[Translations] Nogizaka blogs, interviews, and more

She definitely has lots to look back on (and be proud of)

Goodbye Sayu-Ranger!

 

Oh god that was damn touching... hope that she'll leave the group without regrets.
See you soon Super sentai lover girl.

 

I translated a Q&A with the stars of Eizouken (mostly Ume and Mizuki), from CanCam June 2020. (cross-posted to the General thread)

Q. Do Umezawa-san and Mizuki have any similarities?
Umezawa: I think we’re not similar at all (laughs)! First of all, I can’t go out to eat alone like Yamashita does… But we both tend to be seen as being composed. Like, we have an image of being relatively steady… But that’s actually not the case at all!
Mizuki: Ume is the same generation as me, but I guess we’re similar in that we’re both calm realists~? Areas where we’re not similar are… Ume is very serious! I’m not serious… it’s difficult to admit, but (laughs) since, without meaning to, I make a loud racket with everyone backstage.

Q: Among the 3rd gen, what kind of person would you consider each other?
M: I think Ume’s very adult. In a really good way. She’s someone who can consider various things objectively, not just regarding herself, but also reading the atmosphere around her and conducting herself accordingly. I always think that she’s incredible.
U: Yamashita was recently the important MC for the 3rd gen Live, she’s someone who’s always leading the members. But I guess she’s like a balancer when chit-chatting with everyone? Also, along with Mukai Hazuki, she has the position of being someone who fools around (laughs).

Q: Tell us your initial impressions when you first met!
M: Ume is the tallest and has a great figure too. I thought, “What a beautiful onee-san~” When I tried talking to her though, she's level-headed, but she’s actually much more the cute type than I thought! I was thinking she was a cool person, but she’s a totally openhearted person with a kind presence.
U: I was slow to close the distance with other members, but Yamashita was easy to talk to, she was the one person I could chat with. Yamashita is talkative even when she’s getting her makeup done. So I think she’s a girl with a feeling of being surprisingly easy to talk to. Now that we get along better… I think she’s really eccentric (laughs). I didn’t think she was this kind of person at the beginning!

Q: Is there anything you learned about each other for the first time when shooting “Eizouken”?
U: I was surprised, “Her communication ability is high…!” I’m very shy and I thought Yamashita might be that way too, but that wasn’t the case at all! When we do work for Nogizaka46, we meet with almost all the same staff, so I don’t often see her coming into contact with people from outside, but Yamashita was weaving in jokes as she was talking with the director or the cameraman-san. I thought that I should learn from her example.
M: I was amazed again at how she’s able to consider not only herself, but also the people around her. Also, Ume is… an early bird (laughs)! She’s super early every day. The shooting is far away, so it takes about 2-3 hours to travel there, but I really can’t get up in the morning…! I lie down on the seat and go to sleep right away, but if I glance over, Ume is properly awake and looking at the scenery outside… That part of her is also incredible, I thought (laughs).

Q: Did you do anything to get closer to the characters you were playing?
U: She’s a character who really likes money, so I walked around carrying more cash in my wallet than usual (laughs). I thought approaching it on the surface level might also be important, so anyhow let’s first get my hands on some money…! In terms of appearance, what affected me was that I became very hunchbacked! I even ended up being told by the people around me, “You’ve become a hunchback, huh.” I’m desperately trying to correct it now.

Q: Tell us about an episode involving the shooting of “Eizouken”!
M: It was tough having no electricity, water, or gas behind the scenes. In the middle of the darkness, everyone did their makeup around a single light, or warmed themselves up around the heater… The environment was harsh, but it felt like camping, and now it’s a good memory (laughs). In a sense, I think the bonds between the three of us became stronger!

Q: Tell us about an episode involving Asuka-san!
M: When we talk together, she says, “Are you mocking me!?” but I’m not mocking her, it’s my love coming out Because I really like Asuka-san too much
U: Asuka-san was eating a daifuku on the first day of shooting, but she was thoroughly getting the daifuku powder on her nose as she was eating, it was incredibly cute (laughs). She’s not a sly person, so I thought there was absolutely no way, but all the same, I was struck, “Was Asuka-san actually that kind of person!?”

