2 years after their last album, Morning Musume have released their 9th album “Platinum 9 DISC” including 4 singles, featuring album versions of live songs and solo songs for the first time. Listen to this album, attend their spring tour, have a taste of the recent Morning Musume and feel the revolution!

- Your highly anticipated new album “Platinum 9 DISC” has been released. We want you to tell us more about the album-exclusive songs. “SONGS” is a perfect opening song, raising the curtains like a marching band, isn’t it?
Takahashi Ai: It is. It gives you the feeling that something is about to start.
Niigaki Risa: When the song starts, you get fired up and it’s really cool too. We’ve been talking about how we can’t wait to perform it live.
- Don’t you think this song is a perfect opening song for concerts too?
Michishige Sayumi: Ahh, that’s a very good question. (lol)
Takahashi: It’s a secret though. (lol)
- The third song “Ame no furanai hoshi de wa aisenai darou?” is a regular in Hello!Project concerts, but this time it’s been released on CD for the first time as a Morning Musume song.
Tanaka Reina: First time? ….. You’re right! It didn’t feel that way since we sing it often.
Niigaki: In this version, the chorus is sung by Morning Musume members only, but we split up into 2 groups to sing the high and low-pitched parts, so I think it has a new feel to it.
- What did you think about the Chinese lines in the chorus of this song, Junjun and Linlin?
Linlin: I was very happy. I feel close to this song since it has Chinese lines. I could put my feelings into it too.
Junjun: Fans said that they were close to tears when they heard us sing in Chinese in a concert and now they try their hardest to sing the Chinese parts with us in concerts. I’m happy that even if we sing in Chinese, it still reaches the fans’ hearts.
- 4th song “Take off is now!” and 9th song “Jounetsu no kiss wo hitotsu” are 2 songs of a different type sung by Ai-chan, Risa-chan and Reina-chan.
Tanaka: It’s the first time that the same combination of members got to sing 2 songs (in one album).
Niigaki: We’ve performed “Take off~” already a few times in concerts and it was really fun.
- Since “Take off~” is a cool number, the atmosphere in the concert hall completely changes when you perform it, doesn’t it?
Tanaka: Aren’t you curious about what the fans think of this song?
Niigaki: I am. The only thing I know is that when we’re dancing during “Take off~”, all the fans are just standing there staring at us. I feel like “Eh! What? I’m being watched!!”. (lol)
Takahashi: As for “Jounetsu~” on the other hand, it’s one of the songs I want the fans to listen to carefully. The lyrics are quite mature.
Niigaki: They really are. You’ll see when you read the lyrics…
Takahashi: It’s about things you normally don’t get to experience as a woman or how do you call it, it’s meaningful, it’s a song about a second woman…. How do you call it?
Mitsui Aika: (Quickly) Adultery? (lol)
Takahashi: Right. That’s it. (lol) That’s why I think these 2 songs are both surprising in their own way. It makes you think “So they’re trying out this kind of songs too.”.
- 5th song “Watashi no Miryoku ni Kidzukanai Donkan na Hito” is Aika-chan’s solo song.
Mitsui: I was very happy since it’s my first solo song. But at the same time I felt a lot of pressure and when I performed it for the first time during the previous tour, I was very nervous during the whole concert and felt like crying. Nervousness really gets the better of me. But the fans were totally fired up and I felt like I had overcome a hurdle after it. It’s still a secret, but I might get to perform it in the current tour too, so please look forward to it.
Michishige: The way you just said it, you totally gave it away. (lol)
- 7th song “Guruguru JUMP” is sung by Koharu-chan, Junjun and Linlin and it was already performed in the previous tour.
Kusumi Koharu: This song is so much fun that you could almost say it was written for live concerts. In this song, you can mess around as much as you want. When I sing this song, I feel like I’m part of the 8th gen. (lol)
Linlin: When I sing this song and hear the intro, my tension rises in an instant. It steadily rises until I feel like flying off into the heavens. (lol)
Junjun: When I heard that I’ll sing this song, I got very nervous. This song is cheerful and cute and I was worried if I can express all that. Kusumi-san and Linlin were born in the Heisei period (1989–present), while I was born in the Showa period (1926–1989). (lol) But when I sing it and dance to it, I feel like a child again and the fans dance with us in concerts too. Now it’s a lot of fun.
- 10th song “It’s You” is Sayumi-chan’s solo song.
Michishige: It’s the first time I got to sing a solo album song, so I was really happy. Therefore I really want you all to listen to it, but there are those spoken lines in this song. Thinking about how you’ll get to hear those lines makes me feel so embarrassed… Ummm, everyone who’ll listen to the album after reading “Kindai”, please prepare yourselves before you listen to it. (lol)
- The melody of the song as well as the atmosphere of the song feels different from your usual character, doesn’t it?
Kamei Eri: Like a little devil.
Niigaki: That’s right. When I first heard that Sayumin will sing alone, I thought it’d be a cute song, but when I actually listened to it, I was surprised that it’s the cool and sexy type of song.
Takahashi: It’s embarrassing for you because it’s different from your usual character.
Michishige: In this song, it’s more like I’m looking down on others than acting spoiled…
Kamei: You’re always like that though. (lol)
- 12th song “Kataomoi no Owari ni” is Eri-chan’s solo song.
Kamei: This song is about a boy and a girl who have always been good friends and about the feelings of the girl who wonders if they think of each other as more than just friends. You often say “It’s only fun until you start dating.”, right? It’s a cute song about the little feelings of excitement in one-sided love like “We talked a lot on the phone today”, “I wonder if he’ll feel the same for me one day~?”, so I found it was easy to sing.
- Well then, the spring concert tour that accompanies this album has started.
Takahashi: This time, it’s different from all our tours so far. There are many opportunities for each member to shine, so I want you to pay special attention to each one of us. It’s full of surprises too in terms of the choice of songs to be performed and choice of members to perform them.
Kamei: I think it will betray all expectations in a good sense.
Tanaka: There won’t be many songs we all 9 sing together, but when we do sing together, I think it’ll feel even more powerful.
- Now the last question. Since you’ve released your 9th album with 9 members, I’m sure the number “9″ is a fated number for the current Morning Musume, but please tell us your individual lucky numbers or favorite numbers.
Mitsui: “397″. It was my entry number in the audition.
Takahashi: Amazing that you still remember it.
Mitsui: Mom told me “Your number means “bloom” (sa ku na = 397). Bloom like a flower.”. I remember she asked “Isn’t that why you won the audition?” and I replied “You’re saying I won because of my entry number?!”. I like the number 397.
Michishige: It’s “4″ for me because you read it like the “shi” in “shiawase” (happiness). I use my lucky number whenever I need a number.
Takahashi: The first number that came to my mind is “0″. If you were to express “0″ as a color, I think it’d be white. It’s like it can turn into anything.
Junjun: “2″ for me. In Chinese, you pronounce “2″ like “Ai” (love). I think loving someone and being loved by everyone is something to be very happy about. That’s why 2 is my favorite number.
- Your birthday is in February too.
Junjun: Ahh, I hadn’t thought about that. (lol)
Niigaki: It’s “8″ for me. I was born at exactly 8:08 and it seems like many things related to the number 8 kept happening from when I was small, so Mom and Dad told me “8 means infinity, it’s your lucky number.”. Now I always overly aware of the number 8.
Linlin: “3″ for me. I was born in March, I joined Morning Musume in March too and I’m 154.3cm.
Kusumi: It’s “7″ for me. The audition I won is the “Lucky 7 Audition”, my debut single was the 27th Morning Musume single, released on July 27th and my Tsukishima Kirari debut single was released in July too. 7 in all of them. Even my birthday is in July.
Tanaka: It’s “1″ for me. My birthday is on November 11th of the 1st year of Heisei, so I thought it might be 11, but I chose 1 because “number one” is always good.
Kamei: I think it’s “1223″ for me…
Takahashi: Your birthday.
Kamei: You noticed?
Michishige: It’s the first thing one would guess. I bet you just couldn’t come up with any other number. (lol)
Kamei: Well, don’t you think your birth date is a lucky number? That’s why I use it for the PIN of my phone too…
Everyone: EH!?
Takahashi: You can’t tell others your PIN! Change it directly after this!
Kamei: Nah, the PIN is more than 4 numbers. Of course there are more numbers after the 1223.
Takahashi: I said don’t tell others about your PIN! (lol)

