B = BUBKA, Y = Yuzuha

B: To Hongō-san, 2021 brought a dramatic change, didn’t it.

Y: Yeah, I am still astonished.

B: Could you have imagined something like this happening a year ago?

Y: Nah, I don’t think so, I hadn’t even thought I would be doing gravure in the first place, so it all feels like a dream.

B: You did you first gravure in BUBKA, but even before the release, you had generated quite a buzz.

Y: Well, I was happy, but also it had spread around so quickly it became a bit scary haha.

B: You said you had gained around ten thousand followers on Twitter within a month after your gravure debut, I wonder how much has it grown since then?

Y: I have gained around forty thousand more followers.

B: That’s a huge growth! I’m thinking you got to be the one who has gained the most new fans in all NMB this year.

Y: Suddenly this all happened and many people started noticing me, so I had to start thinking about how to approach my future activites, how to update my social media and so on, and I think it ended up being a great experience.

B: When the growth is gradual, I guess it’s easier to adjust, but in Hongō-san’s case, you were, so to say, flying at a low altitude just to at once rapidly take off, so we were worried if you might have struggled with your mind catching up to the new reality.

Y: Even idols are just human after all, and when you see what’s written on social media about you, you might start worrying about things. But the negative things, they are just a very small part, and most people are on my side. When you take such positive stance, then it just doesn’t concern you that much.

B: In Orix Buffaloes, who won the Pacific League this year, there is a player called Raō (Sugimoto Yūtarō), have you heard of him?

Y: I am sorry but I don’t really follow baseball…

B: Sugimoto got a break this year at the age of 30 — until last year he was playing mostly for the farm team, but this season he went into the first team and all of a sudden became the home run leader, hitting more than 30 of them.

Y: And…(laughing)

B: Every time I saw Sugimoto hit a home run it reminded me of Hongō-san.

Y: Suddenly I appear in the story (laughing).

B: Put differently, because you persevered without giving up, your chance had eventually come, is what I wanted to say.

Y: I see, well it’s been about six and a half years and I’m really glad I didn’t give up. Although, the fact things started going so extremely well does have its scary side as well.

B: Did Shiroma-san worry about you or anything when she saw you achieving such abrupt success in gravure, receiving a lot of attention?

Y: Miru-san would always rather encourage you than worry about you. And since she said that she wanted me to lead NMB forward through gravure, I would like to fulfill those expectations.

B: You still live with your family, right?

Y: Yes I do.

B: Being able to live with your family peacefully probably helps you to keep your mind cool.

Y: It definitely does. Also I have two cats and when I am tired they always help me recover, which is huge. Also whenever I have a gloomy expression on my face without even realizing it, my dad would bring food for me or cheer me up. He really watches over me all the time. When I feel down or tired, he would do things like suddenly wrap his arm around my shoulders or just doing things for me he wouldn’t normally do. It’s little things like this that really help me out.

B: You have come to achieve outstanding results in 2021, yet you were not a part of the previous single senbatsu. Next single could possibly be the chance you have been getting ready for?

Y: I absolutely want to enter next senbatsu.

B: You do have “Doing my best, aiming to enter senbatsu” written in your Twitter profile. Actually ever since you were picked in the draft, you had been kind of big-mouthed, yelling around things like “I am gonna change NMB” haha.

Y: I used to talk big haha.

B: But I guess you were brought down fairly quickly.

Y: Definitely, the reality felt very different from the ideal.

B: In that sense, I suppose now you are starting to feel like you could go for the next single.

Y: I really do, I was chosen for senbatsu for Muchūjin, a song centred by Nagisa-san and written by Akimoto-sensei for the Best Hits Kayōsai that aired November 12, and I want to keep up this pace and enter the next single senbatsu.

B: At the 11th anniversary concert, Yamamoto Mikana made a statement: “I want to become centre.”

Y: I have always hated losing and so when I heard her say that, I thought to myself I don’t want to lose to her.

B: Did you not think about grabbing the mike and shouting out: “So do I!”? (laughing)

Y: Weeeel, I sort of wanted to to be honest, haha!

B: And so when I was wondering what Hongō-san was going to say, Shibuya-san lead the topic to you with that joke.

Y: When she said that “If you got big bazongas please come forward!”, I was standing in the back, and it was so embarrassing that I didn’t really want to come forward haha. But since it was Nagisa-san calling me out after all, then even though I couldn’t really say much myself, it probably still drew some attention on me I think.

B: I am quite sure you were the member who did gravure the most in NMB this year. Back when Yamamoto Sayaka was doing gravure, there was a legend going around that all the high-school baseball clubs had Yamamoto-san’s poster put up in their room. She was even chosen as the most favourite idol among high-school baseball players.

Y: It is Sayaka-san after all so it makes sense.

B: Hongō-san should also aim to enter such ranking around the time for next Spring Kōshien!

Y: Okay (laughing)! Everyone please put up my poster! [Purely coincidentally this issue of BUBKA comes with Yuzuha’s poster.]

B: If that happens you could probably legitimately claim the title of Gravure Queen indeed. Have you actually said that you would like to become one?

Y: I don’t say that at all haha.

B: Oh you haven’t yet?

Y: I have not. But if I became that much known, it’d be nice for sure.

B: Well, let’s feature you a lot then (laughing)! We expect things from you next year again!

Y: Right, I’ll do my best next year as well!

Hongō Yuzuha, born 2003, January 12 in Ōsaka. This year she showed home run level of activity in the magazine world. NMB’s Randy Yūzu [ランディ・ユーズ in original, which is probably a play on the name of a famous(?) baseball player in Japan, Randy Buss, ランディ・バース. And if you don’t think that’s ridiculous enough then read this amazing Wikipedia info.]. She keeps updating her home run record and there is a rumour she is not far from conquering the crowns in all of gravure, guitar play and dance. Her nickname is “Yuzu”.