Ozeki Rika & Yamasaki Ten Interview (Top Yell NEO 2019-2020)

In 2019, the full-scale participation of 2ki, a tour, Tokyo Dome, the introduction of a selection system and many more happened in a year in Keyakizaka46. The members have been running with an understanding each of it, but sometimes it's good to stop. What did they see when they look back upon the year of the raging storm?

Interviewer:　It's a year-end interview. The theme is looking back on 2019, but you might be sick and tired of it, so you can choose a different theme. What should we do?

Ozeki:　I may haven’t done a “looking back” interview.

Yamasaki:　I only got interviewed about that once.

Interviewer: Ah, that’s right.

Ozeki:　Otherwise, we can just talk about whatever Ten is interested in. (laughs)

Yamasaki:　Recently, I have only been watching children's videos. The behavior of kindergarteners is interesting, so I just watch it.

Ozeki:　I see. I'm addicted to cooking hot pots. The other day, I cooked tonkotsu-soy sauce hot pot.

Interviewer:　Is that the soup that can be sell for less than 300yen?

Ozeki:　Yeah! I continuously ate it for a week. I bought a clay pot and bought vegetables. The first time I made it, I cut too many vegetables, so it got crushed by the lid. Oh, I also made fried chicken for Ten.

Yamasaki:　It was very delicious.

Ozeki:　Ten might be the first member I gave food to. I thought that since she came to Tokyo, she couldn’t eat her mother's homemade food.

Yamasaki:　I eat fried chicken from the morning. (laughs)

Ozeki:　You eat two portions of rice, right?

Interviewer:　It seems that this will never end, so how about we get to our main topic (laughs). What were your biggest memories of 2019?

Ozeki:　I remember doing a lot of lives, especially from April to September.

Yamasaki:　2ki is the same too. We only have memories of rehearsals.

Ozeki:　Of course, Tokyo Dome. But surprisingly, the anniversary live performance that we did in Osaka last April was also impressive. It was also great that we performed with 2ki for the first time, and the concept of the live performance was different from usual, so it was impressive.

Yamasaki:　The only thing I remember was the Keyaki Republic.

Ozeki:　Only?

Yamasaki:　Unexpectedly, I forget the actual performance. But I remember the rehearsals.

Ozeki:　Sometimes the great feeling of completing something that we don’t remember, right? Even if I try to remember the setlist in the interview, unexpectedly, I don't.

Yamasaki:　In such a situation, Republic was outdoors, so I remember that it was fun. It was fun to sprinkle water. I wanted to do it a bit more.

Ozeki:　I know! I could only do it twice since the amount of water discharge was strong.

Yamasaki:　It took our travel time.

Ozeki:　That's true. It takes time to get to the watch stand. I couldn't ride the raft-shaped trolley, so I have a bit of regret. My brother came so when I found him, I sprayed water at him. After that, I received a complaint that he got a cold. (laughs).

Yamasaki:　Everyone seemed to be having fun from the rehearsal.

Ozeki:　I wonder if the first half where everyone participated in Bathroom Travel, and the cool second half was good.

Interviewer:　After that was Tokyo Dome, right?

Ozeki:　The scale was too big, there was a sensation like it was our first live performance. I couldn't get a sense of it. I thought if I continue doing the same way of expression, I wouldn't be able to convey it to the back. The first time I entered the dome was the day of performance, but when I was dancing at the back most of the stage during rehearsal, I wondered how far I could see.

Interviewer:　There were songs that you perform on the top stage, and the ones you perform on the bottom stage, right?

Ozeki:　I was really interested. I wonder how it looked to the people on the opposite side.

Yamasaki:　I was dancing while thinking about a lot of things. What I especially thought was that it was good that we were all able to do it together.

Interviewer:　What did you think when you knew you were going to do Fukyouwaon at the encore on the first day?

Ozeki:　I had a feeling that we had to do it someday. I thought the Tokyo Dome was good timing. But when I heard the loud cheers of the fans, I wondered if they didn’t think we were going to perform it. How was it for you, Ten?

Yamasaki:　I wonder how it was. I think I was looking at the monitor but... My memory is vague.