Takahashi Ai
Born 1986 in Fukui prefecture. She joined Morning Musume as a 5th generation member in 2001. Since June, 2007 she’s been serving as the 6th leader. She appeared in dramas like “Tenka Souran ~ Tokugawa Sandai no Inmou”, “Hitmaker Aku Yu Monogatari” etc. In 2008, she starred in the 2 plays “Ojigi 30do” and “Cinderella the Musical”. Morning Musume’s tribute album to Aku Yu “COVER YOU” has been released too.

A master of kendo brimming with curiosity…… Takahashi Ai-san plays the role of high school student Kana in “Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou” (NHK production / at 8pm on Thursdays).
“I took kendo lessons before the filming started, but it was the first time for me to hold a fencing stick and I was dripping with sweat because the uniform was so heavy. I’m supposed to be a master of kendo, but since I’m far from being one, I just stand around holding the sword and do my best trying to look like a master. (lol) But I can relate to Kana because she’s lively and bad at math like me.”
The story of the drama is about Kana solving difficult cases together with genius transfer student Sou (Nakamura Aoi). It’s a live-adaptation of a popular comic of the same title.
“The story is really interesting! I like ‘Detective Conan’ and ‘Kindaichi Case Files’ too and I often try to guess the criminal, but “Q.E.D.” surprises me every time because the criminal is someone I hadn’t even suspected. The viewers should try putting their detective skills to test too. The biggest difference from the original work is that Kana’s mother has passed away. The relationship between her and her father Koutarou is a highlight too, so I hope you’ll watch it together with your family.”
She’s normally active as Morning Musume’s leader, but this time she’s working without the other members.
“The dressing room seems more spacious without the members. (lol) But even if I’m not with them, we exchange mails and I still feel close to them. In 2008, we could play a tour through Asia which was our hearts’ desire and we’ve been running at full speed for the whole year. I want to make 2009 a year where we 9 can make a big jump with all the experience each one of us have gained.”
She let us peek into the world of a level-headed, leaderesque woman.

Page 2:

Drama8
“Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou”
NHK production 8:00~8:45pm

A murder has been commited at an altitude of 10.000 feet!

This is an entertaining mystery drama about the unusual combination of an energetic female high school student and a genius male student solving cases in a logical manner.

It all starts with Sou(Nakamura) transferring into Kana(Takahashi)’s class one day. Wondering why such an exceptionally intelligent boy would transfer into a normal high school, Kana forcibly drags him to a skydiving event. The Japanese skydiving delegation is putting on a show there, but suddenly one of the members starts falling down like a rock. As that man Nomaki(Honda Daisuke) hits the ground, he’s dead with a knife stuck in his back where his parachute was. The members say that he was alive before the jump, but then who stabbed him with a knife at an altitude of 10.000 feet?
Kana’s dad Mizuhara (Ishiguro), who is a detective, starts looking for the truth.

caption #1: Kana and Sou run into a murder case at a skydiving event

caption #2: Kana and her father Koutarou quarrel all the time

Staff & Cast
Original work / Motohiro Katou
Script / Fujimoto Yuki and others
Direction / Iseda Masaya and others
Cast / Takahashi Ai, Nakamura Aoi, Ishiguro Ken and others

Introduction of the characters:
Mizuhara Koutarou (Ishiguro Ken)
He’s Kana’s dad and a detective. He has a scary look and a good constitution, but lacks a bit of common sense. 45 years old.

Touma Sou (Nakamura Aoi)
He’s a genius boy who graduated from the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15. He lives alone in a mansion and has a weak constitution. 17 years old.

Mizuhara Kana (Takahashi Ai)
She’s in 2nd year of high school. She’s not good at studying, but her kendo skills are extraordinary. She’s brimming with curiosity and energy and drags around Sou a lot. 17 years old.

Nishimaru Hiroki (Nakayama Takuya)
A member of the kendo club. Even though he’s a guy, he doesn’t stand a chance against Kana. He doesn’t like the genius Sou. 17 years old.

Kousaka Madoka (Nakamura Shizuka)
A member of the Kendo club. She’s always amazed at how much of a scatterbrain Kana is and makes sharp comments. 17 years old.

Umemiya Eriko (Chikage)
She’s a classmate of Kana and a member of the kendo club. She’s a very ordinary high school girl. 17 years old.

Yamamoto Kouji’s “Let’s take a little break!”

45th guest:
TAKAHASHI AI
(Morning Musume)

Takahashi Ai-chan is the youngest guest of this corner so far. Host Yamamoto, confronted by Aichan’s breathtaking cuteness, completely turned into a grandfather figure sighing “How lovely she is~” during the interview. Ai-chan, who is usually busy with concerts and plays, was chosen to play the role of the heroine in the NHK drama8 “Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou”! The drama is being filmed right now and will air in January, just like the special of the historic drama “Kagero no Tsuji ~ Inemuri Iwane Edo Soshi” with host Yamamoto in the leading role. This is the talk of these two lead actors of NHK dramas.

