Danbara Ruru: The Future Legend (Top Yell Sept 2017)

(Summary of Danbara Ruru's solo interview)

♪ Ruru was very shy when she was small, so her mother sent her and her sister to a performance school. Ruru had always liked singing, but she couldn't sing in front of people, she'd only sing at home.

♪ Sayashi-san was what got her into Morning Musume。Ruru went to every Musume concert that happened in Hiroshima after Sayashi joined.

♪ Once she joined the Kenshuusei, Ruru was surprised at how much emphasis was put on capturing the rhythm. At the school she had previously attended in Hiroshima, the focus was more on singing with personality.

♪ With many of the girls from her generation getting into groups before her, she had thought about quitting. She'd actually gone out and said that she wanted to quit three times. But when asked in return if she'd quit if that were the case, she'd reply 'It's not like I particularly want to quit!' and keep at it. She's competitive, and is the type who doesn't want to quit until she gets some sort of result.

♪ Haga Akane-chan's debut was the most surprising to her. She was more mentally prepared for the debuts after that.

♪ When her group had yet to be made known, the Musume would have been her first choice. But she was happy to have gotten into Juice=Juice. Juice=Juice hadn't crossed her mind as a possibility because the group had never taken in new members before.

♪ On Yanagawa - Ruru: That machine gun chatter is crazy.

♪ Her goal in Juice=Juice
Ruru: I want to be doing work where I always bring smiles to people's faces, so I hope to become someone who can provide smiles and energy through my singing and dancing!

♪ Bonus from the 47 questions segment
What's the origin of your name?
My older sister is Riri, so I became Ruru.

Fresh Idol Kobushi Factory

First half of a November 2015 Hustle Press interview with Kobushi

The dreamed-of major début

They froze in surprise!?

――How did you feel when you found out that your major début was set in stone？


Hirose「It was a surprise announcement, so my mind was completely blank immediately after. I couldn't make head or tail from it、 but when I got back home and my parents greeted me with a 『Congratulations』, that was when the feelings gushed forth。 While we ushered in our major début on the 2nd of September、 there hasn't really been any drastic changes. But it's a big step on the way to our dreams、 so I'll be grateful and will do my best」

Ogawa「Kobushi Factory had no idea whether we'd be able to make our major début when we were formed. But our début came as a surprise when they made the announcement、 and we got to go around the whole country to do promotions. The realisation gradually welled up」

Hamaura「I'd been a Kenshuusei for about 4 and a half years、 and I had lots of worries, like would I be able to make a major début？ Would I get into a new unit？ I was really glad when Kobushi Factory was formed, and my tears really flowed despite me being completely clueless. On the way to our major début、 Kobushi Factory got to experience all sorts of things like stage-acting。 I don't think that anything changed on the 2nd of September、 but at handshake events、 everyone would give me words like 『Congratulations』、 『You'll be making your major début』 That's when the realisation hit me、 and I was really glad」。

Taguchi「For me, the announcement went 『You'll be making your major début this autumn！』、 but at the time、 everyone froze for a moment. After that、 everyone was screaming out 『Kyaー！』。 However、 at the time、 I didn't cry。 I was looking at it quite objectively、 without thinking about myself」。


――Ah、 that's somewhat mature。 Taguchi-san commenting about the rest in such a way doesn't jive with your image though （laughs）。


Taguchi 「Thank you very much （blushes）。 I was glad、 but we had to do all sorts of things until the 2nd of September。 I was a Kenshuusei for ４ and a half years as well、 so I've been active just as long as Hamaura Ayano-chan、 and we were able to do performances and promotions at places that we hadn't been able to go to as Kenshuusei…Ah、 I'm gonna sneeze…」。


――（laughs）。 That's fine。


Taguchi「…It's gone （laughs）。 When the 2nd of September came、 I understood that I was able to make my major début as a member of the Hello！ Project that I admired」。

――Amongst the songs in your 3 major début songs、 please tell us what you'd like to highlight。


Hirose「I like 『Nen ni ha Nen （Nen-iri Ver）』. The whole song is cool and makes use of all our members' punchiness。 But、 what I want you to keep an eye out for most is the interlude for 『Dosukoi！ Kenkyo ni Daitan』、 where Fujii Rio-chan and Wada Sakurako-chan have a sumo match、 and I act as the referee。 I'm also in charge of saying the line 『Mattanashi！』、 so I want you to watch that！」。

Ogawa「Mine is from 『Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta』、 where there's a call ＆ response after the interlude。 We couldn't really hear the voices the first time we performed it 、 but slowly、 everyone matches their voice to our call、 and that sense of unity lifts me up」。


