Pâtisserie Airi #2 (2015.03.14)

Continuing on from last week, we’re again presented with the special programme ‘Pizza-La presents Pâtisserie Airi’, with Airi reminding us that ‘pâtisserie’ is French for a sweets or cake shop. Again, Airi would like to continue giving a swee~t talk. She had been worried about something last week, as it was her first time doing a radio programme by herself – whether or not the listeners could catch her words. And so, she’ll try her best to make sure the message gets to your ears.

♪ Buono! – You’re My Friend ♪

Solving your bitter worries in a refreshing way
Pâtissière Airi’s sweet recipe

Airi wonders if she’ll be all right, unsure whether she’ll be able to come to a conclusion by herself. Previously, Airi-sensei used to drop by when it used to be the three of them. Airi can’t call on her by herself though, it’d get awkward.

This time, we have a letter from a guy who’s currently in the process of getting his driving licence. His motive – with a car, he can go on dates regardless of the weather, and he doesn’t have to care about missing the last train (Airi: ‘Indeed!’). He’s currently working part time to pay for the fees. However, his girlfriend has gotten a foreign-make sports bicycle, and has been going cycling with people he doesn’t know. He worries that perhaps, even if he got a licence, his girlfriend wouldn’t be that enthusiastic. And so, he asks for advice.

Airi berates this listener for being so timid. If it were a foreign-make sports car, then there might be cause for concern… but it’s a bicycle! A vehicle you operate with your own feet! Even if it were a motorcycle or a moped, Airi would sympathise with his worries. But a bicycle, well, you can argue that they’re difficult to use in certain weather conditions, like rain, wind, or snow. She thinks that a car would definitely be appreciated.

Not something that’ll be stealing Airi’s heart any time soon

But the thing is, Airi dislikes the writer’s timidness. She may not know how his girlfriend is like, but although cycling is fun, it’s also exhausting and tires out the muscles. In the pollen-heavy spring, a car would also be able to provide shelter. And there’s only so far that one can go on bike.

Airi asks the writer to build up some confidence, and get his licence not just for the girlfriend’s sake, but more for his sake. Wouldn’t it be all right for him to enjoy having a licence as well? Cars are useful, after all. Also, he could come to their concerts by car. As a plus, he would no longer need to worry about missing the last train, so he could happily go drinking with other fans after that.

Wrapping up, she asks how she did. As always, she wonders if it turned out all right. She also apologises for her scathing words when the listener was asking for advice, despite the introduction promoting this as a soothing segment.

Even with a licence, probably still out of your league

♪ Music ♪

What is ‘gratitude’ to Suzuki Airi?

Similar to last time’s topic of ‘tears’, Airi brings up Berryz Kobo again. She’s not sure if grateful is the right word, but she’s really really thankful to Berryz Kobo, including the good job that they had done. ℃-ute themselves were completely worried and uneasy about Berryz Kobo’s hiatus… but had they mentioned it, it would have made Berryz Kobo worry too, and they wouldn’t have been able to leave on a good note.

As well all know, recently, Hello! Pro has experienced a surge in young blood. When Airi’s parents came to see a Hello! Con, they worryingly remarked on the vast difference in youthfulness when they contrasted it to the relatively established ℃-ute.

Airi: They asked me, ‘Hey, you seem grown-up, will you be all right?‘ and I was like, ‘Will we be all right? What do you mean by that?‘

But despite that, ℃-ute will continue to act as they always have. Doing their best in ℃-ute’s own way, they’ll inherit what they can from Berryz Kobo while leaving behind ℃-ute’s own impression.

Personally, she’s really grateful to Tsunku♂-san. While she’s thankful for receiving the green-light at the auditions, more than that, she’s grateful for making her début in 3rd grade as part of Aa!, with their single being released on Tsunku♂’s birthday. So far, she’d only been a background dancer after passing the auditions, and hadn’t had any opportunities to sing. So she was glad to have this chance to do what she wanted to do – sing.

Airi: At the time, I was really competitive, well, I’m like that even now. Being picked, I was so happy, I remember thinking of it as getting a fighting chance. Getting picked for Aa!, I thought that it would be my chance to make an appeal to the fans – ‘Here’s a girl that loves singing!‘ With the timing of Aa!, even now I truly treasure that début single ‘First Kiss’ as well as the coupling song ‘Masayume’.

Given that she was in the 3rd grade of primary school, she had no idea what lyrics like ‘my heart was stolen‘ meant. She remembers appearing on an episode of Music Station to promote the song, and the host Tamori asked her if she understood the lyrics. She remembers her reply as clear as day – ‘I asked my mother‘.

The conviction of someone who’s asked her mother

Again, she repeats that she really thinks that her experience as Aa! brought her to where she is now, and so she’s grateful to Tsunku♂ and the staff for giving her that opportunity. Of course, she’s grateful to the current staff as well, but as that was her start, she’s really grateful to everyone from that time.

♪ Aa! – First Kiss ♪