[JO1] 1OC 220615

Shion Tsurubo x Ren Kawashiri x Syoya Kimata

“I thought, what happened to the ‘eternal rebellious phase’? (laughs)”

Your first impression of each other?
Ren: My very very first impression was that Shion was a yankee and Syoya shy of people!
Syoya: I thought Shion was a yankee and Ren-kun was smiley!
Shion: Eh~... Ren-kun was scary and Syoya was an introvert.
Ren: (breaks out laughing)
Syoya: So we were scary and introvert~ (laughs)

And your impression now?
Ren: Shion is a courteous guy and Syoya a weird kid.
Syoya: Shion is a gentle bear and Ren-kun is a smiling face.
Shion: Hm…. wait a second…. (thinks) Sure enough Syoya is an introvert!
All: (break out laughing)
Shion: And Ren-kun is… He is a scary person who has experienced a lot (laughs)! A scary person with a high amount of experience.
Ren: A while ago, I happened to be a bit surprised by Shion’s behavior. We are riding taxis more often than before, but nowadays you can reserve a taxi via an app, right? When the taxi comes that I always enter it, cheerfully saying “Hello, I am Kawashiri”. But Shion politely greets the driver “My name is Tsurubo” when the door opens.
Shion: (laughs)
Ren: I introduce myself to the driver to make sure it is the taxi I reserved before entering it. But when I saw him I thought “What happened to the ‘eternal rebellious phase’?” (laughs). “He is such a polite kid. I am impressed”.
Shion: (while being embarrassed) I guess that might have happened.
Ren: It did~
Syoya: Ren hates eggs and milk. I was surprised that he has so many likes and dislikes regarding food.
Shion: That’s surprising? (laughs)
Syoya: I do not have any food I hate, which, I guess, is rare. Everyone got some food they hate, right? It is not just Ren-kun. I was surprised that there are even people who dislike sushi in this world!
Shion: Syoya is someone who does not change his opinion. That’s why Syoya is an introvert who has confidence in himself.
Ren: What is an introvert who has confidence in himself? (laughs)

What was the opportunity for the three of you to become friends?
Syoya: (stares into the distance) It was during a hot summer…
Shion: (ignores him) It just naturally happened!
Syoya: That’s right.
Shion: The three of us play games together, right.
Syoya: We also watch anime.
Ren: We are three people who love games and anime.
Shion: We are three people with an otaku mentality.
Ren: We tell each other about the anime we watched or recommend some.

“Maybe if I was behind you two I would not to follow you.”

If you expressed the nature of your relationship in a few words?
Ren: For me these two are my ‘observation objects’. They are funny so I always want to watch them!
Syoya: I think ‘team’ or ‘party’.
Shion: Sure, ‘party’ could fit.
Syoya: It is ‘party’ in the sense of a game party. We will walk in one vertical line. Who would be in the lead?
Ren: Wouldn’t that be you, Syoya?
Shion: Certainly, it would be Syoya.
Syoya: But I am an introvert who has confidence in himself! (laughs) But it could be that if I was behind you two I would not follow you.
Shion: hahahahaha
Ren: That’s right, you would surely not follow us (laughs).

"I understood what was ‘that thing’ that was floating through Syoya’s mind!"

An episode about the bond between you three?
Shion: Well, I will tell you about an episode about my bond with Ren-kun. Even when I ask Ren-kun ‘Can you teach me this movement’ after a dance practice when everyone is exhausted and we think ‘I guess it is about time to go home’, he never made an annoyed face and reliably teaches me. He is really kind.
Ren: Because that you come to me like this, is making me happy after all.
Shion: I am truly impressed by you. Sure enough, you are really good at dancing. When you are too good at something, I believe it makes people a little bit of a show-off. But Ren being always humble is something amazing after all.
Ren: Some time ago, Syoya and Junki talked with each other. When I was passing by, Syoya was trying to remember something, saying ‘Ah, Junki-kun, what was it again? That thing”. For some reason, I understood what was floating around in Syoya’s head. When I said “Do you mean autophagy?”, he said “Ah yes! It’s this!”.
Syoya: It is amazing what is going on in Ren-kun’s head!
Ren: I also do not know why but I just knew it. I felt “That’s our bond~”. I did not listen to what you said before and after, but it just popped into my mind.
Shion & Syoya: That’s amazing~!
Syoya: Well, then I will share an episode of the bond with Shion.
Shion: Please do so!
Syoya: Our actions are similar from time to time, and we often go out to have fun together! Like we often go out to eat together.
Shion: Well, me and Syoya always think of something funny (laughs). Like “This was a good joke”. We think of the same things as funny, so we end up doing exactly the same thing (laughs).
Syoya: That’s our bond.
Ren: Surely, your actions are always similar.
Syoya: It has been like this since the debut. Both our interests and what we think off as funny are the same.

“Because Shion is too kind, I end up wanting to care for him.”

