Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Okai Chisato 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 pairs of girls, covering all 66 possible combinations of them. As I'm currently in the process of reading this book, I'd like to share some highlights from the interviews.

Okai Chisato X Hagiwara Mai

Between the 12 of you, the two of you are the youngest, and it seems that the 2 of you used to quarrel over the smallest things.

Okai: We really did (laughs). What's more, thinking back on those quarrels, weren't they so stupid!? They were result of such trifling things. What I remember most is our quarrel over seasoning when we were in the Hello! Project Kids. Small kids like to have seasoning on their eggs, right? When there was only one pack of seasoning remaining, the two of us ran over to get it simultaneously......right?

Hagiwara: I got it that time. And then you said 'Gimme a little!' But it was so little in amount that the first thing we did was quarrel over it.

Okai: I said 'Because I'll use up whatever's remaining!', and sure enough., Mai-chan left some behind. We had a really big quarrel over that (laughs). 

Hagiwara: I really hated you because of our fight, so I seriously wanted to finish it up (laughs). We really did fight over the most trivial things. 

☺☺☺

Do you remember the last time you fought?

Hagiwara: We fought over some message, right!?

Okai: Ah, yeah!! I've forgotten the details, but Mai-chan sent a message concerning Chisato, cautioning me. But because Mai-chan had also been cautioned on the same thing, it suddenly flamed me up, I sent a message 'Why do you have to be so angry? Like you've got any right to be mad at me!?'

Hagiwara: We were going back by subway. And Chisato was heading in the same direction, so we were on the same train, but we were sending grumbling messages from different carriages (laughs).

Okai: That was during 'Sengoku Jieitai', right? Whoa, that's recent (laughs).

Hagiwara: Last year, right!? It actually is pretty recent (laughs).

Okai: But compared to the past, it was light.

☺☺☺

Hagiwara: Also, we've gone for karaoke together. But Mai fell asleep while we were karaoke-ing......

Okai: Yeah! Someone's singing, and you fall asleep~ It really hit a nerve, so I raised the volume of the music really loud, which woke you up in surprise (laughs).

Hagiwara: My heart was going to explode. It doesn't make me happy to be woken up that way!

Okai: I was bursting out in laughter. I was mad, but already you'd been forgiven (laughs).

Hagiwara: I was really sleepy. Just in case, I'd informed you that I was a bit sleepy. I wouldn't be able to drift off to sleep if we weren't close friends, right? I thought it would be fine because it was you, Chisato.

Okai: Well, it's fine for a bit, but you were sleeping the whole time (laughs). Also, when we go for karaoke, we scramble for songs. We like to sing the same songs, so who's first gets to choose.

In the end, for the 2 of you, it's like the more you fight, the closer you get (laughs). Were the two of you chums from when you were the H!P Kids?

Hagiwara: We we always together, right?

Okai: In my case, Airi and Risako were mature, despite being in the same school year as me, and I was still like a kid, so it was because, within our group, Mai-chan was the type that matched with me (laughs).

Hagiwara: Ahahahaha, that is true! I can't deny that (laughs). The first time I saw Chisato, I thought 'This girl is scary!' Her hair was blonde, and I thought that she'd immediately call people stupid. Well, while I say that she was scary, I had a huge, serious fight with that girl after that (laughs), but I only thought of her as being scary for a moment, and we were together before I knew it. I wonder why? What was the thing that started it?

Okai: I wonder too. Ah, It might have been Momo-chan! For some reason, I was often together with Momo-chan at the time. Momo-chan likes small kids, so it felt like she looked after us. We were stuck under Momo-chan at some point, right.

Well then, I'd like to ask the both of you, how do you feel your relationship will be like in 10 years?

Okai: Whatever happens, I think I'll be together with Mai.

Hagiwara: Hmm? You said the same thing to Nacky the other day, didn't you?

Okai: Is that so? (laughs) But that's how it feels with Mai-chan and Nacky......While we're on the subject, I think that it's fundamentally the same for me with all of the ℃-ute members, so I'm sure that I'll probably say the same things when it comes to Maimi-chan and Airi as well (laughs). But I really think it's true for Mai-chan. It gets exciting with the 2 of us around, and everything becomes interesting, We'd always keep laughing.

Hagiwara: Yup. It feels like we'll be together whatever happens. Even if lots of things happen, we won't be separated.

Okai: It doesn't mean that I want us to be together forever, but we'll unconsciously be together.

☺☺☺

Click here for more interview excerpts from this book.