――Because it's built up with the fans、 you can enjoy how it gradually grows。


Hamaura「For 『Dosukoi！ Kenkyo ni Daitan』、 I'd like you to keep an eye on the choreography when you watch it at concerts. But since it's a song with positive lyrics、 I hope you pay attention to the lyrics when you listen to it」。


――Eh？ Although I'd heard that Hamaura-san was the one who liked ramen the most…（laughs）。


Hamaura「I really love ramen！　As for how frequently I have it…。 I had it at night the day before yesterday、 but I had it in the morning of that same day as well…。 If we go far away、 I'll have it in the mornings、 and I'll eat ramen again at the hotel」。


――You eat it in the morning!?


Hamaura「If I go to a place that I've never been before、 I'll find cup ramen that doesn't get sold in Tokyo or Saitama。 I want to give them a taste、 so on days that we'd be staying overnight、 I'd buy ramen from the convenience store、 and I'd put in about 4 into my bag」。

Hirose「If I'm in the same room as Hamaura Ayano-chan、 there'd be the nice smell of ramen in the morning （laughs）。 Ramen or edamame （laughs）」。

――Doesn't that make her like some hybrid of an old man and a young girl （laughs）！


Hirose「When I get up、 I'd see Hama-chan in her pyjamas, slurping up some ramen （laughs）」。

―― 「Ramen Daisuki Hamaura-san」。 I wonder if the fans know about this？


Hamaura「I think they know about it。 They'd tell me 『Be careful about eating too much ramen！』 at handshake events」。

―― I heard that you actually do eat a lot though…。

Hamaura「I don't know if it's a lot、 but I only eat the things I like。 Like Hamburg steak or omurice or noodle dishes」。

―― How impish。 Do you eat quite a lot, quantity-wise？


Hamaura「To the extent that I eat other people's ramen portions！」。

Source: https://hustlepress.co.jp/kobushi_interview02/

Renako gets quizzed on the Olympics

(Excerpt from Hustle Press interview with Kobushi Factory)

-- By the way, Ogawa-san, do you know how often the Olympics are held? Once every how many years?

Ogawa: Once every four years!

-- Then, where was it held last?

Ogawa: Heheh, Brazil! (said with complete confidence) Ah, Brazil's this year. Well, the nearby France.

-- Um, nearby? You're close, but no cigar.

Hirose: We talked about this at an event recently (Hirose and Fujii silently mouthing 'London, London')

Ogawa: Ah, Lawson! (With a triumphant look on her face)

(Everyone laughs)

Ogawa: Well, it starts with an 'l' or an 'r'. Ah, Russia!? It's London!

-- You finally got there (laughs). Well, where will it be held in four years time?

Ogawa: Tokyo! Since it's mentioned in the lyrics of our new song!

Source: https://hustlepress.co.jp/kobushi20160725_interview/

A relentless dialogue - Sato no Akari (Gekkan Entame June 2014)

(Excerpts from Sato no Akari's Gekkan Entame interview)

---If the three of you took part in an airhead championship, who would emerge the victor?

Uemura: I wonder who? From the stories I've often heard, it'd definitely be Sato Masaki-chan.

Sato: Nope, it'd be Akari-chan. She's actually amazing. Like a monkey.

Katsuta: Um, monkey?

Sato: No, I don't mean that Akari-chan moves like a monkey. Or has the face of one...

--- We understand. Feels like you've just casually fired off a slew of insults though. (laughs)

Sato: Since monkeys aren't relaxed. A staff member mentioned it before. 'Uemura's less settled than Sato'. When I heard that, I was relieved.

Katsuta: Well, within S/mileage, Maachan is famous for being noisy. Speaking objectively, Maachan's probably at a higher level of airheadedness. But I think that it's also a good thing. She can immediately become friends with any senpai, and that's something I envy.

Sato: I see. But Akari-chan's definitely more of an airhead. You know, she somehow managed to get a manager-san to take off their socks just now.

Uemura: That's because Masaki-chan, you said that you wanted socks. So I told you to wait for a bit as I was making preparations, and I just borrowed the manager's for a bit.

Sato: But the manager was really against it. That made me think that you really were an airhead~ (laughs) What's amazing about Akari-chan is that while she's such a beauty, she's also an airhead. I think that it's such a great contrast. I envy you.

--- I see. Well then, please do your best as the airhead trio from now on!

Katsuta, Sato, Uemura: We're not airheads!