Yamamoto Kouji: Well, wow… *grin*
Takahashi Ai: Eh? (lol)
Yamamoto: You’re really cute… (lol)
Takahashi: No, no, not at all. (lol) Yamamoto-san, we were both guests in Gussan’s show once! (watch it on Youtube)
Yamamoto: Back then… I didn’t do anything, did I? (lol)
Takahashi: No. (lol)
Yamamoto: I was just sitting there drinking. I’m sorry. (lol) This is the first time we get to talk properly like this, I’ll be in your care today!
Takahashi: I’ll be in your care too!
Yamamoto: You’re going to play the leading role of the NHK drama “Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou” in January. Has the filming already ended now?
Takahashi: No, not yet, today I came here straight from the film set!
Yamamoto: I see, thank you for coming here when you’re so busy! What kind of role is it? I heard it’s a mystery story.
Takahashi: Yes! It’s a live adaptation of a manga. I play the role of a girl who solves different cases together with the genius boy Touma-kun (Nakamura Aoi), who graduated from an American university at the age of 15. She’s basically hopping around him all the time.
Yamamoto: She hops around him? (lol)
Takahashi: Yes, she drags Touma-kun around a lot. (lol)
Yamamoto: Hoh… (lol) So she doesn’t say “I’ll solve this case on my own!”. Does she give him hints and stuff?
Takahashi: Ummm, she doesn’t. (lol)
Yamamoto: She doesn’t, I see. (lol)
Takahashi: But since Touma-kun is a very shy person, his classmates stay away from him and she thinks of ways to bring him together with them. That’s how meddlesome she is. She also often drags him along to a crime scene and tells him to solve the case.
Yamamoto: Heh, she’s very energetic. I see. (lol) How’s the atmosphere in the NHK recording studio?
Takahashi: It’s a lot of fun! When I think about how NHK broadcasts their program into the whole world, it’s amazing. (lol) But I’m not used to the set of a drama yet, so everything is new to me right now! I learn a lot of different things from the people around me!
Yamamoto: It’s nice to hear that! But you know, you’ve been doing your best in Morning Musume as a singer and as a result you’re well-known nationwide, even among small children, right? When I was on the set of “Shinsengumi!“, I thought to myself “Ahh, music artists are really amazing, no one could beat them.”. There was this little boy on the film set, I think he was about 2 years old. He said “Shingo!” when he saw Katori Shingo-kun! I thought being recognized by such small children must give you a different kind of energy. I think no matter how hard I try and keep acting, I’ll never get recognized by 1 or 2 year old children. (lol) But Aichan, you’re really… sparkling.
Takahashi: No, no. (lol)
Yamamoto: How old are you now?
Takahashi: I’m 22.
Yamamoto: I see, no, you’re really sparkling. Where are you from?
Takahashi: I’m from Fukui prefecture.
Yamamoto: Eh! From Fukui prefecture?! There aren’t many people from Fukui in show business.
Takahashi: There’s Itsuki Hiroshi-san!
Yamamoto: Ohh, I see. (lol) So this sparkle is from Fukui prefecture…
Takahashi: There was an audition and I joined Morning Musume at the age of 14.
Yamamoto: I remember that audition!
Takahashi: Thank you very much. (lol) But I had a lot of trouble because I couldn’t get used to standard Japanese. Even when I was with the Morning Musume members, my dialect would show and I used to get scolded for it a lot.
Yamamoto: For example?
Takahashi: “Haya, shinema!”
Yamamoto: …!?
Takahashi: When I said it, everyone reacted like “Eh?”! It means “Hurry up and do it”, but everyone thought “She just told me to hurry up and die…”.
Yamamoto: That’s what I thought too. (lol)
Takahashi: It doesn’t mean that. (lol) There’s also “chokin”. “Ochokin, shinema!”.
Yamamoto: “Save up money”?
Takahashi: It means “Sit correctly!”.
Yamamoto: Heh! That’s interesting. But now you speak standard Japanese perfectly, right? So you fixed it.
Takahashi: I used to take lessons from a teacher for standard Japanese. (lol)
Yamamoto: Teacher for standard Japanese?
Takahashi: There was an announcer in my agency and he taught me.
Yamamoto: Hoh! Then you got used to standard Japanese. (lol) And now you’re the heroine of an NHK drama! I see, since you joined Morning Musume at the age of 14, you’ve been a member for 8 years… You’re the leader now, right?
Takahashi: Yes! I’m the oldest member of Morning Musume.
Yamamoto: Ehhhhh, really?! That’s a bit of a shock. (lol) You play concerts and act in dramas. In plays too, right?
Takahashi: Yes. I’ve loved musicals so much that I wanted to join Takarazuka before joining Morning Musume. That’s why I like watching musicals on off days and it’s of course fun to take part in a musical myself too.
Yamamoto: Have you watched any of my plays? I’m starring in a musical right now.
Takahashi: Ah, I’m sorry, I haven’t yet… (lol)
Yamamoto: It’s ok, it’s ok. (lol) Are there plays you’d like to star in, in the future?
Takahashi: For example, the play “Les Misérables” where you starred in or the play “Elizabeth” which is currently being performed! I went to NY with my mom when I was 19 and I watched “Producers”, “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Blue Man Group” there. While watching, I thought I’d love to be one of the actresses. I’ve had the opportunity to take part in quite a few plays so far and I’ve really come to think that a play is something that’s alive. Even if you perform the same play again and again, it feels different every time. Like when you’ve performed it in a certain way today, you decide to do it in a different way tomorrow, it all changes according to the way you feel. Thus the play is completely different on the first day and on the final day. It’s probably not supposed to be like that though…
Yamamoto: No, no, I think it’s a good thing! First of all, I think it’s true that the play is different every time. There are often people who don’t watch a play more than once because they think it’s a repetition of the same thing everyday, but it’s not the same. Today I’ll do it better than yesterday, tomorrow I’ll do it better than today etc. Humans tend to aim gradually higher… I also try to aim as high as possible on the first day of a play, but as soon as the curtains rise and you see the guests on the seats look at you, everything starts moving by itself. I’m sure there’s a lot you can learn from that. Definitely. Of course, there are times when you stumble and fall too. Are you the type to get depressed in times like that?
Takahashi: Shortly after joining Morning Musume, I got scolded because I couldn’t get things done correctly and I was so depressed that I looked down all the time.
Yamamoto: Hee… So you get scolded too, huh?
Takahashi: By my coaches for example.
Yamamoto: Not by your senpai? (lol)
Takahashi: I get advice from my senpai.
Yamamoto: Are they scary? (lol)
Takahashi: (lol) But they don’t scold me in a way that makes me resent them afterwards, so I’m rather thankful!
Yamamoto: And who scolds you in a way that makes you want to resent them?
Takahashi (lol) Since I’m the oldest members now, I’m in the position to scold the younger members. Now I can understand how my senpai must have felt back then and I know how difficult it must have been for them. I respect them for that!
Yamamoto: I see… Is there anything you’d scold me for right now?
Takahashi: No. (lol)
Yamamoto: Really? (lol) What do you do on off days?
Takahashi: I go shopping or go out like everyone else. I’m more the type to do something outside on off days!
Yamamoto: The type that thinks it’s a waste to stay at home all the time?
Takahashi: Yes! But even now, it sometimes happens that I get scouted when I’m walking around on my own outside. (lol)
Yamamoto: No way! Seriously? Some scout that was. (lol) Don’t you say anything then? Like “WHO do you think I am?”. (lol)
Takahashi: I don’t!! (lol)
Yamamoto: I bet I would have! (lol) What else do you do on off days?
Takahashi: I go watch musicals or go to dance lessons.
Yamamoto: Lessons on off days! That’s admirable! You must be very busy right now with the concerts and the filming of the drama.
Takahashi: But it’s a nice change of mood to go from one to the other. For example, playing a concert after filming is really fun. The cheers of the fans give me a lot of power too!
Yamamoto: I’ve never been to a Morning Musume concert… I never really had the opportunity to and don’t you think I’d totally stand out if I went to one? (lol)
Takahashi: No, it’ll be alright! Please come to our concerts, by all means. (lol)
Yamamoto: The cheers of the fans are all in sync too, right?
Takahashi: When it’s a member’s birthday, the fans all shout her name in sync during the encore!
Yamamoto: Ohh! That’s what I call love! But there are quite a lot of people who have never been to a Morning Musume concert, but are actually closet fans! For example in karaoke bars, everyone’s going off on Morning Musume songs. (lol)
Takahashi: Ehh, I’m happy to hear that. (lol)
Yamamoto: It’s really fun to sing Morning Musume songs with everyone. (lol) But when I’m talking to you like this, Ai-chan, I get the impression that you’re someone who never runs out of energy. There are people like that. I’ve always been doing this job, so I’ve become unable to tell off days apart from work days. That’s why I can be full of energy at work and in my free time, but when I’m tired from work, I’m tired on off days too. This might sound highbrow, but these two sides together make up what we call “life”. I think I have to draw the line somewhere. If you manage to open your heart, it’s possible to change anything into something fun, no matter how tough it is… When you think about it like this, you start-… I’m sorry for lecturing you like an old man. (lol)
Takahashi: It’s not like that at all. (lol)
Yamamoto: When you ever have some free time and don’t know how to spend it… and when I’m starring in a musical at that time… please come watch it… well, only if you feel like it. (lol)
Takahashi: I’d definitely like to go watch it! Honestly! (lol)
Yamamoto: I think I’ll watch your drama too. Thank you very much for today! I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now… you smell wonderful. (lol)
Takahashi: My make up artist put on body cream for me. (lol)
 

