~The Legend~ 2008-2013 Translation

mocha21

I recently bought the two bundled Quick Japan magazine books (yeah while the others enjoyed their kokuritsu DVD, sob :(( ) , the first book (2008-2013) is incredibly amazing, aside from exclusive interviews, they covered many of their stuffs, detailed song lists, live concert lists, costumes, staff talks and their complete timeline history (and a whole chapter dedicated to Akari), this is just like a complete guidebook for those who recently followed Momoclo (I'd say this is better than the 2013-2014 one).
So well, I will provide the translation for the book, I'll start on from the part I found it quite interesting

the 2013-2014 book are being translated by kaitoushoujo, you might want to check here, it's great
http://momoiroclover.net/discussion/285/compass-of-the-dream-2013-2014-translation

Making of Momoclochan - Kenichi Maeyamada (music producer)
I'm also originally a wota, of Hello! Project, "I'm a nobody even people can't see me" I thought.

Ikuze! Kaitou Shoujo is a result of a piece making competition*. We had been instructed to choose from three patterns: "phantom thief girl" and edo style "samurai momoclo" , there's also the tomato juice image for "traditional healthy" route. Since I'm a fan of Lupin, I choose the "phantom thief girl" one. I worked for the song out as soon as I got. It was finished in about six hours in total. Actually in the last minutes I feel want to change it into the "traditional healthy" route one....well no. I'm glad it was actually selected. Also thanks to this song, I'm happy I was able to meet Momoclo. They said the song is addictive, it won't get bored even you played it so many times, I'm appreciate that.

I want to put various elements to the song, this kind of music is the one that I want to be featured in an anime but it's rather difficult since this is an idol song. I'm also writing music to other idol groups such as AKB48, most of them demanded a beautiful melody line and said "This kind of weird music can't be sung". I made the BGM Arrangement of games as the basis of Momoclo's song, those are the "Omoshiroi Engine" (おもしるエンジン, interesting engine) that also used by Momoclo. So the only idol I allowed to use my kind of music is Momoclo**

The next is Kokonatsu, I wanted to explore the personality of the girls, after I finished the song, I try the screaming part for Renichan and the rap part for Akarin... and I was messing around to find the perfect match to the girl's personality. At first I had the lyrics for the refrain parts, but I changed my mind in the middle of recording: "The whole "Kokoko" would be great, what do you think?" (lol)
I also allowed to contribute idea at that time, for example, since the swimsuit is prohibited, I suggested to put the swimsuit above the clothes. I feel like a part of the staff and I'm aware of it. It's great overall and I'm get used to their great dedications. Everyone in there have nice personalities, and I'm sure they'll get the positive outcome. I worked for a new song for the "x" Day of April, in Nakano Sun Plaza***, I'm looking forward to work with them in the future. I'm also originally a wota, of Hello! Project, "I'm a nobody even people can't see me" I thought. I made it here because of the plan I already committed.

Recently I thought "They're selling well, but does that means they need to change the things they do after all this time?" But I think it's not to be worried about, every staff here are punks after all (lol).　This place is not an agency of idol, so those weird customs and rules won't work here. We're here as a team to protect Momoclo, so for fans out there, rest assured.

----
caption quotes: "Even in this warring states period of idols, there will be idol units that imitate Momoclo, but it's impossible. You can't do that without those wacky staff members." (lol)
----
*I read in some interviews that Orange Note and Hashire! were also the work submitted for the competiton
**I kinda loled at this since he went to implement this all over ebichu and takoniji
***Haru no Ichidaiji 2011 or Akari's graduation

mocha21

Making of Momoclochan - Atsunori Sasaki (stage producer)

I'm involved with Momoclo since the Nihon Seinenkan Concert last year and I was called by their manager Kawakami. I'm in a good term with him since when I directed the "Idol-Dou" (アイドル道, ''Idol Road'') a TV program about developing and training girls, he was impressed with my works*. Later on I worked in the mixed martial arts K-1 as the "hype video" (VTR) maker, he was also impressed with that (lol). Yet I am a person with the background of making variety shows so I know nothing about Idol industry, neither about directing a music concert. I was surprised when asked by him "Why me?" and he just replied "well, I'm asking on you".

Maybe my role here isn't to create the so-called good production, I'm wondering how to make the entire stage into an enjoyable entertainment show. The ability to respond in variety and talk shows also incorporated here. The concept of the Terebi-ya** which I specialized in and the concept that I lacked of, I think it's a good opportunity to me to learn and grow. 　When I met the members in the first time, I felt that these kids can do this to the fullest, they're experienced fellows. I won't turned it into a weird show, I'll go all out with the awesome lighting set. I watched the Momoclo live concert in the first time in the seventh floor of Ishimaru Denki, I'm pretty shocked, they went gone past from the limiter and the sound was a deafening blast. If the kids can go like that with those kind of stages, imagine their performance in the larger venue with us the professionals, complete the entire stage packaging. Someday they will.

