Kousaka Marino interview in B.L.T. July 2024 edition

 

ーIt’s been 1 and a half years since your last performance at Tokyo Dome. What’s your perspective on that, Kousaka-san?

Kousaka: It feels like it was quite a while ago, and when they told us that we’d be performing at Tokyo Dome again, I also thought “Huh?? Already!?” So I do feel both ways about it. But last time it felt like performing there was a privilege given to us, while this time I feel we’ll be on that stage through our own ability. Also, when I look at the video of last time, my hair is so short. That’s another thing that made me realize just how much time has passed. 

ーIn that time, the environment and state of things surrounding Sakurazaka46 have changed. What do you think about that?

Kousaka: Right, I heard that tickets for the 4th tour were sold out, so I hope that can be the case for our Tokyo Dome performance as well. We get to put out good songs every time we release a single, and even if we’re the ones doing it, we feel that the production for the concerts are cool as well, so I feel we are gradually evolving as a group. In the past, I’d be frantically preoccupied only with what I’m doing, or rather I wouldn’t be able to think about anything but my own position and dancing during performances, but lately I feel that I’ve been able to pay more attention to the fans now. 

ーSpeaking of your attention, you’ve been really open about your passionate feelings towards Inoue Rina-san the last few months...

Kousaka: Yes, I thought she looked cool in danso on Sokosaku (Soko magattara, Sakurazaka), and because of that I started thinking the usual Inoue Rina-chan is really cute too. She’s seriously the cutest in the entire world. She’s been telling me “You’ll get tired of me soon enough,” but I’m truly devoted to her and haven’t cooled off at all. After all, I’ve liked her for 4 months already~. I even watch her on the monitor during concerts, and it makes me happy when we hold hands as well. In the lesson room, since our hands might hit each other depending on the choreography, everyone adjusts their positioning to make sure we don’t collide with one another. But I purposefully dance in a way that can cause our hands to touch. 

ーSeems like that could end up influencing your performance (lol). So how have you felt about the distance between you and Inoue-san after that?

Kousaka: I'd like to hang out with her in our off time, but I’m not the type that can invite her out myself. Plus, I’d be nervous if it were just the two of us together, so I don’t think it’s possible. I think it’d probably be best to do it in a more relaxed setting, like on a location shoot for YouTube (Sakurazaka Channel). But I’m not someone who’s good at communicating, so I’d want one other person there to support me. Matsuri-chan (Matsuda Rina) and (Yamasaki) Ten-chan always support me quite a lot, and I think if (Masumoto) Kira-chan were there too, I could feel much more at ease. 

ーI’m sure that’d be reassuring. Speaking of which, I’ve heard that the members watch back the video after concerts to reflect, do you feel like your eyes follow Inoue-san then too?

Kousaka: I do. Of course, when it’s a song I perform in, I make sure to watch carefully. But I also watch songs that I don’t perform in that Inoue Rina-chan does and record the parts I think are really good and watch them over and over again later. 

ーI can certainly see your feelings towards Inoue-san. Let’s go back to a previous topic, what kind of meaning do you think the upcoming performance at Tokyo Dome will hold for Sakurazaka46? 

Kousaka: I want the group to be able to look back years later and think “that was a good show.” I also want it to leave a lasting impression with the fans, so I’m really hoping to make it a big success. On top of everything, the 3rd gens have also joined us in the 1.5 years since our last performance at Tokyo Dome and have brightened up the atmosphere of the group even more. It makes me excited to meet the other members, so I hope they’ll see that aspect too~.

ーThe 3rd gen’s Kojima Nagisa-san also said, “When I was with Uemura Rina-san and Marino-san, they told me ‘The three of us are such a tight-knit group, huh?’ and that made me so happy.”

Kousaka: We really are close. I even went to Disneyland with Nagi-chan. The 3rd gen is full of nothing but really good girls. It’s also easier for me to loosen up and get close with girls younger than me, and a big part of why I’ve been able to open up and show my true self has been the 3rd gens. I've also been going out with Taniguchi Airi-chan... we’ve already become more like genmates than just friends. I’ve even gone ahead and started thinking of myself as a 3rd gen too (lol). 

ーIf I can be honest for a moment, Kousaka-san, you’re able to talk more than you used to. Is that largely due to the 3rd gens joining as well?

Kousaka: That’s certainly part of it, but I think I myself had a hand in that too. Before, I wasn’t even able to talk with the makeup staff at all. It was like, they’d say something to me, I’d respond, and that would be it. But then I was able to ask them questions myself and have conversations. If I’m seeing it from the makeup staff’s perspective, I’d think “I’m not fond of this girl,” so I made the decision to try to change... 

ーIt seems to me like you just naturally became an adult. By the way, when Captain Matsuda got all the members together to share their goals and dreams, what kinds of things did you talk about, Kousaka-san?

Kousaka: I said that I wanted to spread the Sakurazaka name even further, or rather I think there are people who don’t know that we changed our name and still only have their impression of the group from Keyakizaka, so I said I’d like more people to learn about it and get to know us now. I feel that there have been more teenagers and people my age at our lives and meet & greet and I’m very happy about that. When I was in middle school and high school, there weren’t that many kids who liked Sakamichi groups, so the thought of people talking about us in the classroom is something really wonderful I think. 

ーEncouragement is important to doing your idol activities. On the topic of motivation, do you have any vision for the future following your Tokyo Dome performance?

Kousaka: As an individual, I’ve always wanted to earn my place as a title song senbatsu member through my own abilities (※ this interview took place prior to the announcement of the 9th single). Especially for Tokyo Dome, I hope we can achieve an outcome that shows we’re standing there on our own feet, without thinking of it as the responsibility of someone else. As a group, Tokyo Dome is not our goal, and I myself am also excited to see how we go on to change from there. I also hope we’ll be able to take on having a solo live overseas someday, though that’s not as easy as it sounds... 

ーGo out there and make your Tokyo Dome performance a success so that it becomes a cornerstone of the group. I’ll be looking forward to it!

Kousaka: Thank you so much. Looking back on it now, the 3rd Anniversary Live was very memorable for me. I liked the setlist a lot, and up until then it was like, I’d usually come out for one song, rest for a few songs, then come out for one song again, because there weren’t that many songs I participated in... but for the Anniversary Live, I came out for almost every song. The fans were really happy about it too, so since then I’ve wanted to put on a concert that’s even better than that one. When I think about it, we’ve gotten to perform almost the entire time since last November. There’s been the 3rd Anniversary Live, 7th Backs Live!!, (Kobayashi) Yui-san’s graduation concert, the 4th tour, and 8th Backs Live!! since then. I hope we can show everyone a culmination of these experiences in our performance. 

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Raw: kiryu

Translation; peezy

QC: tmi