Exclusive interview with Orangestar and his wife, illustrator Kase, who have created numerous hits as Vocaloid Ps and have become a beacon of hope for people!
In this memorable first installment, we asked them about their past, dating back to their elementary school days.
What kind of childhood did you two really have?

──We will now interview the two of you! Thank you for joining us today.

Kase (K) & Orangestar (O)：Nice to meet you!

Orangestar’s Childhood

──Let’s start with you, Orangestar. What was your childhood like?

O: I was a very quiet child.
I was really bad at expressing my opinions in front of everyone, and when I was asked to do so, I kept silent for a long time or submitted my essays without writing a single word.

──Really? Why is that?

O: In the first place, I was embarrassed because I was not good at self-expression, and also because I was a little rebellious, thinking, “What’s going to happen if I say this? ・・・・・・. LOL!
I tend to overthink even the smallest things.
Before someone around me can deny what I think, another self comes up in my mind and denies it first.
I was fine with questions that had a predetermined answer from the beginning, like math.

──Then, you were not good at moral questions, were you?

O: Yes, I was not good at it. I kind of knew what the model answers were, but I didn’t want to say them. I was a little twisted.

──But because you think about things more than other people do, and because you have lived with thoughts and struggles that do not follow the textbook, you may be able to write lyrics that reach people’s hearts as a light unique to you.
You have been going to church with your parents since you were a child. Was it like that at church as well as at school? 

O: Yes, that’s right. I wasn’t good at praying or speaking in front of many people.

──How long did that continue?

O: I was like that in elementary school. From around junior high school and high school, I started to be able to say something and get by with it, even though I wasn’t fully convinced of it.

──Do you feel that you have become a little closer to adulthood and have more weapons to use?

O: I wonder. Since I became a junior high school student, I have gradually started reading books and have become able to put into words what I want to express, and I think I have gained a little confidence in myself since I started playing volleyball. However, I don’t think my roots have changed.

──I see. By the way, did you like music classes?

O: Yes, I liked music itself, but I wasn’t good at the classes and my grades were average.

──That is surprising! Then, did you ever sing or play the piano in your lessons?

O: I took piano lessons in elementary and middle school, but I didn’t practice very seriously, so I never got very good at it. Laughs.
But eventually, that piano helped me get into high school, and later on, my father bought me composition software and a computer, which led me to start composing. I always liked to draw and create things by myself, so composing music was just an extension of that at first.

──I see. You never know what kind of experience will lead you to the light.

Kase’s Childhood

──Now, let’s talk about your childhood, Kase.

K: I was the complete opposite of him (Mr. Orangestar), the type of child who actively ran for class council and student council. I also liked moral lessons. Whenever he was asked a question, he would write his opinion down on the back of every handout. I think he and I are fundamentally similar in that we think too much.
Also, when I was in junior high school, I was given five sheets of manuscript paper for a book report during summer vacation, and I asked the teacher, “Can I write more than five pages? I asked the teacher, “Is it OK to write more than 5 pages? I asked the teacher, “Can I write more than 5 pages?

──30 sheets?

K: Then, I was called to the staff room and told that I had written too many and had to rewrite them. I had to rewrite them. LOL!

O: My book report was nothing but a summer vacation torment.

K: I liked it best among the homework assignments.

──So that’s how it was. (Laughs)
By the way, Kase, did you like reading since you were little?

K: I liked it. I read Harry Potter and children’s literature from when I was little.
Also, when I was in elementary school, I learned not only one instrument but also piano, drums, and an ensemble, which was like a band. After school, I would go straight to music school and take lessons until the evening. I was also in the brass band at school, so my days in elementary school were filled with music.

──I see that you also took music lessons. How was your singing?

K: I was never good at singing.
I have a low natural voice, so my tone of voice did not match that of the girls around me. I was so bad at singing that I even had to lip-sync in the school chorus contest. But now I am singing, so you never really know what life has in store for you.

(To be continued)

Next time, we will interview Kase about the great ordeal that befell her and how Orangestar’s music was created to support her!