Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 15: Tokunaga Chinami x Natsuyaki Miyabi

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Natsuyaki Miyabi

They have similar fashion senses and food preferences, and they even start getting hungry at the same time. These two close friends are the same age, and with their preferences at the front and centre of this discussion, they look back on the past ten years.

I get the feeling that the two of you really enjoy fashion. Have you gone shopping together before?

Tokunaga: We often do. We go to places like Harajuku and enter all sorts of stores. We tend to like the same clothes, so we also like to go to the same stores.

Natsuyaki: At stores, we'd both think about how we'd match the clothes, and on that note, we'd coordinate. Like what sort of clothes and accessories we'd use to bring out the style we'd like.

Tokunaga: Like we're store assistants (laughs). Whenever I hear any news about our favourite stores stocking new products, I'll generally get in touch with Miya immediately, and invite her to go the next day.

Natsuyaki: That's right, Chii will bring me along to stores that she'd like to recommend. She pretty knowledgeable about those things. She's very good at finding her way to them as well.

Tokunaga: If I see a store in a magazine that tickles my fancy, I like to look up where it is. I get all sorts of information from my sister who's two years older than me.

Natsuyaki: I circle the places that I'd like to go in the magazines I read as well, but it often doesn't materialise. Having done that, Chinami will know the store, so she's a real great help.

Tokunaga: That's important. Having properly made arrangements, I figure out how to fully utilise the limited time we have.

Natsuyaki: And so, things fit quite well. Chii makes the plans, and I'll just follow along. I don't really try on clothes, but I'll properly try things on on the days when I'm with Chii, who'll keep on telling me that it'll work. That's really helpful.

Did you always have an interest in fashion from way back?

Tokunaga: I always thought that Miya was fashionable, ever since we were small. When we first met, her hair was blonde, and she was wearing an in-fashion sun visor. It felt like she was a camisole-wearing, outgoing girl.

Natsuyaki: Chii has really changed. At the start, she wore rainbow trainers (laughs). She was so plain that if you were to see how she looked like now, you'd wonder what was up with her.

Tokunaga: When I was small, I generally liked colourful things (laughs).

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 22: Shimizu Saki X Tokunaga Chinami

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Shimizu Saki X Tokunaga Chinami

[First things first: Hello Project World has actually done a full translation of this interview. I feel that my meagre notes miss out on the extent of just how sidelined these two girls felt, so I highly recommend you check that out.

That said, here are my notes, for completion's sake. After all, gotta catch 'em all.]

♣♣♣

Just as there are people who are showered by the spotlight, there will also be people supporting them from the shadows. When it comes to the both of you, there have been a lot of times where you've been expected to play the supportive role.

Shimizu: After the joy of being picked for 'ZYX', I went to a sideline position in Berryz Kobo. In a stroke, I tasted sorrow.

♣♣♣

Shimizu: In our case, we'd generally be given solo singing parts in the second verse a lot of the time, but we'd end up not performing our solo lines on TV since we don't sing the second verse on music programmes. That's not the fault of TV stations, as the singing parts are allocated with the balance of the whole song in mind. I just went on and performed as I thought that nothing could be done about it. But as it went on happening, I thought that something was fishy. Was it okay for me to always be in a supporting role? Those thoughts built up and up, and the final point was at that rerecording of 'Otakebi Boy~'

How did you come to terms with your feelings, where circumstances didn't change despite working hard?

Shimizu: Just like Chinami, I thought that the most important thing was to enjoy myself. Being at the sidelines has its own merits, and there are people who don't suit being at the sidelines. If I were to be at the sidelines, then I should take joy from that position. Even if my hard work doesn't bear results, the fans would watch me. They'd tell me 'I was constantly watching you' or 'I'll watch you no matter where you go', which is plenty enough joy for me. And I recognised that I wasn't just stuck in this situation by myself, so I should do my best with what I've got. As there are people under the same circumstances, we'd work hard together.

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 49: Tokunaga Chinami X Suzuki Airi

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Suzuki Airi

Both Suzuki and Tokunaga resent our theme 'The 2 who don't meet deadlines'!?
It seems that the both of them have their own excuses and things that they're particular about......

Suzuki: I looked at today's theme and came here today to object! The only thing I'm late with are illustration-related things, right?

Tokunaga: Yeah! It's just that it very much seems like we're the kinds that miss deadlines.... That's probably it (laughs)

Forgive me for that (laughs).

[Omitted: Discussion about doing illustrations, and the pens they use to speed up the process]

Are there things for which you can't manage to to meet the deadlines for in the end?