Q: After finishing shooting “Eizouken,” has your relationship with Saito Asuka-san changed?
M: We get along great now! I didn’t go up to talk to Asuka-san that much before, but after shooting “Eizouken,” it’s increased a whole lot. Asuka-san is a 1st gen senpai, but we’re similar in age, so we have a lot of similarities. When I’m talking to her and I can feel “We’re in the same age group~” I’m incredibly happy! Even backstage, I’m beside Asuka-san a lot more, it feels like she’s the senpai I’m closest to now.
U: I think it’s also changed a lot for me! Recently, it’s gotten to the point where I’m getting teased though (laughs). At first, she was a senpai, after all, so my nervousness was much stronger. Soon after we started shooting, there was a scene where I used my full strength to hit Asuka-san with a soft baton, but that was really tough. Asuka-san told me, “It’s fine to hit with all your strength!” but I felt apologetic or something, it’s mentally intense for me if I have to strike my senpai… I repeatedly held back too much and no sound came out, which was no good for the scene. So consequently, I ended up hitting her over and over… That was the toughest scene of the entire shoot (laughs). Asuka-san often clings to the manager-san’s back, or leans her weight against a wall or a person, but recently she’s started clinging to me as well, which makes me happy We’re talking about going out to eat together some time ♪

Secret interview with Asuka
Q: How was filming with Umezawa-san?
Asuka: Umezawa was the lubricant for the whole thing. I think the shooting went super smoothly thanks to Umezawa being there. She has a very solicitous personality, so she was always paying attention to the atmosphere on set. Yama and I both do what we please at our own pace, but she would put us in order. She’s my kouhai, but I have high regard for that part of her.

Q: How was filming with Mizuki?
A: Yama gives the impression of someone who can read the mood properly and is able to be well-mannered to senpai, but for some reason, she totally makes fun of me (laughs). I think it’s probably because the role of Asakusa Midori that I’m playing is someone who gets tsukkomi’d and is easily teased, but she took advantage of that to keep on giving tsukkomis. The way she acts towards other senpai is a little different, so, well, I’m also happy about it… but I’m always telling Yama to shape up. I say, “I’m how many years your senpai?” (laughs).

Q: Are there any similarities between the characters you play and yourself?
M: In front of fans, she plays the cool “charismatic amateur model Mizusaki Tsubame,” but in front of the two that she gets along with, she becomes explosively excited and otaku-like… I think that part of her is similar to me. I also think, “I have to do it properly!” during work, but in front of the members I get along with, my faults come out right away (laughs).
A: Asakusa is a big coward, so when she talks to people, she uses a strange way of speaking and addresses people in strange ways, protecting herself. That might also be similar to me. In the beginning, I also had the kind of relationship with Yamashita and Umezawa where I had to call them by a name like “Yamashita-senshu!” or “Umezawa-sensei!” so I think that was kind of similar.
U: She’s almost the complete opposite of me, isn’t she. What’s similar is the length of her hair and her height…! Kanamori-san has her act together and she’s very skilled at handling her emotional distance from other people. She’s also good at communicating in a way that’s suited to dealing with each person, and at setting people in motion. I think it’s cool how she properly thinks ahead when she’s taking action.

 

An interview about Kaki's state of mind, from Entame magazine Sep. 2020. (cross-posted to the Kaki Haruka thread)

-- How did you feel during Nogizaka 46 Hour TV (Abema / June 19-21)?
Kaki: I was able to feel reassured. Because, during the stay-at-home period, I was unable to meet fans and ended up thinking, “What’s the meaning of my existence?” As time passes, won’t the people who think about us decrease? Even though we sent mobame, even though we released Sekai no Rinjin yo…… I was feeling somewhere that it was a one-way street. However, we received messages on Nogizaka 46 Hour TV, and I thought, we really were conveying the things that we were doing. During those 46 hours, I was very moved.

-- The Nogizaka 46 Hour TV MC segment was broadcast live. That must have demanded some ability to meet the task.
K: I was stiff throughout it, I kept being saved by Takayama (Kazumi)-san. I felt, once more, how difficult it is to be mindful of various things.

