Watanabe Mayu (Mayuyu) / 3rd Generation

And mayu said to Paru
" Explain it to him!"lol

 

Short excerpt from that Sasshi x Mayu x Yuki talk in the AKB newspaper

Spoiler

Interviewer: Did you have any thoughts about what your last single would be like?
Mayu: Not at all. ... I did think "what should I do if it's a wrestling-type song again?"
All: [laughs]
Sasshi: Yeah, or maybe the theme song to the TofuPro movie.
Mayu: [starts dancing to Shoot Sign] (TL note: why is my oshi such a dork)
Sasshi: Shoot Sign 2017
Yuki: But Shoot Sign was released in 2017?
Sasshi: Eh!? Then ... Shoot Sign second half of 2017 edition
Yuki: Releasing the same song twice in one year?
All: [laughs]

I see that Mayu was as traumatized by Shoot Sign as I was (those godawful costumes )

I might do more if there's interest, since I haven't seen it translated in English yet. It's a really good talk!

(Or I can send the HQ scans to someone with better Japanese than me. I just don't know how to post big picture files on this forum.)

 

@Breeze thank you for the translation! if you can translate more, it would be really cool

 

Let's see how much of the interview I can get through tonight.

Spoiler

S: The new single is a good song right?
M: It's a good song! I am really happy that my last song as center is one that I like.
(TL: me too, Mayu-chan, me too )

Interviewer: The three of you are also the front 3 for Kokoro no Placard.
Y: Ah, that's right.
M: Honestly, I am very glad that it's us three in the end. I feel very relaxed being able to stand beside two people I really like (TL: she uses "daisuki")
I: It was performed the first time at the AKB Kanshasai.
M: That day I was incredibly nervous. But I think it should be easy to perform the next time. It also makes me sad to think about ...
[snipping the bit about Shoot Sign I posted earlier]
M: So, I couldn't picture what kind of song it was going to be at all. When I first listened to it, the song felt pretty ordinary, soft and gentle. Once my voice and the dance was added in, it became something very suitable to my tastes. The choreography is really cute.

I: Sashihara-san and Kashiwagi-san, do you think the song suits Watanabe-san?
S: It's a great song!
Y: Unun!
M: Wai!
S: It's similar to Labrador Retriever, a "classic" feeling to it.
Y: Ah~ that's right.
M: It's by the same composer (TL: Manabu Marutani)
Y: Oh~!
S: That's amazing! It's destiny!! Akimoto-san didn't look at who the composer was when he picked the song.
M: I had the opportunity to visit that composer after the Kanshasai. He told me then that he also wrote LabuReti. It really does feel like Labrador Retriever.
S: Sugoi ne! Ii ne! That classic feeling is amazing right? (TL: Ahh Sashihara, you have surpassed the limits of my vocabulary.)
M: It really does feel like destiny.

I: It seems that you really like LabuReti.
M: I like songs with a good atmosphere (TL: ?? I'm not sure what she means here. Something like "gives a good feeling?"). The new single somehow gives the same feeling.
Y: It's a song that showcases the cute side of idol Mayuyu, especially the solo dance part.
S: Yeah! That part is super cute!!
Y: Super ultra cute!! The members kneeling down are all watching Mayu and saying to themselves how cute she is.
S: Me too! I was shouting "cute! Ah~ cute!"
Y: We get to be closest to where Mayu is dancing.
S: That's right, VIP seats. [laughs]
Y: It is a performance highlighting the epitome of Mayu's cuteness.

I: It feels like everyone will cry at the end.
Y: My eyes were getting moist at the Kanshasai.
S: It does feel like we'll cry.
Y: I don't particularly think about it. But when I look at the choreography, I would sometimes remember that it's the last one and feel really sad.

I: There is the scene at the end where you put down the mic.
M: It is a tribute to Yamaguchi Momoe-san, who did the same at her last concert. I performed it with feelings of admiration and trepidation towards that historical moment. Thinking about this being the end of my time in AKB, it brought up many emotions. I wonder what it will be like at the final performance?

