=LOVE (aka Ikorabu), the idol group with Sashihara Rino as their producer, released their new single “Kono Sora ga Trigger.” On January this year, they held their graduation concert for Saito Nagisa at Pacifico Yokohama National Convention Hall. Starting with their new start in their new formation, we asked for their interpretations of the one-sided love song with Sasaki Maika as the center.
- •During the tour rehearsal, when the mic number changed from 11 to 10, (Saito Nagisa’s graduation) really sunk in for a bit
- •You couldn’t imagine that the lyrics were a bit heartrending from the intro at the very beginning
- •The impressions from just reading the lyrics and seeing them with the MV really are different
- •If you watch the music video, I think you would be curious about the blue-haired person who appears everywhere
- •The director gave detailed guidance on things like my gaze, so I thought, “Ah, this sort of MV is a first!”
- •There’s lot of new things, but there is still things that remain unchanged. It’s all the current Ikorabu
•During the tour rehearsal, when the mic number changed from 11 to 10, (Saito Nagisa’s graduation) really sunk in for a bit
—First off, please tell us your mentality now that you started a new formation.
Oba Hana (henceforth, Oba): With Naatan (Saito Nagisa) graduating in January, and Ikorabu changing to a new formation, I feel that our fans’ anticipation of seeing a new side to us and their worries are just as big. I want to show them that even with our new formation, we will be okay.
Morohashi Sana (henceforth, Morohashi): It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and I honestly don’t know how our fans feel about it, but I know that we can’t let them feel that because Nagisa is gone now, or that our stage performances are lonely or insufficient. I want to aim for a live performance that you can feel even more power and passion from us than ever before.
Takiwaki Shoko (henceforth, Takiwaki): We will do our best to combine even more of power together to give an even better performance than before, so I would be happy if everyone can cheer us on even more going forward as well.
Saito Kiara (henceforth, Kiara): I still haven’t gotten used to having 10 members yet, but in order to not worry our fans, we will all do our best, and hopefully we can keep showing a new Ikorabu.
Otoshima Risa (henceforth, Otoshima): I want to do my best so that even in our new formation, I want our fans to think, “I want to cheer on Ikorabu, I want to support them, and I want to see them standing on a huge stage.”
Sasaki Maika (henceforth, Sasaki): Of course it feels a bit lonely, but we will work together to fill in for Nagisa’s efforts, and we will be complementing each other going forward. I want to keep increasing the perfection of =LOVE in our new formation.
Otani Emiri (henceforth, Otani): After sending off Nagisa, we have been doing 10-member version rehearsals, but I can really feel how important each member is. It is tough for everyone to carry on Nagisa’s part, as you would expect, but right now we’re all coming together and doing our best, so I want to show all our fans the completed version soon.
Noguchi Iori (henceforth, Noguchi): It feels very lonely, and I’ve been constantly feeling like there’s a hole in my heart, but in Naatan’s message for us members, /she said, “I want to see all kinds of Ikorabu” and “I want to see everyone standing in Tokyo Dome.” Seeing how she was thinking about Ikorabu’s future after she graduated, we have to put in as much effort as Naatan is going to by herself moving forward, and nothing has changed for the group know as =LOVE since its formation, so I want to carry on Naatan and everyone else’s feelings to even larger stages.
Takamatsu Hitomi (henceforth, Takamatsu): I couldn’t help feeling lonely on the day of the graduation concert, but Naa (Saito Nagisa) is cheering us on, and we are cheering Naa on as well, so on the next day I switched my mindset to let’s both do our best moving forward. Right now, I am simply full of determination to keep doing my best, so I hope everyone will keep liking =LOVE in our new formation too.
Yamamoto Anna (henceforth, Yamamoto): During the tour rehearsal, when my mic number changed from 11 to 10, it really sunk in for me for a bit. I felt sad and lonely, and like everyone has said, I once again felt how huge and amazing Nagisa’s presence was. However, not just Nagisa, each member has their own strengths and potential, and ever since our group was formed, I have always thought of =LOVE as the best group no matter the time. Going forward as well, I want to renew and continue on the best =LOVE.
