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[Interview translation] BiSH Episode 13 LingLing "I've come this far not knowing how it will turn out, so I feel like I will be fine no matter what."
BiSH's two new members, LingLing and Hashiyasume Atsuko have joined the group. They took the stage for the first time at the sudden show on 8/26 at Zepp Tokyo (TOKYO BiSH SHiNE). On 9/2 they released their first single, in October they will have their first tour, and they're pushing forward with a passion as they wait for the tour final at LIQUIDROOM on January 19, 2016. OTOTY will have interviews with these two over the next two weeks. For this second week, we will hear from BiSH's taciturn member, LingLing. I want her to catch up to BiSH's speed so she doesn't get shaken off!
INTERVIEW: LingLing
LingLing might be the most reserved idol in history. The wota will be desperate to get her to speak, and I bet the one who can get her to smile will earn the title of top wota. Sentochihiro Chicchi, Hug Me, Momoko Gumi Company, Aina The End, Hashiyasume Atsuko, and LingLing... BiSH is overflowing with personality. BiSH has gotten even more interesting.
Interview & text: Iida Shinichirou
Pictures: Sotobayashi Kenta
My number one reason for joining is that I want to dive
LingLing: This is scarier than the audition...
ーーWhy?
LingLing: I don't talk.
ーーYou don't have to talk more than you need to. Did you think you would pass?
LingLing: I didn't think I wouldn't pass, but I didn't think I would, either. I felt like there was some possibility. I wonder why.
ーーHow did you find out that you had passed?
LingLing: After the audition interview, I got a message saying, "We want to see you at the office," so I went and after talking for about an hour they said, "We wanted to ask you to join." But then they said, "Can you do this? It seems like you don't want to."
ーーYou do want to, right?
LingLing: Yes.
ーーIt seems like you get nervous really easily and you're so quiet, is that okay?
LingLing: It's fine, yeah. I mean it's not fine, but... it's fine.
ーー(laughs).
LingLing: I'm nervous about working as part of BiSH, but not as much about anything else. At school I get nervous talking to my friends. Even though we get along. I'm fine if it's just one-on-one, but if it's more than 3 people something happens and my hands start shaking. It's honestly impossible for me to speak in front of people, like at school and stuff. My legs tremble. But I don't have that at all around BiSH. I'm not nervous to see the other members.
ーーMaybe because you enjoy it.
LingLing: Maybe because I like it? I do like BiSH more than school.
ーーWhy did you decide to join BiSH?
LingLing: I heard about BiS breaking up about 1 or 2 weeks beforehand, so I started listening to their songs and got obsessed. I also thought that girls doing stage dives was cool and interesting, so I wanted to do that, too.
ーーStage diving?
LingLing: Yes. When I applied for BiSH, I put that my number one reason for joining was that I wanted to dive. They also had some funeral materials set up outside the venue of BiSH's final show, and I love that kind of thing. I like the music, too, and girls diving and going crazy on stage, it suits my interests, so I want to do it.... Wait, what was the question?
ーーIt was why did you decide to join BiSH?
LingLing: Oh, that's why when they started a new BiS group, I wanted to do all of that and applied.
I don't really want to be an idol, even now
ーーWhat sort of child were you?
LingLing: I was quiet even when I was little, and I was too shy to walk in front of people in like kindergarten, so I'd walk along the side of the desks to get around.
ーーWere you more cheerful then than you are now?
LingLing: I don't think I've changed? I had friends like everyone else, but I was always quiet in elementary school and after that, too. I'm someone who doesn't stand out at all.
ーーDid you like anything?
LingLing: Like anything...? I like bugs, so I went bug collecting a lot.
ーーWhat kind of bugs do you like?
LingLing: Spiders, caterpillars, and larva. They're cute.
ーーCute... (laughs).
LingLing: I can do cockroaches, too.
ーーEven cockroaches! Are they cute, too?
LingLing: No, they're not cute, but if they're bothering someone I can grab them.