New Faces: Figures (H!P Maruwakari Winter 2015)

The HaroPuro MaruWakari Books are released in conjunction with the twice-yearly Hello! Con tours. The contents usually take the form of questionnaires to the members, asking about other members.
This one, which came out for the 2015 Winter Hello! Cons, would be Berryz' last as well as Country Girls' first. It also pre-dates Kobushi Factory, who were announced at that Hello! Con itself. Thus, the usual questionnaires are supplemented with a Berryz Kobo special as well as a new faces special (MM 12ki, S/mileage 3ki, the 5 new Country Girls).

This part of the questionnaire comes from the 'new faces' segment, where we get to know more about the new girls and what they think about other H!P members and senpai. Remember that this book pre-dates Kobushi Factory and Tsubaki Factory, but don't worry, they get their turn in the 2015 Summer Maruwakari Book.

Q7. Senpai whose figure I like

Ogata Haruna: Iikubo Haruna-san. Her legs are nice and she always wears cute clothes.

Nonaka Miki: Miyazaki Yuka-san. Her figure's so good that it makes me wonder, what's up with her body proportions......!? I envy her!!

Makino Maria: Kumai Yurina-san, Hagiwara Mai-san. Kumai-san's legs are long and she's got a great figure, while I like Hagiwara-san's waist since her waist is really pretty.

Haga Akane: I envy Wada Ayaka-san's slender legs.

Murota Mizuki: Suzuki Airi-san. It's amazing how anything she wears suits her! I use her as an example.

Aikawa Maho: Hagiwara Mai-san. I've always thought that her legs are long and slender, and she's got a bombastic figure.

Sasaki Rikako: Kumai Yurina-san, Tokunaga Chinami-san, Wada Ayaka-san. I admire their long and slender legs.

Yamaki Risa: She's graduated, but Michishige Sayumi-san. I like her skin tone and her back. Her back!! Even from behind, Michishige-san's a beauty, you'd expect no less. Miyazaki Yuka-san's waist is really pretty, it makes me think that she really takes a lot of care with what she eats (laughs).

Inaba Manaka: Michishige Sayumi-san. I think that she's really slim, she's tall in stature, her legs are long, her figure's exceptional ♥

Morito Chisaki: Iikubo Haruna-san. She's tall, and her limbs are slender, I'm envious!

Shimamura Uta: Uemura Akari-san. I envy her slimness. I'm currently smack in the middle of my growth phase, so I'm drinking lots of milk, and I'd like to aim for a slender body.

Ozeki Mai: Iikubo Haruna-san! I think that Iikubo-san really shines, like a model!

Notes and observations:

• Best figure: Harunan, with 3 mentions. Others with 2 mentions: Yuka, Kumaicho, MaiMai, Ayacho, Sayu
• Group-wise, it's pretty evenly distributed:
  Berryz Kobo: 3 mentions
  ℃-ute: 3 mentions
  Morning Musume。´15: 3 mentions
  Juice=Juice: 3 mentions
  Angerme: 2 mentions
  MM OG: 2 mentions

Other questions from this book

℃-ute: A Story of 3652 Bonds (UTB August 2015)

℃-ute celebrated the 10th anniversary of their formation on the 11th of June 2015.

Also on the same day of their wildly successful Yokohama Arena performance, their currently-on-sale memorial book sold well with even more intensity! Please reflect on the bonds and thoughts of reaching 3652 days!!

Yajima Maimi

Honestly, I didn't think I'd be together with the members of ℃-ute for this long, but we're together at all times, and we know all our good points and our bad points. My feelings towards the members is something that's special. We've had lots of fights (laughs). There were times when we didn't even want to look at each other's faces. But even including those, I think we were able to weather through the tough times because it was the 5 of us. For the present ℃-ute, when we have a goal, we all turn to face the same direction. We're always focusing forward, heading towards a huge goal, and I think we'll run without burning out. Without forgetting our feelings of gratitude, I think beyond this, all of us will be facing forward

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Natsuyaki Miyabi 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.

Natsuyaki Miyabi X Hagiwara Mai

The interview opens with this remark from the interviewer: 'It's a fashion leader showdown!'

Miya starts by commenting about how Mai often used to wear skirts, but now they both prefer casual clothing. While the both of them do feel some pressure to keep up being fashionable, they've always been interested in fashion, even from a young age. Miya even remembers using the pocket money she got from her grandmother to buy clothes from the brand 'mezzo piano', which she wore to the H!P Kids auditions.

