What we've gained, and what we've lost in the five years since our debut. The four member's first confession about work, love and the private lives.

MAX was born in 1995 under the concept Musical Active eXperience. The four member's, who have continued running these five years, stop for a moment to talk to us. How will their true voices rest with you?

Lina:
When we debuted as MAX, we were still appearing as the Super Monkey's, so our days were basically, go to singing lessons, go to dance lessons, work, so I don't remember anything about anything other than work. (Laugh) The press conference we gave in '96 for our movie 'Ladies MAX' left a big impression on me. I didn't think that anyone would come, but when we got close to the theater, there was a huge line. The four of us all said 'I wonder what this line is for? I wish there was a line like that for us', and it turned out that those people had all come to see our movie. (Laugh) It was the first time something like that had happened, so I was really moved. Around that time, I have someone I liked, and even if work was really busy, that cheered me up. (Laugh) But I was so busy, and I didn't have any spare time, so I was never able to tell them how I felt.

Our meeting with 'Give me a Shake' in '97 was a very big thing. Before that MAX had only been Eurobeat, so it widened our music genre, and the taste of our dances and our stage costumes changed. A new way was opened, and it sort of felt like that year was a new start. It was about that time when I began to spend a lot of time with the other members when we weren't working. We go shopping, and out to dinner. People ask us 'Don't you really not get along well?' but I love being with the other members. Of course, I see other [people] besides the other members, but if we have time we call each other, and send E-mail. Also in '97 we were able to appear on Kouhaku, and that made me super happy!

When our appearance was announced at the office, we were more unsure than overjoyed at first, saying 'It's got to be a joke.' But when we found out it was true, we all cheered. The next year, our drama 'Sweet Devil' was a lot of work! I've come to respect people that do both singing and dramas. (Laugh) And the drama was all about magic and it was pretty gloomy. But our new song then, 'Ride on Time' was such a happy song, and the complete opposite, so it was really hard for me to figure out how to carry that mood when we went on music shows after we'd just been filming.

After that, We had our first concert in Okinawa. I was so happy to be able to go back home to the place where was when I was still chasing after my dreams, and stand on the stage in front of my family and friends. Since there isn't my information in Okinawa, I got asked 'What are you doing now?' a lot but everyone was really moved at our concert. I could see everyone's faces really well from stage, so I was nervous, but on the other hand, I was able to have peace of mind, and it was a comfortable concert. As for private time, we were given a 10 day vacation, and I went to play in NY with my mother for the first time. Nana and Mina went separably, and we got together a lot and went shopping and things. The next year we went to NY again for our vacation, and saw Musicals and things, and we all said 'It'd be cool if we could do this kind of thing too.'.

Last year was our tour from March to August, so it really was a year of concerts. I have a lot of memories of going to used clothing stores, and arcades at the different places. Since this year began, they used a lot of our opinions and things for 'Never Gonna Stop it' and 'MAGIC', and we ended up self producing them. As we were talking about what to do next, they gave us 'Barairo no hibi' which was completely not what we were expecting. But it has a fun feeling to it, and I think our world has been expanded again. This year I got my driver's license, so on days off I rent a car and go to Chinatown and stuff. Also, I was able to go sky diving on a tv show, and I've really gotten into it, so I want to get a [sky diving] license. My interests in my time off have widened as well. I'll be glad if I can be happy in love after this too, but...(laugh)

Mina:
In the five years since we debuted as MAX, being able to have our own concert two years after our debut was a very big thing for me, and I was happy to be able to appear in movies, and a drama and Kouhaku. I have tons of memories that left a big impression on me. (laugh)

If you want to talk about 'change', my way of feeling concerts changed after our live in Okinawa. Because we were able to have a concert in Okinawa, where we were born and raised...um....how should I put this....it wasn't like there was a huge change. I became able to feel the warmth and love of the fans waiting for MAX better. So, I grew to love concerts, which I'd always loved from the beginning, even more.