Ozeki Mai's 'Member I'd like to have teach me' ranking

More from this ranking series:

Tsugunaga Momoko: Member that I'd like to help with studies

Funaki Musubu: Member I'd like to go with an on-location shoot with

Yanagawa Nanami: Member I'd like to turn to for advice when I have problems

Morito Chisaki: 'Member I'd like to stay over with'

Inaba Manaka: 'Member I'd like to have as a boyfriend if they were a guy'

Yamaki Risa: 'Member I'd like to have as a girlfriend if I were a guy'

――Please go ahead! First of all, which rank should we start with? 

Ozeki　Then we'll start with fifth. Fifth place is Funaki Musubu-chan. Funaki-chan is currently in her first year of middle school. The other day, the members of Country Girls had a mini kanji quiz in our dressing room. And it turned out that she really can't write out kanji. She was at a such a low level that even I was surprised. (laughs) There's also the difference between our academic years, so it'd be strange for her to teach me. That's why she's at this spot.

Inaba　Eh, but still, she's at fifth.

――Yamaki-san, you seem to be a bit relieved?

Yamaki  Yeah. I do have have seniority, after all!

Inaba　I'm more worried about where I stand! (laughs)

Ozeki　Continuing on, Yanagawa Nanami-chan is fourth. Yanagawa-chan is my age, but I feel that she has a very 'intellectual' air to her. But if she were to teach me, I feel like I'd end up confused and have no idea what she's talking about. So she's 4th!

Yamaki　You mean that you can't match her level?

Ozeki　Yup. Yanagawa-chan uses a lot of difficult words when she talks. All these words that I don't know. But I'm wondering that maybe if I keep talking with Yanagawa-chan, I'll gradually learn those words and also English words, and be able to use them in my speech! I'm sure that it'll be useful when I have to talk as an idol. So rather than being taught academically, I'd like to be taught 'the basics of everyday conversation'.

――Going on to third place! 

Which Juice=Juice member cries when she sees balloons?

We tackle Juice=Juice, an idol group under Hello! Project. They've just released their latest single 'Jidanda Dance / Feel! Kanjiru yo' on the 26th of April! We'll be having a close-up look at Juice=Juice!

- Last year, you completed your 225-show tour, and your first Budokan performance was also a great success. The other day, you announced that you'd have an overseas tour. Could you please tell us about your future goals?

Miyamoto Karin: When I checked out the videos of our Budokan performance, I found so many things that were lacking. Our facial expressions, singing, dancing, everything was still lacking. So I want to focus on improving those first. We can always go higher with our singing and dancing, so we have to keep up honing our performances.

Takagi Sayuki: I had vocal cord nodules, and immediately underwent surgery the day after we had finished our Budokan performance. I think that I have to study how to bring out my voice, and I'm currently in the midst of tackling it as through discussions with our vocal coach.

Miyazaki Yuka: I'm also focusing on voice training! our vocal coach told me 'I'll fix you up this year!' And I told him that I'd like to do so too. I immediately went and reviewed everything with my coach, from my vocalisation and whatever else. But I had no place to test things out, and I was unable to sing when we were rehearsing for our livehouse tour from February. By changing things, I wasn't able to sing well even when I wanted to. I ended up being at my very worst. I had no idea what to do, so I consulted my coach and we thought together about how to deal with it. That's when singing started becoming fun again!

Takagi: I've always intended to go for voice training, but there are a lot of things that I don't really understand. I'm glad to be praised for for my good singing. But I'll be thinking lots and lots about how to get better, starting from my vocalisation. Partly since there are parts of me that I personally have yet to acknowledge. It'd be great if I could enjoy singing because of that. It's tough though. (laughs)

Uemura Akari: I'd like to increase my repertoire of facial expressions. There are times when I feel a bit spent in the middle of concerts, so I'd like to be careful about how I appear on-screen. I'm not good at playing for the camera, and when the cameras turn to me in the middle of a concert, I'll be watching the audience, not the camera.

Kanazawa Tomoko: I'm fascinated by feminine seductiveness. So my goal for the year is to refine my sexiness and seductiveness. We've always thought that we'd be a group where each and every member puts forward their own forte. So I thought about what I'd use as a weapon. I haven't found anything so far, and I'm feeling the pressure to work hard at everything.

Miyamoto: Also, I'd like to cherish the feelings and passion I experience at every concert. I think that it's important to to enchant the audience with our passion at times when they can only watch Juice=Juice. We might face language barriers when we go abroad, but the excitement and heat of concerts is something that's common all over the world!