Something you admire about each other?
Syoya: Even though Shion seems like this, he is unexpectedly calm and sees his surroundings. Well, Ren-kun is the same, however. Ren-kun is simply a super good dancer and he has a lot of ‘tactile sense’!
Ren: You always say that (laughs)
Syoya: You have your antennae up for all sorts of things, so I feel you can catch a lot of things.
Shion: We all know that Ren-kun sees his surroundings and he is also very polite. There are people who you will never meet again in your life, right? Store clerks in a combini for example are people you will most likely never meet again. He treats even these people properly. I think he is an amazing person.
Ren: Shion is even more amazing in this regard!
Shion: I try to keep this in mind, too. Syoya is very energetic! He always is. And he is really noisy (laughs). But when I do not want him to talk to me, he does understand it (laughs).
Syoya: I know this by whether you are take out your earphones or not!
Shion: When I want to talk to Syoya I take them off, when I do not want to talk to him they stay (laughs). That is how I send the message.
Ren: Shion is too kind. He is really willing to make self-sacrifices, so I ended up wanting to care for him.
Shion: This makes me happy.
Ren: Syoya has an amazing spirit of inquiry. I am also the type of person who looks up or asks if there is something I got curious about, but Syoya has the vigor to look up everything! If there is a word in a conversation he does not know, he will say “Please wait a minute” and start to look it up on his smartphone. He has a lot of knowledge and I admire his attitude of being curious about everything.
Syoya: If I stay clueless about something, I will feel hazy.

“Let’s do Syoya’s Animate tour!”

Something you want to do together in the future?
Shion: Since Ren-kun is also good at rapping, how about doing a rap song with the three of us together? Ren-kun and Syoya will rap in a high-pitched tone while I do it in a low-pitched one. Cause Ren-kun is also rapping in ‘YOLO-konde’!
Syoya: I want to rap to classical music. Singing would be okay, too!
Shion: But I also want to try a song with a sexiness. If we talk about something I want to do in private together, it would be visiting Animate! (laughs)
Ren: I haven’t been there yet~
Shion: Me too.
Syoya: You haven’t!? I did.
Ren: Let’s do Syoya’s Animate tour! I want to go to Akihabara.
Syoya: Since I am the one who takes the lead. you two are gonna follow me! But Akihabara is huge, so I fear we all end up being lost (laughs).

Takumi solo interview

I want to do everything, singing, dancing, rapping and everything with all my power.

Kawanishi Takumi
Birthday: 1999.6.23
Blood type: B type
Origin: Hyogo
Height: 170cm

Q1 About your recent solo schedules
‘THE FIRST TAKE’ had been a filming that created a lot of tension. How should I say it, it gave off a certain kind of nervous atmosphere. But I feel I was able to enjoy it. I was happy that fans said things like “This is because Takumi got sense”. But I was the one who started saying this in the first place and it ended up being like this (laughs). It’s not like “I am really working extremely hard though”… No, I guess there is nothing like that. Even so, is it not good (to say)? I am not sure in which direction (the results of hard work or sense) I want to take this conversation (laughs). Of course I train. At home after the lessons ended, I review everything, watch the videos we took, and while I do not exercise physically, I do these things in order for everything to remain in my head. I would feel gloomy if I stood on stage or performed in an ambiguous state. Hence, to prevent that from happening I want to sufficiently do the bare minimum for work and enhance it. I only do this, so I don’t think I can say I am working hard. Well, in fact, it might be just my sense (laughs). I want to do everything, singing, dancing and rapping. I do not have everything I think of as “I am really good at this”. For example in Junki-kun’s case it’s singing, in Ren-kun’s case it’s dancing and so on. I don’t have such a personal strong point, I really don’t have it. Hence, that’s why I want to do everything with my all. I can also play the guitar. It is fun! I still have a long way to go, but gradually I can play more and more. I think the first song I practised was ‘Marigold’ from Aimyon-san. If I saw the chords, I could play it right now. Recently, I don’t have a song I am practising but if there is a song I want to play I will look up the chords and practise it.

Q2 What do you think is your role in JO1 whose charm is ‘diversity’?
I am the type of person who rather calms down when he is alone, so I guess it is often that I stay alone. But this is not easy (laughs). I am right in the middle of the ages (in the group), so I really have both the feelings of an elder and a younger brother. But sure enough I think of the younger members as cute. It is really adorable that they are often attention seeking. Shosei, for example, approaches me so often to the point that it is a bit annoying already. But this is cute. In shows close to us, for example on our YouTube channel, I am close to my true self or rather I just enjoy the things as they are without thinking too much about them. Like I am a little hyper there. But in JO1 there aren’t many who do tsukkomi (make the smart comebacks), right? Hence, I try my best to be the one to do so when the time comes.

Q3 If you gave a catchphrase to yourself in summer 2022?

