Inoue Rina from Sakurazaka46 - Her comedic blood is boiling.「Tease Me More」The Kansai girl INORI (Sakamichi's Tuesday 23 May 2023 column in Nikkan Sports)
T/N : The INORI on title of the article is written as 祈り (いのり), which means “prayer”. Not sure if this is purely a mistake on the editor’s part due to automatic hiragana to kanji conversion, or was it on purpose as a form of teasing.
Inoue Rina (22) from Sakurazaka46 is appearing as the current season’s regular personality every Wednesday for TBS channel 「LOVE IT!」(Monday ~ Friday, 8 AM).
The variety show about skits on TV ASAHI, 「Sakura Meets」(Thursday nights, 1:56 AM), has started as well. With her assertive personality, something that is characteristic of a Kansai native, she continues to establish her presence as the commander in charge. (article by Yokoyama Satoshi)
Looking back on becoming part of the 「LOVE IT! Family」for the April ~ June season and being appointed as the Wednesday regular, “The other members have appeared before, so I was hoping that I would also get the chance to. I’m really happy that it came true,” said Inoue. It is her very first time being a regular for a live show. “I was really nervous for my first appearance, but during the commercial break and on other occasions, the other co-stars engaged me in the conversation. It really helped me to feel more relieved,” she said gratefully.
During the quiz segments, the comedians who appeared in the show were giving unusual or comedic answers successively. It gave the show a reputation for being an “Oogiri show” (Oogiri : Making puns, funny answers, or even answers that don’t make any sense for a certain topic). “Whenever my comments were rejected, it would kind of make my Kansai bloodline boil. I’d always reflect on it quite a bit, like ‘My answer just now was too normal’,” she said enthusiastically.
Regarding her thoughts about the host, Kawashima Akira (44) : “He has such a nice voice. Being able to hear Kawashima-san’s hunky voice the first thing in the morning right next to him makes it more like a special occasion!” she expressed. “Even though the comedians went on a rampage, at the very end he’s always able to bring everything together. He’s such a great person. My grandma seems to like Kawashima-san a lot too, so I believe she’s also happy about this,” she said with a smile.
“I’m kind of sad since my term as a regular is fixed. However, I also feel that I haven’t shown my full potential yet. I want to get along better with the co-stars and hope that they are becoming more comfortable teasing me!”
In 「Sakura Meets」, she took the challenge of performing a full-fledged skits together with the comedians. “There are times where I think ‘it would’ve been better if I changed that line like this’... I’m still learning.” Her appearance in TV ASAHI’s 「Cream Nantara」show in a segment called “Ningen Install (Human Installation)”, where she and the other members were told to do or say things remotely by the comedians, became a trending topic. “Ever since that show, more people have been telling me that I’m funny in variety shows,” she said gratefully.
In the group’s flagship program on TV TOKYO 「Soko Magattara, Sakurazaka?」 (Sunday nights, 0:35 AM), she is a reliable person who participates in any segment enthusiastically. “I need to keep on challenging many things in order to gain the trust of many people,” she said positively. Whenever the hosts Sawabe Yuu (37) or Tsuchida Teruyuki (50) ask “Who can do this?”, she eagerly raises her hand every time. “I really think that I’m able to do those things. Nothing is impossible. I mean, the possibilities are endless,” she said with a laugh.
The 3rd-gen members who have just joined in January this year are also looking for her advice. Kojima Nagisa (17) asked her : “Please let me be your apprentice”. “I guess the 3rd-gen members were also struggling when they showed up on TV for the first time. I also had the same struggle, so I want to share with them whatever I can,” she said caringly.
“I’ve gradually gotten more opportunities to appear in variety shows, so I hope people who do not know Sakurazaka46 yet will get to know us and become Buddies (how the fans are called). Then they can come to our concerts and see how different we are on stage!”
With her strong Kansai spirit, she will continue to make a lasting impression on the viewers.
◆ Inoue Rina (Inoue Rina), born January 29th, 2001 (Heisei 13) in Hyogo prefecture. She joined as a 2nd-gen member of Keyakizaka46 (now Sakurazaka46) in November, 2018. One of her nicknames is 「Inori」. From May last year, she served as the main personality for NHK FM radio show 「Sakurazaka46 Kochira Yurakuchou Hoshizora Housou Kyoku」(Sunday evening, 11 PM). She is 163 cm tall. Her blood type is A.
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