A Day With You. (Nakashima Yuzuki's interview in blt graph.vol.108)
She, who has the image of being the leader of the 3rd generation members, talked about her own potential after facing the past year.
— I feel that the 3rd generation members have become even closer because of the “3rd Generation Concert” (Held at Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium on September 12th-13th and Osaka Jo Hall on October 8th-9th), but what do you think?
Yuzuki: That’s right! This past year, there are members who have been doing activities as a part of senbatsu, and in turn, the other members were active as a BACKS member. Through those separate activities, each of us felt like the others had grown in various ways. Personally, I really love “BACKS LIVE!!” and I often come to watch them, thinking how cool they are every time. On the other hand, the BACKS member also said to me “I watched you on this music show the other day, you were amazing.” So when we were told about the “3rd Generation Concert”, after doing our own activities while seeing each others’ growth, I thought “So we can do a concert together!” and felt very happy because now each one of us can bring our experiences to the table. Honestly, during “Shinzanmono”, we just stood on stage without knowing anything, but this time, we were able to prepare for the “3rd Generation Concert” with the mindset of knowing what’s great about each other and wanting to dig deep on that, so there was a sense of expectation that this would be a concert where we can improve ourselves, and we all rejoiced when it was decided.
— After going through the lessons and rehearsals for the “3rd Generation Concert”, in what way did you feel that growth?
Yuzuki: When all the 3rd gens are together, we usually reminisce about our training camp like “Hey, it took us three days just to memorize “BAN”’s intro, huh” (laughs). But now, the topic of our conversations has changed to things like “How do I convey this line best?” and even when we talk about the choreography, we used to say things like “I don’t know this part of the choreo” but now we say “Would it be better if we use this angle for this move?” so I felt the growth there.
— Which member do you feel has especially grown?
Yuzuki: Maybe Murayama (Miu). I think she’s also aware of it, and it’s more of a “change” than “growth”, but she’s now able to let herself be spoiled. She did do that sometimes in the beginning, but lately she’s started to be able to say things like “I don’t like this” or “I can’t accept this.” I personally understand people better when they talk to me, so we’ve been going to grab a meal together more often, and I think it’s good how we can talk about all sorts of things now.
— As the performance drew closer, it was announced that Odakura Reina-san and Mukai Itoha-san would not be able to appear in the Tokyo concerts due to doctor's orders. When their absence was decided, did you have any discussions with the 3rd generation members?
Yuzuki: Both of them talked directly to us when there were only the 11 of us in the same space. Thanks to that, we got to know about their conditions and feelings, and we were able to become more positive, thinking that we’ve got to support them with all our might and protect this place so they can return. During our training camp, TAKAHIRO-sensei taught us to become such a group that when someone is having a hard time, the other members will lift them up, and each of us kept that to our heart, so we never thought “I can’t do this,” but we all thought “I have to do this” going into the performance, that’s what I think.
— Then, what did you feel when you stood up on stage during the Tokyo performance?
Yuzuki: The fans’ warmth had the most impact on me. It’s always been like that since “Omotenashikai”, but I really feel protected by the fans. Compared to concerts with the whole group, since we are doing this with only the 3rd gens, some parts of the concert had to be reduced, but they still hyped it up nonetheless. At that moment, I really felt like concerts are something you build up with the fans. However, I still have some hang-ups. After all, I was too caught up with the fact that I have to lead the speech, and I feel like that affected my performance…
— The amount of talking in the MC for each person is different in concerts with the whole group and just 3rd gens after all, right?
Yuzuki: Yes. Around two songs before the MC, the words would keep spinning in my head, and as a result, sometimes I felt like “Huh, did I really perform that song…?” Of course, MC is an important part that creates the flow of the concert, but if you ask me if I managed to do that, I’m not sure… As expected, there were times where I felt like it was difficult to make it work with just this many people.
— I see. But if you ask me, I got the chance to watch “3rd Generation Concert” live, and Nakashima-san’s lively expressions and dance movements during the performance impressed me.
