Team 7, Who Have Grown and Struggled Together for Eight Years, Take Their Final Stage! Interview with Stars of Live Spectacle NARUTO ～The Shinobi Way of Life～!

Yuki Kimisawa (Kakashi Hatake)
Born on January 31st, 1985. Known for a number of TV and stage roles, including Osamu Watanabe in the second season of Musical: The Prince of Tennis and Sho Koseki in the Yowamushi Pedal stage play.

—After quite a long run, the curtain is finally closing on the Live Spectacle NARUTO (hereafter, Live NARUTO) series, how are you feeling about that?

Yuki Kimisawa (hereafter, Yuki): I think the eight years I spent playing Kakashi are a chapter of my life that I can really be proud of, and I'm incredibly grateful to have had that opportunity. I have no reservations about saying that the final show will be amazing, and all that's left is to make it happen. It's hard to believe it's really ending...

Yui Ito (hereafter, Yui): If I had to sum up my emotions about the series' ending, I'd say "I'm already missing it", but I feel like that can't encompass the complexity of my feelings properly. There are also a lot of scenes I'm excited to do, and I really want to end my time with this role on a high note... It's a very bittersweet combination of sadness and excitement.

Yuki: Excitement plus happiness plus gratitude... We've got a pretty crazy cocktail of emotions here (laughs).

Yui: But truly, from the bottom of my heart, I'm so glad to have been a part of these productions. I'm overflowing with gratitude!


—What are some scenes in the story so far that left a big impression on you?

Yui: I think the rehearsals for the first production (2015) were the most impactful for me. We didn't only do acting rehearsals, but action rehearsals too. That sort of athleticism on stage was a totally new experience for me. Being able to work like that as a united team to bring these shows together for eight years has been one of the highlights of my youth!

Yuki: I feel like the combination of various gimmicks with intense action scenes is what Live NARUTO's all about. A lot of the acting and performance aspects were left to us, so things avoided feeling manufactured. I think the relationships and atmosphere Team 7 cultivated in those rehearsals shone through on stage during the actual performances.

Yui: Now that you mention it, our first rehearsal as Team 7 ended up being all about learning each other's personalities! If you don't know each other inside and out, you'll have trouble interacting on stage... We were in our twenties without much experience yet, and I remember stumbling through the creation of our roles.

—Starting from 2021's The Tale Of Uzumaki Naruto, the role of Naruto was taken over by Masaki Nakao. Did that change or influence anything about how you portrayed your roles?

Yuki: Masaki is a year older than Kodai (Kodai Matsuoka, who previously played Naruto), so the switch between the two of them made it feel like Naruto was moving out of his boyhood into adolescence. When the character was younger, it felt like he was still making up his mind about a lot of things, and Kodai represented the straightforward way he went about that very well. On the other hand, Masaki's straightforward nature is expressed more in the way he pushes forward without overthinking things. The way their two brands of straightforwardness line up with those different periods really made me think that they're both accurate reflections of Naruto. In the original NARUTO manga, Naruto becomes a driving force that pulls everyone along, and he even saves Kakashi at some points. Masaki was perfect for reflecting that development.

Yui: With Kodai, all the characters were more like friendly rivals who were spurring on each other's growth in my eyes. With Masaki, I started thinking the same way as Sakura does towards Naruto at that point in the original story, trying to figure out the best way I could support him as he grew into his role. I think that was the best possible time they could have passed the metaphorical baton.

—How did you feel after you finished the previous show, The Great Ninja War Begins (2022)?

Yui: In that performance, Sakura was providing support from the rear as a medic ninja, so she couldn't be at Naruto's side or meet Sasuke at all... In other words, it was a position that involved a lot of watching from the sidelines, which can be very frustrating. That performance really drove home how far we'd come since the early days where Team 7 would butt heads and horse around together.

Yuki: I think the last performance ended with all the characters, who have had their own stories and grown in their own ways, uniting as one to face Obito and Madara. All the members of the NARUTO troupe put our heads together to create that scene, and we poured our feelings born from eight years of working together into it. I could really sense the weight of that when I was on stage, and noticed, as Yui said, how far we'd all come. I remember being happy about how the scene turned out, and thinking it would make a great connection point leading into the next performance.

—You both took part in Live Spectacle NARUTO (2015) performances overseas in Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore, and in May of this year you participated in New York's "Japan Parade" with Masaki. How did the overseas fans you met react?

Yui: It was amazing! An incredibly unique experience!

