Yoda x Ozono Interview (BLT 05/2020)

Interviewer: Are you happy right now?
Yoda: Are you happy?
Ozono: I’m pretty happy.
Yoda: Well I guess that’s about right, humans have times when they’re happy and times when they aren’t, but I’m happy right now too.
Ozono: Because I’m happy I’ve become more perceptive and notice things more easily. When I’m feeling down even if I come across a happy occasion I have a hard time recognizing it as happiness, but the way I am right now I feel incredibly happy while we’re doing a song or even when I see all the 1st gens laughing.
Yoda: I don’t usually get that depressed, so I think I’m perceptive and I don’t feel overwhelmed right now, so I’m happy. But I get overwhelmed regularly. When we have concerts and stuff.
Ozono: Happiness is those times when you don’t feel like there’s always something you have to do. It’s the times when you feel like you’ve got time on your hands.
Yoda: That, that. You also get more perceptive. When I’m really overwhelmed I don’t understand anything. Rather than feeling appreciative I’m constantly panicking about “I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do that” and I forget what happiness is. So I get the feeling happiness might be being able to feel appreciative.
Ozono: When I’m feeling down, whenever someone is nice to me I feel bad and end up saying “sorry” instead of “thank you.” But when I’m feeling good I get happy about them doing it and thank them.
Yoda: True. If you’re not happy you can’t even be appreciative to someone else. Just for them doing something for you.
Interviewer: What are some times you feel happy in your day-to-day life?
Ozono: When you’re eating meat, right?
Yoda: Ah, that’s true. I hadn’t done it for a while, but recently I’ve been eating yakiniku a lot again. Me, Den-chan, and Hazuki have been going around to various shops. (laughs) Den-chan knows a lot about them so she’ll suggest “hey, let’s go here.”
Interviewer: Since we’re on the subject, what kind of meat have you been into recently?
Yoda: I love raw meat. Like yukhoe. And light things like skirt steak.
Ozono: It’s felt like a pain to me recently so I haven’t been eating out much. I just end up thinking about wanting to go home.
Yoda: Pretty much the only time I go out to eat is yakiniku with those two. Other than that I usually eat at home. I had kimchi hot pot with Den-chan yesterday!
Ozono: I’ve been making pork miso soup recently.
Yoda: Eh~, that’s great. I want some!
Ozono: I make a lot and eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day too. During the Birthday Live we’d head to Nagoya Dome in the morning and there’d be catering. They also had hot plates there.
Yoda: They did, didn’t they?
Ozono: I learned to make myself stuff like bacon, sausage, and eggs on those. It’d been a while since I’d fried or had bacon, but I ended up getting really into it doing that. (laughs) Even after the Birthday Live I still make bacon at home and have breakfast food at night. (laughs)
Yoda: Eh, I’ve never made it. Though I’ll eat it if someone else does. So I just ate rice soup.
Ozono: Food is great, but being with someone you love is the happiest thing of all, isn’t it? It’s my dream to meet someone like that. (laughs)
Yoda: Man or woman, I get the feeling Momo-chan will dive in head first if she starts liking someone.
Ozono: True. I’ll follow them anywhere. (laughs) I’ll entrust myself to them.
Yoda: Eh, I wouldn’t do that! I don’t want it to go the way they expect. (laughs)
Ozono: They say love is blind. So I want someone who’ll properly tell me when I’m doing something bad. Whether it’s a friend or whoever. Because I’ll mostly end up just going along with whatever my partner wants.
Yoda: There’s no way I could be like that.
Ozono: You’d probably be the one doing the manipulating.
Yoda: Yeah. I’d probably manipulate them.
Ozono: I think I’m the type who’d get manipulated. But Yoda doesn’t like being manipulated, so she’d probably get irritated at that type of person. (laughs)
Yoda: Yeah, how did you know? (laughs)
Ozono: I think you’re more the type that does everything at their own pace. Even during rehearsals you don’t rush things and balance it out on your own time. You can’t be distracted. It feels like you have a strong sense of self.
Yoda: Really? I’m not causing problems?
Ozono: You’re fine. You’re just staying true to yourself as you do your work.
