Original Source: https://www.famitsu.com/news/201903/07172746.html (3/7/2019)



Feel free to contact me (@jbtenmatay) for any corrections, clarifications, and edits.

Famitsu released two interviews as part of their weekly 3/21 issue that was published on March 7, 2019, the day before WUG’s Final Live. It was taken on January, presumably after Final Tour Part III KADODE Osaka, Nagano for Part 2.

It had two versions: Print and Online. The print version is part of the 18-page section dedicated to WUG but largely edited for space. The online version is unabridged—more lively and casual.

[Personal context notes, minor additions, references, and clarifications in square brackets. Parentheses for substitutions, gestures, and editorial notes done by the publication.]

Famitsu Long Interview Part I with Yoshioka Mayu, Eino Airi, Aoyama Yoshino, and Okuno Kaya.



Now Is Our Most Memorable, By Far!

— What’s your most memorable experience as WUG?



Yamashita Nanami (Yamashita): My most memorable experience…



Tanaka Minami (Tanaka): “Most memorable” is hard.



Takagi Miyu (Takagi): I know… *this tour, maybe?



(*Their final tour, HOME, is a three-part tour that started in July 2018 and ended in February 2019 where they performed in live venues across ten prefectures, including their respective hometowns—Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Osaka, Iwate, Kumamoto, Nagano, Tokushima, Aichi, Miyagi. [33 shows total])



Tanaka: I think we’re in peak condition when it comes to dancing and singing right now. (laughs)



(everyone laughs)



Takagi: That and we’re capable of more things than before.



Yamashita: I know!



Takagi: We’ve connected with a lot of our fans too. I guess you could say now is our most memorable…



Tanaka: We pulled off great shows week after week.



Takagi: Before the tour started, I was worried that our fans would get fatigued by the number of shows but every show turned out to be very memorable in their own right.



— Emotionally speaking, I think the shorter intervals made you closer to your fans. Actually, it also seems you’ve gotten much closer to them in a physically.



Takagi: (chuckles)



Yamashita: Like when we threw mochi at them?



[Mochinage or the tradition of throwing mochi (rice cakes) was Miyu’s idea for their stop in Nagano, where she plays Namiki-chan, the mascot character of Iida, one of its cities. According to blog anecdotes, she was originally at a loss since, unlike the others at their respective stops, Nagano isn’t her hometown so they gave her advice to do what comes naturally and she decided to go for that and a DJ session where she included her mascot’s theme song.]



Tanaka: That’s one way of doing it.



Yamashita: We made sure to get close to the audience every show.



Takagi: Especially for this tour.



Tanaka: Everyone was into the idea so we thought of ways of including it in every main show and encore.



Yamashita: It would be a shame not to try and get closer to our fans, given the number of shows and the places we would go.



— I get it. I know there’s a lot to go through but how about your other activities?



Takagi: Let’s see… This was from way back but it’s seeing my name at the end credits during the initial screening of Wake Up, Girls! 7 Idols (Shichinin no Idol)



Tanaka: We were so emotional! Everyone was in tears. (laughs)



Yamashita: We were all going, “That’s my name!”



Tanaka: Yeah! That’s when it finally hit us that we’re voice actresses. Until that point, all we had were hardships with the training camps and everything else so we were over the moon when we finally saw ourselves as part of an anime.



Takagi: We had so many doubts before we debuted. “Is it really going to happen? Is it even possible?” But no one would tell us anything.



Tanaka: Yeah. We were under so much pressure, it was like we would be forced to quit if we couldn’t act. Looking back, they would never do that but it felt real to us since we were afraid of being left behind.



Yamashita: Not only that, no one would tell us what to look forward to, though they’re probably being considerate because it would confuse us even more.



Tanaka: Or worse, make us more anxious.



Yamashita: That’s how I see it now but back then we just had no idea what’s going to happen. All we had been doing were training camps where we did voice acting, dancing, and singing lessons together every day and they were very stressful. So when we did voices for an anime, it finally hit us that we’re not doing lessons anymore. We actually worked on something.



— I heard the same sentiment from the rest of the members (Yoshioka Mayu, Eino Airi, Aoyama Yoshino, Okuno Kaya).



Takagi: Everyone felt the same way.



Yamashita: Yeah.



— Since we’re already on the topic, what’s your most painful memory?



Tanaka: It would have to be… the training camps.



Takagi: That’s when our spirits were at their lowest. (grimaces)



Tanaka: It was utter suffering. (laughs)



Takagi: We underwent an intensive camp where we stayed at a hotel. We would wake up every morning to do running exercises, then dancing, singing and voice acting lessons, and we would write everything down on a diary before going to sleep. It was just that for ten days straight.



— Was there any reason why you had to write a diary?



Tanaka: I don’t remember… We were just frantically writing whatever we could while worrying if there was something in there that might get us lectured. (grimaces)



Takagi: Each of us had one and we wrote everything that happened that day—What we learned, how our lessons were going, and things like that.



Tanaka: Yoppi’s (Aoyama Yoshino) diary looked like a mess. (laughs)



Takagi: I know. (laughs) I was trying to keep myself motivated so I only wrote positive things!



Tanaka: I think I did the same! I wrote things like what I learned to do that day and that I’ll do better the next.



Takagi: Or how I was lacking at something and how I could make up for it next time. (laughs)



Tanaka: Or stuff like “Stay focused!”



Yamashita: I assumed our manager would be reading them, so I wrote lot of requests like hoping to run only three laps tomorrow instead of five. (laughs)



Takagi: Wow! Really!? (laughs)



Yamashita: That might be why I had a awful impression then. (laughs)



Tanaka: That’s wild. (laughs)



Takagi: It’s hilarious that you even wrote things like that. (laughs)



Tanaka: I guess we all had our own way of approaching it.



