Taniguchi Airi interview from BUBKA June 2023 edition
Q: What was your childhood like?
I was a lively kid who often ran around and played in the mud from my preschool days until I was in year three of elementary school. Then after that, I got into reading, so I spent more time reading the books I borrowed from the library in the classroom than outside. I spent a lot of time alone in my first year of middle school.
Q: At what age did you join Actors School Hiroshima?
I was enrolled there from when I was five years old until I graduated elementary school. I felt comfortable there because I was with people who have the same goals as me, since I couldn’t really talk about it at school.
Q: Did the initiative to join come from yourself?
I’ve liked singing and dancing while watching TV since I was little, so my mother enrolled me in the school. At that time, I was a fan of Momoiro Clover Z.
Q: When we talk about the Sakamichi Series and Actors School Hiroshima, Nakamoto Himeka-san comes to mind. Have you heard of her before?
Of course. At that time, she felt like someone from a different world. I thought that I want to become someone like her too.
Q: You said that you spent a lot of time alone during the first year of middle school, so did you change after the second year of middle school?
When I became a second-year student, I found some friends who I can talk to, and I became more cheerful and talked to other people more. I even joined the student council in my third year.
Q: You seem like you’re a strong-willed person, but is it actually true?
When I was a kid, I would not bend when I’ve decided upon something, even when people tell me “Isn’t this already good enough?”, I just wouldn’t do it if I can’t accept it myself. But, in middle school, I got involved with other people more. I wouldn’t say I got swept away, but my perspective has widened.
Q: How did you come across either Sakurazaka46 or Keyakizaka46, and which songs left an impression on you?
When “Silent Majority” was widely popular, I thought that they were amazing, and when I realized, I came to watch music shows and such because Keyakizaka46 would appear. Everyone’s expressiveness was amazing, and it caught your eyes. There was a time when I had to distance myself from idols because I had to take exams to enter middle school, but after I got into middle school I followed idols again. I had high school entrance exams when the group got renamed to Sakurazaka46, and this time the songs “BAN” and “Nagaredama” supported me. Since then, when I felt down because I couldn’t get used to my new environment, I was helped by Sakurazaka46 who expressed their feelings from the bottom of their hearts through their songs and dances, so I thought that I want to become someone like that too.
Q: Tell us the reason you entered Sakurazaka46’s audition.
After entering high school, I thought to do my best in studying, but seeing my friends from Actor School debuting as an idol, joining an agency, seeing them finding the things they want to do in life made me think, “If I keep staying like this, entering university and working an office job, is that really what I want?” and then my mother said, “If you want to try being an idol, I will only allow it until you’re in the second year of high school”. With those words, I regained the feelings of admiration for idols that I had during my preschool days, and I took the Sakurazaka46 audition which had the tagline “There is no one who doesn’t bloom” with the thought of “I would like to bloom too”.
Q: Seems like your mother had sensed that you wanted to become an idol?
I never told her myself, but it seems like she did. Maybe she found out because I kept dancing and singing in my room, and I also kept watching videos of my friend who did idol activities. (laughs)
Q: Of course she would find out if it’s like that (laughs). So your mother is supportive of your idol activities?
When I decided to take the audition, she said “It’s fine if Airi wants to do it, but this doesn’t mean I fully approve of it”, I took the audition with her words in mind. My mother became more supportive when I started doing idol activities, but my brother who’s five years younger than me was against it. He would say things like “Do you really have to do it?” every time I came back home. But my brother accepted it after he came to watch the “Omotenashikai”.
Q: How did you feel when standing in front of the fans during the “Omotenashikai”?
The scenery I saw from the stage didn’t feel real, it felt like I was watching a video of another idol’s performance. It all felt unreal.
Q: You performed as the center of the third-generation members song, “Natsu no Chikamichi”, during the live performance part of the “Omotenashikai”.
I put my all into it because I thought that the performance of this song will decide people’s impressions on the third-generation members. Buddies would tell me that they liked “Natsu no Chikamichi” and praise me for my facial expressions during the online meet & greet sessions, and I think they expected the song to be performed. For the MV, I had to express myself so that it can be conveyed through the screen, but I can only do the performance in “Omotenashikai” at that time, so I tried to do facial expressions that can convey the protagonist’s feelings even more. I remember being really fired up during the interlude part where the two members who were revealed later (Murai, Yamashita) danced, and hearing the cheers from fans too, made my emotions reach maximum level.
Q: What kind of idol do you want to be?
I want to be an idol who continuously grows not just in my singing and dancing abilities and expressiveness, but also as a human. In order to achieve that, I must think flexibly, be able to adapt to anything, not set any limits for myself, and I would like to soak up every one of my experiences just like a sponge.
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