TAKUYA∞ vocal & programme
TAKUYA∞
(Vo & Programming)
Real name: Shimizu Takuya (清水 琢也)
Hometown: Shiga
Birth date: 21st December 1979 (29)
Horoscrope: Sagitarius
Height: 168cm (PatiPati September 2006 issue)
Weight: 56kg (PatiPati September 2006 issue) 55kg (R&R Newsmaker February 2007)
Shoe Size: 25.0cm (PatiPati September 2006 issue)
Eye degree: 2.00 for both (PatiPati September 2006 issue) (doesn't wear contacts)
Interest: Creating songs that do not make sense to others
Speciality: To ignore his surroundings
First CD: 矢沢永吉 (Father's influence)
Favourite food/drink: There is, but refuse to reveal (from official site), Plain water (from Animonster May 2006 issue)
Hated food: None
Favourite colour: Yellow, White, Black, Red
Favourite Artist (& Most influencial): Reigo5
Favourite quote: Feelings filled with wishes will someday create colours (Colors of the heart lyrics)
Motivation: When you want to accomplish a task, give your best. Turn whatever's stopping you into the strength to move forward! Don't let anybody stop you!
Treasure: There is, but refuse to reveal
Something that he is proud of: His friends from his hometown are all idiots. (?)
Actually... he wasn't born in the hospital, but in his own house.
清水 琢也& ∞
In chinese, 清 (qing) 水 (shui) can be translated literally into 'clear water'
Also, the infinity (∞) sign behind Takuya's name means that his potential is of infinite possibility. This means that he wants to continue improving himself. This will be discussed later on in his personality.
Takuya: his childhood
Takuya was originally borned in Osaka, at his own home even though he regards his hometown as Shiga. He moved to Shiga from Osaka during kindergarden (to Nobuto's school) due to his parents' jobs.
When he was still a baby, his mother likes to dress him up (even in girls’ clothes) and audition him and his sister into things like commercials. Takuya and his sister would however throw a tantrum and wishes to go home. Katsuya said that Takuya was really cute when he was young. Even as a kid, he is pretty much hyperactive. His curiosity get the better of him when he walked to the balcony alone to see the world with his own eyes while his parents weren’t around. Unfortunately, he fell down from the balcony and he still has that scar till date.
Takuya & UVERworld
Takuya is extremely dedicated to UVERworld and has repeatedly mentioned that he is glad in forming UVERworld. In one of the interviews, when asked what CD will he bring if he were to be stranded in a deserted island, he mentioned ‘UVERworld’ because he believed they are the best. He is confident of UVERworld’s future and will do his best in order for UVERworld to achieve their goals. Even though there are some fans who feared that Takuya might go solo as they believe Takuya is capable in doing so, especially after the interview with Takanori Nishikawa who mentioned that in the future, Takuya might be forced to go solo when their (UVERworld’s) differences become more distinct, Takuya seems to deny such possibility at the moment. However, in GUN PROGLUTION (2008), Takuya mentioned that he wants to be able to play the instruments better than any of the members, such that the interviewer teased him, asking whether he is planning to form a one man band. Takuya's respond to this was "I wouldn't know about this".
Takuya has been friends with Nobuto and Katsuya since their childhood days. Katsuya was the one who taught Takuya how to fold a paper aeroplane. Katsuya has a lot of Takuya's childhood pictures it seems. Katsuya and Takuya were once again reunited during Secondary school, when Takuya invited Katsuya to form a band with him and Nobuto.
Takuya and Akira were neighbours and Katsuya said that you can even walk from Akira's house to Takuya's house with your eyes closed. Takuya was also the one who convinced Akira to join the late Sangoku Road. Takuya described Akira as his reliable music mate. Even though Takuya was the one who wrote most of UVERworld’s music, Akira has been of a great help. For example in Live Everyday as Though It Were the Last Day, Akira was the one who modified the melody line. In the song LIFEsize, written by both Akira and Takuya, they both worked hard on it till late night and hugged each other when they finally finished the song. Akira calls Takuya ‘Takuya-kun’ while Takuya calls Akira just ‘Akira’ without the suffix.
Takuya and Shintarou met and formed Sangoku Road. They have no prior connection before. However within that short period of time, they have grown very close. Takuya and Shintarou have been appearing on radio interviews together very often. Outside UVERworld, they are in the same baseball team called Tokyo Dobreman. In CLASSWORD, when asked who each of the member want to become if they can become another member for 1 day,Takuya mentioned he wants to be Shintarou because he wants to play baseball as good as Shintarou whereas Shintarou wants to be Takuya because he wants to sing. Shintarou also calls Takuya with the suffix -kun.
Takuya’s friendship with Nobuto however is still the most remarkable one. They have been friends for 25 years as of 2007. They were in the same kindergarden (for a while before Takuya transferred to Katsuya's kindergarden), primary school and middle school.