—1 month after the graduation concert, you quickly released the next single. “Kono Sora ga Trigger,” your 13th single in total, how did you feel when first received it?
Morohashi: I was happy that we got to sing a classic kind of heartrending youth song for the first time in a while.
Takamatsu: I feel the same, it felt like it’s our first classic idol song in a long while and I was happy. Going forward, Ikorabu will be singing this song! We will be recording for it, filming the MV for it, I was really looking forward to it and full of excitement.
Otoshima: There are many fans who tell us, I love the various sides of Ikorabu, but somehow or another I like classic songs.” Among those voices, this is our first classic idol song in a while, so I think our fans will be happy about it.
Kiara: This is our first classic youth song since our 8th single, “Seishun ‘Subliminal’,” so I was happy. From “Seishun ‘Subliminal’” to our latest single, we have sung various kinds of songs, such as heartrending songs, everyone’s singing voices have powered up. While it has a cheerful melody, it’s a heartrending and amazing song that will get your chest to tighten, so I am looking forward to performing it in the future.
Yamamoto: What’s more, back in “Seishun ‘Subliminal’” we were all wearing our own colorful outfits. This time too when it was decided we’re having a new start, we’re getting colorful outfits again. It’s precisely because we’re having a new beginning, I reconfirmed my feelings that each member is important and that each of our individualities is important for this group.
Takawaki: I think there are probably many people who say that “Seishun ‘Subliminal’” is THE classic idol song for Ikorabu, but the order is actually our 6th single “Zurui yo Zurui ne,” our 7th single “CAMEO,” and then our 8th single “Seishun ‘Subliminal’.”
–True, the order was actually an unrequited love song, a bewitching girl crush, and then the classic youth song.
Takiwaki: This time as well, since we came from our 11th single “Ano Ko Complex” to filming our 12th single “Be Selfish” in Korea, I was personally looking forward to see if the next one is going to be a classic idol song. And surely, when that kind of song came, I thought, “It’s here!” (lol), but the lyrics turned out to be bit heartrending. Like I know this sky, and this sky is the trigger. I thought that it was amazing that someone could write lyrics about the sky being an impetus.
Oba: At first, I didn’t know what “trigger” meant (in Japanese). When we all looked it up in the dictionary and saw that it meant “hikigane (trigger),” we were like, “Oh, I see.”
•You couldn’t imagine that the lyrics were a bit heartrending from the intro at the very beginning
–(lol) You served as the center, Sasaki, so what did you think?
Sasaki: When I first heard this song, since it was such a sparkling song for the first time in a while, I also thought, “It’s here~” but when I carefully read the lyrics, I thought, “…Oh? It might not actually be a fun song,” as I noticed it. You couldn’t imagine that the lyrics were a bit heartrending from the intro at the very beginning. However, singing sad lyrics to a cheerful melody is something that I really like to do, so this time there were more things that come to mind than sadness and sorrow for this song as well.
Otani: It was our first classic youth song in a while, and it was very Ikorabu-esque so I really liked it, but it was a bit hard to understand lyrics from reading it just once. So I deciphered the lyrics with my fellow members.
Noguchi: For me, the “The breeze heading towards spring ~ You are always in my heart” part from the D melody reminds me of Naatan. From hearing the lyrics, it seems to be saying that the new formation =LOVE will move forward positively, but the fact that we had Naatan and the days we spent with her will always be in our hearts. Though the lyrics’ intent might have had a different meaning. Everytime I listen to this song and perform it, Naatan is in my heart. Of course I want to treasure the new formation =LOVE as well going forward, but I greatly feel how reassuring it is to have Naatan in my heart and how dear she is to me.
–Regarding those lyrics though, how did everyone get a perceive of it? Did you discuss it with someone, Otani-san?
Otani: There were a few people actually.
Oba: A friend who’s on the same wavelength means that we talk a lot. It makes me think of me one-sidely having feelings for them, but the opposite party is a very good person, so they seem like the type who can be friends with everyone.