Speaking of which, I remember that the members were angry at the Nagoya live concert because that day was originally a series of three live concerts. They wanted to cut the third part in order to move to Yokohama in the next day, that means about 50 songs were being performed. The girls didn't expressed the sign of losing their power, after the live ended I thought "I've never see Momoclo like this". The staff said that it was unavoidable because of the overcrowded schedule, but doesn't the customers are just need to watch the first part? ”We will do all the three parts, we can't let our audiences feel betrayed and won't see Momoclo anymore" said the girls. In the end in the third part performance, their smile and dance made their anger unnoticed in front of the audiences, it's so moving you'll cry yourself when you watched that.

My vision for the future? I want to make "Momoclo" as a category all its own, not as an "idol" nor a "popular song". I want to make the group live concert as the most interesting live concert in Japan.

*Sawajiri Erika was a participant there.
**I don't understand how to translate this, according to google this is a something concept of a modern visual art, you'll feel like watching a tv yet it's actually not a tv. VTR is an example of this.

mav

Thanks so much for the translations Mocha, these are awesome =D>

mocha21 said:

The girls didn't expressed the sign of losing their power, after the live ended I thought "I've never see Momoclo like this". They said that it was unavoidable because of the overcrowded schedule, but doesn't the customers are just need to watch the first part? ”We will do all the three parts, we can't let our audiences feel betrayed and won't see Momoclo anymore" said the girls. In the end in the third part performance their smile and dance made their anger unnoticed in front of the audiences, but when you looked at them you tears would fall unnoticed.

I don't really understand this part, does this mean the girls were angry at the staff and cried?

mocha21

^ yes even in their low budget live concert tours, they are into the professional mannerism. lol I just noticed those nonsense jumbled words, already edited that (they didn't cry).

anyway there's the third part:
Making of Momoclochan - Yumi Ishikawa (coreographer)

Basically we do a staff meeting to determine dance movements for a new song, we incorporated a lot of opinions that came out during the meeting. The Drifters dance movement part in Chai Maxx was added at that fun meeting. Kawakami is the one who added the Pro Wrestling LOVE pose, he proposed it in such excitement, so well, let's put it. Those random things are what made this so fun. So the next step I went to create the dance movement for the girls, it was not a six people version by default. I'll add their feedback until they're clicked up with that and the girls themselves can comfortably dance to that. First impression is the most important thing here. I don't ask the girls to "let's do this!", because dance is a thing that comes naturally. When it comes to "eh, this part isn't good" , we will work it up until they're clicked up.

As soon as the staff accepted the dance movement, I reconstructed the movements in one night, so in the next day they can understand it better. I also had to tune down some unnecessary parts in a professional sense, and then it is finished. I'm asking for opinion to the people and most of them just answered "I got it!", in a weird way of unity (lol) The opinions of people from various generation were reflected in the dance, it giving off the unique feel of "the new old" in Momoclo. Acrobatic movements in the Ikuze! Kaitou Shoujo were proposed by Kanako. Kawakami then told us "if you can do that why not?", so we were going to rethink the dance.　At first she was having tough time to do that, yet she is a gymnastic athlete since she was child after all, she can do the dance easily.

I'm surprised on how fast they grow up recently, their amount of interactions with the audience may contributed their large fan size up until now. I'm happy that they got experiences from those live shows, but I think they were dancing too far from the audiences and those fingertip movements would go unnoticed (lol) But honestly I think they're still inexperienced and sometimes still showed many embarrassing parts. The tension rises when those children went to the stage and they will blasted away if they always go with that attitude. Yet this is what made the girl charmed, that's why I want to polish their professionalism further "You can do various thing you want, but always remember the responsibility", I always told them that. I think recently they found the meaning of those words.

eltrium

mav said:
Thanks so much for the translations Mocha, these are awesome =D>

Yes, thanks for the translations. Impressive effort!

mav said:

mocha21 said:

The girls didn't expressed the sign of losing their power, after the live ended I thought "I've never see Momoclo like this". They said that it was unavoidable because of the overcrowded schedule, but doesn't the customers are just need to watch the first part? ”We will do all the three parts, we can't let our audiences feel betrayed and won't see Momoclo anymore" said the girls. In the end in the third part performance their smile and dance made their anger unnoticed in front of the audiences, but when you looked at them you tears would fall unnoticed.

