Haruka Tachibana, the main MC of Shōwa Idol Archives, the Shōwa idol event produced with support from Tokyo Girls’ Update, is also a member of the angelic idol group Ange☆Reve. Ange☆Reve will be holding their 2nd one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ on September 2, 2017, almost 2 and a half years since their 1st one man live. In recognition of this landmark event, an interview with Kurumi Watanabe, Rika Sasaki, and Haruka Tachibana, the 3 original members who have been pulling the group along into the present, was made possible. We asked them to share their feelings on how much they have grown since their 1st one-man live, the graduation announcement of Kurumi Watanabe, and their hopes for the 2nd one-man live.

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– It’s been about 2 and a half years since you had a one-man live hasn’t it? Looking back at your 1st one-man live, how was it?

Rika Sasaki (hereafter, Sasaki): I feel like it was a time when we had the most unity as a group. About 2 months before the live we had released the single “Kiss me Happy” and at that time there was a big fight…after working out many different issues, there was a feeling that we had become a group. Up until then, a group had been formed but, we would just be like, “wa~i”, and enjoying whatever that was happening (laugh).

Kurumi Watanabe (hereafter Watanabe): I feel like it was a one-man live that we were heading into after getting over a wall of all the things we had to face in the beginning. Half a year had passed since the formation of the group and in that half year, a lot of different ways of thinking and feeling began to appear. Because of that, I got really angry with our manager at the time.

Sasaki: We were no longer “newcomers”, right? The first “Serenade” (Yūkan na Koi no Serenade), for example, there was no thought given to the order or to the fans at all. Once we got to “Kiss-Happy” (Kiss me Happy), the members had been doing a lot of various activities and our way of thinking changed…it wasn’t like we didn’t get along but I think it was the differences of how we thought.

– I see. So was there a change to the performance part?

Watanabe: During the 1st one-man live we performed “Datenshi no Kokoro Moyō”, and we had practiced so much for it! Even though we went and did it thinking it was “perfect”, watching the DVD now, it was super terrible.

– Looking back, do you feel like you could have done more?

Sasaki: No, that was the best for us after a year since forming.

Haruka Tachibana (hereafter Tachibana): It was our limit.

Watanabe: I think we showed our best for that time.

Watanabe/Sasaki: But, “Haruru” (Tachibana) was…(laugh).

Tachibana: Until the day right before the live I had a high fever, and even on the day of it was at 38.9℃. And so, I was in the dressing room dying, hadn’t eaten anything in 3 days…it was a super bad situation…that’s why I honestly don’t even remember the one-man live. I’ll watch the DVD and think, “I did that?”, but I have no memory of it at all (laugh)!

Watanabe: Actually, we thought you might not perform at all.

Tachibana: At that time, everyone’s condition was destroyed but everything turned around in the end.

Sasaki: What? I was last. Right after the live ended (laugh).

Tachibana: Really (laugh)? I was sweating so much that day.

Sasaki: I wasn’t used to having such a busy schedule back then and leading up to the 1st one-man live, we would go all over to different lives and sell tickets. I wasn’t used to doing that sort of thing. There were a lot of members who were students and going to school at the same so because of that, our condition was damaged a lot but we somehow got through it.

– To think about it, is there a part where you’re reliving the experience of a 1st one-man live again for this time?

Sasaki: There is. For the 1st one-man live, it was a situation where I didn’t understand anything, and I set the goal of “I want 400 people to show up”, not knowing if 400 people was a lot or a little, and I would wonder how many tickets I had to sell. That’s why this time, “I want 1,000 people to show up”.

Tachibana: And several times more than that.

Sasaki: I think we’ve grown up a lot in the past 2 and a half years so, I want there to be 1,000 people to fill the venue.

Watanabe: I don’t really mind the schedule being so busy anymore. Back around the time of the 1st one-man live, I thought that it was pretty harsh but now, having to debut new songs 3 weeks in a row is pretty rough. Also, this time our label Pony Canyon is involved so there are a lot of people working on it…even the dress rehearsal is important, so we have to just focus on making our performance perfect. Our perception is different from back then too, even though that’s obvious.

Sasaki: For the dress rehearsal, the only person there was our manager, right?

– Within those 2 and a half years members have changed and increased in number as well so there are a lot of things that are different, right?

Sasaki: That’s right. But I think that this Akasaka BLITZ couldn’t happen if it wasn’t this lineup. Of course, it probably would have been different with the members we had up until now, we could have probably done a one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ but, because it’s the members we have now, we’re looking forward to this 2nd one-man live, the good point is that it’s because of the 7 members we have now that I think we can put on a good performance.

– Ange☆Reve have had the goal of having a one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ but are there any reasons for that?

Watanabe: Somehow we decided during a lesson, no?

Sasaki: Our 1st one-man live was at O-WEST, wasn’t it? There were so many groups who had a one-man live at Zepp and we tried to follow them. However, Zepp accommodates about 1,500 people. It was difficult moving from 400 to 1,500, so we needed to take a preliminary step.

