Interview with ORSEAS

ORSEAS is a Japanese visual kei band that has gained attention for its energetic and dynamic sound. Formed in 2020 as GrimAqua, the band gradually grew as new members joined, much like characters from a shonen manga. In 2024, they finalised their five-member line-up and changed their name to ORSEAS.
Following the name change, they released their debut single, Crying with Regret, which contains three songs. The clash of the members’ individual personalities creates an intense chemical reaction.
On 28 November 2025, they will perform their first ONEMAN “1123 + 365 =”, at Ikebukuro EDGE. On that day, fans will be able to fully immerse themselves in the unique world of ORSEAS!

 ■ ■ SELF INTRODUCTION ■ ■

■ Please introduce yourselves.

Vo. LUM.: My name is pronounced the same as Lum-chan’s in Urusei Yatsura – “Lum da tcha♪”.  I was born on 10 November (the same day as Demon Kakka), and I am a Scorpio with blood type O.
Gt. Kuro: I was born on 22 August. I pretty much eat anything!
Gt. Yanagi: My birthday is on 1 February. I have blood type B, I am 158.8 cm tall, and I can’t drink alcohol. I smoke TERIA Smooth Regular IQOS cigarettes. I love omelette rice so much that I’m grateful it exists!
Ba. GoH: I am a Libra with blood type A, and I am mercurial.
Dr. Seira: My name is Seira and I am “the” beautiful drummer.

■ If you had to describe your personality in one word, what would it be?

LUM: Impatient.  
Kuro: Lazy.  
Yanagi: Easygoing/carefree.  
GoH: I don’t really know, I don’t know myself that well.
Seira: I’m easygoing, I like to do things at my own pace.

■What is your favourite kanji character and why?

LUM.: 和 (peace/harmony) – peaceful resolutions are the best.  
Kuro: 猫 (cat)– Cats are cute!  
Yanagi: 卵 (egg) – eggs are justice!  
GoH: 愛 (love) – It’s necessary!!  
Seira: 一念通天 (a single thought can reach the heavens) – one of my life mottos.

■ What do you like about yourself?

LUM.:  My ‘everything will work out somehow‘ attitude.    
Kuro: Nothing at all.  
Yanagi: Small is justice. Even economy class feels spacious.  
GoH: Don’t you sometimes feel that you understand yourself the least?   
Seira: That I value harmony.

■ What does music mean to you? How has it influenced your life?

LUM.: It’s the universal language of humanity. It transcends language barriers — I’ve witnessed that so many times.
Kuro: I’ve never really thought about it; it’s just always been there.  
Yanagi: It brings me both the most suffering and the most happiness. 
GoH: Music colours life with every emotion: sour, sweet, joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure. I’m truly glad music exists.    
Seira: Proof of life.

■ Can you speak English or other foreign languages?

LUM.: How many languages can I speak? Countless. I’m the master of Google Translate.  
Kuro: My own Japanese is already shaky.
Yanagi: May I speak English?  
GoH: I love Asahi Super Dry.  
Seira: I can communicate with the universe.

■ Do you have a favourite game that you like to play in your spare time?

LUM.: Sudoku. I play it non-stop while travelling.  
Kuro: I try not to play it because, once I start, it completely takes over my life!  
Yanagi: I like RPGs and racing games. But I haven’t played much lately. My backlog is huge.  
GoH: eFootball. Thanks to it, I know most country flags.  
Seira: I tend to get completely obsessed, so I restrain myself.

■ If you were to get a pet, which animal would you choose and why?

LUM.:  I wouldn’t get a pet because I’d end up loving it too much.  
Kuro: A sloth. I feel a kinship with them.  
Yanagi: A dog or a cat. I want a dog or cat to spoil me.  
GoH: —  
Seira: 100% a Rabbit.

■ Do you have a life motto or words that you live by?

LUM.: ‘It’ll be okay; somehow it’ll work out.’   
Kuro: ‘Understanding and misunderstanding are relative.’  
Yanagi: ‘One thing at a time, steadily.’ I have only just realised that this is how I live.
GoH: ‘Afterall, we’re only human.’  
Seira: ‘The real fight begins after you’ve been defeated.’

■ What has been the hardest thing you’ve ever had to deal with in your life?

LUM.: Most likely when I lost my voice completely during a live show. That was tough.  
Kuro: When the hot water stopped working.
Yanagi: When the neck of my guitar was bent the wrong way.  
GoH: I had ulnar nerve paralysis, which made daily life difficult and meant I couldn’t play bass at all. It was really tough. But now I’m perfectly fine.  
Seira: The moment I left my last band and felt lonely.

 ■ ■ ORSEAS & MUSIC ■ ■

■ Why did you decide to start activities as ORSEAS? How did you all meet? Please tell us about the early days.

