Taniguchi Airi, Kojima Nagisa, Murai Yu interview in B.L.T December 2024

※ The conversation started naturally as soon as the three of them sat down on the long sofa together.

Murai Yu: Wait, I’m the oldest among us?

Taniguchi Airi: Yes, but there’s barely any difference between us.

Kojima Nagisa: Personality-wise, Airi is the most older sister-like. I’m pretty confident that I’ll be the little sister, no matter which 3rd generation I am with, or rather, I want to always be the youngest sister (laughs).

Q Age-wise, Matono Mio-san is the youngest, but I’ve got the impression that she’s pretty mature mentally.

Airi: She also likes to be spoiled.

Nagisa: Perhaps because Mio has a bit of an age difference with her brother, she’s really good at getting herself spoiled.

Q While Kojima-san’s age with your brother is close?

Nagisa: My brother is in the same academic year and age as Yuzu (Nakashima Yuzuki). So there's a three year difference between us.

Airi: Wait, we have a three year age difference with Yuzu!?

Yu: Apparently my current age is the same as (Ishimori) Rika was when she entered as a 3rd generation member.

Airi: And we (Airi and Nagisa) are the same age as Yuzu when she entered, so she told me before. Yet it doesn’t feel real at all…

Nagisa: The other day, when we talked about it, Rika and Yuzu said, “We were already pretty reliable back then, huh?” (laughs).

Q And all of you 3rd generation will soon be seniors. How are you feeling?

Nagisa: It still doesn’t feel real at all…

Yu: But I’m curious on what kind of seniors the 3rd generation will be.

Airi: I wonder? But I think everyone will stay pretty much the same… What do you think?

Nagisa: For Airi and me, there is a possibility that girls older or the same age as us will be entering as 4th generation. So it’s like, how should I put it…

Airi: Right, that makes it difficult to imagine.

Nagisa: And there might even be middle schoolers.

Yu: (Suddenly muttered) We need to teach them a lot. Since there are so many things to learn~.

Nagisa: Let’s protect them for sure, the 4th gen members.

Airi: We will, I’m sure they’ll be cute!

Q Speaking of which, how will you protect them?

Nagisa: We’ll give them our full support!

Yu: It makes me happy when someone puts things into words, even when they thought I probably already knew about it, so I’d like to teach them kindly.

Nagisa: (Uemura) Rina-san reached out to us a lot since we first joined the group, and that made me really happy and cheered me up, so I hope that we can be someone like that for the 4th gen-chan as well.

Yu: But I got the impression that middle schoolers and high schoolers these days are pretty mature already.

Nagisa: Right. If anything, (Endo) Riko and I might be [mentally] younger than (Mukai) Itoha and Mio (laughs).

Q But I think that each of you have become more mature after one and a half years since joining the group.

Yu: Sometimes I rewatch the videos from our training camp, and everyone looked so young (laughs). When I watched the lesson for “BAN” during training camp, I thought that everyone—me included, were so much different [from who we are right now].

Nagisa: When the dancers told us at the start, “Sakurazaka members can remember this in three hours”, I honestly thought, “Yeah, no way”. But now, we all can learn a choreo in about three hours too, can't we…?

Airi: Everyone memorized the choreo for the 3rd generation concert’s “Shonin Yokkyu” really fast, no?

Nagisa: It took us around two hours? When I tried dancing the choreo, it was different from how I imagined it would be, but I don’t think that it took us three hours.

Airi: I was also there when Nagi (Kojima) and the others learned the choreography, and though everyone made some prior preparation, it only took them 20 minutes to memorize the intro.

Yu: Amazing! It’s hard to believe that it took us three days to memorize and learn the intro for “BAN”. I think it took us (Airi and Yu) a lot longer too (during “Shonin Yokkyu” production period).

Nagisa: (Murayama) Miu sent videos to help us practice, so it’s true that there was some advance preparation, but I’m really shocked with how fast everyone has become at memorizing choreo.