ーーThey're no butterflies.
LingLing: I hate butterflies. Because their wings look so fragile.
ーーHow did you spend your time back then?
LingLing: I was obsessed with idols. Morning Musume and Hello!Pro and such. My older sister liked C-ute when I was in elementary school, and I was always watching her from behind, so that's how I found out about Hello!Pro. After that, MUSIC JAPAN did a new idol special when I was in middle school, and the moment S/mileage's Wada Ayaka-chan came on the screen I was shocked by how cute she was. I became obsessed all at once, like, a girl like this exists...
ーーWhat attracted you to them?
LingLing: Hmm, they were cute, first of all. But it really did suit my tastes, personally.
ーーDid you keep following S/mileage after that?
LingLing: Halfway through I switched to Morning Musume. I like Niigaki Risa. I went to concerts and sometimes release events. I didn't want to be an idol, but I wanted to see girls who would become idols, so I took the S/mileage audition. The 2nd generation one.
ーーYou didn't pass that one, but did you not have any regrets?
LingLing: No. I don't really want to be an idol, even now.
ーーWait, what, aren't you an idol now!?
LingLing: Well, I don't think about wanting to be an idol, still.
ーーBecause you haven't felt like an idol?
LingLing: No.
I spend my time hiding in a bathroom stall when my friends weren't around
ーーWhy do you think girls who like Hello!Pro have an interest in BiS?
LingLing: Hello!Pro really feels like "idols;" they get all cutesy, they do what they're told to do as idols, and all the otaku bring glowsticks and support them, but BiS are insane. I like watching Hello!Pro, but I'd rather be on the crazy side when it comes to what I want to do.
ーーBiS pushed the boundaries of their insanity, didn't they? Like getting naked and stuff.
LingLing: Yes.
ーーDo you not have any concerns about doing that?
LingLing: I do. Getting naked is kind of...
ーーWhat will you do if they say, "We're doing this!"?
LingLing: Um... I won't do it, I guess.
ーーHow is singing and dancing?
LingLing: I haven't ever danced before, and I really hated doing it in school. I hated gym class and athletic meets, but in BiSH everyone knows that I can't do it so I'm not really embarrassed at all, and I can do it normally without freaking out. I hadn't sung in front of people before, either. I hadn't sung at all. But I liked singing, and everyone knew already that I wasn't that good, so I have fun with it.
ーーAre you okay standing on stage after this?
LingLing: Hmm, I wonder? I don't know... But I feel like it will probably be fine. For some reason. Teehee.
ーーYou're someone who really goes with your intuition. Is that because you have confidence in yourself?
LingLing: I've come this far not knowing how anything will turn out, so I feel like I will be fine no matter what.
ーーWhat sort of person are you at school now?
LingLing: I hide in the bathrooms. I spend my time sitting in a stall when my friends aren't around .
ーーDo you not have friends?
LingLing: I do, but I only really get along with one person. The rest are all just acquaintances.
ーーDuring the audition, your sister came with you.
LingLing: Yes.
ーーIn the end your sister failed and you passed. What did she say to you?
LingLing: Like, "What, really? That's amazing!"
ーーI wonder if she wasn't upset.
LingLing: I'm sure she was. But she didn't show me that she was upset, she was just like, "congrats," like normal.
ーーYou were rivals in the audition, after all.
LingLing: I took the first generation audition, too, but I couldn't go. I had a "school function." I didn't know which one I should go to so I talked to my sister about it on the phone and she said, "Then I'll go to the audition," and she went to the interview.
ーーWait, what are you saying?
LingLing: Teehee. Ah, I'm bad at explaining things.
ーーDuring the first generation audition, you were invited to go to the audition after applying, but your sister went instead?
LingLing: No, they were still accepting applications, so she applied, too.
ーーOh, you applied separately, and you both got to the interview stage but you couldn't go, right?
LingLing: That's right. If I hadn't talked to her about it I don't think she would have had any interest in it.
