Eguchi Takuya’s Photobook Q&A
Text and photos in this post are taken from Eguchi Takuya's first photobook MEET. Feel free to use (linking back isn’t necessary but appreciated!)
Also, please take my translations with a grain of salt m(_ _)m
Let’s hear it from Egu, 29 questions and 29 answers (+1)
Having turned 29 years old, we’ve received answers from 29 questions!
A hardworking person will not always bear fruits. But a person who bears fruits would always be a hardworker.
01. Is there a reason behind your name? [My parents] wanted to cultivate a variety of things within myself, and that a lot of hopes were put into it, so I heard.
02. What do you think is your personal best quality? The fact that I'm able to live on properly without any regrets.
03. An unexpected weakness of yours? I'm weak in the morning, I suppose.
04. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Drink water.
05. What is your favorite movie? It's hard to choose the best, huh? For now it's Shin Godzilla. I used to like Godzilla a lot when I was little, so you can say that I've been hooked for a long while.
06. What is your favorite book? In the past I was obsessed with reading Kero Kero Chime which was serialized in Ribon.
07. What is something you cannot live without? Sake.
08. What are thing/s you always have on hand? A ballpoint pen. Since it became necessary for me to annotate scripts on site, this item is an absolute must. If I'm here with my ballpoint pen, I’ll be able to do my work!
09. What is something you really want right now? Either a car or a Shin Godzilla figure (lol). I'm torn between the 990,000-yen scale figure or a car. People around me have been saying that I better get the latter though (lol).
10. Tell us a smartphone app that you'd recommend? There's this card game app called Hearthstone -- it’s free, so I’d recommend everyone to check it out. Women might find it hard though.
11. Are there people who influenced your life, and why? It'll be Onosaka Masaya-san, a voice actor. In the end I aimed to become a voice actor like him after all.
12. Are there things you’re worried about recently? I have no savings! I’m the type that thinks, what if I die tomorrow? I often strive to have nothing left, so I end up using all the money I earned... Another thing is going to the toilet frequently. I think I must’ve been drinking too much (lol).
13. Something embarrassing that you can think of right now? Even though there's a lot of those, when I first became a voice actor… I recorded my own voice into this self-published radio. Something like that (lol). Everyone had those days, don’t they.
14. Are there moments that rises your tension the most? That would be whenever I go drinking, huh? Of course when I'm performing, my tension rises, but that's a given, isn't it.
15. How do you cope with stress? This would also result to drinking (lol), but stress isn't really something I experience in this line of work. Since I'm able to do whatever and express various emotions through the microphone, it's a non-stressful thing.
16. Is there something you've been secretly invested in? I want a car, even though I'm not familiar on the maintenance and how-to’s. But then we all have to start somewhere.
17. One thing you have that others don't? Umm… my height! (lol) That would be something others won't be able to beat easily right.
18. Is there a time where your life changed significantly? If so, what came out of it? I was 18 years old when I entered a vocational school in Tokyo. Up until now I'm a person who depends on others; but at that moment when I started to live alone, it really was a time where it came to my senses that I have no choice but to do things myself.
19. At what point of your life you felt that you really entered adulthood? When I was 20 years old, I rented my own space and paid my own electricity bills!
20. Moments in your daily life that makes you the happiest? When I get to sleep. The moment I lie down in my bed and say “good night,” it really is the best kind of feeling! I'm as good as Nobita when I sleep (lol).
21. Are there any strange dreams that happened recently? Apparently, I became a hero of a light novel. The story revolves around myself as a new voice actor - suddenly there were these Four Heavenly Kings appearing as the sound directors, in which they threw me into various scenes, though I got accepted in the end. When I woke up, I was shook. (lol)
22. What did you play when you were a child? I played the Super Nintendo Gameboy. I got so hooked into playing it. My personal favorite was Dragon Quest VI though I also played Chrono Trigger and Mariokart.
23. What is your favorite saying? A hardworking person will not always bear fruits. But a person who bears fruits will always be a hardworker. Well, isn't that a story on why I would always buy lottery tickets (lol).
24. What would you do if you were given a week off? The fact that I'm able to have a week off would make me restless (lol), but I'd like to go abroad!
25. If you weren't a voice actor, what would you be doing now? A freeter (lol). Since it was my dream in high school to become one. I longed for that kind of freedom. Even so, the essence of being able to do what I want (in my work) hasn't changed up until now.
26. Say something to yourself 10 years ago! You're good living the way you are! I'd say that you continue living as is, alright.
27. Is there something you want to try in the future? Even though it's horrible, I want to try drawing manga and things like that. If it was to become an anime and I'm put in charge, I want to handle the casting by myself and various other things!
28. How would you express Eguchi Takuya in one word?
Perverse.
29. When you see the number '29' what do you immediately think of? Meat, huh? Since I like meat (lol).
+1. A word to your 30 year-old self! Let's start saving money!! Even though it's hard to go full-on saving mode suddenly, do it little by little first…
TL notes (and personal ramblings)
Freeter refers to someone whose livelihood depends on part-time work, usually taking multiple at one time.
Four heavenly kings refers to the four Buddhist gods that watch over the world, which gave a threatening aura to Egu’s strange dream - I don’t know why I’m laughing as I imagine him trembling as he wakes up, lol.
29 refers to Meat Day in Japan (2 = Ni / 9 = Ku, if combined it becomes Niku = Meat!)
In case there are people who didn’t get the reference in #20, it’s Nobita from Doraemon, who proclaims himself as a sleeping expert. xD
The word Egu chose to describe himself is 天邪鬼 (Amanojaku) which is a demon in Japanese folklore, but in terms of behavior, someone that goes against the accepted behavior. I chose to translate to “perverse” in a way that Egu is someone who has a mindset that usually counters the mainstream. As seen from his “creations” and personality-wise, he likes to stand out from what’s expected of the industry. which is why I love him so much
Speaking of his creations (aka kimoi doodles) in relation to the thing he wants to try in the future, he actually did it! Starting March 2017, he’ll be penning a 4-koma manga in Dengeki Girls Style (you can read the first installment here). Entitled Eguchi Takuya’s Concept Planet, his purpose is to give another perspective to everyday topics from his own fair share of experiences. Congrats Egu~ now we shall see for the anime part...
I’m not lying (nor is Egu) about the 990,000-yen Shin Godzilla figure that he wants, because it exists.
Thanks for reading! (ﾉ・∀・)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
I’ll be translating this long personal interview from his photobook too, just give me some time. 7 pages hahah rip me and my still mediocre jp reading skills