For the first time in about 2 years, Morning Musume will be holding their concert titled “Teenage Solution ~Sato Masaki Graduation Special~” on 13 December 2021. Tickets were sold out immediately as Masaki Sato who is known for her airhead and naive character, her energy and high level performances, will be graduating at this concert. This time, in line with the decision to broadcast this concert live on Hikari TV, we will be interviewing Masaki Sato, Ayumi Ishida who has gone through thick and thin for the past 10 years with Masaki as her generation mate, and 15th generation’s Rio Kitagawa.
―― The Nippon Budokan concert tickets are already sold out! For those who are unable to attend the concert, it has been decided that Hikari TV will be broadcasting the concert live so that you can enjoy the concert from your home! Please tell us what are some points the fans should pay attention to while watching the live stream of the concert since it’ll be displayed on a screen?
Ayumi: Maa-chan is always very particular about her makeup on the day of the concert. She puts in a lot of effort in looking her best, she’s able to use eyeshadows well and make her cheeks look shiny. I think that “today’s makeup” can be conveyed through a video more than in real life. If I were a fan, it’d be a point that I’d pay attention to during concert live streams!
Masaki: I’ve never experienced watching a live stream or live broadcast before, so I have no idea how people will be projected on the screen. I should have watched the live stream of the Hello! Project concerts that I did in the past! I really regret not doing so.
―― To explain it simply, I think that the shooting is something very powerful as the camera shows an up-close shot.
Masaki: I want to understand how the camera works when that happens. As I don’t know where the camera is and how it’ll be projected, I’m going to find that out so that I’ll be able to make eye contact with the camera as I want everyone to think “our eyes met”. Also, I have to try to not get any pimples by time of the concert (lol).
―― Is there any part of the concert which you think this is the most important point?
Rio: It’s been about 2 years since the 15th generation members joined Morning Musume and performed in a big concert hall. At that time, we had just joined so we nearly had zero solo lines except for the shuffle corner. This time, I’ll be singing my best and as the 15th generation members participated in original new songs which will be performed live, I’d be happy if you could pay attention to how Kitagawa sings.
Ayumi: I love it when the fans get excited and hyped up. However, due to the corona pandemic, the fans have to remain properly seated at concert venue, have their masks on and watch the concert without making any noise. But if you’re watching the concert at home, you can make as much noise without worrying about anything! In that case, I wouldn’t mind watching the live stream on the screen. I really want those that will be watching the live stream to get excited and hyped up in front of the screen…well, but you might have to worry about being an inconvenience / causing an inconvenience to your neighbourhood (lol).
All: laughs
―― The venue of the concert is Nippon Budokan, which has a deep connection with Morning Musume, especially for the two of you in the 10th generation since it was where you debuted. Please let us know if you have any thoughts or memories from this place.
Masaki: For me, at live performances and concerts, I want the members, staff-san and fans to be close to me. But I remember being very nervous on the day of the announcement of the 10th generation members. I think Ayumi, Harunan (Haruna Iikubo) and Duu (Kudo Haruka) were also very nervous, but at least they could speak Japanese properly. I’m not good at Japanese that I can’t even say “I’m Masaki Sato” properly, so I was very nervous when it was my time to speak. However, the inside of the Budokan is a round shape. Although it’s a large venue, but I feel that the roundness has wrapped up my nervousness. Also, because it’s round, the members and staff-san are immediately in my sight, so I felt very relieved. That’s why I personally think that the Budokan is a place where you can feel that everyone is by your side by wrapping them up in a circle…Yes, just like the filling in dumplings! The filling of a xiaolongbao! The judokas feels like the meat and gravy are tightly packed. A sense of security that’s wrapped in the round shape of the Budokan. It’s packed with various delicious hot fillings. Do you know what I mean?!
Ayumi: No~ I thought you were about to say something good, but it made me smile in a strange way (lol)
Rio: I’d like to learn more about this analogy (lol)!
Ayumi: Nono, you don’t have to learn that kind of thing (lol)!!
Masaki: AHAHAHAHA!
―― What’s Ishida-san’s impression of the Budokan?
Ayumi: When I stand at a concert that’s held at Nippon Budokan, it’s usually at the end of many concerts, such as the tour final. For me, when I heard that we’ll be having a concert at the Budokan, I get even more excited. Additionally, as you perform there repeatedly, you’ll gradually understand that “that area is the members’ zone” and “that area is a family zone”. Due to the closeness in distance, it is very clear who is where and how each person’s face looks.