Today’s “After the little break…”

Yamamoto: I think I turned into an old man or should I say I was turned into an old man by today’s talk. (lol) As I expected, it was amazing because she was overflowing with energy! I could never match that sparkling energy of hers! That’s why today, after talking to someone who had that kind of energy, I think a little of that sparkle (lol) might have… somehow… rubbed off on me. (lol) But even though she’s that cute, I noticed how level-headed she is when I talked to her!! When I ever get the opportunity to attend one of her concerts, I’d definitely take it, even though I’d be very nervous in a sense. (lol)

Let’s greet the new year in B.L.T. style with Morning Musume dressed in their finest kimono!

THE CHARMING FIGURES OF THE 9 MUSUME IN KIMONO

It’s become a yearly custom, and B.L.T. can’t really start the new year without this. Kimono and Morning Musume. Now, this is a combination that calls for celebration, isn’t it? Please enjoy the comments from each member which show how much they’ve grown in this year.

Ai Takahashi
In 2008, we performed the play “Ojigi 30do ON STAGE”, “Cinderella the Musical” and we were also able to tour Asia. It was a year full of new challenges. Personally, the biggest news for me was that I was chosen for the leading role of the drama “Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou”. The drama will start airing in January next year, so I hope lots of people will watch it. As for Morning Musume, I think the biggest theme in 2008 was the Asian tour. In 2009, I hope we’ll face even bigger challenges and many more people will get to know Morning Musume!

Risa Niigaki
2008 had many new challenges in store for us. The musical was an especially big challenge for me since the role I had to play wasn’t only that of a man, but that of a prince. I learned a lot from it e.g. about singing. Having learned how to sing properly from my belly, I could make use of it in the concerts after the musical. In our cover album, I could challenge songs of new genres too. It was tough at times, but very fulfilling too. In 2009, I want us to take on many new challenges without ever taking for granted that we can play concerts and challenge new things. I also hope that we’ll have more opportunities to meet our fans face to face!

Eri Kamei
Speaking from my point of view, 2008 is the year where I bought many boots. Sometimes I bought two pairs of shoes in my favorite store. Of course I restrained myself from buying other things to compensate for it. As for work, there’s my new photobook. I’m laughing really naturally in many of the pictures. The photobook is a perfect new starting point for the 20 year old Eri. In 2009, I’d like to become better at singing and dancing. The situation has changed compared to the time when I had many senpai, so I think I have to become even better at it. Even I feel that kind of responsibility, you know? (lol) That’s why in 2009, I want to show that I’m serious.

Sayumi Michishige
A lot of things happened in 2008 and time passed in the blink of an eye. I’m most thankful for the many concerts we could play. In 2008, my approach to concerts has changed. Earlier I used to think that it’s enough if both the guests and I enjoy it, but now I started thinking that we all 9 have to do our best together in concerts. I’ll turn 20 in 2009, but I’ve become too aware of the fact that I’m turning 20… When I look at Gakisan, I think she has changed since she turned 20. That’s why I want to become an adult like her while staying cute!

Reina Tanaka
“Ojigi 30do ON STAGE” was in 2008 too, right? It feels like it was such a long time ago. During our concerts in Taiwan, when we were separately performing our solo songs, I was moved when I saw the color of the penlights of the audience change to the color of the member on the stage. The fanclub tour in Hawaii was fun too and we were very close to our fans this time. If you didn’t know, you’d think we’re all friends. It was fun to talk to my fans like we were just friends. I’ll turn 20 in 2009 and my intuition tells me that the year 2009 has some new developments in store for us. When I think about it, I get nervous and excited at the same time. There’s lots of things I want to do too, so whatever may come, Reina is INVINCIBLE!

Koharu Kusumi
As for memories of 2008, the best one is when I ate huge fried prawns! I love prawns a lot, but what I ate was about 30 cm long and it really was prawns. Another big news for me is that I started raising a dog called Rui-kun. As for work… I was able to play “Kirarin☆Revolution” concerts and the Hawaii tour was fulfilling too. In 2009, I’ll make my dreams come true one by one and jump higher in concerts than the fans! If you ask me what my dreams are, I don’t really know yet. I don’t think I’ll know until they’ve come true. That’s why I’m looking forward to it. Everyone please look forward to it too~♪

Aika Mitsui
In 2008, I was very happy that I could have an event in my home area Shiga for the first time. It was the last episode of my own radio show and I invited Kamei-san to it. I took part in a musical for the first time too and of course I was worried first, but it was a relief that Michishige-san was with me all the time. As for my private life, I kept saying again and again that I wanted to have a Siberian Husky and I couldn’t get one, but I got myself a dog of a different race. In concerts, I was really happy to get my own solo song, but it pushed me to my limit and I let my head hang down. That’s why I want to become able to perform in a more impressive manner in 2009.

Junjun
I was very happy that we could tour Asia for the first time and play concerts in my mother country. I went to Hawaii for the first time on our fanclub tour! I sang a song solo for the first time. I was so very nervous that I confused the lyrics, but the fans were so kind and sang together with me. The Olympic games in Beijing were in 2008 too, right? We were having our musical at that time, but no matter how late I got home I still turned on the TV to watch it. In 2009, I want us to play more concerts and make more promotion in China. And since I’m already 20, I want to become a cool adult. Well… I don’t think anything about me will change though. (lol)

Linlin
I was happiest about the concerts in Shanghai because my mom and dad came to watch us. But it was a bit sad that they didn’t pay much attention to me and only said “The Morning Musume are so cute!” afterwards. (lol) Going to Hawaii for the first time was fun too. The Spam in Hawaii was so delicious that I ate it everyday. When I returned to Japan, I had eaten so much Spam that I feared I’d get a Spam-like figure. (lol) My biggest goal for 2009 is to grow taller. I said it in 2008 too and I only grew a bit, so I’ll stick to this dream. I also hope that all the fans will stay healthy and everyday will be fun for them.

