02 Mar 2021 Commemorating the Release of ‘Eclipse’, the 2nd Cour Opening Theme of ‘King’s Raid: Successors of the Will’! Interview With Popular K-Pop Group Dreamcatcher & Unreleased Photos!
The K-pop girl group Dreamcatcher who sang ‘Eclipse’, the 2nd cour opening theme of the anime ‘King’s Raid: Successors of the Will’ appears on Akiba Souken!
Dreamcatcher is a 7-member K-pop girl group that is garnering world-wide attention with rock sounds and powerful performances both rare in Korea. After making their Korean debut in January 2017, they made their Japanese debut in November 2018. As they continue to be active world-wide, they are set to release their 4th Japanese single CD, ‘Eclipse’, on March 24th, 2021.
The song is currently being used as the opening theme of the anime ‘King’s Raid: Successors of the Will’, the 2nd cour of which is currently being aired.
We hope you look forward to the Akiba Souken exclusive photos as well as the interview!
–Since this is your first appearance on Akia Souken, the anime and hobby information site, could you please introduce yourselves?
JU: Chu~ Dream of me. I am the charisma bunny leader of Dreamcatcher, JiU. (Laughs)
SA: Chu~ Dream of me. I am Dreamcatcher’s Sua~.
SY: Hello, I am Dreamcatcher’s main vocal, Siyeon.
HD: Hello, I am Dreamcatcher’s Handong.
YH: Hello, I am Dreamcatcher’s Yoohyeon!
DM: Hello, I am Dreamcatcher’s Dami.
GH: Hello, I am Dreamcatcher’s lovely fox! Gahyeon!
JiU
–Did you play King’s Raid or watch the anime? First off, tell us about the fun elements of King’s Raid or your thoughts on it.
GH: First off, the graphics really popped and looked so pretty. Good, good! I really liked it. I think anyone should be able to find a character they like.
YH: I liked the story and the look of the characters depicted in ‘King’s Raid’, too, so I had fun with the game! Say what you will, but a game needs to entertain your eyes to be fun, right?
JU: The in-game actions felt spectacular, so I had fun looking at it. And, you could really feel the emotions between the characters, so I really felt drawn in.
DM: For the action, you could set it on ‘auto mode’ and use the ‘speed-up’ feature, so you can skip the boring bits. Also, you can position your characters in action scenes, equip better items or gems, and in general, play according to your own strategy, which was fun.
SY: The ‘probability’ (the actions most likely to be taken) between the characters and their relationships make the game feel unique compared to other games.
HD: I don’t play games much, but ‘King’s Raid’ was fun. The art was pretty, and I began to realize what fun you can have with games playing ‘King’s Raid’.
SA: I also don’t play games much, but with the pretty character art and the diverse cast of characters, I think King’s Raid is a game that anyone could enjoy.
SuA
–You recently sang the 2nd cour opening theme of the anime, King’s Raid: Successors of the Will. How did you feel when you first heard about it?
SA: I thought, ‘King’s Raid had it all planned out’! I really liked the details of the anime and felt interested, so I feel proud to have sung the opening theme of the show.
JU: We had success with the song ‘Deja Vu’, our first collaboration we did with the game back in 2019, so I hoped we could work together again. Plus, we had hoped to sing an anime opening theme since our debut, so getting through another good ‘first’ with them is an honor. I’m happy!
YH: It’s such an honor!! I feel so grateful that they trusted us with the song. We worked hard to meet those expectations.
DM: Them giving us an opportunity again made me feel surprised and grateful.
SY: We could contribute to such a fantastic piece of media, so I feel thankful to the VESPA staff!
GH: As expected of King’s Raid! (Laughs) I’m really glad that we got to work together again. We got a good response last time, so I hope we can get good synergy this time too.
HD: First off, I felt honored. I’m happy that King’s Raid got an anime adaptation (Laughs) and that we got to sing its opening theme. I’d be glad if we get another chance to collaborate like we did last time with Deja Vu!
Siyeon
–What is your new song ‘Eclipse’ like?
JU: It is a song memorable for the rock sounds that fit the dynamic nature of ‘King’s Raid’, and the sentimental yet energetic lyrics that convey the emotions that pass between the characters.