Q I would like to look back to the mentioned “3rd Generation Concert”. There was about a month between the Tokyo performance and the additional performance in Osaka, but how did you work on improving the level of the performance?

Airi: First of all… For the Tokyo performance, there were things that we needed to do to adjust the change of numbers (11 to 9 members) with the sudden absence of (Odakura) Reina and Itoha. To be honest, there was a part of me that performed while thinking, “I need to do this next, and then this…”. On that point, I was able to take it easier for the Osaka performance, and I think I was able to do it pretty close to the level I wanted. When I watched some footage of the Tokyo performance, I honestly thought that the songs we performed at the beginning like “Shonin Yokkyu” didn’t have enough impact, and that was something that I needed to work on. However, it seemed that the enthusiasm of the people who came to the venue increased as the concert progressed, and I think we were able to respond to that with our performance.

For that reason, when we gathered for a discussion, we talked about wanting to open the Osaka performance with an even higher level of enthusiasm. And regarding the songs that I was given the chance to center, “Shonin Yokkyu” and “Masatsukeisuu”, I wanted to make sure that it didn’t just become a cover of the original. I didn’t think there was any point in doing things exactly the same way as Morita (Hikaru)-san did, so I changed the way I sang the song a little, and slightly rearranged the dance as well.

Q What kind of flavor did you specifically add?

Airi: I was allowed to come up with my own choreography for the free part in the second chorus of “Shonin Yokkyu”, so I changed it a little for all four days of the Tokyo and Osaka performances. It seems that Morita-san herself changes the variation in every performance, so I thought that it would be good if I could do something different each time as well, and so I tried to dance whatever choreography I thought of at the moment.

I was especially conscious of showing differences from Morita-san in the way I sing and in my facial expressions for “Shonin Yokkyu”. Specifically speaking, in some places I expressed someone who wants to satisfy her own need for approval, and added elements that changed that point of view. I’ve been performing with that in mind since the Tokyo performances, but I think that the image was more solidified for Osaka. I was hoping that by presenting such differences, more people will be able to enjoy the show.

Nagisa: The decision that Reina and Itoha won’t be joining really came right before the Tokyo performance. We had been doing lessons and rehearsals as 11, so when they said, “We’re sorry it turned out like this”, we could say, “We’ll be fine, please take care of yourselves”. But, I couldn’t really sort out my feelings of “I wish all 11 of us could perform together…” and went to rehearsals with that in mind.

We have been able to do various things together with all 11 members of 3rd generation, so it felt like there was a big hole without the two of them, but I also didn’t want to blame it on the lack of time. Speaking of “Shonin Yokkyu”, we have been proceeding with the formation of 11 members as both Reina and Itoha have already learned their part of the choreography. But then, we had to do it with just nine members… How should I put this? It’s not exactly “frustration”, but we headed toward the show with a feeling of helplessness; and although they themselves must have been the ones most frustrated about this, Reina and Itoha contacted us with messages like “Give it your best”, and we were also saved by the kindness of our seniors.

Hikarin (Endo Hikari)-san gave each of us 3rd generation members a gift, Morita-san took time in her busy work schedule to come and see us. Rina-san also came as a surprise when all 3rd generation members were together… Ah, this was on a different day from the filming of the video on “Sakurazaka Channel”! The 3rd generation were having a discussion together when she showed up and said, “I came to see how you were all doing…”, and we all started to cry as soon as we saw her face. The rehearsal period was in parallel with the production period for the 10th single, so we were all tense and felt like being pushed into a corner. And more than anything, there were times that we felt down because Reina and Itoha were not there to lighten the mood, so we were feeling really happy about Rina-san’s surprise visit.

Moreover, she said, “I wonder if (Kousaka) Marino-chan will come too?” and contacted her. Then, Marino-san came right away, bringing gifts and encouraging us as she asked, “3rd gen-chan, how are you doing?”. After that, Rina-san contacted us every time our lesson ended, saying, “Good luck, 3rd gen-chan!”... It just simply made us so happy. Their kindness and cheerfulness helped the nine of us get through the show, and were able to give our best toward the Osaka performances too.

