Murai Yu x Yamashita Shizuki from ExTaishu July 2023 edition
Supporting each other until now, growing together from now on
Sakurazaka46 3rd generation
Yamashita Shizuki x Murai Yu
“Team Usagi Neko” Duo’s First Appearance!
Due to their studies, they joined the group a little later than the other nine members.
Their struggles, hardships, and deepened bonds must have helped them grow even more.
Because of what "Team Usagi Neko" went through, now they can tell us about the time they spent supporting each other, the bonds of the 3rd generation, and the self-awareness of being a "member of Sakurazaka46".
My own personality that I expressed in the interlude of "Natsu no Chikamichi”
Q: When did Murai-san and Yamashita-san know about each other?
Yu: On the 4th Round of the auditions.
Shizuki: We happened to be sitting at the same table. We both have experience in dancing, and I remember talking about that. I thought of Yu as “a girl from Tokyo”. She was bright, energetic, cute and fashionable. That impression has not changed.
Yu: I thought that Shii-chan was "a quiet and cute girl", which was also because she was wearing an elegant dress.
Q: Did your impression of Yamashita-san change?
Yu: When I talked to her, I found her to be quite talkative (laughs).
Q: After passing the audition and taking lessons as trainees, the two members officially became members, but your reveal was delayed due to academic commitments.
Shizuki: I didn't mind at first, but during the training camp, I began to feel that it sure is stressful to be revealed later. I talked to Yu and shared the hardships that I felt with her.
Yu: Because Shii-chan was there, I was able to do my best. If I had been alone, I might not have been able to endure it. I am glad that Shii-chan was there.
Q: But you were being recorded at the training camp.
Yu: The staff told us that our faces will be blurred and Shii-chan and I also talked about staying on the sides, so we don't get recorded. During the training camp, we mostly spent time together.
Shizuki: I like Sakurazaka46, but I had never thought that I wanted to be an idol until I auditioned for the group. So, when our activities finally started, I had a lot of confusion. With my reveal being delayed too, if I had been alone, I think I would've been depressed. (laughs). Right now, I've made up my mind to do my best because I've been accepted as a third-generation member. But back then, I was feeling worried.
Q: Murai-san had never heard of Sakurazaka 46, but you auditioned at your mother’s suggestion, right?
Yu: Yes, that’s right. Now I'm having a lot of fun and I'm glad I joined Sakurazaka46. Shii-chan and I spent a lot of time together, but the bond between the 11 members of the 3rd generation deepened during the training camp.
Q: Murai-san wrote in her blog, “I'm good at rock and hip-hop dance genres, but Shii-chan is good at waacking and girl's dance. Since we are good at different genres, we could teach each other about dancing, and it was often stimulating.” Do you feel the same way, Yamashita-san?
Shizuki: Indeed, I think that Yu is good at dancing with power. In the freestyle dance interlude in “Natsu no Chikamichi”, I often learn from watching Yu doing the moves that I couldn't do well.
Yu: I also learned from watching Shii-chan's dance.
Q: Did you two spend a lot of time together during the shooting of the music video for "Natsu no Chikamichi"?
Yu: Yes, we did. We were both locked inside a partition (laughs).
Shizuki: The two of us practiced dancing together for about three hours. When the music video was released, since I watched the 9 of them filming the whole time, I was thrilled to see it all come together as one single work. What surprised me was that the first thing they showed was me and Yu dancing.
Yu: I was wondering if I would be able to join the others from the third generation, but when I saw the video of Shii-chan and me, I was happy and thought, “We are also a part of the 3rd generation”.
Q: Were you worried that not many people would know about you at the "Omotenashikai" on March 4th and 5th?
Yu: Our profile was published on March 1st and 2nd, so I was very nervous.
Shizuki: The other 3rd generation had already been in contact with “Buddies” at the online Meet & Greet, so I felt that there was already a gap between us.
Yu: But when we got on stage, there were many people holding up our towels, and we were happy to see that they knew of us. I was so happy.
Q: With what kind of feeling did you do the dance in the interlude of "Natsu no Chikamichi"?
Yu: Before we were revealed, only silhouettes of us dancing were shown to the public, so we said, “Let's do our best so that people will think we are two people who are good at dancing.” So, we were determined to dance with power on stage as well.
Shizuki: I don't remember much about how I felt at the time. However, when we were dancing, I could hear the voices of the other nine members of the 3rd generation, and as Yu and I got into the mood, we felt everyone's voices getting louder, which made us work even harder… I think I was dancing while thinking about the 3rd generation.
Q: The audience was also very excited.
Yu: Even though I was wearing ear monitors, I could hear the voices of every Buddies, and I truly enjoyed dancing from my heart. I think we were able to use our strengths because it was a freestyle dance.
Shizuki: However, it was my first time to dance freestyle, so when I was thinking about the choreography, I felt like my head was going to explode. I asked Mukai Itoha to accompany me, but I couldn't come up with anything at all.
Q: Did you two ever discuss about the freestyle dance?
Shizuki: We both wondered if it would be okay, because our dance styles were different, but TAKAHIRO-sensei told us, “This is a self-introduction, so I want you to dance your own dance without aligning your styles”.
Q: In the documentary, TAKAHIRO-sensei praised Murai-san for your dance skills and Yamashita-san for your ability to immerse yourself in a song.
Yu: At that time, all I could think about was doing my best dancing sharply. When I heard TAKAHIRO-sensei's words to Shii-chan, I realized “So that's how it is”.
Shizuki: When we were learning "BAN"'s choreography for the first time, I was told to “Don't just dance, put your emotions into it” but since I had been focusing on just on dancing until then, I did not understand what that meant and was puzzled. Through the lessons at the camp, I felt that I was able to express the songs without being conscious of it, so I was glad to hear that from TAKAHIRO-sensei.
