Jurina solo interview Hot Express music magazine website, January 24th.

Where we lean that she needs to beg Churi every damn time she wants to have lunc
h with her. What kind of heresy is that? Is there really nobody to be nice with
Ju in SKE? (`)Or is that some kind of curse that makes that the girls she likes ac
ke ice queens toward her Poor kid.
After a year of trials. Jurina solo interview!
A first ranking on top of Oricon charts overshadowed by the great earthquake, th
e struggles during the General Elections, the defeat at the doors of the selecti
ons during janken tournament and Kohaku.
At the difference of SKE48 who made a big leap in popularity this year, wasnt 201
1 a year of trials for Jurina? With that idea in mind, I head to interview SKE48
immutable center, Matsui Jurina! Of course, Ill also ask her about the new and s
hocking single Kataomoi Finally.
To start, should we review the past year from start to end?
Jurina - Please, go ahead.
SKE48 released its spring single Banzai Venus and obtained for the 1st time its so
long awaited Oricon n1. But this release occurred on March 9th, making the succe
ss hardly enjoyable.
Jurina - I turned 14 the day before the release, I was really happy at that time
. But then, the great earthquake occurred By singing and dancing, we wanted more
than anything to bring even a little bit of life and give courage to the people,
even if only to one person, but there were words like Banzai! in those lyrics
And then when SKE48 got the chance to perform in Sendai, remembering the area st
uck I had visited previously, I wondered if the atmosphere would be solemn there
too. Wasnt the case at all! Everyone had regain their smiles and we were said Tha
nk you for coming!.
At that time, I thought to myself that we had to repay our fans the best that we
could, no matter what. Were are based in Nagoya, but there are certain persons w
ho cant go there. Our will to deliver smiles and energy to not only Sendai but th
e whole country grew stronger than ever in us at that time.
And then at the beginning of summer SKE48 transferred to Avex, right after were
hold the General Elections, where you drop to the 14th place being effectively p
ut out of the media selection. You didnt shed a tear on stage, I imagine however
that you must have been quiet frustrated by this outcome.
Jurina - I allow myself to cry when Im moved (tl : excitement, overjoy, because o
f deep emotion), but I hate when I let tears out due to vexation or frustration!
Its thanks to all those who cast a vote for me, all the fans for whom I was numb
er one that I reached that position. I realized I had to accept this result as i
t was and was sincerely grateful.
After the election fans apologized Sorry, maybe was it a way to express their will
to push me further from then on. Being sad together, sharing the same emotions,
made me really glad but more than anything I wanted to express my gratitude towa
rd them.
But then of course if was frustrating So when Im a bit more mature, I want to reac
h the media selection.
Even now, there is the problem of my age and the hurdle that comes with it that
is I cant work late. I think its ok if I only enter the media selection when this
problem is completely solved!

 If you had to guess, why do you think your ranking dropped compared with the pre
vious elections?
Jurina - Hum~., why indeed? Its hard to tell.. Hummmm !?
As SKE48 immutable center, who has pushed her team forward since its very format
ion, could it be that you start thinking Thats ok if we dont support me individuall
y?
Jurina - Maybe thats part of the answer. I absolutely dont think Im perfect and I c
ant help but think that people who are a bit clumsy are cute. But then Im often to
ld You can do anything, right Jurina?
But you know, Im a bad swimmer! (laugh) During the swimming competition, people f
ound out and I heard things like Even Jurina cant do certain things.. Actually, tha
ts really cute!. When there is something you cant do, it allows you to progress by
getting over this obstacle, to have the Lets do our best!spirit.
Also lately, to my own amazement, Ive often been said that I was like (Ooshima) Y
uko-san. She is also the kind of person who can do anything, isnt she? When peopl
e think Its only natural for you to be able to do thatit comes with benefits, but a
lso disadvantages.
In addition, youre the kind to look after the other members right?
Jurina - On certain aspects I believe Ive grown up to act too much like an adult,
but truth is I get my feelings hurt really easily and Im weak. Weaker than anyon
e else I think. If I dont pretend to be tough I wont be able to pull everyone forw
ard, so I arbitrarily tell to myself Be strong!. I do realize this and sometimes I
wonder Do I really need to be that harsh with myself?.
But then I put pressure on myself and give my best by thinking I must be the one
to do it!(TL : alternative translation If I dont do it myself, nobody will)
The members say that a lot, when Im on stage Im very focused and they can safely r
ely on me, but as soon as we reach the dressing room I revert back to being a ki
d (laugh).
The summer release Pareo wa Emerald sold over 500k copies, SKE48 fame and degree o
f popularity exploded. As the leading force of the group, did you feel the weigh
t of your responsibilities or pressure on your shoulders increase at that time?