I don't really understand this part, does this mean the girls were angry at the staff and cried?

That part wasn't clear to me either. I reread the original article and here is what I understood:

Atsunori Sasaki was angry at Momoclo members at Nagoya live. That day was a 3-part concert. The next day they had to go to Yokohama for a 2-part concert. In 2 days they had to sing over 50 songs, and Nagoya was the first round. They didn't slacken off, but after Sasaki watched them [at the end of the first part I presume] he thought: "That's not like Momoclo". The schedule is tight and it can't be helped. However some people can only come to see the first part. So Sasaki said: "If it has been decided to do 3 parts, do them properly. I don't want to betray the audience, and that's not the Momoclo I want to see." Then at the second part's performance they gave 300%. At the third part they could hardly raise their legs. But they smiled and danced so that nobody would notice. Watching this from a stage wing, Sasaki, without realizing it, ended up shedding a tear.

MizukiChan

out of all concerts, those were the most difficult to handle at the state the girls were in since they weren't that used to that kind of schedule. Sasaki-san was probably proud and started to respect the girls more when they held on and didn't cause any worry. Definitely Zenryoku Shoujo :D

zombrex

Thanks for the translation, very interesting.

mav

eltrium said:

mocha21 said:

The girls didn't expressed the sign of losing their power, after the live ended I thought "I've never see Momoclo like this". They said that it was unavoidable because of the overcrowded schedule, but doesn't the customers are just need to watch the first part? ”We will do all the three parts, we can't let our audiences feel betrayed and won't see Momoclo anymore" said the girls. In the end in the third part performance their smile and dance made their anger unnoticed in front of the audiences, but when you looked at them you tears would fall unnoticed.

I don't really understand this part, does this mean the girls were angry at the staff and cried?

That part wasn't clear to me either. I reread the original article and here is what I understood:

Atsunori Sasaki was angry at Momoclo members at Nagoya live. That day was a 3-part concert. The next day they had to go to Yokohama for a 2-part concert. In 2 days they had to sing over 50 songs, and Nagoya was the first round. They didn't slacken off, but after Sasaki watched them [at the end of the first part I presume] he thought: "That's not like Momoclo". The schedule is tight and it can't be helped. However some people can only come to see the first part. So Sasaki said: "If it has been decided to do 3 parts, do them properly. I don't want to betray the audience, and that's not the Momoclo I want to see." Then at the second part's performance they gave 300%. At the third part they could hardly raise their legs. But they smiled and danced so that nobody would notice. Watching this from a stage wing, Sasaki, without realizing it, ended up shedding a tear.

What? Now I'm more confused, lol

Now it seems like there are two variations:

1.The girls don't want to cut the third part from the first day because they feel they own it to the fans.
2.They got scolded by Sasaki for not giving enough effort on their first part, so they went out and performed at full force for the next two parts.

eltrium

You can actually see what happened in a Momoclo Chan episode (Kessen wa Kinyou Gogo 6-Ji - DVD 4): Sasaki (and Yumi-sensei) scolding the girls, the dance rehearsal between part 1 and 2, how much they were exhausted after the 3 parts, Yumi-sensei praising them for part 2 and 3...

mocha21

woah yea I just realized that I messed up a lot in that part when I reread the article, I'm sorry guys, yes basically Sasaki-san was angry at the girls (At first glimpse I thought that it is impossible for him to scold the girls because he isn't the staff in charge) many thanks for the correction, eltrium. I should be careful from now, I'm neither a japanese speaker nor english so I hope you guys can cope with my choice of wording.
anyways let's continue:

Making of Momoclochan - Hiromitsu Yonemura (Costume Designer)

I was asked to do this job since Pinky Jones. There was a request from the agency to change their "japanese-style" image because they switched their record label around that time. We went through a lot of talks and it's rather hard to find a completely different concept of Momoclo. Several days has passed and we decided to hold an emergency meeting at the agency office. We were looking at the lyrics and there was Chapa Chapa!, so "Chapa >> Chapa Tribe", okay we should go with the Indian, it is an association wordplay. I worked the design shortly after.

There was two conditions for the costume: It allows the girls to move easily for the acrobatic movements, and it can be easily washed. Because of the sweats, the costume should be washed immediately and ensured to be ready in the next day. I originally wanted to use leather, it gives a cool feel to the costume, yet it will be impossible to wash. I also find the difficulty how it should be tied that time. Without losing their image colors, I want to capture the distinctive personality in each of the costume, this was a struggle yet it's fun.