I: Is there any memories from the final MV shooting that you'd like to share?
M: Everyone was separated into groups of 3 or 4 for the shooting, but I was by myself. [laughs] There was only one scene where I was together with everyone.
Y: Running scene.
S: So, we can only look at Mayu-chan's back.
M: Basically, I went to many places for the shooting, all outside.
S: I was dancing in the same group as Jurina and Sayanee.
Y: I was with Sakura and Yui-chan, jumping on the trampoline at the beach. (TL: I look forward to seeing that.)
M: Even though it was my last MV shooting as an AKB member, it doesn't quite feel real yet ... Maybe when I watch the MV after I graduate.

And that's the first page. The next part goes down the dorky ori team B memory lane. I'll get to it when I have time. A preview first:

The Bunshun no Jutsu Tour in 2009.
Y: They got mad. They got really mad. Like, "this is no good at all!"
M: They told us they are going to shuffle the team.
S: Ahhh... now we understand why we were called no good.
Y: Because we thought "isn't it enough to be high tension?"
S: Because we thought "isn't it enough that we are having fun?"
M: Because we thought "eh~~ we didn't do anything wrong at all!?"

Ahh~ I love these three dorks. Can't wait until the next (and last ) Nico Joshikai.

 

https://twitter.com/karaage_mayu/status/922363910015000576

Apparently fixing those eyebags?

 

Wanted to let you guys know.

Stage48 Countdown: Episode 163 (Best Moments of Watanabe Mayu) Voting has begun.

So don't forget to vote on your favorite Moments of her AKB48 Career.

 

@Breeze Thanks for the translations so far, now I'm keener than ever to see the new MV! (and I'm another person who can join Mayu in feeling very negative about Shoot Sign )

 

Thank you, @Breeze
I enjoyed your translation.

Eventhough Mayuyu isn't my oshimen, she's on my list of respectable members. Showing AKB to others without showing Mayuyu in the first place feels incomplete, since she's the figure most people likely to adore (everything about her is cute, ikr).

She's AKB's pride actually, born as an idol, having an idol face and body, have a super cute (and thankfully nice and stable) voice.. Seeing her leaving AKB is kinda sad, but I'm looking forward to her succesful career ahead!

Always shine, Mayu!

 

Yeah man .... I can never forgot the clip when she was so innocent, Meetan (Ohori Megumi ) & Yuko just had to "strip" her off her bathrobe


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Seven days remaining before her graduation concert.

 

We have reached page 1300! Now that I look at it, more than half of all messages in the Team B folder is from Mayu's thread, and Yuki's thread make up another quarter.

As well, congrats my oshi for hitting 900K followers on Twitter. Which is particularly amazing considering the usual amount of attention our girl pays to her Twitter.

I have to say, as a translator, I die a little inside when I come across yet another permutation of "mecha mecha kawaii!" But as a fan, my reaction to Mayu's dance is essentially "cute~~~! cute cute cute!!! why are you so cute and perfect oh god [dissolves into incoherent screeching]." So SasshiYukirin rather accurately capture the fans' feelings haha. The epitome of cuteness indeed.

Spoiler: Onward to the team B triumvirate!

I: Sashihara-san joined team B in 2008. What were the sempais like back then?
S: Every team had its own character. Team B had "sempais that were also your friends", they would share their snacks and even let you eat the bentos first. I was really glad to have joined team B.
(TL: as opposed to team A, where no one eats until Acchan had her two bentos lol.)
I: Kashiwagi-san on the other hand was an older sister-like figure. You must have looked after younger members like Watanabe-san.
Y: But, I didn't look after her at all. [laughs]
M: Ahahaha~! Not at all! She totally did not look after me! Because our relationship back then wasn't as close as it is now.
Y: Back then we both spent more time with members close to our own age.

