Tag Archives: Takeuchi Akari

Japan Hello! Pro Network #30 (2015.10.21)

By | June 4, 2016

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This episode’s MC is Tokyo resident Fukumura Mizuki from Morning Musume。´15. Joining her are ANGERME’s Takeuchi Akari and Kobushi Factory’s Hamaura Ayano, who both hail from Saitama prefecture.

This is a pretty rare combination, so Fukuchan is expecting this to be an interesting show. All three of them came from the Hello! Project Egg (now Kenshuusei) programme. While both Takechan and Fukuchan were in the programme at the same time, Hamachan’s time as an Egg never overlapped with Fukuchan. Takechan and Hamachan’s tenure in the programme overlapped for a short while though.

The day before the broadcast, Fukuchan messaged Takechan, asking Take if there was anything about Akari’s hometown of Saitama that they could talk about. Takechan’s response: ‘Nope, there’s nothing to talk about at all~!‘. Doesn’t Takechan have more confidence in her hometown? Musume。member Kudo, for example, really likes Saitama.

Takechan: Why does she like it so much?

Fukuchan: No idea~ (laughs)

And Fukuchan brings up the Saitama pose… which Takechan doesn’t know.

Fukuchan: Even Tagucchi’s done it.

Hamaura: Yeah.

Fukuchan: So why don’t you know it, being a Saitama resident?

Hamaura: Maybe Akari-chan isn’t from Saitama? (laughs)

♪Kobushi Factory – Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta♪

After the music ends, it turns out that Takechan actually has hit on something good about Saitama – when there are sales, things get extremely cheap! Fukuchan finds this to be a very Take-ish observation. But things do get really cheap: T-shirts are 100 yen, while dresses are 300 yen.

Fukuchan: Awesome! It’s like gachapon prices!

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Yossie and KanaTomo doing the Saitama pose

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AS1422 #103 (2014.01.04)

By | January 23, 2015

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ANGERME Station 1422

With the new year comes a new name, not just for the group, but for the radio show, as well. In case you don’t remember what their name means, Kananan and Rinapuu drew a picture last time to represent their new name.

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Tears of a backwards bumblebee

Ironically, when Takechan starts the show by asking Meimi how the new year is going, she says, “EVERYONE IS ANGRY!” Not over the new name, though. It turns out that recently a group text went around between the 2nd gen members about a certain problem member who did this:

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Yes, Meimi took up half the page they were given to draw on for their blog for the 100th episode of the show. Rinapuu saw this and sent it around to everyone complaining about it, but Meimi distinctly recalls being the last member to write on it, not the first, and so she was merely filling in the empty space left by the others instead hogging it all for herself. Takechan does not remember this at all, but Meimi feels relieved nonetheless to speak her peace and reclaim her good name.

Meimi: Now, if only the other members would start writing more meaningful messages like I do.
Takechan: That’s not happening.
Meimi: It’s funny you say that, because you actually took up the most space out of the three of you. Rinapuu used the least, but she only drew a face.
Takechan: What was mine? “100 times waay?”
Meimi: “100 times waay.”
Takechan: …I really don’t remember writing it.
Meimi: Really?
Takechan: What does that even mean? “100 times waay?”

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SS1422 #100 (2014.12.14)

By | December 16, 2014

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 Special Guests?

Meimi got her wish last week, and this week, Kananan is getting her wish of two very special guests joining them in the studio for their 100th broadcast.

Kananan: I’m pretty cute, but these two surpass even me in cuteness, and while it is honestly killing me inside, I will greet them with a smile as best I can.

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Japan’s top 3 beauties

Of course, she’s referring to the other two of the three top beauties in Japan, Takechan and Rinapuu, who introduce themselves in their most adorable voices. Meimi starts to speak in the same adorable voice but then she remembers that she is not one of the three top beauties and goes back to normal. Takechan interrupts with a high-pitched, “Wait a minute!” but Meimi tells her to speak up because she can’t understand her. Takechan just yells louder in the same pitch and we get nowhere.

Meimi: But wait, what’s wrong?
Kananan: What?
Rinapuu: What?
Takechan: What?
Meimi: Wait, I’m not talking to all of you. Takeuchi Akari-chan, why did you say, “wait a minute”?
Takechan: Oh, yeah, well, it’s just a fun show.

Meimi begins to get frustrated as the the three top beauties ramble on about nothing and asks them to speak so that the listeners can actually understand what’s going on, what is wrong with you guys. Takechan sees no problem here. Kananan says that the only thing wrong so far has been her thinking that she was the cutest in the group when in reality it’s Rinapuu, obviously. Meimi says she’s starting to feel like a babysitter, which only makes the other three get louder. Rinapuu points out that before they promised that they’d come on really strong this show and they’re doing just that. Meimi pleads that the promise is less important than showing some unity and cohesiveness with the script, instead of the weird insanity that the show is currently, but the others argue that the charm of 2nd gen is their weird insanity. They urge Meimi to play along and have fun but she is too concerned about the state of the show to let loose. Ugh, this is why you will never be a top beauty, Meimi.

