flow 133rd episode 02/14/2021 "captain takuya x memekoji" part 2
This program welcomes various guests and inquires into how their lives have flowed. The guest for the month of February are Meguro Ren and Mukai Koji from Snow Man; what kind of talk will occur! This week, we will also inquire into that one song that encompasses the entirety of Ren's life.
KT: What kind of year was it, post-debut?
MR: Once again we've realized that we're being supported by our fans.
KT: How so?
MR: For example, "our debut single reached a million." Or rather, fans hyped up our song in a very easily understandable way. There have been many instances like that; it's been a year full of gratitude.
KT: Gratitude?
MK: Yeah, gratitude. To all the fans who produced results for us. Like you know, because there was a time when we couldn't meet (with fans)...
KT: So you were given the opportunity to debut, but you can't perform concerts because of covid-19; you couldn't meet with the fans whom you want to thank in person. What did you feel during that time?
MR: There was a feeling of helplessness, for sure. We couldn't directly communicate our gratitude... while being in a situation where we were being supported by our fans, was really frustrating.
MK: That's right. We were allowed to perform our debut concert in an empty venue. Because we had wanted fans to be able to see our debut concert in person, there are feelings of wanting to perform in front of everyone as soon as possible.
KT: You're itching to do it.
MK: Yeah, we're itching. That's why, when we do meet, I think both we and the fans will produce an unbelievable decibel. Enough to break the venue.
KT: It'll probably explode.
MK: We'll explode it!
KT: I think that's surely what all artists are thinking of right now. At the same time, I think fans of every artists share the same feeling.
MK: Also, aside from concerts that didn't have any fans, there were more situations of tv shootings without audiences. Because of that, chances to look at the other members increased. We came to like each other even more. And even aspects we disliked of each other, or how should I put it; we discovered those kinds of aspects and were able to talk through it with each other.
KT: Then, what does Koji like about Ren?
MK: Hmm, he does not do anything half-heartedly. It's a given though but, once he decides to do something, he'll keep at it until he can. And, he'll produce results. Also, his face is handsome, and his figure is nice. We'll just call it perfectly good. And even if I get close to him-given there's social distance right now; I'm the type to want to get close to people.
KT: You are?
MK: Yes. -he'll become tsundere.
MR: Koji is on another level. I'd be sitting and, although not necessarily like a lap-pillow, he'll smoothly sit in between my legs.
KT: Eh, why?
MK: I'm lonely... It's lonesome, Kimura-san.
MR: He absolutely cannot stand being alone. He needs to be clinging to someone constantly; his sense of distance is really close.
KT: Then it must be hard right now, with (social) distance.
MK: That's exactly it. Right now is a world that I cannot live in. It's excruciating. Even when I return home, I'd be alone. So I often video chat with the members. Sometimes I'll be video chatting with Meme. After we hang up, I'll become so lonely that sometimes I'll end up crying.
KT: Seriously?!
MK: I don't dislike those tears though. I feel more refreshed after crying; it's also just my mood but because I love people, I figured that I'll go about without fixing that part of myself. Once social distance is over, I'm going to dive into everyone.
MR: "dive" lolol
KT: Everyone in Snow Man.
MK: I'll go to everyone. Specifically Meme and Raul, because taller people provide a good fit.
KT: So you have a type.
MK: I have a type. Of course. Raul is the best.
MR: I didn't know that lol
KT: Ahh, so Raul is the best.
MK: Even though he's younger, he does it for me *pats himself*
MR: What is this, "does it for me"?
MK: Hugs.
KT: He reciprocates.
MK: He hugs me back, yes. Though, not so much while in front of everyone else.
MR: But, Raul told me how he really felt.
MK: EH?!
MR: "I really don't like it!"
MK: Wait, for real?? Is that the real (intention) kind?
MR/KT: lololols
MK: I've been doing the push and pull properly, recently.
KT: Push and pull?
MK: Yes, push and pull.
KT: Ahh, the interval(s in between each action)?
MK: Yes, that.
MR: I'd tell Raul, "Koji's pitiful (if he thinks you actually enjoy it), so you should tell him properly!" and Raul would respond, "you're right, I'll go tell him!" and then this happens.
MK: I see, so it was the response to that.. but I think he's actually happy on the inside. I know; I can tell.
KT: When their voice is quiet, it's the real deal.
MK: I see, that's effective.
KT: When you said "nah, it's push and pull" just before, your voice was loud.
KT: It was loud.
KT: That was your radio voice, for when you're telling a story. But just now, when Ren was telling the story about Raul; when their voice is super quiet, that's usually genuine.
