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【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 68

•The episode starts with this.

•HARU mentions that they were recording the episodes remotely from their own homes at the beginning of the program, and there were also times when she was the only one recording in the office while everyone else was at home. TOMO says there was a period when they didn't see each other in person for about two months. HARU then talks about other important news that happened in 2020: The Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, high school baseball games were canceled, pro sports events were postponed/canceled, and SCANDAL's own concerts were also postponed/canceled. They felt a sense of despair as things in front of them were disappearing one after another. Since they had been doing the same thing for 10 years, they were suddenly afraid that they wouldn't be able to do it anymore. They didn't know if things would go back to how they were before, so they were really scared. They even thought that jobs in the entertainment world like theirs would cease to exist. But looking back at these 4 years and 4 months, they've been able to put on a lot of concerts since. It was an amazing time of change on a global scale. Livestreams became a thing.

•RINA says that it was good that they were able to naturally record their thoughts at that time and the current state of the world. HARU agrees and says that's why they've been able to write songs and make albums since. And amidst everything happening, the Demon Slayer movie was the fastest in Japan to exceed 10 billion yen in box office revenue. There was also Naomi Osaka winning the US Open tennis championship, and the Japanese phone network Softbank being Japan's number one network for four years in a row. Some other things that changed were plastic bag fees and the opening of Takanawa Gateway Station, the first time a station opened on the Yamanote Line in 49 years. HARU says that it was such a difficult time, but everyone did their best.

•Ohno then mentions that if you re-listen to the program's past episodes, you'll see that they've been doing some pretty silly stuff for a long time. TOMO agrees and says that making jingles has been memorable--or rather, when they do it every year, she laughs so hard that she cries. She also says that they did "Aozora Catch up (Catching up under the blue sky)" and also went out of their way to play Mölkky, which doesn't really translate well to radio. MAMI says they've been pretty relentless in doing things that would be hard to understand via radio. Ohno says they also did a few "spot the mistake" ones that took place in the office. TOMO says they've done some projects that they don't understand. MAMI says that they don't even know what objects are in the office. HARU says that the number of segments they have have grown a lot, though they do keep cutting some and gaining some. They've also had a lot of messages about love advice come in. RINA says they also did a public recording. They've also done a few live broadcasts. HARU says that they're now in their 5th year of doing this program and thanks everyone for always tuning in.

•HARU then reads that they're apparently going to now be given a very special present from the staff. RINA says that a red box has just appeared. HARU says she's kind of scared and that it's heavy. They open the box and discover that the present is a thumbs-up trophy (pictured in the above photo). HARU says she's surprised it's so heavy while Ohno laughs. TOMO says that she thinks the bottom part should have some engraving on there, and that maybe they could put a sticker on it later. HARU says that they could put a "Catch up" sticker on it. TOMO then does what sounds like an acceptance speech and says, "A lot has happened, but I'm very happy that we have been able to go through this important period of change together with you all. I hope that we can continue this program for as long as possible, so please continue supporting us, Meiji!" She then says that everyone needs to each hold the trophy while doing an acceptance speech like her. They all laugh and HARU says that she's going to refuse to accept the award.

•MAMI is handed the award first. She begrudingly accepts it and says that it is pretty solid. They all laugh. She keeps saying "Let's see, let's see..." while the others chuckle. Her speech then follows: "First, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has been involved in this program. We've been doing things that might be hard to understand on the radio, but we've had fun doing them in an interesting way. I'd be happy if we could continue doing such unintelligible things in the future. I hope we can continue to work together to create a radio show that brings smiles to everyone's faces. Thank you very much." She then goes, "Okay, next person," while everyone laughs. TOMO says that it's like a bomb now. Ohno asks them why they're nervous all of a sudden.

•RINA is handed the award next. Her speech: "Thank you for always listening to this program! I think that 'Catch up' has also been a place for us to communicate beyond what we talk about during our concert MCs. We've done a lot of silly projects, and it's a program that's mostly just about having fun, but it's also been a place where we could properly digest and convey things we couldn't via MCs. It's one of the most important places for the band. I think this program has had a huge influence on the way that the live atmosphere and expressions created by the band SCANDAL have begun to reach people more deeply. Although the core of a band is its music, I believe a band only exists because of the people involved, so I'm filled with gratitude for getting to know each of our characters and loving us for so long. I'm not sure how long we'll be able to do this program, but I hope we can have fun and do it for a long time, so I hope you'll enjoy listening to it with us. Thank you for your continued support."

•HARU says that they're all doing proper speeches and then does hers: "Thank you all for always listening as we enter our fifth year! Just like everyone has said, we always do all kinds of projects, and I'm not sure if they're getting through to everyone or not. But just the fact that we continue to have a place where we can show our excitement and communicate our ideas motivates us every day. We also get a lot of ideas from the messages we receive from you guys. I think this show has helped us discover many things that will connect to SCANDAL's future, so I'm really grateful that we were able to make this show together. I think this program will probably continue into its 5th year. I mean, there's no reason to quit doing this (TOMO: "We don't quit unless there is a reason to do so"). I think things will probably go on forever if we keep going like this, so in order to increase the number of listeners, I would appreciate it if everyone would be considerate to make this program available to even more people." They laugh at the "considerate" part. MAMI laughs and says HARU is holding the trophy so carefully and with her wrists bent, which makes it look really cute. HARU laughs and says that she hasn't received many trophies in her life, after all.

•TOMO then says that Ohno has to do a speech too. He whines and asks why. TOMO says that he has to do it since he's an important person to the program. MAMI says that they always have fun with him. RINA says for him to speak into a mic since you can never hear him in the audio. Ohno doesn't quite speak directly into a mic but does say something that's audible: "You guys are pros when it comes to keeping on for a long time, so I'm sure this went by fast for you. I hope we can continue to do this program for another 10 or 20 years. I've learned from you that continuity is what a band is all about, so I thank you for your kind consideration." The band laughs at the use of "consideration" again.

•They then close out the episode. They say thank you for the trophy and that that'll put in on display in their office.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

"Catch up" award ceremony! What's their next award after getting a Guinness World Record?

Season 2, Episode 68 blog

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HARUNA: So, this time...
(*suddenly becomes serious)
We'll be holding an "award ceremony."

All: Hm?

TOMOMI: An award ceremony??

HARUNA: SCANDAL "Catch up" award ceremony!!

TOMOMI: What? ...what is it??

RINA: It feels grand...

MAMI: Well, for now, thank you.

HARUNA: In order to make this program a bigger hit...
We tried all sorts of ways to get more people to listen to it!
And then, we discovered something amazing...

TOMOMI: Oh...

HARUNA: SCANDAL "Catch up" is a program that is being streamed on AuDee and is the service's longest-running program!

All: Ehー!! (& bursts out laughing)

TOMOMI: Really?? That's amazing.

RINA: Everything's like that for us.

HARUNA: It really is.

MAMI: Rightー

HARUNA: We're pros at doing the same thing for a long time, after all.

MAMI: Really.

RINA: Thank you for supporting us.

TOMOMI: Does that mean it's the longest-running of all AuDee programs?

HARUNA: Yes, that's right.

MAMI: Eh? I don't get it! Why? Really?!

HARUNA: SCANDAL "Catch up" started on March 9th, 2020, on JFN PARK before AuDee, and before we knew it, it had become the longest-running program.

TOMOMI: I'm grateful... We didn't even realize it.

HARUNA: ...by the way, the next program after ours is "Hollywood Zakoshisyoh no Gyakushuu Zakoshi no Choge Choge,"which started on March 27th, 2020.

TOMOMI: They're only a few days apart.

HARUNA: We've come this far thanks to everyone's love. It's been four years and four months now. This will be our fifth year. I think we were able to make this far together with everyone.

TOMOMI: Before we even knew it.

(Staff: You should be more impressed...)

TOMOMI: We weren't really aware of it...

MAMI: That's right...

TOMOMI: I don't know how to react to being congratulated all of a sudden...

(Staff: It's an amazing thing!!)

MAMI: I think so.

TOMOMI: That's true.

HARUNA: I've thought this ever since we got a Guinness World Record (for all-girl bands), but I honestly don't think that it's an amazing thing that we've just continued to be a band... It is an impressive thing, though.

RINA: We're grateful.

HARUNA: Thank you so much.

TOMOMI: Thank you very much.

HARUNA: That's why we want more people to listen to our music.

TOMOMI: We want people to listen!

HARUNA: And what else happened in March 2020? Well, on March 24th it was announced that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games would be postponed for about a year due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19. That's the period of time it was. This program was born when the whole world was in a state of crisis due to the pandemic. The first broadcast on March 9th was when we were still recording in the studio.

MAMI: That's right.

HARUNA: We couldn't do that starting from the next episode, right?

RINA: Yeah.

TOMOMI: But thankfully we were able to start at the right time.

RINA: That's right.

TOMOMI: Soon after the broadcast started we couldn't play concerts, and it was a time when we lost the chance to connect with our fans, so it was a huge relief for us to be able to get their feedback through this program.