Ozeki:　So, do you remember that we all had a small gathering after the second day? We ate sweets and gnocchi together. You even asked, "what's this?" while eating.

Yamasaki:　I remember eating it, but I don't remember the gnocchi (laughs).

Ozeki:　What!

Yamasaki:　Ah, I ate lasagna.

Interviewer:　You forgot about Fukyouwaon but remembered about lasagna (laughs).

Yamasaki:　I remember looking at the monitor in awe. In 2ki, 5 people didn’t perform, so we watched together.

Ozeki:　You'll fall into awe at such times, don't you? I've never seen it from another place. I don't know what kind of feelings I'll fall into.

Yamasaki:　I heard the cheers.

Ozeki:　I was using an in-ear monitor, but I heard it too. The "wah" cheers were so loud that I couldn't hear any sound coming from the in-ear monitor. I was dancing so I didn’t know about the timing. But I’m glad that we performed it

Interviewer:　Any other big events besides that?

Ozeki:　From this year, it was great that I was able to become the personality of the radio program called "Kochira Yurakucho Hoshizora Hosokyoku". I love radio related work, so when it comes to becoming the main personality, the approach is completely different, I faced it seriously. If I can't be dynamic, I can't draw out the conversation.

Interviewer:　It’s a good idea to "pull it out" (laughs).

Ozeki:　That's how radio works (laughs). Anyway, I learned what to do on the radio. I wonder if I became a bit better at talking. I don't know it myself.

Interviewer:　Actually, I think you got better. Aren’t you being chatty to Yamasaki-santoday?

Yamasaki:　That's right. But it seems an Ozeki-san like atmosphere remains. (laughs)

Interviewer:　And what about you, Yamasaki-san?

Yamasaki:　I don't think I've changed, but I think I could communicate more because I had a lot of activities with 2ki.

Interviewer:　How about the distance with your seniors?

Yamasaki:　I talked a lot, right?

Ozeki:　That's true. I was worried that there would be more gaps.

Yamasaki:　They are good at keeping their distance. It feels like they know each other.

Ozeki:　1ki might have a high perception ability (laughs).

Yamasaki:　It does feel like that.

Ozeki:　It's because we know ‘this girl has this personality’, so she's like this.

Yamasaki:　That's why talking to them feels at ease and also fun. Everyone is shy, right?

Ozeki:　Yes, a group of shy people (laughs). Aren't we all feel so human?We don’t feel human-like, don’t we?

Yamasaki:　That's true.

Ozeki: 　But 2ki are also very people-like. You all have a rich expression.

Interviewer:　I also asked the three 2ki on the cover, but in 2019’s "Keyakitte, Kakenai?" What impressed me most was the waterfall line of the hit prayer of "Kuroi Hitsuji". It was a candidate system for members who wanted to go, but what did you feel when you participated in the recording?

Ozeki:　It was really refreshing. I don't think I've ever decided on anything by raising my hand. Personally, I thought only Sugai (Yuuka) and Moriya (Akane) would raise their hands, but I was surprised because everyone did it, too. Because most of the members raised their hands, I was not confident if I could carry everyone's feelings on my back. I didn't have the courage. Everyone thinks of each other so much, that might be the first time I felt such feelings in a "Keyakake" recording.

Interviewer:　Everyone spoke of their true feelings.

Ozeki:　I don't think the members, Tsuchida-san (Teruyuki) and Sawabe-san (Yu) expect it to be like that either. I wonder if we were able to unite in that recording. I don't usually show my emotions like that, but everyone's tears made me so.

Interviewer:　Isn't it amazing that your emotions burst while the TV camera was rolling?

Ozeki:　I thought that it wasn’t the usual us. I wondered if those are our true feelings. Ten was on the stand, right?

Yamasaki:　Yes. I've been thinking about it, so I wasn't aware of the camera either. However, I think that Keyakizaka46’s good part is showing.

Ozeki:　That's true. It's not teamwork, but it's something like "that".

Yamasaki:　The feeling of “real”ness.

Ozeki:　We often talked to each other for the live show, but we haven't had that kind of atmosphere during recording.

