Hello, everyone!
You might have noticed a new DVD with Nakajima-san was released a few days ago. Actually, it was scheduled for her birthday! And I think it’s a great present for herself and all her fans.
Strangely, I couldn't find the DVD at amazon.jp. Maybe things will chance for the better later on, so that I could actually buy it. It’s that I’m planning to make an order around Feb 23. Why the 23th of February? It’s because a lot of new stuff is going to be released that day.
But today we’re speaking about Saki-san’s solo DVD and it’s called
陽だまり - 中島早貴Which means “A Sunny Place – Nakajima Saki”.
Now that I checked the corresponding threads here at jphip forums I didn’t find a separate topic for it so I’m posting here. Forgive me if I missed something. If you feel my message is out of place feel free to move it to the thread it suits most.
Anyways the reason to write this post is that I can’t keep silent and I want to let you know how awesome Nakajima-san is. I’m actually a big fan of Airi but Saki looks superb here. And she’s an interesting person.
I made a few screenshots along the way.




Interestingly, there's not much fanservice here if any at all. But it works great for me. Perhaps I was fascinated by Saki-san’s looks. And she looks superb as I’ve mentioned.
There’s some kind of a plot here. Saki acts as a schoolgirl (well, she actually is one) setting the alarm clock at 7.30 AM but then spends a few hours at the river bank only to go for work at the cafe afterwards.
Again, from the technical point of view, the picture looks marvelous. It’s processed with a filter but the result is fantastic. The picture is bright, sharp, and the focus is set on Saki alone.
So you can enjoy Saki-san’s company for around 30 minutes and then keep enjoying her company for some 20 minutes more. There’s an interview in the second part of the DVD and I should say I found it very interesting.
Since I liked the DVD this much I decided to spend some time on translation and share it with everyone. There are some points that I didn’t quite get. If you find faults you’re welcome with your comments and corrections.
So, let’s start with Q&A section.
- Tell us about this DVD.
(Saki) Well, until now when I was in front of a camera I was usually asked to say something to the audience. So it’s about giving interviews. But here my role was completely different and it’s my first time doing something like that. I’m actually a type of a person who gets extremely embarrassed when filmed. And it was a big problem for me! I wasn’t quite sure about what we’re supposed to get in the end. But when I was working on this I started to get used to it little by little. Of course I was looking forward to seeing the result of our work but I’m pretty sure that looking at myself will be very embarrassing.
- Tell us about school.
(Saki) Well, speaking of school…Perhaps the most memorable experience was in the middle school. We had field trips and I visited Kyoto and Nara. So there were 5 of us in the room. At night we played on our cellphones and two girls, my friends, got caught by our sensei. The rest of us pretended to be sleeping, myself included. I’m sorry for the two.
And when we got up in the morning everyone was so excited and we ran around the room wildly. We got the door off its joints in the process and it took us quite an effort to put it back into place. So yeah, I think we were fooling around a lot. Well, what can I say? It's youth!
- Let's speak about H!P Academy. Who’s your sempai and who’s your kouhai here?
(Saki) So, it’s about sempai and kouhai, you say? Well, as for the sempai I guess it’s Michishige-san. I talked to Michishige-san a lot when we had “Fashionable” stage event. We participated there together.
(TL NOTE:
http://www.gekidan-online.com/blog/fashionable/)
Our appearances on the stage didn't match and we spent quite a lot of time at the backstage in-between them. We talked when we were practicing and when it wasn’t our turn to go to the stage. I think we get on well thought it’s my personal opinion. More importantly, you can talk with Sayu practically on any topic and the talk will be interesting. I think that she’s a great sempai. And if she doesn’t consider herself my sempai I’d be happy if she becomes one.
And speaking of kouhai, I'm bad at dealing with people who's younger than me. I become nervous and start to worry about every word I say. How will people react if I say this or that? But then, maybe… You’re asking about my kouhai, right? But…it doesn’t necessarily have to do with my work colleagues, does it? So what?
OK, let’s suppose it has nothing to do with work then my best kouhai is far from show-biz. And if you mean my colleagues – Airi, Chisato, and Mai – well, it’s natural that we communicate with each other. Hahaha…
- How do you spend your holiday?
(Saki) I’m a big fan of movies. I borrow discs and watch movies IN PLENTY.
You can’t imagine how long I can watch movies. I’m crazy about them. I watch 3 movies a day. (TL NOTE: when she has a day off, I suppose).
And if I go to the cinema…Normally you can find several new movies there. I look at the announcement and my first thought is…I want to watch this and this and this… So for example I spend a day watching movies from Japan.
