Juza Hyodo/MANKAI Party

BIRTHDAY VLOG: Juza

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Actor A	“Eat this!”
	*hits*
Juza	“Guh…! Damn you, you betrayed me!?”
Yuzo	Juza, just now when you received the first kick and how you dealt with it after that…
Juza	…Got it!
	Phew.
Actor A	Man, Juza was on fire today.
Actor B	Yeah, his stage fighting was super intense.
Actor A	Right, it feels like you’ll get swallowed up when he faces you and stares you down.
Yuzo	The face-off scene was pretty impressive.
	However, the scene where you reappear in the second half and the stage fight could be even better.
	Be a little more conscious of your forward movements and the timing of your lines.
Juza	…Sure.
Actor C	Hey guys, let’s take a picture after practise.
	Get in here too, Juza!
Actor D	C’mon, Juza. Scooch in, scooch in!
Juza	Okay.
Actor E	Here goes~. Say cheese!
	*click*
	Alright, nice shot.
	I’ll send it to you later, Juza. Post it to Inste too~.
Actor D	Yeah, yeah. You haven’t posted your rehearsals, so I bet all your fans are waiting.
Juza	…Alright.
	(I moved a lot during practise today, so I gotta wash my sweat off in the bath first.)
	?
	There’s a comment on the pic I uploaded to Inste earlier?
Fan comment A	“Thanks for posting a picture during your rehearsal!”
Fan comment B	“I’m totally in love with Juza-kun’s acting and I’m so happy I get to watch as he grows more and more as an actor”
Fan comment C	“I’m looking forward to your next play!”
Juza	(All these different comments…
	I’m grateful.)
	*door opens*
Sakuya	Oh, Juza-kun?
	You’re home late, huh?
Juza	I was helpin’ out in Yuzo-san’s rehearsal up ‘til earlier.
	Did you have work, Sakuya?
Sakuya	Yep. The store was bustling, so I ended up a bit later than planned.
	A hard day’s work for both of us, huh?
Juza	Yeah.
Sakuya	Were you looking at Inste?
Juza	Yeah. I posted a rehearsal pic earlier and it got lots of comments.
Sakuya	Oh, you’re right.
	Supportive comments sure are encouraging, aren’t they?
	Also, I totally understand how the fans feel.
Juza	Eh?
Sakuya	I like how you always have a straightforward attitude towards acting too. I respect that!
Juza	You’re the one like that, Sakuya. You’re always facin’ acting with all you’ve got… I think that’s amazin’.
Sakuya	Ahaha, thank you.
	While working with MANKAI Company, you’re also actively participating in Yuzo-san’s troupe’s rehearsals and plays—.
	You’re steadily gaining experience as an actor, so it feels reassuring to hear that from you.
Juza	That’s…
	…
Sakuya	—Err, I’m sorry for saying something like that out of the blue!
Juza	S’fine…
Sakuya	Come to think of it, your birthday event is going to be held soon, isn’t it?
	And the VLOG that’s going to be shown is supposed to be filmed with the theme of “a sight I want to show my fans”. Have you decided what you’ll do?
Juza	Actually, I was still muddlin’ over it—but I decided just now.
Sakuya	EH!? Just now!?
Juza	Yeah. So I have a favour I wanna ask you, Sakuya.
Sakuya	So you’re always practicing here with the Furinkazan troupe, huh?
	Um, can I start rolling the camera now?
Juza	Yeah. I got Yuzo-san’s permission to film, after all.
	Sorry I asked you to film my VLOG.
Sakuya	Not at all! In fact, I was really looking forward to watching Yuzo-san’s troupe’s rehearsal too.
	I’d love to learn a thing or two while I’m filming.
Juza	I see… glad to hear that.
	I’m countin’ on you.
Sakuya	Same here!
	Alright, let’s start right away.
Juza	Sure.

