Wota in Translation

Takagi Sayuki:
“I don’t want anyone to think we’re
bad singers and question our right to appear at Budokan.”

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:19:39.09 0.net

Nippon Budokan, to me, is this place of aspiration for people involved in music. Everyone pictures the stage of Budokan, thinking about how they’d like to one day stand on it themselves. And, to be honest, that’s why I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit cheeky of us to say that we want to perform there even though it’s only been three years since our formation.

If we didn’t have the obstacle of having to perform 220 concerts before aiming to get there, I might not agree with that objective myself. But now we’re aiming for the Budokan, and before then, we must perform 220 shows. But if you think about it rationally, setting the Budokan as your objective and actually making it there in just a year and a half would normally be completely out of the question if you were just an average person. There’s no way anyone could really make that happen…

But the Budokan wouldn’t be just a reward for us; it’s not like a pat on the back for successfully performing 220 concerts. It’s not something that cheap.

Before we can perform at Nippon Budokan, we must be able to put on concerts of much, much higher quality, and we have to be able to stand on our own feet. And that’s why I’ll do my best.

All the artists in the world who wish to one day perform at Budokan, all the artists who never gave up and struggled through various obstacles before they could finally stand on its stage, and all the fans of these artists — I want all of them to consent to us being there. I don’t want anyone to think we’re bad singers who have no place being there. I want to keep improving to the point where us performing at Budokan makes sense to everyone.

http://ameblo.jp/juicejuice-official/entry-12082966747.html

53: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:34:23.09 0.net
This is exactly the attitude a singer ought to have.

10: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:22:03.43 0.net
Well said. Sure, it’s fine to have the Budokan as your dream and all, but groups who break up just because they couldn’t appear there in X number of years? Stop screwing around.

28: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:28:44.76 0.net
It’s also true though that with so many small fish idols and artists performing there nowadays, the value of Budokan has dropped when compared to its past.

68: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:37:37.06 0.net
“But the Budokan wouldn’t be just a reward for us; it’s not like a pat on the back for successfully performing 220 concerts.”
Is it just me or is she sort of dissing ANGERME here? Maybe I’m just imagining things… (laughs)

96: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:47:29.45 0.net
I don’t really get people who think that highly of the Budokan these days. Maybe if it was the Dome, yeah.

108: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:50:27.94 0.net
Every now and then you see people performing there who you’ve never even heard of before.

104: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:49:24.59 0.net
>>96
Knowing Takagi, she probably studied its history all the way through to the Beatles’ performance there.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2t6ojv_the-beatles-day-tripper-live-1966_music

100: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:48:38.01 0.net
No idol outside of H!P says this kind of stuff, and even in H!P there aren’t that many.
You’re cool, Takagi.

149: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:06:26.91 0.net
There aren’t a lot of idols out there who want to emphasize the fact that they’re also singers. It makes me want to cheer them on.

4. 名無しのハロプロさん 2015年10月11日 19:42
It’s only proper to have an opinion like hers if you’re a singer. She’s not at all dissing any other groups.

125: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 15:58:11.32 0.net
Sayuki, you’re great. As long as you’re there, JJ will be just fine.

Tamura “Idol Demon” Meimi:
“Us not being able to dance or sing perfectly would be like
a shop owner selling inferior products to his customers.
It’s completely inexcusable.”

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:26:08.10 0.net
Source: magazine.

2: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:26:48.74 0.net
That’s a sound argument.

5: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:29:04.13 0.net
Holy crap.

18: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:36:14.59 0.net
As expected of Tamura.

19: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:36:40.57 0.net
Who is she calling an inferior product?

53: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 17:03:05.55 0.net
>>19
Maro.

32: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:50:02.23 0.net
There are some cases where them messing up makes for an even cuter end result though…

40: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:55:15.40 0.net
>>1
Meimei, you’re only going to break your own heart if you keep saying stuff like that, you know? Humans make mistakes.

48: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/11(日) 16:59:28.65 0.net
>>1
I like H!P members with professionalism, such as her.

1. 名無しのハロプロさん 2015年10月11日 19:26
That’s a true pro for you!

