And here's what I've been reading recently:
Just as the cover suggests, Berryz Kobo are the main feature in this year's edition of the mook.
It starts out with individual interviews of the Berryz members, where they look back on a 2-year time period in the past, starting from when they became the H!P Kids.
2002-2003:
Sugaya Risako
2004-2005:
Kumai Yurina
2006-2007:
Natsuyaki Miyabi
2008-2009:
Sudo Maasa
2010-2011:
Tokunaga Chinami
2012-2013:
Tsugunaga Momoko
2014-2015:
Shimizu Saki
Some excerpts I'd like to share:
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Interview with Miyabi about 2006 and 2007
--- Buono! started your activities in [2007], right?
Natsuyaki: The 3 of us were suddenly called up and told '
You'll be forming a unit'. Our individual personalities were different, so I wondered what sort of group it would turn out to be. And after that, I heard that '
Buono! is going to do rock', and I got worried, wondering if those two would be all right (
laughs). I've never been one to act all cutesy, so I'd be all right, but the 2 of them are cutesy, mild-mannered, and in my mind I was like '
Rock?' It was really strange, but when we did the theme song for the anime 'Shugo Chara', the 3 of us made a good combination. As our personalities didn't overlap, it made for a nice balance instead.
--- So far you had only been part of a 7 person group, so wasn't it disheartening to perform as a 3 person group?
Natsuyaki: It felt a bit lonely at rehearsals when it was the 3 of us, but when we stood on-stage, it shook my nerves that there would be a higher chance of being noticed compared to when I was in Berryz.
--- Did anything change once you started with Buono! activities?
Natsuyaki: People around me said things like my way of singing changed, or that my performances had gotten better than before. Berryz sings with the characteristic tendencies of Tsunku♂-san, or put in an easier-to-understand way, the inflection at the end of words are raised. For Buono!, we were warned about raising the inflection at the end of words, so we didn't sing in an idol-like way, we sang like we were in a band, and I think I learnt a new way of singing. Berryz activities are currently top priority, but someday we'd like to resume activities as Buono!
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Interview with Momoko about 2012 and 2013
--- Since Tsugunaga-san had experience with practical teacher training, did you make use of what you learnt at university with your solo song?
Tsugunaga: I thought that I would write about my experience with 'Momochi! Yurushite-nyan♥Taisou' in
my graduation thesis, but I didn't have the courage (
laughs). It's just that, now that I've learnt about child psychology, I think that Tsunku♂-san is able to grasp the mind of a child.
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