Song: S/mileage – Aa Susukino

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SS1422 #99 (2014.12.07)

By | December 15, 2014

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There is a very brief introduction to the show by Meimi and we immediately go right into a song because we have things to do today! Out of all the requests that the 2nd gen members have been supplying to the radio station staff, one of them got her wish! But first, music.

Song: S/mileage – Eighteen Emotion

Tamura Theater: The Lion King Special
Gekidan Tamura, in which Tamura Meimi acts out scripts sent in by the listeners and covers her favorite theater topics

Meimi starts us out with some facts about The Lion King, the musical. I’m sure most of you could guess that it is based on the 1994 Disney film of the same name, but the musical has been in production since 1997, it is the fourth-longest running Broadway show in history and still running, and it is the highest grossing Broadway production of all time. The Japanese adaption has been running since 1998 by Gekidanshiki, Meimi’s beloved theater company. Meimi first saw the musical on a field trip and was impressed by how packed it was even having run so long, and, as a special treat, Meimi got to sit down and talk with the current actor in the role of Simba, Minami Akito! Woo! If The Lion King inside a radio broadcast booth with a Japanese pop idol sounds familiar, there’s a reason.

Anyway, cut to Meimi and Mr. Minami. Meimi takes a minute to fangirl and thank the staff and the actor and Gekidanshiki for letting her sit down and speak with him. She reveals that she has seen The Lion King musical at least 4 times and has seen over 20 different Gekidanshiki productions, to which Minami responds with: “Wow.”

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Wow

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SS1422 #98 (2014.11.30)

By | December 13, 2014

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The Year’s End

The show today gets off to a rocky start as Kananan accidentally introduces Takechan as “Takeda,” and they cry as they realize there is only one month left in 2014. But that’s okay, Kananan wants it to be over soon anyway. They also realize that the ending of the year means that S/mileage will officially be 9 members, however, and that is a very strange feeling. Kananan says that they’ve done a handful of jobs already as 9, but she’s so used to seeing S/mileage as 6 that it’s taking some getting used to. It’s only 3 new people but it feels like so many. It’s surreal for them to think that it will be a permanent change come next year. Then Kananan gets a little morbid.

Kananan: I do want it to be over… but I keep getting older every year and I’m going to die and no it’s too soon! I don’t want to die!
Takechan: It’s a little early for that.
Kananan: No! I don’t want to die…
Takechan: You’re still only 17, though.
Kananan: I have so many things I still want to do…
Takechan: You can still do them!

In any case, they’ll be doing Hello!Con rehearsals until the year ends.

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Remember when I posted that picture of a super cute and girly Takeda? Yeah, this is more like it.

So this week, as is the case in the last week of every month, is Power-up Week, or Pair-up Week, or Pears-world Week, or something. Kananan can’t read it. Anyway, that means that two people who submitted messages and letters to the show will be drawn to receive autographed Smile Fantasy posters. The first name drawn is Higu, who writes that they have just started to like S/mileage. They were watching the 3rd gen announcement on Hello!Sta and then went back to watch some older S/mileage videos and found that they had a lot of fun watching 2nd gen. The last time they paid attention to S/mileage was during Samui ne., and they’re shocked at how much better everyone has gotten in their last single at singing and dancing and being expressive. Right now they’re taking college entrance exams so they want S/mileage to have fun in their place. The second name drawn is Miyuki, who drew pictures of AMeRiKa in their member colors in place of a letter. Congrats to the two of them.

Song: C-ute – Aitai Lonely Christmas

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SS1422 #97 (2014.11.23)

By | December 12, 2014

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 Christmas time is here

November 23 is Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan, which is the day of this broadcast, but more importantly, Christmas is only a month away, yay! As Takechan glosses over the more current holidays, they go straight into talking about Christmas for this year. Takechan and Kananan joke briefly about their romantic plans for the holiday, since Japan doesn’t really have the religious factor for Christmas and it is celebrated largely as a holiday for couples, and then Kananan says she plans on having a Christmas party at her house.

Takechan really wants to go out and see Christmas lights… but only on her way home or through the window of a car driving by to avoid having to be the only single person in a cluster of boyfriends and girlfriends. Kananan concurs, as she really wants to go out and look at the lights but the last time she tried that she felt so bad about herself by going alone and being surrounded by couples that she left after a few minutes. They probably will not end up going out to see any at all.

30740639_624Japan has some really impressive holiday lights… but yeah, it’s awkward going alone

However, something else important happens on Christmas and that is Santa. Kananan and Takechan drop some not so subtle hints about something they both want for Christmas, or at least who they want things from.