Yu: I also… felt that our bond has deepened as we supported each other, including during the preparation period of the 3rd Generation Concert. We felt that this might be the last time we would be able to hold a generational concert like this, so I think we gave our all. And… This is a personal story, but experiencing the MV filming for “Boku wa Boku wo Suki ni Narenai” before the Osaka performances was really huge for me. Since it was the additional performances, I felt that I have grown since the Tokyo performances. It was my first center song and the dance was very difficult as well, but the staff told me, “It’s affecting you in a good way”. I myself was happy and grateful for being given the chance to stand as a center for an original song the first time… But I also wanted to face all my other emotions head on, so I think I was able to put my best effort at the time into the MV. The theme of the MV is “growing out wings”, and the story is that while at first they don’t have it, they all work hard together and fly away at the end. In keeping with the story, it was important to show negative emotions, but I feel that the presence of the members helped to turn the energy outward.

Q Following this, I would like to ask Murai-san if the “center” position is a place where you would feel lonely?

Yu: Hmm, not really… But I get why people would feel lonely in that position. However, the atmosphere felt very warm both during the production period and on-set, the seniors and genmates were very nice to me. Inoue (Rina)-san (who previously centered for BACKS in 7th single) was always by my side, and Rika-chan who centered the previous (BACKS) song also understood my feelings, so I think I was able to get through it with a relaxed mind. And like it or not, I’ll be alone once I get home (laughs), so I try to treasure that time, and write down the lyrics of “Boku wa Boku wo Suki ni Narenai”. I tried to verbalize my ideas of how I should express the feelings of “Boku” and the flow of their emotions.

This is the first time I wrote down my feelings like this, and I feel that my understanding of the music has deepened… It was a big discovery for me. It’s like I was able to make the song my own, using all my senses, not just listening to it with my ears, but to also see and touch it. And both the director (Tsujimoto Yuki) and TAKAHIRO-san mentioned the importance of “the power of songs”, so I am very conscious of cherishing that mindset. I wouldn’t realize this if I hadn’t encountered the song “Boku wa Boku wo Suki ni Narenai”, and I am convinced that this will definitely be an important period for me in the future.

Immediately after the senbatsu announcement, I was feeling confused and had a hard time being positive, but I managed to be so after receiving many messages from the fans and making such a great MV. I thought, “I’ll improve myself here, and come back as a title song member”, I still think that way even now. But when I see “I want tomorrow to come” performed on music shows, I wonder if I’ll think, “Wish I could be there…”. Still, I do my best with the belief that in a year or so, as more time passes, I will think “That experience of being in BACKS was really important for me”.

Q As Murai-san happened to be talking about the current situation in which she is facing herself, I would like to ask Kojima-san and Taniguchi-san too about what they think about “their current selves”.

Airi: Speaking of which, I was placed on the “wild” side of “Masatsukeisuu”, but I have always thought of myself more on the “rational” side as I tend to look at things in an objective manner. But as I received this opportunity, I tried changing my perspective and way of thinking a little. Actually, before that… starting from around the time of the Tokyo Dome concert, I started to try experimenting with various changes in my performance. Until then, I would think of things in advance like, “I guess this expression would be good to express this lyric”, but from Dome onwards I try not to think about it and just go with the atmosphere in the moment. From there, through trial and error, I adopted the approach of expressing what I felt in each and every moment.

Q Come to think of it, when I interviewed Yamashita Shizuki-san the other time, she said, “When (Yamasaki) Ten-san entered the “zone” during the performance of “Ikutsu no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?” in Osaka’s 4th tour performance, it seemed like Airi was being pulled along over to that side as well”.

