With their appearance at Anime Expo 2025 just around the corner, a concert at the Nippon Budokan in September, two compilation films releasing in October, and the final leg of the Girls Band Cry Exhibition in Fukuoka and Osaka taking place from June 27 to July 6 and from September 17 to September 30, respectively, TOGENASHI TOGEARI‘s second year as a band is busy. However, during their hectic schedule, band members Rina, Yuri, and Shuri set aside some time to speak with Anime News Network about their activities, music, upcoming events, and aspirations going forward.
Author’s note: For personal reasons, Rina could not attend the interview session. We received her comments via email.
Can you tell us what the audition process for forming TOGENASHI TOGEARI was like?
YURI (voice of Girls Band Cry‘s Momoka Kawaragi, TOGENASHI TOGEARI guitarist): Originally, we each posted videos of playing instruments or singing online as a hobby, and then we were asked to audition after our videos were seen. For the audition, we were given a TOGENASHI TOGEARI song to play, and we filmed ourselves playing it and submitted it for them to watch and receive feedback. We continued to improve and work on this for about a year and a half.
Did you audition separately, or were you in a band together and auditioned as a group?
SHURI (voice of Girls Band Cry‘ Rupa, TOGENASHI TOGEARI bassist): Everybody auditioned separately.
TOGENASHI TOGEARI and Girls Band Cry are your first experiences with this level of professional performance. What’s it been like adjusting to that kind of schedule and workload over the years?
RINA (voice of Girls Band Cry‘s Nina Iseri, TOGENASHI TOGEARI vocals): When I started, I had just graduated from junior high school, so I had never had a part-time job and was a little worried about whether I would be able to do this job properly. But since I started, there have been many new experiences, so I was able to get used to it and have fun. I used to struggle to keep up with the schedule, but now, when I look back, I think it was easy, so maybe that’s proof that I’ve gotten used to it. (laughs)
YURI: Well, we’d been doing music as a hobby for a long time, so it was the first time all of us worked, got paid for our work, and had it seen by fans. At first, we didn’t have any experience apart from our hobby, so we ran into a lot of obstacles. But the more we worked, the more we got used to it. A lot of stuff was also condensed into two years, so we felt we gradually got used to it. There are still many areas where we need to grow, but we’re working hard on it.
What did you pay attention to while growing into professional musicians?
SHURI: It’s about our performance skills. Originally, each of us had been active individually online, so we were used to playing along with backing tracks on our own. But once we started performing as a band, we found that when we tried to play together, our sound didn’t really come together at first. But I think over the course of two years, we’ve gradually started to sound more like a band.
What are your different approaches to voice acting and performing live shows for each of you?
RINA: The character I portray, Nina Iseri, isn’t the youngest, but she feels like a youngest sibling, so I am conscious of keeping the tone of my voice bright when acting. When it comes to singing, such as recordings and concerts, I don’t pay much attention to that and sing as Rina. But there are parts where I reference the concerts [in the anime] and mimic the gestures.
YURI: When I play the role of Momoka Kawaragi in the anime, during dubbing, I really tried to become Momoka rather than be myself, and I tried to reflect on Momoka’s life and think about what she might be thinking and feeling in my performance. When I do a concert, I have the same costumes and instruments as Momoka, but when I perform, I want people to see Yuri. And though I play as Yuri, when I sing and perform, for example, “VOID” as a solo, it’s as if I am Momoka. I switch roles depending on the song.
SHURI: The character I play, Rupa, is a mysterious girl who doesn’t show her emotions, has a bit of a wall between her and other people, and always speaks in honorifics, so I don’t always know what she’s thinking. But as the story progressed, you start to see that she really enjoyed herself when she was having fun, and felt genuinely sad when things were sad, and although there weren’t many scenes where she showed anger, she had a lot of passion hidden inside of her.
It must be difficult separating yourself from Rupa.
YURI: During dubbing, Shuri tries to become Rupa and not show too much emotion. But during concerts, it’s the opposite.
SHURI: I am like Yuri in that I put myself out there, just as I am. But when I recreate the anime, I put a lot of Rupa into myself, like the movements.
What are your favorite songs? Which ones do you like to perform the most?
