Interview with Matenrou Opera

author: Meg

© Matenrou Opera

Anime USA was abuzz with the arrival of Matenrou Opera and the anticipation of their question and answer session for that evening. The band spent the day unwinding, casually dressed and hanging out behind the scenes at Anime USA. JaME had the chance to catch up with them and see how their trip was going so far.


Can you please introduce yourselves and tell us something interesting that has happened to you this weekend?

Sono: I’m Sono on vocals. At the airport coming through immigration, one of the employees asked me what my job is. When I told him I'm a heavy metal band’s vocalist, he said I need to be able to speak some English.
Anzi: I am Anzi on guitar. The funny thing that just happened to me is that our hair and make-up artist got Life Savers candy yesterday. I really love those, and I ate them, but they tasted like saronpasu (patches you put on when you have a muscle ache). I wondered, are these actually food that is edible? I thought it was medicine. (everyone laughs)
Ayame: I am Ayame on keyboard. Just earlier, I was walking around the event halls and I took some photos with cosplayers. I also really like anime, so I was able to speak English with the people dressed in the costumes from the anime I like.
Yo: I am Yo on bass. I am in a double room with our (male) manager at this convention. Usually I have my own room, so I am naked. I felt bad so I at least wore my boxers. Then, our manager came out completely naked. (everyone laughs) Most likely tonight too, he will be completely naked.
Yuu: I am Yuu on drums. It is more of a memorable thing, but when we went to lunch and dinner yesterday, the portions for the food were so big. I really love to eat, but it was memorable to me how big the portions were.

There are a lot of cosplayers here. If you could cosplay, who would you be?

Yuu: (strikes a pose) "Dragon Quest." I just want to wear armor and hold a shield and sword and be someone from "Dragon Quest."
Anzi: Vegeta from "Dragonball."
Ayame: Edward Eric from "Full Metal Alchemist."
Yuu: I wonder if everyone knows about "Hunter x Hunter" in America? "Hunter x Hunter"’s Dancho, the ringleader. My outfit today actually looks like his. However, if I could cosplay, I would like to cosplay Kurapika from "Hunter x Hunter."
Sono: Lelouch from "Code Geass."

When new lyrics are composed, what are some inspirations you use to help you?

Sono: Most of the time, the lyrics are inspired by the song. Other times, it could be from movies, dramas or novels which we're seeing or reading at that time.

How about the music then?

Sono: As for music, nothing really triggers inspiration. It just comes up when I am taking a shower, or walking around. It just comes to me on its own.

Can you tell us the importance of the keyboard sounds for Matenrou Opera?

Ayame: I am the keyboardist of the band, and there are many bands that do not have keyboards. As for us, from the base that we have as Matenrou Opera, to relay our world and what we want to create, the keyboards help us achieve this.

Matenrou Opera has a significant history; what do you think is your greatest achievement to date?

Sono: It’s most likely different for each member. Our first one-man at Akasaka BLITZ was a big one for us.
Ayame: I believe coming to America like this was also a big advancement.
Yuu: Akasaka BLITZ is big for me too, but the biggest thing is when we watch rankings or see ourselves on TV. It just hits us a little bit more. Because we were able to join a major label, we are able to experience things like that.

Do you think there are any big differences between the time you were indies and how you are now?

Sono: Going major has given us more exposure. The visual kei scene is very small, but we are also being seen by others (outside of the scene) so that is a big difference.
Yuu: On the music side of things, we were self-produced more in the indies days but right now everything is being done on a bigger scale. It is not at the point where we are being produced by someone, but many more staff are involved and we have more things that we want to do in the future.

So looking past all of your struggles, as indies is definitely not without its difficulties, do you ever miss the small-scale environment and closer relationship you had with fans at that time? As in, you don’t see the same faces, you’re playing much bigger venues, etc. Or, is the bigger crowd more exciting?

(everyone chuckles)
Sono: It didn’t really change that much, yet! We are able to still do lives where if I want to touch a fan I can reach out and do so. We haven’t reached that point yet, so we haven’t felt this yet.

A much heard complaint these days is that visual kei bands sound alike. What does Matenrou Opera do to maintain their unique identity and make sure they stand out from the others?

Sono: The things that we actually wanted to do did not overlap with other bands, so everyone accepted it as our unique thing and that is how we're advancing.

What would you be if you weren’t musicians?

Sono: I would be a novel writer.
Yuu: My dream is to be a soccer player, but I will be a ramen shop owner. I really love ramen.
Anzi: I would like to be a designer, I really like drawing and art. Things like cars, etc.
Ayame: I would be a college professor in America.
Yo: I would be a social worker in the countryside of Japan.

Where do you see yourselves in the next two years?

(band discusses amongst themselves)
Anzi: Having a world tour including Japan as one of those stops. We have not actually been able to go to Europe as the headliners, so we would like to do that.

The year 2012 is around the corner. Next year is your five year anniversary, right? Are there any special plans for 2012?

(band discusses amongst themselves)
Anzi: The band that took care of us when we first started was Versailles, and it is also their fifth anniversary. We’ve been thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if we could do something together.

Finally, please give a message to your readers.

Sono: This time around we were only able to come here. But America is so big, so we would like to have a tour and go around America next time.
Ayame: I feel that America is the center of entertainment and that many high quality things come out of American entertainment. So for us, Matenrou Opera, to be able to perform here and be seen by American fans, we want to see what kind of evaluations we get from the American audience and we are looking forward to that.
Anzi: I really like America’s pretty girls.
(everyone laughs)
Yuu: There are a lot of big rock bands that have come out of America and are produced here, and we would like to become one of those for the American audience also. I think we’d like to come back next year.
Yo: Every time we go overseas, I feel like language is a barrier and it is a bit of a struggle. So now, I feel like I would like to learn English. Right now, I have a Twitter account and I am going to try to tweet in English, so if everyone could look at it, I would really appreciate it.


JaME would like to thank Midori Maejima and Anime USA for making this interview possible.