Yamashita: Speaking of which, the recording for 7 Idols was tough as well. I had to fly back to Tokushima on Sundays so I could attend school the next day but we finished so late that day that I missed my flight.



Tanaka: Oh, yeah. Yoppi missed hers too, right?



Yamashita: Yeah. The three of us from West Japan (Yoshioka, Aoyama, Yamashita) ended up staying overnight at a hotel. We were frustrated because it looked like we won’t be able to go to school tomorrow. We were also depressed and worried if we’re cut out for it since we finished later than we were supposed to, so we got together and talked it out.



Tanaka: Speaking of 7 Idols, we didn’t get lectured as much by everyone that time, right?



Takagi: I think we were.



Tanaka: Our manager did right near the end. We had been recording all day so we decided to take a break. While we were having fun and making a lot of noise chatting, she scolded us for having too much fun and taking things a little too easy especially that other people made time just for us. Back then, I had no idea, but now I realize how important that is.



— It is important to know how to switch between work and personal time.



Takagi: I still have vivid memories of the scenes involving the seven of us. There were a lot and I remember them telling us that we handled it well because of the time we spent together in the training camps. They had a point and it made me think if we should have done more of them.



Tanaka: Right. If you put it that way, it’s like we were sending them progress reports.



Takagi: Our diaries! That’s how they worked!



Tanaka: It’s as if we were writing long reflection letters to them



Takagi: Yeah.



— You sure had a rough start.



Takagi: I’m grateful though because we had no idea what was going on at the time.



Yamashita: Our manager had to be strict with us, which got us to work as a unit.



— That makes sense. Moving on, I want to ask if you have any blunders or mess ups that you can share.



Tanaka: I broke a bone.



Yamashita: Oh!



Takagi: That really happened!



Tanaka: It was right before our debut at WonFes (Summer Wonder Festival 2013) and it seemed bad enough that it needed to be cast. But then I attended a school trip, thinking that it had completely healed, which made it worse. (laughs) Younger me was very stupid.



[According to her “Twenties” photobook, interviews, and blog posts, she broke a toe going down a flight of stairs and it took about a month to heal where she missed a few rehearsals and almost a training camp but was in good enough shape to perform their WonFes debut.]



Yamashita: I don’t know if we have anything else to share.



Takagi: There has to be something.



Yamashita: What else…



Takagi: I’m sure there is.



Tanaka: There has to be one like the time when Nanami didn’t make it to one of the closing ceremonies for MilkLariat.



[MilkLariat is an anisong event organized by milk record where WUG was a featured performer for Vol. 6, 6S, 7, and 7S (2013 – 2015)]



Yamashita: Closing ceremonies? (laughs)



Tanaka: Everyone was supposed to be there but Nanami was doing an interview outside the venue.



Yamashita: Oh, right! (laughs)



Tanaka: I only spoke up when we were being called over to the stage.



Yamashita: So I didn’t make it. (laughs) That was a mistake on our part.



Takagi: Ah… That incident didn’t even cross my mind. (laughs)



Yamashita: All of us had a strict talk about it and I remember being told that we should have the initiative to immediately reach out to everyone, including our manager, if one of us were missing.



Tanaka: Right.



Takagi: No one was safe from it. (laughs)



Yamashita: We’re all responsible for each other.



Takagi: True.



Yamashita: Though it should have been obvious right at the start…



Tanaka: It took us a while to realize that.



Takagi: I’m not sure if I have anything to share…



Yamashita: You should have lots to share.



Takagi: Do I really mess up that much? (laughs)



Yamashita: There was that time you went on stage with seaweed stuck to your teeth or that time where you forgot to attach an accessory to your outfit.



[In previous interviews, they also recalled an incident where she (unintentionally) started eating popcorn minutes before they had to go on stage.]



Takagi: That did happen…



Yamashita: You also cut your bangs a little too short sometimes.



Takagi: It even happened at such an important time, I think right around the festa (Wake Up, Girls! Festa. 2015 Beyond the Bottom Extend) during Beyond the Bottom‘s theatrical release.



Tanaka: It was at the end of 2015.



Takagi: It’s a little funny seeing myself perform Beyond the Bottom with my bangs sitting just above my eyebrows. (laughs)



Yamashita: And it’s captured on video.



Tanaka: We would start laughing whenever Miyu shows up.



Yamashita: We were wearing those outfits, too…



Takagi: It really stood out no matter what I did. (laughs)



Yamashita: Just seeing Miyu makes the entire thing look goofy.



Takagi: I was even grinning a little.



Yamashita: It’s all part of our history now.



Takagi: It was also going to be shown at Toho Cinemas, so I was feeling more self-conscious than usual.



Tanaka: Yeah. (laughs) Miyu and I went to see it there.



Takagi: We did.



Yamashita: You were desperately trying to raise your eyebrows.



Tanaka: Especially during MC segments.



Yamashita: It didn’t seem like it would help, though. (laughs)



Takagi: I was thinking it would at least make it less awkward.



— (laughs) Let’s move on to another topic. Do you have any secrets that you’ve kept among yourselves until now?



Takagi: I wonder if there is…



Tanaka: We love comedians. (laughs)



Takagi: Yeah! That’s right. (laughs)



— (laughs) I saw you watching videos of them a while ago.



Takagi: We did in the dressing room.



Tanaka: We watch a lot of comedians since we’re practically fans of all of them.



–– Who’s your favorite?



Tanaka: Kyon from Rafurekuran. (laughs) We often watch his one-shots and take some his ideas for our dances, especially ones where we improvise.



[Rafurekuran (ラフレクラン) is a comedy duo made up of Nishimura Jinji (Straight Man) and Kyon (Fool). Both are also members of Yoshimotozaka 46]



Takagi: We don’t really plan on it.