Sasaki: Everytime I watch the MV, I think that there are many different patterns of interpretations for it. I find it interesting that it’s possible for each person to have a different way of receiving this.
Takamatsu: Whether it’s guys with girls or girls with girls, whatever it is you’re thinking of is Sashihara-san’s way of “it’s possible.” It’s true for this MV as well, so I find it interesting that it’s not limited to just these two, and everyone can perceive the lyrics in their own way.
•The impressions from just reading the lyrics and seeing them with the MV really are different
–The lyrics can be perceived in multiple layers, can’t they? For example, how did you imagine the two people in the lyrics?
Kiara: My impressions from when I was reading the lyrics and from watching the MV got mixed together, so my thoughts are all jumbled up, but just speaking of my thoughts after watching the MV, they’re a very kind, good person, but it turns out their attitude becomes suggestive of that, and they don’t actually think that at all, but they’re the kind of person who gets more and more people to like them.
Yamamoto: “I’m sorry that I fell in love with you on my own accord” is a really heartrending lyric, isn’t it? That phrase left me the deepest impression when I watched it the first time.
Kiara: But, because there’s the “about the day the two of us met”…
Noguchi: That’s true. That’s the one that’s on my mind the most too. When I think about “I wonder what does it mean?” I think that if it’s going to be a love story series, it’s just from their own perspective, but it doesn’t mean that they directly said “let’s meet up” and met up. For example, it’s something similar to when children verbally promise “I’m going to marry ~” when they were young. I interpreted them as word that implied that “I am the only one who remembers that.” That’s why, during the MV shoot, after seeing the composition and understanding it from the script, more so than being satisfied from it, it’s more complicated than what I thought, and it turned into a wholeheartedly cute MV. I’m so happy that I got to see some kind of new world.
Morohashi: The impressions you get from just reading the lyrics and seeing them with the MV really are different. When I saw the MV, since the story is mainly about Maika and Iori, and they has this heartrending expression on them, I thought that this would be a very heartrending song. However, if I just read the lyrics, in a certain way, the female lead seems to be also looking forward to that situation. I think that she likes the fact that she’s in love. It was very heartrending until the 2nd part, but saying “I’m sorry that I fell in love with you on my own accord. I’m fine just like this,” at the end, I realized, “Oh, it’s fine to stay like this.” When I think that it’s going to get more sad, she says that it’s fine to stay like this, and she won’t talk about the day the two of them met, and she wants to “continue thinking of you.” I think she’s the type of person who likes herself for being in love.
–She seems to be in love with being in love, and she also seems to be a girl who’s always been thinking of that, but that might just all be a front, right? What do you think, Takiwaki-san?
Takiwaki: The “I’m sorry I still love you” from “Ano Ko Complex” attracted my eyes at first, but this song also had “I’m sorry that I love you on my own accord” written, which made it very heartrending. I think “I’m sorry that I love you” is the most painful one. The opposite party doesn’t think much of me, and I know that they don’t think much of me too. I know that they think of me as a friend too, so personally I perceived her as a girl who’s putting up a front.
Otoshima: I feel that it’s a different feeling from “Ano Ko Complex” and quite the exact opposite even. If it were me, I don’t think I can stay fine as it is. I won’t just think about it, butI think I’m the type that will definitely go for it.
•If you watch the music video, I think you would be curious about the blue-haired person who appears everywhere
－Talk about the MV was mentioned before, but as Morohashi said, this story revolves around Sasaki and Noguchi.
Sasaki: Filming was shot over a few days, between the drama scenes and the dancing scene. The order in which we took the scenes were all mixed up so we didn’t really know how it would all turn out during the filming. It starts off with what you may call a “mislead”? The camera work and the video composition was all made for me to seem like I liked the guy, so it was somewhat a strange atmosphere. I acted with the mindset of a person who likes a girl called “Noguchi Iori”, but if you didn’t know that, I think you would be curious about the blue-haired person who appears everywhere.
–He is a bit too popular isn’t he. Everyone but Sasaki likes him.