Suzuki: There are. I'm told that for Shop goods, mine are the only ones that don't appear. At one period of time, I was super busy that I forgot about the existence of the file that had all the things that I needed to illustrate, and I didn't look at it for about a month. When I was asked about it, I really reflected on it, thinking about what the fans would think...

Tokunaga: I've got a story as well! I had handed mine in. But when the final product was made, embarrassingly, I found out that I had written a word wrongly. We fixed it in a rush, but in the end, there were some delays before the corrected version could go on sale. And those products were to be sold at a Shop event, but only my product was unavailable, which surprised people.

I see. It's not that the 2 of you lack enthusiasm, you just want to do things properly when you start on them.

Tokunaga: We're too particular.

Suzuki: And we'll do them when it's time to do them. During the movie 'Ousama Game', I completed about one month's worth of illustrations during the shooting. Since I had a role where I didn't talk with anyone, I'd do the illustrations on my own in my spare moments. When I informed my manager-san about it, my manager-san clapped, impressed with me (laughs).

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 03: Tsugunaga Momoko x Tokunaga Chinami

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tsugunaga Momoko X Tokunaga Chinami

☻☻☻

First of all, why are you said to be on bad terms with one another?

Tokunaga: We did a radio programme when we were still small (JOQR 'Berryz Kobo Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!') All of us spoke from our core, Momo as well, with her inner cutesy character, that's not it....

Tsugunaga: My merits, my merits.

Tokunaga: She talked using her merits, but I hated it when she put on that facade, so we would end up seemingly clashing. What's more, debates were held on that radio programme, and we both would say what we wanted to say, so the fans started to think that we were on bad terms.

Tsugunaga: Even on TV, lots of people would ask us whether we got along, and we'd just reply that we get along normally.

Tokunaga: Your run-of-the-mill idols would probably try appeal to the audience by declaring their friendship, but we're be like, 'Nah, it's nothing out of the ordinary (laughs)'.

Tsugunaga: But whatever she says, Chinami likes me, right?

Tokunaga: That's what I hate about you.

You really said it (laughs).

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 60: Tokunaga Chinami x Hagiwara Mai

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Hagiwara Mai

↨↨↨

Tokunaga: Mai, you've got your original characters that you made yourself, right?

Hagiwara: They're characters named '"Hagio" and "Hagiko"', and I think I draw them at times when I'm troubled (laughs). [...] Chii, you use a lot of colours [to illustrate photos], it's amazing.

Tokunaga: I prefer things to be colourful, so I've got to be careful about using too much colours when it comes to painting. And I don't end up using similar types of colours like blue and aqua either, like if I've done something in blue, then I'll go for pink or orange, I'll find something to match the subject colour in a way that stands out.

Hagiwara: Your sense of colour is amazing. On the other hand, for me, I have no idea if one colour goes with another. I only know of safe colour combinations, I can't take risks. Airi often uses pink and brown, but I didn't know that pink and brown could go so well together, I was like 'Ah, that's great' (laughs).

↨↨↨

Do the 2 of you have any common memories from when you were small?

Tokunaga: When we were in the Hello! Project Kids, Mai and me and Miya referred to one another with a 'chan' appended to our names. But at some point in time, we talked about no longer using the 'chan' - but it still stuck. So we ended up declaring that anyone who used 'chan' would have to pay 100 yen.

Hagiwara: And it seriously ended up working. You really can get things done if you get serious (laughs). But I wonder what led to us saying such a thing? I guess we wanted to be even closer as friends.

What impression did you have of one another at the time?

Hagiwara: I thought that Chii was highly excitable.

Tokunaga: Mai was the youngest, so she was just Mai-chan, everyone's little sister.

Hagiwara: Chii could shape the mood. Once before, I alone was on a bus with Berryz Kobo, and Chii made cracks at everyone at the time, which I thought was amusing.

Tokunaga: Eh, what did I do at that time?

Hagiwara: You invited everyone to play shiritori.

Tokunaga: Ah. I like shiritori. But the rest find it a pain, so they'll be like 'Right, right, "zukan" (dictionary)', and it'd end just like that, so I'd attempt to bounce back with a word that starts with an 'n' (laughs).

Hagiwara: ℃-ute is funny in a different atmosphere. Also, what I think when we perform live together, is that Berryz Kobo have like an aura.

Tokunaga: We don't have any such aura.

Hagiwara: I guess you could say it's like you've got a high level of professional awareness, and all of you stand out in a good way, you have your own unique characteristics.