I enjoy acting without being too conscious of the fact that I’m playing the “role of a high school student”!

After becoming an outstanding member of Morning Musume, this will be your first leading role in a drama! You’re supposed to play the role of a high school student at the age of 22, was it difficult to act the part?

“Without thinking too much about how a high school student would act, I just act like how I would in that situation because Kana-chan isn’t an overly cutesy girl and her personality resembles mine in many ways. I guess being similar in certain aspects makes it easier for me to play her role. But what’s different about her is that she’s quite aggressive. I don’t think I meddle with others’ affairs like she does. (lol)”

Are you getting along with the other actors?

“Nakamura (Aoi)-kun is a real high school student, so he’s as youthful as you’d expect. (lol) When I first met Ishiguro (Ken)-san, I was really nervous. He plays the role of my father, but his face was so close to mine in our first scene. *embarrassed* Ishiguro-san is very kind and he even came to me to give me the advice that ‘it’s difficult to express emotions when you blink too much.’. I thought he’s as amazing as I expected him to be.”

Then please tell us what we should pay attention to when watching the drama!

“The story is about Kana-chan played by me and Touma-kun played by Nakamura-kun solving different cases e.g. murder cases, problems on campus etc. The story is full of variety and since the episodes are self-contained, you can watch it at ease without having to worry about missing an episode. But the drama gets more and more exciting as it nears it’s final episode, so I recommend to you to watch all of them!”

By the way, are you good at guessing the criminal in detective stories?

“Not at all… When I read a book and try to guess the criminal, I ALWAYS pick the wrong person. (lol)”

The role of a person who thinks more of others than herself

Right after coming in, she says “I’ll be in your care!” energetically and bows quickly. A cheerful 22 year old girl with good manners. She’s the 6th leader of “Morning Musume”. She’ll be playing the leading role in the NHK drama8 “Q.E.D. Shoumei Shuuryou” (Thursdays, 8pm) which will start airing on January 8th, next year.
“When I first heard of the role, I was very surprised. It was not until I got my hair made and I got to try on her costume that I realized that ‘it was all for real’”. She doesn’t hide her innocence.
It’s a mystery drama about two female and male high school students solving difficult cases. “The main protagonist thinks more of others than herself and acts without considering the consequences.”. However, “I usually practice my acting in the bath or in my bed, but it’s embarrassing when my mom’s around. (lol)” she says.
She took up acting because she was fascinated by Takarazuka. Later she passed an audition and joined “Morning Musume”. “I struggled through the first 2 years. Now I’m the oldest member and the leader, but the girl who’s the subleader is very helpful and reliable, so I can act like the silent father figure.”. She’s quite the lovely father.

Article: Kiyabu Kenji
Photo: Mitsunobu Satou

Notes

• 2004-10-30 「MBS YoungTown Doyoubi」 Official Site
• participants: Akashiya Sanma, Murakami Sho-ji, Tamai Kenji
• YanMusume: Takahashi Ai (20th appearance)
• guest: Yaguchi Mari appears as a pinch-hitter for regular Natsumi Abe who’s absent because of bad physical condition (it’s Yaguchi’s first appearance after 6 years)
• semi-regular Fujimoto Miki is absent too

Digest

• Opening
  • about Yaguchi’s return to Yantan after 6 years
  • about Sanma’s adventures at funerals and weddings
• Listener mail corner (18′46”)
  • about Yaguchi being an adult and Takahashi still being a kid
  • [Subject] Bobby Ologun will take part in K-1 (21′28”)
    • about Bobby’s first K-1 match
  • [Subject] Summary of Yaguchi’s first appearance in Yantan 6 years ago (30′03”)
    • about Yaguchi becoming the next leader of Morning Musume soon
    • about Sanma wanting to become Beyoncé in his show end-of-year show “Santaku”
      • about Morning Musume meeting Britney Spears last year
  • [Subject] Yaguchi’s interesting stories about Nacchi and Takahashi (44′18”)
    • Yaguchi talks about Takahashi’s dialect and about Nacchi being an airhead
• Listener mail corner - Part II (51′35”)
  • talk about Aichan’s indecisiveness when shopping and her 500 yen collection
  • [Subject] Takahashi should say a Yantan gag in Morning Musume’s concert in Osaka Jou Hall (59′54”)
    • Sanma and Sho-ji try to come up with a gag for Aichan
• Song: Morning Musume’s 「Namida ga Tomaranai Hougako」 (67′02”)
• “Listener wo iyashitai” corner (68′37”)
  • [Takahashi]
    • 「Yeees! Here you have a large serving of Aichan!」 (69′30”~)
    • 「I want to become good at it.」 (73′04”~)
  • [Yaguchi]
    • 「It’s ok. Today you can do anything you like.」 (71′41”~)
    • 「Tell me where it feels good.」 (75′17”~)
• Karaoke Box 「Sanchama」 (76′43”)
  • 「Tamai no scandal」 (parody of Checkers’ 「Ano ko to scandal」) Tamai sings it
• Ending (79′31”)
  • talk about how Yaguchi’s first Yantan after 6 years was

Detailed description

[Please click here to download the whole episode as a mp3-file.]

Opening

• Sanma’s opening talk:
• Since Sanma’s friend Shimada Shinsuke got involved in an incident resulting in an injury and had to take a break from hosting the show “Quiz Hexagon”, Sanma thought of hosting the show in his place and did a simulation with Sho-ji, Okure and Jimmy, but it was impossible to do with that kind of team because no one could answer a question right.
• When Sanma went to the funeral of Miyoko Asada’s mother and gave her incense money, Miyoko told him “You really try to solve everything with money, huh?” and left him speechless. She’s also the type to ask “Where’s the afterparty? Where’s the afterparty?” at someone’s funeral.
• When Sanma, Sho-ji and Jimmy went to a funeral, Jimmy’s jersey came off when he stood up to burn incense and he didn’t notice it because his legs went numb from sitting upright on the floor. So he was basically sitting there in front of everyone, burning incense with his ass exposed and according to Sho-ji, you could see his asshole too. After that incident, that family broke off all contact with Sanma and his gang.
• Once Sanma had to hold a speech at a marriage and he said “Then I’d like to propose a toast to the couple. Ehh… I think it’s the first time for the bride to hear a toast like this… Well, it’s the second time for the groom though.” and everyone went silent. Sanma didn’t know that the groom had kept his first marriage and divorce a secret from his bride and her family. When Sanma felt the tension in the air, he said “Sho-ji, let’s get the hell out of here.”. Sho-ji: “But then we won’t be able to taste the main steak!” Sanma: “We’ll get the hell out of here. This is no good….”
• Sanma talks about what Sho-ji said at a friend’s marriage. When the bride said in tears “From now on we’ll be living together.”, Sho-ji shouted “Haven’t you two been living together for half a year already?!”. Which made Sanma & co laugh, but the bride was embarrassed and speechless. Sanma: “Let’s get away from here. Hurry up and start the car!”.