DM: It’s a song that is a message filled with one’s heart, addressed to someone who cannot be reached.
–Tell us a memorable story from the recording sessions.
SA: The song itself has a certain power that draws out your emotions, so I was excited all throughout the recording. I remember that I got through the recording with a sort of sprinting feeling.
JU: Ever since our collaboration with Deja Vu, I was struck by the relationship between Kasel and Frey. In the lyrics of ‘Eclipse’ I felt the sad pain as well as the iron will in those characters, so I felt more deeply immersed. Also, I was worried about my Japanese pronunciations, but the director told me that my pronunciation was great, so that felt good. (Laugh)
YH: After getting the lyrics, I worked hard on singing my parts so that the emotions would fit the background and the energy of the song.
DM: It was more difficult for me because I had to sing as well as rap.
SY: I had to make the emotions hit right from the beginning of the song, so I put a lot of effort into making my voice as fine as possible. I also felt that my pronunciation was getting better and better. (Laugh)
GH: True. We recorded the 1st verse first and recorded the 2nd verse later, and I felt a new charm from the 2nd verse, different from the 1st one.
HD: At first, we got the lyrics with the pronunciation written in Hangul. But for me, Chinese is easier to read. So one by one, I rewrote the lyrics in Pinyin and practiced that way. (Handong is from China)
Handong
–Tell us the points of note within the song.
SA: It’s a sentimental yet powerful song. Please try to feel it to its fullest when you listen to it.
JU: The sad sentimentality of the beginning part….. But then after that, rock sounds that match the energetic action scenes kick in! I think that gap is a point to be noted.
YH: I felt that King’s Raid and the song go so amazingly well together! If you watch the anime as well as listen to the song, I think you’ll be able to be more deeply immersed emotionally into the show!
DM: If you watch the anime as well as listen to the song, the two will have better synergy, I think.
SY: The well-structured lyrics that depict the world of King’s Raid so well!
GH: As it is an opening theme, I think it’s better if you listen to the song while watching the anime.
HD: I felt that it was a good song ever since we first listened to it. It’s a song that’s overflowing with energy, and captures the elements of the anime very well.
Yoohyeon
–What would the on-stage performance be like?
SA: If I were to put it in terms of art, it will be done very prettily. In the chorus, if we acted like we were fighting to protect something, working in vain but still with conviction, I think that would look fantastic.
JU: It would be like a ‘Deja Vu 2’ that continues from Deja Vu, I think. I just imagined us doing it, and I feel it’d look great.
YH: It would feel like a mad dash. Dreamcatcher’s choreographies are often demanding physically, but if this one was to be choreographed, I think it’d be within our top 5 demanding choreos!
DM: I want it to be a performance that depicts the emotions while still feeling energetic.
SY: I think it’d be like our previous collaboration, Deja Vu. If you’re curious, please look it up!
GH: A slightly sad charisma…
HD: Maybe a very sweaty one?
Dami
–With your hard rock sounds, Dreamcatcher is continuing down a path that stands out among K-Pop groups. What do you yourselves think about the charm of your team’s sound?
SA: It helps draw out the coolness that was hidden inside me, I feel.
JU: I think the fact that our music can be enjoyed both by rock fans and K-Pop fans is a big charm. And, every single one of our songs are good!
YH: First off, I think Dreamcatcher’s music is easy to get lost in. It has marked fantasy elements, and I think that the expressiveness of each member helps define Dreamcatcher’s own genre.
DM: It being so ‘Dreamcatcher’ is its charm, I think. We’re always working so that we can bring new elements to the table while keeping true to our rock basis.
SY: The roughness of it, I think…? I am proud of the fact that Dreamcatcher’s music is firmly Dreamcatcher, even within the rock genre.
GH: As you mentioned, there aren’t many groups that go with rock sounds, so I think that newness is a charm of ours.
HD: The fact that we are gorgeous!
Gahyeon
–Is there a Japanese anime song you like?
SA: ‘One Summer’s Day’ from ‘Spirited Away’! Please give it a listen, everyone!
JU: I like ‘Unchanging Things (Kawaranai Mono)’ from ‘The Girl who Leapt Through Time’. Maybe it’s because I’ve listened to and sung it often since childhood, but it’s a song that I feel a special attachment to.