↨↨↨

Tokunaga: All of Berryz Kobo are uncoordinated, we do as we please, so even when we're told to assemble, we don't (laughs). But that comes out in our dancing as well, and we end up really going all over the pace, which is no good. 

↨↨↨

You both came from the same H!P Kids. How do you think things would have turned out if the two of you had switched places?

Tokunaga: I feel like I'd still be like how I am now, even in ℃-ute. I feel like I wouldn't change.

Hagiwara: It might turn out the other way, like because of your influence, the others would change (laughs). If I were in Berryz Kobo...... I can't imagine it. While I thought that it was great that they were able to become part of a group when they made their major debut, with the difference between their ages and mine, everyone in Berryz Kobo would be way more grown up, so I feel like I'd only burden them. 

Tokunaga: But Mai, you have this amazing ability to bring out huge bursts of laughter at MCs. Whatever you say will never fall flat. You're funny.

More interview excerpts from this book

Dance teacher SHE-sensei comments on the Berryz members - CDJournal Mar 2015

――We would like to ask sensei about the impressions you had while you were watching each and every member。

I guess we'll go by order of age.

Captain (Shimizu Saki) is serious.
Even from our first meeting, she'd ask for review sessions after we finished with rehearsals,
And despite being small, we had discussions about the things she was unclear on,
While we had conflicts at times, she's always been serious since back then.

I think that she's a good girl, be it at work or in her private life,
But roughly when she was a senior high student......
She became unexpectedly funny (laughs).
Doing funny faces and using a weird way of speaking, she liked funny things.
She discovered that aspect at the end of her teenage years though.
Since then, I've often messed around with Captain (laughs).
It's just that, her comicality doesn't really show on-stage, does it?
I think that it's not that she doesn't want to bring it out,
But it doesn't appear because she's in charge of all sorts of things.

Momo (Tsugunaga Momoko) is as she is.
That's probably everyone's impression of her.
She's got a high level of professionalism.
While I thought she was just a 'burikko' when she was small,
I think that she probably understands what the guests want the most,
And she studied up in order to understand them.

Recently, the girls have been proposing parts of their setlists at concerts and events,
But it's mostly led by Momo.
Like, how they'd like the stage direction to go.
She's not just making a fuss and having fun, she properly thinks it through.
But while it doesn't mean that the way she presents herself is just 'for business',
It normally does seem that way (laughs).

Also, I like Momo's butt. It's like pudding.
Let me talk about an amusing memory I have concerning her butt:
There was a time when her body was still expanding and growing a little.
As she was sitting down in a lady-like manner,
The back of her sweats ripped with a great sound. (laughs)
Her face went completely red. We had a great big laugh at that.

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Tokunaga Chinami x Okai Chisato

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Okai Chisato

千千千千千

Chisato-chan, is there any type of food that you can eat any amount of, like how Chinami-chan can eat any amount of soba?

Okai: I like spicy foods or food that tastes rich, so I'd be able to do that with food like Korean soup. The side menus at various yakiniku stores are really delicious,  and I'll have all the mini-sized varieties. Negi shio ramen, galbi gukbap, vegetable soup, chilled noodles, negi tamago gohan, I'll eat all of those. I can change by 3 kilos if I've been eating meat for a day.

Tokunaga: Korean cuisine is yummy. When Berryz Kobo went to Korea before, the 7 of us ate 20 people's worth of bulgogi. 

Okai: That sounds nice~. I'd like to eat throughout the year. When it comes to delicious stores, my desire to go drop by several of them in one day gives me so much energy. I'd like to eat continuously. I love it!

Tokunaga: There's lots of food at Disneyland, so I really eat on the move whenever I go. Like spring rolls, pizza, and chicken!

Okai: OMG, they're all delicious!

Tokunaga: I'd buy 3 varieties of popcorn as the main course, then I'd put chicken into the opened packaging and nosh on it while lining up for attractions (laughs). I love having fun while eating, so Disneyland truly is the Land of Dreams to me. When I go to Disneyland, just my expenses on food can go to 10,000 yen. 

Okai: Normally it'd amount to 10,000 yen with tickets and souvenirs, wouldn't it? It's amazing to spend 10,000 yen on food only!

Tokunaga: Yup, it disappears in no time.

The scale seems to be getting bigger as we go along (laughs). Have the 2 of you always been big eaters since the past?

Okai: When we made our debut as the Hello! Project Kids, I didn't really eat that much. It was about last year when I started feeling that I could really eat, and then I immediately started eating.