LUM.: We met each other through mutual friends, and after a while, the timing felt just right to start a band together.  Also back in the GrimAqua days during COVID, we couldn’t really be active, but through that period we met Kuro and Seira and finally became the complete “ORSEAS.”   Right now, we’re the strongest and we won’t lose to anyone.
Kuro: I thought I could grow as a musician if I played in a band with these people.
Yanagi:  I just thought, “I want to be in a band with these people.”  
GoH: I think we’re a band where each member naturally fills in what the others lack. The moments when chemistry is born through music are still fun even now.  
Seira: Because  I could see that everyone wanted “Seira as the drummer,” and not just any drummer.

■ What is the origin/meaning behind the band name ORSEAS?

LUM.: At first, we thought about changing the way “GrimAqua” was written, but we couldn’t make it feel right.  
Seira joined at that time, so I thought that if we were going to make changes, we might as well change the band’s name.  
The idea behind GrimAqua was that we wanted our musical world to be a place where everyone feels welcome, so “oasis” felt like the perfect name.  
But… well…  
At the same time, the thing I personally want to convey most right now is a view on life and death. 
So “or die (or死す)” means “dead or alive,” and “death (死)” comes from the Aqua in GrimAqua, which comes from the Sea (海). That’s how we end up with the name ORSEAS’.
We also kept the nickname of our fans, ‘Ariel‘, which dates back to our GrimAqua days.

■ What are your feelings going into your first ONEMAN on 28 November, “1123 + 365 =”, at Ikebukuro EDGE, and what points would you especially recommend to readers?

LUM.: We’ve been only performing 20–30 minute sets all year, so on this day we want to show a full ORSEAS live performance.  
Kuro: I’ll just do what I always do to make sure everyone has fun. However, my feelings of gratitude may be even stronger than usual.  
Yanagi: I want to bring together everything from before we became ORSEAS, as well as everything since then, to create the future of ORSEAS.  
GoH: Every live performance is important, but sometimes you need to retie your shoelaces. This will be a day to restart, looking back at the past and present, and stepping into a new future.  
Seira: ORSEAS’ first birthday also marks my 1^st anniversary, so I personally want to make this day the culmination of everything.

■ What does the title ‘1123+365=’ mean?

GoH: The days before the name change plus the days we’ve spent walking as ORSEAS. It’s our one-year anniversary as ORSEAS, but we don’t want to pretend that our time before ORSEAS never happened. 

■ What message would you most like to convey to fans at the ‘1123 + 365 =’ live?

LUM.: We’ve been through so many things since we formed, but we overcame them one by one because we were able to meet you.  Whether you’ve known us for a long time or have only just discovered us, it doesn’t matter – Among countless bands to choose from, I feel really happy that you found us and chose us to support.  
Kuro: Not only for this live show, but in general. It may be temporary, but I want people to feel that perfect loneliness or perfect isolation doesn’t really exist. That’s the feeling I try to express on stage.
Yanagi: I’d be happy if people could sense both our past and our future.

■ What part of the “1123 + 365 =” live do you especially like fans to pay attention to?

LUM.: Probably the various expressions on the members’ faces that you don’t normally get to see.  
Kuro: Me!  
Seira: Of course the members, but I want everyone to enjoy the moment and be so immersed in it that they forget about tomorrow.

■ Please introduce the songs from your 1^st Single Crying with Regret.

LUM.: For Kanashimi-rain and Aisou ROMANCE, Yanagi (the composer) provided me with a rough idea, which I then developed.
For Goodbye, Ms. Lawrence, I listened to GoH-kun’s demo and felt that it was beautiful yet fleeting; however, I thought that straightforward lyrics would suit it better. I wrote them while consulting with our producer.  
They all ended up as sad songs, though. (Laugh.)

01. 哀傷雨 (Kanashimi-rain)
The cutting-edge is our signature sound.  
02. 愛葬ロマンス (Aisou ROMANCE)  
We composed this song so that people could enjoy it with Furi. 
03. “Goodbye, Ms. Lawrence”

■ Why did you title the single “Crying with Regret”?

GoH: I looked at the lyrics of all three songs and imagined the title. It felt emotional.

■ Are there any memorable episodes from the filming of the “Aisou Romance” music video?

LUM.: I had planned to wear a cross tattoo sticker on my forehead, but the one that arrived the day before covered my whole face. In hindsight, maybe I should have worn it.
Kuro:  I forgot to throw away the gum I was chewing before filming, so I had to keep chewing it the whole time.  
Yanagi: I did a full-power dive into Kuro-san’s lap while he was sitting on the sofa.  
GoH: We found a bed at the location, so I suggested doing a scene on the bed. The cameraman was really into it, and it was great fun.
Seira: The air-conditioning in the studio was freezing.

■ What message do you want to convey through ORSEAS’s music?