The two of them have way too many clothes, so Miya tries to hold back on spending and make use of the clothes she's got. No such thing for Mai, who still buys new stuff. Even when they were on tour together, every time Miya would meet her, MaiMai would be wearing something different.

ëëë

--- Mai-chan, from your perspective, what sort of fashion worn by Miyabi-chan left an impression?

Hagiwara: She suits any sort of appearance. Every time I see her wear something normal, I think it's super cute, so my answer is 'everything' (laughs).

Natsuyaki: That's not the case at all (laughs). During the BeriKyuu concerts, Mai wore this fluffy, inflated skirt, and I thought you looked good even in that. You're cute and there are so many designs that suit you. I like Blythe dolls, and I collected clothes for those dolls, but Mai can wear clothes in the style that Blythe wears. To look like a doll, it's got to be skirts.

--- Now that we've stepped on that, if you were to coordinate one another, what sort of appearance would you like to make?

Hagiwara: Eh, outfitting Miya? That'd be impossible~ (laughs).

New Faces: Favourite Face (H!P Maruwakari Winter 2015)

The HaroPuro MaruWakari Books are released in conjunction with the twice-yearly Hello! Con tours. The contents usually take the form of questionnaires to the members, asking about other members.

This one, which came out for the 2015 Winter Hello! Cons, would be Berryz' last as well as Country Girls' first. It also pre-dates Kobushi Factory, who were announced at that Hello! Con itself. Thus, the usual questionnaires are supplemented with a Berryz Kobo special as well as a new faces special (MM 12ki, S/mileage 3ki, the 5 new Country Girls).

This part of the questionnaire comes from the 'new faces' segment, where we get to know more about the new girls and what they think about other H!P members and senpai. Remember that this book pre-dates Kobushi Factory and Tsubaki Factory, but don't worry, they get their turn in the 2015 Summer Maruwakari Book.

Q6. Senpai whose face I like

Ogata Haruna: Okai Chisato-san. Her face is small and really pretty!

Nonaka Miki: Iikubo Haruna-san. Her face is small, her eyes are big, she's cute!! I want big and beautiful eyes too......

Makino Maria: Fukuda Kanon-san. Because she's so cute, like a doll.

Haga Akane: Kudo Haruka-san! Because she's cute but cool, and she's cool but cute.

Murota Mizuki: Hagiwara Mai-san. She's really cute and her face is my type. I'd like to have a cute face like Hagiwara-san!

Aikawa Maho: Hagiwara Mai-san. Her eyes are big and beautiful, her eyebrows are like swoosh, which to me, are perfect. She's really cute!!

Sasaki Rikako: Kudo Haruka-san, Murota Mizuki-san, Wada Ayaka-san, Uemura Akari-san, Suzuki Airi-san. Looking at their photos, I'm like 'How cute~'.

Yamaki Risa: Michishige Sayumi-san, Yajima Maimi-san, Uemura Akari-san. I really like the faces of the 3 of them! I think they're truly beautiful. I also like their unworried smiles. I get to sing a lot of songs with these 3 at the Hello! Con, so I'm indescribably happy.

Inaba Manaka: Sugaya Risako-san. Since if I was that beautiful, I'd always want to look at myself in the mirror, and whatever make-up or hairstyle suits her!

Morito Chisaki: Kudo Haruka-san. It's really nice and adorable.

Shimamura Uta: All of the H!P members. Everyone's so cute that I can't pick a single person.

Ozeki Mai: Suzuki Kanon-san! The first time I saw Morning Musume。-san, I thought 'This girl is cute!' Even now, that feeling hasn't changed.

Notes and observations:

• Good lookers: 3 mentions for Duu, and 2 mentions each for Maimi and Uemuu
• By group:
  Berryz Kobo: 1 mention
  ℃-ute: 5 mentions
  Morning Musume。´15:5 mentions
  ANGERME: 3 mentions
  Juice=Juice: 2 mentions
  All H!P: 1 mention
  Morning Musume。 OG: 1 mention

Other questions from this book

Miyamoto Karin: Tsudzuiteiku STORY (Idol and Read 004)

22 pages of Karin-chan. A long interview, filling up 16 pages with walls of text. That's not counting the cover page, the 'table of contents' photo, and the attached postcard. The title of this magazine, 'Idol and Read', isn't just for show - it's got photos of idols, and an overwhelming amount of text. These excerpts make up roughly two-thirds of the interview with cover girl Miyamoto Karin, clocking in at over 4000 words. Just in time for Juice=Juice's Taipei and Hong Kong concerts! It's a long read, but I hope you enjoy this journey into the mind of Hello! Project's idol cyborg.