Interviewer: Yoda-san, what kind of feeling do you get watching Ozono-san recently?
Yoda: She looks like she’s having fun. Compared to before she laughs really hard a lot. I think she used to cry more than laugh. Also, she really dotes on RenTama (Iwamoto Renka and Sakaguchi Tamami). (laughs) Didn’t you buy matching sweatshirts?
Ozono: I did! Everyone saw them and commented on how cute they are.
Yoda: It was cute when the three of you wore them to the Birthday Live rehearsal.
Ozono: They’re so cute~, those two~.
Yoda: It’s like you have kids. (laughs)
Ozono: It feels like they’re my kouhai. (laughs) Rentan is pretty mature, but Tama-chan really feels like a kouhai. We’re in the same gen, but they’re so cute. The person I became friends with first after joining Nogizaka was Denjirou then Minamin was after that, and we’ve stayed friends. Denjirou, Minamin, and RenTama get along too, so right now I have a lot of fun and feel really happy just by being near them all in the dressing room♪
Interviewer: What feeling do you get watching Yoda-san?
Ozono: This was maybe a year ago. She was probably busy at the time and she would get sick a lot, but that hasn’t happened much recently and she seems healthy.
Yoda: I’ve learned to take better care of myself. I’ve started thinking about what I can do to live a healthy life. I used to just eat things I like, but now I have a balanced diet. I also get enough sleep.
Ozono: When I think about how I shouldn’t eat something I get sad thinking about having eaten it and end up eating even more, so I don’t hold back on some things and eat what I want, but make sure to regulate the portions.
Interviewer: What foods have you been liking recently?
Ozono: Sea urchin. Minamin likes sea urchin too. So I go with her to a restaurant that has it. I’ve been there with Minamin, Denjirou, and RenTama. I researched and found it, but it’s a shop that has really fresh, tasty fish. I also go there when my Kagoshima friends visit. The portions are big so I can’t really go alone, so it’s somewhere I go when everyone’s around.
Interviewer: It’s been a while since you two did a photoshoot together, hasn’t it? Since “Nigemizu” maybe.
Yoda: That brings back memories.
Ozono: It really does.
Yoda: We really did our best, didn’t we?
Ozono: Yeah. It really feels like we gave it our all. Even looking back on it from where we are now, I’m not sure we’d be able to do it if it was today.
Yoda: During the break in the photoshoot earlier I was talking with Momo-chan and we were saying even if we were asked to do it again we’d have to say there’s no way. (laughs)
Ozono: It was that hard.
Yoda: There was so much pressure.
Ozono: We were so busy we didn’t even time to feel like we were in a tight spot.
Yoda: We were busy, there was the pressure, and we didn’t even know what we should do, but time kept passing.
Interviewer: It’s been just about three years since then.
Ozono: I’ve stopped panicking.
Yoda: That’s true. From nervousness and stuff.
Ozono: Even though I was so busy with the Birthday Live.
Yoda: Yeah, same here.
Ozono: The 4th gens are so good at remembering things. The result being that we’re the two worst at memorizing stuff. (laughs)
Yoda: Ah. I was perfect this time.
Ozono: Eh, that’s amazing.
Yoda: I was mostly perfect. Compared to last year.
Interviewer: How was “Nigemizu”?
Yoda: The “Nigemizu” at the Birthday Live was supposed to have different choreo and we switched back to the original at the last minute, but it feels really comforting doing the original. (laughs)
Ozono: “Nigemizu” is one of the few songs that I can be that confident about.
Yoda: Truly. It’s so relieving.
Ozono: The lyrics are great, aren’t they?
Yoda: Yeah. They really hit home.
Interviewer: I imagine you were aiming for certain dreams and ideals at the time, but what about now?
Yoda: I was so desperate to keep up with what was going on at the time that I didn’t have a set dream, but the reality was completely different from what I imagined. Before becoming an idol I thought they were so brilliant, cute, and wonderful and thought it’d be amazing to join, but once I actually did I felt like the pressure was going to crush me and there were times I got so overwhelmed that I wanted to run away.
