Thoughts on the two-person play "Kokuhaku" CD by Tarusuke Shingaki (and a talk about consuming acting)

The other day, I attended the pre-event for the two-person play hosted by Tarusuke Shingaki. (I wrote about the event report in my previous article.)
I was so moved by the brilliance of the two-person play that I purchased and listened to the drama CD version of their debut work, "Kokuhaku" (read as Kokuhaku), so I am writing down my thoughts.
Since it is still available for purchase on the dedicated site, I will try my best not to include any spoilers.
I wrote down my thoughts with major spoilers on Privatter.

I looked back at past posts about "Kokuhaku," and it seems the debut performance was only for one day in a compact venue, so many people were unable to get tickets. That is exactly why this audio release is so precious. 😭
It is not a recording of the stage play, but one recorded anew.
You can find the preview video here.

The story begins with two boys living in a certain village. Karl is energetic, athletic, and popular, while Kurt is shy, has few friends, and loves writing poetry.
The first track of the CD contains only the title and the line that serves as the theme of this story: "I killed ■■■."What is this??? It's unsettling, isn't it??? What does this mean, hey???Thinking this, I moved on to the next track (I can't write about it because it would be a spoiler, but something very concerning already appears here. Having experienced "Thinking Blue," I was convinced that the magic of Youmasu-san had already begun here.)
The background music is Celtic-style, evoking a peaceful village. (As someone with a high level of memory loss, I completely forgot about the earlier unsettling feeling as soon as I started listening.) Nature is abundant, the two are still attending school, and both seem to live with just their mothers or fathers. Both are from single-parent families where the parents are teachers, and despite their different personalities, they share similar circumstances and are close friends.

This story is divided into childhood, youth, and adulthood, depicting the lives of these two characters. Starting from childhood—play, study, family, love... the general plot follows what kind of fate they will follow from their carefree childhood, which is no different from our own.

Now, about the way the two differentiate their roles. I'll make a small excuse: I just jumped into the Okitsu-san fandom in the spring of 2024, and I think my level of familiarity with the work of Shingaki-san and Furukawa-san is about level 1 each, so I hope fans of the two will read this gently. (I want to reach about level 12 of Okitsu-san familiarity, but I wonder... 🤔)

In the daytime performance, Shingaki-san plays Karl and Furukawa-san plays Kurt.
Shingaki-san's Karl has a big-brother vibe despite being the same age. Furukawa-san's Kurt showed off his cuteness with a quiet impression. Shingaki-san's voice, to me, has a woody feel, like a birch forest or cypress, a stretch that is healing. I felt it was amazing how the Karl played with that voice gradually changed from childhood.
Furukawa-san's Kurt feels like fresh fruit, especially in his childhood, and there is a cuteness to him, and the way he says his favorite poetry phrases has a lingering effect that is wonderful.

In the evening performance, they swap roles, and the impression changes again. When Furukawa-san becomes Karl, the feeling of overflowing energy is like a flame, and he has a shining, bright aura. In contrast, Shingaki-san's Kurt is stillness to movement, with a calm and gentle impression. I imagined that perhaps this Kurt is easier for Shingaki-san to play.

Each story has supporting characters other than the two who speak in each scene, and since each character setting is different, it is a great deal to be able to enjoy the two of them playing different characters on one CD. It's fun to imagine, "I wonder if they thought of it with this kind of image." (I think there are some specifications in the script, though.) Shingaki-san's way of playing supporting roles was truly that of a senior, and the supporting characters played by Furukawa-san have such a strong flavor... 🤭

And, in the two day/night performances, the story branches off midway and the ending changes!!! I had mistakenly thought it was the same as "Thinking Blue" where only the last track was different, so I was surprised!!!! Therefore, I actually feel that this change is already included in the role differentiation from the beginning, and I thought, "I must listen to this over and over again to savor it..."

I will leave the content of the story here so that you can listen to the CD, but I would like to state that I think this reading play, the two-person play "Kokuhaku," has special value.

I usually enjoy voice actors' voices in anime and drama CDs, but in Okitsu-san's radio show, there is a corner called "Cosplay Talk," where they talk while playing characters based on voice cosplay themes sent in by listeners. Listening to that, I think that there are many kinds of acting. (Come to think of it, when I listened to the Guda-Guda Radio? that Youmasu-san was involved in before this summer, the announcement was also cosplay-related, and it was very interesting to hear Okitsu-san, Shingaki-san, and Hagashi-san perform outrageous themes. It's a pity there is no archive.)
I think anime and CDs are made with original authors or sound directors adjusting the timing and such to fit various elements. In free talk, there are times when it seems Okitsu-san performed comfortably, and times when it was difficult because there were instructions, so I think the "Cosplay Talk" performed on the radio is, in a sense, the acting material that the person brings out on the spot! However, looking at the acting in the cut scene of "Thinking Blue" that I heard at the two-person play pre-event, I really felt the awesomeness of acting as a genuine product.
To use an analogy, something like "Cosplay Talk" is fresh and simple, like taking vegetables straight from the field, sprinkling them with salt, and eating them as is; it's delicious on the spot, but it's not something that has been seriously practiced or refined by the person. (Even so, it's interesting, and if anything, it feels like acting and intellectual flashes.)
In contrast, anime and drama CDs are perfectly cooked dishes, created with the intentions of directors and technical elements intervening. It's bound to be delicious. Because many professionals are doing their best...!!!

