Ozono Rei interview in blt graph vol. 56 July 2020
There’s a serene atmosphere that surrounds the girl who grew up not knowing the hustle and bustle of the city. As if at a walking pace, comfortably.
--------When speaking of Ozono-san, there’s a strong impression of “interesting blogs”.
Thank you very much (laughs). I write them in the way that I want to, but actually at first, I consulted the staff about it. Is it fine to keep writing them the way that I am now, would it be better if I wrote it more cutesy, I was troubled. Then they told me, “Write in the way that you want to”, and then I thought, “Okay, I’ll write the way I like!”, so it turned into that style of writing.
Even the story about how you were saved by Keyakizaka46’s “Eccentric”; although the content was “as heavy as a dumbbell”, it was written in a light-hearted and witty way.
Since before I had talked about “being saved”, but I thought that writing about more specific things would convey the strength of my thoughts. Because of that, I wrote that blog.
But what enabled you, who was all alone, to keep yourself on your feet before encountering “Eccentric”, it makes me intrigued.
Hmm…… I think it was partly because I liked being by myself. When I was in my third year of high school there was someone who I was able to call my best friend, but up until then I had always spent my time alone. But I had liked Nogizaka46’s songs since middle school, so you could say that that was my emotional support. If I had not liked Nogizaka46, I might not have encountered Keyakizaka.
How was your encounter with Keyakizaka46?
It was shocking. I had become interested after listening to “Saimajo [Silent Majority]” on the Mechakari commercial, and after watching the music video I liked them straight away. The members sing, “Wearing the same clothes, wearing the same expression”, while they're all wearing the same uniform while sealing away their smile. At first glance it seems like they’re contracting themselves but the message concealed within it was so cool! They stole my heart.
Did you think that you wanted to become one of those members, and take the audition?
There were several opportunities (Nogizaka 3rd Generation or Hiragana Keyaki Member Recruitment) but I didn’t have the feeling of wanting to apply. But in my third year of high school when I had to choose what path I wanted to take in the future, I learned about the “Sakamichi Joint Audition” and for the first time, I thought that I had to take action. If I hadn’t been accepted back then, I would probably have still not decided about what I wanted to become in the future, maybe I would be going to university, somehow or other.
But after passing [the audition], there was still a bit of time before you were assigned [to a group]. During that period, how did you feel……?
During the selection, when I found out that I wasn’t going to be put into any of the groups, as expected I was quite shocked. But I couldn’t let it end there, or rather…… (tearing up). Now I’m happy that I was a trainee for a period of time. The dancers gave us lessons on Nogizaka46-san, Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46-san’s choreography, so I was able to rediscover the charms of each group. Also, during a lesson on Hinatazaka-san’s songs, there was a part where there wasn’t assigned choreography so I said to the dance teacher that I wanted to put in the moves that I thought of myself. When I said so, they supported me by saying, “That kind of idea, the one who does it first is the one who wins”. From then on I started liking the proverb, “The one who does it first is the one who wins”, it’s become a charm for me when I need to be brave. As a result, I write those weird blogs (laughs).
They’re not weird, they’re interesting.
Personally, I feel like it’s slowly becoming my “dark past”. But unwaveringly, I still think that Onuma Akiho is funnier than me. In a very serious situation where you are supposed to say, “I’m dumbfounded [dogimo]!”, she said “I’m dumbounded [dogibo]!”, that was even more dumbfounding (laughs). I’ve never seen someone so air headed before.
Ozono-san, what comment would you be happy to hear from the people around you?
I wonder what……? I want to make the people who are around me smile so, being told I’m “funny” would be good (laughs). I also think that I’m a bit “unusual”, so hearing that might make me happy. On the contrary, being told that I’m “surprisingly normal” makes me wonder what part of me is normal. It’s a bit similar to the lyrics of “Eccentric”.
Ozono-san is without a doubt not just normal, I think you’re funny and unique.
Originally I had wanted individuality. Because I felt as though I had no individuality. But after being assigned to Keyaki I’ve been told that I have a “strong character” so I thought, huh, I guess I’m someone with a strong character, it made me happy (laughs). I really didn’t have any self-awareness before, but after adopting the “The one who does it first is the one who wins” mentality, I might have changed.
I’m anticipating the growth of your character. Lastly, I’ll let you talk about your ambitions for the future and then we’ll end the conversation.
Not only in live performances, I want to directly express my gratitude to Keyakizaka’s fans at handshake events as well. Being able to enter Keyaki, being able to meet the members, having everyone know of my existence, I think that it’s due to miraculous events happening one after the other. I want to experience that destiny and miracles, by meeting everyone.
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Translator: ichikabachika
QC: toomuchidea
Raw @ weibo
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