SEKAI NO OWARI × Momoko Okura: Part 2 "Where is SEKAI NO OWARI's goal? The climb is more fun than the view from the top."

 

 

Following the previous session, Wakamon member Momoko Okura interviewed the four members of SEKAI NO OWARI, a band enjoying immense popularity across all age groups from children to adults.

The Unwavering Distance to "Dreams"

Okuura: You've released a song called "yume" (dream). Are you all currently living the dreams you envisioned for yourselves back then?

Nakajin: We should have surpassed them ages ago, but strangely, it doesn't feel that way. It's not like we're trying to achieve something.

Saori: When we started the band, our dream was to play at a live house called SHELTER in Shimokitazawa. We thought, "It'd be great to play there someday." So, we should have surpassed that dream ages ago.

Fukase: At some point, becoming famous itself became the dream. And that dream just keeps expanding. Even when we thought, "This level of fame is good enough," the more we progressed, the more it felt like it wasn't enough, and it just kept growing and growing...

Saori: Don't you feel like we're moving along, but the distance between reality and our dream never actually gets any closer?

Fukase: It's like we're climbing mountains, but we're not really climbing for the view at the top. I think we just enjoy the climbing itself, so we keep tackling different mountains. Honestly, we don't even look at the view at the top that much, do we?

Saori: Yeah, we don't really look (laughs). We usually start talking about "Next one!" around the summit and head right back down.

DJ LOVE: It's like climbing Mount Fuji and coming down without seeing the sunrise.

Fukase: Exactly. It's more that the act of climbing is incredibly fun, or rather, it's just exciting to keep taking new steps. Like in the lyrics of "yume," it's not that achieving dreams isn't the dream itself, but that walking this path together is what's enjoyable.

Okura: There seems to be this vibe among the younger generation now that they don't challenge themselves much. I think part of the reason is probably the environment—they just can't find the right opportunity. What was the initial spark that got you guys started on that path?

Fukase: Because it was fun. We're the first generation who built the live house, but members kept changing through the second and third generations. Now we have about five young staff members. Watching them, I think... they're just so serious, you know? Running a live house has become their ultimate goal. For us, it was always about having fun – making music while barbecuing, drinking casually and singing while cutting wood. I feel like today's young people are too tense, like they think they have to do things a certain way.

Saori: I really think trying things with friends and companions is an amazing experience. Precisely because we've been together this long, my motivation just keeps rising. It feels like I'm in a place where I never think, "This is good enough."

Community spirit and the value of relationships with friends

Okura: Beyond band activities, you also share a house. In terms of being together and sharing the same goal, is there something the four of you share, something you value?

Fukase: It's tough to say, but maybe how we create a place to let our guard down... But honestly, I think we're all pretty straightforward.

Saori: I'm probably the least straightforward one—I tend to dwell on things and get bogged down (laughs). But there's this unspoken rule: we don't keep things bottled up inside. It's pretty simple—say what you think.

Fukase: And then there's consideration for each other. Because we're a team, the more you think about everyone else, the more it ultimately comes back to you. There's this amazing mechanism where when someone else gets better, somehow you get better too, and everyone ends up happy. So if everyone just thinks about each other, it's bound to work out.

DJ LOVE: They're not enemies. Sometimes fighting here just doesn't make sense.

Fukase: Exactly. The other band might be from the same generation. But if you think about it in terms of generations or music as a larger collective, they're also allies. If both bands gain popularity overseas, we'd end up on the same team anyway.

Saori: It's like the Olympics. It'd be great if we could join hands there.

Okura: Given our ages, I think our personal lives will change a lot from here on out. Will the dynamics among the Sekai no Owari members change along with that?

Saori: Especially for me as a woman, there are all sorts of things... so please don't ask about that (laughs). But right now, the band is definitely the most important thing. For now, I tell everyone, "It's fine for now."

Fukase: I'm kind of a loner, or maybe it's just that I've spent so much time with the members. Even if I get married, I think I'd still end up hanging out at the house. Ultimately. I guess I'd have to make that clear to my partner before getting married.

Nakajin: Like, "Sorry for suddenly becoming part of this huge family"? (laughs)

Saori: Living with band members would be surprising, right? But Fukase really is that type—always like, "Let's do everything together!"

Fukase: Exactly. When the kids come along, it'll be "Hey, we've got a baby!" with everyone there.

DJ LOVE: And raising them together like that... maybe that kind of relationship is good?

Saori: Being together lets you do things you couldn't alone, and doing it solo probably wouldn't be fun. We actually fight a lot—well, just Fukase and me (laughs)—but usually after I lose, Fukase ends up treating me to dinner for some reason. That's the end of it. That feeling is kind of like when I fought with my mom...

Fukase: Even if our personal lives change in the future, I don't think this relationship will ever end. First off, working alone would be too lonely for me.

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【Wakamon Profile】
Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department (nicknamed Wakamon) is a planning team that engages with the real lives and mindsets of young people, primarily high school and college students. We explore hints to brighten and invigorate the near future, starting from their "now." By anticipating the future through their insights, we realize new businesses that foster better relationships between young people and society. Currently, 14 project members are based across our Tokyo headquarters, Kansai branch, and Chubu branch. We also share updates on the Wakamon Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/wakamon.dentsu ).