The bonds between us members grow stronger and more profound with each new concert. When you're singing on stage, you can't see the other members dancing behind you. But you know like, 'Oh! Someone missed a step in the dance!' from the atmosphere. Reversely, when things go perfectly, you know from the taunt atmosphere. It's very mysterious....(laugh)

Personally, I feel like I've relaxed a lot, since I've gone into my twenties. I think that when I was in my teens, there was a time where I was caught up in all kinds of knots, thinking 'I have to be grown up', 'I have to be down to earth and trust worthy', and I was really at my wits end to be like that. But since I've gotten over twenty, my feelings of wanting to just do things at my own pace, without trying to be more grownup than I really am have gotten stronger.

As for the kind of guy I like, I still like ones who are basically dependable. That hasn't changed. But I guess I've come to be able to pick a guy with whom I can just be myself. Before, if I had a guy I liked, I had a part of me that would try to become the kind of girl he liked. For example, if he was the kind of guy who wanted me to follow him 3 steps behind, I'd do my best to do that. (Laugh) But, after all, forcing yourself like that is hard, and one day all of a sudden I felt 'Ah...this is painful...' I think that maybe in the past, my feelings of wanting to show only my good parts were too strong. (Laugh)

But now, if there's something about the person I like that I think isn't quite right, I'm able to put my finger on it right away. Without get really emotional either. When I was in my teens, I got emotional very easily, and I had some failures, where I'd ne so excited I'd just babble on and on, until I didn't know what I had wanted to say anymore, or say things that I hadn't really wanted to say at all. (Laugh)

But after all, you have to be able to talk together calmly, and to understand each other. So I think it's important to be cool about it, but to really hit the other person with what you want to say. Oh yeah! Come to think of it, there was a period where I really didn't like myself. (Laugh) It wasn't that I had a particular reason, or that we were too busy at work, or anything, but I was just irritated at myself. (Laugh) My head spun round and round with questions like 'I wonder why....' Probably it was because I was still in my teens, and my thoughts and stuff weren't firmly established, and I worried about that. I don't remember how long it lasted, but I seem to remember it being a pretty long period of time. (Laugh) But it's not bad to worry, and I feel like I'm the way I am now because I was like that then. Because after all, I have come to like myself. From now on as well, I want to continue to be honest to myself, and do the things like I feel are good, both as MAX and as an individual.

Reina:
When we first debuted, all of us members lived together, and it took us over an hour to get to Shibuya. So, one day, when Lina and I went into Shibuya together, we got hit on by scary older guys. (Laugh) I thought 'So this is how Tokyo is...(tearfully)' and we said 'Our father is waiting for us.' and ran away, but the trains weren't running that day, so we called the staff, who were pretty close, so we decided just to go there, but we couldn't catch a taxi, so we ended up walking over an hour to Shinjuku, and by the time we finally got there, I was really about to cry. (Laugh) Also, at that time I would go and buy a 100 yen banana everyday at a little shop in our neighborhood, and I got to be friends with the Old lady there, and she gave me a lot of different fruit. And, it seems like she thought 'I wonder what these four girls are doing are doing together?', but when 'Koisuru Velfarre Dance' came out, she knew about us, and bought the CD, and asked us to sign it. I think that was the first autographs we gave as MAX. At the Opening of our movie, 'Ladies MAX' in '96, way way way more people than we expected showed up, and I didn't know quite what to do. I was so nervous that I said 'I was careless during the filming', when I meant to say 'I was relaxed' (laugh) *

That year the members and I ....well, Nana-san went to a foreign country....went to an Amusement Park together for the first time. Lina doesn't do well on the Scream Machine kind of rides, but when we first went on, she was all relaxed, even saying 'Wow, the view's so pretty!', but when the machine dropped suddenly like that, she got really pale, and like she was going to faint, (laugh) so Mina and I supported her on both sides and helped her down. It was really funny...(laugh) Then, I guess it was Christmas time, that year, and it had been decided that we were going to appear in Kouhaku, and the four of us were walking home through Shibuya Center. Then we realized that all around us were couples, so we said 'Let's take a memorial Print Club.', so we took one, sort of lonely, and we went home saying 'Hey, are you having fun?' and things. (Laugh)

