#lisani!

Q: Do you remember [clearly] the time you were recording ‘DROP’?

C: Yeah. Up until then, we (with Alice, although she is not specifically mentioned, so may be only referring to herself) had been using a normal room with simple equipment and a computer to record our songs, so when we used a proper recording studio, headphones and controlled the volume…I guess, since it was something that we were doing for the first time it was really exciting. [Laughs] As we didn’t know how we could do it well, we had a sense of unease during the recording. That became a CD, and when it became an add-on to LisAni! we were really happy. Even at that time, the thought of our own songs becoming CDs didn’t occur to us at all.

Q: By the way Karen, during the same time that ClariS had their debut, do you still remember what you were thinking?

K: That dream of ‘I want to become a singer!’ wasn’t really something I was going to pursue, but I held a vague admiration for the entertainment industry. At that time, I loved dancing and moving my body, so I started dancing on my own and went for voice training.

Q: What about you, Clara?

C: Becoming a singer was something I had been holding as an unchanging dream since my early years in elementary school. Other than that, I wasn’t thinking of anything else.

Q: What was the trigger for you admiring the entertainment industry, Karen?

K: Originally, I was really shy. Now I really can’t imagine myself like that. [All laugh] The school that my parents had enrolled me into and where I met Clara was the trigger for me, and my [nature, or should I say…] personality really changed. Before I knew it, I was spontaneously looking towards entertainment.

Q: Who do you admire?

K: The actress Karina (last name Nose, considered to be one of Japan’s most beautiful women) and my nakama (friend or ally, predict how you want) Yukie (no clue who this is, probably staff member).

Q: You wanted to become an actress?

K: Yeah. [Laughs] I admired actresses when I was in middle school.

Q: If I remember correctly, Clara, you…

C: ‘I want to become a singer like Ayaka’ (stage name ayaka, real name Ayaka Iida) would have been my answer five years ago. [Laughs]

Q: I see. [Laughs] Changing the subject, Clara, in your opinion, what kind of song was ‘DROP’ during the time of Alice*Clara? (can’t put a proper star, sorry)

C: We (this time includes Alice) didn’t think that kz would write our first original song for us, so we were really surprised at first. [I think] The song had the theme of ‘A spring encounter’, but if I think about it now, since there was a keyword that made you think of ‘campus’ or ‘university’ in the song, I feel that the lyrics can resonate with [the people of] my current age group. Now even after 5 years have passed, it’s a song where I can make a new discovery yet again.

Q: Moving on, with the song ‘Kimi no yume wo miyou’, what kind of impression do you think it had?

C: It was a song with the theme ‘Summer vacation’, but that feeling of ‘wanting to meet the person you love but being unable to, at least seeing them in your dreams is good enough…’ in the lyrics is something I think is a really lovely image that girls would create. Being within your dreams and having a fluffy view of the world (her words probably have a different connotation) is the kind of song that I really like.

K: I think it’s really amazing that the girls of my age at that time would sing such a mature (or grown-up) song.

Q: (There’s definitely a mistake here because the question shown is exactly the same as the previous one, so I’ll just write Clara’s response.)

C: At that time, singing and following the words (lyrics) was like inevitable death (you can say frustrating, but inevitable death sounds so much more fun). Even though I was trying to understand the meaning of the lyrics, I was a middle schooler so I couldn’t understand it, and there were many parts that felt very difficult. Now I can look back and correct myself, like ‘that’s what it meant’.  

Q: You had your major debut after that, didn’t you?

C: At the [fast] rate it was developing, the surprise wasn’t far from chaotic. [Laughs] We didn’t think that our dreams would come true so fast. It didn’t feel like ‘You’re going to become ClariS’, but more like an ordinary person hearing ‘A group named ClariS is going to make their debut’. (In other words, they couldn’t believe that they were going to become ClariS) After our major debut ‘irony’ was set in stone, everything was developing so quickly, to the point that I don’t think I can even remember how I spent that period of time now. It was like a ‘Our CD is coming out!’ and ‘Am I singing this!?’ kind of thing. [Weak laugh] At first, because we really didn’t have much time, when ClariS songs were continuing to come out after our debut, we were thinking ‘This isn’t a dream, right…?’ (Not confident with this part)

Q: How were you spending your days during that time, Karen?

