(2023-06-02) VOCE × Hello Project Morning Musume。’23【Oda Sakura, Yokoyama Reina, Sakurai Rio】How hard is it to join the group alone, and how has your state of mind changed since you lost your generation mate ?

In the third part of the VOCE x Morning Musume。's 25th anniversary special collaboration project, there's three members with one thing in common: they have no generation mates. We asked Oda Sakura-san and Sakurai Rio-san how is it to join the group alone, and we asked Yokoyama Reina-san her true feelings about her generation mate who's graduated, with whom she was both friend rivals and reliable senpai. 

Give the impression that you have about each other!

──What kind of person is Oda Sakura?

Yokoyama Reina : She's exactly the "ideal idol" that I had in mind for Oda-san before joining Morning Musume。(laughs) The one who can do everything. She may be the member my opinion about her hasn't changed at all since I joined! She's always concerned about the members, always cheerful and giving advice backstage, kind enough to listen to me even when I talk about things she might not be particularly interested in. I noticed that cute gap between her coolness, especially her hair when she's performing, and her small hands. The more I get to know her, the more I'm captivated by her!

Sakurai Rio : She knows everything. She's a reliable senpai who teaches us everything in a polite and kind manner.

──What kind of person is Yokoyama Reina?

Oda Sakura : To me, she will always be a cute and haughty little sister, but I was surprised to notice that she has somehow become a caring older sister lately! Homare and Rio (K.)-chan often argue with each other, but it seems like they talk about their private life rather than work, and when Reina go to see both of them, it's seem to be in the position of a real elder sister rather than a senpai or work relationship. I think it would be really nice to have a senpai member who treats me in such a close distance, and I think she's a very reliable person whom the younger members can rely on. Also, her "Love Morning Musume。" is very strong and we can feel it so many times, it makes me happy.

Sakurai Rio : I refer to her a lot of things such as MCs and radio talk. She's a senpai who looks around well and has a nice smile.

──What kind of person is Sakurai Rio?

Oda Sakura : I think she's a girl who faces herself and works hard! She looks mature and speaks clearly, so people tend to think she's solid, but she loves to have fun, has no hesitation in making funny faces and is just a chatty high school girl. Because she's the only member in her generation, she's alone a lot, and people tend to think that she is a girl who doesn't mind being alone, but that's not the case at all! She's very friendly and always says how much she likes the members. I think Rairi is the type of girl who directly suffers the loneliness of being on her own, so I hope I can be there for her.

Yokoyama Reina : She has a cool and beautiful face, a strong singing voice. Being the last member to join, I can feel her mature side, she wants to show her "firm face", but she's also fun and has many cute faces~ Her facial expressions change from surprised to happy, funny to amused, so it's always interesting to see her expressions during the performance! Rio-chan's expressions always cheer me up! She also has a mischievous side during concerts MCs, saying "I'd like to work harder on that" and holding a self-reflection session by herself, making her a very cute girl.

"I think joining the group alone made up an environment where there was a lot to learn" by Oda Sakura

──You joined as a solo member with no generation mates. Were there any difficulties?

Oda Sakura : I'm glad I joined as a solo member in my generation! I felt the benefits of being a solo member were stronger, because I could stand out on stage. I was glad that my senpai kept telling me "You're wrong, you're not good enough" because it built an environment where I could learn a lot. I felt lonely when I realized that the other members of the group were naturally clustered together with their generation mates. I can't imagine what it's like to be a gen-mate, what kind of bond we have. 

But I'm a very unpredictable person, so if I had started with generation mates, I would have tried to be better than them, and if I had been better, I would have been very arrogant, so I'm glad I'm on my own.

