Ride on Time (2018) s01e21 Episode Script

1
STAND UP ON YOUR OWN TWO FEE
TOKYO DOME
New Year's Eve, last year.
JOHNNY'S COUNTDOWN 2018-2019
These young men are trying to
open the door to a new life as idols.
With a clearly high level
of physical ability,
this unit performs acrobatic maneuvers
with the greatest of ease.
Their name? Snow Man.
They've been singled out to play
the leading roles in a show.
TAKIZAWA KABUKI ZERO
Takizawa Kabuki ZERO.
The goal? To achieve the ultimate
in traditional Japanese entertainment.
This is documentary series Ride On Time.
The countless cameras
pointed at them today
tell the story of how great
the anticipation is.
Snow Man will perform the leading roles
in Takizawa Kabuki ZERO.
This is what they had to say on the size
of this chance that's come their way.
A few years ago, I would really never
have believed a day like this would come.
Wow, I'm nervous.
-You've gone white.
-I'm so nervous.
Feelings like this were unavoidable.
I want Snow Man
to be everywhere this year.
I hope we can be in an anime.
Snow Man was formed six years ago.
Even when a junior group
debuted before them,
their unity was unshaken and they have
kept aiming for greater heights.
JANUARY 1, 2019
JOHNNY'S JR. CHANNEL NEW YEAR'S SHOO
And at long last, their time to be
in the spotlight has come.
Let's work even harder this year
and hope we get more for it.
Yeah.
Their opening show will be
in the birthplace of Kabuki, Kyoto,
at the theater that reopened last year,
Minamiza.
To make sure the show is a success,
they are going to have to
break out of their shells.
I guarantee you, this is insane.
I might have them coughing up blood
by the end.
Every day leading up to New Year's
has been a battle.
This is crazy.
December 2018.
Takizawa Kabuki ZERO gets going
in a new way,
beginning with a visual photo shoot.
HIDEAKI TAKIZAWA
The man who decides the look
is the director, Takizawa.
Try shooting from a little lower down
to see how it looks.
Hello!
The band members seem a little nervous
as they start their first job.
You have long legs, I see.
Boasting outstanding style
even within the unit,
is the leader of Snow Man,
Hikaru Iwamoto.
HIKARU IWAMOTO (AGE 25)
Nice and smart.
-Looking good.
-Like this.
Acting as the MC on the stage
among other roles,
is the unit mediator, Tatsuya Fukazawa.
TATSUYA FUKAZAWA (AGE 26)
The eccentric member of the group
is here, too.
That's a handsome man.
-The weather predictor.
-Forecaster.
-It's "forecaster"?
-I'm a forecaster.
A qualified meteorologist,
this well-educated idol who's also
finished graduate school is Ryohei Abe.
RYOHEI ABE (AGE 25)
You don't have to smile, but I'd like you
to make your eyes look a bit gentler.
The man with the handsome face who takes
a direct approach to everything,
Shota Watanabe.
SHOTA WATANABE (AGE 26)
The fashionista who also worked on
the costume design for the show,
Ryota Miyadate.
RYOTA MIYADATE (AGE 25)
The mood-maker of Snow Man,
and playing a female role
in Takizawa Kabuki ZERO, Daisuke Sakuma.
DAISUKE SAKUMA (AGE 26)
So, we're not using the full-body shot?
Takizawa has already described his vision
for Snow Man to the staff.
Succession is one of the themes,
with Snow Man taking up the mantle
from Takizawa.
The show is a form of traditional
Japanese entertainment.
So the six of you will be modeled
in the likeness of cherry blossoms,
as this is a story in which Snow Man
will become cherry blossom petals.
Now Sakuma changes into
his blossom-inspired costume.
The legs aren't too long?
No, they should be fine.
Even by the standards
of the acrobatic Snow Man,
he possesses exceptional athletic ability.
Incredible!
Form a bridge with your body in the air.
-This is amazing!
-It is.
It's beautiful.
Brilliant!
Embodying cherry blossoms,
Snow Man flutters in the air.
Takizawa has this to say
on the sentiment behind it all.
With Snow Man as cherry blossoms,
though cherry blossoms are thought of
as falling and scattering,
we want to go for a floating look
rather than a falling one.
To be honest,
Snow Man isn't quite there yet.
But I think that they have
a certain charm about them
that makes you want to give it
everything you've got.
That's why I, the fans,
and all of the staff behind the scenes
want to do what we can
to make them bigger.
I believe they have something
that engenders that feeling.
Can they live up to this expectation?
Today, Takizawa is at
Osaka Shochikuza Theatre.
DECEMBER 2018
OSAKA SHOCHIKUZA THEATRE
There's a reason
he's made the long trip to Osaka.
-Good morning!
-Good morning.
-Hello.
-Hello, sir.
He's visiting the Kansai Johnny's Jr.
training room.