I: Let's talk about memories of ori team B
S: At the first practice for Pajama Drive stage, Harugon was chomping on an apple while dancing at the same time. I was shocked. You can even do it like that!
Y: Wasn't that something? (TL: she actually said "wasn't that super yabai?")
S: After, the team B members and the KKS were having dinner together. They just announced the positions for "two years later", so Harugon asked "how come Yukirin always gets center?"
Y: Kyahahaha. She said the same thing at the recording session.
S: I thought "even though we just met, she can say that to me." It definitely left an impression.

In the interests of actually finishing the translation, I will abbreviate the next part, which is about Idol no Yoake. Sasshi talked about how she forgot the lyrics all the time. Yuki talked about how they had to do Ippatsu-gei during the encore. That was where Mayu did her "drawing Anago-san in 8 seconds" skill. Then gradually everyone stopped volunteering because doing Ippatsu-gei was really hard (lol). Sasshi talked about how the skit after Itoshisa Natasha with Sasshi, Haachan and Tanamin each playing a character was AkiP's idea.

I: And Kashiwagi-san challenged the adult-style "Kuchi utsushi no Chocolate"
Y: I was really reluctant to do that one.
S: Eh? But wasn't it a good song?
M: And you got surprisingly into it?
All: laughs
M: Was it because you were a high schooler?
Y: Yeah. I haven't done a sexy-type song before that. I was more used to songs like Temodemo.
S: Fleeting love-style
M: And then you became sexy all of a sudden.
Y: Actually I was originally supposed to do "Kataomoi no Taikakusen".
S: Eh? Really?

I: Watanabe-san had speaking lines in "Zannen Shoujo"
M: I didn't know anything at all about acting back then. I was just reciting the lines robotically [laughs]... Somehow I muddled through.

I: After performing "Idol no Yoake" for such a long time. Did you feel that the team has really started to come together?
S: I'm not sure what the sempais thought, I didn't get that feeling at all.
Y: Neither did I.
M: Same for me~!
All: laughs
Y: And that's why they called us "no good"~
S: Remember the Nagoya show during the National Tour?
I: The Bunshun no Jutsu Tour in 2009?
Y: They got mad. They got really mad. Like, "this is no good at all!"
M: They told us they are going to shuffle the team.
S: Ahhh... now we understand why we were called no good.
Y: Because we thought "isn't it enough to be high tension?"
S: Because we thought "isn't it enough that we are having fun?"
M: Because we thought "eh~~ we didn't do anything wrong at all!?"

I: Even though the three of you were like that, what advice would you pass on to your juniors?
S: When you become adults, learn to hide your faults like us. [laughs] The important thing is to have fun.
Y: That's right. Don't stress too much about the future. Live every day happily without worries. The younger kids these days think too much. That's good. But when I think back, the carefree us of back then was unbeatable.
(TL: ahh Naachan, why do I feel like your unreliable sempais are trying to tell you something? Haha.)

Y: It's a remarkable thing to be able to think so deeply at their age.
S: But I also feel like it's a waste.
M: It really is a waste to spend all your time worrying and not allowing yourself to have fun. We charged straight ahead with no qualms because we were young. We really did it just like that.

Ah I'm out of time. Too bad, I wanted to finish the whole thing today. There's like half a page left, so I should definitely be able to wrap up before Mayu's grad con.

 

Thank you so much! You really gives something to me which doesn't understand Japanese at all. Sorry I just can say thanks for your efforts!

 

渡辺麻友 in TBS_awards's twitter
https://twitter.com/TBS_awards/status/922367148235767808


【Halloween's Music Festival】AKB48渡辺麻友's special comment！！【TBS】

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Dasu just shared on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/dasuwaikaa/status/923192555822391296

 

The last part of the interview! This is the longest translation I've done. Thank you to those who took the time to read it!