RINA: “Emptiness and Catharsis.” It’s a song I love listening to and performing live, partly because Nina wrote the lyrics in the anime, but also because the sound is so cool and the fans get so excited when the song starts at a concert.
My favorite lyrics are the first part of the song, [translation] “No matter how much I get/I can’t catch up with you.” It is a perfect beginning to this song about the emptiness of not being able to catch up with one’s aspirations and ideals, and it really leaves a thorn in my heart.
YURI: My favorite song is “Lonely fate to be destined.” I’ve loved the lyrics of this song ever since I first heard it, and I’ve talked about it with other outlets, but it’s been my favorite since I first looked at it. Lately, my favorite song to play and perform is “melt into the dark.” It has a very fast BPM, but it’s also very refreshing and fast-paced, and it feels great to play live. It’s my favorite song right now.
SHURI: My favorite song is “Voiceless Fish,” but it’s pretty negative. There are a lot of negative TOGENASHI TOGEARI songs, but I think this is probably the most negative.
YURI: It’s like, [translation] “Shut up!” or [translation] “Get out of my way!”
SHURI: It’s a very dark song with lyrics like [translation] “Someone please tell me quickly what the reason is to live” and [translation] “In the end, I really wanted to be happy like someone else.” But in the anime, everyone plays and performs this song with big smiles on their faces, so I really like that gap. I also really love lyrics that are so pessimistic, so I end up listening to this song a lot in my private time.
For performing “Answer to Extreme.” We haven’t performed much at live shows recently, but the bass in this song really comes to the forefront, so it feels like my chance to show off, which gets me pumped and makes it a lot of fun to play. It’s fun to be able to step forward, as both myself and Rupa and perform with such passion.
What is your favorite lyric from “Lonely fate to be destined,” Yuri?
YURI: It starts with [translation] “I can’t see eye-to-eye anyone/I don’t know what it means to be needed by someone…/I’m a person who doesn’t need anyone…”. The lyrics are quite negative, as if the singer is rejecting themselves, but the melody is very refreshing, and I really like the contrast. So, I was really drawn to the opening lyrics.
How do you relate to your characters? Is there any way you think playing your characters has influenced your perspective or personality, or how your own performance brought new impressions to your characters?
RINA: I was able to easily empathize with Nina during dubbing sessions because we are quite similar in many ways, such as coming to Tokyo from the countryside, and our ages. I used to have a personality where I couldn’t say what I wanted to say and was easily swayed by others. But after meeting Nina, I feel I’ve been able to develop a solid foundation of my own.
YURI: My character, Momoka, loves music very much, but she experienced a failure once, even though she is only 20 years old, and she was ready to give up because she experienced failure at a very young age. She’s lived a completely different, much harder life than I have. So I read the script and the character profile, or rather, I read up on all her information, and because it’s a life I don’t know, I tried to understand it properly and empathize with her.
As for portraying her, I realized Momoka is very passionate about music. So, when I play songs Momoka wrote or songs with lyrics she wrote, I feel like I can empathize with her. And because I played Momoka in the anime, I feel as if I can say what I am thinking, even though I didn’t write the song. So, I think Momoka’s passion for music inspired me.
Rather than seeing a new side to the character through my acting, I feel like I was influenced quite a lot by playing Momoka.
SHURI: I said this earlier, but the character I play, Rupa, is a very mysterious girl. So, rather than empathizing with her at first, I had no idea what emotion she was feeling when she was speaking. Even when she said harsh things, she always smiled, and even when she was sad, she kept smiling, so I didn’t know whether I should smile or cry during the serious scenes. So I spoke with the director, Sakai-san, about Rupa, and he said, “Rupa wants to cry, but she is smiling all the time because she is suppressing her feelings.” From there, I kept in mind the emotions of wanting to cry, keeping a smile, or rather smiling because of not wanting those around me to know how I feel. But I also made sure to show the parts where she was having fun or being sad. I was a little close to tears as I tried to act as myself during the dubbing.
