From Ogoe Diamond To Team K, Jurina Matsui in AKB48

As she is kind of living a life of nomad, who goes back and forth from Tokyo to Nagoya continuously, we can say she is one of the members who are having toughest schedule.

Like Sayaka in team K, she can never overlook members who don’t try their best, but it’s because she keenly realized how top teams of AKB48 were far ahead of team S.

Of course it’s cruel to expect perfect personality from 15 y/o girl. She sometimes can’t stop being too hard on members as well as staffs, and that had sometimes caused troubles. Joined AKB48 at the tender age of 11, become a center for Ogoe Diamond in the same year (2008), even before SKE48 performed their own first Stage….

In the interview, Minami Takahashi talked about her feeling when she saw Jurina’s name on the members list for Ogoe Diamond,

“I found the name which I’ve never seen before, Jurina Matsui. We were talking “Who is Matsui?”, then Acchan said “I heard she is a member of SKE48, and she will be a center.” We were all taken aback. And…. I also had a mixed feeling….”

Acchan: “Before telling to other members, Akimoto-sensei told me “You gotta do your best as 2 top together with Jurina.” But honestly I was wondering what can I do to “do my best”… I answered to Akimoto-sensei “yes” though… I was thinking like “She is my new little sister”, but members who are about as old as her surely had mixed emotions, I guess…”

Acchan’s guess was right, as many of SKE48 members were like “Why she was selected for such a big role? We thought we were still at the same starting point….”

When Jurina first met AKB’s Senbatsu members, she bowed deeply to them. Minami Minegishi described her first impression of Jurina as follows,

“I thought she is very poised. I instantly thought she is a predestined center. Usually we get a little timid when we first meet senior members, especially when we were that young like her. But as  I was looking at her standing honorably, I couldn’t help but thinking “She is kind of special and different from other members.” Even though she was 11 y/o then, I was thinking she should be a center.” It’s not a feeling like “She is better than me.” but I just objectively thought “She is an ideal girl for a center.””

After Senbatsu members of Ogoe Diamont started practicing, Takamina thought,

“As I was looking at Jurina, who were only11y/o then, working so hard to live up to the expectation from her family, members, staffs and Akimoto-sensei, I was like “We gotta bond together with SKE48 and forge our way together…””

Related post: Jurina warmly welcomed by all team K members

So how Jurina, who made AKB members being impressed that much, was thinking back then? Jurina said, “At first, I was just feeling happy as I was selected for this role. But…. as the day for the lesson was approaching, I’d become gradually uneasy… like “Is it OK that I, a member of SKE48, join the single of AKB-san?”, “Could I become friends with them??” or “Can I dance and sing well enough?”…. I was crying so much in front of SKE48‘s staffs… SKE48 was also working for it’s debut stage, so I was confused because I didn’t have enough time to practice…. But I never cried when I was with SKE48 members. We had a promise on our very first day. That is…. “Some day we will overtake AKB48!” So though I was very uneasy, I was thinking “What I’m trying to do now will do good for our goal.” “It’s not only for me, but I can make people recognize SKE48 more through my act in Ogoe Diamond!!!”

In album artwork of Ogoe Diamond, Jurina is shouting at Mariko-sama.

As an only member from SKE48, Jurina tended to be alone in Senbatsu members, but Mariko noticed Jurina’s situation and willingly took a role to take care of her.

Related post: Mariko Shinoda And We Fans Are And Will Always Be Home To Graduated Members

Mariko had the same experience as she is also an only 1.5gen member. Jurina’s lonely image reminded Mariko her own lonely days when she joined AKB48. She talked to Jurina “I’m happy that you come to us.” After the time they spend together for Ogoe Diamond, Jurina has been attached to Mariko as if she was her real sister, and Mariko also devoted a lot of love for Jurina.

Yasushi Akimoto
“I found an wonderful girl at the final screening of the audition. She is a rough diamond. She will definitely become a star.”

“She was No.49 in the audition, the second to the last person. But when her turn came, there was some machine trouble that the song she was supposed to sing didn’t play, so we changed the order and she became the last person. I didn’t know what’s going on, so I was thinking “I almost had the idea what SKE48 will be like…..”. Then suddenly she appeared at the last. I was struck with her enormous charisma… You know, the last and the second to the last are totally different. Our business is not only about effort or talent… but “Destiny” plays an important role, I think. And that’s why I feel this job is interesting. And…. as AKB has started selling well, the mood in the group was becoming a bit loose… Say if I’m a shepherd, I felt sheep are becoming too relaxed. If I added a totally different sheep to them, I thought the mood would have a good tension.”