“Health first,
Safety first”

I really suck at this. I got no sense for it… (laughs). I get sick easily. It has always been like this, but in summer I become skinnier as I cannot eat. Yet this year I try my best to eat and stay healthy. Because after all, health is the most important thing. However, I well… I don't cook myself (laughs).

Ruki solo interview

I imagine what kind of people I would like if I were in the position of the fans

Shiroiwa Ruki
Birthday: 1997.11.19
Blood type: O type
Origin: Tokyo
Height: 175cm

Q1 About your recent solo schedules
I am the main personality of the radio “All Night Nippon X”, but when I am normally with JO1, my role is not so much the one who directs and fools around, so this change is difficult. Also, even though it is a radio show, I am able to watch the video (of the radio booth) during the commercials, something different from normal radios, so I feel more nervous. Each week different members come, but the hardest thing is the airtime between midnight and 1am. Previously, we all worked starting at 6 am, finished at about 10 pm and from there I moved over to the studio and had the live broadcast. This kind of schedule was something I had not experienced before, so I am reassured to do it while we members supported each other. In the past I heard something like “being able to be a radio personality is a sign of popularity”, so when “All Night Nippon X” was decided, I was very happy remembering these words. Moreover, it is “All Night Nippon”, a program with a history, for which a lot of famous people have been in charge of. Initially, I felt pressure about being involved like this, but now I enjoy doing it and one hour feels really short. I think there are also people listening, who do not know JO1, so it is a great opportunity for JO1.

Q2 What do you think is your role in JO1 whose charm is ‘diversity’?
This is still difficult for me~ To be honest, I believe right now is a time during which the roles inside the group change compared to the beginning. Since it is also JO1’s third year, I feel that my position is also changing bit by bit as the environment and work are changing, and I am still in the middle of trying to find my role. Our top priority is obviously wanting to make JAM and the audience happy with our performances because our main jobs are singing and dancing, but if I can expand the platform where I can give back to JO1 by, for example, doing other jobs such as radio or acting, I feel that my role will gradually become clearer. Also, it might be a bit off from the topic of roles, but from time to time people say “He has a strong pro mindset”, yet I think this is because I imagine what kind of people I would like if I were in the position of the fans, so I can naturally look at it from a ‘JAM First’ point of view. I try to think of my ideal image from the fans‘ point of view. I feel that especially because I am particular about this, I sometimes happen to push myself too far.

Q3 If you gave a catchphrase to yourself in summer 2022?

“I want to make it the most fun summer ever”

It is hot, I end up getting sunburned and I dislike places that are crowded and loud, so summer was never my forte. But this summer I want to change that. I want to proactively go outside, be active and experience a summer like never before. I guess I will try to change myself for this.

Shosei solo interview

I like to see people shining because they have confidence in their makeup!

Ohira Shosei
Birthday: 2000.4.13
Blood type: A type
Origin: Kyoto
Height: 177cm

Q1 About your recent solo schedules
I was in charge of the make-up of “YOLO-konde” and make-up is something I am confident about. We are singing and dancing, but I think makeup is another way to express ourselves and another form of art. And, more than anything I like to see people shining because they have confidence in their makeup. For “YOLO-konde”, as it were the members I am always close with, I knew what kind of makeup will look good on them and what will make them look cool and so on, so I had a lot of fun doing their makeup. I did it while looking at the balance of having everyone’s individuality be prominent and not letting one stand out too much. I was able to come up with various images for everyone and was satisfied with the outcome, but I think Takumi-kun's makeup looked the best. Of course, there are his own talents, but my image of him is him being an artist while actually being shut-in (laughs), so I thought he is like a pierrot. I used make-up to put scars on his face, and the concept of a pierrot, who used to work hard but broke down and was thrown aside before returning on stage once again, matched him so well. I guess what I want to challenge in the future is a makeup that completely changes someone. Also, I haven’t done crossdressing yet, so I guess that would be nice to try, too.

Q2 What do you think is your role in JO1 whose charm is ‘diversity’?
I think I got a lot of roles (laughs). First there is beauty, then being teased, the one who takes pictures of the members because he likes cameras. And… ah, I am also called an angel (embarrassed laughing). I don’t know what makes an angel, so I always say “That’s how I am called’. When I am with the members together, I sometimes joke around a bit to make everyone laugh and be cheerful, so that the mood does not turn heavy. I am not really the type of person who speaks up in discussions or meetings, so I listen to everyone’s opinions before saying my own one. I feel it is easier to talk like this and it balances out the 11 of us.

Q3 If you gave a catchphrase to yourself in summer 2022?

An angel who hates tan

Now I ended up calling myself like this (laughs). Because I don’t want to get tanned, a parasol is essential and I try to do my skin care properly and take Vitamin C. By the way, my recent skin care routine is to regularly add new items to it. If you keep on using the same things over a long time, your skin will get used to it, so I try to frequently change them. Just seperating what you use in the morning and in the evening already makes a huge difference.