Sakurai Rio : I joined as a unique member in my generation, I didn't really know anything at the beginning, such as the basics, or the rules of the entertainment industry, I had to rely on my senpai a lot. It was a bit difficult to get used to it. The fall tour on last September was my first tour as a member, and during this time, I was able to experience a lot of things and I think I got to know the members really well! Although we are not in the same group, Ishiyama Sakura-chan and Endo Akari-chan (Juice=Juice) are both members who joined at the same moment as myself, so we can share our problems and questions.

"We have been in touch with Kaga since her graduation, so fans can rest assured (laughs)" by Yokoyama Reina

──Have your thoughts changed since your generation mate Kaga graduated?

Yokoyama Reina : Kaga was one year older than me and I respected her a lot, so there were also parts where I was dependent on her. Since Kaga graduated, I guess I've become independent in the true sense of the word - there's only one member of the 13th generation left, and I feel like I have to lead the younger members, or I have to do things by myself now!

When I speak to fans at events or talk, I often hear comments like, "You've been really enthusiastic since Kaga-chan graduated!". Fans are more likely to notice the changes in me than I'm myself, so I realize that I've changed as a result of what I've learned from them. I was extremely sad at Kaga's graduation concert, and moreover, today's photoshoot is the first one I'm doing without her, I was like "Eh? Where's Kaga?". But I'm still in touch with Kaga after her graduation, so please, don't worry! (laughs)

"I love to talk, so I want to improve my talking skills" by Sakurai Rio

──What do you want to do in the future as an individual?

Oda Sakura : I've had cats all my life, and I also volunteer to milk shelter cats, so I'd like to do more cat-related work! But not only cats, I also love dogs and marine life, so I would be happy to work in an animal-related job! 

Yokoyama Reina : I want to take on more and more radio and football-related jobs that I love. I'm still appearing on the radio, but I love radio programmes with comedians. The other day, I was very happy to be asked to be a guest on a radio show by Yonsen Toushin, who I'm a big fan of! I want to continue to challenge myself so that I can broaden my range even further.

Sakurai Rio : I love museums and my hobby is visiting them! In my spare time, I go to see special exhibitions held at museums. I'm also interested in architecture and love watching videos introducing buildings created by famous architects from around the world and looking at unique buildings around me. My recent favorite is the ceiling of Makuhari Messe (laughs) ! It was the venue for the Hina Festival, so I was happy to be able to observe the ceiling closely ♡ I love museums, architecture and talking, so I would like to do a location programme where I visit various places. At the same time, I would like to improve my talk skills for variety shows.

"You should indulge your senpai while you can" by Sakurai Rio

──If you were to give one piece of advice to the new members of the 17th generation who will be joining in the future, what would you say?

Oda Sakura : I don't know how many people applied for the audition or anything, but I think you became a Morning Musume。member, it's because you were meant to be, so I want you to come in with confidence with the feeling that "It was already decided that I would be the new member"!

Immediately after joining, it's important to ask your senpai about what you don't understand, and to live your life by further refining what you have been taught. If you always think about why you were told what to do and why your senpai can do it and you can't, you will grow faster than other people, and if you only do what you are told or are taught only what is at the heart of the matter, your brain will stop moving. I think it's important to always be thinking and acting in a way that doesn't cause your brain to stop working.

Yokoyama Reina : "Don't be scared" (laughs). It's all new to everyone who's joined the group after all. It's also stressful for the senpai because they don't know what kind of personality will join the group. But from the point of view of a senpai, new members just had to show their true personality! I'm also very happy when I see changes such as Rairi making funny faces or talking a lot, after being shy. It's normal that she doesn't know anything at first, so I want her to listen to the senpai and not be scared.

Sakurai Rio : "It's okay". Now I'm able to expose my true self to the members, but when I first joined the group, I was so new to many things that I was afraid to do anything, so I was very careful and cautious. I was often told that I was "mature" and "calm", and that image stuck, but my character is quite different from the real me (laughs). That's why I think I should have been more lenient with my senpai, and that it's better to be lenient with them while you can. As Yokoyama-san said, there are no really scary people, so you don't need to be afraid of them!