Interview with Shoma Uno
"One Piece on Ice" Part 2
--You have never done a show with this much preparation time, including rehearsals, have you?
Uno: It is the first time, and I had always wanted to spend this much time preparing and presenting a show to someone. In my usual shows, I show programs that I usually do individually, so it is possible to do so even if the practice time is short. However, when it comes to creating a single show together with everyone, Mao Asada's "BEYOND" took a long time, even a year of rehearsals, and I think that's why the show was able to stand as one. If I were to do an ice show after I quit my active career, I think that is what I would want to do. I saw Yuzu-kun's show, and I would like to do something wonderful with a small number of people.
--If you were to create your own show after you retire, what kind of ice show would you like to try? Would it have a story like this one, or would it have a concept, but show different programs?
Uno: Whether there is a story or not, there are many other individual shows out there, so I would like to do something where I am the main focus and can give my all to the show. I am sure that when I retire from active skating, I will want to put my passion into something, so I would like to make it a place where I can put it.
In skating, I only skate my own numbers, plus the opening and finale, but when I go to see live performances of other genres, I see that they last for about two hours. I thought it would be good to try something like that in skating. Of course, I know it's hard for us skaters, but when I see artists performing live, I see that they do it, so I would like to try it.
--You have to be more physically fit than you were when you were competing.
Uno: Indeed (laughs). I think it will require more endurance than instantaneous physical strength, but I don't think I'm bad at it. So I would like to try it. But in order to have my own show, I need to have customers, and in order to have customers, I need to raise my own value, which is something I'm not too ...... I'm not good at it. I hate embodying what people think is ideal. It doesn't make sense (laughs). For example, an idol is an existence that embodies the ideals that everyone wants to be like, and when you retire, you have to be on that side as a professional. I don't think that everything has to be like that, and I think that I have to incorporate it, but it's just not in my nature to do so (laughs). That's part of the reason why I ask myself, "Can I do it?" (laugh).
--I think it's true that as a professional, I have to live up to expectations, but I can't do it without ...... But I think that's the point, isn't it?
Uno: That's right. I am a 25-year-old male, so I definitely don't want to be asked to play a cute boy.
--You have said before that you don't want to be called cute.
Uno That's right (laughs).
--You have no choice but to further establish the appeal of Shoma Uno as a skater, just as he is, before he retires from skating.
Uno: That's right. If that doesn't work out, I don't think I have to go down that road. I believe that there are many possibilities in the path of skating that I have taken. I hope I can choose the path that I want to take.
--I think you should raise your self-esteem a bit more.
Uno: Well, I think it's reasonable (laughs). Figure skating is more fortunate (in terms of individual attractiveness) than other competitions, though. Yuzu-kun's level is just different. The fact that an athlete can put on a show by himself to fill a big box is in itself too amazing.
--It's an ice show at Tokyo Dome.
Uno: That's really amazing. I can't go down that road. I think that facing the competition is the best fit for me, but if something fits my nature, I should do it, and if it disappears, I think I have done enough to be able to choose what I want to pursue. I think I'm making a fair assessment (laughs).
--Back to "One Piece" and manga, do you have any influences from manga?
Uno: Yes, I have. I am influenced by them all the time. When I was little, I didn't look at the world of manga with the feeling that "the world of manga is the world of manga". I looked at them as if there was "another reality" in them. In sports manga, you see people making bloody efforts. I saw that and thought to myself, "I have to do the same thing! (laughs). (Laughs.) I don't think that way now, but I was passionate when I saw the world of manga. I have been doing that for a long time.
--Do you have any memorable scenes or favorite lines from "One Piece"?
Uno: Including the scene (in the Winter Island Arc where Chopper appears), Dr. Hirruk's "Totally! ! ! ! It was a good life! ! ! !" is a memorable line. It is the scene that makes me cry the most, and it is my favorite scene.
--Luffy is aiming to become the pirate king, but what kind of king do you want to be?
Uno: Hmmm. I don't want to be the best. If I become the best, I know how hard it is to go on from there, because I have seen it. In the world of manga, the story ends there, but in the real world, the story continues from there. It is fun when you are aiming to be the best, but once you become the best, you think about how hard it must be, so my answer is that I don't really want to be the king.
--Lastly, if you were to describe the character of "Luffy" played by Shoma Uno in one word, what would that word be?
Uno: On the contrary, I would like to ask everyone. I don't know how I would describe him now, since we are just starting to rehearse, but after "One Piece on Ice" is over, I would like to know what everyone thought of me when they saw me, and I would like them to ask me what I thought of myself at that time. Please come back to interview me again!
--Please tell us your story. I am looking forward to "One Piece on Ice".
Uno: I will do my best!
www.skatingjapan.or.jp
Message from a fan outside Japan:
(as he seems to come back to this by himself so it's a thing that reaches him in a way)
If he creates such a show, I'm sure he'll do things his own way, just as he always has. 