2. 名無しのハロプロさん 2015年10月11日 20:18
As expected of our Meimei!
I’m going to keep supporting you as always!

Tamura Meimi:
“I initially had a hard time getting used to
the singing style of Hello! Project.”

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:02:42.27 0.net

Tamura: Something that really surprised me was the difference in singing styles. When you’re doing musicals, the point is to try to vocalize all the way from head to toe so your singing can be heard even all the way in the back. Now, I’m used to singing mainly focused on the front of my face. This took a lot of practice with my voice trainer after I’d just joined the group.

Tsunku♂, too, told me to try to forget what I’d learned during my time doing musicals. I had a hard time getting used to the “Hello! Project singing style” with its 4/4 and 16/4 times, and I was often told off for having a bad sense of rhythm. Even if I could sing as well as the others, for a long time it felt like I was always getting the little details all wrong.

http://ure.pia.co.jp/articles/-/43551?page=3

2: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:03:30.94 0.net
Thank you for joining H!P, Meimei.

4: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:04:41.88 0.net
I wonder if girls like Takahashi are now struggling with the opposite of this problem.

5: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:05:09.92 0.net
Yep. You can’t take rhythm lightly.

6: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:05:31.69 0.net
Is it not a strong point of hers to be able to do both though?

34: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 22:49:15.33 0.net
I often feel like Meimei’s singing doesn’t suit H!P songs. But at least it isn’t boring.

38: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 23:05:53.37 0.net
Wait, Tamura’s current singing is the H!P style? All this time I thought that was just her doing her own thing more than anything else.

39: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 23:29:03.52 0.net
Pretty much the only member who really did that is Risako. The “H!P singing style” is mostly just imitating the way Tsunku sings. Murotan is a good example of this. This is apparently really uncomfortable for people who come from a musical play background.

21: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/27(木) 21:40:27.45 0.net
She doesn’t even strike me so much an idol as she does an artist. That’s Tamura for you.

Matsuura Aya was the representative super idol of Japan

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:38:01.28 0.net
Singing the national anthem at the Kokuritsu Kyougijou during Japan’s match:

Singing the national anthem at the professional baseball season opening match at Jingu Stadium:

Singing the national anthem at the Daiei vs. Orix match held in Taiwan:

I don’t think there will ever be another idol who they’ll invite to sing at big events like this. Though she couldn’t actually sing the national anthem very well for some reason. (laughs)

5: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:39:41.10 0.net
The last true idol.

9: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:43:33.36 0.net
She was probably the last person who succeeded in Japan’s world of show business as a solo idol.

11: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:46:20.50 0.net
Even the wota only talk about her until she was 16 years old. Everything after that, everyone is like pretending it didn’t happen. I feel bad for her.

14: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:51:17.86 0.net
>>11
She was appearing in all sorts of commercials until she was 20.

15: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:52:19.36 0.net
>>11
Maybe, but until that point in time, she was basically the idol who most represented that whole era of time. There’s no comparison to most H!P members these days who’ve never even once had that moment in the sun like she did.

13: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:49:53.53 0.net
She even sang at the Aichi World Fair ending ceremony. (laughs)

http://youtu.be/UMeNhtRyULE

18: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:57:57.95 0.net
>>13
Now that’s a national idol for you.

16: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 02:54:32.47 0.net
2004: the 10 most well-liked talents who appeared in commercials that year:

[Women]
1) Matsuura Aya ←
2) Matsushima Nanako
3) Ueto Aya
4) Yada Akiko
5) Sato Eriko
6) Kiki Kirin
7) Yonekura Ryoko
8) Nakama Yukie
9) Tanaka Rena
10) Fujiwara Norika

[Men]
1) Kimura Takuya
2) Shimizu Shougo
3) Nakai Masahiro
4) Katori Shingo
5) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi
6) Bae Yong-joon
7) Kishibe Ittoku
8) Nagase Tomoya
9) Inagaki Goro
10) Ishibashi Renji

From all these people, she was no. 1.

