Tanaka Reina graduated from MM & H!P, 5/21 @ Nippon Budokan

[Mizu_D3]

too bad that not airing at other country...

[321BreakinOut]

REINA'S GRAUDUATING O_________________O !!!!?!?!?!

[Amped]

new H!P official shop's Tanaka Reina graduation photoset

[Denki]

Remember that rumored song, "Mizuiro no Tiara"? That song with that outfit would have been great. ;u; (Despite the fact that the tiara isn't light blue, but the dress makes up for it)

[Nayoko-Kihara]

Super pretty dress.

[Starra]

Wow that dress is amazing.

[Kirarena]

The instrumental of the Reina's song is finished!
If someone want to sing,please contact me!

[randompasserby]

It's such a good read I just had to give it a shot and try to translate it
cmiiw as always

warning : incoming wall of text

special Sayu and Reina interview on Billboard Japan
http://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/562

Spoiler: show

－－Today I'd like to have the two of you talk about some of your memories during these 10 years in Morning Musume. First of all, Michishige-san, please tell us your state of mind right now in preparation of Tanaka-san's graduation next month.

Sayu ： Until now, most of our graduating members sometimes cried and their expressions always looked so sad/lonely during their last tour rehearsals but in Reina's case she just seems like she's having a lot of fun (lol) . Standing at her side and looking at Reina who's looking forward to her activities as LoVendoЯ after graduating Morning Musume, I can't help but feel like supporting and cheering her on.

－－It's really a graduation full of positiveness huh.

Sayu ： Recently my emotions are starting to swell up from the dawning realization that her graduation is coming up soon though. Like during the filming of Brainstorming's music video we talked about how it's her last and when we had a concert in her hometown Fukuoka I realized 「Ah, this is the last time Reina will have a concert here as part of Morning Musume」 . Thinking about that I felt a bit lonely.

－－How about Tanaka-san?

Reina ： Doing interviews like this, in almost every opportunity I was asked 「How do you feel about your graduation?」. I do feel like 「Ah only a month away now..」but I don't really feel it so vividly like how Sayu described it, Reina's a bit insensitive that way. But during my last concert in Fukuoka after the main act of the concert was finished I was mc-ing alone to express my thanks for the fans and I saw Sayu, who always immediately went to the dressing room to change costumes, hanging back in the stage wing. Moreover right before Reina's session is over I saw her running like she didn't want to be seen watching me.

－－So she can keep putting up a brave front huh.

Reina ： I thought it was cute, when I could clearly see her fluttering skirt as she ran when I concluded my session but seeing her like that and realizing that she was watching over me since it was my last concert there, even to this dull insensitive me it hits home then 「My last huh..」. Although compared to other graduating members, in yesterday's release event and today's event at Ikebukuro, I don't really feel like doing anything special just because my graduation is coming up soon. So during interviews like this, I almost felt bad because it seems like I can't give them the answer they were expecting...

－－「I'm sorry I'm not crying」 something like that? (lol)

Sayu ： That's so funny (lol)

－－To begin with, why did you choose this timing to graduate?

Reina ： There were a few times in the past when I thought 「Maybe I should graduate soon...」 but I never actually put it into words and said it to anyone. Thinking about it now maybe I didn't even really mean it back then. It's not like I was worrying and agonizing about when to graduate the entire time either, it's more like one day I came to that decision and since I already decided that same day I told people about it before my feelings change. I told Tsunku-san that 「Even after I graduated I don't want to stop singing 」 and now here we are.

－－When you found out about her graduating, what did you think about it?

Sayu ： 「But we had just finally been able to talk this close to each other... this last 1-2years」 (lol) . We talked a lot to each other about our private lives and work-wise it has never been smoother between us. With that flow, instead of her saying 「I have an announcement 」and me sitting straight and listening attentively, before I noticed it she just worked the word 「graduation」 into one of our usual conversations. By listening to her I was able slowly come to an understanding 「I see.. so you want to move forward in that direction」or 「you're looking for band members now huh...」and to come to terms with it relatively quickly. That's why I don't really have any particular reaction/feelings when I heard the official announcement.

－－You've naturally braced yourself mentally for the announcement beforehand

Sayu ： That's it! That's why I'm glad we were able to get along so well now (lol). If I wasn't told about it before hand, it'll probably be a huge shock to me.