Airi: I remember how excited Ten-san was, and I myself started to try changing my ways little by little starting from the latter half of the tour, so I think that Ten-san pulled me along. But to know that Shizuki paid attention to that, she really can see the bigger picture, huh… I’m grateful for that. I am also quite the type of person who performs while controlling myself and thinking rationally, so sometimes I wonder if the “wild” approach might not suit me, but I think that having a different perspective and feeling will allow me to grow more. I don’t know which is right or wrong, though there is no right answer in expressing yourself, but I think that there is something meaningful in trying out something new, and so I am experimenting with many different things. However, sometimes I wonder if the act of thinking “Let’s do this freely” itself is not really what freedom is in the first place, but I’ve been trying to convey what I feel in the moment with the awareness that since I’m not good at verbalizing my feelings and thoughts, it would be easier to convey them through my dance and performance.

Q I’m looking forward to seeing Taniguchi-san’s awakening when you reach a new level. And what about Kojima-san?

Nagisa: It may sound strange for me to say it myself, but I feel that I have entered the “second phase”. Until now, I’ve been frantically facing what’s in front of me, and even though I seem like a person who can see things objectively, I've actually been preoccupied with myself for a long period of time, but I could feel how I now can keep my cool during performances.

For example, I could become so absorbed in the performance of “Mamoribito” that I couldn’t see anything around me, that I couldn’t even feel the pain when I kneeled. But ever since I started to wonder “Objectively, how does it look?” and look at things in that way, I’ve been getting more compliments from my fans on my performances, and I feel that I’ve gotten better at reviewing videos of lessons and concerts and making improvements from that. I’m confident that I watch more videos than anyone else. Of course, I don’t have a grasp of all the members, but I like to analyze the characteristics and individuality of each member's performance, and as a result of absorbing the information in my own way, I think I'm getting closer to a “Sakurazaka-like” expression.

However, I still haven’t reached my own “unique” performance, and I think it may be something to be found by the people who watch my performances, rather than something I decide for myself. So that’s why, right now I’m just trying to get closer to a “Sakurazaka-like” expression…

Q At the end of “Seijaku no Bouryoku” on the final day of Osaka performance, Kojima-san’s face was mostly hidden by your hair, creating an intense close-up shot that was truly Sakurazaka-like.

Nagisa: Thank you very much. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot on how hairstyle and make-up can really change your impression. I received advice from staff like, “Maybe you’ll look cooler this way”, and my seniors and genmates also say things like, “Your hairstyle looks good today”, and so I’ve become conscious that the way I present myself is the way I show my charm. My face being covered with my hair during “Seijaku” wasn’t fully intentional, but I was conscious of how I can make people imagine different things by hiding my facial expressions with my hair.

But… I still feel that I am nowhere close to Shii (Yamashita Shizuki), Airi, or Yu’s level. When I am dancing next to Shii or close to her, sometimes I feel sorry at the lack of my ability. But on the other hand, Shii always adjusts to us so she doesn’t stand out by herself, and she releases 100% of her power during her solo dance, so I want to work even harder to make Shii able to perform at a high level at all times.

Q Then, I would like to hear your analysis on the characteristics of Taniguchi-san and Murai-san’s performances as well.

Nagisa: The two of them have a different kind of amazingness that is different from Shii. Airi is… someone who can keep her dancing, singing, and expressions at a nearly perfect level at all times Every time I watch concert footage, there are many moments where I thought, “Oh, that expression from Airi was really good”, and she understands how to show it not just in her facial expressions but also in her movements, and you could tell that she’s someone who knows how to perform. That’s why I can watch her forever… She might not be happy to hear this, but I think of her as a complete package of an idol. I don’t want you to misunderstand, so I’d be happy if you could take this in as a compliment.

To me, Yu is… someone with “explosive” power. She is a delicate person who can honestly express her feelings of joy, happiness, and sadness in everything that happens in her daily life, but in her performances, she puts those feelings aside and goes all out.

The fans might have noticed this, but Yu has a unique way of following the beat of the song, and I think that is one of the elements that makes her dance look cool. But when I look at the 3rd generation as a whole, there are certain areas where we can’t keep up with Yu, and that frustrates me. The higher the level of the 3rd generation, it will make Yu’s charm stand out more, and that will lead to an overall improvement. The way she follows the beat of the song is different from others because of how intently she listens to it, and because she is able to put all her abilities into her performance on stage, even a momentary shot taken by the camera can attract the viewer's attention.

