It's organized as an essay (over 3,100 characters!!!):
Intro/Thesis: I'm graduating, and I apologize
1. Should I remain in the group to lead it forward at the expense of my dreams?
2.「 それぞれの人生」"Everyone has their own paths"
3. My concerns for the group if I leave, and theories on my personal growth and that of the members. Have I been holding them back?
4. My next goals, and what it means to be an "idol"
Conclusion: Thanks for reading and I'll do my best this next year so watch over me!
Interesting points:
2nd gen talked to her wondering if she hasn't been supporting the group at the expense of her dreams, so it got her thinking (she digressed on this for a few paragraphs). She realized she's worried what'll happen to the group without her, but also that she is who she is today because of the experiences she's had herself in creating the group as an original member, and she wants the other members to be able to have that experience as well.
In the future, her "next goal is to be singing and dancing solo in stage in her 30s", and she'll spend her 20s preparing herself to be able to do that. She also wants to remain an idol, but at the same time wants to surpass the normal definition of "idol", and she'd also like to be able to return to Hello! Project if she can in her future activities.
Though I've been told there's no specially deep meaning, since it began with the "Chi" from my big sister's name, I've heard they wanted to start with the same "Chi" and make it 3 characters.
Q2: Which senpai do you aim to be like?
Former Morning Musume member Sayashi Riho-san. I like the high quality of her singing and dancing as well as her personality. Ah, I just love that she exists.
Q3: Who would you want to be if you were born differently?
Former Morning Musume member Michishige Sayumi-san. Anyone would think she's cute, and she has full confidence in that fact. So it's since I think it's great how she really has that sense of self. Since she has so many things I don't, I want to be her.
Q4: What do you think you are #1 at in Hello Pro?
Though you'll probably think "That's completely unrelated!", I think my palm is read differently from others. When I had my palm read, I was told "Yours is the same as Tokugawa Ieyasu". And so, since I have an awful lot of confidence in just my palm reading, I don't think I'll lose to anyone (lol).
Q5: Tell us something awesome about Hello Pro!
I think the impact of everyone singing at Hello! Project concerts is awesome. Since everyone's so cute, but also since everyone can dance and sing well. I think the impact of the unity everyone creates is amazing. Though that also means I'm kinda saying that about myself since I've become a part of it now too (lol).
Q6: If you could form a special unit in Hello Pro, who would it be with?
Former Morning Musume member Sayashi Riho-san, Angerme's Kamikokuryou Moe-chan, Juice=Juice's Uemura Akari-san, Kobushi Factory's Inoue Rei-chan, Tsubaki Factory's Niinuma Kisora-chan, and me. It's people I've selected and gathered based on who I'm close with and whose performance and characters I like (lol). Just singing together with people I like would make me happy! Since I think it'd give me feelings of happiness as well as fun, I'd like to see that fun atmosphere.
Q7: Tell us your favorite Morning Musume song!
"Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke". This is the song that made me want to join Morning Musume so much. Since this song was one of the first Morning Musume did with formation dance, I thought it felt new.
Q8: What's your favorite song in all of Hello Pro?
Though there are so many, I like Morning Musume's "Mikan". Though for my audition I could have chosen a song to sing from outside Hello! Project, I thought I'd choose one from Hello! Prject and so chose my beloved "Mikan". It's a song which has even more emotional attachment for me since I sang it for my audition.
Q9: What's the difference between the current and former Hello Pro?
Approaching 20 years, the original members are almost gone. Since the members have been changing, and with ℃-ute-san and Tsugunaga Momoko-san (former Berryz Kobo/Country Girls) graduating this past June I think it's once again a new lineup, and it's awesome being able to see that kind of shifting and change in eras.
Q10: Aside from yourself, who would be your #1 member for someone to watch in order to come to like Hello Pro?
