＃２６ 「アオイとキクチ。とこの１年」

The First Anniversary — Reactions from Unexpected Places

One year in, Aoi Yu and Kikuchi Akiko keep finding themselves surprised by where their listeners turn up. Fellow moms at a get-together, a young actress at work, the wife of a co-star — the podcast keeps reaching people in places they never anticipated. "We put it out there, and yet," they laughed, before offering a heartfelt thank-you for "a year held up by everyone's kindness."

The milestone brought a first for the show: congratulatory voice messages from two Angerme members. Pei-chan said she had listened carefully after the group's Budokan concert and was moved that the hosts had noticed even the small details. The other member wrote that she finds it fascinating how the two can't stop talking about Angerme, and that hearing them declare every era of the group to be the best has become "important nourishment." The hosts were overwhelmed — "Can this really be happening to us?" — and admitted that even when they meet members backstage after a live show, they can only make flustered sounds and manage no coherent words at all. Their bond with Angerme traces back to co-editing a MOOK book devoted to the group. One particular member, they confided, they've been following since her very first year — closely enough, they said, to "write a graduation thesis" on her growth.

The New Single "Bababababurning Love" and an Endless Love for Hello! Project

Angerme's new double A-side — "Bababababurning Love" and "Ai ga Ai no Mama de Iraremasu you ni" (愛が愛のままでいられますように) — sent the conversation into overdrive. The hosts zeroed in on an MV shot of something cold melting, vapor rising from the surface, and called it "a quiet flame — cool to the touch, yet burning — exactly the kind of cool that is Hello! Project, that is Angerme." They also dissected a dance video clip where the choreography is asymmetric, observing that "it's neither everyone moving in unison nor left-right mirrored — that actually makes it harder to execute." They noted that the comments section has already coined the phrase "vanilla sacred object" (バニラ神器) and that the track is drawing in a wave of new fans.

On Hello! Project more broadly, they touched on a new member joining Beyooooonds, reflecting on the mix of wistfulness and excitement that comes with a group's constant renewal. Kikuchi also shared her joy that Nemoto Karin, a trainee she had been tracking on social media since spotting her dancing on a beach, had officially joined Hello! Project's kenkyuusei (研修生). "It feels like a kid from the neighborhood made it into Hello! Project," she said.

Listener Mail — Travel, Pregnancy, and Cilantro Sauce

Nokko-san wrote in to say that after hearing the hosts talk about wanting to take a "voyage trip" together, she proposed a day-trip bus tour to a best friend she has had since third grade — and the friend came back with "maybe we can even do an overnight." The line that stopped the hosts in their tracks: "If we keep saying 'someday,' someday never comes. I want us to laugh about it together when we're grandmas." Aoi added that her own parents, now retired, are already plotting a bus tour with the neighbor next door. "That's their one and only thing to look forward to right now," she said.

Hocchan-san is pregnant with her first child and past her due date with no contractions yet. People keep asking "hasn't the baby arrived?" and while she knows they mean well, those questions pile up in the evenings. Listening to the two hosts as she drifts off, she said, makes her feel "like everything is going to be okay." Kikuchi responded with empathy — "pregnancy heightens every sense" — and passed on a practical tip: the Sims position (lying on your left side) can ease abdominal tension. They also spoke honestly about how difficult it can be to know the right way to support a friend who is pregnant.

Chichichi-san (Kanagawa, 38) reported that she tried making the cilantro sauce Aoi had recommended in an earlier episode but couldn't quite nail it. Aoi reminded her that the recipe is posted on the show's official X and Instagram accounts, and made her case one more time: "It's incredible on pork."

Drama Finale and the Dinner Chat

Aoi's drama "T-shirt ga Kawaku Made" airs its final episode on Friday, September 11 — just two days after the recording. "Reading each script had me in floods of tears, over and over. It was a summer I was completely tossed around by," she said, urging listeners to tune in.

The episode closed with the show's signature dinner talk. Kikuchi was planning to re-steam some shumai and pair them with simmered grilled vegetables. Aoi had pulled her hot plate out of storage for the first time in five years, hosted a yakiniku session with friends, and was happy to discover that a deodorizing spray kept the smell well under control. That memory drifted into a warmer one from childhood — making thin crepes on a Saturday afternoon by stretching pancake mix with extra milk, then rolling them around various fillings. "Maybe I'll do it again this week," she said, and on that note the show wrapped up.