Kanazawa: For overseas artistes and actresses, even if you don't understand what they're saying, you can feel it through their eyes and gestures when you watch dramas, movies, or music videos. So I'll build up my femininity so that I can make overseas fans feel that way too.

The weird tastes of Juice=Juice (excerpt from Big One Girls 023 - July 2014)

--By the way, between all of you, who's the most gluttonous?

Miyamoto: I can really eat if I seriously put my mind to it. (laughs). I'm amazing when it comes to buffets. I can eat anything besides celery. But when I point out how delicious something is, the members get doubtful though...

Takagi: That's not it! Your sense of taste is weird! Even when we had to eat a can of silkworms as a penalty game, [Miyamoto] ate it like it was nothing. She said that it was unexpectedly delicious.

Miyamoto: Delicious..... Hmm. I'd still prefer it to celery.

Takagi:  I'd completely take celery over that! (laughs)

--This is going off-topic, but would you be completely fine on that variety show staple - penalty games where you have to eat weird dishes?

Miyamoto: At penalty games, I don't really react in an entertaining way. I'll just mention, say, how bitter the tea was. (laughs)

Kanazawa: In a way, good-for-nothing. (laughs).

Yamaki Risa's 'Member I'd like to have as a girlfriend if I were a guy' ranking

More from this ranking series:

Tsugunaga Momoko: Member that I'd like to help with studies

Funaki Musubu: Member I'd like to go with an on-location shoot with

Yanagawa Nanami: Member I'd like to turn to for advice when I have problems

Morito Chisaki: 'Member I'd like to stay over with'

Inaba Manaka: 'Member I'd like to have as a boyfriend if they were a guy'

―― Well then, to keep up the suspense, we'll get to the first and sixth place at the end. So please start from the fifth place.

Yamaki　5th place is Funaki Musubu-chan! I gave this question some serious thought. Having put some serious thought into it... I couldn't imagine going out with a thirteen year old. In that sense, she's fifth.

―― I see. Well then, please go on to 4th place.

Yamaki　4th place is Morito Chisaki-chan.

Morito　Ehh!

Yamaki　This is... I think that this may have come as a bit of a surprise for a lot of people... If I had to put Chii in a role, I'd like to have her as a sister, a family member. Since she's innocent. If I was her boyfriend, I'd show her off. There are positives to that, but if pushed to say, I prefer that loving, sisterly mood, like 'Ah, you've done it again!' So, 4th.

―― Morito-san, what do you think? Being at fourth place. 

Morito　I'm a bit shocked! Because I thought I'd rank higher... Well, but family is closer than a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, right? And so, I get that Risa-chan thinks that she'd be fine with me being close-by... So, I'm like, whatever!

Yamaki　I'd like to have you near me!... I feel like you help keep me on solid ground.

Ozeki　Isn't that strange? isn't that what you'd call a pet...?

Inaba　Like you'd just want to keep on squeezing her.

Morito　I'm human, you know? A human being.

Momochi interview (Hello! Project Station #224)

Tsugunaga Momoko will be graduating from Country Girls as well as Hello! Project on the 30th of June.

We held an interview with her to look back on her 15 years of life as an idol.

Tsugunaga Momoko x ZYX

[On 'ZYX', her first unit after joining the Hello! Project Kids]

The members of ZYX were picked out from the older members of the Hello! Project Kids.
Well, while I was older, I was completely inexperienced in both dancing and singing.
I was completely left behind.
I worked hard at the practices, but I couldn't get to the required level.
So that spurred me on to work even harder.
More than anything, I got to work with Yaguchi Mari-san.
That was when I knew how great our senpai were.
Time has run its course, and several years have passed since then.
Now the roles are reversed - In Country Girls, I'm now in the position that Yaguchi Mari-san was in back then.
With the passage of time, I realise that she must have had a lot of deep thoughts about it.
I'm truly grateful to Yaguchi Mari-san, the senpai who taught me so much things back then.

Tsugunaga Momoko x Buono!

[Being picked as a member of Buono!]

I got called to the lesson studio and was told that Suzuki Airi-chan and Natsuyaki Miyabi-chan and I would be put in a group...
Well, both Airi and Miya are well known for their singing.
So I was like, 'Why me?'
But since we were told at the same time that it would be an anime tie-up, given my naturally high-pitched voice, I thought that I had been picked for my anime voice.
But when things unfolded, we were singing nothing but these hard rock songs...
I really... was concerned if I could sing them well.
But that made me like singing even more.
And a lot of Buono! songs made people like my singing as well.
So it's really... hmm, hmm... Huge to me.