－－The fact that you've only been able to get along these past 1-2 years is even more shocking to me

Sayu : It's not like we don't get along before (lol)

－－In your currently ongoing concert tour "Morning Musume 2013 Spring Michishige☆Eleven SOUL ~Tanaka Reina Graduation Special", what kind of memories would you like to create?

Reina : That's why I've been saying it's no different that the usual tours. After announcing my graduation, Reina has been imagining how I would change.. like crying after each and every concert, thinking to myself 「It's already over...」 and feeling lonely. In actuality even beyond my imagination or maybe beyond my expectations well, the easiest way to put it is... I don't really feel anything. But now that I said it sounded really bad ! How should I say it !?

All present (LOL)

Reina : Uh, in a good way?

Sayu : You mean to say it's all "as per usual"?

Reina : Yeah, it's all just as usual! I really didn't feel that different from the usual that it surprised me too. I felt like 「I should've felt something more!」 but when I thought about it, maybe the reason is because even after graduating I'll still be able to hold a mic and sing in front of people. If after graduating Morning Musume I have to quit singing and only gets to focus on acting, for Reina personally I'll definitely be very sad. If that was the case I would've thought 「The number of times I can hold a mic and sing is getting less and less」 after every concert. But from now on I can still continue singing too so I'll won't be so sad. Though lately I've been thinking about the graduation concert and then I'll most likely be swept away to a more teary direction

－－There's the Graduation Ceremony after all.

Reina : Yeah that's why I think I'll probably cry then but I don't think it'll be because of any sadness from my part. Watching the fans go "ahhh~" with faces like they're about to cry and listening to the messages from the members overflowing with emotion but trying to keep their voice not to break down, those kinds of things are running through my head like a flashing lantern. Personally I don't want to cry but I'm a bit weak dealing with things like that so I'll just make sure I can convey my feelings properly at that time and let's see how it'll go.

－－While we're at the topic of the road to the graduation concert, let's have a look back at some of the stories along the way. It's about 10 years ago that the two of you together with Kamei Eri joined Morning Musume as the sixth generation members. What was your first impression of each other ?

Sayu : I thought she was very adult-like back then. When I first met her in the audition's meeting hall I thought she was older than me. She was very stylish with her dyed hair and wearing boots with high soles. She was the type of people that I rarely see in Yamaguchi Prefecture where I was from so looking at her I thought 「So cool~!」. But after hearing her age 「I'm in first year of junior high school」 I realized 「She's the same age as me !」 (lol). Even after knowing we're the same age I still talked to her with polite speech while she's already talking casually but after the last part of the auditions and we went to the training camp together, although she still looked adult-like to me, when we're talking excitedly and being noisy together I can really tell that we're the same age. There she told me 「You don't have to talk so politely to me you know」

－－（lol）

Sayu : From then on I was able to have fun talking to her casually.

Reina : When Reina heard that she was the same age I thought 「Ah that girl looks like she a talkative one」. Even after it turned out that we're completely different types because we're both from the same regional group we usually ended up in the same meeting place together with our parents, although we didn't talk much beyond 「How's it going?」. Reina always thought that Eri will definitely pass too since she's from the city and she's also very cute so I decided to start trying to get along with her but Sayu...

Sayu : You didn't think I would pass, did you (lol) ?

Reina : In the end all of us passed. For quite a while after that, we ended up having to go back and forth to Tokyo during weekends so we always stayed in the same hotel and after lessons we would go to have dinner together the 4 of us with our families. At the time Reina was feeling homesick having to be separated from my father and my hometown so I didn't have any appetite whatsoever and I was crying a little bit. But Sayu was pretty indifferent to the whole thing and when I asked her isn't she sad she answered cheerfully like 「I'm not sad at all, I'm happy!!」. Even when I was feeling so down like at that time, I wondered how could she not sense any of it to and I just concluded that 「maybe she's a bit of an idiot after all? 」

All present (LOL)

Reina : During the training camp she sometimes answered her interview questions with completely unrelated stuff and she kept saying weird things so I had a sense that her way of thinking is a bit different that mine somewhat. But still there are a lot of times when I thought 「Aaahh... why couldn't she sympathize with my loneliness just a bit?」 or 「how nice... she looks like she's having so much fun all by herself 」(lol)

－－In actuality, how did you feel at that time?