Tanaka: We just happen to do it that way.



Takagi: I’m a big fan of WAGYU. I watched one of their shows on DVD last night before I went to bed. (laughs)



[WAGYU (和牛) is also a comedy duo made up of Mashita Shinji and Kawanishi Kenshiro]



Yamashita: For me, I guess it would be Nadaru (from COLOCOLO CHIKICHIKI PEPPERS). Whenever we talk about him, one of us will show up at some point wearing a white turtleneck sweater.



[COLOCOLO CHIKICHIKI PEPPERS (ColoChiki) is also a comedy duo made up of Nishino Soto (Straight man) and Nadaru (Fool), who often wears a white turtleneck sweater.]



Tanaka: Then we end up mimicking his catchphrases. (laughs)



Yamashita: It always happens. (laughs) Even our outfitters do it.



Takagi: And if someone wears a black turtleneck, we call them “Black Nadaru.” (laughs)



Tanaka: We’re really close to our stylists and make-up artists because we’ve been with them the entire tour. We’d be laughing all the time and making all sorts of noise in the dressing room.



Takagi: Sometimes it gets weird, too.



Yamashita: It happens when everyone’s tired and exhausted. We end up talking about comedians non-stop and it would be dark outside before we know it.



Takagi: Since we’ve been messing around the whole time instead of resting.



Yamashita: Though it only happens when we’re tired.



Takagi: Aichan (Eino Airi) does her best to come up with jokes.



Tanaka: She really does. Not even our songs are safe. She’d go, “Ahh!!! I can’t think of anything with this!”



Takagi: “How do it work this?”



Tanaka: “What is this even trying to say?” (laughs)



Yamashita: She’s certainly becoming quite an entertainer.



Takagi: I don’t think most of our fans would get it though if we go too deep like that. (laughs)



Tanaka: They’re great inside jokes but on stage we might just leave the audience confused.



Yamashita: I can imagine that. It won’t come across well.



— I think it will. (laughs)



Takagi: Maybe we can recall another blunder…



Tanaka: Oh, how about the first time we used In-Ear Monitors in Makuhari?



Takagi: Oh! That’s our first WUGFES (Wake Up, Girls! Festa. 2014 Winter ~Wake Up, Girls! VS I-1 Club). It’s our first time in Makuhari Messe and also our first time those earpieces.



Tanaka: We couldn’t manage to sing WUG ZOO ZOO since we were doing it on trolleys, while wearing costumes and those earpieces, all of which were new to us. We didn’t want to do it again. (laughs)



(everyone laughs)



Tanaka: I got overwhelmed once I got on the trolley and I couldn’t hear anything.



Takagi: I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to take the earpieces off so I took off one of mine before getting on.



Tanaka: The reception kept cutting off too.



— I don’t think it happens often that a performer stops in the middle of a song.



Tanaka: It was completely new to us.



Yamashita: We had no idea where we were in the song.



Takagi: The sounds were echoing everywhere.



Tanaka: They were clashing between the one coming off the stage, the trolley speakers, and what gets picked up on the mic, so it becomes hard to tell which to follow. It was a bad first experience that developed into a trauma for us. (grimaces) We eventually got over it and even did it in Saitama Super Arena for Anisama (Animelo Summer Live 2018 -OK!-).



Yamashita: We definitely improved!

WUG, As Voice Actresses, Brought Up At The Ideal Environment.

— I want to ask if you’ve ever felt fortunate for being in WUG.



Tanaka: It’s encouraging to start together with peers who are on the same level. I often hear from other voice actors how hard it is to do it alone, especially those went through training schools where it gets very competitive. We’re not competitive by nature. We only have ourselves and our personalities complement each other well so we worked together to achieve our goals instead of competing.



— It’s a quality unique to WUG and I think that’s why it’s very fortunate that the seven of you started together.



Tanaka: I agree.



Yamashita: We were scolded about that in the beginning but that’s how we did things. In our case, getting into conflicts would only be counterproductive.



Tanaka: That’s who we are though Yoppi and Mayushii (Yoshioka Mayu) would butt heads sometimes.



Takagi: And for the most ridiculous of reasons. (laughs)



(everyone laughs)



Takagi: I was dozing off that time.



[This is a bit unclear from Miyu but I’m almost sure it’s a reference to the well-known “fight” between Mayu and Yoppi during their first training camp. It became the basis for a similar incident in Season 1 Episode 8 of the anime, including the part where Minami cried out, saying that she wants everyone to get along because she likes them, which Kaya noted was one of the first instances of real emotion from Minami, who was very stoic and hard to read at the time.]



Yamashita: We were immature back then.



Tanaka: Not to mention insecure. We were more focused on ourselves instead of competing against each other.



Takagi: That’s true.



Tanaka: I think that’s what it was since we couldn’t think of anyone other than ourselves and we weren’t confident in ourselves to begin with. Our manager may have seen that as us being relaxed but it was anything but that. Our voice lessons terrified us. We couldn’t remember anything and everything felt impossible.



Takagi: Not to mention we have to do this and that.



Tanaka: Looking back though, it realize how ideal that environment was.



Takagi: We get lots of questions about that.



Tanaka: We were practically children. I was in high school.



Takagi: If you think of it that way, we changed a lot since then.



Tanaka: We really did.



Yamashita: I used to feel so anxious whenever I did solo activities but that slowly changed into being determined to doing the best I can. I matured a lot thanks to WUG.



Tanaka: I can relate.



— So if you compare yourself now from when you debuted, what else has improved?



Takagi: We were so clueless back then.



Tanaka: We weren’t taking anything into consideration.



Takagi: It still felt like we were studying since we were still doing about two free lessons a week. It probably didn’t sink in that we were actually working.



