Interview with Karasu

Karasu just keeps getting better and better! They’re a visual kei rock band with a unique charm and they just keep on accelerating!
Get ready for an incredible solo tour by Karasu in five major cities this September! The tour finale will be held at Akabane RENYalpha on October 8th, and it’s going to be a blast!  If you’re new to live performances, Karasu’s solo show is a great place to start. It’s sure to be a delight for everyone, even if you’re not sure what to expect! We know it can be tough to make up your mind. But don’t let that stop you from experiencing the magic of the Karasu world!

On June 18, 2024, Karasu thrilled fans with a spectacular solo live performance, “Isshi Mukuiru (一矢報いる),” at Shibuya O-WEST in Tokyo. JRNR was thrilled to see that even though we were also watching via SNS from overseas, that KARASU had successfully put on an amazing live performance! They showed us photos of the day, the impressions of the fans, and the posts of the members, and it was so great to see all that! In this exclusive interview, we’re thrilled to look back on their incredible live performance at WEST and ask about their excitement for the highly anticipated five-city tour, “Gozo Roppu(五臓六腑),” and the tour finale at Akabane ReNYalpha.

We hope you enjoy this lovely interview, which is sure to bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye!

[After WEST]
■ We bet you have so many thoughts swirling around in your head after this incredible concert with WEST! It might be tough to put it all into one sentence, but I’d love to hear your honest thoughts looking back on WEST now, or any scenes or episodes that really stood out for you.

Ryo: The concert was concise and easy to understand—exactly as it should be.

Yuhta: It was a complete and utter success! I’d been looking forward to this day for the longest time, so I’d like to say it was “obvious,” but I was really nervous because it rained heavily, the rehearsal didn’t go as planned, Daichi fell down the stairs, and there were various accidents before the performance started (laughs).

Daichi: I was absolutely thrilled to see the incredible scenery that exceeded all my expectations! I am so overjoyed that I got to experience the best day of my life! ♡

Takuto: I’m so happy I got to enjoy the live show to the fullest while still feeling that wonderful sense of anticipation. I was so moved when I saw all those happy smiles on the faces of the people on the floor at the end. 

■After WEST, Karasu has continued to perform live in Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, and other places with great enthusiasm. During the live performances after WEST, have you noticed any changes in your way of thinking or anything that you feel has changed since the time before WEST?

Ryo: I’m pretty consistent in my feelings, but I really do think it would be absolutely wonderful if we could get more people to come to watch our lives.

Yuhta: Before WEST, I had already gone through a lot of self-evaluation, but I have a feeling that it will become even more refined.
I want to do more of this! I want to do more of that! This is a band that never runs out of ideas!

Daichi: We’ve been so lucky to play at lots of Taiban events since WEST! It’s so lovely to see more and more people getting into our music.

Takuto: I feel like my desire to create has really taken off! It’s not like we didn’t have it before, but after 6/18, it’s been amazing to see our original role come back into focus. We’re so excited to write songs, perform live, make videos, photos, merchandise, and more, so that we can share our music with even more people!

X POST: 《 Ryo 》 《 Yuhta 》 《 Daichi 》 《 Takuto 》

 [About ROADtoWEST]
■ Since the announcement in September 2023, you have made various efforts towards WEST in just about a year, and it’s been an incredible journey! We think it’s so wonderful to see how much the bonds between the members have grown during this preparation period! During this long preparation period, we’re sure there were some truly memorable moments with each member, and we’d love to hear about them! Did anyone go above and beyond in their work on this project? We’d love to know about it!

Ryo: I just wanted to let you know, between us, that Ryo really worked hard. He’s so talented and hard-working. I’m so proud of him!

Yuhta: Ryo is absolutely amazing! He even runs from his house to the West! And Yuta is great too! He lost so much weight!

Daichi:I think the most important thing to remember is that if you try too hard, you might end up falling down the stairs…(・∀・)

Takuto: Everyone worked so hard to prepare, and it really showed! I’m also the most erotic, if I do say so myself.

■ The new song, “ROAD to …,” is an absolute delight! It has moving and encouraging lyrics and a warm melody. I think that heartwarming ballads are one of Karasu’s greatest charms. We’d love to hear more about the story behind the song’s production of “ROAD to …” and the creative process behind it!

Ryo: I truly believe that if the four of us can achieve something, you guys can do it too. That’s the feeling I want you to have, so please listen. Also, my talent is overflowing, I’m sorry!

Yuhta: Our one-man shows used to end with an encore of “Tabiji,” but after WEST, we wanted to present the show in a different way, and this song was born! I remember the members getting really excited talking about what to do for the intro. It was so much fun!(earnestly)

Daichi: I think it’s a cheer song that only we, who have overcome many difficulties, can do! It’s a song that really captures the feelings we all have when we’re together, working hard to make a future for ourselves.

Takuto: For this song, we added the guitar phrase from the song “Tabiji”.（Tabiji means journey, journey of the life.）I added the guitar phrase of “Tabij”” before the chorus (on the way to the chorus = the “journey”（Tabiji） to the chorus) to express that the song “ROAD to…” would never have been written if I hadn’t met these amazing KARASU members on my “journey” of life.

