Atsushi Osawa (Dasyuetugyokumonoutagokakai) × Buu (Ensoku) on the Possibilities of Cross-Cultural Two-Man "REACTION": "We're Supposed to be Opposites, but 'Fun' is Our Common Ground"
This interview was originally published in Japanese on barks.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.
Dialogue: Osawa Atsushi (Ddasokutorigatomon Dohkai) × Buu (Ensoku) – Discussing the Possibilities of a Cross-Cultural Two-Man Show ＜REACTION＞ “We’re the ‘fun’ of the Visual Kei world, so a showdown like this makes us nervous!”
A two-man live featuring 打首獄門同好会 × えんそく presented by ReNY, ＜ReNY presents 2man live series REACTION vol.3＞, will be held on August 25th at Tokyo’s 赤羽ReNY alpha. The ＜2man live series “REACTION”＞ has been generating buzz with each installment featuring unexpectedly unique pairings, and for the third volume, an intercultural two-man collaboration between 打首獄門同好会 and えんそく is finally happening. On this one night where a loud rock band and a Visual Kei band intersect, what kind of chemical reaction will occur?
Ahead of the event, BARKS held a talk session with Osawa Atsushi (Vo, G) from 打首獄門同好会, Buu (Vo) from えんそく, and Iwasaki, the store manager of 赤羽ReNY alpha who initiated this two-man project. They discussed everything from the meaning behind the ＜REACTION＞ event concept, to surprising common ground between the two bands, to their respective genre theories, and even the new possibilities that emerge when transcending those genres.
打首獄門同好会 was formed in 2004, and えんそく in 2005. The talk session between these two bands, now 20 years into their careers, went surprisingly deep and ranged across many topics.
“えんそく does the ‘fun’ of Visual Kei, so a showdown like this makes us nervous!” “打首獄門同好会 and えんそく have had a chance to perform together before, haven’t you?”
Q:
Osawa: That was when they performed at the two-man tour we held last year (打首獄門同好会-organized ＜ついに対バンしてみようツアー2025＞). To be honest, it was really fun.
Buu: Fans of a band with such depth really do have big hearts. It got seriously wild. I’d always thought that Visual Kei bands tend to be looked down on by rock band fans. I wanted to flip that narrative, and I had confidence that I could make people say, “They’re Visual Kei, but those guys are actually fun!” But from the very start, it was welcoming—like, “If 打首 is calling them, let’s enjoy some Visual Kei tonight!”
Osawa: Yeah, we really got the sense that people were enjoying it like, “Oh, this band is actually interesting!”
Buu: We had a blast too, and I felt like we had a really good experience. So when this two-man offer came along, I was like, “Yes!”
Iwasaki (Store Manager): I was glad we could connect it from the 打首 two-man. But how exactly did you decide on the bands for ＜ついに対バンしてみようツアー2025＞, Osawa?
Osawa: Bands that wanted to perform with 打首獄門同好会 submitted their information, and we shared it among the members and staff to decide. We wanted to bring together a diverse range of genres, so えんそく’s application was really appreciated. Beyond the range of the lineup, we also wanted bands with connections to their local areas to perform in each location. When we learned えんそく had a member from Yamanashi, it was like, “We definitely want them to perform!”
Q: That was the Yamanashi/甲府KAZOO HALL show (September 10th) of ＜ついに対バンしてみようツアー2025＞.
Osawa: In the end, the tour allowed us to collaborate with people from incredibly diverse musical styles—from Visual Kei to idols—and it was a massive success in terms of the project’s goals. As a result, more opportunities came up like, “Let’s do another two-man!” or “Will you perform at our event too?” So I’m really happy that we’re doing another two-man with えんそく.
Q: I’d like to ask the store manager, Iwasaki, about the origins of the ＜REACTION＞ event series itself.
