Many, many thanks to insane-demented for translating this interview! The translation first appeared on the AFA Channel Asia official Web site.

Part 1 (From: http://www.anican.jp/blog/interview/interview.aspx?number=0031)

――『黒子のバスケ』の第２期からは氷室辰也役で、声優としても参加されていますね。

So, you have also taken part in the recording of Kuroko no Basuke 2nd Season as the seiyuu of Himuro Tatsuya.

KISHOW　そうですね。しかも２クール目からは本格的に試合に入っていくから、いよいよ二足のわらじっぷりが発揮されていますね。

Yes, indeed. Also, since Himuro has officially appeared in the matches starting from the second half of the season, I can begin to play out these two roles fully.

――アフレコ現場の雰囲気は、どうなんですか？　やっぱり男ばかりだから、熱気がある？

How is the atmosphere of the recording sessions? Is there a heated atmosphere, as expected of a male-only environment?

KISHOW　人数も多いし、若い役者も多いから活気はあるのかな。音響監督が厳しめにやる方なので、引き締まって空気がだれずにやってますよ。

The atmosphere is very lively, probably because there are many people, with mostly young actors. Because the sound director is the strict type, we carry out the recording in a serious and focused atmosphere.

――そういうところで主題歌の話になったりはしない？

Speaking of which, does the topic of the opening theme song ever come up?

KISHOW　アニメの現場で話は出ないっすね。完全に分かれてる感じなんですよ。気を遣っているのかもしれないけど、聞いてこないし、不思議な感じ。

It doesn’t come up during the anime recordings. It feels as if they are treated as completely separate matters. There is probably some concern about it, but don’t bring up the topic; it is quite mysterious.

――そうなんですね。「Can Do」最高だった！　とか言われるのかと。そんな感じで、とうとう主題歌も4曲目になりますが、今回の制作はどんな感じでした？

I see, I was thinking that you may have been told something like “Can Do was great!” Since we are on this topic, this is your 4th opening theme song for this series. What was the production process like?

e-ZUKA　だいたい、“ちょっと会えないかな”ってプロデューサーに呼ばれるんですよ。それで行くと“どうしよっか？”みたいな。アニメサイドは、明るい曲ということと、これまで3曲作ってきて画のアイディアがないです……みたいな（笑）。

Generally, the producer called us over “Can we meet for a short while?” and after we met up it went something like “so what should we do?”. For the anime side, about songs which are cheerful, we have produced 3 songs so far and we have no ideas now…something along those lines.

――（笑）。それは曲も同じっていう話ですよね。

(laughs). That was referring to the songs being the same, correct?

e-ZUKA　だから、ちょっと構成の変わった曲をお願いできますか？　と言われて、じゃあ音楽的にどうしようかと思って。「Can Do」はめっちゃ明るいし、「RIMFIRE」はちょっと変わってて、憂いがあってという曲。で、「The Other self」はまためっちゃ明るい感じだから、ちょっと憂いのある感じで、爽やかで切なくて甘酸っぱい感じにしようと。構成だと、一番わかりやすいのはサビ始まりですかねっていうことで、サビ始まりで切なさが入るような曲を作りましたね。

So, they asked if they could request a song with a different arrangement, and I was thinking of making changes to the music. “Can Do” was very cheerful, “RIMFIRE” a little different with a touch of sadness. “The Other Self” was again cheerful, so I wanted to go with a little bit of sadness, refreshing yet with a bittersweet sorrow, for the new song. In terms of arrangement, the song was written to begin with the climax or hook of the song, with the feeling of sorrow injected right at the start, making it simple to understand.

――サビ始まりは、GRANRODEO的には珍しいですよね。

It is quite rare for a GRANRODEO song to begin with the hook.

e-ZUKA　珍しいですね。「甘い痛みは幻想の果てに」と「Passion」くらいかな。他にもあったかもしれないけど、あんまりないんですよ。だからいいなって。

Yes, it is quite rare. This has probably only been done in “Amai Itami wa Gensou no Hate ni” and “Passion”. There might be other songs as well, but not many of them. That’s why we thought it might be good.

――あまりないというのも意外です。サビ始まりだけど、ギターのアルペジオなど、切ない要素も詰まっていると思いました。

That was quite unexpected. At the beginning of the song, the guitar arpeggio was filled with the emotion of sorrow.

e-ZUKA　アニメのオープニングの画も見ましたけど、犬（テツヤ2号）が一番切なさを出してたけどね（笑）。

I watched the anime opening sequence, but I felt that the dog (Tetsuya Number 2) expressed the most sorrow (laughs).

