Interview: MORISAKI WIN
/
MORISAKI WIN is an actor, singer, voice actor, and performer, born in Myanmar but moved to Japan when he was in fourth grade. MORISAKI WIN started his career as a musician/performer when he was in his second year of junior high. In 2008, he joined the boy group, PRIZMAX as its main vocalist, which later disbanded in March 2020. He then made his major label debut as “MORISAKI WIN” on July 1st with the single “Parade”, which was used in the commercial for the Suzuki Sorio Bandit, that garnished much attention.
MORISAKI WIN proceeded to release his first album titled Flight on May 26, 2021, which ranked No. 1 on five several distribution services. In 2022, MORISAKI WIN released a series of singles with international writers, sang the theme songs for Avataro Sentai Don Brothers, and has showed his diverse range in his performances. In 2023, he released his long-awaited album, Baggage, and the movie tie-in “Dear” and “DAY1” from the TV drama, Ya Boy Kongming.
MORISAKI WIN is not only a talented musician, but he is also an established actor. He starred as ‘Daito’ in Stephen Spielberg’s hit film “Ready Player One”; Kousuke in Humanoid Monster Bela; and Junichi Sato in Sherry to name a few. He has been featured in several musicals, such as Tony in the second season of West Side Story; the lead role as Jamie in Jamie; and recently starred as the leading role in Broadway sensation “Pippin” at the Tokyu Theater Orb.
I had the honor to sit down and Interview MORISAKI WIN at Anime Central. Please see below! He was a kind, funny, and genuine person. You can also check out MORISAKI WIN at his official website, X, and Instagram!
Luna: What was it like doing the opening and ending for Avataro Sentai Don Brothers?
MORISAKI WIN: Since the Japanese Sentai series has such a long history, it was quite an honor to be taking part of it. At the beginning I was nervous as if I really had deserved it.
Luna: Were you a fan of Super Sentai growing up?
MORISAKI WIN: Yes, of course! Power Rangers! I grew up watching the Power Rangers version of Super Sentai in Myanmar.
Luna: What is your favorite Super Sentai series that you’ve seen?
MORISAKI WIN: I would be the most fond of Power Rangers but I did do the songs for Don Brothers. Has Don Brothers made it to the States yet?
Luna: Not yet.
MORISAKI WIN: I hope Don Brothers makes it to US and gets incorporated into Power Rangers. Since the story is great and very chaotic. It’s enjoyable for grown up as much as kids.
Luna: For international fans, how they usually find out about J-pop is through anime. First, do you watch anime, and if so, what would you say is your favorite?
MORISAKI WIN: I really love anime. Some of my favorites are Kaiju No. 8, Mushoku Tensei, and Dungeon Meishi (Delicious in Dungeon ). I enjoy the Isekai and reincarnation shows too. A few that I’ve watched and currently watching on Netflix are Reincarnated as a Farmer, Monster, Re: Zero, Uncle form Another World, Steins; Gate, 7 Seeds, Hunter x Hunter and Time Patrol Bon (T-P Bon). Time Patrol Bon is new, its by the creator of Doraemon.
Luna: Is there a venue that you performed at that you will never forget? Also, is there a dream venue that you’d like to perform at?
MORISAKI WIN: Dream venue in Japan would be Budokan. One of the venues would be a ballroom in a certain Hyatt Hotel. It was just two nights ago (May 17th), I didn’t know if there would be any turnout, but there was. And the audience was great. It was a great experience.
Luna: It was a fun experience. Thank you very much!
Luna: How did you come to work on Ready Player One? What was that experience like?
MORISAKI WIN: In Japan, the first one was a video audition. I then got a call back, I got called to LA for a second audition. Then I waited about eight months for an answer and I found out I got the role. Then we went to London (outside of London), England to shoot at the studio. It took about four months. It was a big experience, it was my first Hollywood movie. It was like a dream. We were shooting in 2016, we waited for about two years and it came out in 2018. At the time, my life had changed. Including my life in Japan, after Ready Player One was released. People who didn’t notice me before, started noticing me. At the actual filming, the stage was so lavish, it was a unique experience. Not only that, The Stephen Spielberg is right in front of you and he’s telling you, ‘Win, it’s not like that’ giving you all the directions. In retrospect, it was quite the experience.
Luna: I saw that movie in theaters, day 1. I remember when it came out.
MORISAKI WIN: For real? Thank you! How did you feel for the first time?
Luna: I loved it and wanted to see it again afterward. It was so much fun, energetic. I loved every character.
Luna: As you made your major debut musical career during the pandemic, what were some of the difficulties you encountered and how did you overcome them?
MORISAKI WIN: The biggest weirdness was that there was no live performance of any sort until then. If you made your debut you were supposed to start touring all over the country to promote yourself and performing in front all of the people. But there was no telling if my music was actually reaching anyone. I realized that during the pandemic that was a time period of endurance I had to go through. When I finally got to perform to an audience and watching the reaction of a live audience is different. Normally a Japanese audience is more reserved, but I did get a reaction out of them.
Luna: Do you have a message for your international fans?
MORISAKI WIN: I hope everyone get to find my music on Spotify, AppleMusic, Amazon, and any other platforms in the States. And then when you get to know my music, I’ll come back here and perform again. I hope to see you again at my concert. Thank you!
Luna: Thank you so much MORISAKI WIN!