Actually there were some parts in their arms and wrists that keep falling in the PV shooting, but at first I thought that It was okay. When I saw their performance in the actual stage, their movement was ridiculously dynamic. The parts would've fall one after another, I thought "Woah that was some dance", and when you look at those sweats, washing is certainly the first priority. (lol) I'm trying to not stress the girls further with an unmovable costume. The last year Christmas Eve live concert and the Nihon Seinenkan one will be released in DVD. When you compare the the costume with the one in the PV, you will notice some part improvements to accommodate the violent stage there.

In the current Mirai Bowl costume, I returned to "same costume, different color" way, I want to place the importance on their names and faces. You can't wash it unless you remove the heart parts by the way. (lol)　In the times of Pinky Jones, almost everyone rushed in with "I want this to be fixed" to "I can't wear it anymore". They weren't complaining anything in Mirai Bowl, so I think they've growth just in a few months. They've determined to be in Momoclo themselves, and me, as their costume designer, have seen and understand what they've been through. I wonder will I cry when I watch those girls in the stage show?

eltrium

mocha21 said:
woah yea I just realized that I messed up a lot in that part when I reread the article, I'm sorry guys, yes basically Sasaki-san was angry at the girls (At first glimpse I thought that it is impossible for him to scold the girls because he isn't the staff in charge) many thanks for the correction, eltrium. I should be careful from now, I'm neither a japanese speaker nor english so I hope you guys can cope with my choice of wording.

No worries. We're always thankful for your translations. Keep it up!

mocha21

Okay so next is the pv director, it is kinda hard to understand what he says, he used so many slang and unusual word choices everywhere else, maybe due the fact that he's an art person ;))

Making of Momoclochan - Hideo Kawatani (Music Video Director)

I'm in charge of their PV (music video) since their label switch to King Record. I made three PVs simultaneously in a short period of time at the time of the new release. I'm pretty much aware on their color coded system and there were orders that Kokonatsu should incorporate cosplay and Pinky Jones should include a skit, so I made a story from their costume. I think they might get mad but the skit is actually is in the school play level, but I think I was putting the goodness of the girls at their fullest. When it comes to "Kimi to Sekai", I wanted to show the facial expression of the girls to be shown a lot since the two other songs are full of sings and dances. How about the whole four minutes and half of eating ice cream? How about lots of natural expression and gestures? I didn't expect the idea to be realized so well, yet the agency was amused by this and said "that's good!" (lol)

I feel that Momoclo, while it's rather a poor choice of word, is a "Detarame"(Nonsense). The Danpei Tange* in Chai Maxx is an interesting part, actually some people in the agency are the fans of Danpei and instructed "It will be funny if Danpei is included in there!", while there were already silly things included, I remarked "Eh, there's more!?". (lol)　They're bunch of unexpected fellows, we're just like teacher-student when we're in the scene, and the principal called me to "Let's do some prank!". Average idols can't be so mischievous because some strict watchdogs around them, while Momoclo will just go whatever in a quick glimpse in the second the manager isn't around.

When the "teacher" isn't around, they're having a fun "self-study" time. They aren't actually doing whatever what they want, rather, they give their ideas of their own. I think it's important to include something that you've never seen in a PV, well of course when they're a bit overdoing it I just need to cut in the editing process. I'm betting on the potentials of those girls, they said that it will be dull when they're not expressing it. When it comes to her solo part, Kanako consulted to the choreographer "I want to do this kind of thing", and then I'll add that to the plan. I also needed to make sure that her part wasn't overshadowed the other member's part. Their performance was able to surprise me in the monitor when I rotated the camera around, that's not something that average idol can do. They're still growing up and I'm looking forward to them in the future. Both Chai Maxx and Mirai Bowl are great and have a positive feel about it, they made my jaw drop. I hope those things wouldn't made them turn defiant someday, I think the charm that they made in the last photo-click was able to complete my work.

*The coach from Ashita no Joe aka Tommorow's Joe aka Boys Action manga that cosplayed by Kanako (I guess) in the PV

This is the last part of the "Making of" chapter, I'll do Maeyamada x Yamasato interview next time, stay tune!

Invader

I wanted further explanation on who the hell thought Kimi to Sekai PV was a good idea =))

Thanks for the translations!