Kamikokuryou Moe-chan (Angerme). Personally her face is completely my type and I love her. On top of that she's really good at singing, and her voice is clear, so I think that's just so great. She also has a cute idolish aura, so if you look at Kamiko (Kamikokuryou) like "She's cute! And she can sing and dance too" I feel like you'll gradually get more and more into her.
Q11: What about you do you want people to pay the most attention to?
Since I like dancing, that's what I want you to watch.
Q12: What's some work you'd like to try in the future?
Even if it's just once, I'd like to try being in a CM...... Nah, without saying even just once (lol), I want to try being in some. Since Funaki Musubu-chan (Angerme/Country Girls) is a member of Country Girls along with me, and she said she loved being in a CM, I want to be in one too.
Q13: What do you want people to pay the most attention to in Morning Musume?
Dancing. Since we do formation dancing and vigorous dances, and I want to do more dances from now on where everyone can stand out, I want you to see our dancing.
Q14: What will you be doing 20 years from now?
I'll be 37 huh~ (lol). There are 50 members in all of Hello! Project, and it makes me think of how many different kinds of people there are having been involved with so many just like this since I was little. And so, looking at the good things that make each one an individual, I want to absorb those good things from everyone and become a wonderful person! I want to say to my 37 year old self, "Since I'm having so much fun in activities now, don't forget that okay."
Q15: Since it's the 20th anniversary, please tell us a special secret!
Though I'm not really hiding it, there's something I've not said before. After Berryz Kobo-san went on hiatus, I secretly came to love their member Sugaya Risako-san an awful lot. I came to love her so much that even I don't understand why. Since I've been collecting her live DVDs, I really regret not coming to love her sooner so I could have bought her goods and such too!
Q16: What's something you'd like to become able to do by next year when the 20th anniversary is over?
I'm incredibly bad at talking by myself, and since everyone in Country Girls is great at MCs it makes me feel horribly frustrated. Though the members around me help me out at those times, since I think I'll have to do it by myself sooner rather than later, it's something I want to overcome. I want to become able to do an MC by myself that I'll be satisfied with.
Q17: What would you do if you weren't an idol?
An ice cream shop vendor! I love ice cream so much that it's one job I'd like to try even now. I really want to be one so much that if the chance comes after I graduate being an idol, I'd seriously wanna do it (lol). I think it'd be so great to be able to eat my fill of ice cream without having to go out and buy it. I also want to make my own original ice cream!
Q18: What are you most into now?
I've been into looking for chocolate mint flavored foods. As far as I know I've found choco mint taiyaki and steamed bread and bagels, so recently I've thought "choco mint really is becoming popular" (lol). Though I think it'll be divided into choco mint and non-choco mint types, since there are so many different choco mint flavored products coming out, I hope it'll broaden even more!
Q19: Who are you close with in Hello Pro?
Angerme's Kamikokuryou Moe-chan is the same age as me, and incredibly easy to talk to. We've become close recently, and also went out for ice cream. But since it was just to have ice cream the 15 minutes or so was incredibly short (lol). And so, next time we go out I hope we'll be able to go for dinner.
Q20: What is an idol to you?
Before I became an idol I loved idols an awful lot, to where even now I go to lives. Since I love idols outside of Hello! Project an awful lot too, I think it's an extremely important presence in my life.
I heard they took "Reina" from "Kirei na houseki" (beautiful precious gem) (lol).
Q2: Which senpai do you aim to be like?
Former Morning Musume member Michishige Sayumi-san. Since I'm told I have a sharp tongue, I want to become able to speak out more like Michishige-san (lol).
Q3: Who would you want to be if you were born differently?
Though it'd mean I'd still have the same name even if born again, former Morning Musume member Tanaka Reina-san (lol). I think the strength of her singing is so great.
Q4: What do you think you are #1 at in Hello Pro?
Since I've had experience with various musical instruments like the guitar and sax and piano, I have confidence in my musical instrument knowledge.
Q5: Tell us something awesome about Hello Pro!
