Tokyo Sports caught up with SANADA for a brief interview in the wake of his shocking betrayal of Just 5 Guys and alignment with Bullet Club War Dogs. I’ve translated SANADA’s comments below. Please keep in mind that I’m not completely fluent in Japanese, so there may be some nuances I’ve missed, but I never post translations unless I’m sure I have the general idea correct. Things in brackets are things I’ve adjusted or added for clearer reading.
I’ve been feeling a bit lost for a while now. I think I realized I had reached my limit of what I could do in J5G. My results this year were not good, and I realized it was time for a change. If I didn’t change, I wouldn’t be able to move forward.
[J5G] are my friends and we went through a lot together. I do miss them and feel guilty. …wait, no, now that I think about it, I don’t feel that way at all. Right now I don’t think about them at all. I guess, maybe betrayal has just become a hobby of mine recently. Maybe I just get bored easily.
The interviewer notes that the day after SANADA turned, he gave a lecture at a hometown Junior High School (along with his friend Akihiro Namba of the bands Hi-Standard and Namba69), and that although it was bad timing SANADA handled the responsibility of inspiring the kids well. SANADA explained:
I like my hometown and I like children. I also like animals. I hate half-hearted adults like J5G the most. I didn’t want to keep half-assing things like they do.
On the upcoming World Tag League:
I think it’s going to be a very exciting tour for the new SANADA. I haven’t completely figured out who that person is yet, so [figuring that out over the course of the tour] is what I’m excited about.
by EffingKENTA