Sayu : For me, I could only think about 「I'm so happy that I got into Morning Musume!」so I was just happily eating Karaage's and ice creams without any concern about Reina's crying. She really didn't eat anything at all back then huh, even Karaages that was supposed to be her favorite. Reina always looks very strong-willed you know, even back then she didn't look like she would cry about anything. She always had this image of a strong girl in my mind. I can understand now that she's actually just a normal girl who was very sad that she had to be apart from her friends and families but I was still pretty much a child too back then so I didn't say anything like 「Are you alright?」 to her or even thought of 「Maybe I should share a piece of Karaage with her」...

Reina : (lol)

Sayu : Reina can be surprisingly very pessimistic sometimes, you know. When we future Rokki were still in the training camp, we heard the news that Fujimoto Miki-san will become a member of Morning Musume too and Reina said 「Ahh.. then the three of us here have failed then」 (lol) . She probably thought that since it has been decided that Fujimoto-san will be joining, they must've judged that there are no good Musume in the audition even after giving them a training camp. In Sayumi's case it was more like 「Ah, Fujimoto-san will be joining too! I can't wait!」 when I haven't even passed yet !

－－So to summarize, Tanaka-san is the type to overthink things while Michishige-san is the optimistic type.

Sayu : I was going like 「Yayyyy! I'm in Tokyo!」(lol) and was overjoyed thinking 「Maybe I can even meet Mikitty!」

－－From Morning Musume's 1st generation to the 11th, each generation has their own individual style and personality. How would you describe the Rokki as a generation?

Reina : For Reina personally, I've heard that the Gokki (Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Ogawa Makoto, Konno Asami) were often scolded because they're too huddled together and were told to mingle more with others and bring out their personalities more. In Rokki's case we never had to worry about that, not even once. Basically all of us just did whatever we felt like separately but when we have to do a Rokki MC corner in concerts we were always in sync with each other. Sayu and Eri hung out together in their private time too, while Reina doesn't really talk much with others even in the dressing room. So when three of us did an MC corner, the two of them just excitedly talked about something they did together somewhere a while ago without even bothering to include Reina in the conversation... but the way we did it actually made the corner interesting, like I'll just jump in saying 「Eh? I don't even know!」. In private we don't even exchange mails but I've always thought that the way we could have great chemistry whenever we're doing work-related activities together is an amazing relationship.

Sayu : Rokki is always freely doing their own things individually but whenever we gathered I've always felt that they are the best partners I could hope for. They're very easy to interact with. When we're interacting with our senpais we have to take a lot of things into consideration and we also have to be aware of our positions with the kouhais but we can always be at ease with our own generation mates, we can freely talk about ourselves and poke fun at each other mercilessly. There are no walls between us. Also on the talk front, everyone in our generation is very good at it and furthermore our field of expertise is a bit different from each other although it's a bit hard to pinpoint who does what best (lol). Therefore when the Rokki are gathered we could almost say that we have nothing to fear.

－－Kamei Eri graduated from that Rokki in 2010/12/15. Do you remember how you felt at the time?

Reina : When I found out about her graduation all I can think of was 「Too fast!」. We still had senpais above us, Eri had a cute face and was pretty popular so I thought she should've stayed a bit longer. I still didn't know what her leaving would mean to us but when I heard her reasons I thought 「so that's how it is..」 and so I was finally able to accept it. It's just that, I didn't think that Sayu will be able to go on alone so I was a bit worried whether she's gonna be alright or not. I wondered how she would spend her time and with whom from then on.

－－But you still didn't even consider something like 「Ok, then I'll..」there

Reina : Nope, not at all.

All present (LOL)

Reina : But I did think that she was very sad about it back then.

－－How did you really feel at the time?

