[JO1] TV Navi 220223

Shiroiwa Ruki
Born 1997.11.19, from the prefecture of Tokyo. He made his debut in March 2020 as one of 11 members of JO1 after being chosen in the Japanese version of the popular Korean audition program “PRODUCE 101”. All the 5 singles they have released so far managed to take the 1st place in the Oricon ranking.

I didn’t expect at all to be moved by a movie in which I appear myself.

Around 2 years after making their debut in March 2020, on March 11 JO1 release their documentary movie “JO1 THE MOVIE Mikansei” which follows their path until now. It’s a movie that portrays the behind the scenes of their first lives with audience “2021 JO1 LIVE “OPEN THE DOOR”” which was held about 1 year and 9 months after their debut, their straightforward practice environment and their unmasked true selves. Shiroiwa Ruki, who has a higher professionalism than other people, says frankly “I was opposed to showing my efforts from behind the scenes.”, but what was the change of mind that occured after the filming?

I assume that for the filming of the documentary movie there was a camera around you all the time, but what was your impression during the filming?
After the audition had ended I assumed that I wouldn’t be closely followed anymore, so for me it felt like being confronted with going to the very beginning again. Originally I’m not good with showing my efforts from behind the scenes, so in the beginning I felt very anxious and afraid. When the camera turned to me, I tensed up and thought “Do I have to say something interesting, something necessary for the movie?”, which was a bit mentally challenging for me. However, the cameraman who created this along with us continued to film the whole time. Even when we practiced early in the morning, they were always with us… I feel like that because of this, I slowly opened my heart a bit.

In the beginning there was a filming side and a being filmed side, but it changed to a mindset that you created this work together.
However I think it was simply that I became enthusiastic about it when I became used to the camera and didn’t pay much attention to it anymore (laughs). I often felt it was okay just to be myself. Actually, when I was able to watch the finished movie, I was moved by the end. I am rarely moved by movies, but to be honest that it was one in which I appeared myself, is something I had never imagined. There is also a scene in which our company’s CEO appears while being in the audience of our lives which we could finally hold with an audience and this one touched my heart. Right after our debut the corona virus spreaded and he is the one who walked with us through a period when various things didn’t go well while considering a lot with us together, so seeing an unseen expression of him, was something that hit me. It was the thing that moved me the most since a while. Also I feel nothing but gratitude for the film staff who managed to create it like this.

What do you want the viewers to take from this documentary movie that shows things as they are?
On the first glance this job seems like something glittering. But I think that everyone, even when they seem like they are always glittering and laughing, has very draining times or times when they are about to break down. It is the same for us. We just like everyone else, we struggle and fight to survive. But I think everyone might be able to relate and be encouraged by it. Hence, “We are not different from everyone, we are in this together.” is what we hope to convey. Because we also have weak sides and struggle with a lot of things. I hope that when the fans see it, they will think “Because JO1 is working hard, I’m gonna do the same”, and I hope that if they have a dream, they will give their all for it without ever giving up.

It’s a movie that shows the behind the scenes of JO1, but is there an off site from a member that you want to be more known personally?
I think it’s because most JAM know it, but the movie doesn’t show any good sides of my beloved leader (Yonashiro Sho). No matter how early it’s in the morning or late at night, he always greets each member. He even goes as far as going to everyone’s seat or where they are doing their styling, and greets us while looking into our eyes. I end up feeling quite embarrassed if I did so, but Sho-kun really looks them in the eyes and greets them which is amazing and leader-like. He is someone broadminded and perfectly overviews his surroundings, so that’s why he can bring us, who have a strong individuality and hard to organize, together. It’s really good that besides his broadmindedness his character also has a slightly off minded side. I think because he is sometimes a bit off, the younger members don’t need to be so formal and can relax a bit. But when he has to bring us together, he diligently does so. He is indeed the perfect leader for JO1.

This movie will be preceded by a drama, “Short Program”, in which all JO1 members are starring, and which will be streamed via Amazon Prime Video, starting March 1. It is a live action adaptation of the classic manga by Adachi Mitsuru with the same name, with each member playing the main character in one episode.
In “Short Program” I’m challenging acting for the first time.I saw it, but I couldn’t believe it was the first time. “For real?!? That’s kinda embarrassing (shy)”. I always wanted to try acting, but because it was my first time, there were just things I didn’t understand and too many difficult things, so it was hard. But I talked a lot with the director and there might be no technique, so I feel that I managed to do it with all my power that I could use and with the purity of who I am.

What was something fun in your first drama?
Becoming someone other than myself was more fun and interesting than I expected. It was an enjoyment you can’t taste when you sing and dance on stage and there is a sense of achievement in creating such a piece of work.To be honest, I wondered “Could I have done better?”, but it had been more difficult than I imagined it to be. When I received my episode, I felt like I couldn’t watch it on my own so I called my friend over and we watched it while saying “wow, kyaa”. I often said “It’s too embarrassing for me to watch” , yet my friend said “It was better than we expected. You can absolutely watch it".

Yet I feel it requires more courage to let your friend watch your acting…
I really couldn’t watch it myself (laughs) After receiving the video, I was struggling not being able to watch it for an hour so in the end I called my friend and I secretly watched it while covering my eyes (laughs). During the acting I focused on this and became my role, so I didn’t feel any embarrassment, but since I had never experienced seeing my real self acting before, I looked at it from an audience point of view, thinking “ah, it's like this.”. In my opinion, I really worked hard, but, but I wish I would have done a little better (bitter laughing). After learning more and becoming better, I want to try acting again. I wasn’t able to watch the other member’s episodes yet, but I happened to hear the rumour that the episode of the our leader Sho-kun is really funny (laughs), so I’m looking forward to the streaming of it.