I still want to do tour again tomorrow (Ozeki Rika x Harada Aoi BUBKA November 2017)

I’m all fired up now, i think right now
I still want to do tour again tomorrow.

It was a national tour where many things happened, including the difficult ones.

But for the people in question, we will talk about the summer like elementary schoolers thinking about their summer memories.

To talk about themselves who have grown big, about how they have embraced the experiences now, and their surprising desires.

The Summer That Changed Me

I think it was a raging summer for Keyakizaka46. How was it now that it’s over?

OZE: It was our first time doing a live event for an extended period of time together. The last time we were like this was for "Who killed Tokuyama Daigoro?”. I learned so much about them that i didn't know before and I feel like this summer has made our unity much stronger. Until recently i have no time to think of other members and during lives even if i move swiftly by myself it doesn't go smoothly. So next time when someone isn't doing well, somebody will extend their hand to help another member.

AOI: We spent long hours together and it was a chance to increase communication with members I don't usually get to speak with. It was an opportunity to talk to everyone and our bond as friends have strengthened because of that.

The keyword there is "Strong unity" and "Bond".

AOI: We introduced our new songs in the album and so we had to perform a lot of songs this time. There are members who are not good at memorizing so we support everyone working on it the whole night, that's also part of what's great about this tour.

Do the two of you voice your opinion during live events or when you're making a single?

BOTH: (Looks at each other)

OZE: We're both fine with everything, but when i do think of something, I don't say it in front of everyone...

AOI: Yeah, me too.

OZE: Whatever we wanted to say is communicated through Fuuchan (Saito Fuyuka).

AOI: When i say "I think it should be like this, what do you think?", Fuuchan would say "Hey, listen to this!"

OZE: It was like she interprets what we wanted to say. But it was different this summer. I noticed how everyone wouldn't say what they thought and it was all unclear. In the middle of our live, after Nagoya, I decided to "Say what I wanted to say" so i told them "I think we can do it a little more like this."

It all worked out in the end!

OZE: It was in the middle of rehearsal so everyone was there to listen. I thought it was a good time to say it.

What kind of situation was it like?

OZE: In the interlude of "Eccentric", there's a part of the dance where we have to squat and i was at the backmost so I can see if everyone was doing it right. I told them about this and Fuuchan said "Okay then let's do that"

Weren’t you nervous?

OZE: No, in fact I felt very nervous. I really wanted to know what the other members thought about what i said.

They can use that scene if they ever make a movie about the summer of Keyakizaka 46.

OZE: I want them to use it. (laughs)

How about you, Harada? Do you have an episode where you feel like you've broken out of your shell?

AOI: I don't speak in front of everyone, so this time, I spoke to Fuuchan as well. Even now I don't say my own opinions so when I do think of something, like "It's great to have that kind of..." i just let it dissipate in the air. It's more important whether I'm taking action or not. But I feel it’s not right to continue doing things that way for the tour. So I talked to Fuuchan about some ideas and she told everyone about it adding "Aoi thought of that" in the end.

You were left with no choice but to face reality right?

AOI: It’s really embarrassing. (laughs) I didn't know how the members were going to take it. But I was able to grow because of that, even just a little.

If you were given a homework to make an illustration diary of "A scene that left the most impression on you this summer" what would you draw?

OZE: Hmmm… It'd be us, singing at the height of "Abunakkashii Keikaku" for our 2nd day of Fukuoka

Why that moment in particular?

OZE: We started in Kobe and we were already on our 4th live for the 2nd day of Fukuoka. But it felt like the tension was a little off, so the other members were talking "We have to do something soon to raise the mood".

You were feeling gloomy on your 4th live.

OZE: Everyone sensed it. Our set list this time has "Abunakkashii Keikaku" in it. It's a song that can stir excitement among the crowd, where we can freely shout to our hearts content and whirl our towel in the air. Before we finish the interlude, the part of ♪ If i don’t fall in love it’d be a shame shame ♪ we all gathered around Hirate (Yurina) putting her in the middle.

AOI: Before we began our performance for our 2nd day of Nagoya, we had a discussion among ourselves saying "You know, we can't leave things the way they are." But no one knows how to fix it. And so, when we ended up talking about it, Fuuchan, who doesn't usually cry, started crying buckets.

OZE: Even (Watanabe) Risa too.

AOI: There was a lot of us who cried. Everyone gathered around to discuss it. "What do you guys want to do?" Yukka (Sugai Yukka) was the first to speak, then (Nagahama) Neru, "I dont understand what everyone thinks, I want to hear your opinion." It became easy for everyone to speak, so we take turns in expressing our thoughts.

So something like that happened.

AOI: That day left a huge impression on me. Knowing each other's ideas helped me reassess my thoughts and come up with better ways to do things. We wanted the people who came to watch our performance that day to have fun but we were in such an unstable state and so overall, we couldn't give our best. It made us think deeply about how we don't want anything like that happening again. That topic brought out the feeling like someone is saying "Do it properly!"

What do you mean by that, Harada?

AOI: The staff give all their best to think about what's good for us, there's even some who come and pay just to watch us. We're standing on stage not only for our own feelings but also for the staff, we're standing here to show them our best. I said something like that... though I was really nervous when i said that. (laughs) It was more tense than our live. It's because I'm not very good at public speaking.

