#WeekendRead from 19th January 2020
Introduction to the magazine
CDJournal is a bit off the beaten path compared to most of my subscriptions. While the regular mags I subscribe to focus mainly on female entertainers, CDJournal is a music magazine first and foremost. It just happens to have at least one H!P-related interview in each issue
How’d a mainstream music magazine constantly have an H!P feature month-in, month-out?
Turns out that chief editor Kawakami-san is a HaroWota, which has likely helped put a foot in the door
They even released a dictionary-thick compilation of interviews from 2011-2016.
Despite the regular output of interviews, I feel that CDJournal’s interviews perhaps don’t get as much exposure as they should, at least among the foreign fandom
Why is that? Two reasons I can think of:
1. Relatively light editing
2. Depth of interviews
Among interviews I read, CDJournal seems to aim to stay close to the spoken word… which, lacking audio context, makes them hard reads. Not to say that there isn’t any editing – I believe Namba-san has said that they still have to edit out chunks of Maachan’s ramblings.
Namba Kazumi-san, the principal H!P interviewer for CDJournal is himself a hardcore HaroWota, and his interviews can go DEEP – deep enough that he’ll pull out obscure in-jokes or blog posts, which would probably require some further explanation to get the message across
I believe that in a previous 36-bou, Namba-san himself has mentioned that going in-depth with interviews is something deliberate, he’ll leave the less deep interviews to mags such TopYell (RIP)
That also helps explain why I have tons of TopYell translations under my belt
If you want a taste of CDJournal’s style, might I direct you to @wotatranslation‘s translations of the H!P Complete Books, which are produced by CDJournal. A number of interviews are conducted by Namba-san, and he even appears in two of them.
Hello! Project COMPLETE BOOKS
Morning Musume。’19 15ki
On getting used to being Musume
Kitagawa: I joined as a mostly complete newbie, not knowing how to catch the rhythm. The other 2 have dance experience from young. I didn’t even know about dance positioning. I’m starting from a different, lower position from them. It’s tough since the rest of my gen are so good.
Kitagawa: I practise on my own for about 4-5 hours a day. But there are still parts where I can’t catch up. My 2 peers are so amazing, but I’m also impressed by the senpai too.
Okamura: My biggest hurdle was the autumn tour. I was excited about it, but the rehearsals were killer. I’ve been dancing since small, but memory isn’t my strength. I’m a slow starter. Yamazaki Mei-chan’s quick at remembering.
On coming to Tokyo
Q to Yamazaki Mei: How have activities in Tokyo been?
Mei: In Hokkaido, it’s cold during summer and winter, but in Tokyo, it’s still warm during winter
Kitagawa: It’s cold…
Mei: People go to school in skiwear in Hokkaido, but I haven’t seen anyone wear them in Tokyo
On the age difference between the 15ki
Okamura: We (Mei & Homare) are in middle school & laugh over silly things. But Rio-chan who’s in senior high doesn’t laugh. That’s the gap between middle and senior high. It’s like she’s more grown-up.
Q. Kitagawa-san do you see Okamura-san and Yamazaki-san as middle-schoolers?
Kitagawa: I don’t just see them as middle-schoolers. I think Homare-chan’s 5 years old, while Mei-chan’s three. (lol)
On interacting with the senpai
Kitagawa: There’s a huge difference between senpai I often talk to and senpai that I can’t really talk to yet. The ones I often talk with are Yokoyama-san and Kaga-san. They’re like our instructors, so I often consult them.
Kitagawa: Recently, I’ve had a lot more opportunities to talk with 10ki’s Sato-san. This was since we started with the tour. We’re often close in position too, and I’m able to talk with her.
Okamura: Various senpai teach us during rehearsals, but it’s mostly been 13ki. We’ll consult with Yokoyama-san, and she’ll hear us out when we’re having a tough time. Recently, Oda Sakura-san and Ikuta Erina-san have been talking with us. They’re all so nice.
Q to Yamazaki Mei: How is it that you’re so shy despite being so friendly within the H!P Kenshuusei Hokkaido?