Yuki: It really was! It gave me a deep sense of pride, too. Usually this sort of thing would only be performed in Japan, and yet it got so much love around the world... The fans' reactions even made me think "I'd like to stay here forever!" (laughs) When I think about how I was given the chance to take part in something so big, I'm filled with gratitude.

Yui: I get a lot of messages from all over the world on social media, so I sort of felt like I was finally meeting those people even though I wasn't really (laughs). I'm glad I was able to go all the way to America and not just other countries in Asia. I want to take the passion I got from those overseas fans and share it with the rest of the NARUTO troupe, so we can put as much of it as possible into the final performance.

Yuki: The overseas audiences had really big reactions to the show, so you could feel the cultural differences! A lot of people over there watch anime in the original Japanese with subtitles, and I thought it was interesting just how much of the Japanese they were able to understand. It really taught me how amazing Japanese anime is. I remember thinking eight years ago, "I want to work on a show with worldwide reach!" This might not happen while I'm still acting, but I really hope that having overseas performances becomes the standard for 2.5-dimensional productions.

—What were your first impressions of Team 7?

Yui: When I first read the original manga, I thought it was strange to have a team of guys with a lone girl, rather than having a team with only boys and a separate heroine. Before I read the story, I thought of Sakura as being a stereotypical damsel in distress protected by the boys around her. But in reality, she fights on the front lines as well, choosing her own path and growing as her own person. You can sympathize with those kinds of struggles whether you're looking at it from a male or female perspective. It really draws a great picture of humanity.

Yuki: Standing in Kakashi's position on the stage, the other three really shone like diamonds in the rough. They each had different ways of thinking, but when it came down to it, they could do what needed to be done! That seemed just like Team 7 to me, and I really understood how Kakashi felt when he called them "cute little newbies". When I met our Team 7, I just knew they were all going to become amazing actors.

—So, what kind of impressions do you have now?

Yui: I thought that their relationship was broken beyond repair, so Team 7 teaming up once more during the Great Ninja War was a real surprise. Even though they were all split up, there must have been something still unchanged in their hearts that allowed them to work together again despite everything. The way Kakashi slowly changes how he talks about them, from "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say...I hate you!!" to "I really...love you guys", made a big impression on me, perhaps because of how long it took for him to grow fond of them.

Yuki: Kakashi says some harsh things to Sasuke as his former teacher, but I personally think it's lonely being away from part of the team. Naruto is...in a word, reliable! As for Sakura, I think it was really admirable how she chose her own method of protecting those she cares for, and trained to pursue that goal. When she took the field as a medic during the Great Ninja War, she really proved that "fighting's not the only way to protect what matters".

Yui: Oh, "fighting's not the only way to protect what matters" is a great saying! Mind if I use it too?

Yuki: Knock yourself out! (laughs)


—Is there anything you'd like to say to your comrades-in-arms from Team 7, Naruto and Sasuke?

Yui: Sakura has been wanting to support Naruto for a long time now, so I think she'd be full of happiness now that she can fight side-by-side with him. It's different from how she supported him in the previous production, so I'm looking forward to it. As for Sasuke, Sakura has gone through a really hard time because of him, so it feels like a reunion that's been a long time coming! I'm not sure how it's going to feel when we're actually on stage, but I'm looking forward to acting with Sasuke given how much he's changed since the first performance.

Yuki: Eight years ago, I figured I'd be the one in charge of helping the others grow. But somewhere in the middle, similar to what happens with Kakashi in the story, Sakura and the other two started helping me grow as well. Now, at the end, they're out of my hands and surpassing me... I think that Naruto and Sasuke both have a lot of unresolved feelings, so I hope they can fight it out without holding back! I want to see their refreshed faces after they've gotten that all off their chests, and thank them for the roles they've played.

—Could you say a few words to the fans around the world who are eagerly awaiting the series' conclusion?

Yuki: A thought I had when I went to America in May was that I feel really thankful to be part of the NARUTO troupe when there are so many passionate NARUTO fans around the world. I'd be very happy to have people from overseas come to Japan, and I would jump at the chance to go to their countries myself and perform Live NARUTO. From the bottom of my heart, I'm so grateful that I came across NARUTO. Please look forward to the live series' conclusion!

Yui: Ever since the first performance, we've gotten so much support and love from the fans. I think the only reason that Live NARUTO can exist is thanks to the NARUTO fans all over the world. There are a lot of famous scenes in the final show so I think people have high expectations, but I'll try to make the show surpass them! Please look forward to it!

—Thank you both very much for your time!