Tokunaga: I've always been eating a lot since I was small, and as a child, I was chubby. Looking at photos from back then, they're all photos of me eating. Like eating a crepe, eating ice cream, eating shibatsuke. That hasn't changed, even now (laughs).

Okai: But how are you so slim? You've got such a great figure.

Tokunaga: I don't really do anything in particular. Weighing myself is such a pain that I don't bother. 

Okai: I get the shivers when I go to weigh myself. When I myself think that I'm in the danger zone, the fans that have been around from way back will also tell me 'You're putting on weight, so be careful'.

Tokunaga: The heck is up with that? If someone told me that, I'd be like 'Back off!'

Okai: How cool (laughs)!

Tokunaga: I really hate it when people tell me that my physique is like this or that. Even when our manager-san tells me 'You've gotten fat', in my mind, I'm thinking 'Hang on...'

Well, that's the manager's job though (laughs).

Tokunaga: I know that it's their job, and that they're saying it for my sake, but before those thoughts come to mind, I immediately think 'Why do you have to put it that way?'

千千千千千

Tokunaga: At the recent BeriKyuu concert ('Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute Collabo Concert Tour 2011 Autumn ~BeriKyuu Island~'), I thought that you sang with your whole body. You were singing and dancing full throttle, and it was amazing how your body was full of power. At the concert, you sang 'Romantic Ukare Mode' solo, and the whole venue got pumped up. I really felt the energy radiating from you.

Okai: That makes me happy. Those kinds of stories rarely get talked about, so it makes me rally happy~

千千千千千

Okai: I listen to more songs sung by men rather than by women, so I aim to bring out my voice strongly like how guys do it. Depending on how you listen to it, it might sound messy, as I'm unable to immediately connect my breaths, but I feel that a strong voice might be easier to listen to. I do think about breath management though.....

Tokunaga: Miya and Airi have this feminine gracefulness to them, but perhaps because you listen to male vocals, you've got a lot of spirit, which makes for a different performance.

千千千千千

More interview excerpts from this book

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Yajima Maimi x Tokunaga Chinami

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations.

Yajima Maimi X Tokunaga Chinami

Do you remember the first time you met at the auditions?

Yajima: I remember it well. Don't you?

Tokunaga: Not to that extent (laughs).

Yajima: We were behind the panels, about to go on-stage, when you appeared from somewhere, spinning your arms, and saying 'This is nerve-wracking, isn't it!' (laughs). But since I was more shy than nervous, the fact that you were speaking to me was a great relief.

Tokunaga: We were together at the final auditions, but the only thing I remember was that Maimi was before me (laughs).

Yajima: For Chii, that was you operating as usual (laughs). And then we got to talking, and it turned out that we both liked Shimura Ken-san. Then we gradually became friends, while doing impersonations together (laughs).

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Tokunaga Chinami x Kumai Yurina

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Kumai Yurina

I don't feel it's the case right now, but were you said to be similar in the past?

Kumai: People did say that. Then we were put into the 'Toku-san Kumai-san' pairing,  where the two of us sang and read out poems.

Tokunaga: At the start, we were always together at tours. At the concerts we did with W-san ('2004 Summer First Concert Tour "W Standby! W & Berryz Kobo!"', '2005 Summer W & Berryz Kobo Concert Tour "High Score!"'), we sang 'Aa Ii na' and 'Robokiss'.

Kumai: We were called something like 'Dekkai W' (Huge W) (laughs).

Tokunaga: However, we didn't really know that we resembled one another. But one day, when I went to McDonalds, I didn't notice that I was being reflected on a mirror, and I said, 'Ah, Kumai-chan, good morning~', and was like 'Eh?' (laughs).

Kumai: It's been a while since I heard that story (laughs).

It's quite the humorous incident (laughs).

Tokunaga: That was the first time that I thought we resembled one another.  My mother who was behind me had a good laugh watching it. 'Why are you waving at the mirror?' (laughs).

ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ

Tokunaga: Indeed, it's amusing to say that we're similar, but it also meant that we lacked individuality. After we had done it to death, the 2 of us gradually stopped being paired once I cut my hair short.

Now, the 2 of you are different types.

Kumai: That's right, we're different in height as well (laughs).

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Tokunaga Chinami x Sudo Maasa

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Sudo Maasa

Though they enjoy pranks, the 2 of them are polar opposites in both personality and actions.

What happens when that Tokunaga and Sudo each look back on 10 years of being together with one another?

When I was looking for common points between the two of you, I found out that the 2 of you enjoy pranks.

Tokunaga: I like fun things (laughs).