141: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 04:30:59.88 0.net
>>16
That’s genuinely amazing.

28: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:03:10.09 0.net
She was like the queen of commercials. She must’ve made quite a lot of money for the office.

30: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:03:26.76 0.net
And she got to sing lyrics by Misora Hibari.
(Note: This is in reference to the song “Sougen no Hito.” Misora wrote the lyrics of the song in 1975 and intended them to be sung by Nagara Jun. Misora passed away in 1989, and later, in 2002, the lyrics were set to a composition by Tsunku and the song was song by Matsuura Aya — as per Nagase Jun’s wishes.)

31: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:03:58.88 0.net
There was a moment in time when she was far above Morning Musume in terms of popularity.

32: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:04:48.62 0.net
Put simply: she’s simply a very talented singer.

43: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:15:42.59 0.net
There will never be another idol who can debut and make it this far in just their early teens. The whole concept of solo idols has gone extinct.

51: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:21:02.92 0.net
Some pretty incredible line-ups in both of these. (laughs)

Matsuura Aya, Nakama Yukie, Shibasaki Kou, Ishihara Satomi – Glico all new pocky “Debut Edition” (Glico CM 30s)

https://youtu.be/vmTQLlCW4fw

Tanimura Shinji, Moriyama Ryoko, Natsukawa Rimi, Matsuura Aya – Friend Love Believing

69: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:29:16.02 0.net
This is the level she was at before her debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxR1R191oe8

89: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:39:01.83 0.net
So many of her commercials have disappeared on YouTube. Someone re-upload them!

91: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:40:28.40 0.net
>>89

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpfW9SOy2skfMemEHxkaLs33eadERPRWs

113: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:55:41.54 0.net
>>91
Just how many damn commercials did she appear in?! (laughs)

45: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/08/15(土) 03:16:24.90 0.net
She’ll probably do what Moritaka did and come back when the time is right.

1. 名無しのハロプロさん 2015年08月15日 08:52
The one and only true top idol.

“The legend of Hello! Project.”
Quick, who’s the first person you just thought of?

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:38:28.42 0.net
Yuukarin?

2: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:40:10.76 0.net
The legendary ace, Nacchi.
The legendary leader, Nakazawa-san.
The legendary bus tour, Iida-san.
The legendary new member, Gomaki.
The legend, Yuukarin.
The legend, Uta-chan.

3: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:40:28.21 0.net
Sayu.

4: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:40:26.41 0.net
Uta-chan Uta-chan.

15: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:43:29.57 0.net
Either Michishige or Gomaki.

16: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:43:44.01 0.net
Ayaya’s the one legend who flew way past the whole H!P framework.

18: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:43:59.11 0.net
The girl who had everything set up to become a legend: Maeda.

20: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:44:25.19 0.net
>>18
Stop it.

24: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:49:08.21 0.net
The living legend, Maro.

25: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:49:50.99 0.net
>>24
Go to bed already, Maro.

26: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:50:00.72 0.net
Do legends that people wish would’ve never happened count, too? (laughs)

28: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:50:11.38 0.net
The legendary Sky Tree, Kumai-chan.

29: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:50:27.88 0.net
Tsunku.

35: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:53:21.09 0.net
Gomaki, Ayaya, Sayu, Momochi.

50: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:03:17.92 0.net
Fukuda Asuka
Goto Maki
Michishige Sayumi

60: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:08:37.50 0.net

625: 名無し募集中。。。 2005/09/20(火) 02:28:42 0
There was a long line at the goods table. They were supposed to stop sales at 4:15, but they stopped early at 4:10. This guy who was standing in the line started shouting at the woman selling goods, and he actually jumped over the rope and walked over to her, shouting at the top of his voice while visibly shaking with anger: “Realize that I’m getting this angry at you for Konkon’s sake!!!” (laughs)

64: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:11:42.87 0.net
Legendary Mano Erina goods: “Mano Mittens” (1000 yen)

74: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:22:22.36 0.net
I wonder if it’s the same person who came up with “Cool Hello” that also thought of making these. It’s just so stupid — and it feels like the person doing this knows it.