Sasaki: Yeah (lol). I think he had the hardest time throughout the MV shooting, as he was nearly always in the filming process with no break. It’s a real “Thanks for the hard work!”.
Noguchi: Well~ It was tough, really. The girl I was acting was a very innocent and bright girl, meanwhile Maika’s character was a more cool, quiet girl, so I was often told “Act more cute! Overly girly cute!!”. I was often troubled like, cute…cute….When I watched the completed MV, a unknown Noguchi Iori existed.
–It wasn’t you?
Noguchi: Yeah, it was kind of fresh, but the embarrassment was stronger. It was like I wasn’t myself….It gave like a “new” feeling.
– Please tell me about the various highlights and backstage episodes of the MV.
Otoshima: Most of my scenes were by myself, so I didn’t know what the others were doing for their part. After seeing the completed MV, you can see the pained looks and various expressions of everyone, so I think that is something to pay attention to.
Oba: The director gave us lots of advice for our acting. We all had different backstories. My film setting was at a florist and at school, at the florist the blue-haired guy….
•The director gave detailed guidance on things like my gaze, so I thought, “Ah, this sort of MV is a first!”
–Did he have a name?
Oba: His name was Sorata. My setting was that I liked Sorata who would always come to the store and order the same flowers. The director gave detailed guidance on things like my gaze, so I thought, “Ah, this sort of MV is a first!”.
Morohashi: I was the opposite and was always giving Soratan (Sorata) acting guidance (lol).
Oba: Ahahahaha.
Morohashi: In the breaks between the set change, the director was talking to the four extras like, “Let’s practice with everyone”. Also, it’s been a while since we’ve done an MV with acting, so it was fresh to see everyone’s acting.
Kiara: I was a girl who liked games.
–You were always gaming weren’t you. I thought you would carry on and never make eye contact.
Kiara: I also forgot that I was filming during the bus scene. When I saw the completed MV, I thought “I’m always just playing my games”, but when the song entered the interlude, I remembered “Ah, I did do this”. For the scene where I unknowingly drop my commuter pass and am surprised when I’m handed it, I couldn’t act surprised well. I was told “act more surprised!”, but I struggled to do so, so I think that’s a part I need to reflect on.
Takamatsu: My solo scene is set after hours at a beauty parlor, where I am practicing cutting blue-coloured hair. The hair was not dry from the blue hairspray, so my hands were dyed fully in blue. If you watch carefully, my hands are really blue (lol).
–Ahahaha. There was a scene where you received ramen too right?
Takamatsu: In the actual MV though, the scene where I hand over the money was used more, and the scene where I received it was barely shown. It was blue to the extent of being too blue.
Otani: I was able to eat ramen. At first I was told to “Eat the ramen”, but as I ate as instructed, I was told, “You might be eating a bit too much”. I ate a bit more reservedly and by the end of filming, I got to eat lots. It was really delicious.
Takamatsu: I got to eat omurice (omelette rice), not ramen. It was at the cafe seen with Kiara. I was a role who was eating omurice, I ate the whole thing!
Kiara: She was always saying “yum” (lol).
Takamatsu: I was also stuffing my cheeks too much and was told, “Eat with small mouthfuls”. It was just that delicious!
Takiwaki: (lol) Hana-chan (Oba) was a florist, Mirinya (Otani) was ramen, and my scene was of me running. I was really happy that each character was made to match each of us. Also, no matter how you look at it, everything was blue to the extent that you would think “Oh It’s Sorata”. It was a scene where he passes by on a bike, but the bike, his sneakers and his hair were all blue.
Takamatsu: Ahahahaha.
Takiwaki: I was surprised, but as soon as I entered the set location, there was a very clear Sorata.
Sasaki: You could tell before he was even introduced?
Takiwaki: Even without the introduction, I thought, “that person is probably Sorata”.
Noguchi: Ahahahaha. That’s funny.