Actor A	One, two, three…
Actor B	Could you help me stretch for a second?
Actor C	Sure, no problem. Give me a hand after too.
Juza	Good morning.
Sakuya	Good morning!
Actor A	Oh, good mor—… hm, what’s this? A photoshoot?
Actor B	Hey, you’re a kid from the same theatre troupe as Juza, right?
Sakuya	I am! I’m Sakuma Sakuya!
	It’s very nice to meet you.
Actor C	Hi, nice to meet you.
Actor D	So, what kind of shoot is this?
Juza	It’s for a video we’re gonna play at my birthday event.
Actor C	Juza’s b-day event!?
Juza	Yuzo-san said he would tell you guys…
Actor A	Yuzo-san forgot for sure.
Actor B	A video for MANKAI Company’s fans to watch, huh…
	Damn it, I wish I dressed up~!
Juza	Sorry. If you don’t like it, then I’ll cut it.
Actor B	I’m joking. Don’t worry about it!
Actor C	If your birthday’s coming up then we gotta celebrate~.
	*door opens*
Yuzo	Hey.
Juza	Good morning.
Sakuya	Yuzo-san, good morning!
Yuzo	Oh, right, your shoot was today, huh?
	I see Sakuya came too.
Juza	Thanks for your permission to film.
	I’ll be countin’ on you today.
Yuzo	Sure. I’m sure you know, but don’t capture anything that’ll spoil the play, alright?
Juza	Of course.
Sakuya	…And there! I think we got some great shots.
Juza	I appreciate it, Sakuya.
	Yuzo-san and everyone else, thanks for today.
Actor A	That was fun.
Actor B	Show us when the video’s done.
Sakuya	I learned a lot while I was filming too!
	Thank you so much!
Actor C	You worked hard too, Sakuya-kun.
Yuzo	That reminds me, I happened to run into Kasumi yesterday. He was jealous when I told him you were dropping by my rehearsal hall.
Sakuya	Oh, really!
Yuzo	I’ll tell Kasumi to give MANKAI Company’s rehearsal room another visit.
Sakuya	For sure! Our doors are always open.
Juza	Yeah, we’ll be waitin’.
Yuzo	Are you done filming your video now?
Juza	That was the plan… but there’s somethin’ else I wanna film too.
	I’m gonna keep goin’ after I get home.
	Sakuya, can you leave the rest of the filming to me?
Sakuya	Of course! I can’t wait to see what kind of video it’ll turn out to be.
Yuzo	If you need more guests for your birthday event, just give me a holler.
Juza	…
Yuzo	…I was joking. Geez, lighten up.
Taichi	Omi-kun, I washed the veggies!
Omi	Great, thanks. Alright, can you give me a hand with this next?
Taichi	On it!
Juza	…
Omi	Umm… by the way, Juza. What have you been filming?
Juza	The video for my VLOG.
Taichi	EHH!? Wait, is that for your birthday event!?
Omi	It’s your VLOG though. Is it alright for us to be filmed...?
Juza	Don’t worry. Just continue.
Taichi	Even if you say that, I can’t help but worry!
Sakyo	Save your breath. He went ahead and filmed Bon and I arguing earlier.
Azami	Our discussion about the budget ain’t over, shitty Sakyo.
Sakyo	Ahh?
	*door opens*
Banri	Oh, it’s rowdy in here.
Juza	…
Banri	…Ah? What do you want, asshole?
	Don’t film someone as soon as they get home without askin’… OI!
	There’s no way I’m in frame there!
Juza	Ahh? They’ll know it’s you from just your hair.
Banri	The hell? Don’t screw with me!
Taichi	Even when they’re filming, Juza-san and Ban-chan are the same as ever.

