Translation: Potato October 2016 - Yabu and Hikaru
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Q1. When do you unintentionally let your guard down?
Yabu: When I am with my close friends. My hair is messy and I wear clothes like jerseys, I am totally not fashionable at all (laugh). It depends on the time place and occasion but when I eat out too, I go to places where I often go with my close friends and somehow I think I do let my guard down there. I know the restaurant staff too. I often go to a Italian restaurant which serves creative food. When I am with my friends from work, I often space out too. Like Tottsu (Totsuka Shota) and Kitayama-san. They are both my work mates and also my friends, and also like friendly rivals. This summer, I went to watch A.B.C-Z’s live and he did something on stage that only I understand. There is a phrase in the manga HUNTER x HUNTER and he just murmured it during a particular timing and I burst out laughing (laugh). The people around me didn’t notice at all. But to me, it was really funny so after it ended I mailed him and said “that was great”
Hikaru: I think I am full of flaws. Okay maybe not “full of”. But when I make jokes, I think it enables me to let my guard down instead. Because if I am too tensed up, I get tired. At work too, I am not tensed up all the while. In a good way. For example, Hirunandesu is a live show, and when it first started, I sigh in relief and say “It ended peacefully….” but now I don’t feel like that so I just challenge whatever situation that comes. I enjoy it naturally, that’s all. In the past, I get tired when I am tense up and try to do my best, and with that, I do fail. I probably had experience in not being able to enjoy the current situation, which is why I stopped. But even though, I was really nervous during the cat episode on Itadaki High Jump (laugh). I dislike cats and so I was nervous, and my fear didn’t stop. It is true that I was tensed up during the whole shoot (laugh)
Q2. A person whom you think has too many flaws?
Yabu: Myself. The other day at work, I brought my wallet to the toilet and when I returned, I panicked and went “my wallet is gone!” My manager asked “where did you go?” and when I returned back to the toilet, it was there (laugh). This happens often. At the airport, don’t they have a few places like the customs and bagcheck where you have to produce your boarding pass? Even though they are just a few metres apart, I go “Eh? I just took out the boarding pass just now but where is it now?” In the end, it is always in my wallet.
Hikaru: Keito I guess. I am not really conscious of it but I often play pranks on him. And that’s because Keito has many flaws, definitely. (laugh) Even though I say pranks, it is just doing things like kicking his knees and tripping him. Everyone in my family has the same personality as me and we probably have many flaws, but there isn’t anyone who tries to hide them in front of the family.
Q3. A moment when you want to tease a girl when you see her flaws?
Yabu: In the first place, I probably prefer people with no flaws. Especially her appearance. I want her hair to have that glow even if she dyes it, and I think it is wonderful if she is thorough in maintaining it! Also, this has nothing to do with whether she has flaws, but I am quite random so when I meet someone after a long time, I say things like “you cut your hair?” or “did you change your outlook?” (laugh). If I say a lot, somehow one of them will become applicable and greetings like “good morning” are boring, so I will feel like adding in my own conversation.
Hikaru: I think girls with flaws are cute. Girls who are normally reliable and steady do fail sometimes, and I feel happy that I am able to see that and think “She has such a side to herself too”. You are able to tell whether anyone has flaws, when they are eating the last five mouths of their food. When they are thinking “I am already full but it is bad to waste food” and eating, the look on their faces are normally spacing out (laugh). Recently, when I eat, I somehow start looking at the people at the next table and that’s how I thought of that. For the last five mouthfuls, you just unconsciously bring the food to your mouth with your instincts. I don’t intend to laugh at them, and it is weird that I will find it cute, but I think that unconscious action is interesting. Since I realized that, I have a habit of looking at other tables (laugh)
Q4. A recent episode where you thought “I probably failed…”
Yabu: This is something common but when I stayed in the hotel at Osaka, the free amenities included a shaving cream which was in a form of a tube. In the morning I was half asleep while brushing my teeth, and when I put that in my mouth, I panicked! It tasted just like when I accidentally put shampoo in my mouth. After that when I brushed my teeth properly, just in case, I put more toothpaste than usual.
Hikaru: During the Osaka concert, I made a mistake during the band corner. When I was playing the chorus, I suddenly thought “Where was I playing? What’s next?” and everything turned blank. This doesn’t always happen and I often play according to my feelings. It feels like my fingers are used to it and can just move naturally. That is why if I think with my head, and keep looking at my fingers, on the other hand I will think “Eh? Is this right?” It is just like when everyone says “good morning” like it is a common word, but when you start thinking “in the first place, what is good morning?” (laugh) But during the live, I soon became calm again so it wasn’t a big mistake.
Q5. When do you become a perfectionist?
Yabu: Time. I like making my time perfect like just preparing five minutes beforehand. It is great being just on time, and wasting no time. Even before the concert starts, when they hurry me and say “Hurry up and prepare!”, I say “its okay, I do it at my own pace” and I appear just in time. Even if my manager tells me “Hai, you are last~~~!”, I say “I am not last. I just make my grand appearance at the right opportunity” (laugh)
Hikaru: When I buy something new, I want to renew the things beside it too. For example, when I buy a new bath mat, I want to buy new towels, knife, knife sharpener…. and the collection expands. By the way the latest thing I bought recently is a rubber foot cleaning mat. It feels very comfortable~
Q6. Your recent updates.
Yabu: I went to watch three concerts in a week- Arashi, Kisumai and A.B.C-Z. I learn from them too. The cheers and response from the fans are different in each concert and that’s interesting. After Kisumai’s live, I went with Kitayama and Nika and Chinen-chan to eat sushi. We discussed about the concert and it was really fun.
Hikaru: I have been watching animes at home all the while. There is a free website where I can watch the animes which were showing when I was a junior high school student. During those times, I wasn’t interested and didn’t watch them, but it feels nostalgic so I thought of watching. When I first started it was quite interesting. They are common stories, but I think that’s good.