K: Since I really loved moving my body, I was always [always] doing sports. I hung out with my friends as a normal middle-schooler, and led very [very] normal days. I undoubtedly had that naivety of ‘I’m still a middle-schooler’ when it came to pursuing my dreams. At that time, [I still remember it now,] when I looked at the ‘Music Station’ Singles Ranking ‘irony’ was listed, and below it read ‘Active Middle School Students’. I thought, ‘Even kids from the same year group as me are working hard and making their dreams come true…’, and I really felt a massive push on my back. The thought that ‘I have to face my dreams head on by myself!’ was the motivation I got.

Q: At that time, did you know that Clara was ClariS?

K: Nope, I had no idea.

Q: Clara’s dreams came true first, right?

C: Yeah… [Laughs] But the feeling of ‘I’ve done my debut’ and that of disbelief, along with that elated feeling of having our own songs being shown on TV and spontaneously smiling… it was a whole lot of various emotions mixed together.

Q: What kind of song did you think ‘irony’ was?

C: Of course, being our debut song, it’s a special one. It suits the views (possibly themes) in ‘My Little Sister Can’t be this Cute’ perfectly, and because the lyrics were sung as if with the feelings of Kirino, who can’t be honest with herself, it’s got a really cute feeling to it. Since I’m also the kind of person that can’t turn my honest feelings into words when I’m thinking of what to say, there were a lot of lyrics that I was able to relate to.

Q: Having followed up with ‘Connect’ and ‘nexus’, you must have really sped through your middle school life with a lot on your shoulders.  

C: Yeah. Especially the in second half (likely to be her middle school life) since the pressure was really intense, it was one heck (She doesn’t say it that way) of a moment. [Laughs] Because we had [the privilege of having] our first album ‘BIRTHDAY’ being released around the time to graduate, while we were going about our lives as normal middle school students, we were also able to reach out to everyone as ClariS with [a lot of] our songs. I think we are really blessed, and I feel that due to our singing, we made a lot of songs that enabled us to empathise with the people of our generation.  

Q: Of course, Karen, you were influenced by that (the songs), right?

K: When I graduated to middle school, because I was beginning to become more mature in the way I felt (probably thought as well), there were times where my friendships turned sour. I was worrying about my times in elementary school that I didn’t worry about before, and while the things I couldn’t do well progressively increased, I was really able to deeply empathize with people (not entirely sure about this part) thanks to the singers of our time singing realistic songs. Until then, [even though I would listen to music] I wasn’t really conscious about (or paying much attention to) the lyrics, but after I learned of ClariS, I became able to see the meaning behind the lyrics. I think it was ClariS that first enabled me to learn how to empathize via song.

C: Thank goodness. [Laughs] There have been many times that I’ve been helped (metaphorically) by my songs. I was absolutely elated because I knew that the songs were reaching those my age who carried the same kind of thoughts.

Q: What do you think your middle school life was like, Clara?

C: I would go to school normally, and when I returned home I would read lyrics, do practice for a song, attend my lesson (singing) and do the recording on the weekend, all in a repeated fashion. Since the production of ‘BIRTHDAY’ happened during the winter holidays, there were times where we would continuously do recording for about a week.

Q: Were there times when these things clashed with your exams?

C: Yup. [Laughs] When our recording clashed with our exam period, at first I was like, ‘Geez! What should we do now!?’ [Laughs] We would bring our study material into the studio and study during the break intervals.

Q: [In addition to telling us about your activities as ClariS] How do you feel about the impression that [the unforgettable song] ‘Connect’ has with your current point of view?  

C: Considering the kind of image that ‘Mahou Shojo Madoka * Magika’, it really is a very powerful song. Since I did the recording knowing absolutely nothing about the anime’s content, when I watched the anime, the links of the song quickly came together, and I felt extremely moved even though it was my own song. The lyrics were like Homura’s actual feelings, so when I watched the anime and ‘Connect’ started playing I felt like I was gonna cry. It’s a song I think has an incredibly strong emotional link. Because ‘Madomagi’ (I’m assuming this is the anime’s shortened name) is a piece of work that influenced a lot of people, we are very happy that we could be a part of such a production again. (probably referring to Oreimo)

K: (Fun fact - Karen’s answer was merged into Clara’s due to horrible layout of the interview on the page) I actually came to like the anime from ‘Connect’. When I went to the game centre (Japanese term for arcade) I heard ‘Connect’ being played and was like, ‘So this is from ClariS as well…’ From there, I started watching ‘Madomagi’ and liked it. When the convenience stores were doing a collaborative project with ‘Madomagi’, I became overly obsessed (probably not to that extent) with collecting them. [Laughs] (I don’t know what sort of collab was done, so I’m assuming there was some anime-themed merchandise being sold)    

Q: The following song, ‘nexus’, was one that was reasonably difficult, right?