Interviewer:　Several members said, "I haven't been able to contribute." or "I want to change myself," but on the other side, and beyond that there is a feeling that they like the group. I think it’s a feeling that 1ki share together. I thought it was so strong that I honestly wondered if 2ki would be able to keep up with it.

Ozeki:　That's what I thought too. At that time, I was looking at it objectively, and if I was a 2ki, I wouldn't want to be able to enter. I would wonder how I could enter such strong feelings. It was after the hit prayer that 2ki joined the live show.

Interviewer:　I see.

Ozeki:　If I were in their position, I would be worried if we could perform live together. However, 2ki stood by us. I think 2ki was able to join because they had a strong desire for the group.

Interviewer:　Among 2ki, were you afraid to join April's anniversary live?

Yamasaki:　There are a lot of girls who originally like Keyakizaka46, but I think that what each person felt in that recording was different. I felt that some girls thought that "Keyakizaka46 is amazing", some of them looked at them with respect thinking "1ki is really amazing," and some of them were objective thinking "So this is Keyakizaka46."

Interviewer:　Even if you watch the scene closely, did you feel the difference in enthusiasm when you try to work together?

Ozeki:　There were many times when I thought that all the live performances after April wouldn’t be possible without the 2ki. That was what everyone in 1kisei talked about. We felt helped by them

Interviewer:　Another major change in Keyakizaka46 in 2019 was the introduction of a selection system.

Ozeki:　That's right. That was big. It's just starting, so there are things that we don't know about. For me, for a moment, I couldn't see my future activities. But I was prepared that the time for a selection has come. Although in reality, I accepted it differently.

Interviewer:　Why were you prepared?

Ozeki:　It's been a while since 2ki came in. When it comes to performing as a team, the number of people increased. Among 2ki, some are good at dancing and some were able to talk well, so I wondered if dancing was the only difference between them and 1ki. I felt that it was necessary to show the new Keyakizaka46.

Yamasaki:　2kisei have many new experiences, but 1kisei have many things to think about

Interviewer:　Did you think you'll get selected?

Yamasaki:　I didn't. I was certain that I wouldn’t get selected. None of us thought that 2ki would enter. I didn't even think I'll be called in the selection announcement. Of course, I had a lot of thoughts about not being chosen, but I wasn't shocked or surprised.

Interviewer:　”If the next one was also a selection system…” Did you think about it??

Yamasaki:　Hmmm, there’s no need to think that far yet.

Ozeki:　You would think that the selected members for the 9th single would appear in music programs and such. I guess there are still some parts of me that haven’t felt the reality. And that's why I can't imagine what will happen in 2020. It might be the first time I would pass a year without being able to imagine any single thing. Are you able to imagine it?

Interviewer:　No, I can't see it, either. Whether it's a single or a live performance.

Ozeki:　Nevertheless, being allowed to perform in Tokyo Dome was very big. As for Keyakizaka46, it feels like one chapter was completed. I don't think we know which direction to start next.

Interviewer:　So even the members don't know how they are going to progress next.

Ozeki:　Yes. I think it's the same with the fans, too. What will happen to Keyakizaka46 in the future? It’s also our first selection, so I don’t think anyone can clearly see what will happen from now.

Interviewer:　You didn't set the place as a goal, so you don't feel like it is the end.

Ozeki:　Even so, it's amazing when I think about it again. I can't believe that we stood in Tokyo Dome. I don't know if it was real or not.

Interviewer:　Yamasaki-san, do you have anything you want to do in 2020?

Yamasaki:　It's not a goal, but I want to do something with all the members. Anything is all right. I wish there was something even if it wasn't a live show.

Interviewer:　If there is a Keyaki Republic in 2020, it would be good to spray water again.

Yamasaki:　I want to do something different next time, like spraying colored water.

Ozeki:　That will be very troublesome for the fans! They can't come unless they wear clothes that they can no longer wear.

Yamasaki:　I'd like them to wear pure white clothes.

Ozeki:　So we're going to dye it. It might be fun.

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Translation: sunsetrider
QC: toomuchidea
Raw @ weibo