•No blog post about this episode was posted beforehand. Guess they forgot to write one lol
•HARU reads the first message from a listener who writes hello to both the band and the radio program director Ono. The listener says that they're probably wondering why they addressed Ono as well, and that they did so because they have a story that they'd like for him to hear too. They bring up how during the Mystery Tour last year, Ono said to everyone that they should exchange contact info with the people they were grouped up with. The listener got the courage to ask this particular person in their group and then hung out together afterwards. They also attended BEST Xmas together where they got to see Ono yet again. Then, the day after on Christmas, the two of them started dating. They both wanted to tell the band and Ono about this, which is why they sent in the message. They also say that there's actually another coincidence that happened back in October 2020 when there was a fan club-only screening event in theaters to watch the Kiss from the darkness livestream before it came out on Blu-ray/DVD with only a few people being selected to attend. It turns out that they both had won entry and sat in back/front of each other. The band congratulates them and TOMO thanks Ono, who laughs at that. They say that at first Ono wasn't going to make an appearance on stage at the Mystery Tour, and it was only decided on the day of. They say that this whole thing was truly all about fate. TOMO says that she wants to give them all the sweets, which the others laugh at.
•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who has been dating their boyfriend for three years and living with him for two years. He said that he'll likely have to move to Tokyo since he's being transferred there in April. The listener is 28 while the bf is 25, and the listener would like to get married eventually to him. The bf also wants to get married, but ideally when he's 30--he apparently wants to play around a little more without being tied down. The listener says that they don't want to tie him down too much, but they're wondering if it's okay to follow him to Tokyo without promising to get married to each other yet. The listener says that they don't want to be separated from him so they want to go with him, but they also like their job and are enjoying it = they don't want to quit. The bf says that he doesn't really mind if listener stays where they are or goes with him to Tokyo. They ask the band for their opinion. The band basically says that the listener probably would have been more inclined to go if the bf had asked them to go with him, but since he didn't, the listener has a choice in what to do. Since they like their job, the band says that they don't think they need to give it up for this. They could stay behind for now and perhaps decide later if moving is something they'd want to do, and to not worry about age since they're both still young.
•RINA reads the next message from a listener who basically asks how the crowds are like at SCANDAL's overseas concerts. They mention how the crowds in Japan almost all do the same thing and it's like the entire venue is unified. They think that it's due to the collectivism (fitting in with others) that is unique to Japanese people. They also ask if there's a big difference due to how people eat and drink at concerts overseas. The band says that it's completely different overseas, and agree that pretty much the entire audience does the same kind of thing, which they say is impressive. They also mention that people do eat and drink (usually alcohol) while watching concerts, and there are also servers that are walking around. MAMI says that there are specific spaces that have tables to sit down and eat/drink at, and that the overseas crowds are more rough around the edges + have fun however they'd like. RINA says that everyone doing their own kind of thing gives a sense of unity, in a sense. They say that everyone's free to do whatever they want. A staffer asks a few things to them, such as if photo/videos are allowed overseas. The band says they are. The staffer then asks if there are people who mainly focus on recording and not enjoying the show. The band says that that's not quite the case (lol nah, I can definitely think of some who fit the bill
), and that usually it looks like having fun comes first and recording is secondary. They say that you're free to enjoy yourself/have fun however you'd like.
•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who is a "silent listener" who has been listening to "Catch up" from the beginning and is sending in a message for the first time. They say that they've lived in the Kanto region since they were born, and that ever since liking SCANDAL they've admired Nagoya. They also can't help but wonder what kind of place Mie is (referring to how they talked about in a previous episode that Mie can be considered to be part of several different regions). The band wonders if the listener has ever been to Nagoya before, and that they can't really help out with the Mie thing since they don't really know either. They do know that there are a bunch of fun places like amusement parks and such, though.
•HARU reads the next message from a listener whom she says is in their teens; however, they are writing in for the "Life before SCANDAL segment" where people talk about their favorite bands before discovering SCANDAL. The band is really surprised since the listener is still only in their teens. The listener says that they got hooked on SCANDAL last year, and that their favorite bands before that were Fuji Fabric and Akai Koen. In particular, they listened to Fuji Fabric since their mom also listened to them. They ask SCANDAL if there are any artists that they've been a fan of since they were kids. TOMO says that her parents love Keisuke Kuwata and so she's been listening to him ever since she was little. CHARA's another one, although she wasn't that young when she first started listening to her. MAMI says that she's been listening to JUDY AND MARY and THE BLUE HEARTS since elementary school [because of her mom]. HARU says that for her it might be Hikaru Utada. RINA says that mothers/parents have a big effect on them in this regard. The others immediately agree. MAMI says that they'd have music playing at home and in the car, after all. RINA says that it's YUKI and Ayumi Hamasaki for her, and that she still likes them and thinks they're amazing even now. HARU wonders how young the youngest people listening to their music are right now. TOMO reminds them of how there was a five year old at their Paris concert (she's also briefly featured in the MIRROR documentary).
•As they're about to close out the episode, they're told they have one more message to read. MAMI reads the message from a listener who wrote in for the Power Word Awards and says that a definite contender happened during
episode 118 when HARU said, "Its name...what is its name?" when asked what her childhood pet turtle's name was. The band laughs at this. The listener then says how they have a cat and it's impossible to live with it without calling it by its name. They ask if the turtle did have a name after all. HARU says it didn't have a name and was referred to as "Kame-chan" (Turtle-chan). They laugh at this and RINA says that was cold to not give it a name. HARU says that they didn't give it a name when they first got it, and so the timing to name it kind of slipped away.
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