MizukiChan

mocha21 said:
When it comes to "Kimi to Sekai", I wanted to show the facial expression of the girls to be shown a lot since the two other songs are full of sings and dances. How about the whole four minutes and half of eating ice cream? How about lots of natural expression and gestures? I didn't expect the idea to be realized so well, yet the agency was amused by this and said "that's good!" (lol)

The only question is: HOW THE HECK DID MANAGEMENT ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WITH IT AFTER SEEING THE PROCESS?? O_O AT LEAST INCLUDE HOW THE GIRLS AND THEIR PARENTS THOUGHT! AARIN WAS ONLY 13-14! O_O;

mav

mocha21 said:
Okay so next is the pv director, it is kinda hard to understand what he says, he used so many slang and unusual word choices everywhere else, maybe due the fact that he's an art person ;))

Making of Momoclochan - Hideo Kawatani (Music Video Director)
......

My Japanese isn't good, but I thought I'd help out on this last one, since a lot of it was confusing to me too.

And as always thanks to mocha21 for the translations. It helps immensely when there is another source of reference. :D

Here's my best shot:

-----
I've been in charge of their PV's (music videos) since their label switch to King Record. I made three PVs simultaneously in a short period of time at the time of the new release. Whatever the case, one of my jobs is to promote their color-scheme. I also received orders to incorporate cosplay in Kokonatsu, while Pinky Jones should include a skit, so I created the script based on that. I thought the girls might get mad because the level of the script is akin to comedy school plays, but I think it highlights the good points of these otherwise ordinary girls.

As for "Kimi to Sekai", I wanted to show the facial expression of the girls since the two other songs are filled with singing and dancing.
"How about four and a half minutes of eating ice cream?"
How about lots of natural expressions and gestures?
I didn't expect the idea to be taken so well, yet the agency was amused by this and said "that's good!" (lol)

I feel that Momoclo, while it's a rather poor choice of word, is a "Detarame"(Nonsense).
The amusing skit of Danpei Tange* in Chai Maxx was originated by higher-ups in the agency: "It will be funny if Danpei is included in there!"
And so we added it.

There's already a lot of nonsense in there, so my reaction was "Huh, is it really a good idea to add more?" (lol)

Although the girls might not think like this, when filming I try to become their classmates/peers
Doing random acts of mischief according to the mood of the principal, that's what it feels like.

Normally idols can't be so mischievous because they are under strict supervision, while with Momoclo it feels like all the managers have gone and left. (lol)
It's sort of like the fun atmosphere when the teacher is gone and they're "self-studying," a very carefree environment.

Letting the girls think and act on their own accord instead of giving precise instructions, is this the reason they can compete in this business? I think so.

When it comes to making a PV, I think it's important to include expressions that you normally wouldn't see. Even if they might overdo it, it can be fixed by editing. I'm betting on the potentials of those girls. I can't wait to show this!

Another thing of note- While filming their solo parts, the next girl in line would tell the choreographer "I want to do this kind of thing," and they'll go off to discuss how to implement it. They also take care to not burden other members. And so when the camera panned over them, I was very surprised by what I saw in the monitor. I have never seen this kind of idol before. Not to mention, these girl's are still in the process of growing. I'm looking forward to what their future holds.

During the shooting of Chai Maxx and Mirai Bowl, Akarin gave me a very positive impression. Immediately after she announced she would be leaving Momoclo, which shocked me.
Perhaps this can be interpreted as a defiant attitude?

In the end, I think her photogenic charm showed in the final product.

*The coach from Ashita no Joe aka Tommorow's Joe aka Boys Action manga that is cosplayed by Reni in the PV

Maka

So Kimi to Sekai PV is basically "it's only dirty if your mind is dirty" kind of PV?

Because from what is written there, the producer does not even realize what kind of PV he was making even after the whole thing.
So, is it our minds that is too dirty or the producer just playing innocent in this interview?

MizukiChan

I mostly think the producer is playing innocent. I know it's mostly for humor purposes but the "How about lots of natural expressions and gestures?" question really threw me off. I was always told that the PV was supposed to make fun of sexy idols ever since I became a fan and found out about this PV but these translations never spoke a word about it making fun of sexy idols.
But then again, some people have no idea what they're doing until it's finished or long after it's finished. And some people tend to think dirty at the drop of a hat (you do not know how many times I've heard "that's what she said" throughout high school... and middle school... college seems to be no different but then again, I'm in a class with older students...)

mocha21

@mav thank you mav san, that was incredibly helpful lol i'm just an unreliable translator ;)) oh I went out of the town recently and didn't bring the book, so I can't continue the rest yet
I wonder how the japanese fandom or an average viewer react to kimi no sekai? maybe it just a different cultural viewpoint, the PV does disturb me enough, but it was more disappointing for they don't try to make a connection at least with the whole theme or lyrics, it's about a tsundere and the "doki doki" part just didn't match the biker babes....with ice cream :))

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