He's decided that they will also
be performing in the upcoming show.
However, traditional performing arts
are entirely new to most of them.
Nevertheless,
Takizawa has decided to devote this year
to the development of the next generation,
and he hopes they will grasp the basics
of traditional performance.
To achieve that, he intends to have
members of Kansai Johnny's Jr.
perform in a single scene
of the Kabuki show.
-Hamamatsuya would be possible.
-Yes.
If we went that route, I would feel uneasy
about the Kansai boys
doing Hamamatsuya alone.
-You feel that way? Right.
-I'm afraid so.
-I'm not sure―
-Okura recommended it.
Did he? What about the acting aspect
of the show?
-We've hardly done it.
-Right.
-Right, let's get them to do it.
-"Let's get them to do it"?
-It'll be fine.
-Let's do it, then.
-We'll give it our best shot.
-Let's get them to do it then.
-They'll have to do it sooner or later.
-That's true.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
January.
The full training for Takizawa Kabuki ZERO
is finally underway.
There's around three weeks until
their first day at Minamiza in Kyoto.
Snow Man is naturally here,
along with Kansai and Kanto Johnny's Jr.,
dancers and more.
They're all working together as one
to master the performance.
Takizawa Kabuki
calls for singing and dancing,
as well as sword fighting and drumming.
There's even acting with Kabuki elements,
making for a variety-filled program.
The choreography is completely new, too.
Even Snow Man,
who's trained for past shows,
have to learn everything from scratch.
First, your hip goes up. Your bottom.
Your shoulder's on the floor
right now, yes?
Follow your belly button.
That's it, that's it.
And there's more.
Let's do it.
Do what?
Do?
This pose involves supporting
your body weight with the neck.
This position is
the most beautiful of all.
They try performing in time to the music.
They may have confidence
in their endurance,
but they're exhausted
right from the start.
-Let's take a 45-minute break.
-Okay.
All right! Come on!
She's making us jump a bit too much.
-It's our first day of training.
-Yes.
It's unprecedented.
We'd normally have a month
at the very least to learn.
But we only have about three weeks
for this.
And what's more,
it's basically a new version.
The whole program is different.
The crew are also short on time.
In the next room, they're holding
a meeting regarding the costumes.
Present along with Takizawa is Miyadate,
who is contributing to the costume design.
The goal is to gain experience.
For the closing performance
of the first act,
an idea for a flash change from
white to color costumes has been proposed.
It's not about making them colorful,
but rather that these colorless kids
have attained color.
Expressing the individuality they attain
through dance and costume
has been the concept from the very start.
-Is what I'm trying to say.
-Right!
I'll have to leave it with you,
or it will never get done.
Really?
If he doesn't take an active role,
the crew won't take him seriously.
So, you're joining in with the costumes?
Yes. At the designing stage.
-For costume planning we were about to
-Right.
So the things we talked to
Takizawa about before,
we should talk with you about now?
Yes, from now on.
-Suddenly trying to take this on
-It takes years of experience.
There's Johnny's Jr., too.
-So that's what you want?
-We can do that.
I'll get into that now.
-Good luck!
-Thank you.
I wanted to learn,
and I really like costumes and clothes.
Takizawa used to direct, produce,
decide the costumes and perform onstage.
He's trusted me with part of that,
so I have to give it my all.
We have time. Let's do it.
They'll be playing the leading roles.
RYOTA MIYADATE
When we were told we had to begin
from the perspective
of being the stars of the show,
I thought,
we haven't learned anything yet.
We've only ever been hiding at the back.
We don't have nearly enough pulling power
to be standing at the front yet.
That's how I felt.
It's only due to this development
that the road ahead of them has opened up.
I want to overcome being unknown.
I want people to know us.
I want them to know this show,
and to know Snow Man.
DAISUKE SAKUMA
-Good work, everyone!
-Good work!
Behind these words
is hidden a bitter experience
from last year.
Just before rehearsals began,
they performed
in a traditional Johnny's show.
Johnnys' Island.
Welcome to Johnnys' King & Prince Island.
Relax and enjoy the show!
The stars of the show were a group
who made their debut last year
and shot to stardom overnight,
King & Prince.
Dancing behind them
were their seniors, Snow Man.
While part of me was just happy for them,
as I should be,
I also felt a great deal of frustration.
It made me question what I was doing.
I was 25, which is the age people start
wondering why you're still a Junior.
They made their debut,
then went another step higher than that.
I'm always thinking about
wanting to debut.
Iwamoto threw himself into dance
from childhood,
and signed up with the agency at 13
with the goal of making a name for himself
in the future.
While his contemporary Juniors
debuted one after another,
he eagerly searched for something
only he could do.
One of the answers he found was this.
My elbows will never extend like this.
Because I'm pushing my shoulder blades in.
Then I lower it and push it up.
Like I'm squeezing my chest.