Tanaka: We felt no sense of responsibility. I should have known but I wasn’t aware how my actions could influence hundreds or even thousands of people.



Takagi: WUG taught us everything.

[In a previous interview, Minami commented how they started having that broader mindset around 2017. They started out just doing whatever came their way, sight unseen, but around that time, they started taking into consideration if the things they plan on doing were for the best and if that would make their fans happy.]

Tanaka: If it weren’t for WUG, we would have had a harder time at our other jobs.



Takagi: Yeah.



Tanaka: We started from the very bottom and could only improve from there.



Takagi: We were just regular high school students, too.



Yamashita: And only two of us were staying near Tokyo. Everyone else had to travel.



Tanaka: That’s true. Miyu and I only had to take the train.



Yamashita: I had to fly to Tokyo every week and every time I felt more nervous than anything since it was unfamiliar territory and I only knew of Tokyo’s entertainment industry as someone from the countryside. I had no idea how the trains even worked.



Takagi: I auditioned without telling my parents so I taped a camera to a wall and used its timer feature to take a picture of myself for my application letter



Tanaka: My parents knew about it and my sister even took my picture, but I think Miyu and I felt the same way. I was ecstatic when I learned that I passed then I realized how hard it was once we had our training camps.



Takagi: I slowly realized how many people were there just for us and were involved in what we were doing.



Tanaka: Especially once we started recording voices…



— So your outlook changed once you realized how many people were involved in your work?



Tanaka: Yeah. I felt the pressure to do well especially when I’m did solo activities.



Takagi: And around that time our classmates were about to enter college.



Yamashita: That too. We were still high school students then, after all.



Tanaka: The three of us here didn’t go to college. I already decided on it even if I couldn’t enter this industry (laughs) so it’s crazy that there were other members who did the same.



Yamashita: It really is.



Takagi: I thought of enrolling, since living a more normal life is what my parents wanted for me. But when I made the decision not to go and started living on my own, I think that’s when it truly hit me that this will be my livelihood from here on out.



[Miyu mentioned that she is the oldest in her family’s generation of cousins and that performing in Aichi and seeing family there, especially her grandmother, was special because it reassured her and her extended family about her choice.]



Tanaka: I felt that when I got my first paycheck. That’s when I realized that I’m actually working. That this is what it felt being on stage and that people were actually spending their time and money to see me there. It changed me and I grew to see things in a broader perspective.



When I watch 7 Idols now, I can see why they kept saying that our acting didn’t play off each other. At the time, we were doing the best we could as the adults watched over us and covered for many shortcomings we were having.



Takagi: Yeah. It was like everyone had a hand in our growth.



Tanaka: Right. They were actually guiding us forward. I don’t think those kinds of environments truly exist.



Takagi: There’s no other place like it.

Tanaka: WUG grew with help of so many people. It’s the ideal environment. Most voice actors start out alone but we started together from the bottom. It’s a blessing. We took lessons together. We sang. We danced and nowadays, that’s something voice actors are expected to do. It was harsh and unrelenting—Tachiagare!’’s choreography took us a month to master, for instance, but I’m grateful for it.



Takagi: It was really tough.



Tanaka: I didn’t expect to sing and dance that much.



Takagi: I never expected to talk that much but I had to do it all the time for live MC segments, NicoNico live streams, and radio shows.



Tanaka: I’ve heard stories and even seen it for myself but it’s surprising how many things you have to focus on and keep in mind once you actually start doing something, even if it’s just one thing.



Yamashita: I realized how hard it was to sing and dance at the same time.



Takagi: That’s true. Variety shows are tough as well. We realized how much work it took when we did WUGBAN! (laughs)



Tanaka: Thank goodness for captions. (laughs)



Takagi: They really helped a lot.



Tanaka: They did tell us they’ll do what they can to make it interesting.



Takagi: There were also moments where we get so tense and they would ask us to say something funny. (laughs)



Tanaka: And I would act like a goof. (laughs) That said, it made us lot more comfortable doing solo activities. WUGChannel! did the same for our solo programs. We grew a lot thanks to them.

4 New Songs That Struck A Chord.

— Having done a lot of songs as WUG, which of them resonates with you the most? You can tell me whatever comes to mind.



Takagi: Right now it’s Doyoubi no Flight. It sounds like an original theme song.



Tanaka: The four new songs have a narrative flow to them. We think of this one as the “Turning point.”



Takagi: The lyrics are very relatable. It’s as if Tadano (Natsumi)-san expressed a lot of things on our behalf. The composition also feels like it came from a time.



— I can also imagine her lyrics relating to everyone.



Tanaka: I agree.



— Which part of it do you like the most?



Takagi: It’s a song filled with complicated emotions. I like how the song shifts between the first half, where we sing with a sense of unease, and the latter half, which was more carefree as if saying that we’ll do our best in spite of it.



Yamashita: For me, it’s Gokujou Smile. Since the announcement of our Final Live, it became more apparent in the tour that things are coming to an end. But whenever we perform it, it turns all those solemn emotions we carry from our final MC segments into feelings of enjoyment, which we want to end things with. It’s an important song to us because a lot of people know how to sing it and it has kept us going throughout the tour.



Tanaka: It would have to be Tachiagare!. Not only is it our first song, but just hearing the intro feels like coming home and I start tearing up. We have a lot of great songs but Tachiagare! will always be our point of origin that brings us back to our roots. I love how everyone shouts “Wake Up, Girls!” and follows the choreography during our live shows. It feels as if it becomes more complete when done live.



— When I listen to the CD version now, I can’t help but imagine hearing fan calls being there as well.



Tanaka: Exactly.



Takagi: “Wake Up, Girls!“



Tanaka: It’s also the first song we ever recorded so our voices hadn’t matured yet. I like that because it sounds a little different compared to our live performances.



