Tohoshinki were featured in “VOGUE JAPAN” – April Issue 2018, released 180228. You can order the issue at Amazon Japan: here (on kindle as well here). Below are translations of the first parts of the interview~ ^^

Please make sure to thank the translator for translating this interview \ (*>ω<*)/

Translations:

Opening at the Sapporo Dome in November last year, Tohoshinki completed their own Five Dome tour “TOHOSHINKI LIVE TOUR 2017 ~ Begin Again~” at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on January 21. Even though they had nearly two years of hiatus, they were able to bring in total of 780,000 audiences to the tour.

There always is a reason for why they are so popular for very popular group/artists. We wish to know the origin for why Tohoshinki are so much loved by their fans.

Do you like to support someone who works really hard? Or do you like someone who pretends to be cool? All the fans who come to Tohoshinki live concert prefer the former. It is totally different that someone is cool and someone who tries to be cool. The origin of popularity of Tohoshinki, Korean artists, is because that they keep doing their best and keep challenging themselves, and they show us the super cool stage with all their mighty.

CM: I think everyone gives us support just because we are perfect/at our best. I believe that everyone supports us because they love to see us doing all our best on our stage, even though we are not perfect, we do all our best to death.

They run around, dance and sing in the red ocean that is created by pen lights of audiences cheering them. Including the encore, they perform 3.5 hours.

YH: I can die on stage.
To proof that this is not just a saying, YH runs as fast as he can in the large venue (Dome). At the end of their concert, they walk every corner of the venue to take audiences deep bows. What they show to their audiences are, “the way of their livings”, where they convey all their souls.

The fans of Tohoshinki are very patient. They’d waited for their return quietly so they burst their happiness/excitement when they can share such feelings in the same venue. During the two years of hiatus, Tohoshinki held film concerts without them.
CM: I heard that many people went to film concerts even we were physically not there. I think that we should repay their feelings, they care about the two of us and they miss us so much. During these two years, my gratitude to them has grown much stronger.

YH: We have experienced two turning points in our career. Even we encountered some unexpected troubles/difficulties, our fans believe in Tohoshinki and here, they are still with us. We have been climbing up the ladder together with our fans, so I really cherish such bonds/connections to our fans. They are our best friends. To us, all our fans are our pride and our fans thinks we are their pride. Our relationship is not just about fans and artists. Our fans are the third member of Tohoshinki.

YH played a main character who can read what is in someone’s mind when he touches the person in drama, Melohoric. When he was interviewed about playing the character, he was asked who he wants to touch and to know what is in the person’s mind, if he has the ability. YH answered his fans.
YH: I answered the question because I wish to do something that is very close to what our fans want us to do. I know I may sound greedy. But a bit by bit, slowly and slowly, I really wish to be able to do something that our fans wish us to do. If I get closer to that, then I can build even more stronger bonds with them.

“This is the final restart/reboot, we will never leave you again!” The two of them who tell their fans on stage and their fans are deeply in love. You can’t leave them anymore when they care about you this much!

Getting along well with each other is beautiful.

The duo whose average height is 185 cm and they have long-limbs and are svelte. Their mature and masculine bodies look amazing on stage. On top of that, Yunho worked out to shed some pounds before the tour.
“He lost some weights and looks great. Not only he was on diet, he worked out at gym.” Before Yunho spoke, Changmin proudly answered the question and praised Yunho for his hard work.
“Do you also continue to work out, Changmin?” Before Changmin answered the question, YH said, “Yes, he does. Right?”

At the press conference when they resumed their activity, Tohoshinki stated that they would show the chemistry of Bromance.
CM: I wish I could show people how we love each other just as the way as we love each other. We have been working together for a long time and he is my buddy who walk together with me for almost the half of my life. He shares memories of the half of my life.
YH: Changmin is my second family. Although we do not spend much time together in private, we do Tohoshinki (TVXQ) activities together and he is the very important existence to me because he makes me feel easy when he is just with me, right next to me.

When I asked about the benefit of being a duo.
CM: It is easy to come to some agreement. I am not trying to say that it is a bad idea to have many members, but there are only two people, it is easier to reach to agreement.

Phoenix revived with new appeal

At this tour, phoenix was drawn as the symbol. During these two years, it was not like that they took a break. Instead, they worked really hard and improved themselves at different places and returned like Phoenix with their new looks.
What kind of change did they experience/notice when they resumed their activities?
YH: At every our previous live concert, I kept saying that we wanted to show ourselves where we were still improving. But this time, I said that we want to show how matured we are.
improving ourselves” is still not completed but “being mature” means we literally grew up and I wanted to convey more deep meaning by saying that.

So I asked Yunho, how he feels about how Changmin has matured in the two years.
YH: His sense of responsibility has grown much stronger. Also he is able to show his color. He gained more ability in choosing words to explain things so that people can understand easily, although he was good at that before. Changmin started to let me know through e-mail when he has some idea about working with our staffs. I am impressed that Changmin observes people around us and he understands what is going on. He is younger than me but I count on him because I feel that he has grown up.

Are you happy about that?

YH: I am really happy to hear that, of course. I think we have grown up to be cool men (laugh).
I am really happy that the two of us are in really good balance now. Tohoshinki is made out of two completely different charms. We had a lot of things in our career, but we were able to overcome such matters together. So we understand each other immediately without words. Right now, everything is easy.

Changmin used to tease fans by playing a tsundere character.
{t/n: From urban dictionary Tsundere is a slang born on the Internet, and it is a word to describe the nature of female anime or game characters. Tsundere is a word combining two words, “Tsun Tsun” and “Dere Dere”. Both terms describe attitudes of a person. “Tsun Tsun” is used for cold/blunt/curt attitude, while “Dere Dere” is used when a person becomes spoony in front of his/her lover.}
But after they resumed activities this time, he has been really kind to kids and Yunho on Korean TV entertainment program or live streaming on internet. Where does his Tsun go?
CM: I had a unique experience to spend two long years with Siwon and Donghye who belong to the same company as me. I learned a lot from the two such as manners and kindness towards others. If I become softer, then they had a good influence on me. They both share sensitive and gentle characters.
Yunho had to add something to this story.
YH: Dong-hye is blood type A as me. You may not think about that. But I am in the same blood type so I understand that very well.

 

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“I thought that I want to show (the readers of Vogue Japan) how we love each other just as much as the way we love each other.”

 

 

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Credits:

Translations by @beriko0214: here and here and here,
Posted and Shared by TVXQ! Express