Jurina - Before we were saying Lets be N1!, at unison with our fans. But now that we
e ranked 1st in charts it shifted to Next time too we need to top the charts!. I t
hink everyone felt that change.
In the past, lots of people asked are you AKB48?or SKB? (laugh), but now they recog
ize us. It came to the point that we need to be vigilant when we walk in town. Im
gad we became popular but we need to be careful about our personal appearance a
t any time. I talked to the members, urging them to have a professional attitude
but I wonder how much came across . (laugh).
During the 2nd janken tournament in autumn, youve been defeated one round away fr
om entering the selection. But in reality, at that time SKE48 had a lot of work
to deal with. Didnt you feel actually relieved by this turn of event?
Jurina - Indeed, I felt a bit relieved. But in term of bringing more light to SK
E48, two members would have been much better than only one. Plus, isnt it totally
cool to be able to say I can enter the selection even with janken!? So in my mind
I absolutely had to win this tournament! I was sure nobody could beat me, thus
I decided to wear this bousouzoku jacket (tl : motorcycle gangs typical long coat
), so it was hard to lose so close from the goal.

Then came request hour in November. For the 2nd year in a row Renas Kareha no Stati
on ended up 1st, 2nd being Omatase Set listfrom the freshly implemented Team KII fi
rst original stage. To tell the truth, I wanted Jurinas unit song to rank higher.
Jurina - Thank you very much. I was slightly anxious before the results came out
We have more songs now, it will certainly rank lower.. But amazingly enough, it di
dnt drop! (tl : Omoide Ijou ranked 5th in 2010 and 2011) I really felt it was a m
iracle that Glory Days didnt drop much either. Im extremely happy that the unit song
s I participated in ranked that high.
Speaking of which, Jurinas solo song
Jurina - I want one!
Thats a straight answer isnt it (laugh)?
Jurina - I want it! Its about time, for my solo song! (TL : thats one of her famou
s pun with /)
I expected you to say that (laugh). What kind of song do you hope for?
Jurina - I want to try a sexy song with an adult feel in it. Rena-chan has a son
g with a quiet feel in it, while something hyper would be better for me. Im diei
ng to have a song with a cool dance a la Namie Amuro! I really really want to da
nce! (laugh)
Could you tell us how you perceive Rena, what kind of person she is to you?
Jurina - Honestly, I dont think she is a rival. Everyone ask me Actually, youre riv
als right? but, after thinking carefully about it, only our family names clash to
gether! We are years apart and our personalities are different too.
Even though, we are often compared and my fans often tell me Dont lose to Rena-cha
n!, but its not about winning or losing. Rather, even if we all compete against ea
ch others and people around us get really excited about it, we dont really pay at
tention to it.
And of course, with the end of the year came Kohaku, I think its extremely regret
table that SKE48 couldnt perform by itself on this occasion.
Jurina - Hum, thats a shame But you know, that may sound cheeky but I also think i
ts a good thing we didnt perform solo this time. Right now, we are the object of a
lot of attention, that brings us a lot of satisfaction and makes us want to wor
k harder. But if SKE48 had performed solo for Kohaku I think everybody would hav
e felt satisfied with our present condition. Im scared they would have thought The
y let us perform for Kohaku, we dont have to progress anymore.
When we will have polished our skills to the utmost limit and be able to deliver
everything weve got on stage. When the 5th generation will be able to show all i
ts talent. When I think With this SKE48 is up to the game!, then I want us to perf
orm by ourselves.
I believe this times bitterness will make us stronger.
Successfully ending 2011, SKE48 is releasing its first single for 2012 Kataomoi F
inally but the MV is quite a shocking one no?
Jurina - I felt really embarrassed, I was like No way! Dont look at us doing this!(
laugh), but it was also an opportunity to show skills I had developed a bit late
ly. 2012 only just started but we had to deliver something of that caliber no ma
tter what. NMB48 talk about iron pants in Junjou U-19, when I heard that I thought
If we dont strike hard, we will be no match for them.

 What has been the most embarrassing scene to shoot for you?