— Since we’re on the topic, I want to ask you about Wake Up, Best! MEMORIAL, specifically the four new songs made just for it. How about we start with Umi Soshite Shutter Doori.



Tanaka: It’s a song made for winter that somehow has an element of warmth and loneliness to it, and the contrast between both has the power to move anyone to tears. It was composed by Takahashi (Kuniyuki)-san, who did most of the background music for the anime, and possibly by coincidence, also composed the music that we use for our live reading segments.



Takagi: Maybe it’s not a coincidence.



Tanaka: Only he could make good use of those sounds in that manner.



Takagi: It becomes easy to tell once you hear the interlude.



Tanaka: Right, since the tempo completely changes. It sounds so pleasant, like it’s meant to be background music.



Takagi: The song has a way of pulling in your emotions.



Yamashita: Listening to the rough lyrics made me wonder who gets to start the song since it sets the tone all throughout. It’s a lot of pressure so I was very glad that it went to Mayushii because her powerful voice is perfect for it.



Tanaka: True.



— The song has a homely and imaginative quality to it.



Tanaka: That being said, it’s also a song about the earthquake disaster, which is inseparable from WUG as a concept so I think it will resonate with the people of Tohoku.



— I can see that.



Tanaka: It feels kind of sad but that’s why it’s titled Shutter Doori [Literal Meaning: A street full of closed down shops and establishments.]



— How about Kotoba no Kesshou?



Tanaka: That’s first song we revealed live, right?



Takagi: We performed it at Kumamoto.



Tanaka: The choreography is so intense I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it but I managed. (laughs)



Takagi: It’s full of drama.



Tanaka: Right. And it’s a conflicting song.



Yamashita: Our fans might not be able to grasp the meaning of the lyrics and the emotions it carries right away but I’m sure they’ll understand how it relates to us the more they listen to it. Tadano-san and Hirowaka (Keiichi)-san envisioned a song that firmly expresses things that we couldn’t.



— If you read it in a negative way, it sounds a little off-putting. It makes you question the message it’s trying to present.



Tanaka: It gets right to the point.



Takagi: Yeah. It’s up on your face.



Yamashita: It’s aggressive.



Tanaka: Relentless.



Takagi: Exactly.



Tanaka: Who would have thought of writing lines such as, “Kizu wo kizutte toumei ni naru“? [Translated roughly, “(As my) wounds disappear and (I) turn into nothing.”]



[Personal Note: Kotoba no Kesshou has many interpretations, both literally and figuratively, as the words used can be taken in many different ways since it uses interchangeable terms and concepts from other WUG songs.



Taken literally, it could be read to be about a dying star (or a disappearing crystal) giving off its last light to send a final message to anyone who can see or hear it before it is engulfed by the darkness and solitude surrounding it.



Figuratively, it could be interpreted as the group expressing their fear of being forgotten, and that it (the new songs or the album in general) might serve as WUG’s final legacy, since they also express that same sentiment in their final blogs and letters.]



Takagi: I know.



Yamashita: I couldn’t agree more.



Tanaka: It expresses so much.



Takagi: It caught me by surprise when I first heard it.



— It feels like there’s something about this song in particular that resonates the most with all of you.



Tanaka: It means a lot to us.



Yamashita: Tadano-san was with us on the day we recorded and she told us she wrote the new songs as her way to express things on our behalf. With that in mind, it’s hard not relate ourselves to it.



Takagi: It wasn’t a thing with our songs until then.



Tanaka: I think our fans might be able to relate to those feelings as well.



Yamashita and Takagi: Yeah.



Tanaka: They might be in for a surprise because it’s different from our usual cheerful side but this is also who we are.



Yamashita: It’s the side that we couldn’t express at all.



Takagi: No matter what.



Yamashita: I think if it as the part of ourselves that we normally want to forget.



Tanaka: A part that we will now face head on. I love this song. It’s amazing.



— Even the lyrics don’t mince words.



Yamashita: Exactly.



Tanaka: Everything about it makes me cry but with wonderful lyrics like that, I can’t afford to make any mistakes and do retakes. (laughs)



— Next is Doyoubi no Flight.



Tanaka: Another amazing song.



Takagi: And also straightforward. It even has lines that mention “Graduating.”



[“Graduating” in this context means to effectively leave the group. For the song, however, it also means graduating from school since it is a song about going out of your comfort zone to face new challenges.]



Tanaka: And lines like “Wasurenaide—“



Takagi: “—demo jouzu ni wasurete.” It’s so powerful and the entire sequence it leads into is just as impactful.



[The full line is translated roughly as, “Don’t forget but do well to forget (them).” As mentioned previously, this is also a sentiment they started expressing as the tour was about to end. As they would put it, memories fade but they hope the ones they shared with everyone and the legacy they leave behind lives on for years to come.]



Tanaka: It doesn’t let up from there. They asked me to pour a lot of emotion into it, though the first chorus and the first verse in particular had to be expressed in a very flat manner.



Takagi: Even the backing track for that was different.



Tanaka: It was kind of mellow as if we’re repressing the hope we feel. Then it started picking up once it gets to Yoppi’s part.



Takagi: Lines like “Doyoubi no Flight / Tamashi to Pride” [Literally: Saturday flight / Spirits and Pride] get a different interpretation after that shift.



Tanaka: We started the song almost whispering before slowly developing into our natural voices.



Takagi: As if expressing our determination.



Tanaka: You can feel Tanaka (Hidekazu)-san’s signature style in this song. It’s a wild coincidence that Saturday is the day after our final live but it works so well once you imagine that everyone might be going on their own flights that day.



Takagi: It’s very appropriate.