Sayu : I'm a bit happy now knowing that Reina thought about me that way at that time (lol). I knew about Eri's plans to graduate for quite a while before the announcement, just like Reina's this time around, so I was quite alright because I was able to gradually understand her reasoning, accepted it and resolved myself in preparation for it. But during Eri's graduation concert when Reina said 「My dream of the three of us Rokki pulling Morning Musume forward from the top will never come true now」 while crying, seeing that I once again thought 「I really wanted Eri to stay. Although looking at how it all turned out, we just have the right balance in the group now with Sayumi and Reina. The current formation with the Kyuuki, Juuki, Juuikki is also coming together splendidly, so in the end I'm glad it turned out this way.

－－Incidentally, what does Kamei Eri's presence mean to the both of you?

Sayu : Sayumi is very close with her, we stayed over at each other's house and in our off days we also hung out together. It's hard to describe it objectively... but we have a relationship where we can tell each other everything. Although in regards to Reina, we have the same kind of relationship now too. How should I put it... I can show her my dark side. Having fun when we're together goes without saying but I think the only ones I can tell anything that I was thinking without hesitation are only the Rokki, in the past and even in the future too. I have a pretty nasty tongue when I really have something to say (lol) so I will only show that side of me only to the people I can trust and rely on.

Reina : I just thought about this now, but I would've loved it if Sayu were my boyfriend. being able to show our bad sides to each other, saying whatever you wanted to say to each other, listening to what each other had to say and with nothing to hide I won't be embarrassed no matter what (s)he saw (lol). Reina always wanted that kind of boyfriend!

Sayu : That's so funny!

Reina : We've been together the entire time for 10 years. Even though we didn't talk much to each other for 8 of those years, it's because we've been together for so long that we're able to suddenly become this intimate.

Sayu : Since a long time ago we've been somewhat distant friends but it felt like we've changed from being friends to lovers. 10 years since we met, lovers for two years and counting.

Reina : Isn't that amazing in a way? For 10 years, the entire time we've been right in front of each other.

－－And then, you thought that you want to have her as a boyfriend just now.

Reina : Yeah, I thought about it just now.

All present (LOL)

Reina : You can't really force yourselves to have this kind of relationship with someone you know. When Reina is in a bad mood and have to interact with others I would just show them (my mood) as it is but because of how much Sayu understands me, I don't get as fatigued mentally from trying to hold back. Reina really hates having worry about things too much so I don't have many female friends. Girls usually have this image of saying 「It's ok」 while behind you they go 「Hey listen to this..」 and I dislike those type of girls but in Sayu's case I don't have to worry about it. Then continuing about Eri, Reina is the type that consults my mother about everything so whenever I needed someone who's on the same location to listen to my troubles I was troubled because I can't really say it to anyone else but Eri is always there for me and she'll always listen. There were a lot of times when I called her in the middle of the night and woke her up from her sleep but without minding it, she always listened to everything I had to say. Thanks to her I was able to feel refreshed.

－－There has been a lot of episode like that with Kamei-san huh.

Sayu : You're right. Eri is a very good listener and she always offered her advices. Also, instead of putting up an appearance saying 「It's alright」 we can always honestly said our real feelings to each other, sometimes she said things like 「Sayu, wasn't that pretty bad? What are you going to do to fix it」 to me.

Reina : Eri is one year older than us so maybe she's a bit of an older sister to us. Because of that Reina always called her thinking 「I can rely on her!」

－－The three of of you Rokki stood out on your own in the time that the general public calls the "Platinum era". Having experienced that period in person, looking back now how would you describe Morning Musume as a group at that time?

Sayu : Now people are saying 「The Platinum era was amazing」 but at that time no one was saying those kinds of thing at all! For us hearing about how some people are only just watching our lives DVD now and saying 「Amazing」 gives us strange feeling. Even though at that time we were doing things just as usual, I thought 「now they're praising us?」. Although, we were pretty stoic as a whole back then. We spent more time to complete our dances and put it in order compared to now, I think.. for Resonant Blue and such.

Reina : In Reina's case, I was always watching how Ishikawa Rika-san danced and thought 「I want to be like that」. I always wanted to improve myself so every live performances was so much fun. But during the platinum era I don't have a clear vision of the target that made me feel 「I want to be like that」. I was stopped at the same level that whole time and being the type that wants to keep improving myself I was pretty troubled and thought 「what should I do now?」. When I became the twin vocal lead with Takahashi Ai-san I was pretty exited and thought 「Yay I did it!」 but if we keep continuing with the same formation for so long I was worried that I'll start to take it for granted. That's why I thought Reina had come to a halt back then.