75: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:23:12.44 0.net
Thing is though, these joke items actually sell really well. (laughs) These mittens sold out instantly.

83: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:29:36.46 0.net
I want to know the most legendary concerts.

87: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:30:47.49 0.net
>>83
I’m just a newcomer myself, but I think Tanpopo’s last performance was amazing.

86: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:30:28.64 0.net
The Fukumura Dash at Yokohama Arena is the only possible choice.

90: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:33:48.41 0.net
The most legendary concert? Keyaki Hiroba. (laughs)

91: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:34:55.62 0.net
>>90
What?

95: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:39:02.05 0.net
>>91

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub4L9bVjuP4

98: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:46:01.15 0.net
>>95
The wota from this era were all so damn weird. (laughs)

100: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:47:00.37 0.net
>>95
And people actually wondered why female fans weren’t coming to concerts? (laughs)

126: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/06(火) 03:43:08.14 0.net
>>95
That’s so gross. (And I mean that as a compliment)

101: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:47:14.29 0.net
Did Romantic Ukare Mode mark the beginning of wotagei?

116: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 23:28:04.33 0.net
>>101
It wasn’t the beginning, no, but there’s no doubt that this song first made idol wota acknowledge wotagei.

85: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:30:25.15 0.net
You know, I actually feel like Namata participating in Gaki-san’s bus tour is a legend, too. I can’t imagine that kind of thing happening nowadays.

89: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:32:46.86 0.net
>>85
You often hear about idols talking about how they like Sayu or Airi or whoever, but that was pretty much the greatest moment of an idol really adoring another idol. Well, it’s not much of a record, but still. That was pretty amazing. And yeah, it’s a legend.

5. 名無しさん@ハロプロキャンバス 2015年10月06日 20:52 ID:teKyPcvQ0
Why didn’t anyone mention v-u-den or Rika-chan? Why doesn’t the name “Ishikawa” ever pop up in these threads?

6. 名無しさん@ハロプロキャンバス 2015年10月07日 15:18 ID:p3io6f7Q0
What about Kago-chan…? Is everyone trying to avoid saying her name…? I still love Kago-chan…
Chayu, Kago-chan, Gomaki, Ayaya… those are probably the biggest legends.

94: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:37:57.25 0.net
I’m a newbie fan, but here’s what I think are the biggest H!P legends. In order of importance:

– Gomaki Fever
– Minimoni
– Tanpopo yellow glow stick festival
– Yaguchi
– Iida bus tour
– Ikuta Erina in bus no. 5
– Michishige Sayumi’s injury at her own graduation concert
– Fukuda Asuka

13: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:43:10.03 0.net
Iida-san’s bus tour surely is one of those legends that has lived on, having been passed down from generation to generation.

17: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:43:58.67 0.net
>>13
Yeah, this is a true legend. A legendary happening, and a legendary event.

36: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 21:53:19.34 0.net

762: 名無し募集中。。。 2007/07/07(土) 10:55:58.49 0
After we decorated the Wish Tree in the evening, the guide was telling us about how “Tanabata is the only day of the year when Orihime and Hikoboshi (Vega and Altair) intersect” and how “you fans, too, must be happy you got to meet Iida-san today.“

Then someone in the audience said in a small voice: “I’m glad you found your Hikoboshi, Kaorin.” Suddenly people were all whispering about what this guy’d just said, and then some people started yelling out “congratulations!” I couldn’t bring myself to say anything like that, so I was just quietly staring down at my feet the whole time.

I was thinking to myself, “which goddamn idiot would spout hypocrisy like that?” When I looked to my side to try and find the culprits among the audience, I noticed that all those guys who were saying “congratulations” were actually all crying.

I cried, too.

78: 名無し募集中。。。 2015/10/05(月) 22:25:06.38 0.net
>>36
I hope this guy has since found his happiness.