Yamashita: The choreography is polished as well since it incorporates a bit of classical ballet. There are moves that express the friendship we share with each other, like the apparent embrace between with me and Miyu. The moves are imaginative and expresses who we are since it was done by SATOMI-sensei, who did Tachiagare!. I’m glad she handled the choreography for the new songs since she also did Sayonara no Parade.



Takagi: While ASAMI-san did Kotoba no Kesshou and Umi Soshite Shutter Doori.



Tanaka: She also did SHIFT.



Takagi: Right! Her moves are very dynamic.



Yamashita: Yeah.



Tanaka: SATOMI-sensei’s style leans more toward ballet and jazz. Doyoubi no Flight‘s lyrics are very emotional. Especially the line, “Shoumei wo shinai to” [Roughly, “(I) have to prove (myself)”]. Having to tell yourself countless times to be resolute and to keep going no matter what really resonates with me. It’s not just telling yourself that “I’ll do it.” No. “I must do it.”



— Do you tell yourself that all the time or is that something you’ve been doing to prepare yourself for the future?



Yamashita: I didn’t think of my current situation when I did my part. I thought of it instead as a step in order to move straight ahead. I sang while thinking about of my past experiences and used it as inspiration to imagine myself going out on a trip. Because I believe there’s more to life than the present. Or rather, what we have right now isn’t everything.



Takagi: Well said.



Tanaka: It’s like seeing things in the past progressive and imagining the nerves you were feeling on the day you graduated. Those kinds of imagery is strikingly vivid.



Yamashita: Though Tanaka-san also warned us to be emotional but not too dramatic that it ruins the mood of the song.



Takagi: Right. I think he told us to project our fears.



Yamashita: And I think it depends on the part of the song. Or rather, if we express those feelings too strongly, it takes away from what the song is trying to say.



Tanaka: He also emphasized that we gradually turn those fears into resolve.



— I can see that. And finally, Sayonara no Parade.



Tanaka: The song’s melody borrows a lot from Tachiagare!, which Kosaki (Satoru)-san also composed. However, while parades are usually lively occasions to welcome back important people, this is more of a send-off. That’s why it’s called a parade to say goodbye, as much as it pains us to do so.



Takagi: I feel like I’m going to cry once we perform it live.



Yamashita: I definitely will and I’m not looking forward to it.



Tanaka: It’ll be way too emotional.



Takagi: I know!



Yamashita: It’s what WUG is about though. We’re not always happy and positive all the time and I think that’s good and makes WUG relatable. So having our final song be just like that feels appropriate.



Tanaka: I get what you mean.



Takagi: It’s full of references that I’m sure some part of it will resonate with anyone.



Tanaka: It feels like a callback to our entire history. After all we’ve experienced with our fans to make our current tour into what it is, this song somehow feels more… meaningful. I don’t want to say goodbye. I know I’ll cry.



Yamashita: I would.



Tanaka: The lyrics refer to a “you” and it can mean many things but I’m sure it also means our fans.



Yamashita: That said, this song also feels like a declaration of resolve.



Takagi: Yeah. The songs flow into one another. From Umi Soshite Shutter Doori to Kotoba no Kesshou, then Doyoubi no Flight and finally, Sayonara no Parade.



Tanaka: There’s conflict and resolution.



Yamashita: We sing them while accepting the future that lies ahead of us.



Tanaka: As the parade sends us off.



Yamashita: We sang this song to say goodbye unwillingly yet optimistic of what comes next. It’s not meant to be taken negatively, rather… it shows our determination. We want to be on that stage and sing it without showing fear. It’s our final song after all, so we have to be strong and smile.



Takagi: Yeah, I want to tell them with a smile, “We’re moving forward!“



Tanaka: And that we’ll see each other again with our brightest smiles.

— Do you think you can pull it off?



Tanaka: I don’t know… (laughs) But it would be awesome if we did.



Takagi: Our tears might come spilling out though (laughs)



Yamashita: I don’t think they’ll be tears of sadness.



Tanaka: Maybe our fans might cry as well.



Takagi: I can see that happening.



Tanaka: They might dance with us too since each and every movement is from our other songs.



— It seems as if Sayonara no Parade is a culmination of all your songs. I can imagine your fans crying out how clever and unfair it is once they hear the intro from Tachiagare!.



Takagi: The “Wake Up!” at the end was something we talked about adding in before we recorded.



Tanaka: That it was going to be a clear “Wake Up!” sound before the chorus lines. It’s so emotional and I’m grateful for MONACA for giving us this touching present.

Takagi: It’s a great song.



Tanaka: I have nothing but good things to say about it.



— They’re awe-inspiring. They send a very clear message and it just dawns on you once you listen through all of them.



Takagi: It brings up so many memories.



Tanaka: It’s pretty crazy how these songs are connected to each other. I expected MONACA might make us a new song that we would sing as our swan song but not four. Incredible ones at that. I’m so happy for it.



“The Strongest Party” On Their Way To Final Live!

— If ever there’s a chance for the seven of you to get together again, what would you plan on doing?



Tanaka: I want to go out somewhere! A hot spring or Disneyland, or even overseas. (laughs)



Takagi: I’m game. (laughs)



Yamashita: We’ve been together all these years but we never went out on a trip.



Takagi: Not even once.



[They’ve gone overseas as a group for work reasons (Chicago, Los Angeles, Singapore, Taiwan and Shanghai) but not for vacation or personal time.]



Tanaka: Especially as a group. Why don’t we make it a company-sponsored trip where it’s just the seven of us and we don’t have to tell anyone. (laughs)



Takagi: I want to go to somewhere overseas.



Yamashita: I want to discover new places.



Takagi: Why don’t we get together and pitch ideas?



Yamashita: After all, we’ve been working so hard all this time with WUG and our other projects.



Tanaka: Let’s make it a week-long trip.



Yamashita: I don’t know much about the world yet so I want to take that as an opportunity to expand my perspective and see new things.



