Band group Jyukai is probably most recognized by the anime community for their ending song "Anata ga Ita Mori" in Fate/Stay Night. Other anime-related songs include the openings and endings for Ah! My Goddess, and the ending for Busoi Renkin. Join us for a one-on-one interview with the band.

We've also included a special video message left by the band for their fans.

T-ONO: How was performing at Anime Expo?

Jyukai: Before the concert started, we were very nervous about the crowd’s reaction. The audience’s loud cheers made us very happy and relieved.

 

T-ONO: What are your future goals (duets, tours, and singles)?

Jyukai: Jyukai works as a duo and goes solo (in the future). We will always be together, just separate work.
In the near future, we might release a few singles of our own work, but Jyukai has always been a duo since the beginning and will always be.

 

T-ONO: What did you guys do before you met each other?

Manami: I was a regular high school girl who had no relationship with music.

Dewa: I started playing music in middle school. During middle school, I have established many bands. Eventually, the band, Jyukai, was formed.

 

T-ONO: How did you know that you wanted to do music for a career?

Manami: I was always influenced by music ever since kindergarten and elementary school, but a music career never came to my mind. From high school, I thought about what I wanted to do in the future, but I could not see myself as a hairstylist. Instead, I found that I had more passion for music than anything else.

Dewa: At first I hated music because I was forced to learn the piano as a kid. Learning the piano resembles a girly thing, but X Japan persuaded me to love music. I went to an X-Japan concert one day and fell in love with their music. Their type of music influenced me to be in the music industry.

 

T-ONO: How were you discovered by your label record?

Jyukai: An agency found us when we were composing music. The agency introduced us to Geneon and hence the present agency.

 

T-ONO: What is your favorite song (out of your own songs)? Why?

Manami: That’s hard to say because each song held different feelings for me. If I had to choose one, the best song would be "Hoshi Akari". "Hoshi Akari" is my favorite because it was made for the fans. Without the fans, Jyukai would not have existed. So, the music was made for the fans to show our gratitude.

Dewa: My personal favorite is "Anata ga Ita Mori". Before our debut song, many others were unheard of, but "Anata ga Ita Mori" was the first. There were a lot of emotions put into the song because it was the first song that went to the fans.

 

T-ONO: What music artists do you listen to (in any language: English, Japanese, etc)?

Manami: When I listen to music I listen to the lyrics instead of the beats, but I listen to mainly Japanese rock singers. I listened to Shiina Ringo a lot because she influenced me a lot in my music.

Dewa: Sixpence None the Richer. The singer is number one.

Manami: What about me?

Dewa: You’re number two.

 

T-ONO: Which promotional video (PV) was your favorite to film and why?

Manami: The most memorable was my second single song because it was filmed in Los Angeles. During the filming, a lot of problems occurred that made it frustrating, but in the end, the promotional video came out great.

Dewa: In the majority of the promotional videos, I am only seen about a third of them. "Sakasete wa Ikenai Hana" was my favorite video to film because the vibe was very deep and the video had a worldly effect – it had its own world.

 

T-ONO: What is your favorite anime?

Manami: I love Sailormoon the most. Ever since I was young, my friends and I would role-play as Sailormoon characters and I always ended up being Sailor Jupiter.

Dewa: My favorite anime is Dragonball. To be exact, I love the third comic book where everyone trained and illustrated how everyone gained their own strength. I read it many times. [laughing].

 

Alice: What do you like most about the USA?

Manami: If I had to pick one, I would say the dry and clear skies. In Japan, the humidity is very high. (I think they mention about how the weather affected their body and health??)

Dewa: I like the people the most because they are friendly and open. We can get along with them very easily, whereas in Japan, people tend to keep to themselves more.

 

T-ONO: What were your inspirations in music?

Manami: I was deeply influenced by rock music. It is like the female rock singer’s power.

Dewa: Classical music inspired me the most because it never gets old and I learn new things every time.

 

T-ONO: What was your favorite concert that you’ve attended?

Manami: L’Arc En Ciel was the best!

 

Alice: They’re one of my favorite bands too.

Manami: Oh, you and I are very much alike! We have so many things in common [laughing].

Dewa: X-Japan concert that happened for the first time in March of this year.

 

T-ONO: In recent years, there has been an explosion of Japanese artists discovered or becoming popular from anime music. Can you comment on this recent trend?

Manami: I feel that there is a downside to music. It’s hard to pull out music that’s not related to anime, but we hope that we can incorporate anime music with others. We don’t want to be famous because of the anime music we sang. Even though we sang anime music, we are still Jyukai. Nothing is going to change, we still have our own style of music. I hope that together with anime and bands we can help each other giving the music a boost.

Dewa: Before coming to the United States, I didn’t realize that anime made a huge difference. I always felt that Japan was the one that brought anime over.

 

T-ONO: Thank you very much and we hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.

Jyukai: Thank you.