Though I don't think we lose in performance either, I think Hello! Project is definitely the best in how close we are! Though we're also good rivals, I love how we're incredibly close.
Q6: If you could form a special unit in Hello Pro, who would it be with?
With Tanaka Reina-san and Ichioka Reina-san (H!P Kenshuusei), Triple Reina. I'd like to try doing this once (lol).
Q7: Tell us your favorite Morning Musume song!
"Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa". Since when I first heard it I could sympathize with the lyrics so much I cried, I think that's so great.
Q8: What's your favorite song in all of Hello Pro?
Morning Musume's "Souda! We're ALIVE!" It's a good sing with a Morning Musume-like rhythmic feel, and when doing it in concert it's so energetic it could be called 100%. It's my favorite.
Q9: What's the difference between the current and former Hello Pro?
Especially since we've had more groups recently, I think our spirit of competitiveness has been growing stronger. There's a high rivalry awareness like although this group is amazing in something, we want our own group to work even harder at it! I think with that, we've been able to do great performances.
Q10: Aside from yourself, who would be your #1 member for someone to watch in order to come to like Hello Pro?
Morning Musume's Ishida Ayumi-san. She has an incredibly cute face, and as someone who puts in a lot of effort her dancing is really sharp. More than anything her smile is really cute. Looking at her cat-like smile when it jumps out, I think it'll definitely pierce the hearts of lots of people.
Q11: What about you do you want people to pay the most attention to?
Expression. Since recently I've been doing an awful lot of studying on cool and cute expressions, I want you to be sure and keep an eye on it in concerts and such.
Q12: What's some work you'd like to try in the future?
I'd like to try appearing on a quiz show. Since I especially love history and have studied it a lot, I'd like to demonstrate the results of that studying on a quiz show.
Q13: What do you want people to pay the most attention to in Morning Musume?
Of course my performance (lol), but I also really want you to see our MCs! Since Morning Musume are incredibly close, I think we can do interesting MCs.
Q14: What will you be doing 20 years from now?
I'd like to overcome being bad at cooking (lol). Though I can't at all imagine being 36 20 years from now, since there'll be lots of things I'll learn and grow in as part of Morning Musume, I want to be living in happiness putting all of it to good use.
Q15: Since it's the 20th anniversary, please tell us a special secret!
I actually do funny face contests with Nakanishi Kana-san (Angerme) (lol). There have been times during Hello! Project concerts where we'd look at each other and do funny faces and burst out laughing. But I lose to Nakanishi-san! Nakanishi-san's funny faces are the strongest.
Q16: What's something you'd like to become able to do by next year when the 20th anniversary is over?
Though I've been saying it for a good while, I want to obtain certification in World Heritage. I've bought the books and and am ready to study at any time, but half a year later I still haven't opened the books. But a year from now I want to have the certification.
Q17: What would you do if you weren't an idol?
I think I would have wanted to be a school teacher. Though since I love history, I could only be a history teacher (lol). I would have wanted to convey how interesting history is to my students!
Q18: What are you most into now?
I'm really into watching soccer matches. I love the Urawa Red Diamonds an awful lot, and watch them on TV. Throughout the matches I wave a towel around at home, and sing their cheer songs.
Q19: Who are you close with in Hello Pro?
Kawamura Ayano-chan (Angerme) is my Hello Pro KSS generation-mate, and I'm close with her. When one of us says "I've been into this lately" the other's like "Me too!" and so our personalities mesh. We also recently went out for yakiniku, and from now on as well I want to always be close to her.
Q20: What is an idol to you?
Idols are really a necessity to me. Though I don't think anyone will believe me, before joining Morning Musume I would a~lways be reading books and was super quiet (lol). But after joining Morning Musume, thanks to doing MCs and various things I think there's been a new side of me that's gradually grown out, and it makes me really glad I could become an idol. It's a precious thing which has changed my life!