Mei: All of us were in the same generation in Hokkaido, with a single senpai above us. I still haven’t gotten used to having senpais in the same group.
Morning Musume。’19 Sato Masaki, Oda Sakura, Morito Chisaki
Q. Do you talk with the new members?
Sato: Lots. I’ve gotten used to it with the 12ki and 13ki.
Oda: You mean it wasn’t something you were used to before? lol
Sato: There was a strong kouhai-ness from the 12ki. They joined in 2014, and I didn’t really talk with them until 2016. I didn’t talk with them at all. I probably didn’t talk with Nonaka before 2016.
– How about Morito-san?
Sato: With Chiiko… It’s more like I felt her rather than talked with her
Chii: lol
Sato: I can’t wrap my head when I think about people my age being my kouhai. Oda’s older than me yet she’s my kouhai, it doesn’t make sense. While Morito’s roughly the same age as me.
Sato: In our latest tour, there’s a song that’s sung by Chiiko and Yokoyama and Kacchan. I think that MM’s atmosphere has changed since the 3 of them. I think MM’s going down the right path. The 3 of them make it easy to get a feel of that.
Sato: Yokoyama probably changed from ‘Best Wishes’. She was so childish before that
Oda: Reina has always been saying that she wanted to change, and now she has. The way she never gave up on changing is inspiring.
Sato: Morito is a girl who’ll naturally improve herself. Kacchan will study and study and study. She’ll even study when practising.
– The three of them are the new generation.
Sato: Fukunura-san has said that she wants to see Kacchan lead Morning Musume。 with her kindness and strength. I look forward to seeing MM being led by Morito and Yokoyama and Kacchan.
Sato: I’d like our current members to go for a meal with Tsunku♂-san.
Oda: That’d be great. [Morito] hasn’t met Tsunku♂-san before.
Morito: I’ve only said hello to him once. And not since I got into Morning Musume。 I’m not sure if he even knows I’m in the group.
Hashisako Rin (ANGERME), Kudo Yume (Juice=Juice), Matsunaga Riai (Juice=Juice)
Rin: My time in the KSS mostly overlapped with Riai-chan. We come from roughly the same area, so we’ve chatted on the Shinkansen. The 2 of us have hung out sometimes in our private time as well.
Q. Thoughts on the 2 new J=J members
Hashisako: When I watched them perform at the Jitsuryoku Shindan Test, the 2 of them were mindblowing. So I thought that they got into J=J since they were so cool. But I also felt frustrated and told myself that the KSS had to work even harder
Yume: My senpai Inaba Manaka-san was in J=J. We worked together in the H!P KSS Hokkaido – she’s taught me lots and helped me out lots. So I was really happy to find out that I’d be joining the same group as Inaba-san. Since we’d separated for a while, it was like a miracle.
Q. Oota Haruka was the first H!P KSS Hokkaido to debut.
Yume: I was so happy, it was as if I was debuting. But then it hit me that one of the members we’d always been working together would no longer be attending lessons with us in the future.
Q. How was it when you found out you’d be joining a group?
Riai: I was watching a video of the Shindan Test when the video suddenly jumped to the surprise announcement. But I thought something had gone wrong the video, so I waited for the staff with an impassive look on my face.
Riai: At first, I was really worried about joining J=J. The group was filled with high-level senpai. I couldn’t imagine myself performing on-stage with them. Even now, I still can’t believe it.
Yume-chan on her first performance: I’d be entering the stage together with Takagi-san. She patted me on the back, and I remember her hands being so warm, like the sun. I felt like I would fly with the sun’s energy.
Riai laughs
Yume: It’s true! I thought it would leave marks
– Seeing how different you are, I can’t imagine Hashisako-san and Matsunaga-san hanging out
Matsunaga: Eh!? We hang out a lot!
– Your energy levels are different
Matsunaga: She’s just hiding her true colours! She’s actually just as energetic as me!
Matsunaga: We shared a hotel room as KSS. I tend to sleep until the last minute, but [Hashisako] wakes up really early. She threw the curtains open and woke me up loudly. She’s lively.