Their first meeting was hillarious. Takuya called Nobuto 'hage' (meaning bald) even though Nobuto wasn't bald at all (as you can see from the picture to the left). Nobuto, being sensitive about being called 'bald', burst out in anger. He took a skipping rope and attempted to whip Takuya with it. However soon, the school bell rang and they instantly stopped fighting. The next day, they were already good friends, totally forgetting about the fight that took place the previous day (and so we call it, the beginning of a strange friendship).
That was the starting point of Takuya's continuous 'betrayal' towards Nobuto.
- During Primary 4, Nobuto tried to play a prank on Takuya, intending to push the classroom door on Takuya when he enters. However, Takuya, completely unaware of it, pushed the door really hard such that it fell on Nobuto instead. Nobuto was in pain, yet Takuya thought that Nobuto was acting. Later on Nobuto got scolded by the teacher while Takuya did not get any scolding. Takuya revealed that Nobuto is often the only one scolded even though they did bad things together.
Even so... They are still good friends.
- During middle school, Takuya, Nobuto and another close friend formed a band upon inspired by their siblings who performed during the cultural festival. HOWEVER, all 3 of them assumed the position of the guitarist. And... none of them has a guitar, such that they were all playing air guitar. Takuya and Nobuto later on bought their instruments and Katsuya joined them. Nobuto self-proclaimed himself as the producer and named the band 'Nobuto band' (even though he wasn't that dedicated to the band xD). That was then Takuya 'betrayed' Nobuto (and Katsuya) again...
In 2000,
Takuya scouted for a drummer and found Shintarou, forming the band 'SOUNDgoku Road'. Katsuya too joined them, leaving only Nobuto behind while he was out of town. Nobuto asked Takuya whether he could join this band and he finally became a member of SOUNDgoku Road.
- When UVERworld moved into Tokyo, they rented a 4LDK, while they consist of 5 people. Hence, Takuya, seeing that the living room is spacious, suggested Nobuto should just sleep there. Takuya defended himself saying that they actually decided on who to sleep in the living room by playing scissors paper stone. Nobuto, being weak at it, lost.
Though it is not official (actually it is official now), it seems that Takuya and Nobuto are best friends from the way they stand together during interviews and also their actions from Live performances. Plus them having slung a hand over each others' shoulders countless times and sharing a few hugs *coughs* In CLASSWORD, when each member was asked to leave a message for the other members, Takuya said to Nobuto ‘I am glad to have met you’ whereas Nobuto said ‘From now on, let’s be ‘baka’ (stupid) together!). it is apparent that Takuya and Nobuto understand each other very well and are able to describe each other’s personality in many magazine interviews. For example, Takuya has been the one teasing Nobuto about his weaknesses. Nobuto has also mentioned Takuya has many good points he does not have and also bad points. Unless they are very close, Nobuto would not have the courage to mention that. In fact, Takuya and Nobuto each started to have interest in music after listening to their siblings play during their secondary school (junior high) days. Takuya's sister was the vocalist while Nobuto's brother was the bassist. Takuya was the one who gave Nobuto the nickname ‘Shishou’ (??) which can be translated as teacher. For more information, please visit the Takuya & Nobuto relationship fanlisting.
Takuya & music: first meeting
Takuya started learning music when his father gave him a folk guitar. He has since then started learning music by himself. As mentioned earlier, Takuya and Nobuto, then in their 1st year of junior high were inspired by their elder siblings which then drove them to create a band with another of their Junior high friend - Hideki. He started out as a guitarist. He loved music and started writing songs even with that little experience he had, namely:
- ころしちまいな (koroshi chi mai na)
"お前の事なんか知らねえ 人の陰口叩く野郎 (Omae no koto nanka shira nee, hito no kageguchi tataku erou)
俺は 俺は Wow Wow! (ore wa, ore wa, Wow Wow!)"
- リングにかけろ (ringu ni kakero)
- 午前4時のワイングラス (gozen yoji no wine glass)
"あ〜俺の涙も....." (Ah~ ore no namida mo)
- 神様にお願い (kami sama ni onegai)
Innocently, he thought that they were able to debut. However, later on he realised that he does not have that talent after all (Takuya was even embarassed to talk about his first few compositions), however he did not stop. After he finished junior high, he started living alone and did not go to high school. He started working and continued playing music. Eventually, he became a surfing and skateboarding nerd and stopped playing music altogether. However, he realised that this does not fit him and it lead him to the path of music again, with the help of people like Yutaka Ozaki (was a popular Jpop singer) who inspired him. He wrote this experience into a song, which we know as ‘LIFEsize’.
Takuya: as vocalist & programmer of UVERworld
Takuya is the front man of UVERworld, he writes all of the lyrics (initially with the help of lyricist Alice Ice till Colors of the Heart era) and most music for songs performed by the band itself. He is a talented individual who is known to be able to play all the instruments (Guitar, Bass and drums) all by himself. Besides that, he is also known to play the piano and might be interested in learning the violins. He got his first try in violins in Kimi no suki na uta but he wasn't the one who is playing it.
