Sayu begins by talking about Morning Musume’s recent guest appearances at the Budokan concerts of Berryz Koubou and °C-ute. While she did have fun appearing, there was one slip-up she made prior to °C-ute’s performance. Before they got on stage, everyone there including the members of Berryz Koubou, Morning Musume and the Kenshuusei all gathered around to do °C-ute’s signature call before the show: “zenin sorotte hajikeru zoi!“
The way they usually do it is, Maimi says “zenin sorotte“, Nacky says “hajikeru” and everyone yells the final “zoi” together. Despite this being explained to Sayu beforehand, she nevertheless got confused and mistakenly joined in too early, saying the beginning of “hajikeru” with Nacky, much to her embarrassment. What made it even worse for Sayu is that Momochi and Ikuta gave her looks that made it clear they’d heard her.
This embarrassment fresh on her mind, Sayu made sure not to repeat the mistake the next day before Berryz Koubou’s performance.
Listener requested pose: “Sayu updating her blog while battling sleepiness”
Song: Morning Musume ’14 – TIKI BUN
Sayu no Kobeya
Letters from listeners
Fan mail #1: The listener says they’re very excited about Morning Musume’s upcoming single, and asks Sayu which points in “Shabadabadoo” fans should especially pay attention to.
The first thing that surprised Sayu about the song was how cute her outfits for it were, especially when compared to all the cooler outfits Morning Musume has had lately. She loved both the red dotted outfit as well as the pink/beige dress. She swears they’re both extremely cute and strongly insists that fans watch the music video to see for themselves.
Sayu thinks the music video for “TIKI BUN” is really cool as well, and mentions that the version of it that’s going to be released on DVD is different than the one that can be seen on YouTube (even more so than usually), so she recommends that fans see that version, too.
Fan mail #2: The listener mentions Sayu’s upcoming final photobook as a member of Morning Musume. Since it was shot in Okinawa, they ask Sayu for any behind-the-scenes episodes from her time there.
“YOUR LOVE” will be Sayu’s 11th photobook, and she’s surprised she actually got to release that many — it means she’s released as many photobooks as the number of years she’s been in Morning Musume. Sayu is really happy that all those years were documented — by professional cameramen no less — and says she’s always going to treasure them. She hopes that the fans will, too.
Sayu had a really tight schedule for her last photobook as it was all shot in the space of two days. She felt like she did her best for each and every shot, and the other day she actually got to preview some of the photos chosen for it and really liked what she saw. She asks that fans look forward to it.
Fan mail #3: This letter is from a self-professed novice to Morning Musume, having been a fan of the group for just half a year. They got hooked on both Sayu’s cuteness as well as her coolness as the leader, and through that, they came to like the other members as well — “especially Ishida Ayumi-chan and her carefree smile and peculiar character.” The listener was really happy seeing the two being friendly in pictures on Sayu’s blog the other day where Ishida was wearing a “Michishige Addiction” T-shirt. The listener asks what Sayu’s image of Ishida was when she first met her and how it’s changed since then.
Sayu’s initial image of Ishida was that she worked hard — maybe even too hard. Looking back, Sayu thinks Ishida’s innate greatness wasn’t as apparent then as it is now. Sayu explains that at first Ishida might’ve been too busy working hard to display her “Sendai spirit” and trying to prove her dancing talent. Sayu didn’t talk with her in the beginning much, but at some point the two happened to have some work just by the two of them which gave Sayu the chance to talk to her and realize just how funny she actually is.
It’s from that point on that Sayu realized Ishida isn’t just a hard worker, but that she’s also really funny, talkative, and that she likes to be fawned on. This made her want to talk with her more. She says that Ishida is someone who takes some time before she opens up to you — Ishida herself has said that this lack of sociability is something she wants to fix. Sayu speculates that she and Ishida are similar in that they’re quite shy, or rather, just bad with people — this might be why the two of them don’t have many friends outside of the group, and also why the two didn’t talk much in the beginning.
But the moment the two got over that initial hump, Sayu began socializing with Ishida a lot more. Sayu says she’s fun to watch, fun to talk to, she constantly invites people to tsukkomi her, and that Sayu finds herself taking pictures of her all the time. In closing, Sayu says that just like the listener, she, too, eventually got hooked on Ishida.
Quiz Shigexagon
Sayu takes on listener-submitted quizzes, riddles, etc.
Morning Musume Riddle: “There are some people in Morning Musume who love Sayumin so much it hurts! How many members is it?“
Sayu answers one, which is incorrect. The correct answer is three.
Why? (Boring language explanation coming up, skip if you have zero understanding of Japanese.) In Japanese, the question “how many members is it (that have an interest in Sayumin)?” is “[…] キが有る人は何人？” (“ki ga aru hito wa nannin?“) Sayu figured the riddle was about members with the “木” (“ki“) character in their names. Thus, she answered one: Suzuki Kanon (鈴木香音). As it turns out, she was thinking about it too hard: the riddle was instead just asking for members with the “ki” sound in their names, of which there are three: Fukumura Mizuki, Suzuki Kanon and Sato Masaki.
Sayu does not approve of this riddle.
Japanese Question: “List ten Japanese proverbs featuring animals.”
Sayu tries but fails miserably, and complains that no average person would be able to come up with ten so fast — “definitely not any of the current members of Morning Musume.”
Music Question: “Which song by Princess Princess was the Oricon no. 1 best-selling hit in 1989, the year Sayumin was born?”
Sayu answers “Romance no Kamisama” which is incorrect. She apologizes and admits she has no clue. The correct answer is “DIAMONDS.” Sayu is disappointed as she actually likes the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqMX8fFkBk4
ALFEE Question: “Morning Musume ’14’s Michishige Sayumi and THE ALFEE’s Takamizawa Toshihiko have four features in common. One is their light complexion, another is that they’re the leaders of their respective groups, the third is that they’re both beautiful. What’s the fourth one?”
Sayu: “Light complexion?!” That’s completely arbitrary! What the heck is that?! What if I’d gotten a crazy tan in Hawaii and I was really dark-skinned right now?!?
After Sayu finishes complaining about the question, she answers “black hair,” which is incorrect. The correct answer is that they both have moles on their jaw. Hearing this answer draws even more vehement words of protest from Sayu.
Riddle: “What kind of meat do vampires hate?”
Sayu has no idea and answers “beef,” which is incorrect. This riddle was another play on words: the question asked about vampires’ “kirai na niku,” but the correct answer actually has nothing to do with meat. It’s “ninniku” (onions). While this probably wouldn’t be a super difficult riddle for the average Japanese person, Sayu didn’t have any chance to get it right to begin with: she had no idea vampires don’t like onions.
Nevertheless, Sayu argues that this last question should’ve been labeled a “common knowledge question” instead of a riddle as that might’ve influenced the way she approached it. She continues complaining and protesting for a good minute until the staff point out that she also failed every other question that was asked. Sayu admits that they make a valid point and thus it’s time for her punishment for losing: Sayu has to sing an a cappella parody of “Let It Go.”
Sayu: ♪ Ari no~ mama no~ Sayumi miseru no yo~ / Ari no~ mama no~ Sayumi ni naru no~ ♪
Sayumi~ no kotae wa~ kore de~ ii no~ / sukoshi mo suberanai wa~ ♪
(“I’ll show you Sayumi as I truly am~ / I’ll become true to myself~
I’m satisfied with my answers~ / And not the least bit embarrassed~“)
Sayu says she’s looking forward to receiving more questions for this quiz corner — especially ones that are correctly labeled.
Song: Michishige Sayumi – Shabadabadoo
Sayu: Oyasayumin ♪
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