Tuesday 8 December 2015

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk: Shimizu Saki x Nakajima Saki

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hello! Project Kids in 2012, a book entitled Rival - 12 shoujo no 10-nen monogatari - (The 10-year legend of the 12 girls) was released. The book contains 2-page discussions between various pairings of the girls, covering all 66 possible combinations. In the process of reading this book, I'll be putting up some highlights as I read through the interviews.


Special Crosstalk Book "RIVAL 12 shoujyo no 10 nen monogatari (10 years stories of 12 girls)" / Berrz Kobo / Cute

Shimizu Saki X Nakajima Saki

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According to what I've heard, the 2 of you are crybabies.

Nakajima: I've only just recently found out that ShimiSaki-chan's a crybaby. You once cried at a hotel, didn't you? We were all having our meals, and when I talked about something that was a bit serious, she suddenly cried. She could empathise so much with what I was talking about that she cried, it made me wonder, how much of a crybaby is she? Yet, even I myself wasn't even crying though!? (laughs)

Shimizu: I cry immediately (laughs). I cry when I'm happy, I cry when I'm sad, I cry when I get told off. I express all my emotions by crying (laughs). Nacky doesn't really seem like a crybaby though.

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Nakajima: What made me cry a lot recently was the flag performance we did for 'Midnight Temptation' at ℃-ute's tour ('℃-ute Concert Tour 2012 Haru Natsu ~Utsukushikutte Gomenne~'). I could do it at rehearsals, but I couldn't pull it off at the run-through rehearsals, so I got scared and cried a lot. When you cry, there are times when you know you're crying, and there are times when the tears just flow, right? This was one of the times where it just flowed, I didn't know I was crying. The tears were just streaming out as I stood on-stage, it was inexcusable,


For the 2 of you crybabies, do you remember when you cried the most?

Nakajima: When we got the Best New Artist Award at the Japan Record Award, I cried while hyperventilating. 

[...]

Shimizu: In my case, I cry too much (laughs). There are so many memories of me crying, so I wonder which was it that had me crying the most. Honestly, it's like I cry at concerts every time. There are even times when I cry for no reason.

Are the 2 of you normally easily moved to tears?

Shimizu: I cry at night......

Nakajima: Eh, what!? That's scary (laughs)!!

Is it all right for you to talk about that (laughs) !?

Shimizu: It's just me listening to music alone and crying though (laughs).

Nakajima: But nowadays, aren't there times when you want to cry silently?

Shimizu: Ah, there are!

Nakajima: There are also times when it's crazy and you have to go in your bed and cry.

Shimizu: It piles up (laughs).

Like venting out your stress, right? Like, it'd be bad if you don't cry for a week.

Nakajima: For me, it's about once a month.

Shimizu: When I cry, it's like I cry every day. But I don't think I've cried recently.

Nakajima: It might be creeping up gradually. 

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Of course, when you get cautioned nowadays, it's not to the point that you cry, right?

Nakajima: Ah, but I have cried (laughs). Last year, when we were doing the ℃-ute and S/mileage concerts, the staff-san told us 'I thought ℃-ute would be able to do even better', and we really tried our hardest the next day, but we were told 'Nope, you can do better', I was dumbfounded and cried. In particular, Chisato and I cried our hearts out.

Shimizu: I have no idea what to do when I get told off as well, so I cry a lot. In Berryz Kobo, the other members besides myself don't cry at all. I think that they're strong. For Maasa, I wonder what sort of thing would need to happen for her to cry. Momo will occasionally show tears of irritation, but Maasa really doesn't show her tears, so I wonder how she vents her stress, how she lets her feelings out.

From the both of you, can you recommend any songs or movies that will definitely make you cry?

Nakajima: I love Naka Riisa-san's movie 'Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo', it really makes me cry. The acting is amazing, and it was really heart-breaking how she was unable to alter the past, it makes me cry, every time. However, I still haven't bought the DVD itself. I like it, so I always rent it, but when I say that, I get told 'In that case, just buy it!' (laughs).

Shimizu: Risako introduced me to this one, but Tohoshinki-san's song 'Begin' makes me cry. It goes 'It's fine to cry when you want to cry', and wouldn't you cry being told that (laughs)? Just listening to that phrase makes me cry.

How about your own songs?

Nakajima: ℃-ute's songs!? A song that I think is nice is 'Seventeen's Vow'. Directed to a father,  the gist of it being 'I'm sorry I spurned you at the time'. The protagonist is a good girl, and the lyrics are really good.

Shimizu: The lyrics of the ballad 'Sono Subete no Ai ni' seem to be directed to fans, so if I sing it at live performances, there are times when I'm overwhelmed.

Nakajima: Ah, I've got one! The song entitled 'Big Dreams', a song from the perspective of our current selves. We really want to fall in love because we're girls, but we can't because we're idols, we want to deliver smiles to everyone...... The lyrics are something like that, a song about holding back our feelings and working hard for the sake of our current dream. Ah, wait! I feel like there are plenty of good songs.

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Well, we'll leave the topic of being crybabies here. Having the same names, I'd like to ask about the impression you got when you first met. 

Shimizu: Nacky was quiet. 

Nakajima: ShimiSaki-chan had joined 'ZYX', and got to appear more on television through it. Seeing it from closeby, I thought that it was amazing. However, we didn't really talk much back then. 

Shimizu: We didn't really have much involvement......

Nakajima: Despite having the same name, we had nothing to do with one another (laughs).

Well, since you've got the same name, why not join to make a unit!?

Nakajima: Hehe. Shall we?

Shimizu: Shall we (laughs)!? But at the BeriKyuu concert 4 years ago ('Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute Nakayoshi Battle Concert Tour 2008 Spring ~Berryz Kamen vs Cutie Ranger~'), we held a dance showdown. No wanting to lose at the time, I thought about all sorts of things, but it doesn't mean that I was snappier than usual because of that (laughs). 

Nakajima: On that note, in the most recent BeriKyuu concert (Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute Collab Concert Tour 2011 Autumn ~BeriKyuu Island~'), we deepened our bonds. 

Shimizu: Honestly, it's because it's like we're never together unless there's a Hello! Project Concert. I'll meet with Maimi occasionally as fellow Leader & Captain and have discussions if anything comes up, but that doesn't really happen with the other members.

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Shimizu: Honestly, when I'm with Nacky and Mai and Chisato, I have so much fun with the 3 of you that I forget that I'm a grown-up.

Nakajima: Ahahahaha. If you want to have fun, you're welcome any time (laughs)!

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