Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 39: Shimizu Saki 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.

Shimizu Saki X Natsuyaki Miyabi

•••

When we asked the members of Berryz Kobo about Captain, they said that while Saki-chan's role was to bring them together, when it comes to the things that are difficult to say, Miyabi-chan would support you from the shadows.

Shimizu: She often helps me out when we're dancing in particular. She'll mention what she notices without any hesitation, like 'Isn't this part of the dance like that?' or 'That part was a bit out of sync'.

Natsuyaki: When we're doing cool songs, there are lots of things that make me feel like 'I want it to look like this', so that's what I'll say. There are times when we've gotten into arguments over things like that, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that dancing in-sync is definitely nicer. 

Shimizu: And by tightening things up that way, she helps me out. You'd think that the leader of the group would be the one to take control and give out warnings, but I end up wondering what people will think of me if I say those things, and so I don't give out warnings.

Natsuyaki: Captain does hold herself back in that way. Perhaps you could say that she restrains herself too much (laughs). But if I were the captain of the group, I think that whatever I'd say would end up becoming a huge thing. Captain has that gentleness to her, and I think that's why Berryz Kobo has our enjoyable group atmosphere. 

Shimizu: But at times, I'll ask things like 'Did I say too much just now?' or 'Did I go overboard?'

Member as boyfriend (H!P Maruwakari Summer 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, mainly asking about other members.

This one, which came out for the 2015 Summer Hello! Cons, would be the first without Berryz Kobo, and the first with Kobushi and Tsubaki Factories. As new entries into H!P, the members of the two Factories also got a 'New Face Maruwakari Special', which has additional questions for the girls.

Q7. If your partner was a guy, who would you want as your 'boyfriend'? And what would you give him as a present?

Yajima Maimi: Nakajima Saki-chan. Whatever blunder I'd make, I feel that, while she'd be astonished, she'd accept it open-heartedly with a 'Can't be helped'! I think she'd be happy to receive something hand-made, so I'd like to present her with a collage album of memorable pictures!

Nakajima Saki: With a frank, cool image, it'd be the skilful dancer Ishida Ayumi-chan. I'd like to get matching T-shirts and give her one, which we would wear together to go and watch live concerts.

Suzuki Airi: Yajima Maimi-chan. I feel that we spend our time in the same way, and we wouldn't get into fights. I think we'd be happy doing anything, but I'd like to make her an album as a present ♥

Okai Chisato: Yajima Maimi♥ She's pretty open-hearted and it's cute how she's such a scatterbrain.

Hagiwara Mai: Kudo Haruka-chan. I'd give her a cute rucksack!! Her current rucksack looks used, so it'd be a new one.

Hamachan on dressing room antics and producing herself

Excerpts from Hamachan's 20th February 2016 dwango interview, 'I want to be number one' With her eyes on the Japan Record Award, Hamaura Ayano's great ambitions.

♥♥♥

We (Kobushi Factory) really get along. In the dressing room, someone said 'Let's do some arm wrestling!', and all of us started a showdown.

An arm wrestling tournament started?

We started one (laughs). We're all competitive, and we were like 'Let's do it!' I was the weakest though.

What led to the arm wrestling backstage?

Let me see.... We were talking about who was the strongest (laughs).

How did that development come about (laughs)?

Ogawa Rena-chan insisted that she was the strongest, but actually, Fujii Rio-chan is stronger. Yet Ogawa Rena-chan didn't yield from her declaration that she was the strongest. But she's about the second strongest.

A clash of egos.

All-in-all, Fujii Rio-chan was victorious.

You do amazing things in the dressing room.

In the intermissions, we'll start playing tag, or statues (laughs).

Like primary school kids!

Taguchi Natsumi-chan may be in her 3rd year of middle school, but her mental age is that of a child, her personality is like that of a baby's. She'll immediately say 'Let's play tag~!' While everyone else is exhausted, she alone will be full of energy.

♥♥♥

Is there a senpai whom you respect?

Country Girls' Playing Manager Tsugunaga Momoko-san. I really admire her.

Eh? Momochi-san?

Yes!

She's such a different type from Hamaura-san that your statement came as quite a shock.

She's really amazing at being her own producer. I think that's really something. Even from the singing aspect, she's amazing. She can sing really cute songs as part of Country Girls, but she can also sing cool songs. Plus, when it comes to dancing, it's also amazing how she studies up to make sure the curve of her palms and how she claps looks cute. Even when she's talking, she can respond to whatever anyone says, you'd expect no less from her.

Hamaura-san, how will you produce yourself?

I have to discover methods of singing, behaviours, dancing methods that suit me.

Hamaura-san, do you have an image of the ideal idol in your mind?

I'd like to become a perfect idol.

A perfect idol?

Capable of singing and dancing, as well as talking. Also, I think that Tsugunaga-san is perfect when it comes to acting and talking. I'd like to become like Tsugunaga-san.

♥♥♥

If you include other idols, is Momochi-san the closest to being perfect as an idol?

For me, she's number one.

But there's also people like ℃-ute's Suzuki Airi-san, who's popular with girls....

She's a different number one.

Eh? Different?

There are various number ones!

Source: dwango

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 48: Tsugunaga Momoko 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.

Tsugunaga Momoko X Sugaya Risako

♥♥♥

Tsugunaga: I have no idea what to do when I have days off, so I end up answering questionnaires for work or doing some graffiti for goods. Even while watching television, I often think about work.

Sugaya: I'd explode without rest days, so I hit my tipping point when I don't have days off. My body gets out of shape, my skin gets rough, it shows on my body. It makes me irritated, and I'd unintentionally have arguments with our manager-san, thinking that it wouldn't be possible for me to go on,

Tsugunaga-san, if you're working all the time, doesn't the stress build up ?

Tsugunaga: More than being stressed about having no breaks, I get irritated when I can't do anything. 

[2ch] I'm a dude who will do as much as I can to answer your questions as if I was Momochi

1 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:01:41.31 0.net
Hailing from Chiba prefecture, in my 2nd year of being a working adult, cute as always today, this is everyone's idol Momochi

3 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:02:27.82 0.net
How long will you continue on as an idol?

5 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:03:38.26 0.net
>>3
Momochi was born an idol, so there's no such thing as 'until when'

I think I'd like to remain here as long as I can

6 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:04:07.04 0.net
Are you Momochi？

7 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:04:46.11 0.net
>>6
I'm Momochiー！

8 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:05:29.90 0.net
What sort of underwear are you wearing？

11 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:07:25.83 0.net
>>8
Eh？ I couldn't hear you well, yurushite-nyan

9 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:06:17.10 0.net
Is there a Hello! member whose backside has yours beat？
Please tell us about their rumps' firmness and shape

14 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:09:05.45 0.net
>>9
Kumaicho's explosive backside looks big and voluminous, it's really lovely！
But Momochi's an idol, so I don't really know about these kind of things

10 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:06:28.63 0.net
Bring back Buono!

15 ：名無し募集中。。。＠＼(^o^)／：2015/09/25(金) 19:09:46.67 0.net
>>10
Those girls have their hands full at the moment, so…

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

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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?'

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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~

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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.

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More interview excerpts from this book