-- “Kakio Senpai’s Romance Course” was broadcast as one of the program’s “Nogizaka TV Stations.” How do you think you did?
K: I thought, “Something might change if I take a big swing,” but I don’t remember much from it. I’m also scared to rewatch it (laughs).

-- It seems Endou Sakura-san and Tamura Mayu-san were bewildered by Kakio senpai’s heart-pounding technique, but…
K: I also thought, “If he actually existed, he might be a crazy guy,” while I was drawing it (laughs).

-- So those aren’t Kaki-san’s own views on romance (laughs).
K: That’s simply Kakio-senpai’s character (laughs).

-- In Yakubo Mio-san’s “Nogizaka TV station” where she searched for foods that go well with candy, Kaki-san was saying “Delicious” to everything, but, could it be you have no sense of taste…?
K: It really was delicious! Even with the sugar-coated karaage and chocolate-covered potato chips, that sort of “salty-sweet flavor” was good. I ate too much and ended up feeling bad though (laughs).

-- It’s not because you normally say “delicious” about everything?
K: I rarely think something “tastes bad,” yeah. I’m not choosy about food.

-- Kaki-san has an image of a “person who does things properly,” but during Nogizaka 46 Hour TV, we saw that face slipping off a bit. Your humanity was coming out.
K: Various things got exposed, huh (laughs). Being recognized like that, I’ve also been able to relax.

-- Did you have the sense that you were being thought of as a “person who does things properly”?
K: I don’t know about that myself, but wherever I go, it does seem like at first, I’m thought of as “having my act together.” Even in school, I was entrusted to be the class representative, but, in the end, people noticed that I was unexpectedly absentminded (laughs). Ever since I entered Nogizaka46, I’ve often been entrusted to be MC for the 4th gen, right? I did my best, thinking, “I need to get my act together to meet expectations,” but I wasn’t able to become skilled at it, after all.

-- No, no, no. So far, both in being the MC, and in the solo campaign for last summer’s 24th single Yoake Made Tsuyogaranakutemoii, you were able to have your act together.
K: During the campaign, I was also bracing myself, “I’m alone, so I need to do it properly.” I was told by the staff around me, “It’d be better to relax yourself.” But no matter what, I wasn’t able to. I think recently, little by little, I might’ve been able to show my true self.

-- It felt like you were really giving it your all during Three Person Principal (April 2019).
K: That may have been the time when I tried the hardest, within myself. I didn’t let go of the script from morning till night, and used my full effort every day. I was also able to become aware of the part of myself that hates losing.

-- The Kaki-san from back then and the Kaki-san who has become able to relax are both charming. Above all, I think that journey is precious.
K: It’s little by little, but I think I may have been able to change.

-- Originally, you weren’t the type of person who has strong communication ability.
K: There’s an incident from my elementary school days that I’ve never been able to forget. I discovered that my friend, who I thought I got along with, was telling another friend, “Playing alone with her was boring,” when I wasn’t around… After that, I came to believe that “Saying straight what you’re thinking can cause an emotional scar that will always remain for the other person,” and I became unable to easily speak what I thought. Even now, if I think, “They play with me but they might be bored,” I get scared about playing with someone else.

-- Isn’t that similar to Saitou Asuka-san’s stance?
K: Asuka-san said something similar when she appeared on Jounetsu Tairiku (TBS) before, didn’t she? I thought, “Is there something wrong with me?” but when I heard Asuka-san’s words, I was able to affirm myself. Furthermore, the Nogizaka46 senpai and all my same-gen members have gathered together without issues, and they can accept each other’s values, so I’m able to feel secure.

-- Did your personal relationships improve when you became a middle schooler?
K: I learned from my friends in middle school how to close some of the distance, like, “It’s fine if I step this far into someone else’s space” (laughs). I am who I am now because of how hard I’ve tried, but, compared to girls like Tamura Mayu or Hayakawa Seira who naturally have communication ability, I think I’m no good.

-- For that Kaki-san, what was the significance of anime?
K: When I was in elementary school, there was a time when I didn’t want to go to school and skipped class. I was escaping into anime at that time. I was trying to enter a fantasy world, and forget about reality. Still, when I went to school properly, it was as if I was able to switch over into the world of anime after I came home.