LUM.: The greatest blessing is being alive.
Kuro: Close your eyes and listen; whatever you feel is the answer.   
Yanagi: Each of our sounds is alive, so listen to us as a band and as individuals. 
GoH: Music is our way of life. I want to prove our existence and create a place for people to belong.
Seira: I’d be happy if we could make people think, ‘Maybe I’ll try living tomorrow, too.’

■ What is the most important thing for you when creating ORSEAS songs?

LUM.: – 
Kuro: Doing lots of things as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the vocals.
Yanagi: Melody and being able to do whatever I want.  
GoH: Even if we clash or support each other, the ideal is that everyone’s color comes through.  
Seira: Adding my own color without breaking the song’s atmosphere.

■ What is your favorite ORSEAS song and why?

LUM.: I guess,”Tsukikage Love Doll”. Since the demo stage, the ‘Tsukikage Love Doll’ hook has been stuck in my head. During our lives, our Ariels scream it so desperately – it’s adorable! 
Kuro: ‘Abyssally’. When I play it, I smile so much that the staff scolds me.
Yanagi: ‘ECLIPSE’. It’s simple but a great song.  
GoH: ‘ECLIPSE’. It was the first song we recorded as a complete five-piece band. It existed before, but the fact that this song feels so good now demonstrates our unity. 
Seira: ‘Sora wa Gunjou ni Naku’. Is there anyone else who can express things like this? It’s genius!

■ Since you spend so much time together as an active band, what do you do to keep good relationships between members?

LUM.:  We just try to stay positive and energetic. 
Kuro: Maintaining a good distance with each other.
Yanagi: Having respect for each other.

■ ■ VISUAL KEI ■ ■

■ There are many styles of visual kei, such as kote-kei, medical-kei and menhera-kei. Which style best represents ORSEAS’s aesthetic, and why did you choose it?

LUM.: That’s difficult. I want to let the people who listen to us decide. We’re just ourselves, and we don’t want to be bound by anything.

■ What daily challenges do you face as a visual kei band that you find especially tough?

LUM.: Makeup takes about an hour, and enduring sitting still that whole time.  
Kuro: Mental control on stage  
Yanagi: To keep my skin clean and shiny. 
GoH:  —
Seira: When expressing my opinion, figuring out how to phrase things so I’m not misunderstood is hard. Words can sometimes become weapons.

■ Visual kei has mostly female fans, but what do you think about male fans?

LUM.: They fire me up.
Kuro: Why don’t you look at me  
Yanagi: I’m a visual kei fan myself.  
GoH: It makes me insanely happy.  
Seira: They make me happy.

■ As a visual kei band, how do you maintain your uniqueness when everyone else is trying to be the best?

LUM.:  I always think about my strengths and how to make use of them. I take inspiration from others, but copying them is pointless.   
Kuro: I take in lots of input and then forget it.  
GoH:  —
Yanagi: I just try to be honest with myself.  
Seira: Lanchester strategy.

■ Many Japanese visual kei bands say they can express themselves better and more freely in visual kei than in other genres. What can only be expressed in visual kei that would be impossible in other genres? What do ORSEAS think??

LUM.: The ability to further express the extraordinary feeling of a live show. That’s what everyone comes looking for, and we feel the same way. You don’t see people with crosses tattooed on their foreheads in everyday life… Well, maybe sometimes, but it’s extremely rare, so it’s extraordinary, right?  
Kuro: There are no rules saying you can’t express yourself in a visual kei style in other genres, or vice versa, so I’ve never really thought about it. Personally, I just feel most comfortable in the world of visual kei, which is why I’m active in the world of visual kei.  
Yanagi: I think every genre is wonderful. I just happen to love the world of visual kei.   
GoH: Because expression should be free, the range of expression feels wider.  
Seira: Freedom of expression.

■ ■ LAST QUESTIONS ■ ■

■ What dreams or goals do you have for ORSEAS?

LUM.: Worldwide.  
Kuro: I want us to become everyone’s ‘oasis’. 
Yanagi: I want to keep diving deeper and deeper like this.  
GoH: We still have so many expressions we want to try—musically and performance-wise. We want to evolve constantly, pull many people along, and grow huge.
Seira: I want us to be the band people listen to when their hearts feel heavy.

■ What do you want to try privately in the future?

LUM.: ‘Takigyo’ (waterfall meditation)— We talked about it recently.
Kuro: Bungee jumping, skydiving – anything that involves falling from high places.  
Yanagi: Scuba diving.  
GoH:  —
Seira: Kickboxing.

■ Finally, please share a message to fans and readers.

LUM.: I’ll definitely make you think ‘I’m glad I BET on them’ in the near future, so stick with us tightly.  
Kuro: Look at me!  
Yanagi: I can be mean or do sexy stuff sometimes, but that’s just my way of showing affection—please enjoy it.   
GoH: We are your oasis. I hope we can be your place to belong.  
Seira: Thank you for reading to the end!