Togasaki and Saruobasan Interview ~ The past and future of AKB48

  October 6, 2012

-Back then the image of Akihabara had been overlapped to AKB48.

Togasaki: “Because we’ve started from Akihabara, it’s something inevitable.  From the perspective of the town Akihabara, we were just a newcomer and we even called ourselves Akihabara48 at the beginning in order to fit in the town. I was thinking it will take a lot of time to transcend this.”

Nishiyama: “When we placed ourselves actually in the town, we could’t figure out what about us makes us look Akihabara-like. But our essence hasn’t changed since the beginning, actually. We hold a theater performance everyday for 2 hours, members are sweating at the theater of 250 people. That hasn’t changed a single bit.
Though members has changed from those who join the group with having no idea about what all this is about to those who join the group with a firm understanding about what all this is about.”

Togasaki: “Basically I don’t scold members, but there was only one time that I scolded Senbatsu members.
Abour 2 years ago, when we went to Hiroshima for the handshake event for ‘Sakura no Shiori’. When we gathered up at the airport, everyone looked so dull and sleepy. I wanted members to be aware of the fact. AKB48 has been gradually becoming popular and selling more CDs. There’re people who can’t even enter the handshake venue and waiting outside. AKB48 has become that popular artists. You can’t get this idea when you are at the eye of typhoon.”

Nishiyama: “I’ve been pointing out smaller things. Like, cleaning, yeah it’s just like ‘Scold someone just for their way of handling chopsticks’ haha I think I’ve been an annoying woman for members of a great pride.

But I think there’s a viewpoint that is unique to women. Like ‘Her skin is getting rough, or she changed her hairstyle a bit’. So naturally Togasaki-kun and I has taken different roles from each other… or I should say this is a difference between motherliness and fatherliness? So because almost all members are in their early adolescence  there’re things that her father should point out and there’re things that her mother should point out.”

Togasaki: “When they have some troubles, it’s my job to talk to them. Of course when there’s a member who’s crying or falling down right in front of me, I will take care of them, but I must see members equally and objectively, so I’ve tried to refrain from asking members something like ‘How are you doing lately’. Still at this later date, it’s only (Oshima) Yuko who dares to pounce on me”

7 comments

  1. Mark Weber says:

    Remember that there are more pages!!

    Awesome work here, really nice article.

  2. Marty says:

    “Still at this later date, it’s only (Oshima) Yuko who dares to pounce on me” LOL. Yuko xD

  3. archite says:

    Thanks
    for translating this Tommy. Just thought I would like to express my thanks to
    you and all the other authors for always translating all of these articles and
    delivering these news updates to us all everyday without fail.

    My thoughts about the current AKB: I’m
    a Yuko Oshi and I do like how’s she is playing the Center role much more now
    that Acchan’s gone but lately, I have been thinking that I don’t want her to
    become the replacement for Acchan. Using the jigsaw puzzle analogy that TGSK
    mentioned, Yuko is part of this huge jigsaw puzzle piece called AKB and if she
    has to be moved to replace Acchan’s place then that would just create another
    gap where she is. That’s the situation which AKB is at now: Yuko playing center
    while others try to fill up the gap Yuko left behind at her place. But everyone
    plays a unique role and that just can’t work in the long run. I do hope that
    AKB, both the younger generation and perhaps the older generation too may be
    able to rise up as a whole and challenge Yuko’s placing. They always called the
    Senbatsu’s tops, Kami 7 but imo, it had always been just Kami 2.

    Yuko too has voiced out how she feels
    frustrations about not having a rival. Rise up AKB members, challenge her
    position. Yuko can’t stay in AKB forever and it’s up to the next generation to
    be able to pull AKB forward in the long run. There has to be a good challenge
    in order for her to put up a good fight. That’s just how I feel.

    • Tommy says:

      Thank you.
      It’s really nice to see kind reactions from readers.
      Currently I’m the only writer, translator for this website.
      If you know someone who wants to join this website as a partner plz let me know^^
      (Please note that: We’re not looking for translators but someone who can search and edit news by themselves.)

  4. bentobox says:

    This is very rare and valuable interview, because it is conducted from management’s point of view. It is good for anyone who has interests on AKB48 and business in general.

  5. LC says:

    thank you so much for translating this, tommy. where was this article originally published?