ーーWhat do you think about your sister?
LingLing: When she's nice she's super nice, she helps me out a lot, and she pays a lot of attention to me. But she's quick to change her mood, so whenever I see her I try not to step on her toes, as much as possible.
I still wonder why they wanted more members
ーーWhat do you think about the 4-member BiSH?
LingLing: I think they were perfect, so I still wonder why they wanted more members. I liked the 4 of them, it felt right.
ーーBut you still joined as a member. What do you think your position in BiSH is?
LingLing: I wonder. I don't know. Why did I join? I'm not good at anything, I can't dance, I don't talk. Why?
ーーWhat do you think of Watanabe?
LingLing: He's interesting.
ーーWhat will you do if he tells you to do something you don't want to do?
LingLing: I'll refuse.
ーーSo for example, is there anything BiS did that you don't want to do? Like the marathon or something.
LingLing: Oh, I hate marathons. I hate them but I could do it. Maybe the bald PV. I also hate swimsuits.
ーーSwimsuits! You can't avoid that as an idol, can you?
LingLing: Like the school swimsuits... I like looking at them, but wearing them...
ーーBut you might wear the school swimsuit?
LingLing: I might. Well, when the time comes, if everyone is going to do it.
ーーHow are the other members?
LingLing: Aina talks to me a lot, and we both like Shinsei Kamattechan so we talk about that a lot. When I didn't have a place to stay she asked me to stay with her, so that made me happy.
ーーWhat about Chicchi?
LingLing: I ask her about what I don't know and she's quick to respond, and I think it's amazing how she looks after everyone.
ーーAnd the other two?
LingLing: Momokan is cute. She's really cute, like I smile just by looking at her. She looks like a member of the Sylvanian Families, she's so cute. Her singing and dancing, too.
ーーAre you making fun of her (laughs)?
LingLing: No, I'm not. She's adorable. I haven't really spoken with Hug Me, but when I started my Twitter she asked me about it. Aina said that she's really nice so she probably is.
ーーWhat about Hashiyasume Atsuko? Do you see her as a rival, being in the same generation and all?
LingLing: Not at all. I don't think about competition. But the members are usually alone, or rather most of us don't like other people clinging to us, so I haven't gotten that close to her.
ーーWhat are you good at?
LingLing: I wonder... People watching?
ーーMomoko said something like that, too.
LingLing: Hmm. I like eavesdropping.
ーーWhat kind of music do you like?
LingLing: Shinsei Kamattechan.
ーーWhat do you like about them?
LingLing: They dive and act all crazy. Like cutting off the power and screaming. Everything about them is cool, and I like their music. When I was in high school, my best friend said she was going to drop out, which really worried me because I thought I was going to lose my friend, and that's when I started listening to them and getting obsessed.
ーーDid your friend end up leaving school?
LingLing: No, I did my best to stop her every day to keep her in line. Whenever I go to a Kamattechan live, I feel like I'm going to die. It's jam-packed in the venue and I get pushed and start to fall, and then I think that if I fall I'm going to get trampled to death while still watching the show, so I always go feeling like I'm going to die. That's fun.
ーーDo you want to die?
LingLing: No, I don't, but I like the sensation of a near-death experience.
ーーYou want some sort of stimulus.
LingLing: Maybe. Because I've never stepped out of my comfort zone until now.
ーーDo you want to stand out more?
LingLing: Yes. Quite a bit, I think. When I watch Hello!Pro DVDs at home, I would pretend to hold the mic and dance along with them, ever since I was little, but it was just a thought, in the end. Even if someone told me it was okay to do it, I don't think I could stand up in front of people and do things.
ーーWhat are you bad at?
LingLing: What am I bad at? ......people.
ーーAre you okay doing things like handshake events as an idol?
LingLing: I do want to do that.
ーーYou're bad with people but you want to touch them? There's no rejection of the otaku?
LingLing: Not at all. When I was into Hello!Pro, everyone else was so nice. The otaku are kind, but even so the handshakes only last for 5 seconds or so, so it's fine.
