I have no idea if I'll be able to keep it up for the rest of the tour, but for now, because I've done it previous years, something to celebrate the start of KisuMai's tour!
I didn't have much time to read things over, so sorry, if there are a lot more mistakes than usual... As usually, I picked an article from a TV magazine because they take less time to translate... I wonder if I'll ever manage to translate an article from the regular five magazines during this tour? I somehow doubt it...but we'll see.
Anyway, the first one is the most recent one.
18:00!
The first day of KisuMai's tour, starting in Osaka!
Translation. TVfan serial. 50th round. Split into two groups, they talk about what might KisuMai's 50th single be like and what are some important points to handling KisuMai. Individually, they also answered three questions - a small change about themselves, which Johnnys they want to switch bodies with, and who they want to have a long talk with.
Serial Expanded Version
Kis-My-Ft2’s Small Correspondence
KisuChoco
It’s a serial that brings you KisuMai’s natural sides, recent news, and special photos.
[Note: The word they use for small here is ‘chokotto’, hence taking the choko from that, the serial title becomes KisuChoco.]
Piece 50
Please Support Us from Hereon too ♥
[Note: The title actually includes a pun where 50 is read as これ(kore), part of これから (korekara), which means from here on.]
“KisuChoco” which started in August 2011, along with the CD debut of Kis-My-Ft2, has reached its 50th round this time. Wanting to deliver to readers the honest thoughts of the seven members and their relaxed expressions, it has been a full four years since this serial has started. Every time, while going “Eeehh~?” at our absurd questions and requests (laughs), every one of them would respond with a smile. From hereon, we will continue to follow KisuMai, who confront each challenges in front of them with all their might and run towards the future even while struggling every day! And this time, we had them split into two groups and tried a balance game where they put scoops of (toy) ice cream onto cones.
Column
● Something that changed a bit about yourself [Note: The “a bit” here is once again, the ‘chokotto’ they used in the title of this serial.]
Fujigaya: When I did a stage play in May, I would only come and go between the rehearsal hall and my home. Other than there, I wouldn’t meet anyone else, so it was a slightly strange environment for me. I didn’t have enough time and I couldn’t catch up with things, so I wondered what I had been doing up until now.
Tamamori: I’ve become conscious of managing my own health. After turning 25, I thought, “Huh? I’m not the same as I had been until now,” so I think about what I eat and how I sleep now too.
Senga: I changed my shampoo. Non-silicon vegetable oil. It’s apparently easy on the hair. At first, it’ll feel hard and rough, but when you continue using it, it’ll become nice and smooth.
Miyata: Lately, I feel like I’ve been eating a lot of cheese. Before that, it was cakes and ice cream, but I got addicted to the saltiness of cheese.
Kitayama: I shrunk. Because everyone says it, I’ve really sank into the ground...that’s a joke (laughs). I’ve come to wake up at the same time every day. My body has remembered that feeling and no matter how late I sleep, I’d definitely wake up around nine.
Yokoo: I haven’t changed. Ah! From liking udon more, I now like soba! I think that kamo seiro is delicious. [Note: Kamo seiro is a dish with kamo (duck) meat and leek in a bowl of hot soup, served with soba. There are variations with chicken meat as well.] Before, I liked warm udon and didn’t eat soba, but now, I’m really into soba.
Nikaido: I can’t eat a lot of spicy things anymore. I like them, but when I eat something really spicy, the next day is painful (laughs).
● If you can switch bodies with someone from Johnnys for 50 hours, who will it be?
Fujigaya: Nakai-san. How he looks at things, what kind of planning abilities he has - even if it’s just for a moment, I want to experience it. If I know that feeling, it feels like it’d become a trigger for me to think, “As expected, I’m no good.”
Tamamori: I’m super bad at this question...that’s because I don’t want to switch. Well...Johnnys WEST’s Kiriyama then. Because I think his tension is always high and he’s the opposite of me.
Senga: Koyama-kun. I want to appear in “news every.” for just two days and go filming outside too. I have interest in that kind of work too. It’s hard with my academic ability though.
Miyata: Satou Shouri. He’s super good-looking and apparently he loves cars to the point of being an otaku, so it’d seem interesting, with us being different genres.
