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| Nobuhiko Morino |
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| Napalm Films Composer |
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How did you meet Ryuhei Kitamura?
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We went to the same junior high, but I was only there for one year and we were not in the same class. I recognized his face, but never talked to him. By the way, the previous interviewee, Ren Cozillo, and I have also knew each other from kindergarden.
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What is Ryuhei Kitamura's first impression?
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I first talked to him when we went to a high school to turn in our entry applications. I don't remember what we talked about, but I do remember we were in the same group of 10 classmates applying for entry. An incident occurred after we turned in our entry applications, when Ryuhei suddenly proposed that everyone go to the hot springs!
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Hot springs? During the test season?
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Everybody was stunned for a moment. There was a famous hot spring facility near the high school and he invited everyone to go. Even though we had important tests coming up, Ryuhei said such a strange thing, but I thought he was interesting. That was my first impression of him. Anyway, we did go to the hot spring, but unfortunately, it was closed for remodeling.
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Were the two of you able to pass the test?
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We both passed, graduated from junior high and entered high school. Although were placed in different classes, we often got together to go to the arcade or play videogames at Ryuhei's house. Every once in a while, Ryuhei would suddenly be absent from school for about a month. Where he went and what he was doing at that time is still a mystery. Other classmates were worried too. When Ryuhei finally returned, the headline for the school paper read: "Ryuhei Returns to School!." In the second year, we ended up in the same class, and continued to play videogames. It was about that time that Ryuhei dropped out of school to move to Australia. In the middle of class, he turned in his Intent to quit paper to the teacher. We were all surprised. When he left the classroom, the teacher, who usually doesn't know anything, seriously said, "Kitamura has filed to quit school. His father called before. Something terrible must've happened to Kitamura's family. Let's pray for them."
It seemed like very official business.
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What happened after that?
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I graduated from high school, wandered around a bit, and entered university a few years later. I was so disappointed because Ryuhei had already entered that university. He had come back from studying abroad in Austrailia and passed the entrance exam before I did. He was my upper classman. We never directly met at school, but at that time, Ryuhei was classmates with Daisuke Yano, my music composing partner, and Keishiro Shin, the producer. We made lots of short films and played in a band.
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When did you start composing?
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"Down To Hell" was my first time composing. I had no experience before that-so when Ryuhei told me to compose the music for "Down To Hell," I went straight to the music store and bought a keyboard. I may have not understood everything I was doing, but I did it with passion. I put my keyboard on top of the kotatsu (table) in Ryuhei's room and composed all day, all night, even through meal times until it was finished. I didn't go outside for about a month because Ryuhei had locked me up.
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What is Ryuhei Kitamura to you?
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With Ryuhei, I have a lot of wonderful experiences. However, those experiences are usually in the extreme. They're either incredibly trying or incredibly happy experiences. There's no in between. For "Godzilla," I was really happy to work with my hero, Keith Emerson. In Los Angeles, I talked with him about a lot of things. It was a great experience for me. So, I guess the next one will be a difficult one. But I'm positive I'll experience even more good things after that. I hope….
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