Otoshima: My scene was at a bookshop where our hands accidentally meet as we reach for the same book and I would go “Ha..!” with a heart-fluttered face. It was a scene that you would generally only see in shojo manga, and I talked with Sorata about “you don’t see this kind of scene very often”. I was given detailed guidance on the timing to turn around and pause. There has been scenes in the past where I was by myself, but it was a first to receive such detailed advice so it was really new. Also the director was very kind so it was a fun shooting experience.
Yamamoto: The dance scenes were really cold, but everyone was dancing with a refreshing expression. Just then I watched the MV for the first time, but I’m glad that none of the members appeared cold.
–Please tell me about the boat scene at the end.
Sasaki: It was scary. At the start, there was staff around, but once we laid down in a hakama we couldn’t move much anymore. The sunlight felt nice so after I dozed off a bit, no one was around anymore. Instructions were coming by drones. We had a receiver hidden with us.
Noguchi: But they couldn’t hear us. They could only see us through the drone.
Sasaki: Oh yeah. We can hear voices through the receiver but we can’t make out what they are saying.
Noguchi: But it’s amazing, that scene. It’s a world with just the two.
–Was it a scene from within Maika’s mind?
Sasaki: Honestly I’m not sure. I think it probably switches to a delusion once I run away with Iori. I think she was probably dreaming of a world where the two are together, and even when she’s a working adult she would always remember it.
–It’s an MV which leaves you with the good feeling of watching a short movie. Can I receive a comment about the coupling song as well? “Junkies” center is Takamatsu.
Takamatsu: It’s a rock kind of song which we haven’t had in a while. I think it will be really fun once we can have a live where the audience can raise their voices.
–“Love create” center is Noguchi.
Noguchi: I like the title which means to create and build love. I think it’s very =LOVE-like. The lyrics are like we are showing our fans that Ikorabu has not given up on our dreams, and shows our bonds. It’s filled with ikorabu-ness. I think it will be a song that will excite fans when performed at lives. Both “Junkies” and “Love create” have lots of echoes in the lyrics, so I hope it will become an environment where the audience can raise their voices.
–They are songs made for calls aren’t they. “Kiara Tiara” is Kiara’s first solo song.
Kiara: When I was young, I have been told that, “Your names sounds like tiara”. Even in the ikonoijoy song “Triple date”, the part “Heart, Diamond, Tiara”, although it wasn’t my singing part I was at the front. I was surprised to receive a solo song. It’s one that has lots of english, and there’s even a rhyming rap part….It’s real hard. Naatan who I had many same singing parts with and had W-Center songs with graduated. The song conveys that even though it’s sad but even by myself, I can keep going with a strong heart. It’s a song that I myself want to get better at, and improve myself with so I’ll be nervous when performing it at lives. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it well but I want to be able to become able to perform with the “just follow me!” kind of attitude as written in the lyrics. I hope that I can change myself with this song.
•There’s lot of new things, but there is still things that remain unchanged. It’s all the current Ikorabu
– How would you like the 13th single to be received by the fans?
Sasaki: It’s the first song in our new formation, and a classic idol song. There are songs for the fans, and songs for the members. There is also our youngest member Kiara’s solo song and a new song for NiaJoy (≒JOY). There’s lot of new things, but there is still things that remain unchanged. It’s filled with the current ikorabu, so I think it will be a well received single to both the fans who have supported us for a long time, and the new fans to come.
–The year 2023 started with a graduation concert, but what are the plans for the group this year.
Otani: Even if it’s a new formation, the ikorabu-ness remains unchanged and starting with the tour, we will have many opportunities to spend time with everyone. It’ll be somewhat of a new trial, and I want to try out lots of new things, so I want it to be a year that everyone will enjoy themselves. I want to eat the various local delicacies, and tour around with everyone in good health.
Yamamoto: Starting with this new song and the tour which starts at the end of January, I want to show the fans that even in our new formation Ikorabu will be fine, so I think that’s where we need to first put our efforts into. Also I hope that every member is happy all year round. I think if the members are happy, the fans supporting the members will also be happy. So I want us to be able to deliver our love with always a smile on our face.
Interview & Text by Nagahori Atsuo
Photo by Seki Nobuyuki
Translations by BoAddict & yumi
Original Article
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