RYOTA Talks ONE OK ROCK, Music, and G-SHOCK 

ーーIt sounds like G-SHOCK has become a partner in your daily life. What do you consider when you select a model to wear?

RYOTA: Probably the chemistry with my fashion. I’m always thinking of my outfit in terms of my clothes and my G-SHOCK. It’s really fun thinking about which piece to select with my outfit of the day. When I feel like there’s something lacking in my arm-area, a G-SHOCK is the perfect accent.

ーーKind of like how you choose your sneakers based on your outfit.

RYOTA: Yes, that’s been my mentality, and I’ve always chosen my G-SHOCK like that, but since we now have our own collab model, I feel like I’m pretty much going to be wearing this one everyday.

ーーI know that the members of ONE OK ROCK are influential in terms of fashion as well. Are there any others from the band who wear G-SHOCK?

RYOTA: Our vocal TAKA also likes G-SHOCK too. He’s always asking me about different models he wants me to find in a fawning way. He tends to like simple designs, and compact designs like the 5600 series seems to be his thing.

ーーIt would be cool to hear the band talk about G-SHOCK amongst yourselves.

RYOTA: You know, when we did the cover shoot for the song Delusion:All which is included in our new album DETOX, we were all wearing a suit, but also wearing a G-SHOCK as well. I really wanted to wear our own collab model, but the production didn’t make it in time… For that shoot, we were wearing a model called GM-2100 from the metal-covered series.

ーーWow, you hid a gimmick there! I’m surprised that you were setting up this collaboration model from earlier.

RYOTA：Yes, I don’t think many would notice, but it would be interesting if fans ask themselves “Why are they all wearing G-SHOCK?” Also, the same creative team that has helped us including the new album were also working on this collaboration, so I wanted them to feel the connection we all had with G-SHOCK.

ーーNow that I know, it’s kind of like an Easter egg!

ーーYou mentioned that the creative team behind your new album also worked on this collaboration model. Can you tell me more?

RYOTA: The album DETOX was our first release in about two and a half years, and we asked English photographer Alan Schaller to shoot our portraits, and for Swedish artist Emil Öhlund to draw the cover illustration. It’s these two who we asked again to work on the key visuals for the collaboration model as well. When I reached out to them about the collab, they were really happy about it and supported us in so many ways. I also asked my old friend Junji Kumahara from STUDIO KONBINI to support us as the creative director and be the go-between for the two artists and us.

ーーIt sounds like your wide range of friendships led to this masterpiece. Was the process of creating this collaboration model a smooth one?

RYOTA: We actually struggled a little when deciding which base model to select. We wanted this collab G-SHOCK to spread across the world, just like our music reaches across borders.

ーーFrom the many G-SHOCK models, I have to admit it was a surprise that you chose the digital x analog model from the 2100 series.

RYOTA: Of course, we were considering models from the standard 5600 series and 6900 series, but we had a strong focus on our global presence from when we were recording DETOX, so I felt like we might be able to garner a global response if we chose the 2100 series that’s popular internationally.

ーーThat makes a lot of sense. How did the design come about for this collaboration model?

RYOTA: We started thinking about the design, but we had an infinite amount of ideas so we couldn’t decide on one direction. Then, we came to an agreement that we should just simply reflect our band’s style.

ーーWhat do you mean by that?

RYOTA: We have the core attitude of “challenging” towards the world, so we expressed this with the katana. We also overlaid the metaphor of our music “journeying” globally with the use of cherry blossom, and these concepts became the base for the imagery.

ーーI see. It’s a very fitting imagery for ONE OK ROCK who is active globally.

RYOTA: Once we settled on this imagery, the themes became crystal-clear, and the concept of “viewing Japan from overseas” came to us. I shared this with Emil who came to Japan for the production of the artwork for DETOX, and we brushed up the design together for about a month and half while he stayed in my home.

ーー“Viewing Japan from overseas” is a unique concept. Could you further elaborate?

RYOTA: Hmm… For example, when you’ve overseas, it’s sometimes fun to go to the local Japanese restaurant from a reverse-import type of viewpoint. Kind of like how it’s Japanese food, but it’s a little different from what we eat in Japan.