RINA: It really was.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 67

•The episode starts with this.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who says they were at the Osaka concert where TOMO had brought up "Catch up" and that it didn't seem like many people listened to it. This listener says they were one of those people and apologizes, but afterwards they went back and listened to all past episodes. TOMO laughs and says she forgives them. RINA says that once you start listening, you get hooked. HARU says that she's seen some fans posting short summaries of episodes on Twitter (do my summaries count as part of that? lol). RINA says that's awesome, and that's more like a staffer's job. Ohno says that the listeneres are kind of like staff. HARU says they do help make the program, after all. MAMI wonders if it's okay to have them work for them and laughs.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who attended the Osaka concert as well and says that the lyric "We'll long for it, cry for it" in "Watashi-tachi" resonates with them so much. They have a habit of crying when their emotions run high and cry every time they're angry or happy, or even when they're at a concert/event. When they go home and tell their husband what they thought about a concert, they also feel like crying. They wonder if there are any people like them who cry when their emotions run high. The band says that they get it; that feeling like that is totally fine; and that the more passionate you are about something, the more your emotions run high. MAMI wonders if they'll cry when they hear their message being read. They laugh and say that it's okay if the listener does. RINA says that she wishes she could understand those kinds of feelings since she's much too level-headed. However, she does say that when talking about SCANDAL, she can get so heated to the point where she cries or forgets to breathe. They laugh and say that RINA and the listener should talk to each other and even appear on the program together.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener from Japan who went to the Taipei, Shanghai, and South Korea concerts. Although the tour's over, they're still traveling and are about to do a round-the-world trip in four months. They're not worried since SCANDAL's music is their good-luck charm and they always give them the courage to move forward. RINA says that this listener is someone's who's been a fan for a long time and they know that they've been working hard overseas. HARU says they go overseas more than the band does, and that they work so hard at their job. MAMI says that when they get letters and hear where they've been and what they've been up to, it gives the band courage. Although they always say that they get their strength from the band, the band gets that kind of strength from the listener as well.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who is from Taiwan and went to the concert in Taipei. They say things like the band's story about porridge was funny. TOMO says that they talked about when she, HARU, and their photographer wanted to go to this restaurant that their PA had recommended to them but gave up when they saw it had the longest line they'd ever seen and probably wouldn't make it back in time for the concert. They then asked their photographer's friend, who is a tourism ambassador in Taiwan, for a recommendation and they walked about an hour to get to this new place. However, when they got there, they found out that the place only accepted cash and none of them had any. They looked around the area and finally got some cash, but the shop had already closed when they got back since these kinds of porridge places only open from around 5-11 am. They ended up eating porridge from a nearby food stall that was only about 200 yen but really good. Ohno asks if the band was able to communicate with the audience in Chinese. HARU says they didn't have to since they had an interpreter; it was at the Guangzhou concert that they didn't have one and no one understood the Chinese the band was trying to speak (they mentioned this in the previous episode).

•They then close out the episode. HARU says they seem to be making a dent in reading messages about the LUMINOUS tour, but it would probably take about a year to get through them all. MAMI laughs and says it'll last until their next tour.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

---

*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

Reading impressions about the "LUMINOUS" tour! There was a wafer incident at the Sapporo show?

Season 2, Episode 67 blog

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HARUNA: This time, we'll just be reading messages... There's a ton of them, after all.

RINA: Too many!

RUKA

I'd like to tell you about an incident and coincidence that happened to me during the LUMINOUS tour. It happened in Sapporo, day 2. It all started with the Sanrio wafers that TOMO was handing out at the end of the show.

TOMOMI: Yeah, sorry about that...

HARUNA: You already know what happened!?

TOMOMI: Yeah, I do...

During the final send off, my friends and I were around the third row in the middle with our phones in one hand and making hand hearts with the other to get some fan service. While the members were giving fan service to everyone, TOMO started handing out wafers. The second wafer she threw flew toward my direction. Just when I thought it was coming towards me in slow motion, the next thing I knew it had hit me square in the face. The wafer flew backwards after hitting my face. My friend managed to get it and I enjoyed eating the wafer.

I didn't intend to make a sound when it hit me, but when I watched back the video I had taken and the videos my friends had taken, I realized that I had made a fairly loud, old-man-like noise, like "Ah! Ouchhh!"

That night, my friends and I had a great time talking about the wafer incident. However, the only thing we regretted is that we were not able to capture on video the moment it hit me directly in the face.

The day after we talked, we headed from Sapporo to Hakodate, as we were planning to go to the Hakodate show as well, and as we were strolling around Hakodate, a stranger suddenly said to me, "Excuse me, are you Wafer-san?" It turned out that this person was the person behind me at the Sapporo concert. I thought that it might be them, so I asked to see the video from the previous day, and they showed us footage of me being hit directly in the face. The person who called out to me was very kind, and I was able to get the video. I met them again at the Hakodate concert venue, took photos with them, and added to my memories. And I was able to finish my Hokkaido tour with no regrets.

Two consecutive days of incidents and coincidences overlapped, and although it was full of surprises, it was a great memory in a way.

I've been hit directly in the face by a ball before, but it was the first time in my life that a wafer hit me right in the face. Thank you for the first experience and the most fun memories.

TOMOMI: Sorry about that...

HARUNA: I witnessed what happened!

RINA: I did too. It surprised me.

TOMOMI: I didn't notice that at all...

HARUNA: You were throwing wafers and looking at a different fan.

TOMOMI: Yeah.

HARUNA: It was funny! Ah, maybe they'd feel bad if I said it was funny...

RINA: I'm glad RUKA took it like that. But we apologize.

MAMI: It wouldn't be odd if they had been like, "Hey!!"

RINA: Really. Let's all be careful.

TOMOMI: All I can say is sorry...

HARUNA: But it was a coincidence that someone who was behind them at the concert talked to them the next day...

RINA: Things like that happen, huh...

HARUNA: That's amazing.

RINA: That's niceー. An interesting connection.

HARUNA: Yeah.

TOMOMI: I didn't mean to throw them that hard...

HARUNA: I don't think it was particularly hard.

TOMOMI: But it seems like it had hurt, so maybe I did throw it hard...

RINA: They got a direct hit on the forehead. It was so shocking. It was like a scene from anime; a direct hit.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 66

•The episode starts with this.

•Audio recorded after the concert in Guangzhou is then played. They say that it had also been 6 years since they were last there, and that about half of the crowd this time were first-timers. HARU asks the others how playing here for the first time a while was. RINA says that that the atmosphere felt really fresh the moment they hit the stage. It seemed like there were many shy people there with many of the concentrating on taking videos, and the band was trying to figure out how to get the crowd excited. She also mentions that they took a slightly different approach than usual, like when TOMO went down to the crowd and played, and that it was really good. TOMO says that there are things they can do overseas that they can't do in Japan. HARU says that the crowd was great during "Shunkan Sentimental" and all sang along. TOMO says that one of the encore songs they did was "HARUKAZE," and they got the impression that many fans there got to know the band because of that song, which made them glad that they chose to play it. MAMI says that as soon as they saw someone dressed as Ichigo from Bleach when they entered the venue, they decided that "HARUKAZE" was the song they would play for the encore. RINA says that they originally were going to play a different song but decided to change it. They say they're glad they did so and that everyone seemed happy.

•The audio cuts back to the band in the studio. HARU says the reactions in Guangzhou this time were a little different from the last time they were there. RINA says that the vibe was different, which kind of surprised her. She says she tried to choose her words very carefully when speaking and felt a kind of nervousness she'd never felt before. She wondered how they could make people enjoy the show. HARU says that performing overseas is totally different from Japan, with photos/videos being allowed and such, and it's interesting to see the gap between the two. She also says that the audience the previous time was more enthuasiastic. RINA says that they had sung along to basically every song, but this time there were many people concentrating on recording and wanting to listen to the songs at their own leisure. HARU says that it felt like the pandemic had an effect on the crowd; it really did feel like a post-pandemic concert. RINA says that the staff also said that. TOMO says that COVID restrictions did last a long time in China, after all, and it had likely been a long time since many people went to such a crowded place without masks. HARU says that it felt like people didn't want to shout as loudly as they used to at concerts anymore. It's a kind of change you wouldn't be able to know about unless you go there. RINA says that China was really strict with regulations. TOMO says that visa restrictions were also very strict and now you need a visa to enter China, even for tourism. She says that she just renewed her passport last year, and the corner of the IC chip page was slightly bent. She thought it wouldn't be a problem and that she should be allowed to go through, but they told me that I had to get a new one, so she had to go and get another one. It arrived barely just in time, and it was so close that she jokes the band would have been bassist-less for the tour. RINA says that would have been a problem.

•They say that they're glad they got to go to Guangzhou, and that it was their second time there. TOMO says that it's a very sparkly, beautiful city. The first time they went there, they went to hang out by the river, and the kids were playing with lots of flying toys that were glowing. It gave off the impression that it was such a peaceful and happy time. It was just as beautiful when they went there this time. It was also quite urban, completely different from Shanghai. HARU says that she didn't understand the Chinese food they ate there this time, since she says she thought it was easier to eat than before. RINA says that she totally gets that and thought the same thing, and that it's getting better. Ohno asks them how it was last time. RINA says that the spices were stronger. HARU again says that it was really easy to eat this time. TOMO says that the places they ate at were upscale places, which HARU says that might have something to do with it. TOMO says that the staff chose all these restaurants to eat at where everyone eats together at a big round table in a big private room, which is part of the reason why she thinks she gained weight and laughs. Ohno asks how they think the food is different in the high-class places. TOMO says the dishes are the same, but the ingredients used are different, such as the oil.