Yuzuki: Thank you very much (smiling shyly). I definitely feel like I’ve overcome my worries. This past year, I’ve been overthinking about what was expected of me. There was a time when I was thinking too much about "I should focus on the role given to me" and “It’s better if I talk from this point of view” and I had some kind of strange anxiety. But, before the "3rd Generation Concert", I suddenly started thinking, "Let’s just enjoy everything!" And that was because I observed (Yamasaki) Ten-san while we were doing our activities together. Ten-san always does everything perfectly–she would make jokes and put on weird faces in variety shows, but when it came to MV shoots, she’d show her cool side perfectly–and I found that really amazing. I don’t know how to put this exactly, but at some point, I even thought “Maybe I should focus on aspects other than performance,” but for this concert, I was able to feel that I didn’t have to give up on improving my performance skills as well.
— Well then, what do you think of the Osaka performance?
Yuzuki: I felt nervous. Osaka Jo Hall was a venue that was used for the group’s tour, so I really couldn’t believe [that the 3rd gens are going to perform there too], that I even thought “Will there really be people coming to watch?” Since it is such a rare chance, I stood on stage thinking that we really have to make this concert a good one. During “Omotenashikai”, the 3rd gens kept saying to each other “Let’s do this well so that they’ll give us another chance,” and Buddies really took us to this wonderful place and followed us through it all. I went on stage with a strong desire to come back there again.
— We talked about this a bit in the beginning, but I guess it can be said that the bond between the 3rd generation members has deepened after finishing the “3rd Generation Concert”.
Yuzuki: Thinking back now, during “Omotenashikai” and “Shinzanmono” it was like we were going through our personal battles, but for “3rd Generation Concert”, we all shared the same feelings of “We understand, love, and cherish each other the most.”
— Now, tell us about the most memorable events from your activities in 2024 apart from the “3rd Generation Concert”.
Yuzuki: I have two. The first one is being able to sing the 8th single title track, “Ikutsu no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?” I liked “Samidare yo”, so I was happy to be able to participate in a song where Ten-san is the center. I already talked about this earlier, but I really learned so much from watching Ten-san, and I learned to believe in my own potential from doing activities together with Ten-san. The second one is being able to participate in the 9th single title track “Jigoujitoku” and the 10th single title track “I want tomorrow to come”, where Shii (Yamashita Shizuki) is the center. She said to me “I’m glad that Yuzu is here with me” after the senbatsu announcement, and I really remember how I thought “Ah, so I was able to give her strength.” I’m glad to have someone who said such passionate things as the center, and I’m sure she has a lot to carry on her own, but she would tell me about her worries sometimes (laughs), and I felt that she was truly a friend at that moment, so that was memorable to me.
— Come to think of it, you will be graduating from university next year, right? Shall we look back to two years ago, when you decided to juggle both your academics and activities as a Sakurazaka46 member?
Yuzuki: What made me decide to take the university entrance exam was my mom’s words, she said “There’s no such thing as wasted effort.” After hearing that, I put all my effort into studying and got accepted into university, and I learned the value of doing hard work, no matter the results, from that. I also took the audition with that mindset, but when I got accepted as a member, to tell you the truth, I was only going to pick one between Sakurazaka and my studies. However, as I was discussing it with the staff, they said the same thing as my mother, “There’s no such thing as wasted effort.” At first, I thought I would only feel unsatisfied because I can’t fully focus on either one, but now I’m really glad I chose to continue doing both. Idol activities and academics are both valuable in their own right, but being able to do both of them has made me feel like I've become a bit more invincible.
— Did you sometimes find that being in an environment separate from the group gave you something that could be applied to your idol activities?
Yuzuki: I entered the group when I was 19, so it was a period of time when everyone around me was furthering their studies in order to prepare for job searching, starting to determine their life paths. When my friends started getting their own jobs, there was a part of me that thought “Oh, so this kind of path exists too,” but only I can make the path I’ve chosen the right one for me, so I have the determination to do so.
— Well then, lastly, tell us your goals for 2025.
Yuzuki: I want to stay grounded and have a realistic view for next year. Thankfully, we've had the opportunity to perform at many live shows and festivals this year, including overseas, and I feel like the dreams spreading before our eyes are limitless. However, I also think that if I can approach the things in front of me more carefully and calmly than I have this year, it might turn out to be an even better year. I think it’s necessary to strengthen our foundations even more precisely because we’re on a good track right now, so I would like to focus on that more in 2025.
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