YH: I watch a lot of movies, and my favorite is ‘It’s Nothing (Nandemonaiya)’, the opening theme of ‘Your Name.’!
DM: Mine are ‘Previous Previous Previous Life’, ‘It’s Nothing’, and ‘Sparkle’ from ‘Your Name.’
SY: Mine is all of SPYAIR’s Gintama songs!
GH: …… Our recent ‘Eclipse’! (Laughs)
HD: Mine is Dreamcatcher’s ‘Eclipse’ too!
–Is there something that you are mindful about when singing in Japanese?
SA: I’m careful to make my pronunciations as natural as possible. Whatever the words may be, I think equally about the lyrics, the tone of my voice, and the techniques I use.
JU: Not really. Really, no. If there is one, maybe it’s to make it sound natural when I sing.
YH: It’s my pronunciation. My ‘T’ sounds tend to be really strong, so I have to pronounce the ‘D’ sounds of Japanese really lightly! It’s so difficult. (Tears)
DM: It’s the pronunciation, but I also practice to keep true to the ‘feeling’ of the song.
SY: Whatever song I sing, I focus on the emotions of the song. But when I sing songs in Japanese, I can’t help but be conscious of the pronunciation. I hope that when Japanese people listen to our songs, it doesn’t sound unnatural.
GH: If the pronunciation is bad, the song loses a lot of emotional power, so I’m mindful of my pronunciation.
HD: The pronunciation is always the first thing I’m conscious of.
–Finally, do you have a message for anime fans of Japan?
SA: We Dreamcatcher will continue bringing lots of cool charm to you, so please look forward to it and cheer for us!
JU: Watching anime is a learning experience, and it is a video medium that conveys a lot of emotions. I hope you experience a lot watching ‘King’s Raid’, and have fun watching it. Give Dreamcatcher’s ‘Eclipse’ lots of love too.
YH: Not just to our ‘Eclipse’, but give lots of love to anime too. Also, there are lots of Dreamcatcher songs that you’ll enjoy, so please give them a listen!
DM: There probably are lots of people who don’t know who we are, but I hope that this song will be an opportunity for people to become interested in us, saying “so, there is a group that sings this kind of song well too”.
SY: The 2nd cour of ‘King’s Raid’ is great and fun so give it lots of love. I’d also be glad if you gave Dreamcatcher’s ‘Eclipse’ lots of love, too.
GH: Our fans in Japan, we Dreamcatcher sang an anime opening theme for the first time!! How do you like it? Isn’t it great?! (Laughs) Give it lots of love. Listen to our other songs lots too!! Also, give lots of love to the ‘King’s Raid’ anime, too!!
HD: Please give lots of love to ‘King’s Raid’ and to us Dreamcatcher!
【CD Info】
■Eclipse／DREAMCATCHER
・Release date: 2021. March 24th (Wed)
・Price: First edition [CD＋DVD] 2,090 Yen（Tax included）, Ordinary edition [CD] 1,430 Yen（Tax included）
・Maker: Pony Canyon
＜Included Items＞
■First Edition
CD：1.Eclipse 2.NO MORE
DVD：’NO MORE’ Music Video, 「Eclipse」 Album Jacket making video, etc planned
■Ordinary Edition
CD:1.Eclipse 2.NO MORE 3. Undecided Title（Original Japanese track）
[Cover] TV Anime ‘King’s Raid: Successors of the Will’ standard sized cover
【Broadcast Information】
■Elise’s Room – outcall edition ‘The cast appears in a live broadcast! King’s Raid Successors of the Will Binge Special”
The story reaches its climax! As the mysteries unravel themselves, what ending is the story running towards?!
Airing all 2nd half episodes, from episode 14 to 23!
In the latter half of the special, Handa Rie (Elise) and Ozawa Ari (Cleo) will appear as guests on the live show.
We try many challenges related to King’s Raid!
・Airing on : March 6th 2021 12:30 PM~
・Guest: Handa Rie (Elise), Ozawa Ari (Cleo)
Live URL：https://live2.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv330549293
Source: Akiba-Souken
Translation by 7-Dreamers Hojoon
Please do not take translation without credit