I'm really into watching movies in the cinema or on DVD. So, gentlemen, if you’re looking for a good film to watch you know who to ask. I’m at your service.
- What's your 'power food'?
(Saki) If there’s a thing that makes me say “Yay!” it’s rice with an egg.
(TL NOTE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamago_kake_gohanthe egg should be raw)
I love this dish. It’s easy to eat and cook it. And it tastes great! And then you can serve it in many varieties. For example, you can dress it with lots of vegetables, add some plums or season it with a sauce. Yummy! I eat it since I was small. But lately I got really attached to this kind of food.
- What’s your ‘power song’?
(Saki) Well, if we take our group’s songs then it’s the “Youth song (seishun songu)”. That’s what makes me say “Wow!”
«Youth song» is the leader's song but lately at our concerts we sing it all together. And I think that’s what makes it so enjoyable. But then, I didn’t sing it in any other version. But when the audience is waving the towels this song alone fills us with energy and the fans catch the wave and sing to us in return. I think this is the time when we get connected.
- What can you say about C-ute members?
(Saki) Well…what should I start with? Let’s speak about our leader. The leader… she…well… I used to go at her place. It was like going to a wonderland. It was fun. I got invited and we had lots of fun and we went to puri-kura (photobooths).
But now if you turn to your colleague your words are “would you like to have dinner?” It feels like we grew up.
Or let's take those films. It’s always exciting to discuss them. Well, it’s fun to talk with members about anything. And we have a great leader. How do you call it, a pure idol! (清純派アイドル).
Then, about Airi. You know she's fantastic at the concerts. We dance with her during our rehearsals. Airi is just a little bit younger than me but she’s lots of points that fascinate me and I think “ah, that’s awesome!” I guess it’d be a good idea to learn from her, absorb it, add something from yourself and do it your way. Then, you know, Airi is a fan of gags. And lately she’s got a handful of some killing jokes so, yeah, it’s very hard to keep pace with her.
Or let's take Chisato. We talked about the cafe scene with her and yesterday she suddenly invited me to dinner. Says, would you hang around with me? When we were done with work she said “I suppose you have nothing to do anyways so let’s have dinner together!”
Chisato is an expert at taking breaks and having fun.
And when you try to invite her yourself she says «oh…».
Okai has become a brand-name. She’s incredibly funny. You have fun just by listening to her. And I really like to spend time with her.
Mai-chan is the youngest among us but you know, she’s got a high sense of responsibility. She does everything thoroughly. I think it’s great.
Say, at times when we fool around with Chisato Mai comes and makes us stop . Alternatively, Mai wants to stop the buffoonery but she’s worried about something and she wants to be asked about her troubles. But she’s very nice. I mean her character. As a girl. Of course there are times when she's troubled with something and she seeks company. I’m more independent, I’m confident on my own but I lack those girlish traits Mai has and I want to adopt them.
So, I think that's it.
- If you had a chance to go abroad where would you go and with whom?
(Saki) So, I’m supposed to choose a partner for my travels, right? Ok…
I want to go to France with my colleagues. We all love France.
(TL NOTE. J'aime la France. Yeah, I visited Paris I know what it is. It's awesome)
You know, the ornament or paintings with angels impress us a lot. When we see one we say “how cute!” So I think that France is the best place for us to go to. I think that we’d have lots of fun. And then I’d love to buy a pack of souvenirs! I need to save some money for this trip and finally go there. And if we were to go there together I think we’d all love it.
- What's your dream?
(Saki) Well, as a member of C-ute… well, I may be repeating myself but I want to give a concert at the arena, I think. But now I want to move together with the group. So, for example, when we have a concert everyone concentrates on the task and give the necessary expression in this or that song. Because each song needs its own approach. You can only act there in one way or else you fail as a team. So when we achieve this unity and concentration you see our best. I think we still have room to grow. Now we’re sleeping but we still want to stay in front of you at the stage.
And speaking of personal wishes. Well, I want to travel a lot. I don’t have big dreams. Maybe I just want to buy lots of clothes for myself.
Speaking of work, there are a lot of things I want to try. I want to try myself in different roles.
- Lastly, send a message to your fans.
(Saki) OK. I’m repeating myself but as a member of C-ute I want to progress with everyone, move forward with everyone, step by step. Surely we’ll give concerts. But we have lots of problems during rehearsals. You don’t know how to do this or that and what to improve. What should one do to show exactly what you mean to show? But when you go to the stage people sing together with you and leave feedback after the concert saying how great it was. And this feedback in your blog makes you really happy. I start to remember what could impress the audience most. And of course I want the fans to fill with energy from us. So I’m hoping for your support.
Thank you very much.