Spoiler

I: It's a sudden topic change, but I'd like to talk about the Janken tournament in September. When a topic related to Sashihara-san came up, she was able to quickly find a mic and join the discussion even though she did not have a mic before. I think that is something important for kouhais to emulate.
S: To react quickly in that situation was something I thought I should do as one of the sempais in the group. But not everyone would be able to do that. I think rather than me, the kouhais should look to Yukirin.
Y: There's nothing to learn from me [laughs]
S: That's not true. As an idol, Yukirin is "just right". She would never do anything inappropriate to do for an idol, but works hard in her own way. Young members please study how Yukirin carries herself and dances.
Y: I hope that there are more kouhais like Sasshi, someone with both an idol side and an MC side, who are able to successfully carry a discussion forward.
S: That's right. For someone like Mayu or Acchan, even though they don't usually say very much, when they do speak up it's always interesting and memorable. I hope kouhais would be able to learn from that.

(TL: I thought this section showed off Sasshi's strengths as an MC/talk show host really well. She always knows the right thing to say. But what's with the random topic change, interviewer? I wanted more old team B hilarity!)

I: What does Mayu-san think about areas kouhais could improve on?
M: Everyone is working hard in their own way... For example, Nishikawa Rei-chan is doing well. Full of tomei-kan (TL: it's hard to get across the meaning in English. Literally "feeling of see-through-ness". I thought the LoTR quote about Frodo, "like a glass filled with clear light" approximates the feeling well lol. Or just look at Mayu. She is chock full of tomei-kan goodness herself all the time hahaha.)
Sugoi! Yabai! Notice her already!
S: You talked about her at the Draft, right?
M: I was talking about Ayu-chan. I've been watching over Ayu-chan since the beginning. But Rei-chan was able to transform into something amazing. They really grew up just as I planned [laughs]

(TL: She really said "keikaku doori" ROFL. Looking at the current state of team B, Mayu really made the right call back at the Draft. For those not around in 2015, team B was going to stop after picking Kira but Mayu wanted more lolis )

I: Although Mayu-san means to be an actress, we also heard your beautiful voice at the Kanshasai, full of tomei-kan and charisma. Have you considered continuing your activities as a soloist?
M: I would like to continue it. If I have the opportunity to release a new single, I want to continue singing. I don't plan to give it up.
Y: Rather than going on tour, it's not a bad idea to sing theme songs for dramas, and it would be a way to relate it to your acting career.
S: And, I want Mayu to appear in musicals.
Y: That's right!

I: Is there anything else Sashihara-san and Kashiwagi-san would like to say to Watanabe-san?
S: I want to Mayu to hurry up and be on the same stage with me again. Although my work in variety and hers in acting do not have many points of connection, I hope one day Mayu can come to one of my shows to promote her new drama.
M: I would love to go~
S: It makes me happy to be able to meet graduates when I am doing solo work. I have confidence in Mayu-chan. I hope she will continue to work hard.
Y: Mayu has been working hard for AKB all this time. I hope she will think more about herself after graduation. Even though I don't like musicals, I really look forward to being able to watch Mayu's movies or musicals.
M: Really? You'll watch it? You'll really watch musicals?
Y: Um... I'll do my best [laughs]. As the last member from 3rd gen, I will keep the spirit of 3rd gen and team B alive in AKB. You can feel at ease.
M: Thank you~!

That CDTV Halloween performance was amazing! Mayu's cosplay is really something, isn't it? She kind of reminded me of that movie about assassins with young Natalie Portman.

As expected, the choreography is already improving. The leg kicks in V formation were way better synchronized. I really like the part where Mayu walks down the aisle of members. So much Mayu screentime.

 

@Breeze All efforts are appreciated. Thanks !

 

Thank you very much for this, my friend.
Let's enjoy the last days of Mayuyu as an idol and take your new path into the world of acting after it. To prepare ourselves

 

I'm joining all the squeak when mayu appear
*akb48 koisuru fortune cookie halloweeen 2017 cdtv SP

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

wait.. that was it? she dressed up as Buruzon Chiemi just to perform KFC?

I was hoping she'd perform the gag with Naachan and Miichan. It would have been really fun to see her impersonation and acting. If by chance, you guys don't know what I'm talking about here's the original gag, which was arguably the most popular act in Japan for quite a long time.


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

https://jshowbiz.com/english/news/j...t-cm-of-watanabe-mayu-graduation-concert.html