Country Girls feat. Maimi Yajima (℃-ute) Original Photo Book (UTB+ vol 36 Mar 2017)

Yanagawa Nanami

I'd like to go to the gym and build up my muscles

My lifestyle took a huge turn once I joined Country Girls. Up until then, going to school was my routine. But with the addition of work, I got to go all around the country for events, I got to eat all sorts of things for the first time, I got to feast my eyes on many sights, it's all added to myself. And hiking up Mount Fuji undoubtedly left a huge impression on me. As hard as it was to deal with such a huge goal, it left me with a great sense of achievement. Last year, I got to play the sax in 'Namida no Request' and appear on Pokemon shows. This year, I'd like to leverage even more of my interests and skills in my work. I'd like to go to the gym and build up my muscles so that it'll have a good influence on my performances. When I'd first joined, I was immediately paired with Momochi-senpai for the filming of the MV for 'Boogie Woogie Love'. It made me happy when she asked me 'Are you having fun, being in Country?' As she was giving me her attention, I felt comfortable talking to Momochi-senpai. I get so nervous with Yajima-san that I haven't really talked with her. She's awe-inspiring, she's a beauty, she exudes this brilliant aura. I'd like to become like her. There's still the 'HinaFes' in March, so I hope to talk with her a little there.

Funaki Musubu

I'll work hard at my studies even after Momochi-senpai has graduated!

Last year, I got closer to the members, and have been going out increasingly more with them during our private time. I met up with Ozeki-san at eight in the morning to go and watch a horror movie. That was fun, the two of us watched it through the gaps in our fingers. (laughs) I think I've improved at talking on-stage. At first, even coming up with a topic was already hard enough, but I've gotten more and more used to it. Now I'm able to talk in detail about trivial things. I enjoy doing the talk segments while letting my inner self show. And I'll be taking exams this year, so even after Momochi-senpai graduates, I'll like to keep firm and properly study. When I was doing my first recording after having joined, I was a nervous wreck. But Momochi-senpai wished me luck. At the time, I couldn't believe that she had talked to me, I was so happy. What I remember about Yajima-san is when ℃-ute-san did a Christmas event. In that event, they discussed a survey filled by the Kenshuusei. After mulling over how to answer the question, 'What is scary about ℃-ute?', I wrote and sent in 'Yajima-san's smile is so beautiful that it's scary'. And it wasn't taken in a positive light. I got found out since I put my name down as FM-san. (laughs) I'd like to tell her that it was a misunderstanding. I meant it in the best of ways!

℃-ute in Big One Girls (No. 039)

- You're breaking up.... Did you ever consider not actually going through with the breakup?

Hagiwara: Rather than wanting to halt the breakup, for us, it's more like...

Suzuki & Hagiwara (in harmony): Are we really breaking up....?

Hagiwara: It hasn't really hit us yet. Our conversations are often like 'Huh? The way things are going...... are we really breaking up?'

Okai: I think that we might only feel it like a few days before Saitama Super Arena. But things might get crazy when there's like three days left.

- It'll hit you all out of the blue?

Okai: Yeah. We won't know how it'll feel like until it happens. It was the same with our debut. It feels like how things felt at the very start [when we made the graduation announcement].

- Have you been told that it feels like such a waste for you to break up?

Suzuki: We've been told that. The fans have protested against it, saying that they're opposed to our breakup~!!

Yajima: However, it instead makes me happy to be told that it's such a waste for ℃-ute to break up. It pushes me to show them something that's even more thought out.

- You're really approaching your breakup in a great mood, aren't you? When did you feel that the bonds between the five of you had strengthened?

Yajima: For me, it was our first Nippon Budokan......

Hagiwara: Me too.

Okai: Yeah.

Suzuki: Yup.

Nakajima: Me too.

Yajima: The path to the Nippon Budokan united our feelings. Every time we were out of town, we would gather up at someone's room and stay up talking about how to make the Nippon Budokan a success. That felt like the prime of our lives, like '℃-ute's the best!!' (laughs)

Hagiwara: It wasn't the first time, but the Nippon Budokan had been established as a united goal, and we were dealing with it seriously. And the Nippon Budokan also made me realise that people can concentrate so passionately on a single thing.

- That said, to break up in such a good condition, it's such a waste...

Yajima: We've always said that we'd hate to just fizzle out after getting to a place where we were satisfied. Since we've said that, I'm grateful that we'll be seeing the end at the Saitama Super Arena, a place that the five of us have dreamed of.

- You released your '℃omplete single collection' on the 3rd of May, a best-of album which contains all your singles. But it's also a reminder that the clock is ticking. As members of the group, how do you feel, releasing a complete single collection?