Tanaka: There’s so many places I want to visit.



— In that case, it is a good idea to gather ideas.



Takagi: Let’s get together and talk about it.



Yamashita: I hope we can think of a place where both WUG fans and our new fans can go to.



— Moving on, since WUG started as a way to promote “restoration and rebuilding”, what are your thoughts about it now?



Takagi: I’m happy that so many people, including those outside Tohoku, came to appreciate Sendai as their second hometown through our activities. WUG will always be around even though we’ve disbanded and Tohoku will always be a place dear and special to WUG. I hope that we and our fans will continue to be a positive force of change to the region.



Yamashita: WUG was originally conceived as a way to aid in earthquake disaster restoration efforts. But if you ask if our efforts had an effect, I honestly can’t say. We’ve done live shows and activities in Sendai but we never had the chance to see how things were developing with our own eyes. So with WUG ending, I want to do that—go to Sendai and see those places for myself.



Takagi: Things have been changing since then.



Tanaka: I want to visit Ishinomaki. I owe WUG and the various activities we’ve done in Tohoku since it inspired a lot of our fans to visit the region and go on pilgrimages, write their thoughts in notebooks and do other sorts of stuff.



Actually, Miyu and I went on a bike pilgrimage around hotspots in Sendai [It was the day after 5th Anniversary Live] and I saw those places first-hand. Our fans would always tell us how they love Tohoku through letters and social media so I wanted to see it for myself. We’ve done events like charity shows so I was curious how things were going along since then.



[According to numerous anecdotes, including their own in blogs, WUG is well-known in Sendai that when they went there to do a charity live, even children recognized them as the faces behind the characters.]



Takagi: We haven’t seen how things really were with our own eyes.



Yamashita: We hear about it all the time from our fans.



Tanaka: Yet we had no story of our own to tell.



Takagi: Why don’t we go together sometime?



Yamashita: Good idea.



Tanaka: Yeah. Let’s make that our first priority.



[Minami did visit Ishinomaki shortly after WUG disbanded as a day trip with her sister.]



— I believe WUG inspired a lot of people to visit Tohoku. I often see in social media your fans going there even if there’s no event happening at the time so I’m sure people will keep going even after you disband.



Tanaka: I’m glad that people feel an attachment to Tohoku because of WUG. The three of us aren’t from Tohoku… Unless you count Miyu who was born there, but it feels like home. It’s like visiting my grandmother. At first, taking the shinkansen just felt like going to some faraway place but now it feels homely once we reach Sendai Station, like it’s our second hometown. And it’s all thanks to WUG.



[Miyu was born in Sendai then her family moved to Chiba for work-related reasons when she was 3.]



Takagi: I want to figure out ways to continue supporting our hometowns.



Tanaka: Since voice actors can involve themselves in all sorts of activities, we hope to contribute in some way.



Yamashita: I want to keep going there.



Takagi: We don’t want to forget the memories.



Yamashita: Yeah. No matter what.



Tanaka: Exactly.



— I’m sure those sentiments will reach everyone. Now, if you look back at all your activities since the very beginning, how would you describe WUG as a unit?



Tanaka: Well, we’ve already said how grateful we are for WUG.



Takagi: We’ve mentioned so many times how glad we are that it’s the seven of us.



Tanaka: I would not have matured into who I am without WUG. It’s… “just right.” We’re not too close or distant from our fans, we play games together, we mess around and have fun. And working together with them always puts me at ease.



Takagi: In other words, we can be who we are.



Yamashita: We’ve experienced all sorts together, from laughter to tears.



Tanaka: All in the span of six years.



Takagi: Each and every moment filled with memories.



Yamashita: We’ve shared many things together, including moments where we just let ourselves go. I don’t know how to describe it but I’m very grateful for going through all the fun and painful moments with them.



Tanaka: When I’m old, maybe I’ll look back at all this as the brightest highlight of my life—The time where I grew the most in such a short time, as if it happened in an instant.



Takagi: We’ve been going full speed ahead all this time, haven’t we?



Tanaka: As comrades-in-arms?



Yamashita: Comrades?



Takagi: The strongest party out there. (laughs) Sounds like something from a game.



Tanaka: Even better. This is Famitsu, after all.



Takagi: A powerful party of seven.



Tanaka: Our history together feels like it can work as a drama or anime.



Yamashita: It does. Especially now that we’ve grown up.



Takagi: I want it to be adapted into an anime.



Yamashita: One that we get to star in.



Takagi: We talked about that recently.



Yamashita: Just the two of us.



Tanaka: It can see it happening as a piece of nonfiction.



Yamashita: Throughout our history, we’ve had a lot of moments where we hit a wall no matter how hard we try.



Tanaka: Those moments made us rethink how we should approach them



Yamashita: And we overcame them eventually.



Tanaka: Our new songs did well to express that.



Takagi: And their powerful lyrics drive that point across even harder. (laughs)

Tanaka: After all, we shine even in our darker moments.



Takagi: It’s a experience unlike any other.



Yamashita: Yeah.



Takagi: WUG taught me so many new experiences.



Yamashita: I completely agree.



Takagi: I’m glad for all we’ve done up to this point. Because we worked so hard for WUG, I’m confident we can do the same moving forward.



— You’re off to fight your own battles after this. Do you feel nervous?



Yamashita: I do, of course, but I don’t think we have to say it all the time. It would be disrespectful to our fans if all they hear from us is how scared we are. I want to believe even more in their support and I want to tell them to be with us as we create an even brighter future for ourselves.



Takagi: I’m sure they have expectations since we’ve heading to completely different fields. We’ll probably end up in crazy situations but that’s part of the experience.



Tanaka: I know what you mean. (laughs). Because of our experiences in WUG, I’m confident we can overcome anything. We feel a little nervous, of course, but I know we can do it.