In that sense, Airi’s way of dancing is closer to a dancer’s dancing, in a good way; She is able to express the songs in a very plain way, but I think it is because she is able to take the music directly to heart, her momentary expressions are able to catch people’s attention.

Q I see, that was a really interesting assessment. Now, what do the two of you think about it?

Yu: I wonder… Of course coolness is something important in an idol performance, but I also think it’s important to “convey”. I want to convey my feelings, which are unique to each moment, to convey “This is how I live now!”. It’s only recently that I’ve come to think this way, but I’ve become more aware of “the power of songs” after “Boku wa Boku wo Suki ni Narenai”, and my mindset towards my performance has changed.

Airi: As Nagi said, it’s true that my emotions tend to remain stable even in difficult situations, so I may not seem like someone with a wide range of emotions from the outside. I think, becoming an idol, which I have always wanted to be, played a big part on how I can look at things in a positive way such as “Wow, this is interesting!” or “Well, I guess that happens too”. I spend my days thinking that maybe one of my strengths is how I’m not easily swayed emotionally (laughs).

Q It feels that I was able to see each of your current “present”. Then, returning to our conversation about the final performance of “3rd Generation Concert” in Osaka, I could feel the emotions not just in the performances but also during the MC sessions.

Nagisa: Up until now, what I said before “Mamoribito”s last chorus was something I thought up together with the staff, and for the first time in this 3rd Generation Concert I was given the chance to think it all up on my own. While I was thinking up various things for that… the decision that Reina and Itoha won’t be joining us came, so I thought to talk about my feelings toward the 3rd generation members in Yoyogi (1st Gymnasium) performances. And then in those Tokyo performances, I came to think, “We need to improve ourselves even more”, and that is what I talked about in the Osaka performances.

But even so, I’m still 19 years old and lacking in life experiences, so I thought that what I say might come off as something shallow… So I thought it would be nice to say what I felt based on the many MC sessions videos of other artists that I watched and the words that my Sakurazaka seniors had said in their past concerts. As a result, my only hope was that I could deliver my words in such a way to make the people watching the concert think, “I will do my best again tomorrow”... But, concerts are something with a life of their own, so I had no idea how it would turn out, to tell you the truth. The fans also told me how they got moved at how I got the timing of the speech in Tokyo perfectly timed to the interlude… (laughs)

Airi: Yeah, that was really right on time.

Nagisa: And although I think I wasn’t able to wrap up Osaka’s as nicely, I think I was able to deliver my words as it is.

Yu: Yup, it was delivered well.

Nagisa: Though I stumbled on my words there and there (laughs).

Airi: I also stumbled all over during the MC session of the last song, NatsuChika, and the conversation didn’t land well so I panicked inside

Nagisa: Ehhh~ We were already bawling while forming a circle behind Airi~ Well, I guess we were smiling, but we all cried (laughs).

Q That “Natsu no Chikamichi” performance was also wonderful. I thought that since it was the starting point of the 3rd generation, that same song could also show how much you all have grown. To think that it has been one and a half years already.

Airi: I really felt the same way. That is not exactly the reason, but the night of the final performance, all 11 of us gathered in the same room and stayed together until morning. It might sound surprising, but that was the first time all 11 of us were together like that.

Nagisa: Miu and I were like, “Should we gather everyone?”.

Airi: But everyone was thinking about the same thing already, didn’t we?

Yu: I also wanted to hang out with everyone. But it felt like you guys took the lead and gathered us all.

Q In whose room did you all gather in?

Nagisa: Who was it again? Miu’s?

Airi: It was Shizuki’s (laughs). We were laughing so much as if it was a school trip’s night.

Nagisa: We talked about the concert at first, but we slowly loosened up and were laughing at the end. We also took a lot of pictures! The kind that we will never publicly show (laughs). No one was wearing any make-up!

