12 comments on “Morning Musume 20th Anniversary Official Book Interviews: Tsunku♂ (Part Two)

  1. T-T Terada! That bit about Junjun understanding the lyrics made me cry. It must have resonated with her deeply. Henka, thank you very much for this wonderful translation! It really shows how much of a Tsunku-wota you are.

  2. The second part was even better than the first! There was so much here that was exciting to learn, I think I’d end up repeating most of it if I tried to comment on everything that left an impression. Even the most simple of things, like Tsunku briefly acknowledging the Kenshuusei program and talking about it’s reason for existing, left me feeling satisfied.

    Fans always go back to his quote about not thinking of Hello! Project as a product but rather a production, and that feeling seems to come through in these long-form interviews with the way he talks about the members and his behind the scenes process. I’ll be surprised if his section of this book doesn’t get passed down between fans over the years the way some of his other interviews have.

    (Bonus points for Tsunku throwing a little shade, that was hilarious.)

  3. Brilliant interview. The more I know about the inner workings and the history of the group the more I admire Tsunku and the girls. I actually feel privileged to be a Morning Musume fan.

    Thank you very much for this amazing translation, Henkka.

  4. I felt sad when I reached the end because I wanted more. What a great read! Thanks Henkka! :)

  5. I was told that in the interview Tsunku was asked about growing number of female fans. Is that true? What did he respond?

  6. Damn tears came out after I processed 10 seconds that Junjun part. Reading what affects MM songs makes me go -ah of course-, immersive text.

    Slightly off-topic but I recently watched a comedy film starring Tsunku and Sharan Q. Laughed my arse off, he’s funny.

    • Ah. You must be talking about Enka no Hanamichi, the film that gave us the famous “tsunkuflower” picture, but also the lesser-known tsunkupenis.gif.

  7. Aibon was so good at acting immature that people forget that when she auditioned she was like Goto, an independent but slightly gyaru type when she joined, it’s good Tsunku noticed. She was way more intelligent and mature than people thought she was.

  8. “I told them that if we were to learn from groups like Takarazuka or Shinkigeki, the performances is what we had to focus on.”

    I am so glad that he really pushed for them to focus on the performances. You really notice the difference between H!P groups and other idol groups when you see the performances. It’s a real struggle to like other groups, cause the performances are just terrible. Sure, I’ll buy their CDs, cause the music is good, but I’d never bother going to their concerts.

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