Nakajima: While I think that it's really great that we get to release an album like that, it also does serve as a reminder that the curtain is finally closing on ℃-ute.

Okai: When Berryz Kobo released their complete album, I looked at it objectively, like 'Ah, it's the last...' I knew that the day would come for us someday. And now, we're in that position. It was a bit scary to think that once this album got released, there'd be no more albums, no more new songs.

- Though you did want to leave behind this sort of complete album package.

Yajima: That's right. Doing it this way reminds us of what a long history ℃-ute has, of how many songs we've released! It's not a complete record of everything, but I'm really glad that we got to leave behind something in this form.

Hagiwara: There's also three new songs in it, so I'm glad that we can show you a new ℃-ute again at the very end.

Suzuki: What's more, I think that it's nice how there are all the coupling songs on [the regular edition], as well as rare tracks. I really remember 'Yuki ga Chirari', and I remember even the dance lessons for 'Come Together (℃-ute ver.)' and 'Juliet Juliet'. ℃-ute fans won't be able to attain full completion unless they get their hands on this album! So I hope that you check it out.

Juice=Juice Miyamoto Karin 'I am an angel'

We have a direct face-off with Juice=Juice, a Hello! Project idol group that just released their new single 'Jidanda Dance / Feel! Kanjiru yo' on the 26th of April.

Firstly, please introduce yourself to the readers! Tell us something about yourself that you would like the readers to pay attention to!

Miyamoto Karin: I often say this myself - I am an 'angel'.

Takagi Sayuki: Hey, stop that~

Miyazaki Yuka: Are you all right? This is our first time working with this publication... (anxious look on her face)

Miyamoto: It's all right! I'm in this to bring smiles to the faces of lots of people. I'd like to become a person who can heal those around me just by being there. So, I'd like to further refine my cuteness! Please keep an eye on me, to see how much I'll grow from now on!

Kanazawa Tomoko: I want you to watch how I move my hips while I'm dancing. My goal for the year is to polish my seductiveness. So I'm studying up on how to move and swing my hips. I'm working on increasing the range of my hip motions. So I hope you won't take your eyes off me at concerts.

Miyazaki Yuka: I often get told that I'm a vixen. So I'd like to treasure that 'cute and cunning' genre that I find myself in!

Takagi: I love singing, so I want to become good enough that I'll be acknowledged even by myself. At the moment, I'm not at the level where anyone listening to me would say that I'm good, so I should try to learn more things. I'd like to grow in that way, so I hope that people will observe that.

Uemura: I'm currently growing out my bangs, so I want you to observe that! Pay attention to my bangs!

Country Girls (CD Journal Feb 2017)

Tsugunaga-san, this might be the last time you'll be appearing in this magazine.

Yanagawa: Huh~

Tsugunaga: Oh my! So, about that front cover......

Everyone: Ahahaha!

And with that, I think it would be nice if things moved along as usual.

♥♥♥

So when you go out for meals, it's normally Tsugunaga-san who extends the invitation? Is it difficult to ask her out without some sort of underlying reason?

Yamaki: Actually, there isn't a problem with inviting her out without any reasons. But I find it difficult. I can't just ask a great-senpai out for a meal without a reason. The other day, the two of us went for mushroom nabe. I felt like having some, but it turned out that the others weren't big fans of mushrooms when I asked them. I didn't want to drag along people who weren't really fond of mushrooms, so I asked Momochi-senpai whether she'd like to have mushroom nabe. She was okay with that, and she was fine with me asking her out. I was actually really shocked by the fact that there weren't any problems with me asking her out for a meal on a private basis. And though we happily headed to the store, (looks at Tsugunaga) she turned peevish.

Tsugunaga: I was really happy that Risa-chan extended an invitation to me. It's not uncommon for me to have a meal with the kouhai, but the invitation would generally come from me. That was the first time that Risa-chan had asked me out, so I was on cloud nine as we headed to the store, with a spring to my step. I was even having fun picking things out from the menu. But then I got embarrassed at how excited I was. Could it be that perhaps Risa-chan had something to discuss with me? Now that my graduation's set in stone, she'll become the oldest in the group, so I wondered if there was some sort of problem concerning the group.

Like she may have wanted to ask you something.

Tsugunaga: That's right. I was wondering if there was something she wanted to bring up. To find out if she wanted to talk with about something, I asked her why she'd invited me out. And so it turned out that it was because none of the other members liked mushrooms that much. I was like 'Huh?' (laughs) I'd been chosen via the process of elimination. And what's more, she added that nabe isn't something she could order without at least 2 people.

