Original article: http://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASH6K3RZQH6KPTIL006.html
Question: My school is one that declares itself “Accomplished in military and literary arts.” The theme is “You must be able to study and exercise.” But I can’t do both perfectly. How can I do both? Furthermore, what does it even mean to be “Accomplished in military and literary arts? (From 2020, a 16 year-old)
Answer: For the last single, Durian Shonen, I was omitted. Within a few months of entering NMB, I was promoted from Kenkyuusei to Team N, and I entered senbatsu early, and it was said that I was progressing well, but I became really distressed about this. Even now, I am concerned of what exactly I’m missing.
As an idol, I’ll consider what “Accomplished in military and literary arts” means. In terms of literary arts, it would be writing blogs and other social media, as well as your talking ability. For the military arts, it’s probably dancing, singing, and other performing abilities. If you can do bother, you would be quite strong. But for me, I’m not very good at writing out my feelings, and I don’t talk a lot during the MCs of live performances.
I wonder if being accomplish at both is really good. When I meet the fans at handshake events, I don’t feel like they want me to be a straightforwardly funny character. Instead, they’ve told me many times that they think it’s great for me to look them in the eye and ask about them.
In NMB48, there are good, charming kids who aren’t good at talking but are great at dancing. There are many different types. It’s not so much a matter of choosing which to pursue and which to slack off on, but it’s about finding your own strengths and battling with them. That’s what I think.