Yamashita: After all, it’s not like we’ll become strangers to each other.



Takagi: True.



Tanaka: We’re in the same industry so chances are we’ll work with each other again.



Yamashita: And we’re close enough to get together with a single call.



Takagi: That’s reassuring.



Yamashita: Things are coming to an end but it’s not the end.



Takagi: We’ll manage in our own way.



Tanaka: We get together for all sorts of reasons, sometimes just to eat.



Takagi: Let’s see each other every once in a while. (laughs) It’s sad though that we won’t get to sing together anymore.



Tanaka: That’s why we’ll go out with a huge bang at our Final Live!



— How do you imagine yourselves feeling the day before the Final Live?



Tanaka: Just imagining how it would be makes me cry, I can hardly believe it.

Takagi: I slowly dawned on me that (at the time of this interview) it’s just two months away when we went to see *Milky Holmes’ final show and also when we appeared as guests at our seniors’ NicoNico shows. Seeing more and more people plan “Thank you” tributes for us made me realize that we’re just about to reach our goal… And that I need to keep going until then. (laughs) That’s not to say I’ve fully accepted it but I’m starting to feel that our time as WUG is coming to an end



(* Milky Holmes is a voice acting unit that ended their 10-year long history with a final live show in Nippon Budoukan in January 28, 2019)



Tanaka: We only have a little over a month left before it’s all over.



— Did you learn something from watching Milky Holmes at their final show?



Tanaka: We did! They started strong with their brightest smiles that it makes you wonder if it was actually their final show. Seeing that made me cry instead.



Yamashita: It shows how strong really they are.



Takagi: And their songs are very uplifting.



Tanaka: That’s why I cried. I was in tears throughout the first three songs before finally calming down during their MC segment. But at the end, once they came out with their hats, the tribute video, and especially the letters… I broke down again. The ten years they had were so fruitful.



Takagi: You can clearly see how close they are.



Yamashita: It’s amazing to watch a group that had a history as long as they have.



Tanaka: I couldn’t stop crying because of that. It was so fun and wonderful. It was all I could ask for.



Takagi: It makes me wonder what we’ll see at our Final Live.



Tanaka: It’s a little hard to imagine, isn’t it?



— Do you have an image in your head of how you want it to go?



Tanaka: After seeing Milky Holmes, we went over the setlist again and did our best to visualize how it would be. (laughs) We wanted to make sure if everything is as good as it can be.



Takagi: We did it over and over again.



Tanaka: I’m absolutely certain that it’s perfect.



Yamashita: I agree. It felt as if our doubts finally cleared up. With the tour and preparations for SSA, all we could do was focus on what’s directly in front of us and tackle them one at a time. That’s why even though it’s so close, it still felt so far away.



But watching Milky Holmes brought us face to face with it, and reinforced our intention to make it the best show possible. That’s when it finally hit how close it really is. We want it to be a happy experience. We want to stand on that stage and show everyone that the six years we shared together were wonderful, just like Milky Holmes did.



[The girls thought of the name of the Live (Omoide no Parade / Parade of Memories), designed some of the merchandise (shirt, towel, and the bookmarks), and decided the entire setlist.]



— So I guess it’s safe to say you have a clear idea of what to expect.



Tanaka, Yamashita, Takagi: Yes.



Tanaka: But we won’t know for sure how it will actually turn out.



— I think that’s a good idea to prepare yourself for what might come.



Tanaka: I’ll emotionally prepare myself.



Takagi: After all, we can’t do the show feeling nervous or afraid.



Tanaka: That’s why we have to bring everyone with us.



Yamashita: Yeah. We have to bring all our fans along so we can’t falter no matter what.



Takagi: Let’s go over it with everyone again. Maybe some of us are still nervous.



Yamashita: It’s natural to feel that way though.



Takagi: But didn’t we talk about that when we were eating? Maybe there’s still something we can do. (laughs)



Yamashita: Oh, right. (laughs) We’ve opened ourselves to our fans throughout the tour so I think it’s a good idea to connect all of those to the Final Live.



Tanaka: Especially things from way back in Part I.



— I have a feeling this is shaping up to be, to borrow one of your catchphrases, “your best yet” and I can’t wait to see how that would be for SSA.



Takagi: I’m so excited.



Yamashita: Me too. I’m sure we’ll see a sight so awesome, it will never happen again, and will live on as a precious memory.

Takagi: Maybe we’ll even experience feelings we’ve never felt before.



Yamashita: Yeah. That’s worth looking forward to.



Tanaka: I wonder how the first few songs will go.



— Now that I think about it, wouldn’t those songs be the final songs you’ll sing as WUG?



Tanaka: It all comes down to that word—Final. The last one. The end. Phew.



— How do you want your fans to approach it?



Takagi: I want them to relax and enjoy the show.

Yamashita: Right.



Takagi: “Don’t think, feel!”



Tanaka: It won’t do them any good if they overthink things.



Takagi: Yeah. They should approach it like they normally would.



Tanaka: And smile and have fun. That’s what’s important. That’s what we’re aiming to do.



— That’s sounds very reassuring!



Takagi: I think that’s what we feel as a whole. Just watch us.



Tanaka: We’ll shine the brightest we’ll ever be.



— How do you want to present yourself to everyone once April starts?



Tanaka: I want to show off in any way I can and everywhere I go how WUG cultivated my talents.



Takagi: I want to be someone who can make the legacy of our group proud.



Tanaka: And make them regret for not meeting us sooner. (laughs)



— Not a bad idea. (laughs) I have to say, the other four started their interview trying hold back tears but the three of you ended this happy and in good spirits… are you sure you’re doing fine? (laughs)



Tanaka: Well, that sounds just like us too, doesn’t it? (laughs)