INDEX
Not Aiming to Keep Going, But Embracing the Risk: The Way of Takahisa Gomi
For LOSTAGE, I assumed that simply continuing would be important and even a source of happiness. But at the start of the film, you say, “Making continuation the goal is wrong.” Can you explain what you meant?
Gomi: There are things you have to do just to keep going, and if you focus only on that, you lose sight of the things that really matter.
f course, I hope we keep going, but there will also be times when things suddenly end, or situations are completely out of your control. Living through each moment, stringing them together, isn’t something you can do if you’re always looking far ahead. It’s more like: you notice later that you’ve continued, or when you look back, a path has appeared. That’s the cycle.
In such uncertain circumstances, with an unclear future, continuing could seem like the only answer — but you choose not to see it that way.
Gomi: You have to be aware that “there’s nothing in front of you.” We’re constantly cultivating the path we’re on. Goals exist ahead of you; “continuation” is something behind you. I want to keep looking forward. The fact that this line appears at the beginning of the film—I think the director caught onto that too.
You also said, “It’s fine as long as it continues, and it ends up looking cool.” What does “cool” mean to you?
Gomi: For me, it’s about staying someone I can believe in. What I think is good might not be good for everyone, and that’s fine. If people can learn to believe in themselves, that’s enough. That’s the way I’ve always made my choices.
Hearing you talk, and watching the film, I really felt how you take responsibility for your path, without blaming anyone or circumstances, and embrace the risks yourself. Are you aware of that as part of how you live?
Gomi: I always operate with that mindset. In terms of life and values, I feel that if you don’t take risks, you can’t win.
Even in the band, if we ever figured out a “perfect” method, I’d get bored and it would end. Part of it is figuring out what makes it fun for me next, and part of it is having risks—like, if we mess up, it could be bad. That’s something you have to do beyond just continuing music, and it’s a sense of adjusting and recalibrating each time. Because if it gets boring, it ends.
It really shows how your values, way of thinking, and the band’s situation are inseparable from their approach of selling music only by hand or online. That’s why anyone trying to copy them directly wouldn’t really change the usual “major debut, aim for Budokan” story. Personally, I love that the film doesn’t position LOSTAGE as a role model.
Gomi: The director said from the beginning that they weren’t trying to make a film that says, “This is how you should do it!” So it’s never exaggerated or overblown. Actually, the director thinks using streaming is fine — they’re not fully endorsing everything we do. But they wanted to capture an honest portrayal of the band, and that’s what we worked together to create.
The director’s been a long-time friend, and they approached the film from that perspective, like, “This is what you really mean, right?” We were just doing our thing as a band. But the result turned out really well. I just watched the finished version, and the sound in the performance scenes is incredible. I think there are definitely people who will connect with this film… though, of course, there will also be plenty who won’t.
A DOCUMENTARY FILM OF LOSTAGE – Hikari no Machi, Watashitachi no –
Release Date: Friday, January 2, 2026 – Nationwide, including Theatre Shinjuku
Cast: LOSTAGE
Director: MINORxU
Distributor: MomentumLabo.
Running Time: 110 minutes
©2026 A DOCUMENTARY FILM OF LOSTAGE Production Committee
Official Website: https://lostage-film.jp/
