INDEX
I basically wear T-shirts from the collection.
Celeina： You also brought something like a timeline. Is this an “AKIRA” T-shirt timeline made by Mr. Takahashi?
Takahashi: Yes, it is.
Takano: The serialization started in 1982 and the anime movie was released in 1988. There is a vertical timeline, and this T-shirt chronology shows the T-shirts that were released along the timeline. It is interesting to see that the same “AKIRA” T-shirt can be designed from many different angles. There are many colors.
Celeina: I feel nothing but love for the fact that you made this timeline by yourself.
Takano: It’s great.
Celeina： To begin with, why did you start collecting “AKIRA” T-shirts?
Takahashi: About 10 years ago, a boy who worked part-time at a tavern I used to frequent was wearing a tattered “AKIRA” T-shirt with the hem worn out. I thought it was really cool, even though he said something like, “Who would wear an “AKIRA” T-shirt now? I had a few T-shirts myself, so I decided to wear them. While I was looking for what he was wearing, I found out that all the T-shirts I had were fake. Then I decided that I wanted the real thing, so I went to Yahoo! Auctions and secondhand clothing stores, and if I found something I bought it, I repeated the process.
Takano: I don’t know what will trigger it. By the way, speaking of “AKIRA,” last month we had a guest, Mr. Junya Suzuki, a researcher of Katsuhiro Otomo, at “FIST BUMP” ( Junya Suzuki, “Katsuhiro Otomo Researcher,” aims to create a data infrastructure like the periodic table in the world of manga. ).Will there be any interaction with him?
Takahashi: Yes, there is.
Takano: Yes, as I thought.
Takahashi: Junya-san is like a god to me. When I contacted him, he replied, “You’re the kind of person who only collects Akira T-shirts, right?” , we said, “Let’s meet up once” and we met for drinks.
Celeina：What did you talk about there?
Takahashi：I was too happy to remember. But we only talked about “AKIRA.
Takano: I knew that would be the case. Suzuki-san is a researcher who collects data, but you are a collector, so how do you interact with T-shirts after you have collected them?
Takahashi: Basically, I wear them. This is a special one that I hadn’t worn for a long time, but it was a little small, so I went on a diet for today so I could wear it (laughs).
Takano: You brought it down for today? Thank you very much.
Takahashi: It’s already in pretty bad shape.
Takano: But they are in very beautiful condition.
Takahashi: Some of them are really dirty. I especially like wearing this white T. The neck and the sleeves are torn, but I like it best in this condition.
Celeina: It’s cool.
Takano: It’s a white long T with “AKIRA” written in katakana, and the katakana “AKIRA” is a little blurred, which is very cool and tasteful.
Takahashi: That’s right. I am the main stylist, so I go to shoots, etc., but at the Corona Disaster, everyone was wearing masks, right? But I was wearing an “AKIRA” T-shirt every day, so when someone asked, “Where’s the stylist?”, It made it easy to find me, like “That’s “AKIRA” guy!” It was also easy to communicate with foreign models who saw the T-shirts and said, “Oh, you are wearing ‘AKIRA'” or “I like ‘AKIRA'”. It is like a gateway to communication, so I don’t just look at them, but wear all of them.
Takano: It is wonderful that the “AKIRA” T-shirts have become an icon for you. So, I would like to hear more, but I would like to interrupt with a song. I asked Mr. Takahashi to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time.
Takahashi： “Diving into your mind” by Miyuki Hatakeyama. It was the first song I styled for a CD jacket after I started working as a stylist.
Takano: Let’s listen to this memorable song.
