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~Its all thanks to the other 5ki members, that i can express myself better~
—How do you feel about this shoot?
Nagi:I feel like I'm gradually getting used to it. Although I still contantly think about "how about trying out other expression" when shooting, I feel like I'm showing my most natural self bit by bit. I also had fun drawing sketches after a long time. However, because I was too concentrated in sketching, I was a little worried of how my expression would turn out. (laughs)
—I heard that you fell in love with Nogizaka during the Covid
Nagi:Although I was interested in Nogizaka when i was in the third year of junior high school, i did not pay much attention/or given it much thought as i had to prepare for the high school entrance exam . After entering high school, although I had a lot of expectations for my new life, due to covid, I couldn't even go out,let alone going to school. I was feeling uneasy during that period, and i overheard the song "世界中の隣人よ" which touched my heart. In particular, the lyrics "I'm not alone, there will always be someone by my side" touched my heart too.
—I heard that you really like Endo Sakura-san among the members.
Nagi: I fell in love with her without realizing it. When asked "what do you like about her", the only answer i have is "Zenbu Suki(I like everything about her)". Despite the fact that she appears to be very quiet, her performance is very cool(Kakoii). Thus , Endo-san who has a very unique temperament naturally caught my eye. Even when she is not performing, Endo-san's inner strength can be felt. I felt a little embarass having said that (laughs).
—Do you want to be like Endo-san?
Nagi:The "ideal type of girl" in my mind is Endo-san, I really wanted to be like her, but I probably can't be like Endo-san, as Endo-san has a lot of attributes/virtues that I don't have.
—Please tell us your reason for participating in the Nogizaka new member audition.
Nagi:Before participating in the audition, not only Endo-san, I couldn't imagine myself being like the seniors that are currently Nogizaka46. However, when I watched the video of Akimoto-san(Akimoto Manatsu) talking about what happened when she participated in the audition, I realise that Akimoto-san had the exact same feeling that i felt at that time, and I felt in my heart that the distance between me and Nogizaka46 had shortened. Also, after hearing Kaki-san (Kaki Haruka) words, "Although you may feel uneasy right now and keep thinking you might fail, just give it a try first and you can think about those things later", I pressed the application button (laughs)
—Have you ever had the thought of wanting to change yourself?
Nagi:I do. I am very afraid of meeting stranger/new people.Right now ,I am still very afraid of meeting new people/stranger (laughs),and that I am not good at communicating with people. There are also a lot of things that I don't like about myself.I feel that i will learn to like myself even more if my fans accept my flaws.
—I heard that you showed your sketches during the audition.
Nagi:Although I thought about whether to change something else in the middle of the audtion, I thought that it is better to be constant.So i ended up showing my sketches during the audtion to appeal myself. Just as I want to be remembered like Manatsu-san(the girl with the wide belt), I try to leave a lasting impression with my paintings. However, the auditionee participating in the audition are all in good shape, and I was unsure what will happened. There are also many auditionee who have experience in singing and dancing. As the audtions proceed into the next rounds, I felt that my confidence began to disappear little by little and kept thinking "if it is really ok for me to stay". However, when I manage to make it to the final round of the audition, I thought, "It's a miracle that I can get to this point among so many lovely girls" and i felt relieved.
—Do you still remember what questions were asked during the audition process?
Nagi:I felt troubled when i was asked "Please tell us an experience where you become popular ." (laughs) I don't remember what I answered at the time.
— I feel that you are the type that is very popular with the girls of the younger generation
Nagi:I feel like I am very close to them. When I decided to join Nogizaka and transferred schools, I felt very happy when I received letters and photo albums from my juniors in my lockers and i felt that i really became popular (laughs).
—I watched your introduction video when it was released, and was surprised as to how you portray yourself like a princess , did anything happen during after your audition and before your introduction video was released?
Nagi:As I said just now, I am very afraid of meeting new people/stranger. However, compared to before, I have become less afraid of meeting people, and I can feel that "it's okay to show a different side of me more". Before that, I was afraid of being rejected by people when I showed a different side of me, but among the 5th generation members, many of them would affirm me, and there were some of them who suggested to me that it would be better to do this. This also made me realize that people are watching my good and bad sides, so I've become more comfortable expressing myself.