Yu: All 11 of us never really hung out together before, so while thinking that it might be the first and last time we do… we were having so much fun together (laughs).

Nagisa: During the trainee period, the countryside team (7 members aside from Ishimori, Odakura, and Murai from Kanto) gathered in the hotel almost weekly, but it was the first time for the 11 of us.

Yu: It felt very new to me, and I was very happy that we could gather together like that.

Airi: It was really fun. That night, it really felt like we were all classmates.

Yu: None of us were thinking about difficult things~.

Nagisa: We all kept cackling with laughter. We also pranked Yu-chan (laughs).

Q You did that to the purest person out of all of you? (laughs)

Yu: I was the last person who headed to Shizuki’s room, and although they pranked me, I didn’t realize it at all. I wasn’t even aware that they were apparently recording it (laughs).

Nagisa: Meanwhile we thought that you could surely tell that it was all just a lie…

Yu: Ehh~ Everyone put on an amazing atmosphere and acting that I got fooled. The setting was that they all got scolded by staff when I wasn’t there, and I 100% bought into it because of the serious look on everyone’s face and how great Rika-chan’s acting was~. So when I knew that it was just a lie, I was really relieved…

Nagisa: If we were to do that to Riko instead of Yu, I’m sure she would have cried so much. By the way, me and Riko were right next to Yu-chan, laughing in silence (laughs).

Yu: I was supposed to head to their room a lot sooner, but I ended up coming late because my hair just wouldn’t dry… Even though I could hear how merry they were when I pressed the bell button, it suddenly became quiet when I entered. I thought, “Huh? What’s up?”, but Shizuki’s and Rika-chan’s acting was so amazing that I got fooled.

Nagisa: Itoha was such an actress too.

Airi: Itoha was so good too. But Shizuki was the best one.

Nagisa: Maybe Shizuki was able to put up such an act because it was toward Yu?

Airi: Meanwhile next to her, Nagi and Riko were laughing.

Yu: I didn’t notice at all. Even though they were next to me.

Nagisa: Yu was a bit shocked at first, but that night ended up being a truly fun one…

Q So it has become an unforgettable night for you all.

Yu: But the 11 of us want to gather again.

Airi: Yeah! Let’s make it come true somewhere.

Nagisa: Everyone said the same thing too, how they want to hang out together again.

Airi: 3rd generation members now have their own separate schedule, so even normally, it’s rare for us to gather together. So it’ll be nice if we could gather together again after that!

Yu: What about doing a “SAKURA HOUSE”-like thing, just like our 1st generation seniors did in “Sakurazaka Channel”?

Nagisa: If we do that, I think the real me will come out so much that it will end up being unable to be released!

Airi: The same goes for me. Everyone loves to chat, so I think it will be a headache to edit too (laughs).

Q By the way, on that night in Osaka, who was the first to fall asleep…?

Nagisa: It was Mio. She ran out of energy and fell asleep (laughs).

Airi: Yuzu and Rika were quick too (laughs).

Nagisa: Wasn’t it quick for Shii too?

Airi: No, Shii and I were awake together the whole time. The last ones staying up were Miu, Itoha, Shizuki, and… I fell asleep for about 10 minutes before waking up again, so I guess the four of us.

Yu: I went back to my room to sleep, and when I woke up, I went back to Shizuki’s room until it was time for us to depart. It was truly so much fun…

Nagisa: I hope the 3rd generation can do another stay over together!

Q Where would you like to go?

Airi: A place rich with nature would be great!

Yu: Since we will be very rowdy, a place where we don’t have to think about disturbing the people around us would be great.

Airi: A place with rich nature with no one around us, isn’t that glamping?

Nagisa: Come to my place~ To Nagano (Kojima’s home prefecture). We’ve got beautiful night sky too~

Yu: I want to go to Nagano~

Nagisa: Ah, but it might be a waste of time to travel all the way there.

Yu: (Suddenly) Even after we all graduate and have our own lives, let’s continue to hang out. Seriously.

