This interview was originally published in Japanese on thefirsttimes.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.

=LOVE Interview: “あの子コンプレックス”

=LOVE has just wrapped up their nationwide hall tour “どう考えても、君ってイコラブのこと好きじゃん” and released their 11th single “あの子コンプレックス”—their first release in five months since the winter song “The 5th”. THE FIRST TIMES conducted a two-part interview. In the first half, we heard interpretations of the title track, =LOVE’s most delicate breakup song to date, from all 11 members. In the second half, Takamatsu Hitomi, Morohashi Sayaka, and Yamamoto Anna spoke at length about the coupling tracks, which include solo songs, center songs, and unit songs.

INTERVIEW & TEXT BY Nagahori Atsuo PHOTO BY Ohashi Yuki *The character for “Taka” in Takamatsu Hitomi’s name uses the non-standard “hashigodaka” kanji.

A Song That Makes You Cry While Singing It

****

Q: The new song “あの子コンプレックス” is a breakup song, isn’t it?

Sasaki Maika: You can tell right from listening that it’s a sad song—the intro is so poignant. Shihara-san’s lyrics always have a narrative quality, and in this song I felt an emotional shift between the first and third verses. It’s a song I get so emotionally invested in that I end up crying while singing it.

Takiwaki Shouko: Until now we’ve had bright, pop songs lined up, and =LOVE hasn’t really sung breakup songs before. But we all kind of wanted to try one, so when we first heard it was a breakup song, we all got excited. The more you listen to the lyrics, the sadder they become… I found myself thinking, “This main character really has it rough…”

Morohashi Sayaka: It’s been a breakup song since our 6th single “ズルいよズルいね,” but I like both upbeat and sad songs. Personally, I really love the melody that starts with a low note, so I was listening to it constantly even on the way home after getting the song.

Takamatsu Hitomi: I thought it was a bit like “ズルいよズルいね,” but I wasn’t part of that one, so this was my first time doing a song like this. So it’s both a challenge and something I’m looking forward to. The anticipation is bigger than the nervousness.

Noguchi Iori: Shihara-san’s lyrics are always so catchy. This time, she took feelings of envy and jealousy—expressing them as “I hate that girl” or “I’m not good with that girl”—and rewrote them as the phrase “あの子コンプレックス.” I was impressed all over again by Shihara-san’s vocabulary, and there are so many emotions woven throughout that I feel in real life. It’s a song I really love.

Saito Kiaira: You can read the person’s feelings and what happened from the lyrics, and the word choices are amazing. There are so many lyrics that listeners can emotionally connect with based on their own experiences. I think it’s a song that will resonate with many different people.

Otani Emiri: The lyrics let you picture the scenery, and you can even smell it drifting through—they’re really imagination-expanding. But honestly, listening to this song made me feel very painful. The previous song was so full of happiness.

Oba Hana: Right? Last time, “The 5th” had a Christmas theme, but this time the sparkling winter snow has turned into dirty rain. After being so sparkly, it’s like… what?

Q: Your previous previous release “ウィークエンドシトロン” was all lovey-dovey, and “The 5th” had the couple exchanging rings.

Oba: I thought, “Already?” at first.

Sasaki: That was fast! (laughs)

Takamatsu: It’s at the beginning of the song. I want to believe the story isn’t connected. Because it’s terrible otherwise.

Otone Risa: The lyrics are pretty difficult to interpret. It’s not just a smile, not just sadness—it’s hard to express all the different emotions mixed together, and I think it’s a song that really demands expressiveness.

Yamamoto Anna: I feel like this is a song we were only able to receive because we’re =LOVE at this point in time. If we were still a bit younger, I don’t think we would have been given this song to sing. I think Shihara-san wrote it with expectations for us, including the difficulty of the song, thinking, “Can’t they do it now?”

Saito Nagisa: I love breakup songs and I’m always listening to breakup songs, so when I got this song I was like, “Oh, this is my favorite kind of breakup song!” and I was so happy. Every line hits. I’ve never experienced a breakup, but I want to cherish this song.

Q: Which parts of the lyrics hit you, and where did you feel emotional connection?

Nagisa: I like everything, there’s so much, but my favorite is “特別じゃないなら／あんな顔見せないでよ” (If I’m not special / don’t show me that face). I think there’s definitely a face you only show to someone you like. That image came to mind, and it hit my heart simply and directly.