MK: So it was genuine, I see. Our relationship is gonna change!
KT: "gonna change" lololol
MR: Well but, the truth is that it's really all thanks to Koji that Snow Man has become more amiable and peaceful.
KT: What about the others? Are there other members who are also like that?
MR: There are, like Sakuma-kun and Fukazawa-kun. Fukka-san is the oldest.
KT: Fukka is....
MR: The oldest. He also holds the record for the longest Jr history until debut.
KT: And how about Iwamoto-kun?
MK: Iwamoto-kun and I are the same, our agency entry period.
KT: Ahh, is that so.
MK: He's a year older. But, he's earlier than me by a month or two. Though I say, "isn't it ok to say we're douki?" Iwamoto Hikaru-san keeps insisting, "I am two months senior."
KT: Ahh, but you know, once you've taken even one lesson, you're senpai.
MK: That's true. Therefore, I have nothing but respect for Iwamoto Hikaru-kun. He's Snow Man's choreographer. He does all of it.
KT: I saw it on Ride on Time.
MK/MR: Thank you! (for watching it)
KT: During filming, he injured his leg badly. A painful looking one. Right at the part where Benkei cries.
MK: At times like those, usually it's Meme who goes in close. He's the first to worry.
KT: Asking "are you ok"?
MK: Yes. Every time. Meme is always close by. Like when I've fought with a member, he'll come in between us. He's definitely there.
MR: A while back, exactly when we were allowed our debut concert, on our first day right after ending our first show. During our break time before our second show, I was eating alone in our dressing room, Koji was hiding his face on the sofa and sniffling. He was crying lol during our break time.
So I went over to Koji and asked him, "what's wrong? why are you crying?" He was like, "nothing..." and wouldn't talk about it. So I said, "but because there's the next show, it's bad to carry [the negative feelings] over, so spill it all out now."
KT: Wow, you're intense.
MK: He's fierce!
KT: Even though you're Snow Man, you're fervent lol
MK: The snow's going to melt. -- How should I say it, he says it in just the right volume, which makes me cry even more unnecessarily.
KT: But why were you crying?
MK: Meme, why was I crying?
KT: You're not going to say it yourself LOL
MK: Meme lol
MR: In the first show, he did a lot of rousing; like in between songs, he raised his voice for us. But then the audio staff said that the timing is bad, or rather, the volume of his rousing was loud so they were going to lower his mic. It seems that he was told something like, "it'll get in the way of the other members' singing."
KT: From the audio team?
MK: It was the first time I was told that.
KT: Even from the staff, that's a serious one. They thought you were noisy.
MK: There was no audience, so it was also for the members' motivation. And they told me, thank you.
MR: There was a part in us that found support in Koji's rousing and, in actuality, the members agreed that it was ok to leave it in. But we also understood where the staff member was coming from. Thus I took the middle ground of the two opinions and suggested to communicate (Koji's train of thought) to the staff member; I said, "wouldn't it be good to talk it out?"
So Koji went to the staff to have a talk, and he returned after resolving the issue.
MK: There was also the part where I might have said too much; halfway in, Watanabe Shota-kun overheard and got mad at me, "Oi Koji, that's not good."
KT: The person in correlation to beauty, whose hobby is taking care of his skin.
MK: Yes! His skin is really, really clear. He's almost always without make-up.
KT: And yet, his skill is imitating the cry of a dog.
MK: It really, really resembles the actual cry. I fought with that Watanabe-san; I also lost myself, so it came to be like "ah, Shoppi isn't going to side with me."
MR: So he ended up fighting with Shoppi too. But when I came in between them, about ten minutes later, "let's go to the showers together~♪" and the two of them went in together.
MK: It was our reconciliation shower.
KT: But that's good.
MR: They reconciled as if nothing happened; their switchover was instant.
KT: I don't know if a shower was necessary for reconciliation-
MK: To wash away the tears*1
KT: -but being able to change gears is very fantastic.
MK: I'm really blessed with wonderful members.
KT: So we've welcomed Meguro Ren and Mukai Koji from Snow Man, but there's an inquiry that this program proposes to every guest. We ask, what is the one song that encompasses the entirety of your life thus far. This week, let's ask Ren. What will it be?
MR: There's only one option. This song changed my life, SMAP-san's "kono shunkan, kitto yume janai"! (Surely this moment is not a dream)
KT: About this, while I was in the corner of our shooting location, Ren came over and asked me, "Kimura-san, can I speak to you?"
MK: That's nerve wracking.
KT: I thought, "what? what happened?" and he starts, "while I was working as a Jr" .. is it ok for me to tell the story?