Listener mail corner (18′46”)

first mail: Bobby Ologun will take part in K-1 (21′28”)

• Excerpts from the press conference were shown in Sanma’s show “Karakuri TV”.
• Bobby: “I want to end the match as quickly as possible.” Reporter: “Why?” Bobby: “Because I wanna go pound mochi in Tochigi.”
• Bobby’s opponent still hasn’t been decided yet. It’s a bit of a dilemma for the K-1 world: they have to make him fight against a famous fighter since Bobby is immensly popular, but none of the famous fighters want to risk losing to an amateur like Bobby. Of course no one expects Bobby to win, but K-1 is a sport where one weird blow from Bobby could knock the pro out.
• He had a practice match against Musashi and even Musashi admits that Bobby’s strong.

second mail: Summary of Yaguchi’s first appearance in Yantan 6 years ago (30′03”)

Sanma:	This is from “Nijuunenmae kara kawaranai Ootomo-san”. “Everyone at YanDo, good evening.”
Everyone:	Good evening.
Sanma:	“Today it’s Yaguchi-san’s first appearance in YanDo after 6 years (last appearance in June 1998)…”
Yaguchi:	Yes.
Sanma:	Eh? Why does he know all this?
Yaguchi:	Hahaha(lol)
Sho-ji:	How old were you then?
Yaguchi:	Umm… 6 years ago… I was 15.
Sho-ji:	Ueeh~
Yaguchi:	It was shortly after I joined.
Sanma:	Haaa…. “…so I listened to the Yantan episode of that time I had recorded on MD. Here’s a summary.”.
Yaguchi:	Eh? Eh?
Sanma:	It’s written here.
Yaguchi:	Yes.
Sanma:	“She appeared alongside her senpais Nacchi and Iida-san, and Ichii-san who’s from the same generation as her.”
Yaguchi:	Yes.
Sanma:	“But Kei-chan, who’s from the same generation too, wasn’t invited. Later Kei-chan complained about being the only one who didn’t get invited.”
Yaguchi:	Oh.
Sanma:	“Wada Akiko-san, who had coincidentally come to Takebashi station, came into the studio during commercials to greet Yaguchi-san and the others and caused Sanma-san, who was having a smoke, to panic.”
Yaguchi:	(lol)
Sho-ji:	Ah, that really happened. Wada Akiko…
Tamai:	Ahh….
Yaguchi:	Yes, it did. It was the first time I met her.
Sanma:	Whoa… “Yaguchi-san got to meet Beat Takeshi’s daughter, who announced her marriage the day before, in Music Station and was surprised at how “very mature she is even though they’re the same age”.”
Yaguchi:	Yes! This is nostalgic…
Sanma:	I see… It was when Shouko-chan performed as a singer in Music Station.
Yaguchi:	That’s right, we performed on the same day.
Takahashi:	You’re both the same age, huh?
Yaguchi:	Yeah.
Sanma:	“Sanma-san also said jokingly that “Yaguchi will probably start a solo career very soon”, but now it feels weird that that Yaguchi-san is about to become the oldest member of Morning Musume after Iida-san has graduated.” it says.
Yaguchi:	Hehehe(lol)
Sanma:	Eh, is Iida-san quitting?
Yaguchi:	Yes. She’ll graduate next year… and go solo.
Sanma:	Haaa… Then you’ll become the leader?
Yaguchi:	Yes, I will.
Sho-ji:	Ohhh.
Sanma:	Eh? It’s already decided that you’ll be the leader?
Yaguchi:	It is.
Sanma:	Whoa….
Yaguchi:	I’ll have to do my best starting next year. (lol)
Sho-ji:	Is it tough being the leader?
Yaguchi:	Being leader is… I wonder if it’s tough. The other members have all become reliable, so I don’t think it’ll be that tough.
Takahashi:	But you’re like a leader figure.
Yaguchi:	Really?
Takahashi:	You’ve been like one from the beginning.
Yaguchi:	No, no…
Sanma:	Right, right, she seems very reliable even though she looks like this. Well, she’ll become your leader, so I guess…
Takahashi:	Eh?
Sanma:	Eh? She’ll be your leader, right?
Takahashi:	She will.
Sanma:	Yeah, that would change your relationship, right?
Takahashi:	Ah, but you know? She teaches me many things, ya know?
Sanma:	What kind of things?
Everyone:	Haha(lol)
Sho-ji:	“…ya know?” (lol)
Takahashi:	Eh?
Sanma:	What kind of things for example?
Takahashi:	Yeah… What kind of things…
Sanma:	That’s my line.
Everyone:	Hahaha(lol)
Sho-ji:	She teaches you things, right?
Takahashi:	She does!
Sanma:	That’s why I’m asking you.
Sho-ji:	What kind of things?
Takahashi:	Umm… During dance lessons for example.
Sanma:	Ah! Is Yaguchi good at dancing?
Takahashi:	She’s good!
Yaguchi:	Eh, that’s not true at all.
Takahashi:	If there’s something I don’t understand, I ask her.
Sanma:	So in short, she can memorize the choreography quickly.
Takahashi:	Very quick!
Sanma:	Same with me!
Yaguchi:	Haha(lol) Is that so?
Takahashi:	Ahaha(lol)
Sanma:	No, I mean… (lol)
Sho-ji:	He’s always dancing around.
Sanma:	No, no, it’s not like that.
Tamai:	Since when are you in Morning Musume?
Sho-ji:	He’s always loved dancing.
Takahashi:	Ahhh~ Can you dance?
Sho-ji:	He’s currently practicing musical instruments, but he spends more time making up dance moves than playing instruments.
Sanma:	Haha(lol)
Takahashi:	Is that so?
Yaguchi:	Ehh?
Sho-ji:	No one expects you to come up with dances for the music, but Sanma-san is always like “You have to dance like this at this part.”.
Yaguchi:	Ahaha(lol)
Takahashi:	Ohh~
Sanma:	There’s a show called “SanTaku” I present with Kimura-kun at the end of every year.
Tamai:	Yes.
Sanma:	And last year I tried to become Eminem.
Yaguchi:	Yes.
Sanma:	And this year, I want to… become Beyoncé.
Yaguchi:	Ehhhh~?
Takahashi:	(lol) Beyoncé~~?!
Yaguchi:	How do you become her?!
Sanma:	Right now, I want to become Beyoncé the most.
Yaguchi:	Ehh? Why?
Sanma:	Because she’s so cool!
Yagu/Taka:	She IS cool, but…
Sho-ji:	Eh? What? Is that Beyoncé another…
Sanma:	She’s a dancer. A girl. It’s this one. The one I always imitate. ♪Oh-oh, oh-oh♪
Sho-ji:	Ahh, yes, yes.
Sanma:	♪Oh-oh, oh no no♪
Yagu/Taka:	HAHAHAHAHA(ROFL)
Yaguchi:	Yes, that’s it, that’s it. Haha(lol)
