Monthly Archives: May 2015

We are Juice=Juice #65 (2015.01.06)

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“Happy New Year”

Happy New Year! All 5 members are in the studio again to ring in the new year of We are Juice=Juice. Yuka begins the discussion with one of her favorite New Year’s foods: mochi. Last year, she had been warned a lot not to eat too much mochi, primarily so that she wouldn’t get fat, so she ended up only eating a little. However, by the end of the New Year’s festivities, she felt like she hadn’t eaten any mochi at all which made her feel really sad, so she decided that since it is a holiday, she will enjoy herself this year and eat as much as she likes.

Sayubee: And when you think of mochi, you think of–
Tomo: Sayuki? Your cheeks…

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I mean yeah, her cheeks are only super round and puffy and all

So after some brief bullying, they move on to talk about the year 2015 for the group. Yuka notes that they have a lot of incoming kouhai, which means that even though Juice=Juice has been the youngest group for a while, they’re now quickly becoming one of the more tenured groups in the company, so they need to work harder to become more professional and reliable. To help ring in the new year, though, each of the members will be recording a New Year’s greeting for all of us, starting with Uemu.

New Year’s Messages

Uemu says that this is the year 2015, and that is relevant, somehow. However, she hopes this is a good year for everyone out there, and she hopes to make this a year in which the group undertakes a lot of challenges and gets to have a lot of new experiences. Tomo comments that this is the most on-topic that Uemu has ever stayed while talking solo, but Uemu admits that she had no idea where she was going with it at first.

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AS1422 #107 (2015.02.01)

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Setsubun

So, after my successful frantic attempts to translate all of Maro’s blog before she graduates ( 🙁 ), I will resume my frantic attempts to catch back up on radio translations, hooray! At the point of this broadcast, Setsubun, the traditional Japanese first day of spring (which is well before the actual first day of spring and well before it actually stops being cold outside), is coming up. One tradition within Setsubun is the eating of Ehou Maki, or “lucky rolls,” a rolled sushi comprised of various ingredients that are supposed to bring about good fortune. Rinapuu opens this show by asking if Kananan likes this tradition.

Kananan: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Rinapuu: Stop it.
Kananan: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Rinapuu: Hurry up and answer.
Kananan: Yeah.

Kananan says that she always ate them back home in Kansai, but since moving to Tokyo and Kanto, she’s noticed that they aren’t as common in this area and it’s been difficult to find them. This is sad for her, because she has fond memories of eating them with her friends and family. To maximize one’s luck with the Ehou Maki, it must be eaten facing the luckiest direction for that year (Rinapuu: “Which way is that?” Kananan: “I have no idea!”) and in silence. The silence part is what Kananan has always had most trouble with, because being around people and not being able to talk just makes her laugh. Then, as she looks around at other people’s faces, she inevitably mutters, “Somebody say something,” then immediately recoils in horror because she realizes that she just broke the silence. It’s a fun holiday for her.

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Weirdos.

New Single PR

Because ANGERME’s first single is set to come out soon, Rinapuu encourages Kananan to talk about the songs so that everyone can learn more about them. Taiki Bansei is, of course, a Takui song that he wrote for his own album, but according to Kananan, some staff members approached him and asked if they could use the song for Ange’s purposes. He complied and rearranged it for them. Kananan tells everyone to watch MUSIC+ on YouTube to see some footage of the instrumental recording as well as footage of the members recording the chorus and other background vocals. The lyrics are also important, because they push the listener, especially those among us who are late bloomers, to keep doing their best because we only have the present. This also encourages Kananan, as it is particularly relevant to her and the reborn group.

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Itsudemo! Kannon Smile #20 (2015.04.14)

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This past March was the Hina Fest at Pacifico Yokohama Arena. Kanon has been making announcements advertising Hina Fest for the past few radio broadcasts at the end of the show, so now that it’s over, she’ll tell a story from the event. The venue itself was fairly intimidating since the fans literally surrounded the stage. The rehearsals for the event started only about two or three days before, so Kanon was troubled with memorizing which side of the stage to look out into. Another other notable story about Hina Fest was winning a spot in the first concert’s Trio-Group with Wada Ayaka and Sayashi Riho as “Peaberry with Suzuki Kanon Accompanying”  and they sang Tanpopo. Kanon had never sung a song of this level, so she was wondering if the fans would like it. Also, Kanon was in a group with two aces, so she really worried if it was ok for her to be there as well. However, when it came time to perform she saw that there were green penlights in the audience for her and felt relieved. After the concert, Kanon realized something for the first time: Sayumi had really taught everyone about professional awareness that Kanon didn’t realize she had been taught until after the Hina Fest concerts. Something to be thankful to Sayumi for yet again.

Song: Morning Musume ‘15 – Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru

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The two aces seemed to enjoy Kanon’s ‘accompaniment’

I, Suzuki Kanon Will Open Up To My True Feelings Message Corner!

Letter 1: This letter actually comes from a Japanese fan living in America. They discuss how you can make sweets in a rice cooker and recalls hearing that Kanon likes to make sweets. Therefore, they wonder if Kanon is good at making any type of sweets that look complicated but are actually easy to make.

Kanon explains she’s particularly good at making cheesecake, but that’s really easy. Thinking about the question more, Kanon explains she usually makes cookies using pancake mix. You make the cookies how you normally would but they will cook a bit differently. Kanon says it makes the cookies fluffier. She recommends trying this. Lately though, Kanon has been trying to get better at using wheat flour when making cookies.

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Itsudemo! Kannon Smile #19 (2015.04.07)

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Its April 7th, which is  the day Kanon’s life changed: the day Maji de Suka Ska! released. The day is full of memories for the 9th generation, who make notice of the day every year. Reflecting on her debut time, Kanon recalls dance lessons for the single started in February. The lessons were particularly challenging for Kanon, since the rhythm was tough. She didn’t like that the rhythm was taught with English numbers rather than Japanese. There was a special rehearsal for the 9th generation to learn choreography with their seniors, and it was pretty tough for them. After the two hours rehearsal Kanon felt that she could only do the choreography about 30% as perfectly as her seniors. It was truly tiring. Soon after when the video-shooting day arrived, Kanon couldn’t quite remember the proper formation and choreography. She was paired with Mitsui Aika in the formation, who helped her become able to finally do it. Kanon had been practicing the choreography constantly at school, to the point where Kanon is sure everyone thought of her as being the girl who is dancing all the time.

Song: Morning Musume – Maji de Suka Ska!

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Meeting with their old mentor, Aika

I, Suzuki Kanon Will Open Up To My True Feelings Message Corner!

Message 1: The writer explains they have a dog who does certain things like human and they wonder if Bii-chan does things like a human as well.

Kanon isn’t sure if it’s the same, since dogs are different from cats. But, one time when the intercom dinged in her house, Bii-chan growled. Then, when Kanon answered the door for the package deliveryman, Bii-chan continued to growl at them, which surprised her. This happened a few times now. However, Bii-chan won’t say anything if it’s a family member. Kanon has no idea how Bii-chan can tell, but there must be some difference. So, she thinks Bii-chan must clever ears.

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