Airi: I get it! But I’m sure that will happen.

Q From our conversations so far and the MC sessions during the concert, I could truly feel how much the 11 of you love the 3rd generation. Does Murayama Miu sometimes go into “I love 3rd generation” mode too?

Nagisa: Even though Miu looks like that, she has always loved the 3rd generation since she entered the group. Though she had this long period of acting all tsundere, contrary to that (laughs).

Airi: Right, I think it was pretty long. But recently, Miu-chan told me, “Now I understand why Yuzu adores Airi like a pet dog”. Though it made me go, “Eh? It took you THIS long!?” (laughs).

Yu: Right (laughs). But I feel that Miu and all of us have grown after experiencing so many things~.

Nagisa: Don’t you all think that Miu’s lovey-dovey phase will continue for a while? She sure loves 3rd generation members.

Q Odakura Reina-san also mentioned how she kept sending her messages during the MC, right? On the other hand, how did you interact with Odakura-san and Mukai-san, as they took absence from the 3rd Generation Concert?

Nagisa: As I mentioned before, the first message they sent was, “I’m sorry”, and I didn’t know what to say.

Yu: I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what to say. But in spirit, the 11 of us were always together.

Nagisa: And so I decided that when we met again, I will try not to be weird or overly careful, but just to be myself as usual.

Airi: The atmosphere was the same as it always is, wasn’t it?

Nagisa: Reina and Itoha were also the same as always. They were probably acting cheerful as usual so as not to worry us, and we responded in spirit.

Q Even from an outsider’s point-of-view, the 11 3rd generation members are all wonderful people, but what are the “Good qualities of 3rd generation” that each of you feel?

Yu: I think being able to overcome a lot of challenges together is very important for us. As we experienced many things in the last year and a half, we encountered many different emotions, but we always look out for each other and 3rd generation members are the ones who are always beside me. I think it’s really amazing how we could have the relationship that we have now after experiencing all that. It’s really nice how we are able to maintain our current relationship, at this time right before the 4th generation is joining. I wonder if I managed to say it well…

Nagisa: The fans also said, “3rd generation are good friends, huh?”, but we think that we are a lot closer than you imagine (laughs).

Airi: The seniors dote on us a lot too, and so the group atmosphere has become really good.

Q I can see that from the video in “Sakurazaka Channel”, when Uemura Rina-san gives a close report on the behind-the-scenes of “3rd Generation Concert”. I thought that all of the 3rd generation members are so attached to Uemura-san.

Nagisa: We were not like that because the camera was rolling, that’s just how we usually are. And I think that... kind of honesty is 3rd generation’s “good quality”, or so I thought just now.

Airi: I understand. The 3rd generation members can’t lie, right? So much so the point of fault.

Nagisa: And this is something that Riko herself also mentioned during the MC during the final performance, but the way we all said “I’m on your side!” when Riko was feeling down is also so “us”. And to have Riko answer with, “I know that already!”, is also a reflection of how our relationship is like.

Airi: Since we all know how much we love each other, we rarely normally say it, only during important moments (laughs).

Yu: That’s really how it’s like. And that’s really nice~.

Q Endo-san was in a crybaby mode during the 11 3rd generation members’ feature on B.L.T last summer, but now she has grown so much she could be the personality of “Sakura Hinata Lotti no Nobishiro Radio”.

Yu: That’s right, Riko-chan is so reliable and easy to talk with.

Airi: It’s like she has a switch that allows her to change the way she speaks, between her usual way of speaking to the one she has when she’s on “NobiRadio”. There is a five minute free talk corner at the end of the show, but the conversation would flow in such a natural way that those five minutes are not enough… It was so fun~ (laughs).

Nagisa: I can’t wait to be invited there too~ (laughs). But despite how she looks, Riko has always been mentally strong, and very reliable.

Yu: And she puts effort in places that people can’t see.

Nagisa: I really want to emphasize on how much hard work Riko has put… And the MV for 3rd generation song “Honshitsuteki na Koto” (which Endo centered) is really cool as well!