•Next, they talk about Shanghai. HARU says that they apologize, but they forgot to record some audio after the concert. RINA says that they were rushing around while in Shanghai. HARU says that it was their first time there, which RINA says is surprising. She also mentions that that was the first time they had equipment trouble on this tour, where they had to redo "Fanfare" because of guitar troubles. MAMI says that the sound didn't come out as it should. RINA says that it was a lot of fun, though, and added some nice spice. HARU says they didn't have any interpreters at the shows in China, so they really tried to communicate in Japanese and speak in easy-to-understand Japanese as much as possible. However, it's hard to convey nuances and one would have to be a native speaker of Japanese to get that nuance across. Even so, their expressions made it seem like they understood what they were saying. She says she was really happy to see that they were trying to understand them and the album. RINA says that the band tried to speak in Chinese but found it quite difficult because of the subtle nuances and how the slightest changes in sound can mean different things. Once they started speaking, there were fans that said it was okay to speak in Japanese, which is why decided to go with it. HARU mentions that she said a few words in Chinese before they played "Sisters," the final song of the set, and was taught the simplest way to say it as possible, but she could tell from the atmosphere that nothing was being conveyed. She rephrased it in Japanese and they seemed to understand it better. MAMI says that after this tour was done, she realized that these people who go to see Japanese artists live probably watch anime/read manga and/or study Japanese, so there'll probably be times when they'll realize, "Oh, I've heard this before" and will be happy that it was said. RINA agrees and says that when when you go to concerts put on by foreign artists, there is also the pleasure of hearing them speak in their native language.

•Ohno asks them if they are able to use something in Guangzhou. RINA asks if he means cell phones. He seems to actually be asking about payment, since TOMO says that you can only use Alipay and not credit cards. Even convenience stores don't accept them. While in Japan, you have to install the app and link your phone to your credit card before you can purchase anything. RINA says that it was a pain to do at the airport and barely made it on to the plane, since they would only accept Alipay for equipment/additional baggage fees. The staff registered them and then took the payment, but everyone needed to pay in turns. MAMI says that in order to prevent fraud, your card will be frozen if the same payment is made several times, so they couldn't continue to make payments with Alipay. TOMO says they boarded the flight just before take off, well past the boarding time. RINA says that would rough. HARU says that they did a lot of running. Ohno asks them if that was when they went to Shanghai. They say yes. MAMI says that when they went from Shanghai to Seoul, the Shanghai badminton team was on the same flight and were an hour late. TOMO wonders if it was due to an Alipay situation. MAMI says there were quite a few events plane-wise when it came to flying in China.

•Lastly, they play audio recorded in Seoul. HARU asks the others what they thought of the Asia tour. TOMO says that the four performances went by in a flash. They hadn't been to South Korea in a long time and this was also their first solo concert here. It really felt like they had been waiting a long time for them. MAMI says that she was really moved by how SCANDAL's music is such a part of the fans' lives here even though they're so far apart from each other. RINA says that SK really had that finale feel to it, and that they were moved by all of the cheering the moment they hit the stage. She was happy to see the audience's reactions and that they seemed to know all of the songs played. The Asia tour as a whole made her realize how important it is for the band to have this cycle of going overseas, getting new inspiration, and applying it to their activities in Japan. She also felt that all of their abilities to communicate at overseas concerts were even stronger than before, and that this Asia tour was more rewarding in terms of language as well as performance. It gave them a huge sense of accomplishment. HARU says that it felt like they were finally having their second go since they weren't able to play there for their KFTD world tour. MAMI mentions a Korean fan who sent her a message saying that they had been waiting ever since then to see them, and that they were able to make it today. HARU says that it had been 10 years since they were last in SK. TOMO mentions that the fans surprised them today with each audience member holding a fan and a slogan. RINA says that lyrics from "Koisuru Universe" were on there and laughs that she's glad they did perform it today. HARU says that the LUMINOUS tour is now completely over, that the band all did a great job, that they'll work hard for the next one, and thanks everyone who came out to the tour. TOMO says thanks in both Chinese and Korean.

•The audio cuts back to the band in the studio. They say that they felt very fulfilled. HARU mentions that this was their second time playing in SK and their first solo concert. TOMO says that they were invited to a festival 10 years ago. RINA says that after that festival, the local staff told them that there were very few all-girl bands in SK, and even those that are around only stay together for 2-3 years. That's why they were really happy that SCANDAL came from Japan. She says that that deeply moved the band. HARU says they're glad they were able to go to SK on this tour. RINA says she's glad the last concert of the tour was in SK. HARU says that, to be honest, they weren't sure if they'd be able to hold a concert there due to the problem they had with their previous SK promoter and the KFTD concert being canceled. RINA says that the pandemic has made it difficult for promoters to stay in business, with some going bankrupt. HARU says that it had caused trouble for the fans and they thought it'd be difficult to schedule a concert there this time as well, but a friend of hers introduced them to a production company there who helped them hold it. She says they were very lucky, and they're also glad that they were able to make it the finale of the tour.

•HARU also says she tried her best to speak Korean during the concert. RINA says that that was great. HARU says that she started learning a little bit of Korean at the beginning of the year and had her teacher help with the MC. She felt really accomplished and glad that she was able to communicated with the audience in Korean. RINA says that she thinks the audience was really happy about that. They no longer saw them as four people who came from Japan and couldn't speak Korean, so she thinks a lot more was communicated. Because of that, there was a nice kind of mood that was created. TOMO says that everything was conveyed. RINA says that the power of love also factored in--if you have a strong interest in the country's artists and culture, you'll be able to improve your studies. She also says that doesn't want to be misunderstood if she says it's been a while, but she felt that the band and the four band members have a lot of potential, and that was something she was really happy about with this concert in SK. She's also really grateful to be able to get used to this kind of feeling again. HARU says she thinks that happens a lot at overseas concerts. Of course this also applies for concerts in Japan, but she feels that there's a kind of power that comes out every time they tour overseas; it's like they can really feel their potential.

•TOMO talks about how a staffer from Live Nation, who helped them plan the tour, named Kitabayashi toured with them but kept a certain distance from them the whole time, even during after-parties. If the band tried to close the distance, he'd lengthen it again. But after the tour ended in Seoul, he was really excited and mentioned that he'd love to do this again, perhaps even some time later this year. He kept telling them at every after-party before the Seoul one that he'd go all out after Seoul. HARU says that they didn't understand why at first, but he did say that he had a lot of work to do before then and finally got them done before Seoul. RINA says that he set himself free. MAMI says that she'd love to hang out with him again in Japan and just go grab a bite to eat or something. RINA says that they'd love to exchange many words with these kinds of staffers, such as things that they don't have to say but would be nice to hear, like "SCANDAL's great." HARU says that when they last toured in Asia 6 years ago, they were all still in their 20s. This time it felt like they were all communicating more directly with the local staffers, and that they were all working together.

•Ohno mentions that the band stayed in SK after the tour ended. RINA stayed for one extra night and hung out with her sister and husband who had come to SK for her sister's birthday trip and attended the concert, which happened to fall on her exact birthday. HARU says that she, TOMO, and MAMI stayed for two extra nights. TOMO says that they ate a lot. MAMI says that they also spent a lot of money on beauty treatments. RINA asked what they did. MAMI and HARU say that they did skin management and went to a beauty clinic to take care of their skin. TOMO says they also met up with a friend from Caless who is currently living in Seoul. This was their first time seeing them in 20 years. HARU says they attended the Yokohama branch of the school. RINA asks if she knows them. TOMO says she does, and that they used to stay in the same apartment/dorm by the school. RINA says that this was surprisingly the first time they spent time like this after a tour, and that they had a lot of freedom on this tour. They say they worked hard and that it was a fun tour.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

The Asia leg of the "LUMINOUS" is done! Talking candidly about what they felt in Asia, the troubles they encountered, and more...

Season 2, Episode 66 blog

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HARUNA: This time, we'll be doing "SCANDAL's Journey to Asia"!
We recently toured Asia, and our LUMINOUS tour ended there as well! We went to Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Seoul. Now that we have safely returned home and a few days have passed, we'd like to give a report on what happened at each place.
Taiwan, performance ＃1 of the Asia tour, was really exciting.

TOMOMI: It had been 6 years since we were last there??

RINA: Yeah.

HARUNA: That's right.

TOMOMI: Even though it'd been 6 years...

RINA: It was amazing!

MAMI: Thanks!

HARUNA: There were many people who had been waiting for 6 years, and the other half were people who had come to like us in the past 6 years, so I'm glad we kept going.

RINA: They know every song! We dared to do this Asia tour exactly like how we did it in Japan, and I'm glad we did that. In the past we thought about doing more tie-in songs overseas, but I'm glad that we're able to present our current selves in the same way we do in Japan.

HARUNA: They said we hope we come back.

TOMOMI: We do want to go.

MAMI: Let's work hard again.

HARUNA: Let's eat hot potー

TOMOMI: Let's eatー. I'm starving.

HARUNA: It had been...6 years since we played in Taipei.

TOMOMI: Yeah. We haven't been since the pandemic started.

HARUNA: We ourselves have changed a lot in the past 6 years.

RINA: So true. It was a time when the band's mood, or rather sense of energy, changed dramatically, and along with that, our musical style changed little by little. So I realized once again how amazing it is that people continue to listen to us through all that, and support us to the point of coming to our concerts.

HARUNA: I felt that our MC in Japanese was more understandable than when we were on our previous Asia tour.

RINA: They understood us.

HARUNA: I was happy to see that they had a deeper understanding of Japan.