Sanma:	…(lol)
Sho-ji:	And that part…
Sanma:	I want to try that part. That ♪oh-oh, oh-oh♪ part. ♪Oh-oh, oh no no♪
Yagu/Taka:	Hahaha(lol)
Sanma:	It’s like her, right?
Yaguchi:	(lol) Yes…
Tamai:	It sounds a bit like Ondo music.
Takahashi:	Haha…. Hilarious…
Sanma:	♪Oh-oh, oh-oh♪ Right? ♪Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh no no♪ Right?
Yaguchi:	Yes.
Sanma:	It goes like ♪Dan-da-da-da-da-da~ Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh no no♪
Yagu/Taka:	Hahaha(lol)
Sanma:	She only moves her shoulders there. Not her hips.
Yaguchi:	Amazing… (lol)
Sanma:	Only black people could move that way.
Yaguchi:	You’re practicing a difficult part. Haha(lol)
Takahashi:	Hahaha(lol)
Tamai:	It might be the most difficult part of the dance.
Sanma:	When I thought it was easy, it was difficult as hell.
Tamai:	Yeah, that’s difficult.
Sanma:	Well, we still haven’t practiced it yet. The next time we both have some free time… Kimura-kun can dance it a bit, so he teaches it to me and we’ll perform it together.
Yaguchi:	Heee~ Amazing.
Sanma:	That’s why I learned… that you sholdn’t underestimate dancing. Yesterday I told him “Ah, that dance is really easy, isn’t it?” and showed him how I dance it. But he said “Keep a whole day open for it. It’ll take you a whole day to learn that part.”. I was like “Why the heck? I’ve already learned it!”. He said “You have not.”.
Everyone:	(lol)
Sanma:	I asked “Isn’t this how Beyoncé moves?”, but he told me “I’m telling you, that’s totally wrong!”.
Yaguchi:	Haha(lol)
Sanma:	Isn’t it like ♪Oh-oh, oh-oh♪?
Yaguchi:	Well…
Takahashi:	Nyahahaha(lol)
Yaguchi:	A whole day…
Sanma:	It’s like this, right? ♪Oh-oh, oh-oh♪
Yaguchi:	Well, it does look like it… (lol)
Tamai:	But you have to move to the rhythm.
Sanma:	♪Oh-oh♪… Eh? Can’t I do it freestyle?
Everyone:	Hahaha(lol)
Tamai:	There isn’t anything like freestyle… (lol)
Sho-ji:	That looked like the way Marcel-san as the “Chicken Lady” moves. (lol) (lol does he mean this?)
Sanma:	No one’s gonna understand that comparison!
Everyone:	Haha(lol)
Sho-ji:	The way a chicken moves… like this. (lol)
Sanma:	It’s Beyoncé! You don’t know Beyoncé, do you?
Sho-ji:	I don’t.
Takahashi:	Eh, you don’t know…?
Sanma:	Sho-ji doesn’t know. He never listens to western music.
Takahashi:	I see…
Sho-ji:	I don’t. If I listen to music, it’s usually Enka.
Yagu/Taka:	Ahh…
Sanma:	He listens to Enka and…
Sho-ji:	Takuro-san.
Sanma:	…folk music.
Yaguchi:	Yes, yes.
Sanma:	Also Begin.
Sho-ji:	Begin. I love Begin.
Sanma:	They sing ♪Shimanchu nu…♪ and other songs that piss you off.
Sho-ji:	(lol) I like their songs.
Sanma:	I want to try to become Beyoncé this time.
Tamai:	Hooo~
Sho-ji:	You say you want to, but it’s not been decided yet?
Sanma:	Nope. I want to.
Everyone:	Haha(lol)
Sanma:	Well, they all looked at me skeptically.
Sho-ji:	And they all tried to stop you.
Sanma:	No, they didn’t try to stop me. They were like “Can’t be helped if he wants it.”.
Sho-ji:	So they all wanted to make it possible for you, make your dream come true.
Sanma:	Looks like it.
Yaguchi:	Mmm…
Sanma:	Beyoncé is damn cool.
Yaguchi:	She is.
Sanma:	Right. She’ll come to Japan at the end of this year. Destiny’s Child will.
Takahashi:	Oh~
Tamai:	Yes.
Takahashi:	I didn’t know.
Sanma:	And we’re negotiating if they can appear in the Christmas show. The one I presented last year too.
Tamai:	Ohhhh.
Sanma:	Then I can meet Beyoncé.
Takahashi:	Oh! We got to meet Buri-chan last time.
Sanma:	Buri?
Takahashi:	Britney-san.
Sanma:	Eh?
Takahashi:	Britney-san.
Sanma:	Ah, right, right! Britney came last year.
Takahashi:	Yes.
Sanma:	You met her too, right?
Yagu/Taka:	Yes, I met her.
Sanma:	Her legs had grown fatter, wasn’t it a bit of a shock?
Yaguchi:	It was… It was different than seeing her on TV.
Sanma:	Totally different. I was shocked at how fat she had become!
Yaguchi:	Mmm…
Sanma:	I couldn’t say it back then, but the members of Tube said they were big fans of Britney and…
Yaguchi:	Yes, yes.
Sanma:	…they said “We’re so happy to meet the person we admire! Uwaa, you’re so pretty!”, but after Britney had gone to perform on stage they told me “Sanma-san, we’re in shock!”.
Yaguchi:	Ehhh~
Tamai:	Hahaha(lol)
Sanma:	“She’s become so fat!” (lol)
Takahashi:	Then aren’t you better off not meeting Beyoncé?
Sanma:	But Beyoncé should be alright~~
Yaguchi:	No, she’s quite…
Takahashi:	But she’s quite buff!
Sanma:	No way!
Yaguchi:	She has a small face, but…
Takahashi:	She’s really buff! I watched a lot of MTV when I was over there. When we were in Hawaii on our tour, I’ve been watching MTV all the time and Beyoncé was shown.
Sanma:	I have DVDs of her!
Takahashi:	Eh, but she’s quite buff, isn’t she?
Yaguchi:	Her waist is…
Sho-ji:	Is her face small?
Takahashi:	Her face is small, but…
Sanma:	But it’s cool that she’s so buff!
Tamai:	She’s quite buff.
Yaguchi:	I bet she trains hard.
Takahashi:	She’s good at dancing though.
Sanma:	I see..
Takahashi:	Pretty buff.
Tamai:	Her waist and her shoulders…
Sanma:	Yeah. She’s now said to be the best at dancing in the world, right?
Takahashi:	Ah, is that so?
Yaguchi:	Eh, I didn’t know.
Sanma:	I heard there are many ways she dances that can be only performed by her.
Yaguchi:	Ehh, amazing.
Sanma:	Ehhh… But even if they say that, it doesn’t tell me anything.
Tamai:	Haha(lol)
Sanma:	What exactly makes her the best?
Sho-ji:	I bet instead of that difficult dance, you’ll change into a cheerleader uniform on air anyway.
Sanma:	Don’t say stupid things!
Tamai:	Hahahaha(lol)
Sho-ji:	Dancing like a cheerleader all alone.
Yaguchi:	Hahaha(lol)
Tamai:	Like in the “Peachies”.
Sho-ji:	Wearing a skirt.