★ROAD to…「」

★旅路 スケアクロウ±0ver.

■ From the preparation to the day itself, what was the most difficult or challenging part?

Ryo: I was really struggling with my mental health when I was working with full focus on it. It’s so important to find a good balance between enjoying the things you love and taking care of yourself.

Yuhta: Looking back, it wasn’t a big deal at all! But I thought about it too much and had a lot of days where I just couldn’t calm down.

Daichi: The hardest thing for me was the structure of the live show….What should we add to the setlist that we have been working on since the last projects? But in the end the setlist was very well organized and I am glad that the audience seemed to enjoy the show.♪

Takuto: Preparing the equipment.
I spent a lot of time maintaining the drum set that I was going to use for our first live show on June 18th.

★2024/06/18日「一矢報いる(Isshi Mukuiru)」SETLIST

■ What was the absolute best part of the whole preparation period to the actual day of the event?

Ryo: More and more people are coming to our live shows and I’m so happy about that.

Yuhta: I’m so happy to hear from the venues that so many fans come to see us, even if they’re not going to see us specifically that day. It also seems that on the days when we play Taibans, people are not chilling at the drinking bars, but come to see us on stage. 

Daichi: It’s so much fun to think about all the different ways we can achieve our goal♪ I’m really happy that we managed to convey that to all our amazing supporters and to new people who’ve just started following us♪

Takuto: I was thrilled to see that during the live and photo session, our fans were facing WEST with the same incredible enthusiasm as us.

■ Ryo-san had the brilliant idea of putting ROADtoWEST into physical practice by running from his home to WEST every day for a week before the performance. We’d love to know how you came up with this idea! I’m sure it was a challenge to run for a week, but you did it! What were you thinking while running?

Ryo: I’ve made a rule for myself to avoid becoming one of those people who are too easy on themselves. If I’m lucky enough to get paid to perform, I really want to be able to speak to the audience with what I’m doing.

★VIDEO: “Thank you for today” (after the live of “Isshi Mukuiru (一矢報いる)”)
★PHOTO:  “Isshi Mukuiru (一矢報いる)” WEST group photo with fans.|

[About the Five Major Cities Tour Gozo Roppu (五臓六腑)]
■ We’d love to hear all about how you planned the five-city tour as your next goal after WEST! We’re also really interested to know why you chose Akabane RENYalpha for the tour finale. And we’d be really grateful if you could share your thoughts on the new journey of ROAD to alpha!

Ryo: I’m so excited to be doing a solo tour! It’s not just about Alpha, but that this is our first solo tour.

Yuhta: Whether it’s in Tokyo or the countryside, our band can only play three songs in a 25-minute show (laughs). So on the solo tour we want to show our true talents as KARASU and leave a mark wherever we go.

Daichi: In the future, we want to be able to tour the whole country, so this is a step towards that goal!

Takuto: As Ryo said, it’s significant that this tour will visit five places. After our solo show at WEST, we’ll be able to check our answers and take a step towards the next stage on the Gozo Roppu(五臓六腑) Tour! I believe we’ll be able to present an even more refined live performance than our solo show at WEST.

■ Please tell us some memories/episodes/etc you have from each place/venue you will play at. 

・Shibuya REX 9/12
Ryo: The lighting is awesome.

Yuhta: Pay attention to the LED field.

Daichi: Since I joined the band, this was the first venue where KARASU played a video of something behind the performance, so I want to play more video with variety of songs at the solo concert♪

Takuto: It is a next generation venue. It is the most similar to ReNY alpha, the last venue on the tour, and we are considering staging a production that takes full advantage of the venue’s facilities.

・Fukuoka graf 9/17
Ryo: Fukuoka-yaken (dialect for→ “It is Fukuoka!!”)

Yuhta: The food is cheap and delicious! I also like that the people are so friendly.

Daichi: Fukuoka is definitely the place for ramen and Motsunabe♡.

Takuto: I’m so excited to be performing there for the first time! I heard from 「#没(#Botsu)」 bassist Momoharu (百春) that it’s a fantastic live venue, and the staff seems to be really gentle as well.

・Sendai SpaceZero 9/20
Ryo: Tongue dish.

Yuhta: I’d absolutely love to go to a beef tongue restaurant! I’d be really grateful if you could let me know if you know a good one. 

Daichi: I am happy to do a one-man show in Sendai because it is a place of personal memories for me.

Takuto: We’ve only had the chance to perform in Sendai once, so we’re really excited to go on more trips in the future! There’ll be lots of new faces coming to see us, so we’ll be doing our best to promote ourselves and make sure everyone knows who we are!

・Shinsaibashi CLAPPER 9/25
Ryo: Osaka-yan ( it’s dialect → for “It is  Osaka!!”)

Yuhta: The upper stage is absolutely EXTREME, so just be careful not to get hurt!

Daichi: I always think of Osaka as being so passionate, I’ll eat some delicious hot takoyaki before going there [going to Osaka? or playing at the venue?]! 

Takuto: I’m so happy to say that I finally learned to walk around Osaka without a map! Osaka is my second home.