TOMOMI: There were many people who came to see us for the first time, and I was so moved to see how many new people had come in the past six years.

HARUNA: I wonder how found out about us...

RINA: Really...

HARUNA: I wonder when they did so...

RINA: It's a mystery now.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 65

•The episode starts with this.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who attended the Osaka, Nara, and Tokyo dates. There was one thing in particular that left a deep impression on them during this tour, which is why they're sending this message. At the Nara concert when RINA was talking about the students-only talk event that she'd be speaking at the following month, she said she was worried about whether there would be student fans or not. The listener wants to tell SCANDAL that they've been a fan since elementary school and this year graduated from college. They wish they had raised their hand when RINA asked the crowd if there were students there, and now want to let the band know that there are fans are students + are sure that there are many students like them. TOMO says that there were only about 2 people who had raised their hands at that concert, which the band all laughs at. HARU says that it was also probably because the venue was small and couldn't accomodate more than about 500 people. RINA says that it's a happy and wonderful thing that there are also fans who grew up together with them. There was a time when they only had students as fans, but now that they're in their 30s, many of their fans are now in their late 20s and early 30s. That's why she wondered if it was okay for her to speak at a students-only event. She wonders if maybe 3 people will come to event and laughs. MAMI says she's being modest. TOMO says it makes her happy to know that there are so many people who have been listening to them since they were students and are now all grown up. She thanks them for staying with them, and also thanks those who stopped being a fan at one point but then came back around. She says she thinks that's what it means to be around for a long time.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who attended the finale in Tokyo and ended up talking with an American fan who happened to be next to them, but when the MCs started, they asked the listener to translate for them. The listener says they were left feeling frustrated, thinking that if they had been able to speak English better, the American would have been able to enjoy the concert more. They say they'll do their best to learn more English before the next concert they attend so that those who are not good at Japanese can also enjoy the show. The band is kind of surprised by this and laughs. TOMO says they don't want the listener to feel a sense of responsibility. HARU says that even if you are bilingual and can speak Japanese, interpreting is difficult. That's what the band thinks when they go overseas. MAMI says that there are so many nuances in Japanese. HARU says that there are a lot of overseas fans that go to their concerts in Japan, but this is the first time they're getting a message like this. MAMI says there's nothing wrong with learning English, but don't feel a responsibility to translate for others. They say that the listener is a very kind and considerate person. TOMO wonders if the American thanked the listener. RINA says that she definitely wishes that they did, especially if they pushed for them to translate what the band said. HARU says that if this happens again, it's okay to just say no and to enjoy the concert first and foremost. RINA says that maybe they could talk about it after the concert instead of during it. MAMI says that the American should learn Japanese instead. HARU laughs and says that of course the band is going to speak Japanese at concerts performed in Japan. (lol guys, if you go to a SCANDAL concert in Japan, don't be like whoever this American is and put a Japanese fan on the spot that you don't even know, to translate for you; it's pretty rude!)

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who saw them in Okayama and mentions how they talked about bats during the MC (the band talked about bats in episodes 51 and 57). TOMO says that she actually saw a bat around her place in Tokyo, which surprises the others since they previously talked about how they'd never seen bats in the Tokyo area before. She says that it was just one flying around, and although it was hard to tell what it was, the way it was flying was how a bat flies.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who is a landscaper and heard SCANDAL on the radio recently and thought of how they haven't listened to them at all recently, and so decided to go to the Tokyo concert by themselves. They also mention that they're received offers since then and feel that going to the concert gave them luck. The band says they're happy to hear that their luck improved and to keep the rumor going that going to SCANDAL concerts will improve your luck. HARU says that they're pretty lucky and are okay with giving a little out.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who attended both Fukuoka concerts. They had been a SCANDAL fan in middle school but hadn't been one recently. The reason why they decided to attend this time was because they turned 27 years old this year and started playing the bass. They were looking at their playlist on their phone for a song to play, and thought they'd like to learn "Kagen no Tsuki," which they've loved for a long time. Then they happened to see an ad on Instagram about SCANDAL's tour and bought tickets right away. TOMO is surprised about the ads and she and MAMI both say they've never seen one before. RINA says that it's done for every tour. MAMI says that they should run ads for "Catch up" on IG too. HARU says that hearing stories like the listener's really makes it set in that they've been around as a band for a long time. They say that it's hard to keep up with things for 15+ years, especially when life happens and your circumstances change. RINA says that hearing these stories makes it all feel very rewarding. TOMO wonders if they can play "Kagen no Tsuki" now and says that they're rooting for them.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who attended the Kanazawa concert, which was their first solo SCANDAL concert since COVID and the birth of their son. They have memories of dancing with their brother and 1-year-old son during "one more time" when they saw SCANDAL at a festival last year. They lost their son last November, and SCANDAL supported them through a very hard time. They had been working hard and looking forward to the LUMINOUS tour. When "one more time" was played, they cried so hard despite it being such a cheerful song. When they watched the Tokyo concert that was broadcasted live, they were sad that they couldn't hear TOMO sing "Ai no Shoutai" at the Kanazawa concert but realized that TOMO had a throat problem that day and had to change the setlist. The band says they did a great job getting through this tough year, and that they're glad they came out to the tour. HARU says that they had decided to include "one more time" that day, on the day of the concer, due to TOMO's cold. She's glad that they were able to perform such a memorable song for the listener on that day. TOMO apologizes that they weren't able to do "Ai no Shoutai" then. HARU + RINA say that that's the nature of touring and you never know what'll happen. TOMO says that she couldn't stop coughing for about a month and then discovered that she had a broken rib. They all laugh and MAMI says it was a surprise. TOMO says that it had been hurting for a while but she didn't think it was broken, and that that was her first broken bone in her life. RINA says she did well to make it to the tour finale. HARU says that everyone did a great job and that it was a great tour.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Introducing impressions from the "LUMINOUS" tour in Japan! SCANDAL eats dango during an MC??

Season 2, Episode 65 blog

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HARUNA: This time we'll be doing "LUMINOUS FURIKAERIMASU! MAIL YOMIMASU!" (Looking Back On LUMINOUS! Reading Messages!)

RINA: Finally...

HARUNA: Yes, finally.

RINA: We're finally doing it, during this episode.

HARUNA: That's right. The tour has finally come to an end, and we received an enormous amount of messages from you guys...

RINA: So awesome...

TOMOMI: Thank you very much.

HARUNA: Well then, let's get started!

Risu (25, Kumamoto)

This was my first time seeing SCANDAL live. I discovered SCANDAL one year ago when I happened to listen to "Catch up."

During the concert, TOMOMI suddenly ate some dango. I was so surprised that she suddenly ate dango during a live performance.

TOMOMI: WANIMA gave those to us.

HARUNA: Thank you very much.

TOMOMI: They were delicious.

HARUNA: It was their first SCANDAL concert, so I guess they were shocked that we would eat dango on stage....

TOMOMI: It's not like we usually eat them. It was just by chance.

MAMI: In Kumamoto, we had "ikkinari dango," but in Okayama, it was "kibidango."

HARUNA: There are so many dango.

RINA: At any rate, we surprised them.

TOMOMI: Sorry about that...

HARUNA: And they came to the concert because of "Catch up."

MAMI: Wow! That makes me happy!

RINA: I hope they'll send us another message.

HARUNA: Last time we were just talking about how can we get more people to listen to "Catch up."

RINA: There are people like that.

TOMOMI: At any rate, it makes us happy...

HARUNA: I hope they'll come to our concert again.

TOMOMI: Thank you very much!

Haruki (21, Hiroshima)

I was able to make some discoveries because of how close I was to the drums. Before the show started, I noticed that there was no second snare in the drum set, and I was all upset, thinking, "Does that mean we're not getting the classic 'A.M.D.K.J.'?!" (lol)

During the concert, I was able to see RINA using a ring mute on the snare during "LOVE ME DO," and her facial expressions constantly changing with each song and lyric, all of which were burned into my memory.

Personally, I really liked the layout of this tour, and I hope you'll use this stage layout again!

MAMI: Are they a drummer?

RINA: They know a lot. It's amazing that they know what a ring mute is. Depending on the song, I might suppress the sound of the snare a little, but sometimes the setting can give away the song.

TOMOMI: That's true. But everyone is paying close attention. Like with our effects pedals, sometimes we post pictures on social media when we do rehearsals and people are like, "This isn't here, so this song won't be played." I guess they know.

RINA: No, that's amazing.

MAMI: With videos, even though it only shows for a second, you can tell what effects pedals and equipment are used.

HARUNA: They can even tell what the knobs are set to.

RINA: It's impressiveー.

TOMOMI: There are people who set up the same thing and say that they tried playing it... "Otaku" (geeks) are amazing.

RINA: People are curious about the equipment. Sometimes the next song is revealed when MAMI switches guitars.

MAMI: I practice so much before going on stage...

TOMOMI: They know.

MAMI: Sometimes that's how they find out.