—They seems like good friends who will be by your side when tackling unaccustomed/new situation
Nagi:There are many things that I don’t know yet, and i know that there are thousands of things that I need to work on, so i will do my best and try out various things first. I don't even know if I can ask something I don't know.When I communicated with the other 5th generation member, I realized that everyone felt the same uneasiness. This allowed me to become a little more positive, and at the same time I felt that it was okay to talk to everyone about my uneasiness .
—I've heard that Inoue-san is the type of person who remembers dances quickly.
Nagi: Because I have practiced ballet, I think I am fairly fast at memorizing dance. Especially when I got the center for the 5th-generation song [Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae], I put in 120% of my effort during practice. Everyone has to learn very complex formations for the song, so i decided I must also move forward firmly and worked hard for the song. In response to everyone's efforts, I have also decided to dance with a more positive attitude during practice for Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae
— It looks like Inoue-san is the leader of the 5th generation, but who is the actual leader among the 5th generation?
Nagi:Emm,how do i put it.... There are a lot of clumsy member in the 5th generation (laughs). There are also some weird member, and there are many members who give the feeling of being a little sister.As I'm the eldest daughter in my family, I'm going to try my best to lead. However, Sugawara Satsuki is actually the most reliable, and would often provide constructive feedback to others.
—I heard you once cried a lot in front of Sugawara-san
Nagi:Satsuki-chan is very close to every member in 5th gen, and she is very easy to talk to, so occasionally I cry in front of her. However, sometimes she also consult me about her problem, and that she feels uneasy at certain time too .Also, Satuki-chan often cried in front of me too (laughs).
—Do you also took on leadership role in your class or after school activities?
Nagi:Not at all. My club mates who saw me in Nogizaka even lost their temper and said to me "You are quite reliable in nogizaka, so you should act like this more often" (laughs). In school, I think it's safe to say that I'm actually the kind of person who usually trouble other people?
—I heard that you started to sketch anime related-stuff when you were in the first grade of junior high school.
Nagi: During my time in junior high school, I couldn’t say it’s not all good memories at all. There are also things that make me become afraid of my relationships between my friends. Sketching/Copying, which can be done without thinking about anything, became a spiritual refuge for me at that time.
Note:Mmm,the above part is a little hard to translate.Perhaps, Nagi mentioning that its not all good memories in junior high would be referring to something else...
—You seems to have started watching anime even before you were born
Nagi:My parents are very fond of anime and have collected EVA and Gundam, as well as Ghost in the Shell DVD at home. I grew up in an environment that was very natural for me to like anime. I also have the tape recording of Asuka(Saito Asuka) paying tribute to EVA on Nogizaka Construction B class news, but I don't have a device/player to watch it (laughs). To put it in a strange way, when I was in junior high school, I didn't like to take initiative and try out something on my own, but I just try my best to accept things as they come along
—Did you talk a lot with Kaki-san during the fliming of the 29th single prayer hit campaign for Nogizaka Under Construction?
Nagi:Before I joined Nogizaka, I liked Kaki(Kaki Haruka) very much. I had a common point with her as we both likes to draw, so I wanted to have a good relationship with her. Although I was nervous during the fliming of the 29th single prayer hit campaign for Nogizaka Under Construction, I was always happy. No matter what I say to her(Kaki Haruka), she always smiles back at me, so i was really happy. It was indeed a very happy shoot.
—We have interviewed Kaki in the past , and she had said that if there are members who are good at drawing in the 5th generation, she wants to create an art club
Nagi:I want to participate! I want to work with Kaki-san.
—Did you also know that there were many other past members in Nogizaka46 who drew very well too?
Nagi:I've heard of them, like Nishino-san(Nishino Nanase) and Wakatsuki-san(Wakatsuki Yumi ), etc. I want to do my best to inherit Nogizaka's illustrator culture.
—At the 2nd omitataekai, you perform [Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae] for the first time
Nagi: I was more nervous as compare to the 1st omitataekai as this was the first live performance of Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae.We also performed touching songs like [Kimi no na wa kibou] and [Synchronicity]. At the time of the rehearsal, my tears kept flowing non-stop and I really thought to myself ,"is it ok for me to cry like this?" . However, during the actual performance, I didn't feel nervous, but felt happy that i was finally able to performed Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae and completed the entire performance without issue
— In Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae, I was very impressed by Inoue-san's expression at the beginning.
