Preamble

I don’t frequently read UVERworld content in English, so when I chanced upon these articles some time ago, it came as a shock how different the experiences of other English-speaking fans could be from mine. As the last person to join UVERworld as an official member, it makes sense that less is known about Seika, but it’s a pity since I consider him to be a very special part of UVERworld.

image Somehow, this doesn’t quite tally with what I know of the band in their earlier days. Bonus for learners of English - it’s spelt ‘citing’.

image Mate. Can’t you at least count the heads in your picture?

Since then I’d been meaning to do a Seika Special for my fellow English-reading fans, but I’ve procrastinated for so long that, well, it’s just as well since I can now make it celebratory.

Happy birthday Seika-san!

Now, to prevent any more misinformation, I’d like to be as accurate as possible, so I’ll try to include only things that UVERworld themselves have said on radio, in interviews or in documentaries. Wherever possible, I’ll put the sources of each claim in the footnotes. I shan’t include links except when the sources are from official channels, since I don’t actually want to actively report piracy.

About Seika

Who is Seika?

Seika is the manipulator, saxophonist and main backing vocalist of the Japanese band UVERworld.

Relations with Other Members

Seika was primary school friends with guitarist and leader Katsuya. 1 He was also good friends with bassist Nobuto in their younger days, and each often stayed at the other’s house. 2

Vocalist Takuya recalled that in secondary school, he had heard of Seika but did not know him personally, and only warmed up to him later. 2

Pre-Debut

In high school Seika joined his school’s light music club as a guitarist. 3

Before UVERworld signed with Sony Records (under gr8), they performed for many years as Sound Goku Road, which includes all the current members of UVERworld and a few others. Seika was not the last to join Sound Goku Road (the last current member being guitarist Akira 2), and most likely joined the band before Akira and drummer Shintaro.

Before Takuya became the main vocalist, Seika was one of the main vocalists in the band. 4

Takuya wanted a saxophone player in the band, and Seika was interested but had no money. After a windfall in pachinko, he bought a decent saxophone with the winnings. 5 If I’m not wrong, he bought his second around 2012. Most likely, the first was a tenor and the second was an alto saxophone. Takuya has named the tenor saxophone Keiko and the alto saxophone Darenogare Alto. 6

Back then, Seika taught himself how to play the saxophone and often practiced out in the fields, since he couldn’t afford lessons. 2 Some pre-debut songs that include the saxophone are Yasashisa no Shizuku`04, LAMP OF AFFECTION and D-tecnoRIZE.

Debut

UVERworld intended to debut under a major label with all six members, but Seika’s neccessity to the band was questioned by the label. The band was offered a replacement saxophonist and manipulator, whom they rejected. Seika acknowleged that he needed to work on his skills, so he decided to undergo training while supporting the band as a support member. 2

Seika also lived with the rest of the members during their first three years in Tokyo, even though this was not mentioned previously. 7

Except for TV shows, Seika is usually visible in various media during his time as a support member, including at live concerts and in documentaries.

Seika’s Debut

In 2010, Takuya, as a representative of the band, requested Seika’s return to the band. The process took several years as they did not want to shock fans. 2 You can see the inclusion of saxophone in songs like Core Pride (2011) and Awayokuba-Kill (2012). In the 2012 Yokohama Arena lives, Takuya emphasised that there were six of them, and Seika joined in on the saxophone in Massive and Isseki wo Toujiru Tokyo midnight sun.

On 26th March 2014, UVERworld announced Seika’s official return to the band. 1

Other than saxophone, Seika has also played various other instruments such as the recorder, keyboard and tambourine, for songs. Up to now, as far as I know, Seika has not been individually credited for melody-writing, although the latest unreleased SE most certainly has his contributions.

  1. Radio show: UVERworldのcore ability studioに再び集合!, 8th April 2014 ↩ ↩2

  2. Documentary: core ability 3 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Radio show: UVERworldのcore ability studioに再び集合!, 10th March 2015 ↩

  4. TV Interview: Love music, 9th December 2019 ↩

  5. Concert: Seika’s birthday concert in 2020 ↩

  6. Radio show: UVERworldのcore ability studioに再び集合!, 29th April 2014 ↩

  7. Radio show: スカパン!, 13th December 2013 ↩