Matsunaga: The other day, [Hashisako and I] went to watch Annabelle
– The horror film?
Hashisako: I love horror, so I invited her
Matsunaga: This girl is quite something. She says that she loves horror, set she was screaming the whole time while hiding behind her popcorn (lol)
Kudo: When I was a KSS, the name of the game was to dance as large and energetically possible. I would spread my arms wide, jump as high as possible. But if I do that in Juice=Juice, it just destroys the balance. It’s difficult to think about how tightly we need to perform.
Matsunaga: We got energetic songs in KSS. But JJ’s has a lot of mellow songs, it’s difficult to catch the rhythm. The senpais never miss a beat, but if we do, everything breaks down. So it takes all we have just to do things while keeping that in mind.
Matsunaga: It’s really tough to maintain our own originality while keeping match with the senpai. Also, I’m told that my voice resembles Dambara-san, and I end up mimicking her when we’re singing together. That’s something I have to keep in mind too.
Q. What makes you glad you joined the group?
Matsunaga: Everyone’s so close! This surprised me, but everyone’s so hyped up after a concert that we’ll start a recital (lol)
Kudo: It’s like a karaoke contest.
Matsunaga: Then we’ll play werewolf before going home.
Q. Do Juice=Juice talk about anything besides performances?
Matsunaga: Miyamoto-san and Inaba-san like cosmetics, so we talk about those
Kudo: We talk about hair with Uemura-san
Matsunaga: But I feel that there are more silly stories than discussions about makeup or fashion
Kudo Yume on HitoSore: It was released when I was still a KSS. I was really into this song and listened to it lots. So I was happy just getting to perform it. I was even happier when we did a new version after the two of us joined. But there was pressure to top the original.
Matsunaga Riai on the new HitoSore version: We received parts from the senpai, including solo parts. So I treasure those. I’m sure that there are people who prefer the original version, but I’d like to do my best so that they’ll enjoy the new version too.
Kudo Yume: I’m in this job to bring smiles to people’s faces. So I hope to bring smiles to many people’s faces, to become someone that they’re happy to support.
Matsunaga Riai: The senpais really love the group and treasure their anniversaries. Even Inaba-san and Dambara-san treasure them too. So we’d like to do that too. We’d also like to inherit the feelings of the graduated Miyazaki-san and Yanagawa-san. We’ll do our best to improve.
BEYOOOOONDS – Ichioka Reina, Nishida Shiori, and Hirai Miyo
Ichioka: For me, the biggest praise I’ve received was during a recording. I chatted with the director when we were taking a break and was told that my singing had improved. I didn’t think so, but the director pointed it out, and I had to agree.
Hirai Miyo on recording for their album: There was only a short time between when we got the reference songs and the recording, and I didn’t have time to practise. With my limited range, I was afraid of the recording. (lol) When we actually got to recording, I could go beyond what I’d thought was my previous range. I think it’s because I’ve sung lots at release events, and I’ve been working hard at the parts I got in the previous single.
Ichioka Reina: My hair was still long a year ago. I’ve gotten used to it now. But when I look through photos from a while back, there’ll be moments where I can’t recognise someone. (lol) That’s how much we’ve all changed.
Nishida: Hirai Miyo-chan’s really changed. When she’d first joined, she wouldn’t smile even when doing cute songs. I felt that she was self-conscious. But now, she sings a lot of cute songs, and she performs them with a smile that makes the heart skip a beat. (lol)
Hirai Miyo: I was embarrassed [to perform cute songs]. Never in my life did I ever think I’d have to act all cute, I didn’t know how to do it. But we had to do our senpais songs, including cute ones. So over time, I thought I had to smile all-out… so I adapted (lol)
Ichioka: Nishida Shiori-chan has changed too. She’s entered senior high, and her fashion and the way she makes up her face has changed
Nishi: I used to wear cute clothes, but recently my clothes have been toned down.
Hirai: You look more mature
Nishi: Age-appropriate taste lol
Nishi: The first time I heard ‘Kinoko Takenoko Daisenki’, I was like ‘What the heck is this?’ (lol)
Ichioka: We met (composer & lyricist) Hyadain-san, who asked us who was for mushrooms and who was for shoots. We just raised our hands. We didn’t know it’d become a song.