Nagi:At the beginning, I didn't know what expression to make, but as the practice progressed, I gradually fell in love with exploring and researching which expression to make during the performance of Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae. As the expression i make in Zetsubou no Ichibyou Mae is based on my own careful research, It gives me some confidence to perform the song well.
—My eyes were mesmerized by the graceful gesture of Inoue-san at the 2nd omitaetakai
Nagi:Really? My nerves were quite tense that day, which was likely due to me wearing the 5th generation uniform.
Author Note:Lol,this interview
—I was surprised by Inoue-san's singing skills in "Shin Nogizaka Star Tanjo". But you haven't learned to sing, have you?
Nagi: I often go to karaoke (laughs). I'll go with my friends about twice a week and sing for eight hours straight, particularly after my exam.
—Have you been told by your friends that you sang well?
Nagi:No, my friend actually sings better. It's almost as if they're performing at a professional level. For me, [singing] is a happy thing, neither a good nor bad thing.
—For Inoue-san, who can sing well, draw and lead the members, have you ever heard of other saying that you are a "perfect person"?
Nagi:Definitely not![laughs]
—Is there anything that Inoue-san is bad in?
Nagi:Even if i can't do something by today,i am sure that i will be able to do it tomorrow.I am somewhat overconfident in a sense of my future self.
—Did you quit ballet and piano?
Nagi:When I was in middle school, it became difficult to balance piano with schoolwork and after school activities ,so I went to the piano classroom one day and casually told them "I will not practice from today." When I got home, I reported to my mother [I told them that I would not practice ballet anymore starting from today] (laughs). I stop practising Ballet in junior high school. At that time, I felt as if I didn't belong anywhere, whether it was schools, cram schools, or ballet, and it was difficult to continue without friends who could work hard together.
Author Note:This interview translation is proving to be revealing a different side of Nagi more than expected.Perhaps, Nagi mentioning that its not all good memories in junior high and that she felt as if I didn't belong anywhere would be referring to a)she doesn't have any friend in junior high or...well,you know what i mean.Take it with a pinch of salt though.
—Even though you had such an experience in junior high, you now have Nogizaka, a place where you can feel like you belong.
Nagi: Yes, i do. However, I am not trying to deny my past, I think it is because of these thoughts/feeling that make me who I am now.
Author Note:Even the interviewer is hinting something
—How do you feel about the Nogizaka 10th anniversary Birthday live held at Nissan stadium?
Nagi:Very very happy! I found out that i really like performing live!
—Performing in front of 70,000 people, you must have been really brave
Nagi:Of course I was nervous too (laughs). The anxiety and thought of "can I really do it" also flashed in my mind, but I had given my all to prepare during the rehearsal, so I quickly adjusted my mood and think positively.
—Were you surprised that you performed with the OG (original member) despite the fact that it was the first time the 5th generation members performed with the other generations(at nissan stadium)?
Nagi:I didn't expect to meet them, so I became more motivated. It is because of the efforts of the 1st generation seniors that Nogizaka is what it is now, so we must not ruin it. Thus ,I felt that I had to work hard.
—I heard that your personal dream is to become a narrator for read aloud theatre drama and take on voice acting works.
Nagi:The read-aloud dramas by the seniors that I have seen are very interesting, and I was moved by their performance as there are so many different ways of expressing emotion through voice. I feel that is quite difficult to rely only on sounds to express one's emotion as compare to acting, drawings, , postures, movements, etc. which can be imagined.Thus,if I have the chance, I would like to challenge voice acting roles etc.
Author Note:Based on my interpretation,the read aloud drama is referring to the theatre play that Hayakawa Seira and Tamura Mayu did,refer to link
Final Note:I expected this interview translation to be lighthearted. It turns out that Nagi revealed quite a bit about her life in junior high school, subtly hinting that she did not have a great experience there. .As for the reason,its up for speculation. However, I can safely conclude that she is doing well in her current senior high school because she has friends with whom she can go karaoke.
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