Juza	…Aight.
Kumon	You look super cool, nii-chan!
	Your outfit suits you to a tee!
Juza	Thanks.
Kumon	Hehe. I’m so happy I get to appear as a guest in nii-chan’s birthday event!
Sakuya	Let’s have lots of fun together!
Tasuku	That’s right.
Juza	I’ll be countin’ on you today.
Sakuya	Same here!
Tasuku	I’m looking forward to it.
Sakuya	…Without further ado, let’s welcome Juza-kun together!
	*applause*
Juza	…Thanks for comin’ today.
Kumon	Nii-chan, happy birthday!
Guest A	Juza-kun, happy birthday!
Guest B	You look so cool, Juza-san!
Sakuya	Happy birthday, Juza-kun!
Tasuku	Congrats, Hyodo.
Juza	Thanks, everyone. Really.
	Alright, should we start the VLOG screening party segment?
Sakuya	Yeah!
Juza	I shot a VLOG with the theme of “a sight I wanna show my fans”. Sakuya helped me with it.
Sakuya	I had a blast filming it too!
Kumon	I’m jealous of Sakuya-san. He got to take close-up shots of nii-chan!
Tasuku	I’m curious to see what they shot.
Juza	Alright, start.
	*applause*
Kumon	The spot shown on screen looks like a rehearsal room…
	Hold on, is this place Yuzo-san’s theatre company!?
Tasuku	Oh, will we be able to watch how they rehearse?
Sakuya	“Pleased to be working together today!”
Actor A	“Yeah! This close coverage of the Furinkazan theatre troupe feels embarrassing~.”
Juza	“No, that’s not it.”
Actor B	“It’s a close-up video of Juza!”
Sakuya	“Ahaha!”
	They were all very kind!
Tasuku	He’s learning about acting in a great environment.
Juza	“Leave it to me.”
Actor C	“Juza, wouldn’t it be better if you showed a bolder smirk in the part just now?”
Juza	“Got it. I’ll give it a try.”
	“Also, in the scene before this one…
	I wanna verify how we say the lines in the gaps in our fight.”
Actor D	“Ah, here? Okay, let’s take it from there one more time then.”
Kumon	Everyone’s so cool…!
Tasuku	You can tell everyone’s facing the play seriously.
Guest A	Amazing…
Guest B	You can totally see they’re working hard and giving it their all.
	So this is what their rehearsals are like…
Yuzo	“Take a short break!”
Juza	“Phew…”
Sakuya	“Great job, Juza-kun.
	You looked really cool devoting yourself to the play.”
Juza	“…Thanks.”
	“…I’ve got folks like these guys trainin’ me.
	Lotsa different people are helpin’ me develop as an actor.”
	“I wanted to tell my fans that the reason they say they like me is all thanks to the people around me."
	“Talkin’ to Sakuya the other day made me realize that all over again.”
Kumon	Nii-chan…
Tasuku	…
Juza	“…When I think about it, I guess those guys close to me are like that too.”
	“It’s so obvious that they almost slipped my mind.”
Guest A	Those guys?
Guest B	Could he mean…
Taichi	“Omi-kun, I washed the veggies!”
Omi	“Great, thanks. Alright, can you give me a hand with this next?”
Kumon	The screen changed!
Tasuku	Fushimi and Nanao… is this an everyday sight of Autumn troupe?
Guest C	I can’t believe we get to watch a video like this…!
Guest D	I’m so happy~!
Omi	“It’s your VLOG though. Is it alright for us to be filmed…?”
Juza	“Don’t worry. Just continue.”
Taichi	“Even if you say that, I can’t help but worry!”
Sakyo	“Save your breath. He went ahead and filmed Bon and I arguing earlier.”
Azami	“Our discussion about the budget ain’t over, shitty Sakyo.”
Sakyo	“Huh?”
	*door opens*
Banri	“Oh, it’s rowdy in here.”
Juza	“…”
Banri	“…Ah? What do you want, asshole?”
	“Don’t film someone as soon as they’re home without askin’… OI!
	There’s no way I’m in frame there!”
Juza	“Ahh? They’ll know it’s you from just your hair.”
Banri	“The hell? Don’t screw with me!”
Juza	“Shut up.”
Banri	“You wanna go, jerkfa—”
Sakuya	It says “forced termination”…
Kumon	EHH!?
Juza	…That’s how it ended?
Tasuku	I thought he had a good conversation going from the flow earlier, but…
Sakuya	This kind of ending is novel, huh?
Tasuku	But hey, it was a good video, overall.
Sakuya	Yeah! Juza-kun’s thoughts were conveyed!
Kumon	That’s nii-chan for you!
	*applause*
Guest A	That was great!
Guest B	I’m going to continue following you from here on out!
Juza	…Thanks for always supportin’ me.
Sakuya	I’m reluctant to part, but it looks like it’s about time to wrap the event up.
Tasuku	We’re going to take a picture at the end, right?
	As for the cameraman…
Kumon	Here, here! I’ll take nii-chan’s picture!
Juza	Aight, go ahead.
Kumon	‘KAY! Face this way, nii-chan!
Juza	…
Kumon	Mmm… you look cool how you usually are, but smile more!
	I know. Wave at the fans behind me too!
Juza	…Like this?
Guest A	KYA~!
Guest C	Juza-kunnn!
Kumon	Yep, that’s it! Alright, smile!
	Here goes~. Say cheese!
	*click*

Anna