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.

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 58: Yajima Maimi 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.

Yajima Maimi X Suzuki Airi

The two of them have come out with numerous solo photobooks.

Suzuki with her producer's perspective, and Yajima who's still trying to get a grip on things.

That relationship between the two of them comes to light.

Five books from Yajima-san, and eight from Suzuki-san. Given your ages, it suggests a fairly frequent run of publications, so we would like to have a discussion focused on photobooks. Firstly, your very first photobooks came out at roughly the same time.


Yajima: They were about a month apart. Airi's had a shot of her in front of sakura blossoms for the front cover.

Suzuki: That photobook was taken roughly just after my primary school graduation ceremony, and I was so slim. I was nothing but skin and bones (laughs). Maimi-chan, yours was before you entered your first year of senior high, and you were really cute. Like you would just be drinking juice, and yet you looked so cute! (laughs). I wanted it, so my mum bought it for me.

Yajima: No way (blushes). Airi, you're really good at expressing yourself, and whatever the look on your face, it's always at its best. Your idol-like winking face is really cute, and you can also pull off sad faces, where you look like an abandoned dog. It makes me want to pick you up and take care of you. I find it fascinating.

Do both of you get themes for when the photos are being taken?

Yajima: From the very start, I've always been bad at being shot in photos, I'd get too aware of my photo being taken that the shots would end up looking really unphotogenic. But themes are relaxing, and recently I've felt that the variation in my facial expressions is lacking. When I mentioned it to my manager, that manager suggested that I try acting it out. So now I think that I'll use that as my theme.

Suzuki: That's good. For me, ever since I entered my first year of senior high, I've been given a story for the shooting of the photobook. It was a change from how things had been up to then, where I'd get instructions like 'Laugh', 'Be sad', 'Try eating something'. But as there was a story, I would go through the shooting as the girl in that story, so we'd get shots of all sorts of natural expressions.

Yajima: That's true. When I look at your photos, I can really tell how you're acting. Like what's happening, or based on how you look, you'd just said something like this. It's amazing how it's possible to read the situation or the background through your expressions.

Yajima Maimi: Hitori no Kisetsu - A season to myself (UTB October 2016)

As Hello! Project Leader, Maimi-san exudes an air of dignity. After one year, another photobook of hers will go on sale! For this photobook, we ventured off to a different location for the first time - Taiwan. With its unique streets and temperature... We discover a new Maimi-san!!

I'd like to have a special event for my 10th photobook!!

We've finally hit photobook number nine!

'Thank you very much!! I've been putting one out every year since I was fifteen...... I'm grateful to the fans and the members of staff'

How was your first shoot in Taiwan?

'I remember enjoying myself and laughing all the time. While the other members went back after our concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan, I was the only one remaining in Taiwan, shooting the photobook. Thanks to that, I was able to have my fill of good grub, and completely enjoy Taiwan! I feel like I should apologise to the members (laughs)'

You had that much free time despite the photobook shooting!?

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 65: Yajima Maimi 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.

Yajima Maimi X Hagiwara Mai

The two of them are as close as sisters, but Yajima's not holding the oneesan role, Hagiwara is? Kicking off from that, they look back on their 10 years together.

I think that you've always been close, but recently it seems like Mai-chan's the oneesan, while Maimi-chan's the imouto.

Hagiwara:  Is that how things seem~ (laughs). Maimi-chan's the older one, so I think of her as the oneechan though.

Yajima: You were still completely tiny back then, so I'd dish up meals for you when it was time to eat. I wanted to give you anything you wanted. As the youngest at home, I'd always wanted a younger sibling, so I was glad to become an oneesan. But as we grew up, it's like I'm the one who's slowly getting babied (laughs). Lots of people have told me that I've become more childish after having hit the age of twenty. That's how it is.

Hagiwara: I was really pampered by Maimi-chan in the past (laughs). It was like I could do no wrong, since things would be fine with Maimi-chan by my side. I feel like I brought Maimi-chan along with me even when I went to the washroom (laughs).

Yajima: Hagi would always watch me whenever I put on my make-up.

Hagiwara: I'd often have fights with (Okai) Chisato when we were in the Hello! Project Kids, so I had Maimi-chan bring an end to those fights (laughs).

Yajima: I was asked to look over Hagi as she was the youngest, but I enjoyed looking after her. She really was like a little sister to me. As I had to keep a proper eye on her, we'd always stay together in the same room during overnight stops. I have some pictures from the past in an old mobile phone, and in photos taken during mealtimes, Hagi would definitely be next to me. When we had to stay overnight somewhere, I kind of felt like her mother, and took care of her as if she were my kid. I'd ask her to bathe with me and go to bed with me. Hagi alone is the member that I've gone to the extent of bathing with (laughs). 

I'd get her to even accompany me to the washroom (laughs)  by Mai

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 53: Yajima Maimi x Sugaya Risako

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.