C: The rhythm was very unique, so it was a song that I particularly struggled with during the recording. However, I liked it because each and every word was really cute and its got that sentiment of [really] sending a message. I really like the chorus bit that goes ‘Someday the emotions we created that day / Will illuminate each of our futures / It’s a small phrase now / But I believe that it will reach everyone’ (Chorus 1, first 4 lines). Since the dream that I had [painted] when I was small was to become a singer, I think I was able to make my debut as ClariS by continuing to hold onto those feelings. I still am a bit immature, but it’s (nexus) a song that makes me want to send my thoughts (or feelings) to everyone as much as I can.

Q: Also, ‘Naisho no Hanashi’ was your first point of contact with the ‘Monogatari’ series. How do you feel about it, looking back?

C: Among the ClariS songs up until then, it was a song that had a cheerful and upbeat kind of [increased] tempo that hadn’t been done before, so when we heard it we had the feeling we were gonna enjoy it. It linked really well with the ‘Monogatari’ series, and fully represented Karen and Tsukihi’s feelings towards their older brother. I think the depiction of a girl burning with jealousy made it a really adorable song. Also that song [I’ve said it many times before] was written for us by ryo, so…

Q: Yeah, that’s right.

C: Since we sang ryo’s songs when we were Alice*Clara, [who would have expected] him to help us write our own songs. When it was set in stone, we were really surprised.

Q: Karen, you weren’t involved in the ‘Monogatari’ series, but what kind of impression did you think ‘Naisho no Hanashi’ had?

K: The shouting (1! 2! 1! 2! 3! 4! part) during the intro was extremely memorable, so it’s a song I can instantly remember. [As I thought] Having realistic lyrics, or should I say, feelings of jealousy to create such a cute song [I thought] was really impressive.

C: Really, ryo took the theme of the song that was heavily melody-dependant (I’m not sure of this part, so maybe think of it as having a heavy tone) and represented it with an extremely cute melody and lyrics.

Q: You both spent your time in middle school very differently, but what kind of feelings did you have when you graduated, Karen?

K: Around the time I graduated from middle school, I wanted to get into the entertainment industry, and I was personally confronted with various challenges, but at the time my admiration of actresses was stronger. However, when I listened to [the songs of] ClariS and other singers, even though they were about themes from the same genre, there were times where I felt that the things they wanted to say were completely different. There were a lot of things that I (or you) could learn from songs. So I started to think, ‘Although I want to aim to be an actress, becoming a singer would also be wonderful’. Like thinking, ‘Maybe I could be both an actress and a singer…’ slowly, little by little, my intangible dream was being moulded into something more concrete.

Q: [To Clara] The time you graduated from middle school was the time ‘BIRTHDAY’ was released, so there were a lot of songs about graduation in there.

C: Yeah. My feelings just really piled up during the time of my graduation. There were many songs that I could really put my thoughts into. There were a lot of songs where I really sang my honest feelings, so the songs that were recorded into that album were the songs that I could only sing at that time. Coming back to the graduation, because I parted ways (in life, not in friendship) with a lot of my good friends, I felt really lonely, but on the other hand I had a strong feeling of excitement about going into high school. …Now that I think about it, I wasn’t crying during my graduation ceremony. I felt the smiles (or happiness) that everyone graduated with, so the excitement was stronger than the sadness for me.

K: Eh-! I totally cried at mine!

Q: The two of you are really different.

K: I normally don’t see it, actually! [All laugh]

Q: That’s probably true. [Laughs] Karen seems to be the one to laugh more, like ‘Yay! The holidays are tomorrow!’ [All laugh]

K: Geez, I’m a crybaby. (I doubt that’s what she said, since the word was laugh and cry combined) It’s like a ‘Why are you crying? [Sob]’ kind of thing for me. I cry all the more when I see boys [that usually don’t cry] cry.

C: In my case, it was like a ‘We’ve graduated!’, ‘It was fun, wasn’t it?’ and ‘Let’s meet again!’ kind of feeling. After that it was, ‘My album is being sold…’ [Laughs]

K: I think I went through way too many tissue boxes…

C: That much!?