Theme 3: "Victory and Defeat"
The fate of the "Last Idol" group is always being divided between the Winners and Losers. The girls taste either Heaven or Hell. Although LaLuce made their superb debut as "Last Idol" after the first season, they lost the Unit Battle in the second season and started over as LaLuce. What did you learn after experiencing such a huge setback? How did you grow, and what are you thankful for?
(*The intro includes a link to the 2nd Single article about Chou Cream Rockets taking the title of Last Idol)
--On "Last Idol in AbemaTV", Abe made an impressive comment that "We gained confidence in the first season, but carry the burden of losing in the second season". Have you thought more deeply about what you regret?
Haruka: There are too many...
Midori: Thinking back now, we didn't express ourselves enough. We wanted to figure out what our Producer, Komuro (Tetsuya), was thinking on our own, and try to carry that out, so our minds were pre-occupied with that. This time, we expressed our feelings to Goto (Tsugutoshi) and talked allot about what we wanted to do.
Natsumi: Certainly, that's a big difference, isn't it.
Midori: After all, I regretted losing in the second season. If we lost through that way of thinking, then there was no choice but to change it. If I lost thinking "I couldn't say anything...", I'd regret it. As a result of that, things turned out well. We understand now that we have to think about what we want.
Airi: When I was able to win the first season, I thought "The brilliant days are beginning". That feeling would be brief...
Midori: That was definitely a brief story (laughs).
Airi: We were confronted with the second season so quickly (laughs). I honestly thought "Here we go again...". However, we feel better about it now. We lost once in the Battle between the other Units. Because of that, we could see what our strengths and weaknesses were. Our debut was a brief story, and we behaved normally after the end of the first season. Now, I think we've become like a Tengu moving forward.
(*When Airi says they behaved normally, I think she just means they didn't make an changes to how they approached the second season)
Midori: In that case...I think that's a bit scary.
Airi: Yes. I misunderstood the benefit of the power of Television and how we can use it. I don't think I would have been happy if we won the second season. Because I know the feeling of losing, now I truly understand the happiness of singing the title song. How big is the title of Last Idol to us? How much do we appreciate it? After engraving these feelings of gratitude into my heart, I want to perform.
--Wow, Yasuda-san sums up the moral so beautifully, doesn't she (laughs).
Abe: Now I'm hesitating about talking next (laughs). A while ago, Midori-chan said "we couldn't express ourselves during the second season", right? I feel the same way. on the other hand, I thought at the time "it's not good unless everyone's feelings come together". This time, Goto-san said he got allot of information from us, so he knew what we were aiming for.
--Was it easy talking with your Producer, Goto-san?
Midori: He was very friendly and his stance was "Please say anything". In some way, rather than saying he's a great Producer, he feels like a kind Father. He wanted our opinions not just on the song, but on the clothes as well. I think it was a great opportunity that we happened to meet Goto-san.
Theme 4: "The bond of the 5 member Unit is born"
LaLuce was formed through the rivalries that were sparked during the 1st Season Survival Battle. A strong bond was formed during the Unit Battle, and after the graduation of the Senior members Yoshizaki Aya and Koga Yako, you became 5 members.
(*There's a link to the article about the graduations of Aya, Yako, and Good Tears's Orin)
--Due to the nature of the "Last Idol" program, in the beginning there was the feeling of a group being created, right? How did you strengthen you teamwork from there?
Haruka: Your age, where you grew up, your career up to that point...Just about everything was different, right? However, I think deep down, we felt the same way. I applied to the first season and felt I could achieve my dream there. However, at first I was afraid to talk.
--Who was the most afraid?
Haruka: Everyone. All of us were scared. At the time, no members had been decided. At first, I was the youngest, so it was scary being with the older sisters.
Natsumi: I joined around the same time as Nana-min (Abe), so it was easy to open up to her. I couldn't talk to Airi-chan and Haru-nun (Haruka) at all, and Midori-chan had left right before I joined.
(*To put Natsumi's comment into context for the readers, there's a note about how Midori was eliminated once, but returned later after winning the revival battle)
Midori: That's so true. If you join later, you can be puzzled by one another (laughs).
Natsumi: Because of that, I wasn't able to get along with the other members. So I thought "What will I do?" when "Last Idol in Abema TV" started. At that point, I was able to change. I could share my opinions with everyone, and gradually, you could say that our feelings became 1 and the same.
--Did the graduation of Yoshizaki Aya and Koga Yako have a significant impact?
Abe: It was amazing!
(*Abe uses "Sugoi" which can mean good or bad depending on the the situation. I'm not entirely sure which way she's using it, but considering that things turned out well for them, I'm taking it as a positive)
Airi: The first season was an individual game. In the second season, only the 2 oldest (Yoshizaki and Koga) gave a clear opinion. We were completely reliant on them. To be honest, it was more like "Seniors and Juniors" than "Peers".
Midori: Absolutely. Of course, we felt a bond, but in all honesty, many parts had been split up. That's how I think about it now.
(*I'm not sure exactly what Midori means by "parts split up". She could just mean the members hadn't formed a cohesive group yet)
Airi: So, when I found out that the two of them would be graduating, I quickly said "This is more than I can handle!". Now I'll be the oldest. There's no one to hold it together.
--Couldn't you hold it together just based on morality?
Airi: It was impossible because I don't rely on that too much (laughs). However, there was a benefit to their loss. We were forced to speak for ourselves.
Abe: The voices of 5 people were more visible than before.
Airi: Recently, we had the chance to sing "Wind Blows" from the second season. When the lyrics "Our bonds are born" came up, we got very emotional. "What's this?" I thought. It was the first time I felt that way. Because 2 members were missing, and a big hole had opened, it became a wall that we had to overcome. At that time, the real bond of LaLuce was born. It felt like we had all become connected, and there were allot of tears.
Theme 5: "Looking to the Future"
Goto Tsugutoshi, who participated as a Producer on the program, gave a message to LaLuce "I want you to work while looking towards the future". The girls who begin activities while drawn together into an instant Unit, what are your dreams for the future?
(*When they write "The girls who begin activities while drawn together into an instant Unit", they might mean that the 5 of them are now a Unit instead of the 7 member group that was originally formed, and this is a new beginning for them)
--What kind of group does LaLuce want to be in the future?
Midori: We're the ones who started as the Last Idol, and now we're singing the title song of the 4th Single. Because of this, I think LaLuce is the most visible group from the perspective of the general public. Naturally, I want us to be the group that leads all of Last Idol Family. Even if the number of members increases with the addition of the 2nd Generation, that won't change. From the beginning, we all said "We can do this!". We will continue to exist.
Abe: As Midori-chan said, the feeling that LaLuce wants to be the center of Last Idol Family is strong. To do that, we have to work harder than the other Units, and I feel we have to increase the things we can do. In the future, no matter how long the program continues, I want it to be said that "LaLuce is perfectly suited to be Last Idol". That's the kind of group I want us to be.
Haruka: LaLuce often gets to sing cool songs. I think it's a little different from the image of the Royal Road Idol. There are many Idols out there, so I want to make LaLuce's color and personality unique. I don't want us to be compared to anyone else. I want you to quickly say "LaLuce is LaLuce".
(*When Haruka says "I don't want us to be compared to anyone else", she actually uses the term "〇〇っぽい". The second part means "ppoi" which translates to "ish". It's a way for Japanese to say "girl+ish", "child+ish", etc. The first part "〇〇" is where you would insert whatever you want. Haruka uses "〇〇っぽい" to make a general statement that she doesn't want any comparisons. Kind of like "AKBish" or "Keyaki-ish". That's why I translated it that way)
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