RINA: We appreciate them watching us so closely.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 64

•The episode starts with playback of fans whom their program director Kawai recorded during the tour. She firsts interviews a fan who discovered SCANDAL from Fullmetal Alchemist/"Shunkan Sentimental." He says that LUMINOUS is a great album that incorporates both the present SCANDAL and the past SCANDAL, so he was expecting a lot from the live performance, which was just as good as the album. The next person discovered SCANDAL when she saw SCANDAL performing "Awanai Tsumori no Genki de ne" on MUSIC STATION and also thought they were cute. She says that she brought her friend along for the first time, and that the LUMINOUS tour was more sparkly and fun than a tour of theirs has ever been before. Kawai asks the friend how she got into SCANDAL; she says she was invited to see them live by a friend and fell in love. She says that this show + the one in Nagoya was so much fun that it makes her glad she's alive right now and laughs. The next person discovered SCANDAL when she saw them perform "Scandal Nanka Buttobase" on TV and says that she cried when they performed "ShunSen" at the concert today. The next person discovered SCANDAL when a college friend introduced them to him 10 years ago. He says that all the songs LUMINOUS resonated with him and that the concert today was wonderful.

•The next person discovered SCANDAL via a friend who liked them, had them listen to songs, and he ended up liking "Departure." He says that even though they didn't play many fast-paced songs this time, they still hit him in the feels hard. The next person discovered SCANDAL from ShunSen and then really liked "Koe," and after seeing videos of them and seeing they all have different personalities but have a sense of unity to them, it felt really mysterious yet comforting to him. He became a fan right around when the pandemic started and couldn't see them live until vocalizing at concerts was allowed again, and ever since seeing them, there's always been a different kind of color to each of their tours, including this one. The next person discovered SCANDAL via their friend who was a fan and always played their songs when they were together. Today's concert was his first one ever and he had been looking forward to hearing "Anata e" live, a song he really likes, and it was unbelievably intense.

•It then cuts back to the band recording the episode in the studio. They thank the fans, say that made them happy, and thank their staff for recording all of this. RINA says she's really happy to hear the fans' thoughts as they're still pumped up after the concert, that hearing each person's voice really makes them feel that the band is reaching everyone, and that it gives the band strength. MAMI says that everyone was so well-spoken and that she probably wouldn't have been able to be as well-spoken as they were in the same kind of situation. RINA laughs at how everyone had their pseudonyms ready to go (ex. one lady said hers was "I want to be the freckle on MAMI's chin").

•Then this happens.

•HARU then asks RINA what she thought of the tour. RINA says that one of the themes they had when they made the the album and giving it the title LUMINOUS was the hope that the four of them would go one step further into the bright world together. She thinks that from the production stage onwards, the four of them always had a feeling in their hearts that they would all feel a little brighter by the end of this journey. It was a really tough tour schedule and had to juggle that while also living their private lives during those two months. That's why there were many days and many feelings for the audience, the band members, and the staff. But at the end of the tour, she thinks that they were able to finish it with the brightest mood, and she felt happy that they had become such a great band again. She always thinks this when a tour ends, but she was happy that this was a tour that was necessary for them. The reason why they continue to be a band is that there are people who are listening to them.
She thinks it was a really important, tough, and great tour.

•HARU asks what MAMI thought. MAMI says that like TOMO, she also ate too much. The others laugh at this. She also says that her birthday also happened during the tour and she was surprised with a cake on stage in Hakodate, three days (it was actually 2 lol) before her actual birthday. It made her feel nostalgic since they haven't done that kind of thing recently. She also mentions that she used her brain a lot and really concentrated hard during the tour for MIRROR, their previous album, but this time she was able to concentrate even more on every single song. Another thing she mentions is the band's arrangement on stage where they were all in a single line, which felt fresh. She felt like she was able to really concentrate on performing as the lead guitarist and was glad that she was able to perform experiencing these new feelings. HARU mentions that the cake was ordered by Naoya who is part of their promoter team. RINA says that MAMI was also given a present. MAMI says that she was given PJs and is currently using them.

•HARU then talks about her thoughts and says that it had been a long time since they had done a tour with so many dates. She really felt again that SCANDAL is her life. She had gotten a cold at the start of the tour and got over it by the first half. But as mentioned during some MCs, it really takes a toll on your mental health to perform live when you're not in the best physical condition. It was her first time going into rehearsals without being able to sing at all. Although she was nervous about it, she was able to get through those first few shows with the confidence she'd built up over the years and the reassurance of her band mates and the staff. She was feeling anxious but was still able to approach it with a very positive attitude, thinking she would do her best to do what she could now. This tour made her realize how great she is right now, and she really feels that she could not have done it without having the experience that she does. Even if things like that happen in the future, she'll be able to get through them in her own way. This tour made her think that no matter what happens, she'll be okay.

•TOMO then talks about how they were shocked to hear during the tour that not many people seem to listen to "Catch up," which they all laugh at. RINA wonders where they talked about it. The staff seems to say Kobe, and MAMI thinks it was Okayama  (lol not sure if they did mention this more than once, but at least at either the Yokohama or Osaka show, both of which I attended, they had talked about this). TOMO says that they spend a lot of time recording these episodes, and that there are a lot of things that they only talk about here. MAMI says that maybe they should make it easier for people to get previews and such for the episodes from their official LINE account. HARU says that maybe they could officially release a few clips. TOMO says that maybe they could do that via the voice memo feature on LINE. RINA laughs and says that it might be scary for fans to just suddenly receive a voice memo, which HARU agrees with. MAMI mentions the previews posted to social media that they do for their fan club-only series "Wednesday SCANDAL." RINA says that the problem is that if you don't do something new every time, you don't know if people will watch it nowadays. TOMO says that a lot of people listen to SCANDAL's CDs and attend their concerts, but other than those areas, they're kind of lacking in the rest. HARU says that their main thing is music and concerts, but if people get to know the four of them, they can enjoy the program more. They say they'll think about it and have a strategy meeting.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

The "LUMINOUS" tour in Japan has concluded! What is the event that TOMOMI will never forget?

Season 2, Episode 64 blog

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HARUNA: This time we will be bringing you "LUMINOUS FURIKAERIMASU" (Looking Back On LUMINOUS)! We're finally able to do a tour review. This tour started in April and ended at the end of May... During these 2 months, we received a lot of feedback about the concerts, but we decided to wait until the tour was over before we talk about it, so we have a lot of feedback messages! We will look back and talk about it, with some of our impressions as well.

TOMOMI: It seems that many people came to this tour because a friend told them about it, which was surprising.

RINA: Maybe that kind of thing has been increasing recently.

TOMOMI: We're grateful to those "friends"...

HARUNA: Many of them said it was their first time attending a concert.

TOMOMI: I think there were a lot of people who said via DMs they were first timers, and I think that's because of the people who tell them about us. I guess it depends on how they discovered us. We're not a band that appears on TV or anything, so it is difficult for people to discover us by chance.

HARUNA: That's true.

TOMOMI: I'm so glad you looked for us and found us. Thank you!

RINA: Every year, the importance of each tour grows, for better or worse. We feel like we can't afford to fail even once, and we take each tour very seriously. So, it's really important to feel like our message is reaching people. It is very important for us to continue.

HARUNA: It is important.

TOMOMI: At any rate, this two-month tour was a lot of fun!

MAMI: It was fun!

RINA: It was a very rewarding tour.

TOMOMI: There were many regions that we hadn't been to since our 47-prefecture tour. They were also sold out, which was not the norm for us. Also, we ate a lot.

RINA: It was deliciousー

HARUNA: We talked about that during the tour finale MC.

TOMOMI: We ate too much at each place.

HARUNA: That's the best part of touring.

TOMOMI: One more thing I can't forget during the tour...

HARUNA: Yeah.

TOMOMI: At the Kanazawa concert, when we talked about the earthquake in Noto, there was a person in the audience who said in a cheerful voice, "My house was swept away." It must have been really hard for them, but I was happy that they chose to come to the concert. I thought about it for a long time afterwards, thinking that I didn't say much at the time. After all, people come with all sorts of different thoughts in their minds, and we toured venues of all sizes, but there are as many different lives as there are people who came. I think that our music or just one word we said during MC might be able to brighten up something in someone's day, even if just for a moment, so it was a day that made me realize once again that we need to cherish every word we say. I was happy that they came, and their cheerful words really touched my heart, so I want to say thank you for everything even though you're going through a difficult time.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 63

•The episode starts with this.

•Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru joins them and asks them what they should do for this episode. MAMI says that she hears that he's the ＃1 person for fortune-telling in the entertainment industry and ＃2 when it comes to Sanrio (just a heads up that they talk A LOT about Sanrio lol). He says that he doesn't know if he's the best in the industry, but maybe among comedians. MAMI says that he also seems to go to seasonal shows at Puroland and says she goes to go them too. TOMO wonders if they've ever met each other there. MAMI and Hirai don't think so. Hirai says that she'd probably recognize him right away if she did see him there since he usually stands out, being tall and also typically wearing something like a cowboy hat. MAMI asks if he takes photos with the characters like that. He says that it's kind of troublesome and breaks the immersive feel. TOMO says that she likes the characters PETAPETAMINILIAN and pokkyokuten, and that she shares the same birthday as Marron Cream. Hirai says that he was born in the same year (1984) as MINNA NO TABO and Zashikibuta.

•MAMI also talks about how she's gotten a handful of friends to get annual passes to Puroland and is like an ambassador for it. Hirai says that maybe they could play a concert there one day. TOMO and MAMI say they'd love to. MAMI says that it's usually idols who you see at events at Puroland. TOMO asks where they could go about trying to actually play there. Hirai says that he has some connections with people in the company and thinks he could connect the band with them, and that he thinks that a band of their level could totally play there if they wanted to. TOMO says that makes her happy and MAMI says again that she'd love to play there.