Kananan: Christmas also means that Santa comes, doesn’t it?
Takechan: It sure does.
Kananan: And I was thinking, hey, wouldn’t he come to the radio station as well?
Takechan: Definitely he would.
Kananan: I mean getting presents is lots of fun…
Takechan: Yeah, we’d just walk into the studio and… oooh! Santa has come!
Kananan: Yes, look at all our presents!
Takechan: We’ll be waiting.
Kananan: Please.

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SS1422 #94 (2014.11.02)

By | November 17, 2014

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Cultured Leader Wada-san

The discussion starts off today with the question, “What is culture?” Kananan responds quickly with, “Japanese food, Japanese clothes, Japanese art… which means Wada-san!” Takechan is incredibly impressed and asks her if she looked this up beforehand. She did, of course, but all of this was just an elaborate segue to talk about everyone’s favorite leader, Dawa. Meimi says that she has made plans with Dawa to share their respective hobbies. They went to see Wicked together (since there are few things Meimi loves more than Wicked) and they’ve been talking about visiting different temples together. Takechan, on the other hand, reports that she made a bet for the winner of a Central Baseball League game and her team lost, although she wants everyone to know it was a very, very close game. As a punishment, she has to make a written report of her thoughts on Dawa’s book, A Maiden’s Guide to Paintings. She has not started yet. Rinapuu says that Dawa recently bought her and Takechan some Harry Potter merchandise since their both such big fans. Meimi begins to pout, “She didn’t get me anything…”  Kananan points out that earlier when Dawa was out with Meimi, though, they met up with Kananan and took purikura without Rinapuu or Takechan, so it evens out.

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Personal Updates

Moving on, Takechan asks if anyone has done anything interesting lately. Meimi immediately chimes in with, “Religious study!” Yes, this is true: Meimi went on her own personal time out to a temple to do a day of training with the monks. Rinapuu thinks this is weird, but Kananan might like to go and try it once. Meimi says it was really intense, as she ran so much she thought her legs would give out and they hiked so far she couldn’t breathe and then she did some waterfall mediation. She was about to give up halfway through but then she realized she might never get the opportunity to do waterfall meditation ever again so she gave it a go. She thinks that if she had stuck with it she really might have considered becoming a monk.

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A monk actually took this

While her generation-mates sway her away from the path of a monk, Meimi informs us that she did take away something very important from the experience and that is gratitude. She ate a meal with the monks and said that they spend a long time doing prayers before eating and always make sure to express their thanks for receiving anything. She emphasizes how difficult the waterfall meditation was, though, as it was very chilly and she can’t imagine doing it in February like the monks do. She also notes how very few women ever do the hike up to the waterfall so she feels special for being able to do it. Takechan doesn’t think that first year high school students ever do anything like that, either, and mentions how strange Meimi is.

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SS1422 #93 (2014.10.26) (with special guests Nakanishi Kana and Tamura Meimi)

By | October 27, 2014

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Special Guests

It’s Power-up Week for Radio Nippon, which means that this is a special show. It’s special in that hosts Takechan and Rinapuu have invited some special guests to join them in the recording booth today. Who are they? It’s a surprise. Rinapuu gives us a hint that they’re as cute as angels, which means the only answer could possibly Kananan and visual-center of S/mileage Tamura Meimi! Shocking! This leads to a lot of commotion considering Meimi’s opinion of herself on the last show, and so the top 3 beauties edge her out of the conversation. Kananan hopes that her cuteness will adequately be conveyed over the radio and Takechan and Rinapuu thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with them. Meimi does not get to talk anymore.

Song: S/mileage – Samui, ne.

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A Thorough Debate

In this special corner, the members will discuss and debate each other on a given topic, namely, what should S/mileage do to prepare for the coming year. Rinapuu assures us that despite the long into from Takechan for this corner, it’s basically just them talking about whatever they want. Kananan says that now that they have 9 members, an odd number, she can finally take her place as a true center. The other members start to scream over her, especially Takechan, who says that it will definitely be her. Kananan continues to say that it’s strange thinking of themselves as 9 members because she has only ever talked to AiAi at the last Hello!Con but no one else has spoken to any of them. Meimi says it’s weird interacting with the Kenshuusei in general because she never knows who might be in the same group as her later on. It’s a puzzle. The fans probably enjoy it, though. Kananan asks who she thinks will make friends with the new members the fastest. Everyone is pretty sure it will be Kananan, but Kananan thinks that it will probably be Rinapuu. Rinapuu is the type to be the last to actually speak to the new members but will probably make friends with them the fastest. Rinapuu says it’s because she doesn’t know how to talk to new people so she just sits back and watches how other people interact with them, then uses that information to make friends with them.  Continue reading