Yamaki: I couldn't go alone. (laughs)

Tsugunaga: Isn't that horrible!

I'd have thought that Tsugunaga-san would have been the first person to ask. (laughs)

Yamaki: And that's where we differ. I didn't think that it would be all right to ask Momochi-senpai out without a reason. If I'd told her that I just invited her for some vague reason or the other, it'd be awkward.

Tsugunaga: You could've just said that you wanted to have a meal with me.

All: That's right!

Tsugunaga: You just happened to want mushroom nabe, and I happened to be the only person who was convenient, right?

Yamaki: ...Well, that's true, you happened to fit the bill. That is a fact. (laughs) The big takeaway I got from this huge incident was that it's fine to invite Momochi-senpai out just because I want to have a meal with her. So I'd like to ask her out for more meals until her graduation.

H!P Battle without Honour and Humanity - S/mileage x Juice=Juice (Top Yell Sept 2013)

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What impression did you have of Miyamoto-san when she was in the Eggs?

Fukuda: She was really tiny when she joined us, like someone's little sister, and she was super cute. The both of us really liked strawberries, so I gave her my 'Strawberry Soul' T-shirt.

Miyamoto: I've worn that T-shirt so much that those words have faded. It's currently in my loft at home!

Takeuchi-san, you were in the H!P Kenshuusei until 2011, so your tenure overlapped, didn't it?

Takeuchi: Karin is one year my junior, and joined the H!P Eggs about half a year after me, so she was the closest to me. We acted together in plays, and we had many opportunities to sing together at concerts and recitals during our tenure as Kenshuusei. Back then, she was way smaller than me, but now she's overtaken me......

Miyamoto: Am I taller?

Takeuchi: You are, you are~

Miyamoto: No way. How many centimeters are you?

Takeuchi: 154cm?

Miyamoto: We're about the same.

Fukuda: No, I'm sure that Take-chan's 153 cm (laughs).

Takeuchi: Well, it's not that different though (laughs).

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Besides her height, in what other ways has [Miyamoto-san] grown?

Takeuchi: Karin's been good at singing ever since she joined the Kenshuusei, so I lose to her in that!

Miyamoto: But when I joined the Eggs, Takeuchi-san's dancing looked super energetic, and she was really quick at remembering the dance moves, so I really admired her. She'd have them properly remembered by the time the next lesson rolled around, and she'd be telling us how to do it.

Fukuda: Take-chan's getting self-conscious (laughs).

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A proclamation from the final successor to the 'Momochi-isms'? Country Girls' Funaki Musubu, who used to always put on a mask, talks about her 'worries'...

[Original interview published 2017-01-31]

Funaki Musubu-chan, entrusted with the 'Momochi-isms'

We finally arrived at the last, seventh person for the 2017 'ShuuPure News interview series with this year's "High potential Idols we're keeping an eye on"'!

'Momochi' Tsugunaga Momoko-san announced that she would be graduating in June 2017. Appearing in this final instalment is an assassin from 'Country Girls', the group Momochi is attached to! It's Funaki Musubu-chan!

Her cute looks are likely to catch the eye, but Musubu-chan has also been entrusted with the 'Momochi-isms'--- Not your run-of-the-mill beauty, is she??

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Well then, for 'ShuuPure News's selection of 7 idols that we're keeping an eye out for in 2017', we have the last person, number seven, Funaki Musubu-san! In these interviews, we dig deeper into the personality of the girl we've got our eye on, but in your case...

I put on a mask! (said clearly)

... You just go out and say it clearly! (laughs) Are you still acting innocent, even now?

Yes! I'm really putting on a mask! It's pulled down over my eyes. Even when I joined Country Girls, I was always on my guard. It was at the start of our tour when I shed it off. Before I knew it, I now speak in Kansai-ben in the middle of MCs, like I'm angry at something.

You are from Osaka, aren't you? So did you put on a mask when you were a kid?

If pushed to say, I was really forward when I was small, I could even talk to strangers.

Like Chie-chan, the protagonist in that old manga 'Jarinko Chie'. Something like that.

I've heard of it! I was often told that! People would say, 'Musubu-chan, you're like Chie-chan', and I'd be like 'Who?' (laughs) I'd just go and talk with all sorts of people. Even with old men whom I didn't know, I'd be like 'Listen~ I'm Musubu-chan. Did you know that~?' Also, there was a park near my home which had a stage. So I would go up on-stage while everyone was watching, and suddenly start singing and dancing Matsuura Aya-san's 'Yeah! Meccha Holiday'. So it's not like I was shy or putting on a false face.