What did Ozeki talk about?

OZE: I told them it may be difficult to put together how i really feel but even if I think differently, I'm sure I’d still want to go up on stage. No one wants to go out there feeling sad and so everyone went up there with that conviction.

Did the other members say how they felt?

AOI: I remember Neru's opinion.

OZE: Yeah, me too. It's something that happened before, how Neru went to Fukuoka by herself to see Nogizaka 46's tour. She said "I was really looking forward to that day and then i realized this is how they must feel like when people come to our show." Not only in lives but also during handshake events because there are fans who come from abroad.

Still, Nagoya was a difficult period for you guys. Hirate's absence for the performance gave you guys a chance to think about a lot of things. What went through your mind?

OZE: That's true but not only for Nagoya, she was absent on the first day of Kobe for "Silent Majority" as well. I didn't know what to feel. It was my first time experiencing that kind of emotion and although it's a song we've danced to for so many times it's like I forgot how the steps went. I always see Hirate's back when we dance, suddenly she’s not there...

By being absent your roles were reversed and your presence was pushed forward.

AOI: It was the same for both Kobe and Nagoya and my parents happened to see them. When I asked what they think, they said "Hmm..." and even for us members, in our minds Hirate is the center. Things are different when she's not there. I'm reminded again that she's carrying far greater responsibilities than I could imagine.

I think it's important to ask yourselves how to deal with issues when the group is left in a pinch.

AOI: I talked to Fuuchan at that time, I thought about filling the gap but I couldn’t do that. I felt miserable and powerless.

OZE: I often talk to Kobayashi (Yui) and Sato (Shiori) about lives but I couldn't come up with a conclusion. When a member is feeling down, it's difficult to force them to feel better. That's why I decided to move by myself. While doing your best, don't show negative emotions during live. If it works out and anyone around me takes notice then I think I've made a connection.

Suppose they make a movie about your tour, what do you think will the highlights be?

AOI: For me, It'll have to be the 2nd day of Fukuoka. We talked about a lot of things but it's when we performed "Abunakkashii keikaku". It lifted my emotions knowing we were able to overcome our struggles at the very end.

The Next Dream

Then we have the 2nd day of Makuhari which concluded the tour. "Fukyuowaon" in that double encore is the best part.

OZE: Personally, I haven't seen that kind of production for a double encore before. But there's a lot of ways where you feel happy and deeply moved to the end right? So from the fans perspective, I don't know if we disappointed them by ending with "Fukyuowaon" but I firmly want to do well and if i keep with that, I'm sure it'll be conveyed to our fans.

AOI: I was scared to look at the audience but we seriously prepared for it and we wanted them to be surprised. I want to preserve that moment, when the fans are captivated by the performance I love, I want to end the show there and have that image seared in my eyes. I think deep inside, everyone was thinking of that.

OZE: Also, if we keep doing "Fukyuowaon" at the end of every encore, we might get too used to it but since we did it on the last day, it felt amazing.

AOI: Yeah. It might be good to perform it after a long time. Honestly, I'm actually pretty fit. But since it’s the last performance, i wanted to put all my strength into dancing.

OZE: I totally exploded.

So you did. (laughs)

AOI: After it was over, everyone just kind of collapsed. The members used up all their strength in "Fukyuowaon". This is the song we danced the best

So after "Fukyuowaon", you got to rest the next day after the tour right? What did you do in your free time?

OZE: I become aware of our situation when I woke up in the morning. We'd been doing lives the whole time and I've grown fond of it. Even now, I'm still not very good at dancing and it carries over during live events The me from before was not good at dancing, so I dislike lives. My head is filled with thoughts of what we need to do, and I said this earlier but I want to be able to have fun with members again like in “Abunakkashi Keikaku”. I've come to like it now that I know there are other ways to perform a live. That’s why i’m ok with spending the next one year doing nothing but live performances.

That’s extreme. (laughs)

OZE: If you say"We'll be on tour again starting tomorrow. " i would answer"Let's do it!"

AOI: I want to do a tour.

OZE: Exactly! Let’s do a tour!

AOI: I want to go to a lot of places nationwide.

OZE: I’ve thought of going from Hokkaido to Okinawa before. So the next morning, I was like an empty shell and it felt like "Aah, It's over..."

AOI: I got up in the morning and I cleaned, then I went to the hospital and then I went shopping. When I got home, I made dinner for the family. That's what I do in a day. When I asked my mom what she wanted for her birthday, she said "How about you make  dinner one day?”

OZE: I went for a massage! I didn't have the energy to do anything.

INT: Nevertheless, Ozeki's transformation is amazing.

OZE: I wasn't very good with Live, it would've been impossible for me to do it before. But thanks to the tour, I was able to change this much. Even if we do it every day, i'll be fine. I found something very important to me. The problem is doing MC.

AOI: It’s gotta be the MC…

OZE: The Hiragana-chan's are truly amazing. They connect seamlessly with each other. I wonder how they do that?

AOI: Even now we have awkward moments in Kanji Keyaki.

OZE: Ufufufu.

INT: Let’s talk about it once you’ve come around that (laughs) At any rate, thank you for giving us a raging summer!

----

Raw 平手友梨奈 @weibo
Translator Tuturu
QC toomuchidea, Varianth