MR: It's completely ok, thank you very much.
KT: He was like, "I didn't have a lot of opportunities to be up front, so when I found myself considering to quit, I listened to 'kono shunkan, kitto yume janai' and continued a little more. And continuing, I ended up here."
He told me, "so even now, even after debuting as Snow Man, when I find myself thinking 'I can't anymore' or 'maybe it's impossible,' I'll listen to this song and continue forward." He thanked me but I didn't make the song nor did I write the lyrics.
MK: But you sing it.
KT: I do sing it but, I thought he should convey his gratitude to the person who made and wrote the song.
MK: That's right, go through Kimura-san.
MR: It's really amazing. If I told the me from back then that I'd be on Kimura-san's radio, playing this song as "my life's song," I'd definitely wouldn't believe it. The me from back then wouldn't.
KT: It's alright, you can believe it.
MR: Thank you very much.
KT: It's been chosen already, so it'll play after this.
MK: It'll play.
MR: This is bad, I'm going to cry!
KT: LOL
MR: Seriously. Sometimes I'll be listening to it at home, at night. When I listen to it sometimes, I get flashbacks of that time and I'll cry about it even now.
KT: You don't have to cry anymore~!
MR: Really, it's- *intro starts playing* ooh!!!
MK: It started playing like a surprise. Waaahh, Meme! Ah, if I speak, I'll get in the way of the song so I have to be quiet.
KT: The backrest that he didn't use even once during Kyojo 2's filming, he's completely using it now.
MK: How admirable (that he didn't use it during filming)
*song plays*
MR: It's the full version..!! *sniffles*
MK: It's a special service on the house.
MR: This part is good.
KT: Thus ends Snow Man's Meguro Ren's "my life's song": SMAP, "kono shunkan, kitto yume janai" !
MR: Thank you very much.
KT: When I perform this song, at the part where Ren said "this part!," what usually emerges in my vision is a friend, Nakata Hidetoshi*2. When he was playing the World Cup, he collapsed onto his back and reached his hand to his head. That image of him left a big impression on me. So while envisioning that, I sing that part.
MR: I think [Kimura-san's feelings] resonated with the me from that time, in a different way. I've been saying this since forever.
MK: He really has.
MR: I had it on an eternal repeat during my third year in middle school, while riding the train to work and home.
MK: He's gone through hardships.
*1 There's a saying in Japanese 水に流す that basically means to wash away past conflict.
*2 soccer player
KT: What kind of year was it, post-debut?
MR: Once again we've realized that we're being supported by our fans.
KT: How so?
MR: For example, "our debut single reached a million." Or rather, fans hyped up our song in a very easily understandable way. There have been many instances like that; it's been a year full of gratitude.
KT: Gratitude?
MK: Yeah, gratitude. To all the fans who produced results for us. Like you know, because there was a time when we couldn't meet (with fans)...
KT: So you were given the opportunity to debut, but you can't perform concerts because of covid-19; you couldn't meet with the fans whom you want to thank in person. What did you feel during that time?
MR: There was a feeling of helplessness, for sure. We couldn't directly communicate our gratitude... while being in a situation where we were being supported by our fans, was really frustrating.
MK: That's right. We were allowed to perform our debut concert in an empty venue. Because we had wanted fans to be able to see our debut concert in person, there are feelings of wanting to perform in front of everyone as soon as possible.
KT: You're itching to do it.
MK: Yeah, we're itching. That's why, when we do meet, I think both we and the fans will produce an unbelievable decibel. Enough to break the venue.
KT: It'll probably explode.
MK: We'll explode it!
KT: I think that's surely what all artists are thinking of right now. At the same time, I think fans of every artists share the same feeling.
MK: Also, aside from concerts that didn't have any fans, there were more situations of tv shootings without audiences. Because of that, chances to look at the other members increased. We came to like each other even more. And even aspects we disliked of each other, or how should I put it; we discovered those kinds of aspects and were able to talk through it with each other.
KT: Then, what does Koji like about Ren?
MK: Hmm, he does not do anything half-heartedly. It's a given though but, once he decides to do something, he'll keep at it until he can. And, he'll produce results. Also, his face is handsome, and his figure is nice. We'll just call it perfectly good. And even if I get close to him-given there's social distance right now; I'm the type to want to get close to people.
KT: You are?
MK: Yes. -he'll become tsundere.
MR: Koji is on another level. I'd be sitting and, although not necessarily like a lap-pillow, he'll smoothly sit in between my legs.
KT: Eh, why?
MK: I'm lonely... It's lonesome, Kimura-san.
