Umeka Shoji Interview in BUBKA "Soko Magattara, Sakurazaka?" special (June 2024 edition)

Too pretty they made me Nervous (Utsukushisugite Nervous)

Q I could feel Umeka-san’s love for the group from your narration or your announcement posts on X (= Formerly Twitter)

Umeka: I’ve been working with them since “Keyaki tte, Kakenai?”, and I’ve watched over the members like a parent would. I am someone who works in the entertainment industry as well, so I could understand some things that they are going through. It’s not all just fun, there is also the hardship of having to continuously be in the spotlight. Because each of their hard work is being conveyed, I wish that they could all bloom and do their activities with a smile. In “Sokosaku”, characters are made for the girls who don't really stand out often, and it makes me happy if it makes the theme even more fun.

Q Such as the “Kousaka Marino DEATH GAME”.

Umeka: Yeah, that’s right! (laughs) Her face popped out in my mind right away!

Q I interviewed you for BRODY ~3 years ago, and what do you think of the 2nd generation’s growth since then?

Umeka: The 2nd generation members have become an irreplaceable presence for the group, and are currently doing their activities as “the faces of Sakurazaka46”. I think that variety shows are difficult. There are girls who are good at it, and those who are not. And I am sure that there must have been girls who thought, “I don’t want to do this”. I think it must have taken a lot of strength to overcome such a tough conflict and step forward, but I have the impression that the whole team makes it exciting together. I had the opportunity to visit the studio before, everyone was friendly and the studio was surrounded by a bright atmosphere.

Q When did you visit the studio?

Umeka: I was able to watch Sugai-san’s last recording. She’s a captain who has continued to protect the group with a smile no matter what happened, right? I was sobbing when I saw Sugai-san sing “Fukyouwaon” as the center in her Tokyo Dome concert’s encore. I thought that I definitely want to visit her last recording, as well as to convey my gratitude to her.

Q The 1st generation members, Habu Mizuho-san and Kobayashi Yui-san, have graduated one after another since the end of last year. Do you feel sad about it?

Umeka: Right… Even if I already knew they would graduate one day, to be honest, I still feel sad about it. When I visited the studio back in the Keyakizaka46 era, Habu-san greeted me together with Sugai-san and that eased me from my nervousness. I was saved by that kindness of hers, and was thankful for her broad perspective and consideration for the surroundings. As for Kobayashi-san, my feeling towards her is like “thank you very much for continuing to be an idol”, whichI conveyed to her during her graduation concert. I am sure that there must have been many times where she thought, “Maybe this is it”, and I am grateful that she continued to be an idol for a long time even after the group changed into Sakurazaka46.

Q Umeka-san praised Kobayashi-san’s narration skill before, didn’t you?

Umeka: Yeah! When I visited “Sokosaku” studio, Kobayashi-san was happy about it (laughs). There is a “story” in her voice, just like her “Bloom, Sakurazaka46” narration on the renaming video.

Q Her narration in the 3rd generation documentary was well done as well.

Umeka: I think that Kobayashi-san has a compelling voice. It’s not something that could be done intentionally, but I think that she has the ability to “express” herself.

Q Do you think about the distance between you and the members?

Umeka: I don’t really think that I have to keep my distance from them, but I get nervous whenever I meet them face-to-face. When I greeted them after a concert, all the members were present, and it makes me feel sorry that they had to make time in their busy schedule; I just went like “It was really wonderful! Please take care of yourself!” and then went straight home, and I think that the combination of my nervousness and emotions made me look awkward (laughs). I was the MC for “2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY ~ Buddies Thanksgiving ~”, so I had a chance to speak with them for a bit backstage.

Q Was there anything that you felt when speaking with them during “Buddies Thanksgiving”?

Umeka: I thought that they were really cute girls (laughs). But they change completely when it comes to performance, aren’t they? On the stage, they looked like mature and cool artists.

Distance between the car and the living room (Ocha no Ma to no Shakankyori)

Q How do you see the 3rd gen members?

Umeka: I acted as the moderator for “Omotenashikai”, and witnessed the moment they were unveiled to the fans and how these girls, who were just nobodies, grew every day. They were unfazed even when they stood in front of 10.000 people, and their ability to transform that to their own brilliance was amazing.

Q Those girls are also standing out in SokoSaku.

Umeka: It’s interesting to see how each of their characters are being discovered. Especially in episodes relating to physical activities like “Athletic Ability Check”, because they can’t put on an act and their true self is showing out.

Q Such as Nakashima-san.

Umeka: That’s right! A miracle happened, right? (laughs). You could see how they really are, it was so funny.

Q Is there anything that Umeka-san kept in mind as you narrated the show?

Umeka: I read my lines with the hope that those who are watching could come to be fond of the girls, even for just a little.

Q Sometimes there are lines that I wonder if it’s ad-libbed. Such as saying “Inouee~~” in a shocked tone. Are those from the script, or were they adlibbed?

