Ace of the Visual Members of SKE48, Kitagawa Ryoha, appealing to the world to reconsider the group's image
On June, 6th, the AKB48 10th World Senbatsu General Election (a.k.a AKB48 53rd Single World Senbatsu General Election, Who is the center in World Senbatsu?~~) took place at Nagoya Dome, Aichi. With Matsui Jurina and Suda Akari taking a one-two finish, SKE48 achieved the best result ever with their fans in their hometown.
Besides Matsui and Dasu, 24 other members ranked in the top 100 places, the group is going to welcome it's 10th anniversary and are gaining momentum. With 30,249 votes, Team S leader, Kitagawa Ryouha achieved her highest rank ever.
Modelpress interviewed Kitagawa (being told that she's the top visual member in the group) a year ago, will once again interview her again today. She was appointed to be the leader of Team S in February, 2017. Now, she's a member who is leading the group, a member who others can rely on. We talked about things she learnt in the past year, what should SKE48 improve on, and also the 23rd single "Ikinari Punch Line" which will go on sale on July, 4th.
=====================================================
Kitagawa Ryoha "2017 was the year with the most suffering and frustration"
=====================================================
Interviewer: Just about a year ago we did an interview. How has the last year been since the previous AKB48 general election?
Kitagawa: It was a really rough year. I had a lot of worries. It was the year with the most suffering and frustration.
Interviewer: What's your biggest worry?
Kitagawa: I guess my own position in SKE48 is one of them, and also I really don't feel that I've worked hard enough to earn that position.
Interviewer: You mean you couldn't keep up with it?
Interviewer: You were appointed as the leader of Team S.
Kitagawa: That's something big to me too. As I had no confidence in myself, I need to round up the members, and manage the team. I don't feel like I'm myself when I'm doing my job as a leader. It's very tough.
Interviewer: So you are not good at rounding up the members to begin with?
Kitagawa: Yes, I'm not good at it, or I should say I'm not leader material to begin with. I never try to pursuit it, and just try to keep up. When I was being told that I became like a leader, I didn't believe it. Really, I think I'm the type of leader who is best when surrounded by those who support me.
Interviewer: I think there are many different types of leader, what kind of leader do you want to become?
Kitagawa: I don't have much leadership quality, nor much experience either. I always think of becoming a leader who can envelope the members with kindness. That's the only thing I can do. I want to become a leader who the members can turn to when they face any troubles.
Interviewer: Have you been troubled by it before you came to this decision?
Kitagawa: Yes. I always worry if I'm being a good leader. I would be lying if I said I'm not worried about it right now. But lately, I finally understand what I need to do. I think I'm starting to enjoy it.
[She's having to form the Team S pose]
Interviewer: What makes you think of that?
Kitagawa: I think it's everyone who taught me that. A lot of juniors joined Team S, and they are doing their best. It makes me think that I must do my best too. The juniors are the ones who make me think that "For the sake of the juniors, I must do my best for them". And I think that play a big part in it.
Interviewer: During lessons, there's no conflicts among the members?
Kitagawa: Probably not among Team S members. Surprisingly most of them are ditzy, but have hidden talents, and very good potential. I think we should help to nurture them.
Interviewer: Looking at all of AKB48G, SKE48 really has that kind of image of having strong cohesiveness and powerful performance. What's the primary factor that drives you all?
Kitagawa: I think you are right. I guess we learnt that from our seniors. Seniors taught us a lot about the passion of SKE48, that has been passed down since the beginning. From here on out, even if I graduate, members of SKE48 will continue the tradition. I want them to do so. I want to pass down the things that I inherited from my seniors to the juniors
====================================================
Kitagawa Ryoha, held a concurrent position in AKB48 and things she learned... The member she tried to chase after the most was...?
=====================================================
Interviewer: You held a concurrent position in AKB48 Team 4 until March this year. What do you think about those 2 and a half years?
Kitagawa: I was very sad about the final stage we did (which held on May, 18th). I was so sad that I almost cried from the first song. But since that was my final stage, I held back my tears, made sure the cameraman shot every second of me and finished the performance. I like AKB48 to begin with, so I'm touched for every opportunity I got to perform on the stage. "This is where the great seniors sing and dance". I feel happy whenever I think about that. But I'm sad that I won't be able to perform on that stage anymore.
Interviewer: Was it a good experience for you when you held the concurrent position?
Kitagawa: AKB48 members are very good at expressing themselves. I learned a lot from their facial expressions. Everyone is very charming. They've got something that attracts the fans. I learned a lot from them.
Interviewer: Does that mean SKE48 members are still lacking something ?
Kitagawa: Yes. SKE48 gives an impression of powerful dance. Partially because they dance aggressively too. Each of them has their own quality. When I was holding the concurrent position, I learned how to express myself. But when I went back to SKE48, and tried the same thing during the performance, "Are you feeling alright?", everyone said that to me. I guess it's hard to balance between the two of them (powerful dance vs power of expression). There was time I couldn't decide which one I should focus on.
Interviewer: The individuality of AKB48 and SKE48 is different I guess? Which member did you learn the most from?