•Hirai asks MAMI what her top Sanrio character is. MAMI says that the reason she got into Sanrio was because of Badtz-Maru, but if you follow the concept of Sanrio, you end up liking all the characters. Hirai says that's totally true. MAMI mentions the Sanrio Character Ranking contest and that she has a hard time trying to decide which characters to vote for. Hirai says he totally gets that, and that his favorite character is Kuromi and therefore the character he votes the most for. But like what MAMI said, Sanrio is like a concept, and when you like a character, you want to support pretty much every other character. TOMO says that Hello Kitty is celebrating her 50th anniversary this year, which makes you want to rank high in the contest.

•After talking a little more about Sanrio, they seem to be pushed by the staff to stop all of the Sanrio talk (TOMO: "Even though we'd love to talk about it forever") and say that they should be getting to fortune-telling now. Hirai asks them if there's anything in particular they'd like for him to divine. TOMO says that she wants him to see what kind of people they are (what their personality is like) like he did for HARU and RINA. TOMO chooses a card and she and MAMI are surprised at how sparkly it is. Hirai says that although it seems like a rare card was pulled, all of the cards are sparkly like this one. They laugh and TOMO says she understands. The card that she pulls is the Six of Wands. Hirai says that a Wand card was also pulled during the last episode (Eight of Wands & King of Wands, both by RINA). He reiterates that a wand is something that supports you, so it symbolizes things such as experience, evidence, and passion. 6 is the midpoint of the Wand cards, so which means it's still in its developmental stage, and at the same time, it's a symbol of your own personal development. At the same time, you're very serious and uncompromising about the things you're passionate about. You're not satisfied with the status quo, and are always looking for new opportunities and thinking ahead. On the other hand, you tend to have a narrow perspective. You're the type of person who is very serious about what you're passionate about, but you can't do the same thing at the same time and tend to be a bit foolish about other things. Since you're always looking forward to the next step, you're likely a very conscious person. TOMO says that makes her happy to hear and thanks him.

•TOMO also mention that she's actually been in bad health since last year and has a broken rib, laughing while saying it. She wonders if he could tell her what her health will be like in the future. MAMI says it'll be for her luck regarding health. Hirai asks if it hurts when she laughs. TOMO says it hurts a lot. Hirai says that in that case, he won't say anything funny, which makes them both laugh hard. MAMI says that she wants him to say something funny. Hirai then asks TOMO to pick a card. TOMO says that she really wants to get a good card. MAMI and Hirai say that it'd be bad if one of the 'bad' cards is chosen. The card she chooses is the Queen of Pentacles. MAMI points out that the King of Pentacles was pulled last time. Hirai says that a pentacle is something that is worth its weight in gold, so it has a nuance of a tangible material thing, such as money. The queen is a very fulfilling being, so it seems that the various elements that you have now are already wonderful. In terms of health, things are going in the right direction. Don't think about trying to make it better and let things heal naturally. It's important to go at your own pace and not push yourself. Since it's a really good card, he thinks things will go in a good direction. TOMO says that she's looking forward to it.

•Next, they divine for MAMI and look at her nature first. MAMI thinks they'll probably pull a 'devil' card soon. TOMO asks if that kind of card is bad. Hirai says that when those cards appear, he does find it hard to comment about them. TOMO says that she wants one to be pulled and laughs. MAMI asks if those cards are sparkly as well. Hirai says they are. MAMI then pulls a card, which turns out to be The Lovers. Hirai says that if you apply it to human nature, it means that you place great importance on relationships and emotional connections. You're also the type of person that is more likely to be trusted. However, you sometimes go too far and your love can be taken as a bit heavy. TOMO agrees and that it's like that for her being a Sanrio otaku. She can love something so much she'll end up hating it, such as with strawberries: she really loves them but will start hating them after eating a lot of them. TOMO says that her love is heavy. MAMI says that if she thinks someone might have opened up to her for even a moment, she'll go for it, but if it turns out that they weren't, she'll get a bit flustered. Hirai thinks that it's important to value that intuitive aspect. MAMI says that she'll do things in moderation.

•Hirai asks MAMI what she wants to be divined next. MAMI isn't sure and wonders what would be good. Hirai says that he gets all kinds of people asking for all kinds of things, with an example being wanting to know the fortune of their favorite person/thing. TOMO says that they are into characters right now (Sanrio). MAMI says that she would be interested in knowing Badtz-Maru's fortune, and TOMO says that that's because they aren't sure yet if he'll make into the top 10 in the Sanrio Character Rankings. MAMI says that she'd be interested in knowing about Badtz-Maru, but Hirai suggests that since she has the chance, it's probably better to learn something about herself instead. She agrees and asks if he could simply see if her future will be bright overall. Hirai says he'll look at her overall luck within a year. The card MAMI draws is The Tower. When she draws it, Hirai goes, "Ahh, okay." MAMI goes, "What?? What??" TOMO says she's scared and asks if this is a scary card. Hirai says that this card, which features a toppled over tower held up by 3 people, means that your sense of values and way of thinking that you have cultivated up to now will be shattered by an event. TOMO asks if that means that it'll be a shocking one. Hirai says yes, and so it may be a time when you'll encounter a big event and go through a period of confusion. TOMO asks if that doesn't mean that you'll be shocked in a good way. Hirai says that this card does have a more negative element to it. MAMI says that this is the first time any of them have gotten a negative card. Hirai says that it seems like your pride is being crushed a little, but in the long run it will lead to growth, though it might be easy for them to feel a little depressed temporarily. The 3 people carrying the tower together also represents the existence of friends, teamwork, etc. Basically, there are people nearby who will support you even in that kind of situation. TOMO says her own name to indicate she's one of those people, which MAMI thanks her for. MAMI says this card is so sparkly and shiny yet a bad card. Hirai says that now that she knows all this, she'll be more prepared for what's to come and will accept it a little calmly. MAMI says that she understands, and that this what her year will be like. TOMO says that there's still a lot more beyond that and that the future is bright.

•As they close out the segment, TOMO says that it was a lot of fun and that there's still a lot of things she'd like to hear about. MAMI says that she hopes to see Hirai at Puroland sometime. Hirai says to call out to him if she sees him, and that she'll probably recognize him right away. He also mentions that he's in a band with other comedians and will try his best to be able to perhaps perform with SCANDAL one day. MAMI says that she'd love for them to do a joint-band performance at Puroland. TOMO says that would be awesome. Hirai wonders if they could do that, but also jokes that he wouldn't want to bring too many of his bandmates to the park because they're immoral. MAMI says that it is a sacred place, after all.

•They then close out the episode. TOMO reads a message from a listener who basically says that SCANDAL was their most listened to artist on Apple Music with 863 minutes played, and also started listening to past episodes of "Catch up" and finally caught up recently. TOMO wonders how many songs 863 minutes would equal. She says that one song likely equals 4 minutes, and 863 divided by 4 = 21.7 hours. They say thanks for listening to them a lot.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

---

*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

Continuing from the previous episode, Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru of the comedy duo "Baka yo Anata wa" will read the band's fortunes!

Season 2, Episode 63 blog

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TOMOMI: This is SCANDAL's bassist TOMOMI...

MAMI: And guitarist MAMI.

TOMOMI: This is a special episode in our two-part series with our guest. This time, we have TOMOMI and MAMI. Last time, HARU & RINA had their fortunes told.

MAMI: And the band as a whole. They drew good cards.

TOMOMI: As a band, things are going in a good direction.

MAMI: Yeah.

TOMOMI: Money...

Both: They said we'll get some!!

MAMI: I'm grateful!

TOMOMI: Same.

MAMI: It's motivating.

TOMOMI: Yeah, it is. Also, in addition to getting personal fortune-telling done, you also want to talk about Sanrio.

MAMI: That's right.

TOMOMI: So we have the "＃1 Sanrio lover in the entertainment world" and the "＃1 Sanrio lover in the band world" here.

MAMI: No, no, no.

TOMOMI: At worst, we don't need fortune telling. We could just talk about Sanrio.

MAMI: That's right. There really hasn't been anyone I can talk to about Sanrio, so I'm looking forward to it!

TOMOMI: Oh, we forgot to announce the title... This time we're bringing you "Scandalous..." Ah!

MAMI: ...why!?

TOMOMI: In our 18th year, I got the name of our band wrong... It's the one that people often mistake the word for.

MAMI: Yeah, we do get mistaken for that.

TOMOMI: Let's try that one more time...

MAMI: If you would...

TOMOMI: "SCANDAL URANAIMASU"!
...I apologize for messing up.

MAMI: When someone calls us "Scandalous," we're always like, "No, it's SCANDAL!"

TOMOMI: Yeah that's what we always say. And when someone says "Taiyou Scandal," we're like, "Ah, it's 'Taiyou Scandalous.'"

MAMI: Continuing from last time, Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru of the comedy duo "Baka yo Anata wa" will be doing "Egyptian fortune-telling" for all of the band members.

TOMOMI: The previous episode was so good...

MAMI: That's right!

TOMOMI: I'm kind of nervous. Like, what if things get bad?

MAMI: There are some bad cards in there, or rather, some cards that are not good luck-wise... We might draw the "Devil" card...

TOMOMI: I kind of want to see that card...

MAMI: That's true.

TOMOMI: I don't want to because it'll affect our fortune, but...I want to see it!

MAMI: I want to see it.

TOMOMI: We do feel that way.

MAMI: We're interested.