Takuya love his fans. When a fan asked whether UVERworld are able to see the smiles of the fans from the stage during live performances, Takuya answered ‘of course, even though my eye degree is 2.0’. Whenever he leaves his signature, he never fail to write ‘Ai rabyu’ (I love you) and in UVERtv #4, he shouted ‘I LOVE YOU’ at the end of the program. In his blog entry (discussed later), he mentioned that fans are the ones who keep him going and further improving himself as an individual, and as the vocalist of UVERworld.
Takuya & his approach towards music
Takuya loves challenges. He likes creating new things. In one of the interviews, Takuya asserted that if he can’t make a music better than the one he made previously, he should just stop writing music because it does not prove his potential (the reason for the ‘∞’ sign behind his name). Such attitude might also be the driving force in the creation of Taku-words and Taku-styles such as words like ‘Bakori’, ‘BUGRIGHT’, ‘Shaka Beach’ (with the help of Nobuto), ‘LIFEsize’ and his own definition of ‘Rock’ and ‘One and Only’. It is spectaculated that in the near future, ‘BUGRIGHT’ might even make it into the dictionary due to its interesting definition. Additionally, Takuya is very detail-oriented. Unfortunately, these 'details' is often overlooked by some fans. Simple songs such as 'endscape' is actually very detailed, but is shunned by some fans due to its overly simple outlook.
Previously, Takuya revealed that he finds it hard for him to write lyrics. During his junior high days (refer to above), he often write random lyrics such as ‘I want to kill him’ (as revealed in CLASSWORD and later Gekidou Music Fighter performance & interview). This however changes after the major debut of UVERworld. Partly influenced by his fans, he started writing lyrics that can inspire others just like how his idols (Reigo5 & Yutaka Ozaki) inspired him before. For example, CHANCE!, Nagare Kuukyo ~This word~ and zero no kotae. This change is particularly evident in post-Timeless period.
Takuya & English
As mentioned earlier, Takuya loves challenges because it pushes him to go further. Even though he is relatively bad in English, he never fails to incorporate them to his lyrics, with the exception of songs like Charmant no ura. Another purpose of Takuya learning English is to further interact with the fans worldwide. To achieve UVERworld’s goal, which is to make their music be known worldwide, it is of course important for them to know English. Takuya, who treasures the bond shared among the members took the initiative to take English classes and hope to make tours in the USA if possible. Takuya’s improvement is not instant but is still remarkable. Many fans have claimed that they are able to hear Takuya’s English instead of Engrish now.
Takuya - Timeless era
When UVERworld first made their debut, Takuya actually strikes the audience as a pretty shy person as he rarely talks. During interviews, usually band leader Katsuya (G) does most of the talking. Also, during the Heyx3 CHANCE! interview, he also seemed pretty quiet and didn't dare to laugh when everybody else is doing so. Meaning, he was pretty stiff.
There are also discussions on Takuya gaining age very fast from the D-technolife period to Timeless period. You can't deny the fact that Takuya actually looks 18 or younger in D-technolife PV.
Takuya - BUGRIGHT era
It seems that Takuya has pretty much overcome his stage fright and is beginning to speak up more during interviews and act more naturally (and smile more often). Still, Takuya can't look directly into the camera. Also, it seems that he has been training (and eating more). The current Takuya doesn't look as scrawny as before.
He has also efficiently show his fans his potential in singing by bringing in more emotions and different types of voices (in shamrock) in the 3 songs. The 3 PVs are something that all Takuya fans should never miss as our Takuya is looking better and better. (credits to the wonderful stylist?)
Some people (including Japanese fans who have sent fan messages) have also suspected that Takuya is in love due to the fact that he could write such beautiful lyrics for the 6th single, Kimi no Suki na uta (though he did deny that he is in love in a magazine interview) The lyrics are really touching and this song actually managed to bring quite a number of people close to tears (including Eve & Sie). Takuya is proud of the fact that he is able to make his fans cry with his music.
Takuya's lives seem to have a downturn in this era due to the more melodious new songs (less rapping in BUGRIGHT era songs). He goes out of tune quite a lot of times and that disappointed quite a number of fans.
Those that have been a fan of Takuya ever since the beginning of UVERworld would probably realise that his attitude changed after the police incident. Takuya seems to show a wilder side of him and are less (?) conscious about how he acts in front of the media.
Takuya - PROGLUTION era

Takuya's hair -before & after
The most remarkable change for Takuya in this era is... his hair. After the incident, Takuya went to cut his hair before filming zero no kotae's PV (still in BUGRIGHT era actually). Many fans were shocked due to this as it is believed that one of Takuya's charming points is his hair. His hair remained short until the end of endscape period. In Ukiyo CROSSING - PROGLUTION period, his hair already grew to his original length the year before.
Takuya has taken up more MC jobs. In the Gakuen Sai (School festival) lives, the rest of the members pushed all the MC jobs to Takuya. Nobuto had laughed and said 'Ganbatte!' In the recent PVs, Takuya can look straight into the camera.
