――Also a long-awaited and astonishing development: interviews during the film with the coordinating producer of Hello! Project, Tsunku♂-san, as well as with Momoiro Clover Z’s manager Kawakami Akira-san.
Owada: Interviewing other people from the idol industry, I thought, “that’s new”.
Komiyama: Actually, I’m a fan of Momoiro Clover Z. That’s why, when I saw the interview with Kawakami-san, it reminded me of how many awesome things there are about him, and that while I’m in AKB48, all these amazing people are rivals in the same industry. We all have our own fans, we all sing and dance and deliver smiles, and I love the AKB48 that I’m in right now, so I want to work hard so that we don’t lose to the other groups.
――Team 8 and NGT48 are also represented in this documentary. Team 8’s influence at present is especially difficult to overlook. As young members yourselves, what are your impressions about them?
Owada: It’s hard for me to speak of Team 8 because I don’t have much direct contact with them… I think the only time I’ve really seen them up close was at “Request Hour”.
Komiyama: Watching them acts as a stimulus. People say “there’s no point if the junior members can’t become threats to the senior ones”, and I think Team 8 personifies those words.
Owada: Because they’re so close to us, they do act as a good stimulus, and they’re an important presence. When I watched them at “Request Hour”, the fans doing the mix for Team 8 were at a whole different excitement level from when they do it for the other teams. It was astonishing.
――Then, what do you think of Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46, clearly designated “rival groups” that started later than AKB48 but have a similar momentum?
Komiyama: Before, members of AKB48 were working so frantically to get senbatsu spots that we didn’t look at the outside world at all, but lately when I look at Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46’s activities, I feel very strongly that I don’t want us to lose to them. And also lately this bud of realization has sprouted in me that says we as AKB48 members need to carry on the legacy the seniors left us.
Owada: I know what you mean, I’ve started to think as a member of AKB48 rather than of myself as an individual.
――As members who are burdened with the title “next generation”, I bet it’s important for the 15th generation to stick together. The “Ichigochanzu performance” you did together surely heightened your unity with each other, but what did you think about it?
Owada: It’s true, since then, I think our bonds have deepened very quickly. (Iino) Miyabi and (Taniguchi) Megu started a year after the other 15th gens, and I have been asked by fans “do you really consider them members of your generation?” The two of them do speak respectfully to us and there are definitely times when I felt there was a distance between us that couldn’t be breached. However, when we did the “Ichigochanzu” stage, we became able to share our opinions with each other.
Komiyama: The staff told us “you’re their seniors, so you need to teach them a lot of things”, but up until a while ago I was thinking “it’s way too hard to talk to them”. I was too self-conscious about being around them, and I just couldn’t make a connection. But during the course of the “Ichigochanzu” stage, the entire 15th generation became able to scold each other and butt heads, and it truly made me happy. I feel we’re all comrades who can tell each other anything now, and I really started to feel like the 15th generation is where I belong.
Owada: I think it was thanks to the timing of the “Ichigochanzu” stage.
Komiyama: We’re middle school and high school students spending our days aiming to be idols. We joined hands and did our best together. We made our entrance during the encore as picture-perfect idols according to the contents of the setlist. At first we seemed to overlap with each other but this stage was able to bring everyone’s individuality to the forefront. And every one of us got to take turns playing the part of center and shine in the spotlight, which was excellent.
――The other day, right after the election had ended, you posted about your ranking on Google+ and other sites, but I would like to hear your full impressions about it here.
Owada: More than anything else, I was surprised to see that AKB48 dominated in numbers!
Komiyama: My ranking was 21st, and all around me were AKB48 members like Shimazaki (Haruka)-san, (Kojima) Mako-san and Minegishi (Minami)-san. And the second it was announced that AKB48 came out on top in numbers, everyone around me started celebrating together. It really made me happy.
――For a time, while the 80 ranks were being called up, the seats were filling up largely with members from other groups. But when the names being called for Undergirls and senbatsu members turned out to be mostly AKB members, the scene when it became clear that AKB was the winning group was enough to give anyone goosebumps.
Komiyama: People in society might be thinking that “they’re failing to make the generation shift”, but the fans’ passion transfers to us, they let us know how they feel by giving us clear rankings in Undergirls and senbatsu.
Owada: On top of that, with the group entering its 11th year, there has to be passion for it considering the timing, and I’m happy that translated into a win for AKB.
――The Team 4 onslaught was also a sight to behold.
Komiyama: That’s what made me the happiest! And I was moved that all of the Team 4 members who were called in the preliminary rankings were able to hear their names called at the election. As someone who has experience with that, the members listed in prelims really want to hear their names called at the real thing (laughs).
Owada: It’s been said that “Team 4 has the fewest members in senbatsu” and “Team 4 has no super-senbatsu members”, so I’m glad that we can feel now that Team 4’s hard work and value is being recognized. I was transferred from Team B to Team A, so I don’t have experience in Team 4, but Team 4 always has a fresh image. And I ended up thinking, “the team that pulls the group along in the election is a different one now, isn’t it?”
Komiyama: Within Team 4 the story was “We don’t have any super-senbatsu members, so it doesn’t matter because each member is the same”, and we had a solidarity through that, all striving together to move up in the ranks. I’m glad we overcame that with the election results.
Owada: There aren’t any humble people in Team 4, are there? It’s like there’s an energy around everyone as they all try to promote themselves.
Komiyama: With Izuta Rina-san as the mood maker and Takahashi Juri-san as the captain, I love Team 4. I’m gonna try my best to make great strides with this team!
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