TOMOMI: I'm nervous, but let's have him take a look.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 62

•The episode starts with this.

•Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru then joins. HARU asks him how he, a comedian, got into doing fortune-telling. Hirai says that he hasn't been doing it for very long; he started during the pandemic when everyone was spending more time at home and thought that he should grow his repetoire. He says he has a comedian friend who also does tarot readings and is a bit of a clumsy type of person who can't speak very well, but for some reason they can speak well when they're telling fortunes, or perhaps they have some mysterious ability. Hirai thought that since his friend could do it, then he himself could do it too and thought he'd give it a try. Since he likes Egyptian history, he found some Egyptian tarot cards and started doing fortune-telling. HARU asks what kind of fortune-telling Egyptian tarot cards are. He says that the cards have the same meanings as regular tarot cards, but the cards can be interpreted in different ways due to the designs being based on ancient Egyptian ones and mythological gods + real-life kings appearing on the cards. HARU and RINA say they're looking forward to it.

•HARU asks RINA if she's ever tried tarot reading. RINA says she doesn't remember ever trying it. HARU says she doesn't think she's had it properly done before. Hirai asks them if they've ever had any kind of fortune-telling done. RINA says that she's done a palm reading before. HARU says that the entire band has had fortune-telling done for fan club videos, and do it once every 2 years or so.

•Hirai then brings out the cards and HARU says that they're really beautiful. Hirai says that there are 78 cards with each having their own meaning. The reading then begins. HARU says she's going to first ask about divining for the entire band, which is what she's most interested in. Hirai says that tarot cards are not meant to be viewed over a long period of time, so you can expect to see the results within the next year at most. He wonders if good luck is in store for SCANDAL. He says he usually asks his audience to draw a card and asks them to each draw one, which they do. The first card he talks about is the King of Pentacles, and says that it's a very good card relating to fortune. Pentacles are equivalent to gold coins, so it literally means that they'll be blessed with money, material fulfillment, and other things. HARU says that that sounds good. Hirai says that it is, and that because it is a king card, it'll also be a time when they're likely to make a lot of money. RINA is surprised and asks if that's within the next year. He says yes. HARU goes, "Really?" He says that they'll be very blessed in terms of work success. On the other hand, a drawback of it is that it's a card that goes too far in that direction, so it's a little weak in terms or emotions and such. So if they get too caught up in the success of their job, they might neglect relationships with others. He thinks they should be careful about that, and also that it's better to not rush ahead too much. HARU says that he's saying that they shouldn't just think about success and such. He says yes, but he also thinks it's easy to go in the right direction with the work that they're doing, so they should be find if they're careful about it.

•RINA says this is interesting and that this is the first time money has been talked about when divining for the band itself. HARU agrees and says that hasn't happened before. They both say that they can't imagine the "lucky with money" thing happening since they've never really focused on making money for the sake of making money. HARU says that she doesn't know if that's good or bad. Hirai says that he thinks it's a good stance to take and is a result of them things happening naturally. HARU says that maybe they should be grateful for that and asks if this will happen within a year. Hirai says within a year at most. RINA wonders what they're going to do that'll earn them that much money and says while laughing that maybe they'll play a lot of concerts, though that's something normal for them anyway. She says that they've always played concerts all the time and have also kept up the same release schedule from when they were still kids. Hirai says that's amazing. HARU says that there are a lot of upcoming things that they can't talk about yet, but she will say that there are a lot of things that have already been decided on. Hirai says that things will work out. RINA says that she's glad to hear that.

•HARU then asks if it's okay to do individual readings, which Hirai says yes to and that she can ask him about anything like work, love, health, or whatever is on her mind. HARU wonders what would be interesting. RINA says that she's interested in work and love. Hirai says that he can also see what kind of person HARU fundamentally is, such as her nature. HARU says that sounds interesting and asks him to do that. She chooses the first card she sees, which turns out to be Ace of Swords. HARU and RINA point out how there's a bird on the card and that the card is really pretty. Hirai says that the sword is a symbol of intelligence and reason in tarot cards; it means intelligence and logical thinking. The bird on the card is Horus, the god of falcons in Egyptian mythology. HARU says it looks really cool. Hirai says that he's a very famous god in mythology. He also says that the number 1 has a strong nuance of a new first step in everything, so that card itself has the meaning that you are taking a new and positive first step with a clear sense of your goals for the future. In terms of human nature, it means that you are very ambitious, stoic, and the type that values ​​logic over intuition. You act after thinking things through and have a clear vision for the future. Since Horus is also a heroic god, he is very suited to take the lead in moving things forward, which is a very good thing, and someone who is always aiming higher. HARU says that sounds really cool. RINA says that's really good and sounds accurate to a main vocalist, which both HARU and Hirai agree with. RINA asks HARU if she feels like she is a main vocalist. HARU says she's actually been thinking that she's not really suited to be one because of her personality. However, after listening to what Hirai said, she feels pretty confident that that's not totally the case. Hirai says that that's totally fine. RINA says it's pretty surprising that HARU thinks that it's logical. HARU says she's also surprised. RINA says that if she had to guess, she'd say she's more of an intuitive person, and she sometimes thinks she's the type of person who has the courage to jump in without a set vision. Hirai says it's true that Horus may have that kind of recklessness since he's a young god, so he has the tendency to jump in with the momentum that only a young person can have.

•Next, HARU asks for Hirai to divine about love. Hirai says that he'll divine what her luck with love will be like within the next year. The card HARU chooses is the King of Cups. HARU says that a lot of king cards are popping up for them. Hirai says that a cup is equivalent to the heart in playing cards. It is a symbol of emotional connections and bonds. Also, the king is a very strong presence and has the meaning of being able to give kindness to someone else, so it's a good fortune. HARU agrees that it does look like a good card. Hirai says that on the other hand, there is also an element of prioritizing others over yourself, so you tend to neglect yourself a little and get tired easily.
It's a good time to be in love, but it might be a bit one-sided. They all laugh at this. He says that if you give love to someone, you might not get something in return right away. You'll need to take a long-term view of that. But it's something that will become more ingrained in you in the long run, so this stance is definitely not a bad thing. He again says that basically it's a good card. HARU says that's good, and that they've drawn some pretty good cards. Hirai does remind them that there are some bad cards in the deck somewhere. HARU says that she's glad that a lot of positive things have been said so far. Hirai says that he's basically trying to guide them in a positive direction, which HARU says is wonderful.

•They then divine for RINA. RINA isn't sure if she wants him to divine about her personally or for work. Hirai says that he can look at both at once. RINA says that she's also interested in hearing about love, which HARU and Hirai laugh at. Hirai says that he'll take a look at the essence of RINA and she chooses a card, which turns out to be The World. In terms of simple fortune telling, it is the strongest card in all the cards. It depicts the Egyptian diagram of the creation of the world. At the top is the god of the sky, at the bottom is the god of the earth, and in the middle is the god of the air. The ones at the top and bottom were originally too close and stuck together, but the god of the air said to cut it out and pulled them up, creating the world. HARU says this card has a great meaning to it. Hirai says this card shows that you have created the space or system you desire and are creating wonderful moments within it. If you apply it to your personality, you are a relatively stable thinker and a bit scared of trying new things. If anything, you want to solidify your current environment and want to feel at ease in it. But because of that, you're very kind to your community, friends, and the people you have in your life. You're a little conservative, but not in a bad way, and value your own worldview very much. RINA says that this is surprising to hear but does sound true. HARU says that she kind of gets it and that she thinks RINA has a desire to move forward while preserving that sense of security and stability. Hirai says that she probably doesn't take too many gambles, which both of them agree with.

•Hirai asks if RINA wants to hear about work next. RINA asks if it's okay to do three divinations in total and laughs. Hirai laughs and says that's totally fine and that he'll do one for work next. The card RINA chooses is the Eight of Wands. The wand is something that supports you, so it symbolizes experience, evidence, and passion. It's a card that says that as you gain experience starting from 1, at the stage 8 you will attract the opportunity to take the next step. There's nothing wrong with what you're doing now, which is being done with passion. By continuing to work hard at it, you can take the next step, so you should keep working hard at what you're doing. It's a card that says that continuity is important. RINA says she's happy and glad to hear that.

•Hirai asks RINA what the third one she wants is, and RINA says love. The card she chooses the King of Wands. HARU says that another wand has come up. Hirai brings up how, as he mentioned earlier, wands are symbols of things that support you, such as experience, passion, etc. The king of wands is a symbol of something you have worked hard for and have achieved, and at the same time, this card is about taking action, being proactive, and so on. The more proactive you are, the more likely you are to get good results. It's a good time in terms of love, and you can make things better depending on yourself. It's also a card of passion, so it's better to take action first rather than thinking too much about it. He thinks it would be more effective if you follow your intuition and passion. RINA says that's important.

•Hirai says that it's great that the two of them have gotten so many good cards. HARU asks if tarot decks do have a lot of king cards in them. Hirai says that they basically have the same composition of playing cards, so there's 1 to 10 of each of the cards, wands, pentacles, cups, and swords, as well as queens and kings. HARU says that there aren't many king cards, then, but they got 3 of them. Hirai says that there are some cards like The Devil in there. HARU says that she would have liked to have seen a card like that come up, and that it would have been interesting/funny if they were told that the next year wouldn't be that good. Hirai laughs and says that their year does in fact look like a good one. HARU says that that makes her feel a little relieved. RINA says that she's looking forward to the future. Hirai talks about how he's been doing this for a few years now, and that tarot cards aren't as complicated as you think. Oddly enough, the same card can be interpreted a little differently depending on the diviner, so it's all down to your own intuition and inspiration. It's all about how you think in that moment. He says that he's always loved Egypt and is a bit knowledgeable about it, so he tries to combine it with his tarot readings. He also talks about the Ancient Egypt Museum in Shibuya that's only open on weekends, and that he often borrows a space there to do tarot readings. HARU and RINA are surprised and say that's great, and that they invite their fans to go to him and get their reading done.