In this era, Takuya did lots of experiments with the music. He revealed that he wanted to make a revolution by the 4th album, and the 3rd album is his middle mark. He started writing more songs and go for less complicated songs. He has also put in a lot of thought into what is going on around him instead of being more personal. Songs like Ukiyo CROSSING and energy are good examples. Monochrome ~Kizukenakatta devotion~ is well received by the fans for the touching lyrics and it being the most personal songs Takuya has ever written so far. Many people are awed about how he is still grateful for his life before being an artist.
Takuya gained lots of respect from fans and also new fans during this era for his comeback and optimistic views. Due to that, there are a lot of rumours circulating around him. Like how he is dating a girl who's older than him, or YUI (no evidence as of yet). On the contrary, there are people who dislike him for the numerous attention he is getting. When it was announced on 2chan bbs that UVERworld will be doing Hataraki Man's theme song, there are some who cursed Takuya (not UVERworld by the way). Either way, Takuya Japanese fangirls do not seem to be affected by it.
Takuya - AwakEVE era
The revolutionary era for UVERworld - Takuya, being the lyricist and vocalist of UVERworld, played a dominant role. One of the most notable things about UVERworld’s music in this era was the strong and powerful lyrics that has a forceful impact on their listeners. For example, in Gekidou, Takuya’s chose words that were forceful, portraying the harshness one face during a battle. The abstract feel to the lyrics, coupled with heavy instruments and fast tempo also further accented an overwhelming atmosphere. On the contrary, in Just break the limit!, found in the same single, Takuya made use of simple words to compose a straightforward, not complex song that has a similar powerful impact on its listeners. In the next single Koishikute, Takuya once again managed to pull off another sentimental lyrics about the protagonist strong feelings for his lover who have passed away. This, together with the melancholy melody, brought many fans to tears. Finally, in Hakanaku mo towa no kanashi, the first opening theme of Gundam 00 second season, Takuya embraced the Gundam theme, basing his lyrics on it. Gundam is essentially a mecha anime where it involves war between 2 parties. Hence, Takuya decided to once again made use the theme of ‘love’, to remind us that the diminishing love brought about by the current economy-oriented society is the main cause of war. Due to its clear portrayal of the current world, the lyrics of this song was well received by many fans, and some fans in 2ch even said that they did cry when they first heard it (male fans included).
It can also be noted that Takuya’s physical appearance did not undergo any major change, unlike the previous era where Takuya seemed to have ‘experimented’ on his hair. Takuya (UVERworld’s) choice of outfit in this era seemed to be looking more formal as compared to the previous era, and Takuya himself were seen to have worn suits more often (especially in Gekidou & Hakanaku mo towa no kanashi era).
Once again, Takuya gained trust from his fans due to his sincerity in urging them that they could trust him (UVERworld), because they would never betray them ie. Otonoha (from PROGLUTION album). Additionally, in the NHK hall live (found in PROGLUTION tour 2008 DVD) during the PROGLUTION tour (that’s when UVERworld announced that they finally achieved their goal in being allowed to perform in Nippon Budoukan), Takuya genuinely thanked everyone who supported them, once again telling them that they can follow UVERworld without worry because they would never betray them. To those who have watched this DVD, you would have seen how Takuya was being sentimental when he did the MC; his voice quivering, unsure on where to start. He looked as though he was about to cry out. Looking at how Takuya was earnestly trying to thank all of UVERworld's supporters, Takuya managed to win the hearts of many.
Takuya - his live performances
Takuya's first few TV lives were sad to say, terrible. Like most new artists, he was probably really nervous. He went out of tune very often and his gestures are not natural. However, you can definitely see improvement as you follow through all UVERworld's TV live performances.
Till date, I would say just Melody,CHANCE! and Ukiyo CROSSING live performances are the best few for Takuya. Though in Kimi no suki na uta lives, he is also mostly in tune, the way he sings is really unnatural. Colors of the heart lives are the most entertaining to watch. He made so many awkward gestures that make you want to laugh. The shamrock and CHANCE! ones are probably the best few. Also, Takuya fans should not miss UVERworld's just Melody live at CDTV because he really looks dashing in there (picture). Even if Takuya's performances are not that great, at least Takuya dares to sing with his own voice, right? Some singers prefer to lip-sync.
Takuya's concert performances are much better compared to the TV lives. He is totally into the music and you can't sense his awkwardness in those performances. Some people say that Takuya should improve on his stamina because he sounds so breathless while singing CHANCE! and D-tecnoLife during UVERworld's Shibuya-AX concert. However, this must have been overcome during the BUGRIGHT period as their tracklisting grew from the normal 13-15 to about 22-24. You should not miss Takuya's live at Zepp Tokyo (SHAMROCK - Kimi no suki na uta period) because standing there on the stage, is probably the real Takuya.
It has come to my attention that there are some fans who dislike Takuya's MC because he always try to sound 'great' and 'knowledgeable' and it irritated them. Will be discussed in his personality.
