Let's begin from the suject of the live video you've just released. It's a recording of
the full song list from the last day at the Budokan, right?
MINA: Yes. We had a long fight. Heh heh.
LINA: Within the question of recording, we talked about what songs we should cut...
NANA: While we check the finished sets, we cut out the parts of the audiance clapping.
But since the theme of this tour was 'Have fun together with the audiance', we really
wanted those kind of scenes to be brought to life.
MINA: Because what we were wondering about was, 'How close can we get to the real
thing?' But we listened over and over to the sound, and made cuts...we gave alot of
opinions. (laugh)
REINA: We actually wanted to include all the MCs, and to show scenes from rehearsal
and stuff... But anyways, I'm glad we got to include the complete list of song.
LINA: After all, we were able to specially include 'Ano Natsu e to' which we didn't do
at the Budokan at the end.
In the process of this tour, didn't you members continue to grapple with (I don't
know this word...sorry guys) right up until the actual thing? So, just by that,it became a
wonderful concert. So if the images get changed, it's obvious you would have strong
feelings about that.
MINA: Yes. We wanted to have presise responsibility for it, right until the end.
HOw are your own impressions of the finished product?
REINA: Maybe the biggest one I have is 'Let's enjoy MAX.' I also get a strong feeling of
freedom, and in the free times, everyone's doing various things. (laugh)
MINA: When it was brought to life again, even I got a thrill. There were parts when we
got excited together, when we oohed, and thought 'Oh! That's cool!'
LINA: It's ourselves singing and dancing, but I felt an amazing power from the screen.
So much that even I myself was overwhelmed.
NANA: I guess I did feel power, and also watching, I felt encouraged. Also, I think you
can feel something really strong, from the parts other than singing and dancing as
well...It's hard to put it into words...
And soon it's the realease of your new single, which was your heart's desire.
MINA: 'MAX has finally come!' When I first saw the lyrics I thought 'This is it!'
LINA:Because it's not only a medium ballad, but a Christmas song. It's the type of song
we've always wanted to sing, so we were dancing around (with happiness). BUt, other
than our feelings towards the song and the lyrics themselves, we'd always felt strongly
'We want to sing without dancing'. And with this song, we can do that.
NANA: I think that was the most important thing. We gradually want to challenge
ourselves.I think that it's cooler with dancing, but after all....
Oh, you don't dance for this one?
NANA: Right. Although to tell you the truth, we don't know if that will come out well.
Because we don't know yet how much we can express the world of the product without
dancing. But we wanted to go there challenge ourselves. So we were also really involved
with the lyrics.
MINA: The lyrics changed once. But we said 'We definately want the first lyrics'...and
fought again. (laugh) They talked with us, and in the end, they changed the lyrics back
for us.
REINA: Because we really wanted to take the challenge of communcating the lyrics just
by singing. We wanted something where we could really get into the world of the
lyrics.
You've always had both singing and dancing, but now you'll suddenly
be expressing yourself without the dancing. But it could be a new plus; it seems as
though we may be able to see something bursting forth from inside.
LINA: Yeah. It's difficult. This song makes us feel so many different things, but we
don't know how best to express that. But I want the cuteness to come out too. Because all
of the heroines of our songs up until now have had the image of a strong girl, as have we
ourselves when we were expressing that...
REINA: It's always been a 'cool' or a 'detached and knows their own feelings' kind of
image. So maybe it feels like we've lost a little strength in this song, but I want to sing
naturally.
MINA: And when we dance and present it, it's like we all have the same colors at the
beginning and then gradually though the free parts our individual colors come out, but I
think this time, we all give out our own colors from the start until the end....so I feel like
we'll find various ways to present this song as we're wrapped up in singing it.
NANA: And, I'm looking forward to doing it as I feel various expressions. I think that
the entire physical side of it will also change with that. I wonder if the inside things will
come out in our expression? Perhaps even a side that's been hidden until now....