――（笑）。一番最初のバスケシーンも、じわっと来ましたよ。

(laughs) The first actual basketball scene took a while to appear.

e-ZUKA　ね。だからまた“ダカダカッ！”って始まったら、同じ画になっちゃうからね。

Exactly. So if it had started off with an action scene, it would have become the same as before.

――KISHOWさんの詞も、ズバリ変化球で来たなと思いました。

KISHOW-san’s lyrics were also a bit of a curveball.

KISHOW　なるべくしてなったというか。同じタイトルで4曲目となると、テーマもないわけですよ。もう今までの流れでは書けない、何か一石を投じないとって思ったところで、この曲を聴いたら、あぁ、ラブソングだなって思った。

I just did what I could. Since it was the 4th song for the same series, there was no theme. I couldn’t just go along with the flow and write it as I did with the earlier songs, and just when I was hoping for some stir of inspiration, I listened to the song and found myself thinking that it was a love song.

――歌詞に、〈Love song〉という言葉が入っていたので、何となくその意志は伝わってきました。

In the lyrics, the words “Love song” appeared, so that notion was somehow conveyed.

KISHOW　はっきり言っちゃおうと思って。今までさんざんバスケっぽいことを歌ってきたので。青春、汗、バスケ……作中に恋愛の描写はそんなになかったように記憶してるけど、まぁいいじゃないと（笑）。スポーツで言ったら、（恋愛は）モチベーションのひとつですしね。

I thought it should be said clearly, since the songs have been about nothing other than basketball. Youth, sweat, basketball…Even though I don’t recall there being much depiction of love in the original series, I thought well, why not? (laughs). Love could also be one of the many motivations in sports.

――でも若々しさや、青さみたいなものはあったかなと。

But aren’t there also other things like youthfulness?

KISHOW　なんか、バスケ・青春・女の子と言ったら、岡村靖幸さんの「あの娘ぼくがロングシュート決めたらどんな顔するだろう」しか思い浮かばなくて。大好きなキラーチューンなんですけど、それは意識しましたね。〈初恋〉と書いてファーストラブと読ませるあたりは。あと、ギリギリでバスケっぽさを残したのが、〈Go to guy 〉っていう言葉で。バスケ用語なんですけど、チームのエースというか、試合を決めにいく役割の選手のこと。シカゴ・ブルズで言うとマイケル・ジョーダンみたいな、そういう意味があるので、そこはバスケっぽさがあるかな。でも、色々自分的には面白がって歌詞を書いた曲ですね。タイトルも「変幻自在のマジカルスター」って振り切っちゃってるし。

Somehow, if you talk about basketball, youth and girls, Yasuyuki Okumura’s song “Ano Ko Boku ga Long Shoot ga Kimetara Donna Kao Suru Darou” comes to mind. It was one of my favourite songs that stayed in my mind, so I was more conscious of it. Although written as “Hatsukoi” the lyrics were read as “First love”. Also, the only part of the lyrics that still reflect some traces of basketball would be the phrase “Go to guy”. This is a basketball-specific phrase which refers to the ace of the team, or the player relied upon by the team to score. Something like what Michael Jordan would be to the Chicago Bulls. Because it carries such a meaning, it is basically the “basketball-like” part of the song. However, it is still a song written with many interesting lyric phrases. Just like the title “Hengenjizai no Magical Star” (Ever-changing Magical Star).

――タイトルのインパクトは絶大ですよね。

The title of the song has tremendous impact.

KISHOW　サビを聴いた時に、何をはめるかで、いきなり浮かんだのが、〈変幻自在の〉だったんですよ。で、〈マジカルスター〉でいいじゃんって。メロディも華があるし、切なさもあるなって思ったから、言葉で飾ってあげたら、もっと華のある曲になると思ったんです。それでこのタイトルを出した時の周りの反応が“いつから路線変更したの？”“まさかの魔法少女モノ？”みたいな言われ方をしたので、インパクトは強かったのかなって。だいたい歌詞を作る時はお酒を飲んでて、冷静ではないから、客観的に見られないという欠点はあるけど、いいタイトルじゃないかな（笑）。

When I listened to the hook, the first phrase that suddenly surfaced in my mind was “Hengenjizai no”. And so, I just thought why not just follow it with “Magical Star”? Since the melody has both flamboyance as well as sorrow, this phrase could make it a more flamboyant and brilliant song. And so when the title was released the reactions we got were “Since when did you have a change of path?” or “Surely this cannot be some Mahou Shoujo (Magical Girl) song?”, and so I thought the impact must have been rather strong. Generally, the song lyrics were written while drinking, so I cannot say that the title was decided with a calm and objective mind, but I still find this title pretty good (laughs).