♣♣♣

Personally, what is your view of the present state of Juice=Juice in 2015?

I think that we're moving onwards and onwards. For Juice=Juice, the 5 of us think, 'Let's polish up our performances even more', so we're all heading in the same direction. Through our livehouse tour, we've gone to all sorts of places by ourselves. It was by no means the short road, but if you were to ask me, it passed by in the blink of an eye. I'd like to aim even higher, and progress forward. Also, our original goal was to go around all 47 prefectures, but we only got to go to 38 prefectures in our first tour. So it would be great if we could conquer the 47 prefectures through the 220 performances in our upcoming nationwide tour.

At your first Nakano Sunplaza tour by yourselves, you performed your new song 'Tsudzuiteiku STORY' from your album 'First Squeeze!', and Miyamoto Karin, you couldn't hold back and broke into tears. Why did you cry then?

Looking back on Juice=Juice up until then...... This may be obvious, but with lyrics like 'Yume wo Katatta Nakamatachi, Egao to Ase no Jikan Ryokou' (We friends talked about our dreams, time-travelling through sweat and smiles) or 'Fuan de Ugokenakattari... Joudan de Waraiattari... Mainichi ga Takaramono deshita' (Unable to move due to anxiety... Laughing due to jokes... Every day was a treasure), I got into them, as they fit Juice=Juice's story to a tee...... Nakano Sunplaza was also the very first stage that I got to stand on when I was in the H!P Eggs (H!P Kenshuusei), so the many things that had happened since then came to mind. Being able to stand on that stage for Juice=Juice's first one-man live made me feel happy, and I was emotionally moved!

For that day's performance, I wrote an article with the headline 'Even the idol cyborg's eyes had tears', but what led to Miyamoto Karin to start being called the 'idol cyborg'?

I was being called that before I realised it, but honestly I'm not an idol cyborg at all (laughs). And so, every time I'm called that, I steel myself, thinking that I have to be perfect, but my fingers are clumsy, and there are lots of things about me that are awkward, I'll cry at concerts, like I did at Nakano Sunplaza. More than a perfect idol, I'm more of a human idol. Of course I'd like to aim for perfection, but I don't adhere to the idol framework when it comes to facial expressions for songs. I'd like to become a person who can pull off all sorts of expressions.

♣♣♣

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Natsuyaki Miyabi 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 pairs of girls, covering all 66 possible combinations.

Natsuyaki Miyabi X Kumai Yurina

 ↓↓↓

What was the first impression you had of one another when you first met?

Kumai: Miya was blonde, so it was like 'Ah, she's a city kid'.

Natsuyaki: For Kumai-chan, I thought that her eyebrows were neatly arranged (laughs). 

Kumai: Ahahahaha. Is that so?

Natsuyaki: Really, that was the strongest impression. 

Kumai: The greatest, huh~. I think so too. Looking at photos of myself from way back,  I'm like 'What was up with those eyebrows!?' (laughs)

Natsuyaki: I don't intend this as a follow-up, but I thought that you were a pretty girl~.

--- Have your impressions of one another changed?

Kumai: There's been quite a change over these many years. When the younger team got to do a radio show together (STAR digio 'Tsuukai Berryz Oukoku'), Miya became the oneesan. If I had to say, before, she had this image of being all noisy, and enjoying the fun things, but she also had this aspect to her, where she properly thought about things, so it was like she was an oneesan!

Natsuyaki: That's probably because it was work (laughs). It was the first time for us younger ones to do a radio show, and there, I was the eldest, so I thought I had to be level-headed, and take control. As I had to let the 2 of you talk as well, at the very beginning, I acted like an oneesan.

--- So you didn't become an oneesan, you just acted as one (laughs).

Natsuyaki: Honestly, I don't really want to be like the oneesan or the senpai. But I thought that I had to take the lead.

Kumai: You led in quite a big way.

Natsuyaki: My impression of Kumai-chan hasn't changed. Airheaded, head in the clouds. But I think that you've calmed down recently. Like I could say that Kumai-chan's the calmest in Berryz Kobo. You used to be noisy in the past, the same type as how Chii (Tokunaga Chinami) is now (laughs), but I feel like you've turned out to be really oneesan-ish.

Kumai: Ah, but I might have calmed down. On the topic of calming down, it might be because I grew older (laughs). I envy the always spirited primary school kids. I think that the types of people like Chinami who are born that way are a different case (laughs), but I think it's amazing to spend a whole day with that much energy.

↓↓↓

Click here for more interview excerpts from this book.