Ozono: I’ve stopped agreeing to things I can’t do and things that are unreasonable. Huh, there are a lot of unreasonable things, aren’t there? I used to think there was no helping it, but it really is strange.
Yoda: Same here. But if I think it over and decide it’s something I can manage, I’ll give it some thought and take action, but if there’s nothing I can do about it, I think it’s a waste of energy to worry about it and just go to sleep.
Interviewer: Is there any place better than Nogizaka for you?
Yoda: Probably not. There’s nothing I particularly want to do when I go back home, but there are things I still need to do in Nogizaka. I don’t know if there’ll ever be a time when I have no regrets, but I’ll keep doing my best until that time comes.
Interviewer: What kind of group is Nogizaka?
Ozono: A kind one. That’s what I can’t abandon it like I want to. If it was a place I really hated I wouldn’t care what people thought and I could just selfishly quit, but the staff and the members are all so kind, so I can’t bring myself to abandon it.
Yoda: You’re right. That’s why I think we need to do our best.
Interviewer: Shiraishi Mai announced her graduation. How do you feel?
Ozono: Like the end is coming. After Shiraishi-san graduates I won’t be able to see her as often, and when I think about how I won’t be able to see her even without plans anymore like I have ever since “Nigemizu”… We’ve gotten along ever since we did a gravure shoot together and the time I was able to spend with her feels like a dream.
Yoda: I really felt that same way when Nanase-san graduated. It was completely normal that we’d see each other almost every day for work, but now I don’t see her that often.
Ozono: We were split up and allowed to do pair work, weren’t we? Me and Shiraishi-san, you and Nishino-san. We didn’t know anything so we relied on the people closest to us. Shiraishi-san and Nishino-san were the closest ones at the time and became our supports.
Interviewer: What’s the third generation like now?
Yoda: Recently us 3rd gens went to shoot an MV for a new coupling song together, and that day had me thinking about how it really is relaxing and comforting to be there with everyone and how being together makes me feel happy. It was fun.
Ozono: Yeah, it was fun. We’re all maturing so we were more coordinated than before which was a relief. I can somehow feel a bit confident when I’m with the 3rd gens. I think we’re strong if we come together.
Yoda: Yeah, we’ve got the power.
Ozono: I watch the 1st gens perform songs together and think how amazing it’d be if they were all there, and the 2nd gens have their strong teamwork. It feels like we 3rd gens all feel strong when we’re together and it was reassuring.
Yoda: Yep, yep. I feel it too. It feels like we’re quickly getting stronger. At the recent Birthday Live I also felt relieved, or maybe like I had more fun than usual.
Interviewer: The center for the new third generation song is Kubo-san, isn’t it?
Yoda: She kind of brings us all together. She’s younger, but she really has it together and whenever someone is absent from dance lessons, can’t participate in rehearsals, or is doing the wrong moves she’ll comprehensively tell them how it’s done. She’s incredibly helpful and it’s reassuring having Kubo-chan as center.
Interviewer: The third generation seems to have a really nice atmosphere. What is happiness to you two?
Yoda: Hardships happens as you just live your normal life, don’t they? There are things that are painful or difficult, but those times won’t last forever, so I go about my life thinking about how there’ll be happy things ahead. It’s because there are hardships that even trivial things can make you happy. Usually, if I’m not suffering over something, even things of no particular importance can make me feel happy.
Ozono: I think about the future. I’ll think things like “I have the day off tomorrow, so I’ll eat breakfast,” and “Okay, if I’m going to do that I’ll make it tonight.” When I do, tomorrow morning becomes a happy time. I think that maybe by thinking about the future and taking action the amount of happiness in my life will increase.
Interviewer: So not any big dreams.
Ozono: That’s right, I’m fine with something in the immediate future. I think about things like, “this week I have this day off so maybe someone else does too,” and maybe I’ll feel happy if I just set aside some time.
Interviewer: It’d be great if we could always be happy.
Yoda: It would, but I get the feeling it’s impossible to maintain happiness. If you could maintain it you’d start taking it for granted and it’d just be your everyday life. I mean, happiness isn’t an everyday thing.