DAILY YOMIURI に ℃-ute

6/10(金)の話題ですが、読売新聞の英字新聞「DAILY YOMIURI」に℃-uteが掲載されました。
ちょっと遅くなりましたが、紙面を見ることができました。



メキシコで開催されたTNT Expoというアニメの祭典で℃-uteの歌を歌うメキシコの女の子4人組を取材し、その女の子のパフォーマンス映像を℃-uteメンバーに見てもらったという内容です。

メンバーのコメントだけ、ざっくりと翻訳。

萩原舞さん「私たちは、時々客席にアジアやアメリカからのファンがいることがわかります。私たちはそのような予想もしていない場所にファンがいることを、本当に幸せに思っています。」

「なぜ海外の若者が日本のアイドルが好きなのか?」という質問に対して「たぶん、私たちは日本的なもの(ジャパネスク)を持っているのでは。」と鈴木愛理さん。

中島早貴さん「私たちはチームとしての結束に誇りを持っています。もし上手くいかないメンバーがいたときは、いつも誰かが補い合います。私たちはダンスの動きで何か困ったことがあればわかるので、それぞれの難しい部分をお互いにカバーし合えるのです。」

記事を書いているのは、道重さゆみさんが対談したとBlogで書いている櫻井孝昌さん。

Web版もあります。
無くなるかもしれないので、テキストも貼っておきます。

Web版
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20110609dy01.htm

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LOOKING EAST / Idols--a new traditional art

Takamasa Sakurai / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

When I was attending TNT Expo-Manga Comic in Mexico City in February, I found an excited crowd in one corner of the venue. It reminded me of otaku central--Akihabara, Tokyo.

On stage were four Mexican girls singing and dancing, and several young people were doing ota-gei in the back of the audience. Ota-gei refers to the dance moves and cheering gestures otaku do at live idol or voice actor concerts. As I approached, I realized the girls on stage were performing Dance de Bakoon! by idol group uC-ute. They had the Japanese lyrics down and had mastered the choreography.

I visited them backstage after the performance and asked them to pose for a photo, where they screamed their love for uC-ute.

I showed a video of the girls' performance to three uC-ute members--Airi Suzuki, Saki Nakajima and Mai Hagiwara. The other two members are Maimi Yajima and Chisato Okai.

"We sometimes learn there're fans from other Asian countries or the United States in the audience at our shows," Hagiwara said. "But it makes us really happy to find out we have fans in such an unexpected place."

The visibility and popularity of Japanese idols in Mexico and other foreign countries is often much greater than the idols or Japanese in general think. South Korean idols have enjoyed worldwide stardom recently, but on my travels overseas I have realized Japanese idols have a huge potential fan base abroad. uC-ute, for example, has never performed outside Japan, but they have avid fans around the globe.

But why would young people overseas choose to like Japanese idols? I posed this question to the three uC-ute members.

"Maybe we have something really Japan-esque about us." Suzuki said.

I felt her words answered the question quite well.

The Internet enabled fans from all over the world to access the pioneering anime of Japan. "Kawaii," for instance, crossed borders first as a word and now is a shared value that has greatly influenced the world's youth. Japanese idols occupy the central position in this movement.

C-ute's live performances have been highly praised and indeed they took me off my feet when I saw a show for the first time.

A friend of mine and idol expert told me the idol has become a kind of traditional performing art. It is clear they put extraordinary efforts into their shows, something akin to the painstaking attention to detail required in the traditional performing arts.

"We're proud of the solidarity we have as a team. Someone's always there to pick up the slack if one of us isn't doing so well," Nakajima said. "We know who has trouble with certain dance moves, so we can cover for each other's rough spots."

With a high-quality product backed by tireless efforts and the ideal of kawaii--a word that has come to symbolize Japan--now is the time for Japanese idols to give their full attention to the world. I believe they have enormous opportunities waiting for them.

Follow Takamasa Sakurai at

http://twitter.com/sakuraitakamasa

Sakurai is a content producer using events and seminars to engage in "pop culture diplomacy."
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