Yajima Maimi X Sugaya Risako

This may sound rude, but I get the strong impression that the 2 of you forget lyrics. Are the two of you aware about this?

Sugaya: About five to six years ago, I'm sure that I forgot lyrics due to nervousness, but that hasn't been the case recently. Actually, I now have so much fun standing on-stage that I don't skip lines, but there are times when I slip up a little (laughs).

♫♫♫

Sugaya: In cases when I slip up, the usual pattern is that I'll feel something's off, even though I might not know what it is. It's only once I've finished singing that I'll realise I made a mistake. But since I've already sung that part, I feel like the only thing that I can do is switch it up next time, to show the fans a good performance. 

♫♫♫

Well, instead of songs, have there ever been times where you couldn't get your dance moves down?

Yajima: Previously, at ℃-ute's fan club bus tour, we had a set-up where we'd draw lots to see what song we would sing on that day. We thought about reviewing all of our songs since we'd have no idea what song would come out, but we had so many songs that I couldn't keep up. So I was the only one who didn't know my positioning on the day itself. Since at concerts, our positioning changes depending on the stage, I end up getting all mixed up.

Sugaya: But the others can remember theirs, right?

Yajima: Yup. So I really think that they're all amazing. 

Sugaya: I keep making mistakes until the last moment, but I can pull it off at the real thing.

Yajima: You're the kind of person who's strong when it comes to the real thing. That's nice. I envy you.

Sugaya: Since I can't pull it off at rehearsals, I panic, but I review the performance by watching the DVD before going to bed, and then I end up being able to do it at the real thing. 

♫♫♫

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 40: Yajima Maimi 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.

Yajima Maimi X Kumai Yurina

ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ

When I think about Maimi-chan and Kumai-chan, the only word that comes to mind is 'airhead'...... (laughs). Do the both of you think that you're of similar types?

Yajima: I've thought that recently. Kumai-chan is a cool beauty, so it feels like she's kind of difficult to approach. Even when the only thing she's doing is standing up, she looks so cool, so it's like she's a prickly girl. But she's actually laid-back (laughs). We had lots of BeriKyuu activities last year, and from then on, I thought of her as a girl with this airy feel to her.

That's quite recent, isn't it? What made you think that?

Yajima: At the BeriKyuu tour ('Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute Collab Concert Tour 2011 Autumn ~BeriKyuu Island~'), Kumai-chan often taught me the choreography, and her way of teaching was really airy (laughs). 

ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ

Kumai: I heard that Maimi was a real big airhead, so I thought that she would have an extraordinarily high level of airheadedness. 

Yajima: And that's coming from Kumai-chan (laughs).

Kumai: Like she doesn't realise when she makes mistakes, and she'll still go on doing the wrong thing at full throttle. Like even if you were to point out to her that she might be a bit off the mark, she'd ask back, 'What is it that I'm doing wrong?' while continuing to do it at full power (laughs). But that's also a good thing about Maimi. She does everything at max power, and I've never seen her cut corners.

Yajima: Skilful people might good at glossing over their mistakes, but since I make mistakes while rushing with all my strength, I can't gloss over them (laughs).

Maimi-chan is the types that rushes through, while Kumai-chan is calm and moves at her own pace. While you're airheads, there are slight differences.

Kumai: I'm told that I'm somehow inattentive. Even at MCs, while I'm just listening normally, I'll be asked if I'm listening, or they'd ask me if I could pay a bit more attention.

Yajima: I feel like that's something I've got in similar to Kumai-chan, which relieves me a little.

Kumai: Ah, I kind of understand.

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 23: Yajima Maimi 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.

Yajima Maimi X Sudo Maasa

╪╪╪

Besides your BeriKyuu activities, the 2 of you stand out as actors. Are you aware of one another in that field?

Sudo: I've managed to see almost all the productions that Maimi-chan has appeared in. It motivates me.

Yajima: I've seen all the productions that Maasa has appeared in as well. We've also appeared in plays and dramas together, but depending on the role, Maasa, you become a truly different Maasa, well, it's like you're no longer Maasa at all (laughs). Once you're acting, you completely discard things like being an idol. Like if you're playing a granny, you'd fully enter that role.

Sudo: In acting, the most enjoyable part is becoming a different person.

╪╪╪

Yajima: And now, I don't just enjoy acting, but I also enjoy watching dramas.

Sudo: Ah, I know what you mean! Watching someone play a part, you think, 'I'd do that in this way', and you'd want to try it out. At home, I often enjoy myself by repeating the lines in my own way (laughs). In addition to watching dramas, trying them out is another way to enjoy them, so it adds to the ways we can  enjoy them.

╪╪╪

You're of different types, but but in a good way, you're both aware of one another, so doesn't it feel like you're rivals? Looking at one another, could you tell us what's the greatest impression you have of one another?