Jurina - When I kiss Renas ear. The music video doesnt reflect it properly I think
but, during the shooting I kissed Renas ear for 15 seconds, 3 times! It lasted f
or about 45 seconds!! (laugh).
Plus in the script it said light kiss on Renas ear, but it didnt turn to be light at
all! Kumi and Kanon kiss scene had been filmed right before this, so the crew w
as in really high-spirit when our turn came (laugh).
So I persuaded myself Youre a boy, youre a boy.. As a result, everybody says my expr
ssion was one of a boy, but it wasnt unpleasant. Being the only guy in an all gir
ls school Thats the kind of situation I pictured to be into, in my mind.
As a result, I think this work shows a face of Jurina we had not seen before. (T
L : face as in aspect of personality)
Jurina - You know, I felt sad when Churi-tan turn me down I ended up giving the n
ecklace Churi had offer me to Rena, but the truth is during the shooting Churi w
as so so cute Oh gosh! I feel like crying.
Eh!? Youre really crying! Why!?
Jurina - When I remember how cute she was, tears come out! (laugh) Since its an M
V, we dont need to speak up but during one of the scene, Churi asks me Lets have lu
nch together . Since Im always the one who needs to invite her, it made me really h
appy.
Even though, in the end you face Rena and her rival and ensue a memorable scene.
Jurina - After going so far, we thought we had to do it!
t, we slapped each other but in fact, Im the only one who
(laugh). After the shooting, I cooled down my checked for
ext day there was no mark left, but sometimes, where I had
rt and my ears ring. It was terrible!

and so it turned like tha

received that many hits.
a long time and the n
been slapped would hu

Again, according to me, the coupling songs all fit perfectly in the single. Whit
e team Hanikami Lollipopis a nice song.
Jurina - Really? Im so glad! I like it too. Among white teams songs, its the one fi
tting the idol type the most, I cant wait for everyone to hear it. In the MV ther
e is a shot right before the chorus where I do a pop sound with my mouth, I feel r
eally embarrassed when I look back at that scene, but Im looking forward to hear
the fans reactions!
And what do you think of red team Koega kasurerukurai?

Jurina - I really like that slightly dark feel of that song, I even said things
like Theyre so lucky~ , but then I pull myself together Its ok for the white team t
be cute!. That was crying for the moon anyway (laugh).

There is also selection 8 Kamoku no tsukiand Imamade no koto, korekara no koto su

by all the members, making it a very varied single.
Jurina - All considered, most of the songs are about love but each of them are d
ifferent. Sometimes written from a male point of view, sometimes they bring life
and courage like Imamade no koto, korekara no koto, I think there is a good bala
nce.
In my opinion, the message of Kataomoi Finallyis that when it comes to love there
is no rule. I believe things like love should be between a man and a woman or age
difference dont matter.
Lately, doesnt the age gap between husbands and wives tend to spread? (laugh)

 If you were given the freedom to do so, what kind of love story would you like t
o experience?
Jurina - Ehh- ! Hard to give an answer to that !Ive been in SKE48 since I was in el
ementary school, so I would like to try going on a date in my school uniform! . B
ut I also love people older than me, I want the other one to be in charge and l
ead me. In matter of love, I strongly desire to be lead. As long as its someone y
ounger than my parents and whom my mother approves of, its absolutely OK! (laugh)
To wrap up this interview, what is your aim for 2012? Not in regard to SKE48, bu
t your personal goal please.
Jurina - Ah, its true that I always speak about SKE48 without focusing on myself
much. Well then. My goal for 2012, its to be given more opportunities to work as a
n actress. Though I may not be naturally skilled in acting. Even Majisuka Gakuen
2, if I had to play it now it would be completely different in my opinion. I tota
lly want to rectify it! If we were to film it now, I would play so much better!
or at least thats what I think.
Its frustrating, but since Im constantly growing its unavoidable. Last autumn, than
ks to the role I was given in SKE48 no Magical Radio, I think all the members felt
I put all my energy in my acting. I think Ive now a good grip on my power of exp
ression on stage, but if possible Id like to capitalise on that experience quick
ly.
What kind of female personality would you want take after?
Jurina - Who else than Kuroi Meisa! I want to become a cool beauty too. Who can
dance, sing and work as a model. Being all mighty sounds so cool, I want to grow
into someone esteemed by women too!

I like how Jurina always ends up her interview by mentioning her female fans and
how she wants to appeal to them more ( *///)