[Exclusive] JpopAsia Interviews SEKAI NO OWARI

Over the past few years, SEKAI NO OWARI has grown to become one of the biggest and trendiest bands in Japan. Most recently, the band's profile has risen internationally after providing the theme songs to the "Attack on Titan" live action movie series. With its star in the rise and getting brighter by the day, it's no surprise that SEKAI NO OWARI was chosen to perform at the MTV World Stage In Malaysia, a special concert series feature the hottest acts from across the globe.

Prior to the show starting, SEKAI NO OWARI held a round table interview with a few media outlets. JpopAsia participated in this interview. Check out what the band had to say below!
-
The name of your band SEKAI NO OWARI was controversial because it means "end of the world". Is there any reasons and inspirations behind that?

Fukase: In my teenage years, I dreamed of becoming a doctor and study seriously for 3 years, but I got sick and got hospitalized. After I recovered, I went to a cafe to study, opened my notebook, and realized what was written in there wasn't what I write. It made what I was studying for 3 years mean nothing. Maybe it was the medicine I took while hospitalized or my sickness, but everything I studying was missing from my brain. At the time, I lost my way. I didn’t even know the way to home. It was like the end of my world. In that moment I felt like "why not try to start playing music?" So, when I was 20 and my world seemed like it was ending, I started to play music.
-
Next month SEKAI NO OWARI will have a special live show in Taiwan. Is there any prospect in the future that SEKAI NO OWARI will do a one-man show in other countries?

Saori: (trying to speak English) We really really want to, so please...um...

Fukase: Invite?

Saori: Yeah, please invite us!

*all laughing together*
-
All of you have known each other for a long time and now live together. How do you maintain the relationship until now? Are there any personal conflicts like having a fight? And how will you maintain this relationship in the future?

Saori: Sometimes me and Fukase fight each other, while Nakajin and DJ Love are really calm. So they're always relaxing.

Fukase: Relaxing?

Saori: Make me relax. Comforting. I met Fukase when I was 5 years old. We were friends since elementary.

Fukase: We are like family. We sometimes fight, but at the end of the day we still need to go back to same house *laughing* So yeah, we make up with each other really fast.
-
SEKAI NO OWARI got a chance to meet Tim Burton. What impression did you get when met him? Is there any sameness with Tim Burton in term of making a piece? If SEKAI NO OWARI gets the chance to appear in his movie, what would it be like?

Fukase: Tim Burton is an amazing person. He has an incredible imagination for fantasy. We were very compatible because we have fantasy in common. But I think getting to appear in his movie is very hard, plus we'd need to speak English. Even if in the movie we can speak Japanese, we have a doubt about that.

Saori: Last year we get a chance to make our own movie and titled “Tokyo Fantasy”. The shooting time was very hard, we need to get up early.
*All laughing*

DJ Love: Maybe if it’s an anime, I think that’s good.

Nakajin: Yes because we don’t need to speak English.
-
If all of you could change the world, what kind of world would you want?

Fukase: Right now the world is just okay, so we don’t really need to change it now. Maybe I just want a world where all children and adults can get along so they don’t need to make a fuss about anything. Like, I want children not to think “we can’t win from adult”.
-
Can you tell us the inspiration behind "SOS", the theme song to the live action Attack on Titan?

Saori: When I wrote this song, I got inspired by a movie where all towns get destroyed and all humans get eaten by titans. And then I thought about a parallel world and an old man in thi world. As an old man looking at the destruction of the world, what kind of song did I want to sing at the end of the world?
-
If you could be a superhero, what kind of superhero would you be?

Saori: I want to become a hero for children.

Fukase: I don’t want become a perfect hero. Maybe a hero who can do just a little bad, I guess?

DJ Love: Why? Because being loved?

Saori: Maybe if I live a perfect life, it only gets painful?

Nakajin: Of course.
-
Usually during your concerts the audience [in Japan] knows about you through anime and more, but this time it's not like that. The audience is new to SEKAI NO OWARI. How do you approach this audience?

Nakajin: We will try our best to act natural. We will also try to say “hi” even if it’s a nervous thing to do. But the point is, we want to try our best to give the MTV World Stage audience the same feeling as the Japanese audience.
-
MTV World Stage Malaysia 2015 is one of the biggest Southeast Asian music nights of the year. The stellar line-up of performers Jason Derulo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Apink, SEKAI NO OWARI and Malaysia’s #MostWanted local act, Stacy, delivered explosive performances to a live audience of nearly 20,000 fans gathered at Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon on September 12. The show will be begin airing on MTV in Asia on September 26.