Kitayama: Inohara-san. Like how it feels like to be “the face of mornings” and how he spends his time normally, I want to experience those things and kind of understand that feeling. [Note: “The face of mornings” is an expression referring to people who hosts morning news/information shows on TV. As they are the main cast of the show, people would associate them with mornings, hence the expression. Inocchi is a newscaster for Asaichi, an NHK morning news show.] Aslo, I want to become Nakai-san and find out about 2 days of Nakai-san. I want to see what kind of things he does at home and how he does his research for variety shows.
Yokoo: I’m good with not switching. I don’t want to (laughs). That’s because all the senpais, their work is tough. If I have to choose someone, then Ohno-kun. But it’s not that I’ll draw anything myself either. I’m good with just looking at Ohno-kun’s works for two days the who~le time.
Nikaido: Fujigaya-san. That’s because he’s cool!
● Right now, who is someone you want to take your time and have a talk with?
Fujigaya: Oguri Shun-kun. I’ve heard a lot of passionate stories from him, but once again, I want to talk with him without rushing, until the morning. Before, he said to be, “There’s probably this way of doing it too,” in regards to acting, and those kind words he said to me, I accepted them easily.
Tamamori: (in the 10th round of the serial, he answered Sorajirou to the same question) I like Sorajirou. I love Sorajirou at 6:50. I have nothing I want to ask him though (laughs). [Note: Sorajirou is a mascot character of NTV. He usually appears in the weather forecast corner of shows like news every.]
Senga: Jinnai Tomonori-san. It’s because when I see him appear in “Nakai no Mado”, he looks like he’s having a lot of fun. He knows about what Nakai-san likes, so I want to talk about Nakai-san with him.
Miyata: The mangaka Togashi Yoshihiro-san, who drew series like “HUNTER x HUNTER”. I really like the works of Togashi-san. Also, the light novel author, Nisho Ishin-san. How he plays with words is interesting. Not just his books, but I want to listen to him talk too.
Kitayama: Inagaki-san. When the five members of SMAP-san are together, you really get the feeling of “SMAP!”, but when it’s one on one, it feels like I can get closer to them if I start with Inagaki-san. I somehow feel that way. I feel like he’d tell me many stories.
Yokoo: Miyazaki Hayao-san. Because I like Ghibli. I want to ask him about his works, what he is doing now, and what he wants to do.
Nikaido: Zakiyama-san (Yamazaki Hironari). It’s amazing how he raises his tension, so I want to see and observe various things from up close. I’ve heard rumours that he’s normally quiet (laughs), so I want to know how his tension changes.
--- Connecting it with the fact that it’s the 50th round of this serial, what comes to mind when you imagine KisuMai’s 50th single?
Miyata: How many years later would it be for us, I wonder, our 50th one.
Tamamori: Let’s just make it 50 years later?
Miyata: A round number?
Senga: We’d be old men?
Miyata: Wouldn’t it be cool if we are still releasing CDs as KisuMai 50 years later?
Senga: Even if it’s 50 years later, it won’t be enka. For the title though, it’d be harsh if it’s in English, right?
Fujigaya: Well, in katakana “Adult (adaruto)” then.
Tamamori: Fufufu (laughs).
Miyata: There’s definitely the sensuality of adults to that.
Senga: Shall we make it “Adult Bushi”?
Fujigaya: ...enka!? [Note: Enka refers to Japanese traditional songs - many are ballads with sad and melancholic lyrics - and is a genre typically popular among the older generation. 節 (fushi/bushi) is also a word that you can typically find in enka songs’ titles. A good example is Kanjani8’s debut song, Naniwa Iroha Bushi, which is enka.]
--- In the first round of the serial, we had you tell us about “Important Points in Handling KisuMai” (キスマイの取り扱い注意事項 / KisuMai no toriatsukai chuui jikou), but what kind of answer will you give us now?
Tamamori: Squabbling over KisuMai? (KisuMai no toriai)? What’s squabbling over handle (toriai atsukai)? Ah, handling (toriatsukai), I see.
Together: Ahahahaha!
Senga: I wonder what… Fun, we’re a fun group.
Fujigaya: It’s difficult - important points to handling someone.
--- By the way, during the first round, the answer was, “In the second half of a crosstalk, we tend to tease Miyata-kun.”
Senga: Tease.
Tamamori: Tease.
Miyata: Tend to tease.
Senga: Especially with interviews like this.
Fujigaya: I think it’s quite the either extreme though. Like in changing rooms, there are times when all of us are fooling around together and times when no one is around.