―― It’s natural to think that if you’re watching from the audience, you won’t be able to see the side of the stage.
Ayumi: No, you can clearly it. We can feel that everyone is watching us so much! As you can see, it is a venue where you get more excited, Besides, when there is a walkway that extends from the side of the stage to the other end, you can go as near as reaching the audience seats. Previosuly, when I crossed the walkway to the edge of the stage, it was within the reach of the fans. The fan in front of me responded with “Wow~~~!!” and it really made me feel like I’m a star (lol). That really made me really happy. Budokan is really a venue that makes you a superstar.
Rio: (laughs). Unlike the two of you, I think compared to the opportunities I’ve had to stand on the stage at the Budokan, I’ve probably sat at the seats more – either as a fan or to watch the live performances of my seniors. But being able to watch from the seats of the audience, I’ve come to understand and appreciate quite a bit about where I should look at that would make the audience happy. This time, I think it would be a 360 degree stage so I hope that you’ll be excited to see us from various angles from one end of the Budokan to the other. As the 14 of us, we’ve only been able to do one song together at the Budokan and that was at last year’s concert “Hello! Project 2020 ~The Ballad~ Special Number”.
Ayumi: That’s true!
Masaki: I’m really happy that we’re able to show them fully this time! Previously, the scene at the Budokan was really beautiful, so I’m really happy that I’m able to do a concert as the 14 of us. I’d be really happy if the beautiful scene at the Budokan could last for a long time.
―― Sato-san will be graduating at this concert. Have your feelings towards the concert changed after the announcement of your graduation?
Masaki: To be honest, I regret having announced my graduation at the end of September. I should have said “I’m graduating” on 12th December 2021. Ever since the announcement of my graduation, my standing position in the group has become position zero (i.e. stand in the center) in many cases. I’m a person who loses my confidence and gets scared when I have to stand at position zero (in the center), so its better to be one or two steps behind position zero. Every time I have to stand in the center, I regret not announcing just before my graduation. Because if I were to announce it right before, no one can move and the standing positions wouldn’t change. It’d be good if “Ah! It ended without me having to stand at position zero (in the center) (lol). In the first place, the title of this concert should just have been “Morning Musume’21 Concert (Masaki Sato Gradution) instead of the current one. I love Morning Musume, and as I love my time as part of Morning Musume, so I’d just like to be able to graduate as an ordinary Masaki Sato.
―― Would you like the concert to be in its usual style then?
Masaki: That’s right! I’d be fine with the usual. It’d be good if the line distributions and standing positions are the usual. And maybe the members would also know of my graduation on the day of the concert and they’d be like “Eh, it’s your graduation today?!”. Honestly, I’m currently thinking about things I wouldn’t normally think about such as “what should I do if I made a mistake?”. If things aren’t as how they usually are, I wouldn’t be able to do things well… But, I guess I’ll be grateful for the past 10 years after this concert is over and maybe I’d be like “I’m really grateful that I was featured a lot back then~…” (laughs).
Ayumi: Well, although Maa is currently saying that you don’t want to be featured, but I feel like if you actually couldn’t stand in the middle for your graduation, you’d probably be in a bad mood and say “Ah~ I wanted to stand in the middle”.
Masaki: I’m sure I would (laughs)! But I think I still really like to stand at a position that’s one or two steps away from zero (the center).
Ayumi: I’ve been working with Maa for 10 years now so I’ve seen how much of a hard worker she is…although I’ve seen her not making much of an effort in some areas too (lol). As I know how she always does her best, I want her to receive as much love as possible from many people and I want people to see her cool/manly sides too…Although just thinking about this makes me kinda uncomfortable.
All: bursts out in laughter
Ayumi: Am I so kind? (Laughs). I’m a person who gets frustrated if I’m not selected as the center, so I’m sure that the 5 years ago me would’ve been really jealous and think “that’s nice”.
Rio: I’ve learnt a lot from Sato-san over the past two and a half years, and I regret that I wasn’t able to learn more if not for the corona virus. However, I think this was fate so I’d like to cherish the remaining time, absorb as much as I can learn from Sato-san and send her off in the best possible way.
Masaki: On-chan (Rio Kitagawa) is someone who’s able to really absorb all of the good points of people just like SpongeBob. I might be squashed at the end after Onchan absorbs everything from me.
