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Gekkan Entame August 2023: Yagi Toa, Sugiura Eren, Hayasaki Suzuki, Yanagihori Karen & Yoshimoto Cocona interviews

The debut of Nogizaka46's official rival!

Nice to meet you, we are Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora.

This group was created as an official rival to Nogizaka46.

That idol group, produced by Akimoto Yasushi, is Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora.

We'll be taking a closer look at the personalities of the five fresh members, whose charms are yet to be discovered.

Yagi Toa: Born on the 1st of May, 2007, from Tokyo. 155cm tall. Blood type A. Her nickname is Toa. Her personal colour is yellowish/yebe spring.

Sugiura Eren: Born on the 19th of June, 2008, from Aichi. 160cm tall. Blood type O. Her nickname is Eren. Her personal colour is yellowish/yebe spring.

Yagi Toa's part:

Q: I understand that you have had a long history of dancing.

Yagi: My mother enrolled me in a dance school back when I was four years old, after seeing me dancing to the ending of Pretty Cure. I'd mainly do hip-hop, but the more I kept dancing, the more I would improve, so I enjoyed it and continued going until recently.

Q: Did you enjoy dancing in front of people, too?

Yagi: I've never been good at being in front of people, ever since I was little・・・・・・ I'd often feel like I did better during rehearsals than during the show itself (laughs).

Q: Why did you decide to become an idol, despite not being good at being in front of people?

Yagi: Around the time I became a junior high school student, I started to like the Sakamichi Groups and gradually, I started to think that I wanted to be an idol too. That's when I found out about the BokuAo audition on TikTok and ended up applying.

Q: What was particularly memorable to you regarding the audition?

Yagi: The singing [part of the] audition. There were many cameras and lots of adults, and I sang while thinking 'I'm being watched so closely', to the point where I couldn't hit any notes properly. I don't even know how I got accepted (laughs). I couldn't believe it for a good while, but when I took part in the training camp, there, too, were a lot of cameras and I talked a lot in front of them, I took dance lessons and voice training lessons and the like. I finally realised that I had really become an idol.

Q: Since starting your activities, when have you found being an idol rewarding?

Yagi: Given how I get to experience new things, such as magazine shoots and music video shoots, every day is fresh. I wasn't very good at singing, but after practicing, I've become more confident, singing-wise, and now I enjoy doing that [singing] with everyone.

Q: So, at this very moment, what are the challenges you are currently facing as an idol?

Yagi: It's facial expressions. I practice in front of the mirror on a regular basis, but whenever the camera is pointed at me, I become all stiff. That's why I admire the members who are good at displaying charming facial expressions. I'm also not very good at talking, so I want to improve my talking skills and my mental strength.

Q: You were chosen as the center for the group's debut single, 'Aozora ni Tsuite Kangaeru'.

Yagi: I didn't expect that... I was surprised, but, most importantly, I want to polish my performance skills, so that many people would feel tempted to listen to our debut single.

Sugiura Eren's part:

Q: Why did you decide to become an idol?

Sugiura: I have been learning dance since the first grade of primary school, but I didn't really want to be an idol, instead I wanted to become a dancer in theme park productions and make lots of people smile. My mother told me there was an audition, but I didn't want to go for it at the time. But when I was looking around on SNS, the notice about the audition just popped up and I thought it was fate, so I applied in the end.

Q: What genres of dance did you learn?

Sugiura: I started out with idol dances, then jazz, ballet, theme park-specific dancing, J-pop and many others. The one I did for quite a long time was jazz. It was very difficult and there were many times when I wanted to quit, but I loved the process of creating performances for the annual recital.

Q: Did you show off your dance moves as your appeal point during the auditions?

Sugiura: I wanted to show myself as I was, so I didn't dare try to appeal. I couldn't sing well and my self-PR was weak, so I thought I'd have no chance of ever getting in. While waiting for the announcement of whether I'd got in or not, I was eating Pocky or talking to my friends on the phone (laughs).

Q: Does your dance experience come in handy in your idol activities?

Sugiura: Thankfully, I was given a leading dance position, as well as a solo part in the first single. I like to think I'm quick at learning choreography, so I'm really glad that I've kept on dancing.

Q: What other [club] activities have you taken part in, apart from dancing?

Sugiura: I played percussion in the brass band until I was in the eighth grade, mainly the timpani. [T/L note: Timpani or kettledrums are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper.] I joined the club because I saw an older student playing the drums at a trial demonstration of what the club would be like, and he looked so cool. Given how I used to dance too, it was fun coming up with different rhythms.

Q: What are the current challenges you are facing?