Yu: I really like that too. I think that people can see a new side of the 3rd generation there, and Riko-chan’s facial expressions are so… it’s really good.

Airi: Right?! Riko was like an actress.

Nagisa: I also kept watching Riko when it’s not my turn to be filmed. I kept watching the monitor while thinking like, “That was nice~ So cool!”.

Airi: Not just Riko, but I think that the 3rd generation is filled with so many possibilities.

Nagisa: That’s right, with Airi being at the forefront!

Yu: Airi is truly amazing~.

Airi: I’m happy to hear that, I will do my best! But Riko also became a regular for ”Love it!” starting from October, becoming the third one from our training camp’s Team B.

Nagisa: Oh, Yuzu, Airi, and Riko, huh. That’s amazing. I’ll try to watch it live when I can (laughs).

Airi: I’ve been watching in real-time (laughs).

Yu: Then, me too… When I can watch it live, that is (laughs).

Nagisa: Riko is truly so cute. Or rather, everyone is so cute and I love them so much. Whatever shall I do?

Airi: Please convey that a lot, with all that you’ve got.

Q Speaking of which, this is something that Tamura Hono-san said when I interviewed her, but she said that there is a culture among the 2nd generation that naturally came to be, in which they praise each other. Does it get passed on to 3rd generation members as well?

Yu: Our seniors sure do give out praises.

Airi: I feel that 3rd gen also say it out loud often.

Nagisa: I think we started naturally complimenting each other since the filming of NatsuChika MV.

Airi: 3rd generation all love cute girls, so if they think that someone is being really cute, they will just naturally say it. That’s just how honest everyone is~.

Yu: You just can’t help but want to say it, or rather, to convey your thoughts.

Nagisa: I think the seniors saying it out played a huge part. After a concert ended, they would say things like, “You were great today”. Speaking of which, after the end of the 3rd Generation Concert’s Tokyo performance, Ten-san spoke of her passionate feelings while crying…

Airi: And at that time, all of us cried too…

Nagisa: At first, Rina-san said, “You girls did really well”, and we were already crying from that moment. But Ten-san was speaking to us while shedding tears, so all of us just burst out crying…

Yu: Nothing could make us happier than that, right?

Q If I remember correctly, at the backstage of “3rd YEAR ANNIVERSARY LIVE”, Yamasaki Ten-san and Takemoto Yui-san were seriously dancing alongside the sound of “Natsu no Chikamichi”, weren’t they?

Yu: When I saw that footage, I could feel their affection.

Airi: In the 4th tour, there is a performance where “Anthem time” and “Drone Senkaichuu” got remixed together, and there is a variation where we rode a trolley while spinning towels, but Ten-san said, “I wish I could dance the song in the full version!”. She has always been conveying her affection toward 3rd gen members, but I will never forget what she said to us after the Tokyo performance.

Nagisa: Even though we were already a crying mess from listening to Ten-san, Reina and Itoha then spoke of their feelings, and all 11 of us bawled together (laughs). And then (Saito) Fuyuka-san cried a lot too.

Yu: She said, “Truly thank you very much for entering Sakurazaka”... And we started crying from happiness again there… (laughs).

Q How do you plan to approach “4th YEAR ANNIVERSARY LIVE”, in which there will probably be a moment that features the 3rd generation members?

Airi: Personally, being given the chance to stand on stage with the 11 of us already makes me sincerely happy.

Nagisa: I strongly want all 11 of us to stand on the stage together, and even if nothing special happens, I’d be happy if we could show ourselves in such a way that it makes people think, “3rd generation are really great, aren’t they?”.

Yu: I think that the 3rd generation has its own charm that is separate from Sakurazaka46’s. It may change into something different as years pass and we get older, but I’d like to treasure those changes as well and continue to carefully convey the 3rd generation songs. I hope that we can maintain our wonderful relationships forever.

Airi: Let’s definitely have another sleepover again together!

—-

RAW: anon

Translator: TMI

QC: meg