《I want to be a POKEMON MASTER めざせポケモンマスター》

2013
Single channel video / 13 min 17 sec

気がつけば、同級生たちは次々と「社会人」になってゆく。
かつてなかった焦燥や寂しさとともに、東日本大震災という大災害を経験して「国家」というものの矛盾を自覚した。「未来」は限りなく不安定で不透明だと感じた。
 
そんな時、少年の頃に聴いた「夢は必ず叶う」と、ただ一つの夢を追って次々と達成していく「めざせポケモンマスター」の歌が心に響いた。
 
当時、２２〜２３歳だった、まだ学生の地元の同級生３人と会って、「将来の夢は何？」と尋ねる。曖昧で不安げな、しかし彼らにとって真実の答えを語り出す。
 
小学生の頃に社会現象となった「ポケットモンスター」の主題歌「めざせポケモンマスター」を、彼らをカラオケボックスに閉じ込めて絶唱してもらう。
 
撮りながら、一緒に絶唱する。
 
 

Before I knew it, my classmates were one by one becoming “working adults.”
Along with a sense of anxiety and loneliness I had never felt before, the experience of living through the Great East Japan Earthquake made me aware of the contradictions within the idea of the "nation."
The “future” began to feel endlessly unstable and uncertain.
 
At that time, the song I want to be a POKEMON MASTER, which I had listened to as a child, resonated deeply with me. It carried the message that “dreams always come true” and followed the pursuit of a single dream with unwavering determination.
 
I met three of my old classmates from my hometown, who were still students at the time, around 22 or 23 years old, and asked them, “What’s your dream for the future?”
They began to speak, hesitantly, uncertainly, but truthfully, about what they hoped for.
 
Then, I brought them into a karaoke box and had them sing I want to be a POKEMON MASTER, the theme song of Pokémon, which had become a social phenomenon during our childhood.
While filming, I sang together with them, shouting the lyrics at the top of my lungs.