Kitagawa: The one who caught my attention the most was Kojimako-chan (Kojima Mako). I think she's very good. I always looked at her. She's cute, her facial expressions and expressive powers are awesome. I actually paid close attention to her (LOL)
Interviewer: And you didn't tell her (LOL) ?
Kitagawa: That's right, I didn't
Interviewer: So you got closer to the members?
Kitagawa: Actually I was part of the unit, Tentoumuchu, and I'm close to the members who were in that unit too. Everyone always gave me a warm welcome. The member I became closest with is Murayama Yuiri-san. I become very close with Yuiringo-chan (LOL).
======================================================
SKE48 who is riding on the momentum. "The current SKE48 is the most enjoyable one"
=====================================================
Interviewer: Right now I think SKE48 is regaining it's momentum. Can you feel it?
Kitagawa: Yes. The mood (in the group) is very good. I think members being able to express their thoughts and feel that SKE48 is in top shape plays a big part of it. I think SKE48 is riding on good momentum as everyone is enjoying themselves now and says the current SKE48 is the most enjoyable one and it's spread to many people. As a member, I'm very happy to see things turned out that way.
Interviewer: Among the groups (AKB48G) , is there any strong point you can promote if you are to appeal to those people who are not SKE48 fans?
Kitagawa: I think the fans can enjoy interact with us like a friend. I think the distance between the fans and SKE48 members is the closest (compared to other groups). There's a lot of first timers who told us that we are easy to talk to and so friendly.
I think we are the easiest to approach to compared to other groups. We always welcome everyone.
Interviewer: There's isn't much distance between the members and the fans during handshake event too?
Kitagawa: Yes. Everyone is truly enjoying doing it.
Interviewer: SKE48 is going to welcome it's 10th anniversary soon. What's SKE48 target ? I always heard about wanting to have a concert at Nagoya dome.
Kitagawa: Personally speaking, we are based in Sakae, Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, so we want to improve our popularity in Aichi prefecture.
Interviewer: I think SKE48 is quite famous already.
Kitagawa: Not at all, I think SKE48 is not so popular when comes to individual members. Improving our popularity is a must, but we want to become a group who the locals love, and also become the first thing that will come to their mind whenever someone asks them about the good things about Aichi prefecture.
====================================================
Pay attention to the dance of the MV of the latest single, "Ikinari Punch Line" which took some time to sync up.
========================================================
Interviewer: The song of this single is kind of mature. What's the main point of this song?
Kitagawa: It's a little bit different compared to all the songs in the past, I think everyone gets to see the mature side, the sexy side of the members. I think those who already listened will think "What's the meaning of Punch Line?" The lyric is easy to remember, I think the red color costume will definitely catch the attention of the viewers. So I think it will be great if everyone can remember the lyrics together.
*Punch line - a terminology to describe the conclusion of a joke, used in hip hop too. Things that left the deepest impression
Interviewer: How's the MV shooting?
Kitagawa: The dance part is the main. Everyone practised desperately, and I think everyone was in sync with each other. Usually, we learn the dance on the day of the shooting itself, but this time we learned it 3 days before the shooting, so we got a lot of time to sync up with each other's dance steps, I think the dance (which is the strong point of SKE48) turned out to be great.
Interviewer: Members will take the initiative to sync up the dance steps?
Kitagawa: Before I realized , everyone was doing it already. We expected to only practice for five to six hours but we exceeded that and we still felt we didn't practice enough and wanted to do it better. I can totally feel the hot passion in each of the members.
Interviewer: There's a lot of sexy scenes too. Are you good at expressing your sexy side?
Kitagawa: I'm not good at pretending to be very cute. I'm more bias to being energetic, or I should say I can get into the mood easily with cool songs. I'm going to turn 20 this year, I want to improve my sexiness and maturity. I hope I can show that with this song.
====================================================
SKE48 members are not sweet potatoes! Look carefully!
=======================================================
Interviewer: You have been saying releasing your own photobook is your target.
Kitagawa: Yes. I want to make it happen before I graduate. It (my target) was covered in the magazine too. And a lot of people say that they like my photos. So before it's too late and while I'm still young, I want to make it happen.
Interviewer: In the previous interview, we talked about the popularity of SKE48 among the female fans. What has changed after a year?
Kitagawa: I think we got more female fans now. Quite a lot of them came to meet with us too.
Interviewer: You mean overall? (all members' fans are slowly increasing, in average speaking, not just 1 or 2 top members)
Kitagawa: I think it's gradually increasing. I can totally feel it. I will be happy if there's more female fans from the same generation come to see us.
Interviewer: The readers of modelpress are mostly girls from the same generation as you. For those people, how will you appeal to them as an individual, and also as a group?
Kitagawa: (Having a hard time) SKE48 members are like sweet potatoes, I think a lot of members are adorable. I had the same thought too at the beginning. But once I joined, I realized they are very cute. So I think everyone should LOOK CAREFULLY. I want you all to look at them carefully again.
Kitagawa: I think they are cute (LOL)
Interviewer: Yes, they are.
Kitagawa: I want them to get more of the spotlight too.
Interviewer: Thanks for accepting our interview.