Sugiura: I want to improve my talking skills. I'm someone who talks a lot, but I don't have an extensive vocabulary, so I often can't come up with the exact words that can convey what I want to say (laughs). I would like to one day work as a radio personality, so I will do my best!

Q: I got the impression that you are a very confident person, back during the group's unveiling event.

Sugiura: I wasn't nervous at all. I'm usually someone who's helped by the members, so I'm glad I was able to be a person who could mentally support the others during the unveiling.

Q: What is the goal you are currently aiming for?

Sugiura: Our members come from all over the country, so I'd like us to perform in each of our hometowns!

Hayasaki Suzuki: Born on the 13th of March, 2005, from Tokyo. 161cm tall. Blood type B. Her nickname is Suu. Her personal colour is brevet/blueish summer.

Yanagihori Karen: Born on the 24th of July, 2005, from Tokyo. 163.4cm tall. Blood type B. Her nickname is BoriBori. Her personal colour is yellowish/yebe autumn.

Hayasaki Suzuki's part:

Q: Isn't it unusual to have the name 'Suzuki'?

Hayasaki: People often tell me that. The 'Suzu' comes from my great-grandmother, whose name was 'Misuzu', but I don't really know where the 'ki' came from (laughs). After I became part of BokuAo, I realised that it was easy for people to remember me, and I started liking it!

Q: Hayasaki-san, you are particularly good at playing the piano, and you've won prizes in multiple competitions.

Hayasaki: I've studied the piano from the first grade of primary school to the third grade of high school. I also played the violin for five years, so I think my sense of pitch is one of my greatest strengths. However, I wasn't as good when it came to playing in public, and I was quite bad at taking part in competitions.

Q: How did you become interested in idols?

Hayasaki: Back when I was in primary school, I went to a park with my family and happened to see an idol group performing there. I was still young at the time, so even though we didn't have any tickets, we were given special seats, and the idols were so enthusiastic! I fell in love with them and ended up becoming a fan, along with my father, until the day when they broke up. Since then, I've started keeping an eye on all kinds of idols.

Q: Is that when you started thinking about becoming an idol?

Hayasaki: I had had a desire to become an idol for longer than that, but I was convinced that I wouldn't get in anyway. But when I started thinking about what I wanted to do after graduating from high school, I found myself thinking that what I really wanted to do was to become an idol. I decided that this would be the first and last audition I'd ever take part in, so I gave it a go and was surprised when I ended up passing.

Q: It's been about three months since you got in.

Hayasaki: Every single day feels like 'youth'! It's only been a few months since we first met, but we've already become good friends and can talk just about anything. We're great friends and work well as a team, and - all of us are foodies! Whenever lunchboxes are served, we rush to them and everyone eats their respective ones delightedly (laughs).

Q: That's nice. By the way, what's your favourite food?

Hayasaki: Mizu yokan. [T/L note: Mizu yokan, a chilled Japanese red bean jelly with chestnut is a traditional sweet treat in Japan.] You can only find mizu yokan in the shops during the summer. That's why I'm glad that summer is here! I have eight mizu yokan at home right now!

Q: Now, you are going to start your activities as an idol in earnest. Do you think you'll be able to overcome your fear of public appearances?

Hayasaki: I've always been an anxious person, but when it comes to BokuAo's activities, I don't get nervous at all. The people around me tell me, 'It's okay if you make mistakes, you don't have to stress about getting it right [from the get-go]', which makes it really easy and enjoyable. With that in mind, I'm really looking forward to the future!

Yanagihori Karen's part:

Q: First of all, please tell us about your hobbies, your special skills and your character.

Yanagihori: My speciality is the tea ceremony, my hobby is skiing, in particular, and I like to smile. ･･････ I've kept saying that since the audition (laughs). I've been practicing the tea ceremony since I was in the first grade of primary school, and I've actually been doing it for a whole year now. At first, I was invited by a friend to go there for the sweets (laughs). But gradually, I realised how much fun it could be and I started taking it seriously. I also started to like wearing kimonos, and now I can even style myself.

Q: How come skiing is your hobby?

Yanagihori: It used to be my father's hobby, which is why I've started skiing ever since I was five. We go skiing every season.

Q: What about your club activities at school?

Yanagihori: I'm the head of the tea ceremony club, as well as the manager of the swimming club. It's hard work, but I like the hustle and bustle of it all (laughs).

Q: So, Yanagihori-san, what made you decide to audition?

Yanagihori: My mother was the one who suggested it to me. I used to be in the dance club, back in junior high school, and I also liked singing, so I used to often go to karaoke. When I was in primary school, I wanted to be a model too. That doesn't mean that I had done anything special, but given how my mother knew that I wanted to be in the show business world, she encouraged me to audition.

Q: The audition mentioned that it was looking for 'Nogizaka46's Official Rival'.