Takuya - as a fan
Takuya in Reigo5's house
Takuya is a huge fan of Reigo5 and had mentioned him in several interviews. As far as we know, Reigo5 was previously the MC and vocalist of the still active band (after a long hiatus) - tick. Though not obvious, some fans have claimed that they can hear the similarities of tick's music and Takuya's. Reigo5 doesn't seem to be around anymore but Takuya still never fail to mention him in various interviews. In fact, Takuya has met Reigo5's family in mid 2007. As to tick's popularity before their hiatus, it is unknown. For more information on Reigo5, visit ZOMG!UVERx3. In 2009, Takuya was invited to sing and rap for the song 'All I want', written by Reigo5 found in tick's first single since their hiatus, 'キズナ' (read as kizuna). This is definitely an honour for Takuya as he got to sing the song that his idol wrote.
Another personnel Takuya is a huge fan of is Yutaka Ozaki. Ozaki was a famous japanese musician who passed away in 1992. Takuya listed him as the person who greatly inspired him to return to the music path after he momentarily stopped playing music. With Ozaki's influence, Takuya is determined to inspire others and maybe change our lives like how Ozaki did to him at that time.
Takuya is also known to listen to music from ELLEGARDEN (he sang them during karaokes & has bought their DVDs), Utada Hikaru, Crystal Kay, aiko, Luna Sea and Mr. Children.
Takuya: his personality
Takuya doesn't possess a personality that is of a typical celebrity. He doesn't act as though he is superior to anyone and is very polite. In BUGRIGHT documentary DVD, Takuya thanked every single one of the recording staff after he finished recording. Additionally, there was a fan who described her experience when meeting UVERworld on the train to her university where UVERworld is performing later in the day. This fan, who is my friend's friend is a big fan of Takuya. She immediately ran up to him and asked for a handshake. Takuya did and he even asked her casually if she is going to the same university. This shows that he does care a lot about his fans and treat him as his friends. I have met a few celebrities before and they seldom start a conversation with their fans. He is a very sincere person and is determined to do as much as he can with his area of expertise - Music. PROGLUTION album is a good example for it. In the song 'Roots', he mentioned that he wants to save the world with music, even though it is impossible, but he will not stop . For that, he continues improving himself, the reason why he included the 'infinity' sign in his name. In conjunction with this, he can be pretty hot blooded at times.
Takuya is also described as a gentle person by Nobuto. Friendly but is actually very lonely inside. The rest of the UVERworld members have also described Takuya as very kind and warm-hearted as well as very active. As mentioned earlier, Takuya is also very detailed oriented. This is part of his personality that stands out among the rest of the members. The other time, when Akira mentioned 'I will never sleep in the living room, I rather sleep in a cardboard box under the bridge', Takuya immediately say 'you mean the ground under the bridge? You can't sleep in the water (laughs)'
TAKUspin (LMAO)
*Takuya, as you would probably know, is one with a high ego or pride, at least from my point of view. He is a perfectionist that's why he always improve himself (that might even be the reason why he re-recorded D-tecnoLife so many times?). He is scared of losing. Such attitude is the reason why he seems to push himself too much, and cause him to act what we may call as 'silly'. This is apparent in his MCs. He tries to act 'cool' by saying things he think is cool but in return, he receives some criticism. Of course, the English fanbase is no exception. We have been criticising him a lot on his 'TAKUspin' or 'TAKUhand'. According to what I feel, he's just forcing himself way too much that it made him look bad sometimes. However, this is exactly the reason why I am a fan of this wonderful personnel. I am pretty sure the unfortunate incident is a big hit to his pride. That would be the reason, I believe why he cut the hair his fans love him for as his resolve to start anew. That path was probably tough but Takuya doesn't show it, as he wants to be 'tough' so he can protect those he love and not showing his weak side is also part of his personality. Takuya has taken up martial arts when he was still in Primary School. This is probably part of the development of him being stronger mentally (and physically of course).*
Takuya & his family & friends
Takuya & Natsuki
Takuya is pretty close with his sister and his nephew, Natsuki. PatiPati September 2006 issue revealed that he is happy that Natsuki is learning how to play the piano and he even included a picture of him and Natsuki in one of the Oricon's interview. He never fails to boast about Natsuki whenever he has the chance to. Natsuki might be the reason that fuels Takuya the desire to have his own children. Takuya lived away from his family after he graduated from Junior High school, that's why he is pretty much independent. This part of him might be why he values 'Love' more than anyone else.
Even if love can't save the world, people forgot the fact that love can save us - Roots
From what I know, Takuya seems to be closer to his friends than his family, probably partly due to the reason stated earlier. He values friendship and hate it when there is betrayal. Additionally, Takuya also list losing a friend as his worst nightmare in several interviews. However, it is also evident that Takuya loves his family and would apply leave to visit his hometown on special occassions; and he would keep doing so till the company approves of his leave when they rejected it.
Takuya? Closet Pervert?