Umeka: Basically, there is a script, and I have to say those lines (laughs). There was one time when the director asked me to say what I wanted to say and the script was blank, and I did it while thinking “You’ve got to be kidding me?” (laughs). And I think there was a time when my voice was accidentally still being recorded at the end of narration and they still used it as it is (laughs). However, there was almost no direction asking me to say a line in a certain direction. I narrate it based on my own impression when I first saw the episode, so unless there was special directional intention, it was all my own nuances.

Q I could feel the level of your expressiveness from being able to make it sound like it's your own thoughts and feelings.

Umeka: I want to read it with a feeling of “closeness”. I narrate it with the hope that the viewers can feel a closer distance with the members of Sakurazaka46 than other variety shows. So there might be some muttering (laughs).

Q The short narration you do for the next episode preview at the latter half of the show is memorable.

Umeka: I want to make the next episode previews memorable, so I consciously add some flairs.

Q For senbatsu announcements, do you consciously use a serious tone?

Umeka: I do more discussion with the staff about it than the actual show. I think that it is something very important for each member and the fans, so I feel that I can’t just simply record it. And while favoring a certain member is out of the question, I think that both the members and fans have a lot of thoughts, so I can’t include anything special like sad or happy feelings. That being said, releasing a new song is a happy thing, so it’s not like I am completely emotionless. I read it while thinking about how to balance that. It’s always difficult every time.

Q Every Sunday, you would post the highlights before the start of the episode, right?

Umeka: It has become a routine (laughs). I try to push on what I can reveal to add into the official preview so that people who see it on X could think, “Today’s episode seems fun”.

Sakurazaka Circling ‘Love it!’ (Sakurazaka ‘Love it’ Senkaichuu)

Q What do you think of the recent SokoSaku?

Umeka: I feel that the mood of “Let’s do our best together” has been increasing in the past 2~3 years. They started to be able to appear in outside shows, and the way they each started to improve might be a huge part as well. ‘Love it!’, in which I also work as a narrator, is filled with comedians so I’m sure that they must have rubbed on them.

Q I never expected that Moriya-san would make a big leap from “Love it!”.

Umeka: Everyone is infatuated with her (laughs). When a staff member said, “Moriya-san sure is great”, I went “She’s so cute, isn’t she~” (laughs). I think it’s wonderful how Moriya-san presents herself as she is instead of putting on an act because she’s on a variety show. I think her unconventional way of interacting is what makes her so appealing. She really opened up the gate of “Love it!” for the group. There was also a time when the staff asked me, “Which Sakurazaka46 member would be great to have here?”. I was like, “Kirako is funny, but… Might be dangerous… No, it might be possible” (laughs).

Q Masumoto-san not only did well in “Love it!”, she also showed her individuality. Onuma-san is also loved by her surroundings.

Umeka: That’s right, that’s right. I was worried about Onuma-san as well at first (laughs), but she flourished.

Q Are there any episodes of SokoSaku that you found to be memorable?

Umeka: There sure is a lot... (Thinking deeply) I guess I liked the “3rd gen family survey” episodes. When I heard stories about Mukai-san, I thought, “She must be such a nice girl because she was raised in a wonderful family”; It’s fun to hear stories from their family, who watch them the closest and are supportive of them, as you can see different sides of them. I also feel the same with the “youngest sister improvement” episodes, so I think I might be fond of episodes that let you know their true selves through stories from the people closest to them.

Q Like how Fujiyoshi-san poked at her sister with quickle wiper (laughs).

Umeka: That’s right! There’s nothing that you can do when your family comes up on the show (laughs). Other shows don't go as far as touching their families, right? I think that the charm of SokoSaku is how they can go a step further. I was also surprised to find out that Yamashita-san is a single child. Isn’t it a “typical idol thing” to have more than half of the group be the youngest sibling?

Q I also liked the story of how Yamashita-san invited her mother to come to the Omotenashikai, but then told her right before it started not to come.

Umeka: I was there, and it felt so human, so to say; I could understand both of their feelings. When you touch on such personal aspects, it makes you want to cheer and support them.

Q Do you have any thoughts about Sakurazaka46’s concerts?

Umeka: Even though they do the same songs, they can show a different scenery in each concert performance. Sakurazaka46’s performance, which continues to evolve, is truly wonderful… As an artist, I always receive power from them.

Q Please tell me about your future expectations on Sakurazaka46 in the future.

Umeka: I think the good thing about SokoSaku is its sense of closeness. These are the sides of the girls that you cannot see in other shows. I hope that feeling of closeness doesn’t change. Even though I work on a lot of things, SokoSaku feels like home to me. I hope that SokoSaku can be a place where Sakurazaka46 members can feel at ease and express themselves as well.

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Raw: kiryu

Translate: tmi

QC: meg