sheer force of that gaze. *slaps self* In person, he’s so bouncy! I cannot believe that he actually demonstrated the sprawling position on the bar stool (which is hard plastic by the way!)
Right, this report is already pushing 2000 words, and I’m just through with the stage part… Please stay tuned for my impression of the Meet and Greet session! I’ll post that sometime later this week or next week. Also, I must give a shoutout to my two companions that day, Wenchie and Yolanda, who have also been helping me plug the holes in my Swiss Cheese brain. Thank you girls!