MR: He absolutely cannot stand being alone. He needs to be clinging to someone constantly; his sense of distance is really close.
KT: Then it must be hard right now, with (social) distance.
MK: That's exactly it. Right now is a world that I cannot live in. It's excruciating. Even when I return home, I'd be alone. So I often video chat with the members. Sometimes I'll be video chatting with Meme. After we hang up, I'll become so lonely that sometimes I'll end up crying.
KT: Seriously?!
MK: I don't dislike those tears though. I feel more refreshed after crying; it's also just my mood but because I love people, I figured that I'll go about without fixing that part of myself. Once social distance is over, I'm going to dive into everyone.
MR: "dive" lolol
KT: Everyone in Snow Man.
MK: I'll go to everyone. Specifically Meme and Raul, because taller people provide a good fit.
KT: So you have a type.
MK: I have a type. Of course. Raul is the best.
MR: I didn't know that lol
KT: Ahh, so Raul is the best.
MK: Even though he's younger, he does it for me *pats himself*
MR: What is this, "does it for me"?
MK: Hugs.
KT: He reciprocates.
MK: He hugs me back, yes. Though, not so much while in front of everyone else.
MR: But, Raul told me how he really felt.
MK: EH?!
MR: "I really don't like it!"
MK: Wait, for real?? Is that the real (intention) kind?
MR/KT: lololols
MK: I've been doing the push and pull properly, recently.
KT: Push and pull?
MK: Yes, push and pull.
KT: Ahh, the interval(s in between each action)?
MK: Yes, that.
MR: I'd tell Raul, "Koji's pitiful (if he thinks you actually enjoy it), so you should tell him properly!" and Raul would respond, "you're right, I'll go tell him!" and then this happens.
MK: I see, so it was the response to that.. but I think he's actually happy on the inside. I know; I can tell.
KT: When their voice is quiet, it's the real deal.
MK: I see, that's effective.
KT: When you said "nah, it's push and pull" just before, your voice was loud.
KT: It was loud.
KT: That was your radio voice, for when you're telling a story. But just now, when Ren was telling the story about Raul; when their voice is super quiet, that's usually genuine.
MK: So it was genuine, I see. Our relationship is gonna change!
KT: "gonna change" lololol
MR: Well but, the truth is that it's really all thanks to Koji that Snow Man has become more amiable and peaceful.
KT: What about the others? Are there other members who are also like that?
MR: There are, like Sakuma-kun and Fukazawa-kun. Fukka-san is the oldest.
KT: Fukka is....
MR: The oldest. He also holds the record for the longest Jr history until debut.
KT: And how about Iwamoto-kun?
MK: Iwamoto-kun and I are the same, our agency entry period.
KT: Ahh, is that so.
MK: He's a year older. But, he's earlier than me by a month or two. Though I say, "isn't it ok to say we're douki?" Iwamoto Hikaru-san keeps insisting, "I am two months senior."
KT: Ahh, but you know, once you've taken even one lesson, you're senpai.
MK: That's true. Therefore, I have nothing but respect for Iwamoto Hikaru-kun. He's Snow Man's choreographer. He does all of it.
KT: I saw it on Ride on Time.
MK/MR: Thank you! (for watching it)
KT: During filming, he injured his leg badly. A painful looking one. Right at the part where Benkei cries.
MK: At times like those, usually it's Meme who goes in close. He's the first to worry.
KT: Asking "are you ok"?
MK: Yes. Every time. Meme is always close by. Like when I've fought with a member, he'll come in between us. He's definitely there.
MR: A while back, exactly when we were allowed our debut concert, on our first day right after ending our first show. During our break time before our second show, I was eating alone in our dressing room, Koji was hiding his face on the sofa and sniffling. He was crying lol during our break time.
So I went over to Koji and asked him, "what's wrong? why are you crying?" He was like, "nothing..." and wouldn't talk about it. So I said, "but because there's the next show, it's bad to carry [the negative feelings] over, so spill it all out now."
KT: Wow, you're intense.
MK: He's fierce!
KT: Even though you're Snow Man, you're fervent lol
MK: The snow's going to melt. -- How should I say it, he says it in just the right volume, which makes me cry even more unnecessarily.
KT: But why were you crying?
MK: Meme, why was I crying?
KT: You're not going to say it yourself LOL
MK: Meme lol
MR: In the first show, he did a lot of rousing; like in between songs, he raised his voice for us. But then the audio staff said that the timing is bad, or rather, the volume of his rousing was loud so they were going to lower his mic. It seems that he was told something like, "it'll get in the way of the other members' singing."