Rio: Can I really do that (laughs)?! But, I’ll do my best to be able to absorb that much!
―― Ahaha. Last, but not least, while Ishida-san has been walking with Sato-san for the past 10 years through this journey, is there any moment that Ishida-san thought during a concert that “this is very Sato Masaki-like”? As for Kitagawa-san, what is the biggest thing which you’ve learned from Sato-san?
Ayumi: A memory I have from a concert with Maa was a concert in 2012 or 2013, where we performed the song “The ☆ Peace!”. The choreography required us to form three vertical lines, I was in the middle line while Maa was in the left line. During the dance, I was moving my head left and right and there was a moment where our eyes met. At that time when our eyes met, 15 year old me and 12 year old Maa did a funny face and “akanbe” together. (t/n: akanbe refers to the gesture of pulling your eyelid down while sticking your tongue out)
Masaki: Yes, we did that (bursts out in laughter)!!
Ayumi: I saw fans cutting out that moment and posting it onto the internet, it made me feel that we were so cute back then. Also recently, when Maa and I did a photoshoot together just as the two of us, the cameraman said “let’s try holding hands”, Maa got super shy and embarrassed.
Masaki: But, I mean are there even women over the age of 20 who hold hands?! Maybe they would if they’re high school students, but we’re a 4th year university student and a 24 year old (lol). So I instinctively said to the male cameraman and the male manager “Then, can the two of you also please try holding hands! Can you hold hands?!”.
Ayumi: As a result, the both of them held hands so we reluctantly said “let’s do it too” (lol). At that time, I thought “Ah~ it’s something that still makes me feel shy even when we’ve been together for the past 10 years”.
―― It’s sad to grow up, isn’t it (lol). Is there a chance that you’ll be doing an akanbe together at this Budokan concert since “The ☆ Peace!” will be performed?
Masaki: No~!! At most I’ll just be smirking (lol)
Rio: …It’s difficult to talk after this (bitter smile). I’ve learned a lot from the rehearsals we do before standing on the stage. To be honest and with all due respect, I think Sato-san is a genius who can do anything without putting in any effort. There was a day when we were travelling on the Shinkansen, and I was sitting next to Sato-san. I managed to get the courage to ask Sato-san to explain the rhythm of a particular song. She explained while looking at the lyrics card, which was already filled with various rhythms such as “cut it short here” and “stretch out this note” with a black pen. I was really shocked and was thinking “omg”. It was at that moment when I realised that the reason why Sato-san is a genius is because of her efforts and hard work so far. Although Sato-san’s career has lasted for about 10 years, she’s always been researching and studying. This means that I, who isn’t even anywhere close to Sato-san’s level, cannot catch up with her even if I put in more effort.
Masaki: That’s not true at all~
Rio: I learned not only how to sing, but also the importance of asking people questions. I get embarrassed when I can’t or don’t understand and I can’t ask people when I have any problems. But Sato-san listened to various people, which made me realise the importance of incorporating various opinions. This is the biggest thing I’ve learned since joining Morning Musume and still the best thing I’ve been able to do.
―― I see, so it’s because of Sato-san’s great power that has made Kitagawa-san able to listen to people’s opinions and absorb them properly, just like Spongebob.
Rio: Yes, that’s right!
Masaki: No, no! Onchan has had the ability to absorb things well from the beginning. Everyone has their own ways of getting the rhythm. To be honest, I often don’t ask for advice that doesn’t suit me. Even though Onchan has her own way of getting the rhythm, she’s always conscious about what people say and always affirms them with “I see!!” and never denies/puts them down. We were able to talk a lot on the Shinkansen because Onchan accepted everything about Maa. At that time, I thought that Onchan was someone who could absorb everyone’s opinions. Whether it’s me who’s talking, or Ayumi, or even the manager who has no experience in dancing, she always says “I see!” and I find that amazing whenever I hear her say that.
Rio: laughs
Masaki: If you’re able to remember it well and talk about it, it will remain. But if you don’t talk about it, it won’t remain at all. When I talked with Onchan about deep things, I was happy that there was someone who’d remember the things I said. I’m really grateful to Onchan.
Rio: No, no. It’s also thanks to Sato-san that I’ll be able to remember the things Sato-san said.
Hellopedia ♡ Translations 