Juice=Juice Inaba Manaka is interviewed by Billboard Japan today and it is #1 on their access ranking
https://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/108591/2Inaba Manaka (Juice=Juice sub-leader) solo interview is released! Talking about her turbulent days, she says, "I want my fans to feel happy."
Juice=Juice is in the midst of a big transition period with Kanazawa Tomoko graduating from the Yokohama Arena concert held on November 24th, 2021, and the group's original five members becoming only one.
We interviewed Inaba Manaka, who is popular for her expressive performance and character, and who is expected to be the key person who will help lead the group under the new leader Uemura Akari at this important time.
In the interview book IDOL AND READ 029 released at the end of 2021, she talked about her life from her childhood until she joined Hello! Project.
She also talked about her life as an idol, including her hiatus due to medical treatment, her graduation from Country Girls, and her struggles to return to J=J despite being hurt by the unkind words against her. In this sequel to that interview, we asked her to tell us more about her story and thoughts as a member of J=J.-- In the interview for "IDOL AND READ 029", you talked about your feelings during the hiatus.
You said that you were misunderstood in many ways and hurt by some unkind words, but that you "didn't really want that to be the end of it, so you spent the whole time recuperating in Hokkaido, aiming for the day when we could resume our activities. I think it's because of that experience that you were able to make it this far no matter what?
Manaka : That's right! I knew I was going to be in a situation where people would say, 'There's no turning back now.' I knew I was going to be told a lot of things. But if I don't get over that, there's no point in coming back. I came back with determination, and I've been working with the feeling that I need to somehow improve my skills so that I can convey that to people so that they don't say things like that. I think I was able to do my best by telling myself, "If that happens, I'll be depressed again." However, I have had many experiences like this, and I don't think there will be anything more difficult than what I have just told you, so no matter how hard it is, I will be able to overcome it, and I am sure it will have a positive impact on my life in the future.