KT: From the audio team?
MK: It was the first time I was told that.
KT: Even from the staff, that's a serious one. They thought you were noisy.
MK: There was no audience, so it was also for the members' motivation. And they told me, thank you.
MR: There was a part in us that found support in Koji's rousing and, in actuality, the members agreed that it was ok to leave it in. But we also understood where the staff member was coming from. Thus I took the middle ground of the two opinions and suggested to communicate (Koji's train of thought) to the staff member; I said, "wouldn't it be good to talk it out?"
So Koji went to the staff to have a talk, and he returned after resolving the issue.
MK: There was also the part where I might have said too much; halfway in, Watanabe Shota-kun overheard and got mad at me, "Oi Koji, that's not good."
KT: The person in correlation to beauty, whose hobby is taking care of his skin.
MK: Yes! His skin is really, really clear. He's almost always without make-up.
KT: And yet, his skill is imitating the cry of a dog.
MK: It really, really resembles the actual cry. I fought with that Watanabe-san; I also lost myself, so it came to be like "ah, Shoppi isn't going to side with me."
MR: So he ended up fighting with Shoppi too. But when I came in between them, about ten minutes later, "let's go to the showers together~♪" and the two of them went in together.
MK: It was our reconciliation shower.
KT: But that's good.
MR: They reconciled as if nothing happened; their switchover was instant.
KT: I don't know if a shower was necessary for reconciliation-
MK: To wash away the tears*1
KT: -but being able to change gears is very fantastic.
MK: I'm really blessed with wonderful members.
KT: So we've welcomed Meguro Ren and Mukai Koji from Snow Man, but there's an inquiry that this program proposes to every guest. We ask, what is the one song that encompasses the entirety of your life thus far. This week, let's ask Ren. What will it be?
MR: There's only one option. This song changed my life, SMAP-san's "kono shunkan, kitto yume janai"! (Surely this moment is not a dream)
KT: About this, while I was in the corner of our shooting location, Ren came over and asked me, "Kimura-san, can I speak to you?"
MK: That's nerve wracking.
KT: I thought, "what? what happened?" and he starts, "while I was working as a Jr" .. is it ok for me to tell the story?
MR: It's completely ok, thank you very much.
KT: He was like, "I didn't have a lot of opportunities to be up front, so when I found myself considering to quit, I listened to 'kono shunkan, kitto yume janai' and continued a little more. And continuing, I ended up here."
He told me, "so even now, even after debuting as Snow Man, when I find myself thinking 'I can't anymore' or 'maybe it's impossible,' I'll listen to this song and continue forward." He thanked me but I didn't make the song nor did I write the lyrics.
MK: But you sing it.
KT: I do sing it but, I thought he should convey his gratitude to the person who made and wrote the song.
MK: That's right, go through Kimura-san.
MR: It's really amazing. If I told the me from back then that I'd be on Kimura-san's radio, playing this song as "my life's song," I'd definitely wouldn't believe it. The me from back then wouldn't.
KT: It's alright, you can believe it.
MR: Thank you very much.
KT: It's been chosen already, so it'll play after this.
MK: It'll play.
MR: This is bad, I'm going to cry!
KT: LOL
MR: Seriously. Sometimes I'll be listening to it at home, at night. When I listen to it sometimes, I get flashbacks of that time and I'll cry about it even now.
KT: You don't have to cry anymore~!
MR: Really, it's- *intro starts playing* ooh!!!
MK: It started playing like a surprise. Waaahh, Meme! Ah, if I speak, I'll get in the way of the song so I have to be quiet.
KT: The backrest that he didn't use even once during Kyojo 2's filming, he's completely using it now.
MK: How admirable (that he didn't use it during filming)
*song plays*
MR: It's the full version..!! *sniffles*
MK: It's a special service on the house.
MR: This part is good.
KT: Thus ends Snow Man's Meguro Ren's "my life's song": SMAP, "kono shunkan, kitto yume janai" !
MR: Thank you very much.
KT: When I perform this song, at the part where Ren said "this part!," what usually emerges in my vision is a friend, Nakata Hidetoshi*2. When he was playing the World Cup, he collapsed onto his back and reached his hand to his head. That image of him left a big impression on me. So while envisioning that, I sing that part.
MR: I think [Kimura-san's feelings] resonated with the me from that time, in a different way. I've been saying this since forever.
MK: He really has.
MR: I had it on an eternal repeat during my third year in middle school, while riding the train to work and home.
MK: He's gone through hardships.
*1 There's a saying in Japanese 水に流す that basically means to wash away past conflict.
*2 soccer player