Takuya's ero kao
Octoballz from UVERtalk has translated some magazine scans for us and it indeed reveals that Takuya is a pervert (like most Japanese guys, so IBelongToTakuya from UVERtalk has claimed). Firstly, Takuya has confessed that he used to flip the skirts of girls he admired during his school days. Secondly, in Heyx3 CHANCE Interview, he revealed that he and Nobuto walks around their house without any pants or boxers on. Takuya also often answered some questions 'ero-ly'. After Shaka Beach PV was aired, Takuya was also often teased for his 'ero-kao' (perverted face) when he was showing his perverted face when looking at his fans in bikinis. It should be noted that Takuya is aware of it and doesn't seem to deny this fact since he just laughed it away when the host teased him about it in one of their radion interviews.
In GUN-PROGLUTION interview, Takuya also mentioned that he likes it when girls do the 'M shaped position' (not work safe) when asked about what kind of posture does he like from a girl.
Takuya - his love life
According to several magazine interviews, Takuya can probably considered as a romantic person (or desperate, anyway you wanna call it, but hey! Be positive!) His first crush was a girl with long hair in his pre-school days. He has confessed to a girl in a hotel room (no, nothing happened) at a young age of 10, Primary 4 (you are normal if you are shocked, even the person who interviewed him was shocked too).
Also, his worry is... whether he will be able to get married (cue fangirls' screams). He said it in a joking manner, but considering it is Takuya... we should all know better.
Takuya's type of girl (gathered from several interviews) are those who are unique and weak so that he can protect them (?). He also prefers his girl to be able to walk graciously. Wearing mini skirts is a bonus.
The first thing Takuya observes about a girl is her eyes.
Takuya: health conscious?
When the rest of UVERworld drinks, Takuya doesn't. Takuya prefers plain water to other types of drinks. If you have watched the Tour Document from Kimi no suki na Uta Limited Edition, you would have noticed that when the staff members and UVERworld members celebrated their success with beer, Takuya was the only one holding a bottle of plain water and on another occassion, a cup that doesn't seem to be filled with beer. Takuya is often seen with a bottle of Volvic branded water. In What's In 'guess the member' event, Takuya was ranked last to the question 'who likes drinking [beer] the most?' It is a coincidence that Takuya is often picked to go for some mineral water campaigns.
Takuya is also the only member who doesn't smoke (at least it hasn't been revealed). It is assumed that the reason why Takuya is health conscious is to protect his vocals. In addition, Takuya brings throat pills (Vics?) everywhere.
Takuya - his blog
Till date (7th December 2006), Takuya has only blogged once in the UVERworld open-to-non-fanclub-members blog (2006.03.07). Nice folks over at UVERworld chinese forum has translated it into Chinese and Evelyn shall attempt to translate it into English with lots and lots of help from Slifer. Since it is a 'special' event and it tells us a lot about Takuya, I decided to put it up here.
It's TAKUYA∞! “Ara? So you finally come to blog?” Some people probably think this way since I don’t normally blog. There are people in our band who are good at doing so, so I’ll let them write the diary, I’ll only crack my head to write good quality music.
But, I'll just write it when I feel like it.
Now we are in the middle of the tour, we are recording the parts for the new song today, Akira and Katsuya are recording their guitar parts now, and I had some time to read through our fans letters. Our fans’ letters of encouragement, letters that illustrated their passionate dreams, letters that made me laugh uncontrollably, thank you everybody for your kind words!
All sorts of letter touched me deeply. Among those, there are also people who told me about their unforgettable past. That sadness is something beyond my own imagination. However, the letters ended off with everybody saying ‘Tomorrow we will face our lives head on. Everybody had been through so much and yet they are still going on strongly. Our music can become other people’s pillar of strength touched me deeply, but I still feel that I’m very useless because I’ll close up my heart when I meet a small obstacle, like hundreds of feeling had passed through me, I started to cry. Just like that, I cried silently, like a complete idiot.�..
Thanks to everyone, from now on I’ll work harder. I kept thinking “Where should I get this strength?” There are still 4 more lives for the tour! Keeping a don’t-leave-any-regret mindset, we aim at making our songs an inspiration for our fans, pushing us to produce better music! |
If you know Chinese, you might want to read the original Chinese translation. It is way better, trust me. Also, if anybody might want to discuss about this blog entry, you should really do it at a forum.
For your interest sake, Neo Sound Wave (UVER's official fanclub) has members blog that are maintained by all the 5 members and Takeshi. Takuya still seldom blog but every time he blogs, it always created excitement among the fans.
Takuya & Traffic police
(original article) On 11th December 2006, 9am (ARGH!) Takuya got into some mess with the traffic police. It started off when he was in a rush to meet some friends. Apparently he was driving through the bus terminal on the restricted bus lane and was stopped by a traffic police. Somehow the matter become more complicated when he got angry and flipped the officer's hat off. He was then arrested and later admitted to his actions. They finished all sorts of paper works on the 12th December and Takuya was finally let off on the 13th. The news was made known to the public on 15th December 2006 whereby Takuya made an official apology on their official homepages [1] [2]
After this incident, Takuya was determined to start from scratch and build up his reputation again. Of course he has gained many loyal supporters from this, but also there are those who grew to dislike him.