Morohashi: Mine is “君を嫌いになれるパズルのピースはあるのに” (Even though there are puzzle pieces to make me hate you). You could make yourself hate them with your feelings alone, but you don’t want to—there’s still hope. It’s so delicate, like something only a girl who couldn’t be number one—only the second girl—would feel.

Takiwaki: “まだ好きでごめんね” (Sorry I still love you) is when the main character realizes the other person isn’t their number one anymore. But the feelings don’t change, so she’s apologizing—that’s heartbreaking. And then she becomes certain through the scent of a vanilla she doesn’t recognize. The way they express it is amazing—images just flash through your mind, and it pierces your heart.

Otone: At first she says she doesn’t want everything, just love. But by the end she’s wishing, “I don’t need love, just let me stay by your side.” If I were in that situation, maybe I’d want the same thing. I’d want love, but I’d especially want to stay by their side.

Yamamoto: I’m the type that wants love.

Saito Kiaira: Ohhh.

Yamamoto: Being by their side alone would feel lonely. But that’s what this character is like. Shihara-san’s lyrics always teach me about love, and I get to learn about so many different girls.

Q: What about you, Sasaki-san?

Sasaki: A cell phone novel I love came to mind. There’s a boy called the Deep Sea—he accepts a lot of people who can’t live where there’s light, but the Deep Sea itself seeks the light. So this girl fell into the deep sea, but the deep sea itself had already gone up. He accepts people with painful pasts and is kind to them, but everyone like that isn’t seeking to save others—they’re seeking to be saved themselves. That’s what I felt through this song. So he found a girl of light. She was always there with him, but he found someone who could save him. But she can’t stop it, she can only watch from the side.

Q: That’s almost despair.

Sasaki: I’m imagining it on my own, but the girl who’s fallen into an inescapable swamp—because she loves the other person, she also wants them to be happy. So she can’t pull the two of them apart. It’s so sad.

Noguchi: I also like to fantasize, and it’s a habit of mine to create a main character and a love interest in my head, but this song is so fun for fantasizing. My imagination just expands and expands.

Q: What kind of couple were they?

Noguchi: Maybe this girl was dating the boy. The boy ended things in a not-so-clean way. At first, she probably wanted him to say he liked her—even if it was a lie—and to love her. But in the end, she’s given up. It’s become less about love or romance and more about dependency and obsession. Because of the appearance of the person who took him away, it feels like she’s lost everything, and I’m projecting my emotions based on that fantasy. But it’s complicated. Within these lyrics I feel the beginning of romance, there’s love, but the ending is so cruel. It’s like everything’s just… gone. I really love that!

Saito Kiaira: (laughs) I still don’t understand it, but I think if someone like that appeared in my life someday and things turned out this way, I’d probably always love them. So the feeling of wanting to stay by their side even after breaking up—I think future me might be able to relate to that. He’s already moved on to someone else, but I still like him and want him to look at me. I think I might feel that way if it ever happened.

Otani: There’s a lyric “優しい嘘を” (a gentle lie) at the end of the second chorus. Speaking from experience, when I’m not doing well—like if I cry one day and have a shoot the next day. I ask members, “Do I look the same as usual today?” I want to know the truth, but there’s also a part of me that wants them to lie and say, “You look fine.” It’s different from romance, but I could relate to it.

Oba: The part I relate to most is “誰かみたいに甘えられたなら…／Ah あの子コンプレックス” (If I could lean on someone like that… / Ah that girl complex). I think everyone has complexes, but I’m not naturally good at depending on people. When I see girls who can lean on others easily, I think I wish I could be like that. The part where not being able to be pushy with people is a complex of hers—there’s a lot I share with that girl. I’m the type who doesn’t say what I really think, but inside my heart I’m thinking a lot, and I think that’s similar.

Q: By the way, among the members, who’s good at leaning on people?

Oba: Iori!

Noguchi: I knew it! (laughs) I do lean on people. Or rather, I want to cling to people. If there’s a knee, I want to lie down on it. If there’s a shoulder, I want to rest my head on it. I just want to be close to people.

Oba: I wish I could do that naturally.

Noguchi: I actually do it to Mirin (Otani) a lot, but I probably annoy her with how much I do it.

Otani: …No, not at all. It makes me happy…

Noguchi: (laughs)

Sasaki: There was a pause there. (laughs)

Yamamoto: That might have been a gentle lie.