And in that sense, a reading play is that dish, but the ingredients are taken right in front of you, cooked by the person in front of you, and served with very simple seasoning of just music and lighting, which is the real thrill.
That's why you really want to see it live, right? 😭 "Thinking Blue" is a recording of the performance at the time, so the atmosphere and momentum of that time are carried in the voice, and in a sense, it has a sense of realism. The CD I listened to and the one I heard live at the pre-event were not the same, but they were the same; they were the same, but not the same (because they are professionals).

If you ask if "Kokuhaku," which was made into a drama CD, is no good because it's not a recording of the stage play... that is not the case. Or rather,there is something special here that you can't find anywhere elseis what I think.
I learned this from the dialogue with the director, Daiyu Esaki-san, written in the "Thinking Blue" pamphlet, but it seems they did not have a director for "Kokuhaku."
Shingaki-san and Youmasu-san decided on the cues for lighting, music, and sound effects, and they discussed the acting between the cast and Youmasu-san. (Sorry for the pamphlet spoiler.) Esaki-san also commented that it was difficult, but considering the acting with this compact cast, the structure of the story, and the number of characters, I think it is quite a challenge.

In other words, this is what I want to push.
"Kokuhaku" is a work where you can hear the acting that Shingaki-san and Furukawa-san thought of themselves, and decided after discussing it between the two of them and Youmasu-san, and no one else!!!!

Using the previous analogy, although it is a recording as a drama CD, when I thought that the way each line is said and the acting comes from themselves, I thought it was incredibly valuable.
Because, you know how there is often talk about being told how to act at auditions, right? I think that voice actors, in a sense, as professionals, have the job of speaking according to the image they are told to have, so I don't think the anime or drama CDs I'm listening to now are necessarily the acting the person themselves thinks of. That's why, when I listen to Okitsu-san's "Cosplay Talk" and the like, I think about various things, like "he has this habit" or "he thought of this voice this way." But, after all, that is just something made on the spot, isn't it?
In contrast, I thought "Kokuhaku" was very rare because you can hear the acting that two actors (and Youmasu-san) seriously thought about and created. You get to have a home-cooked meal that the two of them cooked themselves, while consulting with Youmasu-san, using the ingredients that Shingaki-san and Furukawa-san have!? Isn't that amazing????
Hearing this, I think I can understand how the two of them face acting, their direction, and their raw acting, so I want to keep listening to it from now on!!!

It's not that having a director is bad. In "Thinking Blue," it seems Esaki-san is the type of director who doesn't decide the acting too much, and he said that even Shingaki-san sometimes moves forward while still being lost. Therefore, "Thinking Blue" is also a wonderful work because it is the culmination of the acting that Shingaki-san and Okitsu-san produced after receiving advice and ideas from various objective perspectives. Ah, I want to listen to it again.

If anything, the 3rd performance, "Greatest Rest," will feature Daisuke Hirakawa-san. I can only go tomorrow, so if I see it, I'll probably write a report again. The other lineup is the same as "Thinking Blue," so it's bound to be wonderful. (Please forgive me as I am also level 1 in familiarity with Daisuke Hirakawa-san.)

But if you like Shingaki-san and Furukawa-san, I highly recommend "Kokuhaku." I think it will be a very wonderful experience to taste the raw acting of the two that can only be found in this work, the acting created by the two's heads and bodies.

You can still purchase the CD and script as a set, so please, by all means!!

"Kokuhaku"
Organizer, Cast: Tarusuke Shingaki
Cast: Makoto Furukawa
Script: Youmasu

By the way, I like comparing voices and such to other things, so on March 3rd (Ear Day) and May 8th (Voice Day) of next year,#WhatWouldYourFavoriteVoiceBeComparedTo
I want to just express the voices of my favorite voice actors on X with a tag like this, but I want to hear other people's too, so I'm looking for participants. (Also, if you have any ideas for a tag that has fewer characters, is more elegant, and is better, please let me know.)
Even if there are no participants, I will do it anyway!!!
I think I'll be making noise on X again when it gets closer~

Thank you so much for reading this far through an article where I'm just making noise about my thoughts alone!!
(My motto is to pour out my passionate feelings for my favorite in a corner of the internet sea, after all.)
This is the kind of article I made!!! ↓↓↓

"Greatest Rest" Thoughts

"Thinking Blue and Pre-event" Thoughts