ーーDo you have a goal?
LingLing: I want to go to Budokan. BiS couldn't make it there, and when I look at the faces of the Hello!Pro members at their Budokan lives, they look so happy. That happiness comes back to me and I always cry when I watch them. I want to experience that emotion standing on the stage for myself.
INTERVIEW: LingLing
LingLing might be the most reserved idol in history. The wota will be desperate to get her to speak, and I bet the one who can get her to smile will earn the title of top wota. Sentochihiro Chicchi, Hug Me, Momoko Gumi Company, Aina The End, Hashiyasume Atsuko, and LingLing... BiSH is overflowing with personality. BiSH has gotten even more interesting.
Interview & text: Iida Shinichirou
Pictures: Sotobayashi Kenta
My number one reason for joining is that I want to dive
LingLing: This is scarier than the audition...
ーーWhy?
LingLing: I don't talk.
ーーYou don't have to talk more than you need to. Did you think you would pass?
LingLing: I didn't think I wouldn't pass, but I didn't think I would, either. I felt like there was some possibility. I wonder why.
ーーHow did you find out that you had passed?
LingLing: After the audition interview, I got a message saying, "We want to see you at the office," so I went and after talking for about an hour they said, "We wanted to ask you to join." But then they said, "Can you do this? It seems like you don't want to."
ーーYou do want to, right?
LingLing: Yes.
ーーIt seems like you get nervous really easily and you're so quiet, is that okay?
LingLing: It's fine, yeah. I mean it's not fine, but... it's fine.
ーー(laughs).
LingLing: I'm nervous about working as part of BiSH, but not as much about anything else. At school I get nervous talking to my friends. Even though we get along. I'm fine if it's just one-on-one, but if it's more than 3 people something happens and my hands start shaking. It's honestly impossible for me to speak in front of people, like at school and stuff. My legs tremble. But I don't have that at all around BiSH. I'm not nervous to see the other members.
ーーMaybe because you enjoy it.
LingLing: Maybe because I like it? I do like BiSH more than school.
ーーWhy did you decide to join BiSH?
LingLing: I heard about BiS breaking up about 1 or 2 weeks beforehand, so I started listening to their songs and got obsessed. I also thought that girls doing stage dives was cool and interesting, so I wanted to do that, too.
ーーStage diving?
LingLing: Yes. When I applied for BiSH, I put that my number one reason for joining was that I wanted to dive. They also had some funeral materials set up outside the venue of BiSH's final show, and I love that kind of thing. I like the music, too, and girls diving and going crazy on stage, it suits my interests, so I want to do it.... Wait, what was the question?
ーーIt was why did you decide to join BiSH?
LingLing: Oh, that's why when they started a new BiS group, I wanted to do all of that and applied.
I don't really want to be an idol, even now
ーーWhat sort of child were you?
LingLing: I was quiet even when I was little, and I was too shy to walk in front of people in like kindergarten, so I'd walk along the side of the desks to get around.
ーーWere you more cheerful then than you are now?
LingLing: I don't think I've changed? I had friends like everyone else, but I was always quiet in elementary school and after that, too. I'm someone who doesn't stand out at all.
ーーDid you like anything?
LingLing: Like anything...? I like bugs, so I went bug collecting a lot.
ーーWhat kind of bugs do you like?
LingLing: Spiders, caterpillars, and larva. They're cute.
ーーCute... (laughs).
LingLing: I can do cockroaches, too.
ーーEven cockroaches! Are they cute, too?
LingLing: No, they're not cute, but if they're bothering someone I can grab them.
ーーThey're no butterflies.
LingLing: I hate butterflies. Because their wings look so fragile.
ーーHow did you spend your time back then?
LingLing: I was obsessed with idols. Morning Musume and Hello!Pro and such. My older sister liked C-ute when I was in elementary school, and I was always watching her from behind, so that's how I found out about Hello!Pro. After that, MUSIC JAPAN did a new idol special when I was in middle school, and the moment S/mileage's Wada Ayaka-chan came on the screen I was shocked by how cute she was. I became obsessed all at once, like, a girl like this exists...