Nishida Shiori on Kobayashi Honoka: When does she practise? Kobayashi Honoka-chan won’t show us members just how hard she’s working. I think that’s something that’s cool about her.
Yuzuki Asako, Asai Ryo, Tsunku♂
Asai: When I listen to ℃‑ute’s ‘Summer Wind’, I feel that the girl depicted in it is really smart. Same goes for ‘The Middle Management ~Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku~’!
Tsunku♂: ℃‑ute are intelligent. Suzuki, Yajima, Nakajima, they’re all intellectuals.
Asai: We like the final Tsunku♂ song written for ℃‑ute: ‘Zenbu Owatta Kaerimichi’
Tsunku♂: That’s quite something
Yuzuki: Why’d they buy so much stuff at the convenience store?
Tsunku♂: If you don’t buy lots, it’ll be a pain to go out again
Yuzuki: I knew it!
Tsunku♂: I’m not a fan of surprises. Since I don’t know how to react. For example, if you were to suddenly have a surprise birthday celebration for me, I would express my gratitude but I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I’ll be second-guessing myself on how to react.
Asai: I like the circus atmosphere of Berryz Kobo’s songs.
Tsunku♂: Berryz Kobo could pull off all sorts of things. Since it was like they could lay their hands on anything and come up with something to do with it.
Tsunku♂: When we were promoting in Hokkaido (during the Sharam Q days), I went to a fortune-teller at a street corner, who told me that it would be better for me not to quit jobs where I used words. After that, ‘Single Bed’ was made.
Yuzuki: I was surprised when Sato Masaki-chan sang ‘Some Boys! Touch’
Tsunku♂: It suits her, as of now.
Asai: Also, she’s always been saying that she wants to sing ‘Touch Me’.
Tsunku♂: Ah, Kishimoto. I remember Kishimoto and Dambara since I saw them get in.
Yuzuki: Why did you give her the nickname ‘Dambaran’?
Tsunku♂: There wasn’t any deep meaning behind it
Yuzuki: But ‘Ruru’…
Tsunku♂: Wouldn’t pass.
Tsunku♂: Ruru wouldn’t pass. Michishige was ‘Shige-san’.
Asai: Is that how it is. Like Ishida Ayumi-san wasn’t just Ayumi, but ‘Daaishi’. And Kanon was ‘Zukki’.
Up Up Girls (Kari)
Q.Thing you want to do
Mori: I went scuba diving recently. I can go to a max of 18m with my current licence. I want a licence that’ll let me go deeper. I want to make an Up Front Diving Club. There are many of us – Yajima-san, Nakajima-san, Sayuki, KanaTomo-chan, Makino, Kishimon
Q. Things you want to do personally
Arai: Travel. I went to Kyoto by myself the other day. I didn’t have any plans but really enjoyed it. Usually, we’d have to stick to our work schedule. On that Kyoto trip, I felt the joy of making my own decisions.
Q. Things you want to do personally
Saho: I hope to express myself in various ways. Not just singing and dancing, but in different forms as well.
Q. Things you want to do personally
Furukawa: There are lots of things that I want to do. Age-wise, my time limit is slowly catching up to me. Since my life has a time limit.
Q. What do you mean when you talk about your life’s time limit?
Furukawa: I’m slowly getting to an age where people are telling me that it’s no time to be playing around. So I’d like to do the things I can do while I’m still young.
Q. What sort of things would that be?
Furukawa: I got my driving licence recently and I’ve picked up the guitar. So I’d like to make something out of that, like have an acoustic live or sending the members home by car
Arai: That’s a manager’s job (lol)
Q. Things you want to do personally
Furukawa: This is a really personal dream, but since I love coffee, I’d like to make my own coffee blend
Arai: You mean like a barista?
Furukawa: Yeah. I’m studying up now. I’d like to make a Konatsu blend by picking out the beans I like (lol)
Sugoi. Yabai. 