－－Looking from an outside perspective though, Tanaka-san together with Takahashi-san carried the group on their shoulders as the lead vocals, Michishige-san participated in a lot of variety shows, and Kamei-san was attracting notice as a performer. In a way, I thought that the Rokkie was the one who started to raise the revolution of Morning Musume from inside the group at that time.

Sayu : Really, you think so? Isn't that kind of amazing? I'm so happy to hear that!

Reina : It's amazing! I wished anyone would have said that back then.

All present (lol)

－－The Gokki's presence have a great effect for the Rokki I think. Considering that your age is pretty close to each other, I would like to hear more about it. First, Tanaka-san served alongside Takahashi-san for a long while as the twin lead vocalist. From Michishige-san's point of view how do you see their relationship?

Sayu : I think they mutually recognize each other's ability. Aichan probably thought 「As long as Reina's here, it'll be alright」 and Reina would've thought the same 「I'm relieved that Aichan is here」, they made each other feel a peace of mind while singing. Sayumi really loves how Aichan sings and I thought that Reina is very good at it too so I was always amazed that I could stand beside them in a group that had these two as the vocal lead every time I stood on the stage.

Reina : I said 「I started to take it for granted」 before but while I was thinking that, I sang with Aichan not only on Morning Musume but in Hello Project concerts too and moreover we were always given hard songs to sing. Aichan is the senpai so I always had the image of her getting the good positions but then I thought being able to stand next to her singing difficult songs 「Isn't Reina amazing?」. I was happy that I can stand in the same position beside my senpai. Also, the ways we sing and our preferred genres are different but we were able to mix our voices well. That's why I liked doing unisons with Aichan, although we didn't get many chances to. It was usually divided into Takahashi group on one side, and Tanaka group on the other side. But when we sang together, it's just like Sayu said, we were able to rely on each other and with Aichan, I don't even have to say anything to get my feelings across.

－－Well then, what about the relationship between Tanaka Reina and Niigaki Risa?

Sayu : You want to ask me about that (lol) ?

－－I've heard the story about them not speaking to each other for a long time until Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ from Tanaka-san herself in detail but I want to know how Michishige-san looks at their relationship, since you're close to both of them.

Sayu : Although lately I've been able look at my surroundings and take notice if anything's wrong with someone but back then Sayumi was pretty insensitive to these kinds of things too. I was really the type that feels as long as I'm having fun everything's alright and since I didn't feel any discomfort between me and the members personally, I didn't really pay it any mind. Eri did say to me 「Isn't that kinda bad?」 since she always paid attention to things around her but even after I noticed that 「Ah it's true, they really didn't talk much」 I just thought it was no different from how it is with Reina and Sayumi. After Eri graduated and the Kyuuki joined I started to notice maybe it's different from how it is with Reina and Sayumi after all, there's this air of animosity between them, but after the stage play Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ they were able to talk a lot to each other so in the end I never really thought too deeply about it from the beginning to the very end.....

－－（lol）

Reina : I didn't really consult anyone about that topic... ah I did talk about it to Aika though. I was brought in to replace Aika in Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ because she was still recuperating and I had to appear together with Gaki-san and the Kyuuki members while there was still a wall between me and them. At the beginning I didn't talk with them at all but I couldn't see the Kyuuki showing any motivation during practices and it was too much.... even the director was at his wits end. After much worrying, I finally talked to Gaki-san who I hadn't talk to for a long time and asked her 「Please say something to the Kyuuki, at this rate it's going to be hopeless」, she said 「You're right」 and then we discussed what to do about it. But the Kyuuki still doesn't seem to get it no matter what we do and Gaki-san started to cry so I thought 「If this keeps going, these kids will make fun of us」 so Reina started yelling at them and made them cry instead (lol). She thanked me for backing her up and from then on we were able to talk normally again. During Gaki-san's graduation concert we were even able to laugh at the topic of how 「There was the time where things between Reina and Gaki-san was very strained」

Sayu : It was good then that there was Reborn

Reina : Right! It was thanks to that stage play.

－－All thing considered Tanaka Reina is quite a "Senpai Killer" huh. It seems like as long as there are senpais, she gets even more fired up.

