Country Girls no Tadaima Radio Kenshuuchuu!! #1 (2015.03.15)

Replacing BZS1422 this week — as well as for the rest of March — will be Country Girls no Tadaima Radio Kenshuuchuu!! Yamaki explains that whether or not the show continues beyond these initial three episodes will be up to the listeners’ feedback. The members all agree that this is a scary thought.

So what sort of a group is Country Girls?

Yamaki explains that the unit has its roots in Country Musume, a group originally formed in 1999 with the concept of “part-time farmers, part-time entertainers” — its members would work in the entertainment industry while simultaneously working at a farm. Last year the group was renamed as Country Girls in order to make it more accessible worldwide; Country Musume member Satoda Mai remains as the “Supervisor” for this reborn version of the group, while ex-Berryz Koubou member Tsugunaga Momoko has been appointed as their “Playing Manager.”

Present in the studio today, however, are the other five members who take turns in introducing themselves.

Ozeki Mai names the violin as her special skill, but how well can she actually play it? Well, she says she’s been playing it for nine years so far (since the age of four) so she does have some confidence in it. When asked if there are any songs she can play especially well, she answers “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Still, if she’s allowed to consult some musical notes, she can play more difficult pieces as well.

Shimamura Uta‘s strong suits are drawing illustrations and “being well-loved by animals.” She explains that with the latter she simply means how dogs and cats she’s owned in the past have all seemed to like her. The other members express doubt as to whether or not this is something that could actually be listed as one’s “special skill.”

You can see how Uta’s pet dog, Popo-chan, really loves her.

Morito Chisaki is an avid manga reader. She and Yamaki immediately begin fan-squealing when she mentions that one of her recent favorite works include Horimiya. The two are told to stop.

Inaba Manaka‘s special skills are dancing and hair arrangements while her hobbies include drawing as well as “music/film/drama/sky appreciation.” She also loves Kudo Haruka. Touching a bit deeper on the drama part, she explains that while she does enjoy the storylines and such, she mainly just loves to watch people act in general. She appreciates how deep the art of acting is; how an actor can look completely different when they’re in their role, or how two actors can give two completely different performances of the same role. The other four are in awe as they listen to Inaba talk.

Finally, Yamaki Risa excels at horse riding, playing the piano, and drawing, and like Morito, she, loves reading manga, too. The other members are very eager to see her riding a horse. When asked what exactly it is about horse riding that’s so fun, she explains that horses really are something special. “They seriously respond to you when you talk to them. The more you communicate with them, the better it will make your experience riding them.“

Song: Country Girls – Koi Dorobou

Questionnaire Time

Question #1: “What do you most want right now?”

• Inaba Manaka: an exercise ball
• Morito Chisaki: earphones
• Shimamura Uta: a straightening iron
• Ozeki Mai: the ability to learn dance choreographies faster
• Yamaki Risa: abdominal muscles and body height

Hearing Yamaki’s answer, the hosts agree that body height is actually something they all want. More importantly, though, Yamaki reveals that Shimamura wasn’t entirely truthful with her response: she forces her to admit that what she really wants is not a straightening iron, but a whole house with its own garden. But that wouldn’t have made for a very cute, idol-like answer.

Question #2: “What about Momochi do you most look up to?”

• Inaba Manaka: her talking ability, her fast thinking, her professionalism, and her genuineness as an idol
• Morito Chisaki: her talking ability and her idol-ness
• Shimamura Uta: everything, but especially her cuteness, singing, dancing, talking ability, and her fast thinking
• Ozeki Mai: talking ability
• Yamaki Risa: the way she keeps to her convictions and doesn’t back down against anyone, as well as her singing

Needless to say, Momochi’s little underlings have nothing but nice things to say about her.

Question #3: “What is your charm point?”

• Inaba Manaka: her unique voice and cheeks
• Morito Chisaki: her palm reading that she was told was the same as that of Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Shimamura Uta: the color of her eyes and hair
• Ozeki Mai: her figure
• Yamaki Risa: her mole you can only see when she closes her eyes

While Inaba does think she has a unique voice, her cheeks are actually something she doesn’t like about herself; it was only thanks to Morito always squeezing them and telling her how great they are that made her list them as another one of her charm points. For what it’s worth, everyone else agrees with Morito: Inaba’s cheeks are very squeezable.

When Morito got her palms read, her reading was the same as that of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun and probably the most well-known military commander in the history of Japan. The others think this is pretty incredible — just how important of a person is Morito going to become?! Meanwhile, Inaba has been told she has weird palms, and Yamaki was told the lines on her palms are so shallow, it was impossible to do a proper reading. That’s still a lot better than Shimamura, though: she was told the “life line” on her palm is cut short. Someone says “Uta-chan, bye bye~” as everyone laughs.

Speaking of Shimamura, she thinks the fact that she’s 1/8 Italian is why she has such light hair and eyes. The others are still surprised she’s only 1/8 Italian — she looks more like half-Italian! In any case, everyone is desperately jealous of her light complexion.

Ozeki says she has a great figure. Everyone agrees they should move on to the next member already.

Yamaki feels that she really doesn’t have any charm points, so the mole on her right eye is the only thing she could come up with. It’s something you’ll only notice if you’re looking her in the eye when you’re talking to her, so people who tend to avoid eye contact with others will be surprised when they do notice it. As Yamaki talks, the other members start laughing because they now find themselves unable to stop looking at the mole. Yamaki asks them to stop.

Song: Country Girls – Itooshikutte Gomen ne

Henkka: This show doesn’t currently have a translator! If you think you’d like to give a shot at translating future episodes, please see here.