Takuya - his hero
As funny as it sounds, Takuya's hero is really Superman. In his primary school year book, he wrote that his ambition is to be a journalist as he believe it is a superman job. Idolising superman shouldn't be surprising as his personality says it all. According to an interview, his ideal hero is someone who can be hot blooded, lets everyone feel his warmth and is strong mentally and physically but is gentle. Looking good in fur jacket is a bonus, that explains why he likes to wear furred jacket. Making mistakes are fine, because that is part of being a person and in fact, Takuya believes it shows a cute side of the hero.
Describe Takuya much doesn't it?
Takuya & Takanori Nishikawa (T.M. Revolution)
In PatiPati June 2006 issue, Takuya had an interview together with TM Revolution. One interesting to note is that... Takuya actually looks much older than Takanori when he is supposedly about 10 years younger. Takanori's hometown is also Shiga.
Takuya and Takanori know each other when UVERworld was still indie. Takanori watched one of their lives and was pretty interested in them. He eventually invited Takuya to dinner and took a liking to him as Takuya treated him with normal respect. Takanori, who was already a hot topic in the Japanese entertainment industry get special treatment most of the time, but Takuya did not appear to stuck up to him. He gave Takuya 200 sets of his clothes which Takuya took home to share with the rest of UVERworld.
The friendship shared between Takuya (+ UVERworld) and Takanori made it such that they are invited over to abingdon boys school's tour to perform the opening act. It is spectaculated that the two bands might have a collaboration single in the future.
It was revealed later on that Takuya is actually friends with Takanori's younger sister. In R&R Newsmaker interview with Takanori (Abingdon boys school) and J, J was teasing Takuya about him and Takanori's sister as an item. Takanori, as a protective elder brother was relatively 'pissed' and upset about how Takuya's 'dating' his sister behind his back. Whether Takuya and Takanori's sister share any intimate relationship, it is unkown to us. However, one thing for sure, Takuya confessed that he thinks Takanori's sister is pretty.
Takuya & Love... Shibasaki Kou?
At the end of 2008, it was rumoured that Takuya and Shibasaki Kou were in a relationship, as exposed by the women magazine ‘Josei Seven’. They were spotted dating for 3 days, and staying over in each other’s houses; 2 days in Takuya’s and 1 day in Shibasaki’s consecutively. There were even pictures to prove that the two had indeed been spending time with each other (or in other words, dating). Shibasaki had also been spotted to have attended UVERworld’s first budoukan live on the 9th December.
It seems that Takuya and Shibasaki have known each other for quite a long time. Initially they were only acquaintances, however, they grew closer when they reunited once again through a meeting organized by their musician friends. From one of the magazine interviews, we knew that one of Takuya’s favourite movie; ‘Crying out in the center of the world’ is one that Shibasaki starred in as the main character. Hence it could be assumed that Takuya already holds an interest towards her. Shibasaki too, held an interest towards Takuya, presumably due to his rising popularity as a musician and also her respect towards those that take music seriously.
This caused a huge uproar in the media as Shibasaki and her boyfriend, Tsumabuki Satoshi, whom she has been dating for 2 years were rumoured to have been heading towards marriage. When asked, both of Takuya’s and Shibasaki’s agencies refused to give further comment except for saying that they are only good friends.
Towards this issue, which is the first scoop involving lovers for Takuya, fans of UVERworld and Takuya especially were shocked. Some were happy for him while some questioned the sudden closeness as Shibasaki doesn’t seem to have broken up (or only recently broke up) with her lover.
A few weeks later, another shocking news was revealed to the public, saying that Shibasaki and Takuya have already broken up. In fact, it was presumed that they have never even been in a relationship before. Someone from Shibasaki’s agency claimed that Takuya and Shibasaki are only playmates (or in other words, good friends).
However, what was surprising was that Tsumabuki were actually in the dark about how close Takuya and Shibasaki are. Therefore, when the earlier news was exposed to the public, Tsumabuki was furious, seeing that his lover is intimate with another man. He immediately broke up with Shibasaki, whom in turn stopped seeing Takuya (either as a friend or lover? It is not clearly mentioned which the source is referring to) altogether. It was also stated that Shibasaki was totally unexpecting that the media would actually found out about the close relationship she and Takuya shared. Fortunately, the couple (Shibasaki and Tsumabuki) had made up again during New Year Eve, when Tsumabuki, who was feeling rather lonely texted Shibasaki, wanting them to make up.
Tsumabuki, who was filming a drama at that time were probably too busy to spend time with Shibasaki. Thus, it became one of the possible rumoured reasons on why Shibasaki started seeing Takuya. Also, Tsumabuki might have also been under a great stress such that he immediately took a harsh decision to break up with his rumored-to-be fiancée, Shibasaki.
Shibasaki and Tsumabuki eventually got their happy ending, but how about our Takuya? We currently have no words from his side in this story except for raging Shibasaki fans and members of the public who criticized Takuya for being known as a playboy who has been rumoured to have dated several AV idols before. They have also brought up the scandal Takuya was involved in exactly 2 years ago. In this matter, Takuya is in an unfavourable situation due to his stained image. He was also accused by some Shibasaki fans to be the third person in the relationship between Shibasaki ad Tsumabuki. UVERworld and Takuya fans have in return rooted for Takuya and blamed Shibasaki for putting Takuya into the bad light.
