第63回「思い出深い曲」

Autumn Reading — Sayari Discovers Books in Taiwan

Mayu opens with 'it's reading season,' prompting Sayari to confess she had always struggled with written text and could never sit still long enough to finish a book. The turning point came through her friend Morita Misato (森田ミサト). While on location together, Misato said, 'There's a book even you could read, Sayari-chan.' Both hosts praised the perfectly calibrated way she delivered the line — 'not talking down, not talking up, just there with you' — calling her 'like a fairy whose words come from a different dimension.'

Acting on that recommendation, Sayari hunted down Natsuko Imamura's (今村夏子) Tonkatsu Q&A (とんこつQ&A) in the Japanese-language section of a bookshop during her stay in Taiwan. After finishing it she felt she might have 'caught the reading bug,' went back and bought two more books, and discovered that 'reading feels so good when you're already in the reading headspace.'

Mayu, by contrast, laughed that since starting her first-ever musical in April she has had no bandwidth for anything — not a single book, not a single Hello! Project song. 'Right now, half of me is not me,' she said.

Mayu Supervises Her Favourite Idol's Photobook

Though she has had no time to read, Mayu revealed she did *make* a book. She served as supervising editor on the first photobook of Yofuruno-chan (ヨフルノちゃん), a member of Tsubaki Factory (椿ファクトリー). Acting as something like a producer — deciding page layout and overall content — she got to dress her favourite idol exactly as she had imagined, an experience she described as 'kind of unbelievable.'

The concept was 'Heisei girl boom.' Yofuruno-chan's shōjo-manga-esque looks and figure were front and centre, with Narumiya (なるみ屋) providing full creative support. Vintage items sourced from retro shops were paired with currently available pieces from Mezzo Piano and Angel Blue (メゾピアノ・エンジェルブルー), producing a shoot where 'old dolls and the newest items coexist — it came out incredibly cute.'

On set, Mayu managed to direct Luna-chan (ルナちゃん) for specific poses, but the moment filming ended her shyness snapped back: 'Zero. Back to zero.' The two hosts compared switching on work mode to walking into a hair salon — professional the whole time, then leaving with extra warmth and a heartfelt thank-you. They also noted that owning your shyness at this stage in life is actually useful: it signals to people that they're welcome to relax around you.

Listener Mail — A Year of Studying, a Mother, and 'Haruka'

The hosts read a message from a listener signing off as 'Yasei no Sumaris-san' (野生のサマリスさん). After a year as a rōnin student she passed the entrance exam for her first-choice university in February. She wrote about the loneliness of that year and the guilt of worrying her beloved mother so much. On her birthday during the exam period, her mother added YOASOBI's 'Haruka' (夜遊び「遥」) to a birthday message on social media. 'I listened to that song every time I felt like giving up, and it carried me through to passing.' The very last line of the letter: 'By the way, my name is Haruka.'

Both hosts were floored. 'The fact that she doesn't use it as a punchline is what makes it so cool,' said Mayu. They called the ending emotionally charged and literary — her own name and the song title connecting quietly, with no fanfare.

Two Songs Full of Memories

**Matsuoka Mayu** chose SEKAI NO OWARI's 'Tonight.' She has been a fan since the era when the band wrote their name in kanji, and during the period she appeared in GTO: Kemonomichi (GTO・獣道) at 18 and 19, she played the song on repeat as a source of strength at work. Recently, a short film she appeared in — using the song 'Yokohama Blues' (横浜ブルース) — was screened exclusively at a Sekai no Owari live event. She attended that concert, and 'Tonight' was performed. 'I had no idea they'd play it. I cried an unbelievable amount. Hearing it at that moment, in that setting — it was just insane,' she said.

**Ito Sayari** went all the way back to childhood: the melody played by an ice cream truck that made rounds through the massive apartment complex near her home. When the music drifted in, every child and mother would come pouring out of their flats to buy ice cream. 'It felt like a dream — just the happiest thing.' The memory is so vivid that she declared she wants to run an ice cream truck when she grows up. Mayu immediately promised, 'I'll definitely come.' Sayari was specific about the vision: not the artisanal gelato of a trendy neighbourhood, but the old-school kind — just chocolate, orange, and vanilla.