Reina : You might be right! If I thought 「I'm fine with this」 I'll start slacking off in many aspects and I can't tighten up my spirit. There are times that I thought 「If do at least this much, it'll be an easy win」 but if there were senpais around, even though I'll probably have to worry about more things, my desire to improve myself will be able to come forth and I think that's more fun.

－－And so you're graduating when there are no more senpais above you, aren't you being too cool now (lol) ?

Sayu : I think the way Reina holds her motivation is great. And um, maybe she's an M? She seems like she'd like being in strict situations. In the current Morning Musume, we rely on Reina for her singing and her live performance too. That probably just doesn't give enough stimulus for her so now by embarking on a new path she'll keep aiming to go higher and higher.

Reina : Maybe Reina is an M. Although I'm so busy that I always hurried myself up everyday, not once have I ever thought 「I don't want to do this」. At the very least I want to speak my mind (lol). Also, when I have too much free time I always felt like I'm dying 「What am I living for, give me some work」!!

－－You're completely a workaholic huh (lol)

Reina : That might be it!

Sayu : Seriously. She's constantly looking for some kind of stimulus to keep her motivated. That's why you probably thought you were unsatisfied during platinum era right?

Reina : That time, we had too much free time with nothing to do.

Sayu : Like today it's the release date of our new single so naturally we have a release event but that time there weren't even any of that. Like 「It's the release date and we have a free day?!」

－－You have done a great job turning it around, from that condition to how it is now

Sayu : Sayumi's motivation and the others' haven't changed at all. The desire to do our very best from that time and the feeling of wanting to sell more, every member has it too just the same as now. That's why I'm happy about our current situation.

－－I want to hear more about Tanaka Reina's relationship with her kouhais the Kyuuki, Juuki, Juuikki too. Saying that it's unexpected may be a bit rude but comparatively you opened your heart to them pretty quickly, didn't you?

Reina : Juuki approaches me all the time. With Sato Masaki leading them.

Sayu : Sato really like Reina a bit too much (lol)

－－The episodes of Maachan clinging to Tanaka-san and the other kouhais following her example and start to talk to you more easily is already pretty famous. To begin with, wanting to adore and be affectionate to someone who relies on her, perhaps Tanaka-san already has a big-sisterly disposition in the first place?

Sayu : She does, she totally does.

Reina : Reina can't turn away someone who comes close like her. I always wanted to be affectionate with people who adores me. Recently, Sayashi Riho has mentioned a few times that she always watching Reina saying things like 「I want to steal a lot of things from her before she graduated」. So Reina has been watching her a lot too even though I never told Sayashi. At this time, she's the number one on the list of people I want to pamper with affection. She relies on me and adores me too, sometimes I caught her looking at me from the corner of my eye and I met her gaze and said to her 「You were looking at me right now, didn't you?」

－－How cute (lol)

Reina : That's why I wanted to spoil her but Sayashi herself seems unable to behave like a spoiled child, she hasn't come around yet to Reina or even Sayu. Reina isn't really the type to just say 「Come here~」 and hold my hand out to her either so I might be seen as distant but Reina's heart is turned her way.

－－Tanaka-san's graduation single "Brainstorming/Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai" is aiming to become the coolest Morning Musume in its history, what are your impressions of it?

Reina : I thought "Help Me!!" was going to be my graduation single, so when I heard that we're releasing another one after that I went 「Eh? "Help me!!" was very cool so I was fine with it!」 (lol). I really liked it, the fans also said the the outfit was 「THE Reina, Leopard prints and all」. So I hoped 「What to do? If the next one's going to be my graduation single please let it be a cool song~ 」 and it turned out that both of the A-sides were very cool

－－Not only that, one of the coupling songs is Tanaka Reina's solo, "Rock no Teigi"

Reina : That's right! When I first heard this song's melody I immediately said 「I like it!」. I'm so happy that I get to sing this song as my last solo in Morning Musume. Later when I read the lyrics I realized 「Tsunku-san has really been watching over Reina all this time」. Or rather, he keeps elevating me to new heights. That's why, now I can fully turn my "switch" on when singing that song. Reina usually turned her "switch" on when singing "Shabondama" or "Resonant Blue" too but this song won't lose to them. I think with this song I can express 「This is what the inside of Tanaka Reina's heart really looks like 」 through my voice and movements.