・HOLIDAY NEXT Nagoya 9/26
Ryo: Yabaton 

Yuhta: I hope we can all eat Misonikomi udon! We’ll have to line up though.

Daichi: After All I guess Misokatsu is the best♡

Takuto: In the past, I did a one-man show as a support member of a solo artist called MEME.
I remember that I personally could not give a good performance at that time, so I will take revenge this time.

・Akabane RENYalpha 10/08

Ryo: I know it might be tough to go, but I really hope you’ll do your best to come. I’d love to see you there!…

Yuhta: I absolutely love this live house, so I’m really excited about it!

Daichi: Just like REX, I’ll do my best to make sure everyone enjoys it with a video in the background♪

Takuto: I would like to perform the live show after enjoying the Akabane area, instead of just welcoming it as the last day of the tour.
Now I am seriously thinking about staying in Akabane for one night before the live show.

■  What kind of live performance do you want to give throughout the Five Major Cities Tour? What are the highlights and your enthusiasm, such as “This is what I want people to pay particular attention to!”

Ryo: Ryo-san

Yuhta: We have new songs, so please check them out.

Daichi: I hope you will join us in this new challenge♡.

Takuto: Everything.

★KARASU – Five Major Cities Solo Tour “Gozo Roppu(五臓六腑)” trailer

[About the recent KARASU]
■Weloved seeing you in your old costumes for “孤独に、墜ちる。” and “誰か教えて、” at the July live!  They were so amazing,  with all the details that we all know and love. I’d love to know how you felt wearing them again this time!

Ryo: I’ve gained weight. I need to do some muscle training.

Yuhta: I forgot how to put the costume on, but it was kind of hard to move around lol.
But I’m glad the response has been so positive.

Daichi: It was hard to move (;;)

Takuto: I had a lot of fun discovering how to express myself and show off the costumes in a way that I can do now, and I hope to have the opportunity to wear them again.

■ I’d absolutely love to wear this kind of costume in the future! And I’d really like to try this kind of costume someday! Do you have any such ideas?

Ryo: Why not go full round and wear nothing but your underwear?

Yuhta: Oh, this isn’t a bodybuilding contest, laugh! 
I’d love to wear something with a really eye-catching design that says, “This is the costume!”

Daichi: There are so many things I want to wear, it’s hard to decide… ♡

Takuto: I’d love to create something without any concepts! For example, I could make something like a hat out of colored paper and set it on fire while taking still photos. Or maybe I could use paint during a live performance and complete a costume while I’m playing. If that fits the concept, I’d be thrilled to try it!

★「孤独に、堕ちる。」Costume.
★「誰か教えて、」Costume.
★「DEATH NOTE」 Costume.

■ I’m sure you all spend a lot of time together on trips and such. We’d love to hear about any particularly funny or fun stories you’ve had recently together!

Ryo: Oh, you know how it is with these kinds of things. They have this incredible momentum and groove that just sweeps you away in the moment. And then, when you remember them again, they don’t seem quite as funny, do they? It’s like this band is laughing hysterically at something that’s a bit of a joke.

Yuhta: We’ve been together for about two years now, but each of us has our own specialties and we make good use of them (laughs).
It’s just like what I’m talking about in the instrumental.

Daichi: Before we know it, we’re laughing,, so there is never a day that we don’t have fun. lol

Takuto: When we all went to a yakiniku restaurant in Osaka, we had such a great time! I don’t remember what we talked about, but I feel like we were laughing the whole time. 

■ Do you have any recent or new hobbies or passions?

Ryo: I wasn’t allowed to do muscle training, but now the doctor allowed me to do it again so I’m doing it like crazy again. It’s fun. 

Yuhta: I’ve started working as a guitar instructor, and I absolutely love spending time with my students! It’s so rewarding to be able to teach others and to be able to learn the guitar again myself. I feel so fulfilled every day!

Daichi: I just love watching anime and live gameplay♪ It really gets me going. I also love watching live footage, playing guitar, and thinking about staging, while thinking about how to move others as well. It feels like I’m always at a live show!♪

Takuto: I think it’s the long baths! I was in the bath for two whole hours yesterday.

■ We are already in the second half of 2024, but is there anything that you would like to accomplish this year or any personal goals that you have?

Ryo: I want to be rich.  3 years old, class 2, by Ryo Yoshida.

Yuhta: I want to be super rich. High school dropout, by Sorimachi Yuta.

Daichi: Right now, complete the oneman tour Gozo Roppu (五臓六腑) in perfect condition ♡

Takuto: To be physically and mentally stable.

■ Finally, please give a message to your fans and readers.

Ryo: Thank you as always, idiot.

Yuhta: Be thrilled about your dreams! Shine bright for tomorrow!

Daichi: Thank you for reading♡ Here we go…♡

Takuto: Thank you for reading all the way to the end.
Please come and join us on the Gozo Roppu (五臓六腑) Tour♫

★鴉-カラス-『赤ずきんちゃん。』MV

★鴉-カラス-『神様の言う通り。』MV

★鴉-カラス-Official Website
https://karasu-web.com/live

★You also can purchase cheki and merchandise here!
https://karasu-web.stores.jp