He started sculpting his body in earnest
three years ago.
So he can give his best performance
no matter what the job calls for,
he's trained to be in top form.
CHEST TRAINING METHODS
He's come as far as to have his own
regular article in a magazine.
The heavy responsibility
previously shouldered by Takizawa alone
is being picked up by Snow Man,
who has watched how he does it.
They consider teamwork
to be more important than anything.
This is true for every performance
and every scene.
Even with the scenes you're not in,
you have to think about how you can
join them together in an interesting way.
You need to have invisible teamwork.
Invisible words.
And mental fortitude.
If there was a word like "hunger,"
but two or three levels above it,
I'd use that to describe the feeling.
-So "hunger" doesn't do it justice?
-No, it doesn't.
On that same day,
one of Iwamoto's seniors
reached out to him.
I tell people there's this great guy
called Iwamoto.
From TOKIO, Taichi Kokubun.
Iwamoto is appearing as a guest
on his radio show today.
Wait a minute, are you kneeling?
Stop it, you can't film that!
People will think I made you do that!
No, it's nothing like that.
I didn't want to talk from up here,
-so I came down to your level.
-Sit down!
With Snow Man now responsible
for the major Takizawa Kabuki,
Kokubun has this advice for them.
The Takizawa Kabuki name
may still be there,
but since Snow Man
is the top-billed star,
I think you should consider the implied
name of the show to be Snow Man Kabuki.
Things like wanting to surpass Tackey
or wanting to look after Tackey's baby
I don't believe you need
to think like that.
It's more important to not forget
to be what makes you who you are.
-As if I know it all!
-No, thank you.
-I'm thrilled to be on Taichi's show.
-Not at all.
From Hideaki Takizawa to Snow Man.
They're keenly aware of the weight
of this responsibility.
-That's a game you can't lose.
-It is.
-Good morning!
-Good morning!
Taiko-drumming practice begins today.
FIRST DAY OF TAIKO PRACTICE
As with the dance choreography, the taiko
rhythms have been completely revamped.
Don, don, don, don, dodon,
daka-daka-dan.
Furthermore,
the rhythm is only taught to them orally.
There's no choice
but to pound it into muscle memory.
I'm lost now.
Only Hikaru can remember it.
I'm the only one who's drumming!
This part of the show has come so far
as to be a Takizawa Kabuki highlight.
Oh no!
This is bad.
They drum continuously in a position
that strains their abdominal muscles.
Its nickname? Taiko sit-ups.
Iwamoto looks cool and composed.
But as for the other group members?
They're already reaching their limits.
My stomach's on fire. It feels good.
Shota Watanabe is really beginning
to feel it in his arms.
-I don't normally use my abs like that.
-The sequence got longer?
The drumming phrases always stayed
the same year to year,
but they've come up with
all-new ones this year.
I have to sit up at the right times.
To shout at the right time.
There are all these things to consider
while getting the drumming right.
So, I need to make sure I memorize all
the phrases each day or I'll fall behind.
There's not much
breathing space this time!
And it was at this moment
that a big change came along for Snow Man.
I think we can do it.
It looks like we can.
Three new band members
have joined Snow Man.
Still in junior high and 15 years old,
is Raul.
RAUL (AGE 15)
REN MEGURO (AGE 22)
A member of another unit,
who'll simultaneously be part of Snow Man,
is Ren Meguro.
I don't know!
And there's one more.
I don't know, Abe.
-Let's do it, then.
-Thank you.
Having officially made the move from
Kansai Johnny's Jr. to Snow Man,
is Koji Mukai.
He can sing and dance, of course,
but is also a great talker.
He even hosts TV shows regularly.
To the rest of Kansai Johnny's Jr.,
he was a big brother of sorts.
Before the taiko sit-ups,
Mukai had these big words to say.
I can drum for one, two, even three hours.
Taiko was the most fun last time.
-Really?
-Yes. It's brutal.
I look good when I'm suffering.
That's what I thought as I did it.
Perhaps this cheerfulness is required.
But despite all of that,
he's in an unfamiliar environment
as the performance date looms,
and he needs to learn
the choreographed moves.
The pressure slowly mounts.
-Are you okay?
-More or less.
Everyone's so fast.
With the new members joining their ranks,
they're a reborn Snow Man.
As the start
of Takizawa Kabuki ZERO approaches,
how will they climb over the high wall
standing before them?
On the next Ride On Time,
some struggle as the training
gets more and more intense.
There's no time to rest now.
It's tough.
Big smiles!
Meanwhile, the new additions
to the group are publicly announced.
If we don't keep taking the next
one or two steps up
to the next level from where are now,
there's no meaning to any of this.
The members all feel the same way.
We're a new Snow Man.
I've always wanted to protect this group.
As the first show approaches,
can Snow Man solidify their unity?
Subtitle translation by Lewis Williams