My way of thinking and my personality have changed quite a bit while playing Rupa. Rupa’s a girl who values connections and love for people, and I also used to be and am someone who values connections and personal connections. But as I continued portraying Rupa, I started to feel a stronger desire to really look at people—to pay attention to those around me. Kind of like a bassist, you know? [Supporting from behind while taking in the whole picture] That shift in perspective was probably the biggest change for me. Just like Yuri, I feel like I’ve changed in some ways through this role, and maybe discovered a new side of myself too. With new impressions of my character, like Yuri, I feel like I have changed.
What kind of influence did it have, Yuri? And Shuri, in what ways do you think you have changed?
YURI: In terms of performance. And even though Momoka isn’t the oldest, she’s the one who brings the band together. She’s like the leader, but she also has a surprisingly clumsy side, which she shows to the other members as the story progresses. But since I am the oldest in the real-life TOGENASHI TOGEARI band, I felt like I had to be mature at first. But as I interacted with everyone during dubbing sessions, it became easier to show my true self, like it was okay if I wasn’t perfect. I think I’m a bit like Momoka in that respect, and playing Momoka made it easier for me to express that.
SHURI: You’d have to ask other people if I care about the people around me.
YURI: You do.
SHURI: Thank you. I want to express my gratitude more than ever, and I feel like I want to take care of the people around me even more.
How are your relationships with each other similar or different from the relationships between your characters?
YURI: In the anime, even though they come from different places, TOGENASHI TOGEARI meet through music and grow together. We also come from different places, but we met through music, formed a band, and have been developing while trying various things for about two years. I think that’s where we are similar.
One thing that’s different is that the members of TOGENASHI TOGEARI in the anime argue a lot. They’re all really open about their emotions, so there are a lot of scenes where they clash. But in real life, we’re all quite peaceful and haven’t argued yet. So, I think that’s a bit different.
RINA: As Yuri said, we met through music…but if I were to add something, in the anime, Nina is like the youngest child, while in real life, I am actually the youngest.
Are there any differences in your views on direction or music style?
YURI and SHURI: Not really.
YURI: We all love music, and TOGENASHI TOGEARI‘s songs are incredibly difficult, so we all work hard on them. We also all have the same goal, or rather, something to work hard at, so I think we’ve been able to keep going for this long with the same enthusiasm.
You’ve performed in joint live shows with other acts, including BanG Dream!‘s MyGO!!!!!. Can you talk about what that experience was like?
RINA: Every time I think, “All the bands put on a cool live show that exceeds my imagination. And even though I’ve been polishing my skills for two years and I think I’m getting a little better, there are still bigger fish, and the world is a big place…!” I am able to see techniques and performances that I don’t know, and learn from them in many ways.
SHURI: We played with MyGO!!!!! and Shie is Legend recently, and I think watching other bands’ performances really helps us grow from a different perspective. We also had fans of BanG Dream!, She is Legend, and Heaven Burns Red, and they all had very different opinions from our own fans, so we made a lot of new discoveries.
YURI: We, TOGENASHI TOGEARI, have our world of Girls Band Cry and MyGO!!!!! has its own world. So even when we played together, our two bands had very different perspectives, but it was a joint live where you’re allowed to enter both worlds. So I think it was fun seeing the anime and the real bands, and the amazing production that only a joint project like this could have. We’d like to do more collaborations like this.
What kind of bands would you like to perform with in the future?
SHURI: We’d love to work with a lot of different people, not just anime bands, but rock bands as well.
What are your hopes for the future of TOGENASHI TOGEARI and Girls Band Cry?
RINA: I hope Girls Band Cry will continue to be loved in some way for a long time.
YURI: We haven’t performed many shows outside of the Kanto region in Japan yet, so we’d like to go to more places. We’ve also been to Shanghai, and we’ll be going to LA and Taipei soon, so we’d like to work hard to travel to more places around the world so we can deliver our concerts to more fans of Girls Band Cry outside of Japan.
What are your expectations in Los Angeles?
RINA: This will be my first time meeting fans in Los Angeles, so I am excited and nervous about what the concert will be like. But I’m sure it will be a hot and rocking day, and I am looking forward to it.
SHURI: This is our first time travelling somewhere so far away, to LA. We will be flying over the ocean for more than 10 hours. We don’t know how our music is being listened to or how people see us, so we are very curious about what kind of fans they are. And we are really looking forward to seeing what our live show is going to be like.