• Sanma talks about how Sanma and Sho-ji appeared in a Circle K cm as the “Peachy’s”, a cheerleader group, wearing pink bob hair wigs and cheerleader uniforms. The cm was first aired in local Nagoya TV, but flopped and didn’t reach Tokyo.
• Sanma says he looks great with pink bob hair. ~_~

• Btw. Sanma and Kimura remade (or rather edited) Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” mv in “SanTaku”. You can watch it here. (It starts at around 3:41)

third mail: Yaguchi’s interesting stories about Nacchi and Takahashi (44′18”)

Listener mail corner - Part Two (51′35”)

fourth mail: Takahashi should say a Yantan gag in Morning Musume’s concert in Osaka Jou Hall (59′54”)

• talk about how Sho-ji messed up in a oogiri game:
  • Sho-ji was supposed to say “shika no tsuno” and Kanpei-san was supposed to say “gojira no tsuno.
  • However Sho-ji said “shikibou” instead and Kanpei-san was forced to quickly improvise and ended up saying “gorira no tsuno“.

Song: Morning Musume’s 「Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago」 (67′02”)

“Listener wo iyashitai!” corner (68′37”)

• The bg music of the title call is Natsumi Abe’s “Datte Ikitekanakucha”

Takahashi: 「Yeees! Here you have a large serving of Aichan!」 (69′30”~)

• As to why Takahashi prefers being called baka instead of aho:
  • To be honest, I don’t really understand it myself. Takahashi should know that “baka” means “complete idiot” in Osaka dialect and is much more insulting than “aho”. Thus you rarely hear Sanma calling someone “baka” while he calls others “aho” 24/7. Please msg me if you have an answer to this.

Yaguchi: 「It’s ok. Today you can do anything you like.」 (71′41”~)

Takahashi: 「Jouzu ni naritai naa…」 (73′04”~)

Yaguchi: 「Tell me where it feels good.」 (75′17”~)

Karaoke Box 「Sanchama」 (76′43”)

• 「Tamai no scandal」 (parody of Checkers’ 「Ano ko to scandal」) Tamai sings it

Ending (79′31”)

• Ending song is The Eagles’ “Take it Easy”

Notes

• 2004-10-09 「MBS YoungTown Doyoubi」 Official Site
• participants: Akashiya Sanma, Murakami Sho-ji, Tamai Kenji
• YanMusume: Fujimoto Miki (14th appearance), Takahashi Ai (19th appearance)

Digest

• Opening
  • Sanma talks about Bobby Ologun getting a black belt in Judo
  • Sanma talks about moments when he wasn’t treated like the big shot he is
• Listener mail corner (18′54”)
  • [Subject] Fujimoto took a break because of bad physical condition (19′03”)
    • Fujimoto was hospitalized and had a break of one week because of a tough cold
    • Sanma doesn’t believe that it was “only” a cold
  • [Subject] Takahashi served as a pinch hitter in Fujimoto’s radio show (32′59”)
    • Takahashi brought the Kona coffee she bought in Hawaii
    • lots of talk about Kona coffee with vanilla flavor =P
  • [Subject] Sanma used Fujimoto’s imitation of Setsuko in Athens (42′58”)
    • Sanma and Takahashi try to impersonate many different stars
  • [Subject] Fujimoto’s portrait of Sanma (48′34”)
    • Fujimoto shows the portrait of Sanma she drew in her radio show
• The “boke lectureship returns” corner (52′04”)
  • pattern: “Quietly peep into the school of killifish. All the killifish are XXXing.” (53′09”)
  • pattern: “Please let me take a break from YanDo.” (56′09”)
• Song: Tsunku with Takahashi Ai 「LOVE~since 1999~」 (60′39”)
• “Listener wo iyashitai” corner (63′01”)
  • [Takahashi]
    • 「Mou! If I say “Mou!” it means “Mou!”. I’ll turn into a cow if you don’t stop!」 (65′20”~)
    • 「Don’t look!」 (70′40”~)
  • [Fujimoto]
    • 「Hey… Why don’t you tell me?」 (68′24”~)
    • 「Darling, you really are an idiot~!」 (73′18”~)
• Karaoke Box 「Sanchama」 (75′34”)
  • 「Sanma Tomorrow never knows」 (parody of Mr.Children 「Tomorrow never knows」) Tamai sings it
• Ending (79′13”)
  • talk about how Fujimoto’s completely recovered now

Detailed description

[Please click here to download the whole episode as a mp3-file.]

Opening

• Sanma’s opening talk:
• Bobby easily got a black belt in judo
  • apparently famous judoka Koga Toshihiko trained him for a day
  • he’s going to try out K-1 by the end of the year too
  • he already had a special match against Royce Gracie, but Royce started bleeding from his face because of a weird elbow move by Bobby and most of the match wasn’t aired since the champion shouldn’t be bleeding in a show match against an amateur
  • getting him to fight against Bobby cost TBS a lot of money

• when Sanma, Hazama Kanpei and Sho-ji checked into a hotel for a one night stay in Niigata, someone at the reception came running and offered Sanma “the best suite” of the hotel
  • but that person had mistaken the room number and Sanma got the room of a waitress (the size of about 6 tatami ~ 10 m², a little TV and waitress uniforms in the closet)
  • later when they were recording a TV show in the hotel, Sanma described the room he got when he heard Hazama and Sho-ji talk about how great their rooms are
  • after the recording, Sanma and the others left the hotel instead of staying over night, but that was a mistake because the person responsible for the mistake got a lot of trouble afterwards and Sanma still receives apology letters from the hotel and gifts (4 bottles of sake made of Niigata rice, ball-point pens and key chains with the name of the hotel)
  • Sho-ji says that he would have loved to stay because he was in a real suite
• other moments when Sanma wasn’t treated like the big shot he is:
  • when Sanma, Sho-ji and another comedian were asked “Hello! Are you construction workers?” by a MBS guard
  • when a couple didn’t recognize him and asked him to take a picture of them and gave him their camera
  • when someone who wanted to become Sanma’s disciple accidentally said “I’ll make you my disciple!” instead of “Can I become your disciple?”
  • when he kept ordering sake late in an inn, the old waitress got tired and just went home and Sanma waited for his sake all night long
• after working in show business for 30 years, Sanma’s the most recognized comedian in Japan (97.6% recognition rate), but there are still lots of people in isolated regions of Japan (like Hokkaido) who don’t recognize him

• the store “Jojoen Yugentei” Sanma often goes to changed it’s beer glasses and Sanma found out that the new beer glasses are smaller than the old ones even though the prize is still the same
  • after complaining about it, Sanma’s now the only customer who still gets beer in the old glass

Listener mail corner (18′54”)

first mail: Fujimoto took a break because of bad physical condition (19′03”)

• Sho-ji talks about how he suffered playing golf with his ankle in plaster
• when he injured his ankle, Sanma brought him to the hospital, but all the nurses surrounded Sanma and didn’t pay any attention to Sho-ji at first

• Sanma always buys one bottle of jikinin every year because he’s scared of catching a cold, but he has to throw it away in the end because he didn’t catch a cold after all
• even though it’s “jikinin for infants”, adults can drink it too (adults: 1 bottle, children: 1/3 of a bottle)

second mail: Takahashi served as a pinch hitter in Fujimoto’s radio show (32′59”)

• Takahashi Ai served as a pinch-hitter in Mikitty’s “DokiMiki Night” on September 20th, 2004