In May of 2010 S/mileage made their major label debut with their single “Yumemiru Fifteen”. Then in October of 2011, S/mileage sub-members Kana Nakanishi, Akari Takeuchi, Rina Katsuta, and Meimi Tamura became official members of the group, and S/mileage had their massively successful first solo concert at the Nippon Budokan. In December of 2014, with the arrival of three new members, Maho Aikawa, Rikako Sasaki, and Mizuki Murota, the group changed their name to ANGERME. During their November 29, 2015 performance at the Nippon Budokan, first generation member Kanon Fukuda graduated, and new member, Moe Kamikokuryo, joined the group on November 11th.

Although Meimi Tamura has plans to graduate at their next Nippon Budokan performance on May 30th, ANGERME will release their fourth single “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku”/”Itoshima Distance”/”Koi nara Tokku ni Hajimatteru” on April 27th. Since this will be their last single with all nine members, Tokyo Girls’ Update sat down with all of them to ask them about the music video shoot for “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku”.

Contributor Wanted!!

Contributor Wanted!!


Rina Katsuta/勝田里奈さん

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– First of all, this time we are asking each of the members to introduce one of the 3 songs on the single. Could you tell us about the song “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku” please?

Rina: Of course! We performed this song live many times before but, when we first heard the recording of this song, I got the impression that, “This is a song that will get things really excited live!” When we performed this song live, as expected it was very exciting and even some fans said things like, “It’s a really great song!” I’m really happy that it’s a song suited for a live, and we increased the amount of exciting songs we have. It’s really uptempo and easy to follow along, or should I say, it’s easy to cheer along to so, I think it’s easy for the fans to remember.

– The dance is really cool and there are many representative poses in it…

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Rina: Yes, there are. Since there are 9 members, there were not many occasions for all of us to do the same choreography: for example, we’re often divided into groups of three. However, for “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku” it’s completely different. We do a sort of line dance, moving from back to front. It’s rather simple but oddly enough, it’s something that ANGERME never did before.For everyone to be doing the same thing together is kind of new for us. The sense of unity, being part of one body, is something I really like about it.

– How was the MV shoot?

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Rina: I think that the dance part is the highlight of this MV because we danced a lot! We took more takes filming the dance parts than the image or lip scenes. Because it’s the first single for these 9 members together, I’d like people to pay attention to the dance scenes. To be honest, the choreography seriously hurts my lower back.(laugh)

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– (laugh)

Rina: That’s why everybody has muscle pain when we’re dancing. I want our fans to be careful when copying our choreography (laugh).

– Be cautious of your hips, right? (laugh) Thank you very much. Next, I would like you to tell us about the concert tour “Kyuui Ittai”. Compared to the previous concert tour “Hyakka Ryouran”, this is the second tour for ANGERME and the first for these 9 members. Are there any changes or some new things you have been able to do this time? Please tell us.

Rina: Since “Hyakka Ryouran” there was only one member that’s different but, personally I think that ANGERME has been changed since the beginning of this year. Fukuda-san graduated and the inexperienced Kamikokuryou Moe-chan joined the group. In a good sense, our freshness comes out more; I think we’ve come to look like a fresher group.

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– I see.

Rina: It must have been really tough for Kamiko (Kamkikokuryou Moe) as she did not have any experience before. So, we divided up the members in order to give some lessons to her when preparing this for tour. However, we did not have enough time so I think it was hard for Kamiko to learn many things in a short term. But the first day of the tour was successful, and it seems that Kamiko has gotten used to it.

– It’s a perfect comment as a senpai! Tamura-san will graduate on May 30th, but would you please share a message to her with us?

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Rina: Mei and I are from the same generation, and the same age as well, so when I heard about her graduation, I thought it was too quick especially because she is still so young. But on the other hand, I thought Mei was right because this time before turning 20 years old is an important occasion to think about our futures. She thought about it a lot, and decided to be a musical actress and I respect that decision. However, it still doesn’t feel like she will be graduating soon. Will she really graduate on May 30th? (laugh). Being together with her is too natural for me. The second generation members have never gotten to hang out, just the 4 of us, before either! We would do things like go and eat but, I really want to do something together.

– Where do you want to go?

Rina: I want to go to the “the Land of Dreams” (laugh). But Mei hates scary rides! She’ll ride it but she’ll have the hand of the person next to her in a tight grip the entire time (laugh). It’s really fun to see her reaction (laugh). So I want to go to “the Land of Dreams” together. It’s perfect because 4 is an even number. (laugh)

– It ‘ll be nice if you can go! I’ll change the topic but you have recently been posting pictures on the app “WEAR” right?

Rina: Yes! My parents love fashion and I remember that they took me to many clothing shops since I was really small. Pretty recently, I found that I have come to love fashion. I was sort of picky about fashion since I was little and I often said things like, “I don’t like that!” or “I love it!”. It’s really the best feeling to look at clothes.

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“WEAR” is a good app to show off my clothes to others but it is also a good tool to remember what I’m wearing. For example, I try to not wear the same coordinate I’ve already posted. I love thinking of coordinating with the clothes I have! I’m really happy that I could do something with this app.

– Do you have any favorite fashion models?

Rina: My favorite is Rola. She’s so fashionable that she’s like someone I could never hope to reach. More than someone I want to copy, she’s someone I really admire. The way she uses color is really fashionable. When I see the outfits she wears, I try to use something I have that’s a similar color or has a similar pattern that I can use as a reference.

– Do you have any plans to work in the fashion world?

Rina: I want to appear in many fashion magazines. For example, Suzuki Airi-san from ℃-ute is active as a model in fashion magazines and being an idol at the same time. Because I have such a sempai, I really admire her. Even if I’m not exclusive to any magazine, I have dreams of expanding the things I can do. I’d love it if when people discuss “fashion” when it comes to Hello! Project, my name were to come up.

– Finally, do you have any message for fans overseas?

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Rina: There are so many fans from a lot of different countries coming to see ANGERME’s concerts. I really appreciate it but at the same time I feel bad because it is always them coming to see us. I asked overseas fans once, “Why did you come?” and they answered, “Because ANGERME doesn’t come!” (laugh) But it’s true. ANGERME has never performed overseas so I really want to make it happen this year.

– Where do you want to go?

Rina: There were a lot of Thai fans, Taiwanese fans, Korean fans, and French fans, so I want to go to each of those countries. We have to go because the fans told us, “Because ANGERME doesn’t come!”. Please wait for us!

Related links
ANGERME official site : http://www.helloproject.com/angerme/
ANGERME America Nikki includinig Rina Katsuta’s blog : http://ameblo.jp/angerme-amerika

Photos by Mime Soga

Author
itaru9Z

I am the Chief Idol Officer of Tokyo Girls Update, known as "Hiroro Ojisan" who loves Maachan. I produce the MV, art works, promotions, and tie-in campaign of idol groups such as "Team Syachihoko" and "Negicco". Please contact me if you know any "hanare-me" (wide-set eyed) idols.

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