At that time, I have someone I liked, but work got really busy, so it didn't really feel like I was in love. I remember in '97 when we got our first #1 on the single charts with 'Give me a Shake', we all cheered together. This year, I had my first unrequited love. Because they were a friend, I couldn't communicate my feelings at all. But around this time, I became really sociable. I began to think, that rather than diminish it, I should widen my circle [of friends]. In the beginning, I was talking to a close friend from Okinawa, and she said 'Karaoke is kind of lonely with only two people.' 'Let's call someone then.' I said, and she asked 'Can I call my friends?' and before I realized it we had a group of twenty people. (Laugh) And since then, I have a lot of friends, both men and women. My birthday is really soon after New years, but I didn't have any plans. Then, when I got home, about twenty of my good friends popped out of the veranda and bathroom, etc. (laugh) and they had a guitar and all sang 'Happy Birthday'. It was a memorial for my 20th birthday, and I was really happy. But they haven't done anything like that since. (Laugh)

Last year, we released our first song without a dance, 'Issho ni...', but I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I was embarrassed. Also when we were filmed, they'd do these extreme close ups that we usually don't have. (Laugh) But I love that song very much. I guess what I've learned in these five years, it that during concerts, I've realized once again 'I love singing and dancing!'So I want to continue singing and dance forever.

Nana:
In these five years, something that was really big for me was cutting my hair. About two and a half years after our debut, I cut my hair, which had been long for almost as long as I can remember, into a short bob. The reason I cut it was simply because I wanted to cut it, but (laugh)...looking back now....aren't there times when you think 'I want to change myself., I want to try new things'? I think that for me, the way to express those feelings was to cut my hair. I'd been saying 'I want to cut my hair, I want to cut my hair' for a while, but I had never actually done it. I think that's because I was scared to change myself. But as MAX released more singles, and gradually became know, I got more confident, and I finally cut it.

I was glad that I cut it, because not just my hair, but my emotions as well became lighter. I had a lot of things that I'd already made final decisions about, like 'I don't look good with short hair', or ' I can't wear those kind of clothes', but I made those borders by myself. The thing which really made me thing 'I want to try new things' was our first nationwide tour in '97. We didn't have enough original songs at that time.

Along with the enjoyment of being able to have concerts, desires of 'we want to do this' came up. Up until then, we had had our hands full trying to work with what we were given that we hadn't had the time to think about how we ourselves wanted to be. But after that tour, us members began to talk to together about things like 'I want to do this at our next concert', and 'I'd love to do this kind of song for a single.'And when we talked to the staff, they supported us saying, 'That's sounds good.' 'Let's try it.' And from the next years tour on, we decided the song list ourselves, and began to think 'The dance for this song would be good if it were like this', and things. Because of that, the four of us's relationship changed too. As we were putting out our own opinions, they'd collide with each other, and we came to do a lot of group work, working together to make one plan, and our bonds grew even stronger.

In private life, I usually play it safe. So I've never had and thing big like a huge disappointment in love, and gone into shock or anything...(laugh) But maybe my views on love have changed in these five years! I still like interesting people just as much as ever, but before I placed a lot of importance on looks, and I thought I'd like someone wild, who would lead me. But lately the kind guy who feels really comfortable to me is...well, I'd still like him to be good looking, but more importantly, someone where I feel something warm when I'm with them.

Before, there were too many things that I was looking for in the person I liked, and I could accept the way they were. I kept pushing my wishes, like 'Why aren't they like this?' But things never go well like that. You also have to think about what you can give to the other person. Um...remembering back, these five years went by so quickly. But the reason that I can look back like this and enjoy it is because I feel fulfilled and satisfied now. Because things are going well now, I can look back and think 'It was hard, but it was a good experience.', but on the other hand, if things weren't good now, I be like 'Things were hard back then too. Look, another awful thing happened!' (Laugh) I think that you can get into a negative viewpoint. So, to enable myself to be able to look back like this five years from now, and say 'It was a great five years', I want to try many new things here after as well.

Claudia's note: Careless = ki wo nuku Relaxed = chikara wo nuku