ーーYes, I think I understand that feeling. It’s like a cultural gap between different countries, right?

RYOTA： Yes, that’s a little bit mysterious, but an interesting part from my viewpoint. That’s why I asked Emil to draw a katana and cherry blossom the way he envisioned them. As someone from Sweden, I wanted to incorporate his sense of how he sees the Japanese cherry blossom, which is something different from our perspective.

ーーI see. Maybe that’s the reason why this model has a different feel compared to other G-SHOCK models. When you did the photo shoot for the key visuals with Alan Schaller, did you feel your worldview expand further?

RYOTA: Yes, that’s exactly what happened. We’ve already worked together with Alan on the portraits for DETOX and the music video for Tropical Therapy, so the fact that he already understands our intentions really well is one of the biggest reasons we asked him to shoot the key visuals for this project.

ーーSeeing the shade and contrast-rich photography of Alan that captured ONE OK ROCK and G-SHOCK makes me feel like I’m being pulled into another world.

RYOTA: My favorite photo is the one where the four of us are sitting on a bench in a park, which we shot in London during our world tour last year. I thought adding Emil’s colorful artwork on top of Alan's monochrome photos would create an amazing visual that no one has ever seen before.

ーーIt’s really an art piece where multiple creators’ worlds came together, isn’t it? Getting back to the collaboration model, I heard that you’ve put a lot of effort into the details. Could you tell me about some of the points you focused on?

RYOTA：We added Roman numerals on the bezel for this model, but apparently this was something that’s been done only once before in the history of G-SHOCK, for a design of a piece from the high-end line called MR. G. It’s a special detail because you won’t see it on a model from the regular line.

ーーIt’s also a really bold arrangement how you removed the imprint of “G-SHOCK” and “Protection” as well.

RYOTA: I wanted to change G-SHOCK’s history in some way, so I first proposed if it would be possible to remove the “G-SHOCK” logo and add Roman numerals instead. Honestly, I thought Casio would reject that idea, but they were kind enough to be flexible and that’s how those details came to be.

ーーI get the impression that G-SHOCK’s history moved another step forward to the next stage.

RYOTA: I think that we were able to create a model with a new impact where G-SHOCK fans across the world will be surprised and say “There’s something different about this one!”

ーーThe cherry blossom printed on the dial is such a detailed design.

RYOTA: You told me that this print has quite a technical element to it, right?

Casio: Yes, to make it look like the cherry blossom is shining, we’ve used a labor-intensive process where we did a vapor deposition over the print, and then removed it by laser.

ーーThe cherry blossom design seems perfect for women, and I can also see it matching up nicely with suits as well.

RYOTA: Yes, I think it can work in a wide range of styles from casual to formal. I would recommend it for core G-SHOCK fans and also people who never got into G-SHOCK.

ーーThis is a minor detail, but I thought the model number of “TTTR” was unusual as well.

RYOTA: When we were deciding the model number, the Casio team proposed “OOR” for ONE OK ROCK, but they also mentioned we can name it whatever we want as long as it’s under 4 characters, so we decided to use the band member’s initials.

ーーI thought that might be the case! I know that each of you from ONE OK ROCK has the other three band member’s initials tattooed on you and/or marked on your instruments.

RYOTA： I thought that our die-hard fans would notice these details. Otherwise, the loop on the watch strap has my tattoo on it, and just the number “1” in Roman numerals on the bezel has a round engraving. This comes from our band’s name, but I also intended for it to look like the sun on the Japanese flag. It’s open for many interpretations.

ーーI really feel your strong focus on details. The design on the box is really cute as well. Was there any meaning behind that?

RYOTA： I think a lot of people tend to throw away the boxes after they get a G-SHOCK, but I didn’t want them to do that with ours. That’s why I thought that if I turn the box into an art piece, people can display it in their home. Also, as long as Emil is the one designing it, I knew that it would be a great piece of art.

ーーI’m sure it would be a great gift as well!

RYOTA：We created this model thinking about when this box arrives at someone's home, and the feeling of joy they get when they open it, so yes, please also share this joy by gifting it to someone important!