Yanagihori: I used to dance to Nogizaka46-san's songs, such as 'Influencer', in my junior high school dance club and I used to watch them on singing shows too. I thought they were really cute. I didn't think I would be accepted in the official rival audition, so I was very surprised and still feel quite flustered about it.

Q: Before you passed the audition, what career path did you have in mind for the future?

Yanagihori: I wanted to become a nurse and I was thinking of going to university, to study nursing. I've said just earlier that 'I value smiles', and I really do want to make people smile, as well as the fact that I like doing my best for others. In that sense, I think that nursing and being an idol are both jobs that can benefit someone, and I like to think that there is a connection between the two.

Q: So, what are your dreams for the future?

Yanagihori: I want us to become a group that can bring smiles and courage to many, many people. I also want to improve myself, so that I'll be able to contribute lots to the group. I would also like to try modelling, which has been my dream since I was in primary school, and I'd also be interested in working as a narrator, which I hope to happen someday.

Yoshimoto Cocona: Born on the 5th of December, 2005, from Ishikawa. 156cm tall. Blood type A. Her nickname is Cocona. Her personal colour is brevet/blueish summer.

Yoshimoto Cocona's part:

Q: First of all, please tell us why you auditioned.

Yoshimoto: I didn't know much about idols really, but my mother found the notice for the audition. So she sent in my application all by herself......。 Originally, I wasn't interested in neither going to university nor getting a job, so - if I got accepted - I realized that I wouldn't have to do either・・・・・・・(laughs). After that, as the auditions went on, I became more and more interested in various idols and found myself wanting to get accepted.

Q: Do you have any memories that stick out from the audition?

Yoshimoto: By the time of the final screening, everyone around me had already become friends, but I was really shy and wasn't able to talk. Once I had passed the audition, the members told me that I looked like a tough girl, but that wasn't the case. I was always told that I had an 'eye-catching face, but that I was modest on the inside' (laughs).

Q: So you've always been the quiet type?

Yoshimoto: I didn't like being in front of people. However, I liked Namie Amuro-san and had this hope that I could be someone like her in the future. Thanks to that admiration, I faintly found myself thinking that 'I want to enter the entertainment industry in the future', so I ended up taking jazz dance and singing lessons.

Q: You're right in the middle when it comes to the group's wide age range. Do you feel any difference in the way you interact with everyone [thanks to your age]?

Yoshimoto: We all get on well together and I rarely feel the age difference between us. The junior high school students are always teasing me, by saying that 'You may think you're all cool, but you actually have a baby face!' (laughs).

Q: So you don't like being told that you have a baby face?

Yoshimoto: I hate it! I wasn't even aware that I had a baby face until I joined the group. I really admire Imada Mio-san and Araki Yuko-san, and my hairstyle is a bit like theirs too, so I want to be like them.

Q: What are your hobbies, your favourite things to do?

Yoshimoto: I don't really have any of those. I didn't take part in any club activities or had any part-time jobs, so I'd come home right away and spend all my time just lazing around. Apart from that, I think I might have watched dramas or films? I prefer Japanese films and dramas to foreign films, and I would like to act in such works one day.

Q: How does it feel, coming to Tokyo from Ishikawa Prefecture?

Yoshimoto: It's difficult to get on the right trains and interchange them properly! In Ishikawa, I used to drive most of the time, so I'm still getting used to it.

Handwritten messages:

While aiming for the blue skies hidden beneath the clouds, all 23 of us will do our best!

"I'm going to do my best!!" - Sugiura Eren

"I am anxious, since I am new to all of this, but I will devote my effort to growing more and more.

All the members of BokuAo will do our best. I hope you will warmly watch over us!" - Yanagihori Karen

"I am still lacking in many aspects, but I will not forget [the reason for] my efforts and I'll do my best, so that one day, I'll become an idol who can bring hope and inspiration to someone. Thank you for your support!" - Yagi Toa

"I'm anxious because all of this is new to me, but, as much as I can, I'll do my best!!

All 23 of us are running towards the same dream, so I would be very happy if you could support us." - Hayasaki Suzuki

"I'm shy and need more courage than others to take the first step, but I'll work hard to become an idol who can become a catalyst for someone's dream, and I will do my best, so that many people will want to support me, all while not forgetting to express my gratitude." - Yoshimoto Cocona

[from Gekkan Entame’s August 2023 issue, featuring BokuAo's front row from their first single - 'Aozora ni Tsuite Kangaeru'.]

[TL by: yuzuiro]

#interviews #mag features #gekkan entame august 2023 #yagi toa #sugiura eren #hayasaki suzuki #yanagihori karen #yoshimoto cocona #bokuao #tl by yuzuiro

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