Q: (laughs) Do you have complexes?

Takamatsu: I don’t really feel like I have any.

Morohashi: Huh? That’s amazing. I’m made entirely of complexes.

Nagisa: Everyone probably compares themselves to others, but I’ve always hated my own voice. It’s been a complex since I was born.

Morohashi: Since you were born! That’s incredible.

Nagisa: (laughs) My older sister has this really cute, anime-like voice. I have a deep, husky voice, so I was always wanting to have a voice like my sister. Even after joining =LOVE, everyone else had cute voices, so I’d be like, “Really?” But I’ve learned that I can use this complex in good ways too.

Morohashi: I wish I had things other members have, and girls tend to compare themselves to so many people, right? On the other hand, I can’t produce a husky voice. If I sang Western music it would definitely suit me.

Nagisa: That makes me happy!

Morohashi: You can’t become husky just because you want to, so I’m envious.

Q: Tell us about the dance and music video highlights.

Yamamoto: Rather than just dancing, it’s become a piece where we all express one thing together.

Takamatsu: We all become a boat.

Morohashi: The point where we become a boat and row through the lonely, pitch-black ocean is something we’ve never done before. We’ve never been a boat before.

Nagisa: Right!

Morohashi: And the intro is so ethereal and beautiful, so the choreography starts off ethereally too, which is really nice.

Takamatsu: After Maika performs something bigger than the rest of us, we all do the same thing, which I thought was interesting. And everyone should pay attention to the sad expressions on everyone’s faces.

Nagisa: Like when you catch sight of your ex-boyfriend walking with another girl. Girls who’ve experienced love probably have moments like that, right? You do, I’m sure. So I’d like people to watch thinking, “That happened to me too.” In the dance scenes, the things we’ve thrown become the background. By dancing in places filled with resentment, I think we’re expressing what’s in the depths of our hearts. I felt like the team was really particular about that, so I hope everyone pays attention to everything.

Takiwaki: The MV shoot was in the coldest place we’ve ever filmed. The costume was sleeveless lace too, so we were dancing in a place where we absolutely had to wear a jacket. But the expressions on our faces in that situation actually matched this song really well. I think we were able to make sad expressions. There was also a scene where we got rained on. I’d never had a scene where I got wet in the rain before, so it was good that I got to try something new.

Sasaki: In the MV, everyone’s gradually getting rained on and making sad expressions, so please listen to this while getting rained on too—maybe late at night. You’ll really feel like you’re reading a novel, and if you listen over and over again and find your own interpretation and story, please tell us about it.

****

Q: “笑顔のレシピ” is your center song, Yamamoto-san.

Yamamoto: It’s my first center song since doing a co-center with Hitomi on the 4th single’s B-side, so at first there was shock and anxiety. But being able to give fans good news was a relief for me. I was really happy that Shihara-san wrote a song that’s completely different in atmosphere from the title track and packed with =LOVE’s charm. I feel like I’ve gained an important song.

Morohashi: I love it so much, I was listening to it every day! The melody and lyrics, plus having the leader sing as center—isn’t that emotional? And we shot the MV in front of Tokyo Dome, you know. We were doing an event at Laaqua, which is right next to Tokyo Dome, so I thought that’s where we’re aiming. I want us all to get there together and have a tearful celebration.

Takamatsu: I really love it too. I’d loop it endlessly to learn the song, but I kept listening to it even after I’d memorized it—I love the song and lyrics so much. I realized again how perfect this song is for Anna. And during MV filming, a staff member said in a place Anna wasn’t around, “I’m happy Anna’s the center,” and I was like, “Me too!” Everyone’s happy.

Q: It really is a song the leader should sing as center.

Yamamoto: I almost cry. The lyrics say “「涙」はちょっと多め” (tears are a bit excessive), and every time members talk about this song I almost start crying, but if I cry here they’re like, “See, your tears are excessive,” so I’m trying my best not to. During the MV shoot, I was uncomfortable being in the center the whole time, but everyone supported me and hyped me up. We had a really fun shoot.

Takamatsu: It was fun.

Yamamoto: I was smiling the whole time.

Takamatsu: You were energetic from start to finish, and we were constantly laughing our heads off together.

Takamatsu: In the MV, Anna goes to all these different places, and we all find Anna and

Read the original Japanese interview on thefirsttimes.jp