Animedia February 2025 - KARMA Character Interviews and Cross Talk
What's Up? Pararai [52nd edition]With BoU round 2 on the way, we've interviewed the members of TCW and Amprule! Be sure not to miss their answers that give insight into their everday lives, as well as a cross talk that crosses team borders.
Paradox Live's Battle of Unity (henceforce BoU) began in January, and the clash of round 2 -- featuring The Cat's Whiskers (TCW) and AMPRULE -- is soon to begin. Although the two teams are very different and have very different approaches, one unlikely thing they have in common is that there is a large age gap between the members of both groups. This round marks the first time that these two groups will be going up against each other, and the theme is "KARMA". What kind of battle will unfold around this theme?
In this issue, we interviewed the six people from both teams to get a preview of the relationship, and we even prepared an opportunity for a cross-talk. Check it out!
Baek Chungsung
The loyal butler of the Yeon family. He relishes the harsh punishment that he receives from Dongha. Although he respects Dongha greatly, there is also a part of him that enjoys that Dongha's behavior is that of someone who's still growing up.Yeon Dongha
The half-brother of Yeon Hajun from BAE and the first in line legitimate successor to the Yeon conglomerate. Following his defeat in Road to Legend, he has grown signifcantly.Natsume Ryu
The apprentice bartender at Bar 4/7. He was an experimental subject at Alter Trigger, the company behind phantometals, and while there he was known as "Zero", but he has no memory of his time spent at the facility. He claims on the record to be 800 years old.Saimon Naoakira
By day, a linguistics professor at the university that the members of BAE attend; by night, the owner of Bar 4/7. His dream is to "connect people with one another through music".Kanbayashi Yohei
The barmaster of Bar 4/7. He has a bit of a shady past and is still quick to start a fight, but he has a kind heart. He strongly believes that Phantom Lives are essential to his very way of being.Ando Shiki
A high school student who was picked up by Saimon, and now works as bar staff at Bar 4/7, which is also where he lives. Yatonokami Nayuta from cozmez is his close friend. His hobby is taking care of the cactus at the bar.What are TCW getting ready?
Acting as their leader, Saimon guides TCW while keeping the opinions of its members in mind. When Ryu said "the Paradox Live is always hard, and that's why it's fun!", the members all unanimously decided to participate in BoU.What are AMPRULE getting ready?
Although he stated that it would be foolish to rely on anyone else for the final outcome, Dongha nonetheless declared his intention to participate in BoU. It appears that he -- together with Chungsung -- is planning on using BoU as a business opportunity for the Yeon conglomerate.KARMA Comment
To celebrate the upcoming start of the battle, we asked TCW and AMPRULE some questions based on the initials of the battle theme, "KARMA"! And we even managed to ask some questions of mixed groups!
Note that the questions for each group are roughly an acronym for "KARMA", in order (ex., the first syllables of the sentences in the questions for TCW are Ko, A, Ru, Ma, and A); I have chosen not to replicate this, since it doesn't entirely matter.
The Cat's Whiskers
Yohei: Puttin' everything into our sound.
Ryu: Moshpit with the kitty heads! Ryu-kun's gonna STAGE DIIIIIIIIIVE!
Shiki: I hope I'm able to prove on stage how much I've grown stronger as a person.
Yohei: Gotta be goin' for drives. Spring's the best time to hop on a motorcycle.
Ryu: Traveling around the universe with traffic cones on my right foot and left hand!!
Shiki: I think I'd like to try growing some herbs. I've been thinking it might be fun to grow some that seem beginner-friendly and then harvest them...
Yohei: Not particularly.
Ryu: Master always gets super sniffly at movies about kitties and doggies! Whoops, did I say that out loud?
Shiki: There are times that I find myself crying at emotional scenes in movies or books because I find myself empathizing too much with the characters. Even though I know it's just a story, I can't help it.
Yohei: Like, we do hanami and stuff, you mean?
Ryu: Onigiri festival! It doesn't feel like summer if Master and Shikki aren't making onigiri while the pollen flies everywhere~!
Shiki: Hanami, I think. The bento boxes that Master makes for us every year are always delicious. And I've been able to help out more with making them, recently.
Yohei: Probably just vanilla or chocolate. But I don't really eat a lot of sweets.
Ryu: Natto gianduja!!
Shiki: I'm fine with any flavor, really, but I like caramel.
AMPRULE
Chungsung: That we might enjoy victory together with all of the loyal worms.
Chungsung: Speaking only for myself, I find it hard to say one way or the other. I do not require much sleep; as such, so long as I am able to get some amount of sleep at some point, I have no problem with either.
Chungsung: Now, let me see... I suppose in matters of everyday conduct, I would say that it is my predecessor in my position. Of course, I as well give my all to serving the Yeon family every day so as not to tarnish their repuation, but they were flawless in terms of their attention to the finest details. So I am still following in said predecessor's footsteps, as far as matters of serving as butler are concerned.
Chungsung: I naturally wake up at the time that I need to wake up. However, I do set an alarm as a precaution, in the event that something may happen that disrupt bocchama's schedule.
Chungsung: I quite enjoy mint chocolate.
Cross Talk #1
ft. Saimon, Yohei, and DonghaBoth teams have a significant age gap between members within the same group; do you have any particular instances where you've felt a generation gap between you and your teammate/s?
Dongha: I can't say I have.
Yohei: I've never really felt that with Shiki or Ryu either.
Saimon: Since we're on the subject, may I ask something of the youngest among us at the moment?
Dongha: What is it.
Saimon: It may not be a matter of generation gap, per se... but I can't type on my smartphone nearly as fast as Ryu can do on his. It's not really a problem at the moment, but I was just wondering, Dongha-kun, how you and Baek-san fare in that department.
Yohei: Ryu types really freakin' fast, though.
Dongha: Chungsung needs to prioritize matters related to his duties as a butler. As such, his communication is generally very prompt.
Saimon: I suppose that's to be expected of Baek-san.
Dongha: The lot of you will probably get faster at it once you get the hang of it--
Yohei: And what I'm sayin' is I don't got a hang of it.
Dongha: Then you have no choice but to lament your own incompetence.
Yohei: What.
Saimon: Now, now. It's true that we tend to fall back to using the PC we're used to, so I suppose it's important to practice using technology we're less familiar with. Thank you very much.
Cross Talk #2
ft. Ryu, Shiki, and ChungsungWhat do you think would happen if your team had to provide hospitality for the other team?
Chungsung: If that were the case, then certainly, we would do our very best to serve them.
Ryu: You mean to say Ryu-kun is the king of the Galactic Conquerers!?
Chungsung: We would certainly strive to make you feel that way. First off, we would send a limousine to pick you up.
Shiki: That's amazing. I've never ridden in one before.
Chungsung: Upon your arrival, you would be treated to a welcome drink of only the finest chamomile tea, to be followed by a full course meal prepared by the Yeon family's premiere chefs.
Shiki: I've never eaten a meal that fancy before... what's the etiquette you're supposed to follow?
Chungsung: Should you desire it, I would be happy to provide that information to you in advance.
Shiki: It sounds like you truly live the kind of life I can barely imagine... Just the idea of dining with all that proper etiquette makes me really nervous...
Ryu: But Shikki's life is super-spectacular every day too, right??
Shiki: I guess, in a manner of speaking. Since you keep trying to eat me all the time, Ryu-kun...
Chungsung: Oh? Now that sounds like quite an interesting tale to tell. I hope you have the chance to share it with me at some point.