-- Don’t idols also have parts of themselves they need to confront, and things they can’t run away from?
K: I have an “ideal image of an idol” inside my head. But, my self-esteem is also low, and when the time comes to try to put things into practice for myself, I end up feeling like “I’m not really that sort of character.” Simply put, it’s like I can’t do cute things……? When the camera points toward me, I’m also bad at responding with full marks. But I believe that, for now, maybe it would be better to get a sense of familiarity with “the person named Kaki Haruka,” without forcibly manufacturing myself. That’s why there have been fewer cases of me being flustered like “I need to do it like this.” Eventually, I want to become able to self-produce myself though.

-- I see… was showcased for the first time during Nogizaka 46 Hour TV.
K: I was glad. The shifting positions on top of the existing dance choreography should make it more exciting, so I want to hear the fans’ cheers during a Live performance.

-- Did you get closer to the 5 new 4th gen members that you built a candy house with during the 4th gen’s project?
K: The new 4th gen are participating in Nogizaka Skits (Nippon TV), but they all actively talk to us, so I think they’re amazing. At first, we were all stiff and couldn’t chat with each other. Maybe our enthusiasm’s out of sync. We need to keep doing our best, after all.

-- Is there anything you want to do with the 16 4th gen?
K: I really want to dance together with them. Yeah. I want to hurry up and do a Live.

-- On July 10, Nakada Kana-san announced her graduation. Is there any uneasiness about losing a cornerstone of the performances?
K: Kana-san reliably memorizes even minor details that the dance instructor tells us, and if we get dance moves wrong, she points them out for us right away. Among the 4th gen, there’s nobody who’s that capable of considering a bird’s eye view of our entire presentation, so there is a sense of danger. I often talk with Yakubo-chan, but even though we like to dance, we haven’t gotten good at it, and even if we watch the senpai’s performance and think “We want to be like this,” we’re unable. I believe we need to make more time for trial and error, and to study songs one by one and think about how to present them in a distinctively personal way.

-- Kaki-san, you have confidence in singing, don’t you?
K: That’s not true at all.

-- I have an impression that the source of Nogizaka46’s sound was voices like Shiraishi Mai-san, Sakurai Reika-san, or Etou Misa-san, but I believe personally, from now on, won’t we be hearing Kaki-san’s voice?
K: No, no, no. I’ve been listening to the sound of my senpai who are good at singing. If I consider my own voice joining them…… I still need to acquire more skill. Recently, I was told by a staff person, “Since the baton needs to be passed onto the kouhai, why don’t you try doing harmony?” so I also want do my best at singing.

-- Your acting ability was recognized in Three Person Principal and Saru ni Au (dTV), but do you have any desire to challenge dramas or theater?
K: I seriously tend to get nervous. During Three Person Principal, I practiced a ridiculous amount, so the actual performance was fine, but in the drama, I was still stiff coming into the actual performance and I struggled. The next time I challenge an acting job, I want to handle this nervousness skillfully.

 

Sorry if this has been asked before, but is there a masterlist of some sort where blog translations and the like are also indexed?

 

As far as I know that's not the case, even though it'd be great to have one at times like these when the fansubs are translating them quite a lot.

 

usually translated blog are saved from fansubber blogsite and not copied to the masterlist, it would be great if they put links on the masterlist.

 

I think it better if there was a list of members and who or which subgroup is doing translations of that members blog. I actually like it when whomever is translating, puts a link to their translations in the members forum.

 

I searched around and found these. Sorry if I missed anyone's.
This might be nice to edit onto page 1 of this thread, but it seems like Posipeace isn't on the forum anymore...