Iwasaki (Store Manager): This is the third one. The first was 氣志團 and アーバンギャルド (December 22nd, 2025), and the second was キュウソネコカミ and ネクライトーキー (February 27th, 2026). Originally, through various connections, アーバンギャルド reached out to us, and when we approached 氣志團, they readily agreed. I thought, “Well, why not make this a series?” and we’ve already decided on the fourth installment (甘い暴力 × アーバンギャルド / September 1st).
Q: You’re being quite ambitious. What’s the intention behind the title?
Iwasaki (Store Manager): The title ＜REACTION＞ comes from 電気グルーヴ’s song “レアクティオーン.” In my interpretation, that song is an anthem about live houses. I wanted to bring that spirit into the event itself—the idea of doing “unexpectedly unique two-man shows.”
Q: So “unexpectedness” is key.
Iwasaki (Store Manager): Yes. えんそく does quite a few one-mans at 赤羽ReNY alpha, but I’ve always wanted to try having them do a two-man with a rock band. So I nervously approached them about doing one with 打首獄門同好会.
Buu: If えんそく gets an offer, we’re game for anything! (laughs)
Iwasaki (Store Manager): I think 打首 and えんそく have something in common in the simplicity of their song themes. 打首 has a song about rice (“日本の米は世界一”), and えんそく has a song about saury (“ししゃもパワーX”).
Buu: A band like us that sings about the non-everyday, versus 打首 who claim to be “lifestyle-focused”—we should be on opposite ends of the spectrum (laughs).
Osawa: What was funny was, before the Yamanashi show, I asked えんそく, “Are there any common themes in your songs?” I thought it’d be cool if something like that came up during the live. So they answered, “Like the elbow song (‘戦慄！！悪魔の肘バン人形’),” and I was like, “An elbow song? There’s no way a rock band would have… oh wait, we totally do! (‘鬼の副長HIZIKATA feat. ぼく、獄門くん’)” (laughs).
Buu: 打首 probably has something in common with every band out there (laughs).
Iwasaki (Store Manager): The announcement video we made uses songs from both bands, and they’re both “English songs.”
Osawa: For our North American tour, we made a song about the sadness of not being able to speak English—”I wish I could speak English.”
Buu: For えんそく’s English song, it’s “This is a pen.”
Iwasaki (Store Manager): So that’s when we thought, “It has to be these two bands!”
Q: This might not be from the Yamanashi show, but do rock bands often change their setlist depending on how the other band performs that day?
Osawa: Yeah, we do. Don’t you guys?
Buu: Visual Kei bands don’t really think that way. There’s also the issue that sudden changes are difficult because of backing tracks, but… I guess we see it as “pandering” to the other band.
Osawa: I see—maybe we’re coming from fundamentally different perspectives. For us, if there’s common ground, we’re like “perfect!” (laughs).
Buu: I get that. We think the same way. If we can land something with the other band’s fans, there’s nothing better. Maybe it’s fair to say that in the Visual Kei world, we’re standing out a bit. But the fact that we can do it with that kind of “Let’s do it! Let’s do it!” energy is really great.
Iwasaki (Store Manager): By the way, did you guys do anything together at the Yamanashi show?
Osawa: We didn’t do any sessions or collaborations.
Buu: Should we do something this time? We could have 打首 come up on えんそく’s stage, or I could sing something during 打首’s set. Oh! We should definitely do an opening talk!
Osawa: An opening talk!?
Iwasaki (Store Manager): It’s kind of a tradition for えんそく’s two-mans (laughs). Through that opening talk, the walls between both bands come down.
Buu: Honestly, when bands that get along do a two-man and it goes well, it’s less about musical compatibility and more about people being able to see each other’s humanity. So for this two-man with 打首, having already had the Yamanashi experience, this conversation is really meaningful. When you can see what the other band is like before the show, it changes how the songs hit when you actually see them perform.
Osawa: I still don’t think I’ve grasped everything about えんそく, so I’m thinking there might be all kinds of ways to clash that we haven’t explored yet.
Buu: えんそく does the “fun” of the Visual Kei world, so a showdown like this definitely makes us nervous! (laughs)