－－This current single will be Tanaka Reina's last. Now I'd like to ask Michishige-san, how do you see Tanaka Reina as a member?

Sayu : When Reina is around, the atmosphere becomes very Reina-like. When she's smiling everyone is happy and when she's angry everyone straightened their backs and thought 「I have to do things more properly」 to themselves. She's always changing the atmosphere inside the group.

－－Then, as a partner who've walked together for 10 years?

Sayu : For ten years we've been generation mates to each other, we're also the same age and born in the first year of Heisei era. I think Sayu and Reina are the only ones born on that year from the entire Hello!Project. The two of us whose looks and personalities are the opposite of each other, we've come this far in the same group after so long. I've always thought Sayumi and Reina will be the first ones most likely to quit from the Rokki. Eri has the most orthodox/traditional idol feeling to her among us, she's also kind and always took care of her kouhais so I thought she'll remain in the group until the end but before we realized, it was the two of us who's left in the group from the Rokki (lol). It was way beyond my imagination when we met each other the first time in the audition assembly hall that the two of us will be members of the same group together for 10 years but I'm glad that Reina is my partner.

－－For Tanaka-san, what kind of person is Michishige Sayumi to you?

Reina : At the very beginning we don't really talk to each other at all, so to put it bluntly... whether she's there or not , either way is fine

Everyone present : (LOL)

Reina : Recently, since the drama "Suugaku Joshi Gakuen" we started to talk a lot and thereafter whenever I'm with Sayu it feels like the amount of laughs in my life has increased. It becomes one of the things that I look forward to when I go to work. If I knew we'll be able to talk and laugh like this I would've talked to her much sooner (lol). Right now, she's always beside me and Sayu is the only partner I can really talk to about everything I felt. This is the same topic as before but I also thought Eri would remain the longest among us but it turned out being the two of us left. I've thought a few times that we won't be able to do a Rokki MC corner without Eri but when I felt 「I'm not in the mood for talking today」 Sayu always covered for me and talked a lot and conversely when I saw 「Sayu doesn't look like she's in a good condition right now」Reina instinctively become more lively in the talks. In a good way, we're... a good mix?

Sayu : We have a great balance, right?

Reina : There, she always helped me when I'm at a loss for words like that. That's why I'm really glad that the member who's still with me until the end was Sayu.

－－I think you've always been a great combination, from the very beginning

Sayu : Yaaa~y!

Reina : (lol)

－－Well then, in conclusion what does Morning Musume mean to Tanaka Reina?

Reina : Morning Musume.... I'm truly glad that I entered. From now on I'll be doing activities as part of LoVendoЯ but Morning Musume has been famous before I joined so getting on TV, doing radio shows and being featured for an articles like this, it's an environment where you can do things like this as the norm. I don't really have any experience of starting from the bottom, probably only the training camp. On that front I recently noticed that I've been pampered all this time. Morning Musume's name still sells, even the events we normally do... I really want to impart to the Kyuuki, Juuki and Juuikki that we can't take that for granted. The blessing of being able to perform on concert halls, being able to do events on weekdays and still having a large number of fans gathered there.... um~.. I can't really put the words I wanted to say in order...

－－Please tell us everything you wish to convey.

Reina : It's just that, Reina joined such a group without knowing anything at thirteen years old and then I abruptly have to do a live performance in front of a large number of fans. Of course, the experience tempered many parts of me into who I am right now. Because of that, I'm really glad that I joined Morning Musume... if asked to describe what Morning Musume's existence means to me, I can't really put it into words but I also discovered how much I loved singing once again through Morning Musume, since I was a child I've always liked to sing but I was able to grasp a lot of things that the word "like" can't express the meaning anymore.
That's why.... for Reina it's a precious thing, I hope it continues to exist forever. Then I can always say. 「I was a member of this Morning Musume too once」.

I hope I managed to get the gist of it right but please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors

[AyuHikaru]

The instrumental of the Reina's song is finished!
If someone want to sing,please contact me!

I wanna sing it!

[eki134]

@randompasserby indeed its a great read
thank you for translating this