You were born and raised in Saitama, right?

Сентябрь 2017

No matter what happens, I’ll never get discouraged!

Ogino Yuka, the girl who placed 1st in the Preliminary Sousenkyo results back in May and ended up in 5th place during the actual Sousenkyo. Carrying the dream of becoming an idol and overcoming the bitterness of failing at the very end after taking countless auditions, she finally debuted her AKB activities as a Baito AKB before entering the Kami 7. This is the girl whose past we’re having a look at today. Behind the miracle, with efforts and a strong mental combined, it may look like she has reached her dream — but the truth is, she appears to be still a long way off.

You were born and raised in Saitama, right?

That’s right. But there were lots of rice fields around where I lived, with lots of nature. It definitely wasn’t a city (laugh).

Were your parents born in Saitama too?

They both came from a different prefecture. But it’s pretty much like they’ve always lived there.

Have you ever asked them about how they met and fell in love?

I haven’t, so I don’t know. But they often went together to Hawaii and because there was that “Maui” island they liked over there, I’ve heard they initially wanted to name me Maui (laugh). So instead of being Ogino Yuka right now, I could’ve been Ogino Maui! Maybe they eventually realized that sounded wrong for a name and changed it at the very end? But yeah I’m glad they went for Yuka, really (laugh).

What’s your oldest memory?

It’s probably me fighting with my younger brother, who’s one year younger than me, with badminton rackets when I was around 4 years old. We were just playing around but our mother ended up confiscating them (laugh).

Have you ever asked what kind of child you were?

I was really energetic when I was at home, but whenever I would go out, I’ve heard I was a very reserved little girl. In kindergarten, I would often make dorodango (mud dumplings) and play silently. I do think myself I was a quiet child, and it didn’t change much until I started elementary school. Nowadays, because I’m always so energetic my parents are often surprised by how much I’ve changed and am able to be so outgoing in front of people.

What was your dream when you were still a quiet girl?

It’s a classic for girls, but I wanted to be a Sailor Moon or open a cake shop. I liked Tsukino Usagi, the heroine of Sailor Moon. She’s usually a bit of a klutz but would become super cool as soon as she transforms. I think it’s this personality gap that drew me to her. I really wanted to have a cake shop too and held onto that dream until my 3rd year of elementary school. But my mother told me opening a cake shop would be impossible if I didn’t speak english — so I gave up (laugh).

Wouldn’t it have been better to start studying english instead of giving up?

I wonder? Had it been the me of today, I might’ve tried, but back then when I was a child it was out of the question, as I was really bad at studying. I was a bit of an idiot (laugh).

What happened after you gave up on your cake shop dream?

I think I wanted my parents to keep doing their best at work and have them continue raising me forever (laugh). I didn’t think I would have been able to find a job even if I became an adult back then.

Why would you think that?

Watching Office Ladies in dramas made me think so. That it would be impossible for me to do the same thing. That’s why I was really uncertain about my future, whether I would eventually be able to become a full-fledged working member of society or not. That is, until I started dreaming of becoming an idol instead.

You’re standing where you are today obviously thanks to all the experiences you went through during your life. But what would you say is the main reason you changed so much, going from that quiet child to the very cheerful girl you are now, and when did it happen?

It all started when I was in my 4th year of elementary school, when I went to see a friend’s performance and started taking dance lessons after that. I started interacting with lots of other kids, and progressively became able to stand on a stage through performing in front of people.

What about other auditions?

There are some others where I passed the first rounds but failed the rest. Now thinking back about it, I really had some guts (laugh). Because some of the other members that got accepted at the auditions I applied to are none other than Shiraishi Mai& Nishino Nanase! I also applied to Hello! Project’s auditions and went to the final round but failed there. And I took the auditions for Idol College too.

I would like to ask about your baito AKB days. After you became a Temporary Research Student and failed to become an official Research Student, you had given up on becoming an idol. Yet, while it was a baito, you had finally managed to enter the AKB group you had admired for so long. So what kind of feelings did you harbor when it happened?

Back when I was a Temporary Research Student, one of the staff told me that “behind any lights, there was shadow” — I didn’t quite understand what that meant at that time. But after joining Baito AKB, I found the answer. When you watch idols on your TV, they’re always wearing super cute clothes and are all shiny, but behind all of this facade, it’s an incredible amount of efforts and work that lie. I was overwhelmed when I learned this truth.

Your dream of becoming an idol that you had once given up on had finally been fulfilled with you entering Baito AKB. So I suppose the reason you chose to enter the Draft Kaigi afterward is because you felt like seeing the continuation of that dream?

Well, there was this “Pajama Drive” stage that I went to, where Miion (Mukaichi Mion) and other members, with whom I was a Temporary Research Student for the 15th Generation but who managed to become official Research Student before me, were performing. Seeing them on stage, and thinking that if I had passed the examinations, I could’ve been there too made me really frustrated and brought me to tears. But Miion and the others were really all shiny and cute, so with those mixed feelings inside me, I had fun and cried at the same time (laugh). In the end, I went to see the 15th Generation Research Student stage about 5 times. I stopped crying after the 3rd time, but I never stopped feeling frustrated. The me of that time still didn’t want to give up. And then I eventually failed the third examination and couldn’t become a Research Student.
This is when I gave up on becoming an idol and where my mother applied for me to the Baito AKB audition, and where I started my one year of idol activity.

And so, during that year of being part of Baito AKB, thanks to you understanding one of the reason you might’ve been failing all this time and seeing how impressive the other members were as idols, the fire inside your heart got lit again?