However, whether we can really accept that Takuya and Shibasaki have never dated before is questionable, seeing how it was not clearly explained, but merely a statement coming from a third party. Also, would you normally be holding hands in public if you are only ‘good friends’? Especially since they are both accomplished celebrities. And why were they staying over at each other’s house for 3 consecutive days? Maybe it was a one sided love from Takuya? Many questions still remained unanswered. Also... in recent news, it was reported that Shibasaki in fact chose Takuya over Tsumabuki, and have since been seen dating on a few occassions.
Based on this issue, besides the story itself, we could probably deduce that UVERworld has indeed been rising in popularity such that there are rumours starting to circulate around Takuya. However, on the negative side, it seems that the media is mainly interested in Shibasaki at the moment because the way this issue is portrayed, Takuya were minimally mentioned. Either that, or it might be Sony Music trying to protect Takuya as UVERworld is no doubt a valuable asset to them with their rising popularity, hence issues such as this might affect their popularity. It should also be noted that, as previously mentioned, Takuya is already gathering bad reputation from the public, mainly due to the police incident 2 years ago.
Little facts:
1. He used to be in the basketball team
2. He takes up martial arts since Primary School (beware fangirls!)
3. He plays the piano for Yasashisa no Shizuku, Hitori ja nai kara and Rainy
4. He has a habit in bending his body left to the during live performances
5. He holds his microphone in a pretty unique way
6. Is a right hander but holds his mike with his left hand
7. He uses the name Ace∞Trigger before Sangoku Road
8. Is actually a gentle person
9. He is a guy who will never stop improving himself
10. He knows how to rap, voice scratch & human beat box
11. Together with Katsuya, Takuya is the main MC during their live performances
12. Takuya casually mentioned that he wants to be in love in a magazine interview
13. He moved out of his house and live alone once he graduated from middle school
14. He started band activities since Secondary 1; Year 7 as a guitarist, later as a drummer than finally to vocalist at the age of 20
15. He wrote UNKNOWN ORCHESTRA when he was sick and was forced to stay at home while the others are in the studio
16. He loves sports
17. There are a number of famous Takuyas other than ourvery own Takuya from UVERworld and many people are often mistaken. For example, Takuya from Judy and Mary.
18. His goal is to write 60 songs every year
19. None of the members comprehended what he meant by writing a song about 'I want an eco car, but it's too expensive' when he first suggested the idea. (song currently known as energy)
20. He was close to his late grandfather
21. Prefers CD to MP3 player, always carry about 20 CDs with him
22. Never fails to say Nobuto is clumsy
23. His charming point is his voice
24. Takuya likes to hug his friends o.O
25. Never gone overseas before
26. The genki-est member (active)
27. Takuya likes red, he used to wear red all the time. His love for red came back during Shaka Beach period (that's why he has been wearing lots of red, including red pants)
28. Takuya doesn't have an eco car, but he bought one for his parents.
29. Relating to point 28, Takuya seems to love his family a lot, seeing that he always returns to his hometown whenever possible.
30. Takuya himself thinks that his hard work makes up for his lack of talent.
31. Takuya is proud of the fact that he can actually come up with songs that he can be proud of.
32. He sleeps really little.
33. He can cry relatively easily.
* 1,3,7 translated by
白白 from a Japanese blog (link unavailable)
* 2,8 translated by ZaLM from a Japanese blog
His crazy fandom:
1. Is affectionally dubbed as Taku-kun, Taku-chan, Takuya-sama, Ta-chan, 沢庵 (read as Takuan - meaning Radish) , 琢也
2. Many fangirls claimed that they will one day sue Takuya for killing them over and over again just by looking at his pictures.
3. Many fangirls have affectionally dubbed Takuya as Cookie Monster after listening to Shamrock. The reason is that his voice sounds like Cookie Monster from Sesame street when he does the rap.
4. Takuya fangirls from UVERtalk have claimed that they will one day hunt down Takuya's (UVERworld's) house and scream outside Takuya's window. "Takuya, we do not have tickets to go to your concert"
5. Takuya fangirls from UVERtalk have sworn to fight off the security guard and grab Takuya's legs if they ever managed to sneak in into UVERworld's live concert even if they have to be KO-ed by Takuya in the process.
If you would like to add your opinions into his fandom, feel free to contact us. If you are the real Takuya and you are reading this, you should know how scary your non-japanese speaking fangirls are.
For more information on Takuya, visit the interviews section for some magazine interview translations.
• Profile contributed by Eve.
Sources: Official site, Magazines, CLASSWORD, Interviews. Special thanks to JUST UVER, the UVERworld chinese forum
Mistakes in information provided are purely unintentional, so please correct me if I am wrong. Parts enclosed with ** is my own deduction
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