Q: Please tell me what you like about each other's dancing.
Yu: Shii-chan's arm-twirling waacking moves are so beautiful, and I always think “That’s amazing”.
Shizuki: Yu is good at cool moves, and her quick stop-and-go moves are attention-grabbing. I watch her while thinking, “She has a beautiful silhouette”.
Yu: Did you really think that? I've never heard that before (laughs).
Shizuki: Wouldn't it be weird if I said that on a regular basis (laughs)?
Are Team Usagi Neko Natural-Born Idols?
Q: What do you find attractive about each other as idols?
Shizuki: During the online Meet & Greet, I heard Yu's voice, and she responded to the fans so well that I would have enjoyed it if I had participated in it, and I thought that she's the ideal idol.
Yu: (Embarrassed smile).
Shizuki: She didn't do it with the thought of, “I'm sure they'll be happy if I say this”, I felt her genuine cheerfulness and energy. She is a natural idol.
Yu: Ehh ~ (laughs).
Q: What about Yamashita-san from Murai-san’s point of view?
Yu: (Making gestures such as covering her mouth) Shii-chan's movements are so cute, like this kind of movement or this one Shii-chan … I love the way she moves and every single gesture she makes is so cute. Ah, her current gesture is cute too!
Shizuki: (Hang her head down and refraining from making any movement).
Yu: I think she has a natural cuteness that I don’t have.
Shizuki: I can't do anything anymore (laughs)!
Q: Yamashita-san likes idols, but your movements were not copied from them, it comes out naturally, right?
Shizuki: I like Moriya Rena's burikko character, but I can't do that myself! However, many people said the same things as Yu.
Q: What is the origin of your duo name "Usagi-Neko"?
Shizuki: Yu had "Usagi no Yu (Yu the Rabbit)" in her catchphrase.
Yu: When I was first asked to introduce myself, I said, "I’m Yu the Rabbit" but I was embarrassed so I stopped (laugh).
Shizuki: But I thought it might have an impact because it’s memorable.
Q: And Yamashita-san said "Neko (Cat)"?
Shizuki: When I tried to compare myself to an animal, Yu said that I’m a cat. Even though I think that I’m a dog.
Yu: Shii-chan is a tsundere. She sometimes shows a cold attitude, but inside she is not like that.
Shizuki: That's right (laughs). If you talk to me, I will talk a lot.
Q: She’s also tsundere to her mother.
Shizuki: That’s true (laughs).
Q: Tell us about Sakurazaka46's “3rd TOUR 2023”, which is your first tour participation. The 3rd gen performed "Dead end", and Murai-san was the center.
Yu: There was a pressure to “Perform beyond expectations.” ……… I gave it my best (laughsl). I had the opportunity to see Morita Hikaru perform “Dead End” at Tokyo Dome (November 8th and 9th 2022), and she looked so cool from the moment she appeared on stage while sitting on the chair, I used that facial expression of hers as a reference.
Shizuki: She seemed to be struggling with the timing of hyping up the audience, and I was impressed to see Yu doing her best practicing in front of the mirror during the break. I think it paid off during the live performance. When I watched the video of the live performance, I was attracted by the strength of Yu's gaze.
Yu: (Embarrassed smile).
Q: Yamashita-san also acted as the center of “Samidare-yo” at the “Omotenashikai”. Did you ever feel lonely because you are at the center?
Shizuki: I didn't feel “alone” at that time because I was very focused on conveying the song with everyone, and I had practiced with Kojima Nagisa and Nakashima Yuzuki who were on both sides of me. But if Yu is feeling lonely in "Dead End", I have to support her.
Yu: Thank you. There were moments when I felt lonely during “Nobody's fault” in "Omotenashikai," but I'm okay with “Dead End” on the tour because I have a strong sense that I'm performing with all the 3rd generations.
Q: There was a performance with the seniors in "Buddies" and "Sakurazaka no Uta".
Yu: Until now, I had felt like “One of the 3rd generation members” but performing with the seniors made me feel like I was “a member of Sakurazaka46”.
Shizuki: After the seniors were shown on the monitor, I saw myself and the other 3rd generation members getting shot, and while I felt surprised, I was genuinely happy. I have become someone who does the performance, so I wanted to be another me who can watch the performance objectively.
Q: I think you had a chance to see your seniors perform up close.
Shizuki: I was able to watch their performance up close during rehearsals, and I could tell just from a quick glance that they were synchronized.
Yu: I especially admired the dance during the interlude of “BAN”.
Q: Did you get to know your seniors better through the tour?
Shizuki: On tour, the seniors and I were both feeling excited, so it was easy to talk to them. I talked to Yui-san (Kobayashi) at every performance, and she patted me on the head at the catering place.
Yu: She says that Shii-chan is “my kitten”.
Shizuki: That’s right (laughs).
Q: Aren’t you glad to be a cat and not a dog?
Shizuki: That may be so (laughs).
Q: Do you interact with your seniors, Murai-san?
Yu: I had a chance to talk with Uemura Rina-san during the break, I was also able to sit next to her when we were on the way and bought souvenirs together during the Fukuoka concert.
Q: So, you are that close. Finally, please tell us about your enthusiasm for the live concert at ZOZO Marine Stadium on November 25th and 26th.
Shizuki: I have always wanted to do an outdoor performance, so even though the W-KEYAKI FES is gone, I am happy to be able to perform at the ZOZO Marine Stadium. I hope that many people will come to like Sakurazaka46 and go to see the show.
Yu: I long to do a concert where we perform as the bright sky is getting darker, so I’m already excited about it even now. I would like to show you a more powerful Sakurazaka46 after the tour.
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