©東映アニメーション”
The Girls Band Cry Exhibition just finished its Nagoya dates. What have been some memorable moments with the Tokyo and Nagoya dates? What are you looking forward to for the Osaka and Fukuoka dates?
RINA: There is a space at each venue where people can write their thoughts on sticky notes and stick them on the wall, and I was very happy to see both the Tokyo and Nagoya venues were filled with everyone’s messages. I’m excited that the Osaka and Fukuoka venues will also overflow with messages from people who come to visit.
YURI: We went to the Tokyo exhibit, and it really captures the world of Girls Band Cry, and it’s an exhibit that takes you through the series from the first episode. The large character panels made us feel like we had entered the world of the Girls Band Cry. So, we were excited and had a lot of fun when we saw it for the first time. And there were also exhibits of our favorite scenes, so I think it’s an exhibition that lots of different people can enjoy.
For Osaka and Fukuoka, we haven’t had many opportunities to meet fans in Osaka or Fukuoka. So, I hope it will be an enjoyable exhibition for people who really love Girls Band Cry.
The Girls Band Cry film is releasing this October. What can fans expect from the movie? Is there any scene you’re looking forward to seeing on the big screen?
RINA: I hope you will enjoy not only the concert scenes, but also the beautiful 3DCG throughout the entire film, as well as the realism that can only be experienced in a movie theater.
YURI: There is a first and second part, but for those who loved and watched the Girls Band Cry anime, the movie version will be a compilation, so even if you have already seen the movie once, it will be a rare experience to see it on the big screen. I hope you will be able to fully immerse yourself in the world of Girls Band Cry on a big screen.
I’m looking forward to seeing the concert scenes. I think Girls Band Cry has impressive and realistic concert scenes, so I hope everyone will enjoy them with the sound turned up in the theater.
SHURI: I don’t see movies in theaters very often, so I’d like to see all kinds of small details of beef bowls, delicious-looking beef bowls. I think the acoustics will be great, so the concert scenes and even the everyday scenes with the background noise, or when two characters are talking while three others are talking separately, will be fun. So, I really hope people will pay attention to those things as well.
TOGENASHI TOGEARI is preparing for its Nippon Budokan live concert in Tokyo. What are your feelings as you prepare for the event?
RINA: We’ve been aiming for a Budokan concert for a long time, and I think it will be a big milestone for us. So, we want to give it everything we can on that day. I am sure there will be many things that can only be done at the Budokan and with this group, so I won’t let my guard down until the day of the Budokan concert and will keep improving myself!
YURI: Since we formed, it has always been both the anime’s TOGENASHI TOGEARI and our dream to perform at the Budokan, and I think it is thanks to our fans who have been supporting us that we are able to make it happen within two years. Now that we are going to perform on our dream stage, we’d like to prepare both physically and technically to give everything we have for the best concert with all the songs.
SHURI: This will be our first concert at the Nippon Budokan, which is the dream venue for the anime’s TOGENASHI TOGEARI, and what we’ve been aiming for. So, we’re really looking forward to it. We’re preparing our performances, our hearts, and our stamina, and I hope we can give it everything we can on the day of the show.
You’ll be performing at the Nippon Budokan, but are there any other places you’d like to perform?
SHURI: My hobby is watching baseball. And because I love baseball, I’d like to perform a live concert at the [Tokyo] Dome or a stadium, so we’ll keep working hard and aim to perform at the [Tokyo] Dome.
Do you have any messages for your fans?
RINA: The love of each and every one who supports Girls Band Cry and TOGENASHI TOGEARI is what keeps us going. Thank you for everything! We hope that we can continue to make this wonderful work exciting together with our fans, so please continue to support us!
YURI: It’s been about a year since the TV anime Girls Band Cry finished airing in Japan, but we still have a lot of activities like events and live shows, so we hope you will continue to support us. Thank you.
SHURI: We are still blessed with the opportunity to do many concerts, go overseas, hold exhibitions, have a theatrical release, and release new songs. We’ll keep doing our best to express our gratitude, so we’d be grateful for your continued support.