Then it happened at some point in time... But wait a minute, you just pulled out Matsuura Aya-san's name, so have you always liked Hello! Project (the idol project that Morning Musume。 and Country Girls belong to) since you were small?

Originally, the anime 'Kirarin ☆ Revolution' aired when I was five or six. The heroine Tsukishima Kirari-chan was voiced by Kusumi Koharu-san, who was in Morning Musume。-san at the time. My mother told me that Morning Musume。's Kusumi Koharu-chan did the voice of Kirari-chan. And my mother likes Morning Musume。-san and H!P. When I was in my later years of kindergarten, she really let me watch their videos.

H!P fans from your parent's generation What elites! That's gifted education.

Heehee. (laughs) When I was small, I would make my own songs and lyrics in front of the mirror. I held singing programmes by myself in front of the mirror. I'm an only child, so the mirror was my friend. I'd sing in my own way, putting in what simple words I knew like 'Love' or 'Happy'. And I played all the roles, like the singers appearing on the show and the chairperson.

Excerpts from Kudo Haruka's interview in Top Yell May 2017

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Kudo: I'm not the kind of girl who can talk like Michishige-san, and it's not like I'd flourish on the variety circuit. So I asked myself: What can I do? When I thought about it, since I had received many opportunities to do gravure modelling for magazines and the like, at the Budokan, I made a statement that I would work hard as a visual member.

So that's how things started?

Kudo: I knew that there were many more members who were better at singing and dancing than I was. It'd take ages for me to overcome their skill. However, I don't have the time to spare. I had to get myself to the best possible condition in a short amount of time and become someone who stands out, and link it back even more with my work. Thinking about it, I've got nothing else but my looks. I resolved to be the person who would draw people's eyes whenever they took a glance at us.

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In Michishige-san and Tsugunaga Momoko-san's case, they became the butt of jokes by asking for it by saying things like 'I'm cute'. Compared to the two of them, I got a different impression from your declaration to move forward as a visual member.

Kudo: While I said that I'd be a visual member, I don't know how to retract that statement. (laughs) So I'm like, what should I do here? I couldn't turn it to a gag, people would say that I was halfheartedly asserting myself......  Actually, staff members have suggested to me that it'd be better to quit saying that. I was told that it was hard to make a comeback when I said it, since I was so serious. Or that unlike Ikuta (Erina), it couldn't be turned into a gag. Ikuta-san herself has commented that it's more of a joke when she says it compared to when I say it. Actually, it's more amusing for the audience when it's her.

However, wasn't your presence in the group gradually diminishing?

Kudo: And that's why I wasn't establishing a character or pulling a joke, the only thing I could do was seriously focus on improving my looks. When I said that I would lead in looks, I said it with the belief that words have power. Having put it into words, I now had the responsibility of staying true to my words.

Suzuki Airi - True Colours (Update Girls July 2016)

℃-ute celebrated the 11th anniversary of their formation this June. Suzuki Airi has continued to be an active member of the group the whole time. She turned 22 in April.

'Compared to the past, I get the impression that the themes and atmosphere of our songs have become really mature. Actually, as the years have gone by, all of us have gone past the age of twenty. If you were to ask us to perform with the same energy we had like when we did "Meguru Koi no Kisetsu" (2007) for example, it'd be difficult. We'd try, of course. (laughs) Thinking of it that way, it's because of how we are like now that we're able to perform our latest single, "Naze Hito ha Arasoundarou? / Summer Wind / Jinsei ha Step!"

Indeed, their three songs have the allure of a mature group that has gone beyond the idol framework: The calming, soulful pop of 'Naze Hito ha~' with its gospel tinge, the impressive, cool groove of 'Summer~', the fusion of swing jazz and electro in 'Jinsei ha~'. But the girls had no intention of shifting gears from so-called idols to a mature vocal & dance group. Instead, through the mature mood of these 3 songs from their latest single, they themselves realised that lying beneath their performances and at the root of their minds was that they want to be 'idols' until the very end.

'We can't forget how ℃-ute are as idols, I can't forget how Suzuki Airi is as an idol. Even if we built up personas, the fans would acknowledge us as idols. While things are different from how they were in our teens, it's not like we're forcing ourselves to appear mature. You could say that as idols, we're acting our age. I'd prefer naturally radiating an idolness that can only be produced by the ℃-ute of the present, the Suzuki Airi of the present.'

She tells us with a smile on her face that she believes that being an idol suits her. The reason for that suitability? It's because she possesses a certain trait within her.