Tachibana: We wanted to develop steadily.

Watanabe: We also thought of O-EAST and CLUB Citta but we agreed to have a one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ. We have claimed that our goal was to have a one-man live at Akasaka BLITZ since we discussed and decided. We thought of it at the 1st one-man live at O-WEST.

Sasaki: That’s right. I didn’t say it in things like interviews but, we said that we want to do a one-man live at O-WEST.

Watanabe: It came true so I was hesitant to say it (laugh).

Sasaki: Besides, Ange☆Reve matches Akasaka. There’s a fashionable feeling to it.

Watanabe: Compared to Shibuya, isn’t Akasaka more Ange☆Reve-like?

– There’s a bit of a grown-up feeling to it (laugh). And now I would like to ask about Watanabe-san’s graduation announcement but first

Sasaki: Somehow, I don’t feel like it’s real…I think it won’t feel real until after she’s gone.

Watanabe: You felt it when I announced it, no? Will you feel it when I graduate, I wonder? I don’t really want it to be conscious of the one-man live.

– Was there anything that led you to decide on the graduation?

Watanabe: I think there were a lot of incidents involved. We were releasing an album, Akasaka BLITZ had been confirmed, and I had been worrying, “What should I do?”, until deep down inside me I decided, “This is the time”. Of course, I worried about it a lot. When I talked about it with the company president, he agreed to let me quit but, for my personality there was a part having a tough time deciding, waiting for someone to say something…that’s why it ended up with the president saying “I understand”, midway through.

Watanabe: That’s something that as a founding member of Ange☆Reve, more than anyone else, would have to take a moment to think before deciding, no? So it’s unusual…When I announced my graduation, there were a lot of fans who commented, “It’s too refreshing” (laugh).

Tachibana: It’s kind of too indifferent to say that, about a graduation announcement.

Watanabe: Not really. I vowed not to cry. I even said, “I am satisfied so I am quitting”, it would be difficult to understand if I said it while crying, and for me it’s not beautiful to announce a graduation while crying…that’s whyI decided that I would absolutely not cry. Everyone around me was crying though (laugh).

Tachibana: Because the other 6 were crying.

Sasaki: It sort of sounds like something good to say but, if you cry too much, no one can hear anything (laugh).

Watanabe: I tried so hard that I don’t remember anything I said. But, I intended to put a lot of my feelings in it. it’s sorta like, I only have memories of the instant when I announced it; the venue went silent. The absence of any other sounds was amazing…at the time, in particular, I couldn’t see the faces of any of my fans. I was thinking, what kind of faces they might be making while looking my way…and that’s why I looked of in the distance when I announced it.

– Anyway, I hope the 2nd one is a success. Up until now there have been birthday lives and special lives, and so I think there’s significance for there to finally be a 2nd one man live.

Sasaki: Until now the special lives have, of course, had staff doing a lot of things for us but, they were largely events we had come up with on our own. This time, the 2nd one man live is something that was made possible by the adults who took our opinions as input; that’s the promise of it. It will be a live that wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation of many people.

Watanabe: On top of that, there things that during the 1st one man live that we thought, “I also want to do this!”, or “I want to do that!”, that we were allowed to do so I hope people come and see them. The members may have produced it but it certainly took a lot of people to make it reality.

– And the number of songs has increased hasn’t it?

Sasaki: We only had 6 original songs for the 1st one man live. Right now, we’ve been debuting new songs for 3 weeks in a row and so there will be 20 for the 2nd one man live.

Watanabe: I’ve always said that if we do a 2nd one man live, I’d want to do 20 songs. I think there were so many unreasonable demands given the schedule but, it was able to be granted.

Sasaki: It will be a one man live that can be enjoyed from beginning to end so I really want everyone to make sure and watch until the very end. There will truly be things that can only be seen that day. We are looking forward the most to the things that we requested to be realized. It’ll be something that we can share together.

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Photos by Mime Soga and Kenji Harada


Event Information

Ange☆Reve 2nd Solo Concert
“1000nin to Kanaetai Akasaka BLITZ de Gekokujou!! ~Genkai wa Dokonimonai~”

【Date】 September 2nd 2017 (Sat)
【Time】 Open 17:30  Start 18:00
【Place】 Akasaka BLITZ
【Price】 Door 3,500yen w/o drink(500yen)

Showa Idol Archives vol.13

【Theme】 Graduation Song
【Guest】 Kurumi Watanabe, Ruka Sasaki
【Date】 September 22nd 2017 (Fri)
【Time】 Open 19:00 Start 19:30
【Place】 Gakki Cafe
【Price】 2000yen w/o drink(500yen)
Tokyo Girls’ Update Premium Members:1500yen w/o drink(500yen)
http://tokyogirlsupdate.com/aboutpremium/index_jp.html


Related Links

Ange☆Reve Official Site: https://angereve.com/
Ange☆Reve Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/3rdD_angereve

Author
Toshiro Arai

A producer of website "TOKYO IDOL NET", which "photography" and "idol" is its concept. He also writes for Tokyo Idol Project, and so on.

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