Active websites
Beam Subs, mostly 4th gen http://www.beamsubs.com/search/label/Blog Translations
Miyu, Yuna, Rika https://halcyontranslations.home.blog/tag/blog/
Hina https://www.hinachima.net/category/blog/
Broken Subs https://brokensubs.wordpress.com/category/blog-translation/
Various translations, but Nogi blogs are rare https://krymsuntranslation.wordpress.com/category/blog/

Inactive(?)
4th gen, last entry 2020-05-05 https://hiramame.wordpress.com/
4th gen, last entry 2020-02-23 https://hangingbridge46.blogspot.com/
last entry 2020-01-06 https://sakamichidiary.com/tagged/nogizaka46
last entry 2019-09-03 https://horistardust.tumblr.com/tagged/blog
last entry 2018-08-26 https://manatsurespect.tumblr.com/tagged/nogizaka46-blog
Ikuta, last entry 2018-04-20 https://erika-ikuta.net/category/blog-translation/
last entry 2018-04-05 https://conjyak.wordpress.com/category/veliems-idols/blogs-etc/
last entry 2018-04-18 https://nogistreet.tumblr.com/tagged/Nogizaka46
last entry 2018-04-15 https://twitter.com/nogi_eng_46
last entry 5 years ago https://nogibaby-blog.tumblr.com/tagged/n46-translation
AESub (inactive subber) made a blog masterlist in 2015, but it hasn’t been updated since 2016:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19Y9UryGiHPG4qG8UkdAPZRpNwvHMamhgnfWY0gqYlyo/edit#gid=0

 

Here's a starter list. Looks pretty basic though:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M_QETANDYpzFpeNzDol_crPCqrRui1bK/

Initial contents are links from @Gofindnova's post. Many, many thanks!
I know there are lot more translations in these threads by you and other users, but for some reason I can only see the last 10 or some posts in the user profiles... (hope that don't sound creepy)

By the way if anyone wants to edit/maintain it just let me know.

 

@Gofindnova @TAMU Great work!

 

We haven't been active in translating blogs recently, but this would be the accurate info for us:
last entry 2019-05-16 https://conjyak.com/category/veliems-idols/blogs-etc/

 

That’s a really good list @TAMU!

Both Beam and myself are doing our own TLs of Yuna and Miyu, so feel free to read whatever you prefer.

I used to do Rika’s stuff as well but dropped her blogs as of Blog 15 (I think).

 

Added these updates.
I also split it into gen members per sheet, I figured it would be easier to navigate

 

I can help with the list if you like! I think I've other ways to track the older ones and I can help you to update too.

And... Irl I'm busy so I couldn't translate other member than Hayashi, whenever I'd be free I'll continue with all the other gens, and I think the same goes to all my team(Sushi and Jana at least)

 

My latest Miyu post seems to be missing from the list...

 

It's there now, I don't know how I missed it at first but I did, my bad...

 

All All Night Nippon summaries, linked for easy reference:
2019/08/14 Manatsu (new captain)
2019/10/23 Graduates reunion
2019/12/11 2nd gen special
2020/02/19 Kana, Umezawa, Mayu (8th Birthday Live)
2020/04/08 Manatsu (being captain, Animal Crossing)
2020/07/01 Seira (not nervous, fries, privacy)
2020/07/08 Hinako (generosity and gifts)
2020/07/15 Momoko (school, 7-11, friends)
2020/07/29 Maaya (garden, Hiroshima hometown)
2020/08/05 Yoda (bugs, food, Grand Blue)
2020/08/12 Kubo (baseball, scar, 4ki Runa)
2020/08/19 Kazumi (friends, braces, 4ki Kuromi)
2020/08/26 Kaki (recognition, animator, 4ki Rika)
2020/09/02 Ranze (22 yrs old, 4ki Miyu)
2020/09/09 Manatsu, Kubo, Seira (Delusional Summer Tour)
2020/09/16 Asuka, Umezawa, Mizuki special
2020/09/30 Kana (pre-graduation, 4ki Nao)
2020/10/07 Hinako (authority and discipline)
2020/10/14 Hoshino (games, masks)
2020/10/21 Shiraishi special w/ Manatsu, Momoko, Matsumura

For subsequent summaries, see the ANN thread

 

This is very much appreciated. After reading the Maiyan one, I knew once we continue on with the conversation in that thread, it would disappear into the back pages of history like the many others. Your translations should be highlighted for all posterity and would be a shame to lose them.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

 

Is it a good idea to create a new thread for ANN? There's a Noginono one, maybe ANN should have its own too...?