Tuesday 12 April 2016

Berryz Kobo x ℃-ute Cross Talk 60: Tokunaga Chinami x Hagiwara Mai

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

Tokunaga Chinami X Hagiwara Mai

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Tokunaga: Mai, you've got your original characters that you made yourself, right?

Hagiwara: They're characters named '"Hagio" and "Hagiko"', and I think I draw them at times when I'm troubled (laughs). [...] Chii, you use a lot of colours [to illustrate photos], it's amazing.

Tokunaga: I prefer things to be colourful, so I've got to be careful about using too much colours when it comes to painting. And I don't end up using similar types of colours like blue and aqua either, like if I've done something in blue, then I'll go for pink or orange, I'll find something to match the subject colour in a way that stands out.

Hagiwara: Your sense of colour is amazing. On the other hand, for me, I have no idea if one colour goes with another. I only know of safe colour combinations, I can't take risks. Airi often uses pink and brown, but I didn't know that pink and brown could go so well together, I was like 'Ah, that's great' (laughs).


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Do the 2 of you have any common memories from when you were small?

Tokunaga: When we were in the Hello! Project Kids, Mai and me and Miya referred to one another with a 'chan' appended to our names. But at some point in time, we talked about no longer using the 'chan' - but it still stuck. So we ended up declaring that anyone who used 'chan' would have to pay 100 yen.

Hagiwara: And it seriously ended up working. You really can get things done if you get serious (laughs). But I wonder what led to us saying such a thing? I guess we wanted to be even closer as friends.

What impression did you have of one another at the time?

Hagiwara: I thought that Chii was highly excitable.

Tokunaga: Mai was the youngest, so she was just Mai-chan, everyone's little sister.

Hagiwara: Chii could shape the mood. Once before, I alone was on a bus with Berryz Kobo, and Chii made cracks at everyone at the time, which I thought was amusing.

Tokunaga: Eh, what did I do at that time?

Hagiwara: You invited everyone to play shiritori.

Tokunaga: Ah. I like shiritori. But the rest find it a pain, so they'll be like 'Right, right, "zukan" (dictionary)', and it'd end just like that, so I'd attempt to bounce back with a word that starts with an 'n' (laughs).

Hagiwara: ℃-ute is funny in a different atmosphere. Also, what I think when we perform live together, is that Berryz Kobo have like an aura.

Tokunaga: We don't have any such aura.

Hagiwara: I guess you could say it's like you've got a high level of professional awareness, and all of you stand out in a good way, you have your own unique characteristics.


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Tokunaga: All of Berryz Kobo are uncoordinated, we do as we please, so even when we're told to assemble, we don't (laughs). But that comes out in our dancing as well, and we end up really going all over the pace, which is no good. 


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You both came from the same H!P Kids. How do you think things would have turned out if the two of you had switched places?

Tokunaga: I feel like I'd still be like how I am now, even in ℃-ute. I feel like I wouldn't change.

Hagiwara: It might turn out the other way, like because of your influence, the others would change (laughs). If I were in Berryz Kobo...... I can't imagine it. While I thought that it was great that they were able to become part of a group when they made their major debut, with the difference between their ages and mine, everyone in Berryz Kobo would be way more grown up, so I feel like I'd only burden them. 

Tokunaga: But Mai, you have this amazing ability to bring out huge bursts of laughter at MCs. Whatever you say will never fall flat. You're funny.

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