ーーWhat attracted you to them?
LingLing: Hmm, they were cute, first of all. But it really did suit my tastes, personally.
ーーDid you keep following S/mileage after that?
LingLing: Halfway through I switched to Morning Musume. I like Niigaki Risa. I went to concerts and sometimes release events. I didn't want to be an idol, but I wanted to see girls who would become idols, so I took the S/mileage audition. The 2nd generation one.
ーーYou didn't pass that one, but did you not have any regrets?
LingLing: No. I don't really want to be an idol, even now.
ーーWait, what, aren't you an idol now!?
LingLing: Well, I don't think about wanting to be an idol, still.
ーーBecause you haven't felt like an idol?
LingLing: No.
I spend my time hiding in a bathroom stall when my friends weren't around
ーーWhy do you think girls who like Hello!Pro have an interest in BiS?
LingLing: Hello!Pro really feels like "idols;" they get all cutesy, they do what they're told to do as idols, and all the otaku bring glowsticks and support them, but BiS are insane. I like watching Hello!Pro, but I'd rather be on the crazy side when it comes to what I want to do.
ーーBiS pushed the boundaries of their insanity, didn't they? Like getting naked and stuff.
LingLing: Yes.
ーーDo you not have any concerns about doing that?
LingLing: I do. Getting naked is kind of...
ーーWhat will you do if they say, "We're doing this!"?
LingLing: Um... I won't do it, I guess.
ーーHow is singing and dancing?
LingLing: I haven't ever danced before, and I really hated doing it in school. I hated gym class and athletic meets, but in BiSH everyone knows that I can't do it so I'm not really embarrassed at all, and I can do it normally without freaking out. I hadn't sung in front of people before, either. I hadn't sung at all. But I liked singing, and everyone knew already that I wasn't that good, so I have fun with it.
ーーAre you okay standing on stage after this?
LingLing: Hmm, I wonder? I don't know... But I feel like it will probably be fine. For some reason. Teehee.
ーーYou're someone who really goes with your intuition. Is that because you have confidence in yourself?
LingLing: I've come this far not knowing how anything will turn out, so I feel like I will be fine no matter what.
ーーWhat sort of person are you at school now?
LingLing: I hide in the bathrooms. I spend my time sitting in a stall when my friends aren't around .
ーーDo you not have friends?
LingLing: I do, but I only really get along with one person. The rest are all just acquaintances.
ーーDuring the audition, your sister came with you.
LingLing: Yes.
ーーIn the end your sister failed and you passed. What did she say to you?
LingLing: Like, "What, really? That's amazing!"
ーーI wonder if she wasn't upset.
LingLing: I'm sure she was. But she didn't show me that she was upset, she was just like, "congrats," like normal.
ーーYou were rivals in the audition, after all.
LingLing: I took the first generation audition, too, but I couldn't go. I had a "school function." I didn't know which one I should go to so I talked to my sister about it on the phone and she said, "Then I'll go to the audition," and she went to the interview.
ーーWait, what are you saying?
LingLing: Teehee. Ah, I'm bad at explaining things.
ーーDuring the first generation audition, you were invited to go to the audition after applying, but your sister went instead?
LingLing: No, they were still accepting applications, so she applied, too.
ーーOh, you applied separately, and you both got to the interview stage but you couldn't go, right?
LingLing: That's right. If I hadn't talked to her about it I don't think she would have had any interest in it.
ーーWhat do you think about your sister?
LingLing: When she's nice she's super nice, she helps me out a lot, and she pays a lot of attention to me. But she's quick to change her mood, so whenever I see her I try not to step on her toes, as much as possible.
I still wonder why they wanted more members
ーーWhat do you think about the 4-member BiSH?