Yajima: For a drama, Maasa was told by the director-san that she was to cry at a certain part, and the scene was being shot out of order, and yet, no matter how many times she had to cry, she was able to do so properly. At the time, I was impressed, she truly was an actress.

Sudo: During 'Sengoku Jieitai', Maimi-chan was really serious, and when there was a scene where it went to blows, and she really hit with a bam! But I remember it feeling good since we were doing it together.

╪╪╪

What do you feel about one another, personality-wise?

Yajima: Maasa's really level-headed, she like a mother who can properly bring people together, which is something that I lack.

╪╪╪

The 2 of you are good rivals at the moment, but did you have any sort of relationship between one another when you made your debut?

Yajima: When we were in the Hello! Project Kids, we didn't really have that many opportunities to talk.

Sudo: I was particularly shy, so I guess that I didn't really talk. What got us started really was acting. I found out that Maimi-chan had appeared in many plays, and she lent me DVDs, so we were able to talk about acting.

Yajima: Like 'Have you seen this movie?' But when we're doing plays together, we have good discussions about the play itself.

╪╪╪

Just like the other 10, the 2 of you have been constantly singing and dancing, from when you were the H!P Kids up to BeriKyuu, but were those experiences of use with acting?

Yajima: There are similarities in that we act out the protagonist in the song, so while it might not be on the forefront of our minds, I think that it's slightly useful even for acting.

Sudo: They're the same in that you're doing something in front of an audience, and you're granting dreams, but I think who I am when I'm at a concert and who I am when I'm acting are different. On the concert stage, I'm just Sudo Maasa, but on the play stage, I'm not Maasa, I'm the role that I'm playing. And while we have the same smile, the smile I have at concerts and the smile that I have at plays are completely different. However, whatever it is, the viewpoint has always been that I'm acting as Berryz Kobo's Sudo Maasa. But someday, I'd like my genuine acting to be highly regarded. Like people would say that there are roles played by Sudo Maasa which could have only been performed by Sudo Maasa.

╪╪╪

Sudo: I feel that it would be interesting if Maimi-chan played a delinquent role.

Yajima: Eh, really? 

Sudo: Yup. Since it's different from how you normally are. In my mind, Maimi-chan as a delinquent would be like a female gang leader of the past: wearing a long skirt, with bright red lipstick, holding a wooden sword, going 'Oi!'(laughs). I'd like you to do that.

Yajima: I feel that Maasa would suit a wooden sword and long skirt as well (laughs).

╪╪╪

More interview excerpts from this book

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 47: Yajima Maimi 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. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.

Yajima Maimi X Nakajima Saki

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It's been 10 years since you joined the H!P Kids, but on that note, in 3 years time, ℃-ute will be celebrating your 10th anniversary.

Nakajima: 3 years! Whoa, that's close!!

Yajima: Isn't it kind of terrifying (laughs)!?

Nakajima: Now we're in our 7th year, which means that lots of people have watched ℃-ute throughout that period, but looking back on the past, there were lots of times when I think that we should have worked harder. So I'd like to face the 3 years until we hit our 10th anniversary with even more seriousness. We're dreaming big, for something like an arena!

Yajima: That's right. We have to do our best!

///

Saki-chan has changed, but has Maimi-chan changed?

Nakajima: Leader, weren't you shy as well?

Yajima: I think I've still got that aspect to me, but I'm fine if I'm with someone. It's not my cup of tea when I'm really all on my own with lots of people that I've never met before, I get discouraged. But once my student life ended, there were less chances of that happening (laughs), so I've been alright recently.

Nakajima: I feel like Leader's come to have a calm personality. While you had always been serious, saying 'Yes' to everything you were told, recently you've let out just a bit of composure. Though at concerts, you keep going on in a straight line (laughs).

Can you talk about memories between the 2 of you within these 10 years?

Nakajima: I guess when I went on a Kyoto trip with Leader and Leader's mother 3 years ago. 

Yajima: That was fun, wasn't it? 

///

Nakajima: I like making plans, so I'm the type of person who'll make things like travel guidebooks. So next time, I'll set the plans, and Leader will lead (laughs).

Yajima: Even when the 2 of us went to Disneyland, Nacky guided me, so I was led (laughs).

Well then, how will you be like 10 years in the future?

Nakajima: I hope that Leader will be married, and have built up a happy family. Being married, you'll have more time to yourself, so I feel like you'll get even more active.

Yajima: I wonder how old I'll be when I get married (laughs).I feel like Nacky won't get married. You'd mix with all sorts of people, and enjoy yourself wondering what you'd do each day.

Nakajima: That might be ideal. Sounds like fun. Living by myself, I'd like to call everyone for a home party.

Yajima: Also, I feel like you'd live overseas. If that happens, let me come and hang out, okay.

Nakajima: Yup, you'd get a warm welcome! For you, I'll make a sightseeing guidebook and wait for you (laughs).

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More interview excerpts from this book