Gravure Magazine Vol.39 released on April 2 of 2014 published a great and long interview with Yui Mizuno before her graduation from Sakura Gakuin. Yui shares her deep thoughts about her 5 years on Sakura Gakuin, the Tokyo Idol Festival 2014 when she was on Tour with BABYMETAL, but she also talks about Moa Kikuchi and Suzuka Nakamoto, Karen Girl's and of course about BABYMETAL. Full interview translated below.
Yui Mizuno talks about Sakura Gakuin and BABYMETAL with Gravure Magazine
Yui would also like to become Super Lady and state in a variety of circumstances that, “My real Alma Mater is Sakura Gakuin!”.
By the time this edition of Gravure The Television goes on sale the Sakura Gakuin graduation ceremony will already have taken place and the you will already have graduated.
Yui: “Eh, no way! I don`t want to think about that!”
I don`t like to consider it either. How do you feel at this moment so close to graduating?
Yui: "Yes, well recently I have started to get a real sense of the fact that, “Ah, I really am going to graduate soon”, and so the real battle for me is to convey as
much as I can in the limited time remaining to the Kouhai members. I am always thinking what can I do that will carry over and be helpful for the Sakura Gakuin of the next
Nendo."
Yui-chan` “Love for Sakura Gakuin” is not a run of the mill type of love. (Laughs)
Yui: "This Nendo`s 4 3rd grade students were busy all sorts of extracurricular activities and so we didn`t get to spend a lot of time together. Because of that it took us an
extra amount to time to unify are feelings as a single unit but since we never forgot about Sakura Gakuin even we were apart we learned that, “Even if we are separated our hearts
and minds are One”, and it is this that I would like to convey to the Kouhai members."
So you entered Sakura Gakuin when you were in the 5th grade so that makes it a total of how many years for you?
Yui: "This year is my fifth year. That is 1/3 of my whole life (Laughs)".
Putting it that way it does so very long! Could you tell about any memories that particularly stand out to you?
Yui: "Hmm..I wonder what I should say….I don`t have a lot of memories of the time I was a 5th grader (Laugh). Of course there were many tough times and things that I had to
contend with, but I think it is exactly because of those kinds of experiences that I was able to enjoy the good ones as well. Since starting this Nendo I would have to say that it is the TIF
(Tokyo Idol Festival) that stays with me the most."
And that is in spite of the fact that you didn`t appear in it!!
Yui: "Being my final TIF I really wanted to do my best but due to an out of school classroom event I had to miss it. However, Hana and Yunano worked really hard and pulled
everyone together and they were joined by the graduate students of Marimari and Rau-chan. When we were overseas they sent on video images to us which I watched together with Moa. I was so happy
to see how professionally everyone performed. I think this further strengthened the bonds that exist between the 10 of us. When I consider that we were, I think, able to make more people outside
of Japan aware of Sakura Gakuin, I think that in the end it was a good thing."
It could be said with a high level of certainty that all of the members really grew as a result of that. Moving on speaking about Sakura Gakuin memories you have sung a whole slew of great songs.
Yui: "Yui really loves the songs of Sakura Gakuin and so many of the songs have lyrics I can relate to. Out of all of them the one I love
the most is “Mikansei Silhouette”. Yui saw Karen Girls and felt I wanted to become a Karen Girl myself which led me to
audition. And the happiness that I felt at passing the audition and becoming a member of the same group with Ayami-chan (Muto Ayami) and Su-chan (Nakamoto Suzuka) is contained in
the lyrics of this song. My internal scenic memories of that time really come back to me with that song and I am sure that even after I have graduated from Sakura Gakuin that if
I listen to `Mikansei Silhouette` those memories will come back to life for me so I believe I will be listening it long after I have graduated."
I have a feeling that everyone is wondering what will happen post graduation.
Yui: "I still haven`t found exactly what I want to do. However, I like to act and I like to have my picture taken so I feel that I would like to pursue both of these. The other day when we were doing the photo shoots for the photo album (The 4 members all together), we were shooting not in school uniforms but rather in our own casual clothes and it was really fun- I felt like I was a model. When we were making the MV for `Aogeba Tootoshi` I got to do some degree of acting. It was so much fun and felt like we were filming a school drama so I would like to try my hand at acting again someday. You know, it is like I have way too many things that I want to do but when I think, “Is there really anything out there that I can get as crazy about as I have with Sakura Gakuin”, I still can not answer that for myself. Once I become a High School student the first thing I will do is try my best to find my dream."
And of course, don`t forget about singing!!
Yui: "After entering Sakura Gakuin I discovered the joy of reading and comprehending lyrics and then conveying that to people and the joy of becoming one
with the fans at Live performances. I wonder if I can do that with Babymetal. I don`t know how to say it, but with Babymetal I get the feeling that I can do
anything. Su-metal and Moametal are there and I feel so strong and find myself making facial expressions that I had never done before and feel like I have found
a totally new me. We keep saying that we want to create a new genre known as Babymetal and so I would like to do my best to do so."
Do you think you can?
Yui: "I wonder (Laughs). But, if I become famous and become a Super Lady and that will help to spread awareness about Sakura Gakuin I feel. When Airi-n (Matsui Airi) and the others mention Sakura Gakuin when they are the subject of media coverage I get super happy. So when Yui becomes a Super Lady I want to say, `My alma mater is Sakura Gakuin!!` in as many circumstances and places as I can."
You and your close friend Moa-chan (Kikuchi Moa) are always together at Sakura Gakuin and Babymetal. Is there any sense of rivalry between the two of you?
Yui: "Speaking honestly I think there is that in both of us. How to say it? I think Moa and Yui`s friendship is exactly as the lyrics `Friends` communicates".
Well then the readers will just have to go back and really read and comprehend the lyrics of `Friends` (Laughs.)
Yui: "Yes, I would be so happy to have everyone listen to it a lot."
By the way, today was a solo shoot. Do you do solo shoots often?
Yui: "No, this was the first! For photo albums there were times when we would go one by one but to do solo shooting at a location other than school is a first for me and it was extremely fun. They told me to relax and so I feel I was able to really enjoy myself riding on roller coasters and merry-go-rounds and stuff like that."
Seeing you running from attraction to attraction and enjoying yourself made a big impression on me (Laughs). So, to round things up could you give a message to our readers?
Yui: "So, I have already graduated, right? Now, I am doing my best to completely burn up all of available energy. When you are reading this I will already have graduated but I hope that you will continue to support the coming year`s Sakura Gakuin and the following ones as well. I will do my very best to make it possible for you to think, `I want to support Yui as well`, so I would be so happy if you continue to be there for me as a Fukei-san."