LingLing: I think they were perfect, so I still wonder why they wanted more members. I liked the 4 of them, it felt right.
ーーBut you still joined as a member. What do you think your position in BiSH is?
LingLing: I wonder. I don't know. Why did I join? I'm not good at anything, I can't dance, I don't talk. Why?
ーーWhat do you think of Watanabe?
LingLing: He's interesting.
ーーWhat will you do if he tells you to do something you don't want to do?
LingLing: I'll refuse.
ーーSo for example, is there anything BiS did that you don't want to do? Like the marathon or something.
LingLing: Oh, I hate marathons. I hate them but I could do it. Maybe the bald PV. I also hate swimsuits.
ーーSwimsuits! You can't avoid that as an idol, can you?
LingLing: Like the school swimsuits... I like looking at them, but wearing them...
ーーBut you might wear the school swimsuit?
LingLing: I might. Well, when the time comes, if everyone is going to do it.
ーーHow are the other members?
LingLing: Aina talks to me a lot, and we both like Shinsei Kamattechan so we talk about that a lot. When I didn't have a place to stay she asked me to stay with her, so that made me happy.
ーーWhat about Chicchi?
LingLing: I ask her about what I don't know and she's quick to respond, and I think it's amazing how she looks after everyone.
ーーAnd the other two?
LingLing: Momokan is cute. She's really cute, like I smile just by looking at her. She looks like a member of the Sylvanian Families, she's so cute. Her singing and dancing, too.
ーーAre you making fun of her (laughs)?
LingLing: No, I'm not. She's adorable. I haven't really spoken with Hug Me, but when I started my Twitter she asked me about it. Aina said that she's really nice so she probably is.
ーーWhat about Hashiyasume Atsuko? Do you see her as a rival, being in the same generation and all?
LingLing: Not at all. I don't think about competition. But the members are usually alone, or rather most of us don't like other people clinging to us, so I haven't gotten that close to her.
ーーWhat are you good at?
LingLing: I wonder... People watching?
ーーMomoko said something like that, too.
LingLing: Hmm. I like eavesdropping.
ーーWhat kind of music do you like?
LingLing: Shinsei Kamattechan.
ーーWhat do you like about them?
LingLing: They dive and act all crazy. Like cutting off the power and screaming. Everything about them is cool, and I like their music. When I was in high school, my best friend said she was going to drop out, which really worried me because I thought I was going to lose my friend, and that's when I started listening to them and getting obsessed.
ーーDid your friend end up leaving school?
LingLing: No, I did my best to stop her every day to keep her in line. Whenever I go to a Kamattechan live, I feel like I'm going to die. It's jam-packed in the venue and I get pushed and start to fall, and then I think that if I fall I'm going to get trampled to death while still watching the show, so I always go feeling like I'm going to die. That's fun.
ーーDo you want to die?
LingLing: No, I don't, but I like the sensation of a near-death experience.
ーーYou want some sort of stimulus.
LingLing: Maybe. Because I've never stepped out of my comfort zone until now.
ーーDo you want to stand out more?
LingLing: Yes. Quite a bit, I think. When I watch Hello!Pro DVDs at home, I would pretend to hold the mic and dance along with them, ever since I was little, but it was just a thought, in the end. Even if someone told me it was okay to do it, I don't think I could stand up in front of people and do things.
ーーWhat are you bad at?
LingLing: What am I bad at? ......people.
ーーAre you okay doing things like handshake events as an idol?
LingLing: I do want to do that.
ーーYou're bad with people but you want to touch them? There's no rejection of the otaku?
LingLing: Not at all. When I was into Hello!Pro, everyone else was so nice. The otaku are kind, but even so the handshakes only last for 5 seconds or so, so it's fine.
ーーDo you have a goal?
LingLing: I want to go to Budokan. BiS couldn't make it there, and when I look at the faces of the Hello!Pro members at their Budokan lives, they look so happy. That happiness comes back to me and I always cry when I watch them. I want to experience that emotion standing on the stage for myself.