Senga: That’s true. I guess everyone can be quite moody. Not one person who is stable in that sense (laughs).
Fujigaya: But when we have concerts and such, when we work towards one thing together, we come together properly.
Senga: Aren’t we all serious-minded? Also, we’re a group that tends to study and learn.
Fujigaya: That’s that too, maybe.
Tamamori: (suddenly) Pushu~
Fujigaya: We were just saying how we were serious-minded~!
Miyata: There’s someone not serious-minded too (laughs).
Senga: With variety shows and such too, especially Kitayama and Nikaido, I think there’s the fact that they like those things, but they don’t neglect studying about things.
Tamamori: Nh? Studying? I don’t do that!
Senga: Tamamori doesn’t do it, yea (laughs).
Miyata: We each do things we like.
Fujigaya: I think there are a lot of similarities as to when we get excited over things though. It’s been that way since a long time ago. It’s like, how should I say it, the atmosphere maybe.
--- If you were to imagine, what kind of song would KisuMai’s 50th single be, what comes to mind?
Kitayama: Assuming we release three singles per year, it’d be 12 or 13 years later?
Yokoo: I want them to put “Half are 50” in the title.
Nikaido: “Half are 50” (laughs).
Yokoo: The ages of members.
Nikaido: Eh, how old are you now?
Yokoo: 29...huh, we won’t be there yet (laughs)!
Kitayama: I can’t imagine it at all. That’s because we don’t even know what’s happening two days later (laughs).
Nikaido: If it’s 12 or 13 years later, that means KitaMitsu will be around the same as Nakai-san now, right?
Kitayama: For example, something like “Original Smile”, let’s make it an energetic song!
Nikaido: That’s quite the fresh song. (We’d be singing) while going, “This is tough now~!”
Yokoo: Like, put in lots of rapping.
Kitayama: A very strong hip hop style. People would wonder what happened in those 13 years (laughs).
--- What are the important points to handling KisuMai?
Yokoo: When you asked us before, we said, “We tease Miyata during crosstalks”?
Nikaido: Whatever~ (laughs)
Kitayama: That hasn’t changed though.
Yokoo: In both a good way and a bad way, I think we haven’t changed.
Kitayama: That’s because he’d want it, that guy. He’s the one who wants to stand out the most.
Nikaido: The most!
Kitayama: When we were Juniors, he held back though.
Nikaido: He’s terrible now!
Kitayama: Everyone understands that, so we push Miyata forward. When he has attention on himself like that though, he can’t do anything (laughs).
Yokoo: In the end, we’d just go, “What’s with that!” and finish with that (laughs). In the worst case, it gets cut out from the broadcast, so it evens out to nothing.
--- Once again, what is your goal now as to what kind of group you want to become?
Yokoo: “National idols” of course!
Kitayama: Like, we’d go out to film in local areas, and an old lady would say to us, “Ara~!”
Nikaido: “I know you!”
Kitayama: “With this, I can live for a long time~” and be prayed to.
Yokoo: I want people from overseas to know about us too. Like do shows in Las Vegas.
Nikaido: I do want to do shows overseas.
Kitayama: The contracts at Las Vegas are for multiple years though, right?
Nikaido: It means that for several years, every day, we would only do shows there?
Yokoo: That’s a bit...(laughs)
(captions with photos)
It was decided that it would be a team tournament between Fujigaya-Senga and Tamamori-Miyata. First, it started with Senga → Miyata → Fujigaya and they did it carefully. Tamamori, however, suddenly did a risky move of making one side heavier. As expected, the balance was thrown off and it ended easily in the first round… Here is Tama-chan who went “Eeeh~!?” while doing the punishment game and Miyacchi who is enjoying it as usual (!?), like it’s not a punishment game.
It started slowly at first, but as the scoops of ice cream stacked up, the three of them started to focus. Their moves were careful and there was excellent stability.
In the order of Kitayama → Nikaido → Yokoo, it became a long battle. They were so good, it seemed like they were going to stack up all the scoops of ice cream that were prepared...but the moment we thought that, Nikaido made it crash! Nika-chan, whose tension was resolved, cracked up. For the punishment game, he went, “Let’s choose something good?” Wearing the headdress chosen with love by the older two, he gave a superb expression (laughs).
Hope people enjoyed this~