Sudo: Eh, I can understand that for Chinami, but me!? But it's probably because I do feel up people's butts on-stage (laughs)

Maasa-chan, molesting (laughs)? Given your personality, it's kind of unexpected. Well then, how did the 2 of you first meet?

Sudo: Actually, during the 4th stage of the 'Hello! Project Kids Auditions', we met at the washroom (laughs). Chinami-chan and Momochi talked to me about a lot of things, but since I was shy, I couldn't reply.

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Tokunaga Chinami x Nakajima Saki

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations of them. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Tokunaga Chinami X Nakajima Saki

I think that girls look up to the 2 of you for your great figures, but have you always had such great figures since you were small?

Nakajima: No, I was fat when we were in the Hello! Project Kids. Airi was fat too, and I remember us saying things like 'The chubby alliance',  or 'It's fine to be fat though. Let's eat!' (laughs).

Tokunaga: Really? I don't really remember you being chubby at the time though.

Nakajima: Chinami-chan's figure was always good since back then. More accurately, you haven't changed. My image of you is that you had slender limbs since that time. Like you played sports.

Tokunaga: I played badminton at the time, and in my 4th year of primary school. I got 3rd place at a prefectural tournament. I got that 3rd place the day before I got into the H!P Kids, those 2 days were the peak of my life.

Nakajima: That's quite early for the peak of your life though (laughs).

Tokunaga: But for me, speaking seriously, I eat ramen in the middle of the night.

Nakajima: Chinami-chan, inherently, you don't put on weight even if you eat. Even if you do eat, it doesn't stick on your flesh.

Tokunaga: That's not the case, I do think that my face gets plump, but I'm like 'Whatever!' (laughs).

VVV

Nakajima: It's easy to tell for Leader [that she's put on weight]  because it shows in her face, but it goes all over my body for me, so it's difficult to tell, and it gets crazy. Our manager-san told me 'Nakajima's gotten bigger than the rest around her' (laughs).

By the way, at which sorts of times is it easier for you to put on weight?

Nakajima: Summer, unexpectedly. We move around a lot in summer, so we often eat outside. On the other hand, I'm bad with the winter cold, so it's fine because I go home straight though.

VVV

For Saki-chan, do you diet?

Nakajima: I do it when all of ℃-ute does it. ℃-ute eats the same things together almost every day, so the times when we're fat and the times when we lose weight are generally the same. The one time when all of us were at our peak was the time when our manager-san was dieting together with us. But it definitely is easier to succeed when everyone's doing it. By yourself, you'd lose to temptation and eat though.

[Omitted: Discussion about them getting complicated outfits that only they can pull off thanks to their figures.]

Nakajima: Also, recently we've had some really exposing outfits, and my tummy looked like it was popping out, so I asked 'Could you cover the tummy a bit more?', but it was rejected with a 'Because the lines look nicer that way' (laughs).

Tokunaga: And, what did you do about that?

Nakajima: I just left it as it was. Since I wanted to dance at 100%, I danced without heeding it, but I felt that it was inexcusable for the girls who had become fans 'because you've got a great figure'.

Tokunaga: But you can't dance if you don't eat your meals. You can't move on an empty stomach, right?

Nakajima: While of course it makes me happy to be cheered on by the male fans, cheers from girls are a great source of strength. At handshake events, being told by girls that 'You've got a great figure, I really respect you', you feel like you have to do your best. Guys have told me 'You've gotten sexy' when I get chubby though.

Tokunaga: Recently, there's suddenly been an influx of girls at handshake events, and a lot of them tell me 'You've got really slender legs'. With my legs being observed that much, recently I've been making my legs the highlight of my dressing (laughs). I'd study up on things like the best length for a skirt to make them look pretty, and I've kind of understood it recently.

---You go on diets, you study up on appearances, you're working hard in the background, aren't you?

Tokunaga: The eyes of the female fans and the pressure of outfits, those are 2 big things (laughs).

Nakajima: I feel that ℃-ute's outfits are particularly unsparing. Before this, we had a song entitled 'Kiss Me Aishiteru', and the outfits were like spats and inner-wear.

Tokunaga: I think that only ℃-ute could have pulled that off.

Nakajima: It gave us a shock the first time we saw them (laughs). And, at the PV shooting, since our midriffs were bare, all of us only had wakame seaweed soup. But because it went on until late at night, we were like 'Whatever!' and ate oden though (laughs), but we did our best with wakame soup at first.

Tokunaga: That must have been really tough~.

VVV

Click here for more interview excerpts from this book.