That’s part of the reason, another one is that, being a Baito AKB, I got the chance to perform with the other members from the 15th Generation, and doing so I started thinking “I want to surpass them”. Also, meeting my fans during the New Year’s cards Giving-Out event was a big thing too. I wanted to meet them again. And with those thoughts in mind, I applied at the Draft Kaigi and got nominated by Kitahara Rie and Kashiwagi Yuki, and ended up becoming a NGT48 member.
But I think if I hadn’t gone to the toilets at that time, I wouldn’t have been nominated.

How did you “lead” them?

More than leading, we started thinking a lot about the 1st Generation. While I didn’t talk with Marina during the lessons, we were still eating together at night. During those moments we would reflect on everything that happened during the day, like “oh I think this girl would do better if she did this instead”. We were having this kind of talk everyday.
This is quite a big change from the you from the past who couldn’t see anything else than yourself.

That’s true. Then, as the days passed, the positions for our Debut event* eventually got announced. Although Marina and me were thinking about what would be the best for NGT48 as a group all the time and were trying to lead it into that direction, I personally still wanted to have the central position after all. But I didn’t get it. The one who got it was Katomina. Since she’s so cute and worked hard for it, I had to consent, but to be honest I still felt a bit bitter. As someone who had been here for longer than her even if by not a lot.

お 披 露 目 ＝ Debut event (8/21/2015)

A month and half after, you got the 1st place during the Preliminary Sousenkyo voting, and ended up in 5th place during the real show which got you a place in the Kami 7. In terms of ranking, this is higher than anyone else in NGT48 or in AKB48’s 13th, 14th and 15th Generations, as well as higher than anyone else in Team 8.

Hmmm… But I think that if we’re talking about actual performance, there isn’t any domain where I can win. So that’s why I spent the year leading up to this Sousenkyo election trying to build some confidence in myself by closing the distance between me and my fans as much as possible. I wanted to become the friendliest idol possible. I would decorate my line myself during the handshake events, or would try to greet people in a voice louder than anyone else’s for example, so as to stand out. Because I can’t win in the performance or look departments, I tried to venture into others. In the end I do think I managed to close the distance between me and my fans and this is one aspect where I am now confident. Plus I still don’t want to lose to the other 15th Generation members.

Are you still afraid now?

Well, since it is thanks to the fans that I am standing here today, I feel like I owe it to them to accept it and enjoy it now. That’s why I’m happy. Plus, entering the Senbatsu is everyone’s goal. As such, me being happy means there are many girls who are, on the other hand, feeling down. When I think about it like that, letting out negative feelings while doing activities as a Senbatsu member would be rude to those members who are feeling down. But while I’m enjoying myself right now, it’s true I’m still nervous. The senior members really are incredible. They’re so supple when dancing, and all have their own personality. I still have a long way to go.

I was watching a STU48 live the other day, and while Sashihara Rino& Okada Nana were both dancing the same choreography as the other members it felt totally different. Although that might be obvious considering how much experience they have.

Yes they really are on another level. That’s why when we are dancing together, I’m still often wondering if I am not holding them back. For example there was this TV show “FNS Uta no Natsu Matsuri” where we told me we would be performing “Manatsu no Sounds good! ”, but it was my first time doing it. I only had three hours before the real show to learn the choreography, which was really short, and ended up being no good when the time came.
After that, I went hiding in a corner to cry but Yokoyama Yui came to see me. And not only that, but so that no other member notice that I was crying, she only asked me if I was alright, before inviting me to eat together through a LINE message. So after the performance ended, we went eating together and talked for about 2 hours while I was crying, and she found an answer to all of my worries. Moreover, the day after, NGT48 was to supposed perform on stage during the “Ongaku no Hi” TV show, and I had been appointed as the MC for this segment. But I wasn’t sure I could really give a good image of NGT48 in my state, and asked her about that.
In the end, she asked me, “Will you be able to do it tomorrow? ” and didn’t let me go until I was able to answer “I will! ” (laugh). Once I did, she went “Good! ”!
Yokoyama Yui had always been a person I respected, so asking her advices while crying like that and going out together to eat felt weird.

Translation notes

Yuka uses the word 銀 河 ア イ ド ル which can also means “milky way idol”.

An idol who isn’t an idol is a Galactic Idol for you?

Yes, that’s a thought I double-confirmed last time when I went on a shooting with Takafumi Horie for a SHOWROOM live streaming the other day. It was a show where we launched a rocket into space. Getting to participate in this kind of work made me thought I got one step closer to being a “Galactic” idol! My goal as an idol, as a group, is to perform on a stage in las vegas, but as an individual, I want to be able to do a live streaming from space and sing from up there!

Сентябрь 2017

No matter what happens, I’ll never get discouraged!

Ogino Yuka, the girl who placed 1st in the Preliminary Sousenkyo results back in May and ended up in 5th place during the actual Sousenkyo. Carrying the dream of becoming an idol and overcoming the bitterness of failing at the very end after taking countless auditions, she finally debuted her AKB activities as a Baito AKB before entering the Kami 7. This is the girl whose past we’re having a look at today. Behind the miracle, with efforts and a strong mental combined, it may look like she has reached her dream — but the truth is, she appears to be still a long way off.

You were born and raised in Saitama, right?

That’s right. But there were lots of rice fields around where I lived, with lots of nature. It definitely wasn’t a city (laugh).

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