Iida Kaori’s legendarily awful bus tour

1: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:21:57.26 ID:fEZTHOcR.net
– The main dish offered was meat and sausages for the BBQ (one piece of meat and one sausage per person)
– There was a 1.5 liter bottle of oolong tea per each eight-person table (oolong tea produced by Kikkoman)
– For dessert, they had leftover pieces of banana (a table of 7 people or so would have a plate that had the leftovers of about three bananas).
– What they’d planned as one of the highlights of the event was this huge labyrinth that you’d expect to find at an abandoned amusement park. This happened after the meal.
– They were running out of time, so they just started the next scheduled event at the labyrinth’s exit with about half the wota still stuck inside.
– There was a singalong with Iida and the wota of “Sasa no Ha Sara Sara”
– Some wota started crying during Iida’s talk (reason unknown)
– Beer was sold separately (one glass for 500 yen?)
– At the end, the bus circled around Iida one single time before it started to head back
– It was one banana per each person, so this one wota who’d eaten two was scolded by the staff — they were seriously calling him a failure as a human being.

5: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:24:00.92 ID:6eSkNreT.net
And she’d just announced her shotgun marriage literally the day before.

3: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:23:08.54 ID:cm1Uptrf.net
That’s so sad, I don’t even know what to say.

4: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:23:43.46 ID:5QcVl64f.net
Banana leftovers?!

8: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:24:22.10 ID:xNkGHTvn.net
You forgot to mention how she’d just announced her shotgun marriage.

9: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:24:32.45 ID:X8WkBiBQ.net
A complete waste of time.

18: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:25:57.93 ID:QkoG43jW.net
In hindsight, I think it’s fairly obvious why some fans were crying.

34: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:28:42.93 ID:RYFG6HXg.net
Well, yeah. Suddenly announcing you’re pregnant is a guaranteed way to bring down some wota. (laughs)

66: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:34:43.65 ID:3w1rxA7v.net

737: 名無し募集中。。。 2007/07/07(土) 22:07:12.52 O
Just as I got on the train after the event ended, I started sobbing. I was aware that other passengers could see and hear me, but I just couldn’t stop myself from crying aloud. I didn’t even have the strength to get up from my seat, so I missed my station by quite a lot before I could finally get up and get off the train.

I’m still sitting at the platform bench as I write this, unable to bring myself to get home. This is the first time in my life that I’ve felt this miserable; this pathetic; this empty. Whenever a train passes by me, I think to myself if I ought to jump in front of it before it does. Some of us fans on that bus back home have been fans of her for ten years. I just can’t believe that’s the kind of treatment we would get at the very end. It’s just too awful. At first I felt really angry about it, but now I don’t even care. I really just don’t even care anymore.

79: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:36:41.21 ID:97tPue9i.net
>>66
Wow…

77: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:36:19.60 ID:mLTUNQEG.net
>>66
I want to treat this guy to some good ramen and just silently listen to everything that’s on his mind, even if it takes him until dawn.

75: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:36:09.57 ID:xNkGHTvn.net
This is the much talked about food platter for eight people.

82: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:37:15.89 ID:lHhzmHcP.net
>>75
They expect eight grown men to be able to get by with this…?

48: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:31:19.04 ID:ClzrghwV.net
I really like the mental image of those wota being lost in that huge labyrinth.

50: 風吹けば名無し 2014/07/10(木) 13:31:48.46 ID:Lw0Irz5g.net
Apparently some of them are still wandering inside to this day, desperately trying to get out.

Henkka: Man, I’m glad I finally sat down to translate that bit about Iida Kaori’s bus tour. Ever since I first started doing these 2ch translations, I had a long list of things I needed to cover sooner or later, and I believe that was one of the last ones I’d still yet to do.

But speaking of legends… There’s one legendary idol who was hardly even mentioned in any of the threads above. I think she needs to have a post dedicated entirely to her next.

Sources: http://helloproject-sokuhou.doorblog.jp/archives/45671058.html, http://helloproject-sokuhou.doorblog.jp/archives/45671129.html, http://helloprot.blog.jp/archives/41344607.html, http://helloproject-sokuhou.doorblog.jp/archives/45102075.html, http://helloprocanvas.ldblog.jp/archives/46489085.html, http://parusoku.com/archives/39069727.html