Ikuta Toma's Seventeen Interview March 2009
Ikuta Toma
Seventeen Interview March 2009
17 warm, embarrassing stories of Ikuta Toma's youth
In interviews, stories of friends will definitely come out. "Friends from school years are my treasure" is something he often says, and with Toma, those types of questions are asked a lot. In school, friends are really a great thing!
- What's a memory you cannot forget from your school years?
Probably my high school graduation. There were so many rehearsals, but I couldn't make it [most likely because of work], so it turned out to be a crazy graduation.
- Do you want to return to your school years? [Go back in time and be a student again?]
Maybe if it was for a week. I'd eat the school food, and talk to the cute underclassmen (laugh).
- The school lunch you ate all the time?
CURRY!!
- Why didn't you go to college?
If I was somehow able to get into college, I thought that I'd end up quitting anyway. I was encouraged to go, but at the time work was so much fun and I thought "I've had enough of school" (laugh).
- A time you thought in your school life "friends are so wonderful!"
If someone was dumped and was really down in the dumps, normally everyone would try and cheer him up. Someone would say "Let's get out of here!"
If I was feeling down, rather than looking all serious and gloomy, I usually just made it into a story and that was the end of it (sorry I don't really get what he means, but pretty much he got over it well). I'd say something like "Don't go getting du-mp-ed!!" or something (laugh).
- When did you start getting interested in music?
Probably when I was in middle school? I really waited for the mini disk (MD) [It's like a compact cassette tape]! I listened to Blue Harts, iemon (イエモン), and X(JAPAN) a lot. If it was a female singer, I'd listen to aiko. In the past, I received a lot of mini disks that I thought "this is a good song!" for, but recently this type of thing doesn't happen so it's kind of sad, huh. Even if it's on a CD, it'll end up being data [in an ipod]. So I'll just walk with a CD player in my bag. I like listening to discs! (lol Toma is pretty old fashioned!)
- Are your friends from your school years your treasure?
Even now we get along really well! When we meet up it's kind of like we're back in our school years, or more like, our relationship hasn't changed.
- Tell us about the drama you're working on now, "Voice"!
Sorry, I'm not going to translate this. The words are really hard to read and he's just talking about the drama. By the way, if you haven't seen Voice yet, I recommend it!!!
- Toma that has made many amazing friends, tell us how to make good friends!
If there are people that you can't become friendly with even if you were given a year, there are surely people that you'll become friends with after just 2 weeks. I wonder why~ . Probably because they're friendly… Isn't it about how you act? Like, don't betray the other person, and have a compassionate heart. I think that's what it takes.
- In high school, what kind of love relationships did you long for?
Something like "I want to eat homemade cooking!" or "I want to go to the supermarket together and go shopping!" Most likely that type of relationship.
- Something that a teacher told you that you can't forget?
In high school, I had the same homeroom teacher for 3 years. He would always say "A once in a lifetime meeting" (lit. One time, one meeting). (In Japanese it's "Ichigoichie." Anyone who knows Hana Yori Dango should know this phrase!). He'd explain, "Your connections with other people, meeting others, make them important." He told us that a lot. Even now, those words bring back memories.
- When you were excited/nervous at a school event?
We had a competition; that was probably a time~. We went all the way to Hachiouji and had a 11 vs 11 soccer game, then basketball game. Everyone met up at the train station, took the train, then the bus, and ate our bentou!
- A time you were confessed to on Valentine's Day?
When I was in Elementary school. I once had 8 girls around me. They were a support group [for the girl who was confessing to me]. They asked "how do you feel [about her]??" and stuff. I thought, "How troublesome-." Well, I accepted though. But in the end since I'm a shy person, I preferred it to be more secretive. A while after that, I kind of didn't know how to deal with her. Even if I liked her, if her large support group were to come, I wouldn't have been able to say I liked her. (laugh)
- On Valentine's Day, what makes a boy's heart skip a beat?
Even if it's poorly done, anything handmade is good! Seeing how everything is made one by one, I think that type of thing is cute!
- What type of appearance and make up should the girl have when you are confessed to?
I haven't really had any type of situations like that since elementary school so I don't really know… But just for that situation, someone obsessed is no good. I'm so sorry this part was hard to understand for me… :(
- Tell us your memories of Valentine's Day from your school days!
It was all obligatory chocolate!
Girl: "It's chocolate we have to give, do you want?"
Toma: "I don't want that~!"
type of thing (laugh).
- Lastly, something for Seventeen!
School trips are important, make them special! I was never able to go on my school trip, though it was to Hokkaido. (Toma's from Hokkaido I hope you all know ^.^).
Also, when you're in school, everyone is worried about what they will do later on in life, and your head is full of worries, but the day will come when you will be able to see it. I didn't give much thought as to what I'd do in the future, but a little before graduation I felt "Acting is pretty fun, huh?" I vaguely saw it! [what he wants to do in the future]
Don't worry, I believe that everything always works out in the end!
This is my first time translating! I hope I wrote it so that you guys can understand…
I'm so sorry, but the scans were really hard to read (and trust me, zooming just made it worse).
One day I'll translate something that I actually have the real pages for and I'll do a good job with it. :)
I'm not a fluent Japanese speaker and the kanji was kind of tough for me, so if anyone wants to give it a shot, please feel free to comment and correct me! ^_^
I really enjoyed translating this! <3