•They then close out the episode by reading a message from a listener who talks about how the comedian duo Lalatune uploaded a video about how to write business emails, and when they were trying to come up with a fake company name, the name they came up with was "Rooftop, Inc." (which is the managing office that SCANDAL is part of). After doing so, the duo's manager tells them that there's already an entertainment company called ROOFTOP. RINA says that she sometimes watches their videos but hasn't seen this video yet. She also mentions how their CEO worked very hard on the about page on the site.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

---

*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

Are HARUNA and RINA complete opposites...? Having their fortunes read by Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru from the comedy duo "Baka yo Anata wa"!

Season 2, Episode 62 blog

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HARUNA: This is HARUNA, vocalist of SCANDAL and...

RINA: Drummer RINA.

HARUNA: Oh, it's the two of us this time.

RINA: It's been a while.

HARUNA: Yeah, it's been a while. We've never had this duo before. Probably.

RINA: We haven't?

HARUNA: Yeah, no, right? (*to the staff)

RINA: I see...

(*Staff: Nope)

RINA: Ehー, this is surprisingly a first.

HARUNA: We've recorded in pairs before, but this is the first time you and I are paired up.

RINA: I see. I didn't realize this is the first time.

HARUNA: So, I, HARUNA, and RINA will be bringing you this episode, and we'll be welcoming a guest in two parts to explain why we're doing this in pairs.

RINA: This is a special episode, huh...

HARUNA: Yes, it is special.

RINA: This might be the first time we've had a guest since Announcer Matsumoto was on...

HARUNA: Maybe so.

RINA: We did a "baseball batting order with vegetables."

HARUNA: We did something we didn't understand...

RINA: Yes, it was a bit of a joke episode. It was a lot of fun, though.

HARUNA: That was fun, wasn't it? When did we do that...?

RINA: It was quite a while ago. (Staff note: September 18, 2023)

HARUNA: When it comes to guests on our show, it's always Announcer Matsumoto.

RINA: That's right.

HARUNA: And so, here is what we will be bringing to you this time!
SCANDAL URANAIMASU (SCANDAL Fortune-Telling)

RINA: Fortune-telling...

HARUNA: Yes, fortune-telling.

RINA: Our guest this time will be Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru from the comedy duo "Baka yo Anata wa," and all of the SCANDAL members will be getting "Egyptian fortune-telling" done. I've never heard of "Egyptian fortune-telling" before...

HARUNA: I've never heard of it.

RINA: I'm curious.

HARUNA: You know, what is the relationship between SCANDAL and fortune-telling?...

RINA: We've done it here and there for fan club projects and so on. As for my private life, well...

HARUNA: Have you been to any?

RINA: I went to get my palm read with my sister, but that was years ago.

HARUNA: My voice training teacher likes tarot.

RINA: You did mention that.

HARUNA: I studied tarot on my own and had it read before. But I don't think I've ever had a proper reading like this time.

RINA: But aren't comedians these days just amazing?

HARUNA: They are amazing.

RINA: They can do everything way too well.

HARUNA: They do all kinds of things, including Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru. But that's not all.

RINA: He's also knowledgeable about Sanrio, and had lots of interesting conversations about it.

HARUNA: I saw his Instagram and there was so much about Sanrio on it. I think TOMO and MAMI will be really excited about this.

RINA: I agree.

HARUNA: That's for the next episode.

RINA: [Baka yo Anata wa] also formed a band.

HARUNA: We'll have Hirai "Pharaoh" Hikaru read our fortunes for the second half of 2024.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 61

•The episode starts with this. TOMO says that she doesn't think of the band as being something that's "routine" and thinks of it as "stability." Things like releasing an album once every 2 years, having an event on their anniversary, and playing a Christmas concert all account for this feeling of stability. She does think that sometimes things get routine, not in their activities, but in song production. There are times when they feel stuck, or that they've expressed themselves in the same way before, or that they're saying the same thing just in different words. RINA says that it really depends on your mentality and how you perceive what is routine. The song "LOOP" was written with that in mind. She says she feels very lucky and grateful to have a job where she can express her frustrations and anxieties. Ohno seems to say something about what the band thinks about being perceived as stable by outsiders. TOMO replies that they don't mind that at all, but this job is really not a stable one. They're lucky that they're able to do the same kind of activities at the same time every year, but it's not a stable job--it's not a stable profession. RINA says that they're the type of band that people often say seem stable. TOMO says that if that's the way people look at them, then she's grateful for that.

•The next topic is "Good value for money vs. bad value for money." The band is kind of confused; TOMO says that those two are completely different from each other. Ohno says something that's a little hard to hear, but the gist of it seems to be how they would divide the two. HARU and RINA agree that it probably differs depending on the person. HARU says that she doesn't think it's a bad thing to have poor cost performance when it comes to music production. MAMI laughs and says that it is generally poor, though. RINA says that it is a really bad cost performance in general. It can take years along with stamina and energy to make a 3-minute song, but they're people who enjoy and love expressing themselves, which is why they're doing this as a job. They can do it because they feel that their energy and time spent on it is extremely rich during their production periods. However, people in completely different professions or who work in more numerical fields might wonder what the heck they're doing. TOMO says that this same concept could apply to touring. It's said in their industry that playing at Zepp venues (1,000-ish-capacity venues around Japan) is very cost-effective, and you'll be stable if you keep doing Zepp tours. But after a while, you have a desire to go to places you haven't been yet, and sometimes they want to choose to play small venues even if the cost performance isn't that good. It's also an important part of their band activities--it means going to different areas, performing in different places, gaining experience, going to meet people you want to meet, going to countries you want to go to, even if it's not always cost-effective to do so. That's the kind of job they have.

•MAMI says that you can't really say where the fine line is between good value vs. bad value, but tries to give an example: If you were able to eat really good yakiniku for 1,000 yen ($6 USD), then that would be good value for money. However, if another restaurant sells that same meat for 10,000 yen ($63 USD), then that wouldn't be kind of a bad value for money. So rather than the fine line between good and bad value or the average between them, it's a question of what each person thinks is good or bad. TOMO mentions how when they talked with Vaundy at the after-party they had after the joint-band show they did with him, he said that he wrote the song "Tokimeki" in just two hours. She says that writing a song that was such a big hit in Japan in such a short amount of time was very cost-effective, which they laugh at. She then talks about how it took her a long time to write the lyrics to "Fanfare"--she couldn't sleep and she was physically exhausted. She pauses and then goes, "It's not a song that a lot of people know about at this point, honestly [unlike Vaundy's]" (RINA: "Not yet"), and that just their fans that are listening to it. That's why she wants to improve their cost-effectiveness. They all laugh. TOMO says that their job is to start from something that is not cost-effective and make it better. RINA says that it's really about what you think is cost-effective and what makes you feel fulfilled. SCANDAL's music has struck a deep chord in the hearts of their current fans, so they feel very fulfilled because of that. She says it's a really interesting and difficult topic. TOMO says that if you talk about cost performance, you're only talking about the cost. But when it comes to the emotional aspect of whether or not their music is reaching their audience, it's a completely different story.

•MAMI says there's no good or bad when it comes down to it. RINA says that that's why she thinks their managing office and record label are very cost-effective in and of themselves, but the band, who expresses themselves, do it with their hearts, so she's sure they're causing their office+label a lot of trouble because their kind of job can't be done without having heart. HARU says that even when they're set to record a full day in the studio, they can be done in about two hours if they rehearse enough ahead of time; that's not cost-effective at all. RINA says that there are also some times when they need two more extra hours--you don't know how things will go until you're doing them. TOMO mentions how it took a combined 60 hours to go to Brazil and back, all to do a concert that lasted less than two hours, which was 100% not cost- nor time-effective. But since there were people who cried and were happy that they came, that made it worth it. RINA says that stuff like that adds to your level of fulfillment. MAMI says that it's not really a question of whether something is a good value or bad value. TOMO says that they wouldn't trade it for anything.

•Kawai says that they've been getting a lot of messages about this next topic recently, though it's likely they've discussed something similar before. HARU says that she thinks they talked about something different in the past, and that the next topic is friendship vs. affection. RINA and HARU says that it's hard to say what the fine line is. TOMO says that there are friends who have affection for each other, too, and also thinks that there is friendship in lovers. Friendship is like wanting to experience something together or to have adventures together. Love is like wanting to do something for the person, or give something to the person. TOMO says that she thinks they do both exist at the same time. You can have the same kind of friendship and affection for the people you love, whether they're friends, lovers, or family. She says that she has that kind of friendship with her parents. RINA says that's a good relationship. MAMI says that she can't say for sure, but she thinks affection is a maternal kind of thing. RINA says that she thinks giving is a big part of it, and it can be unconditional. MAMI says that friendship is more about having fun together. It's more like when you're a child and playing together or experiencing someting together. RINA says that defining friendship is a difficult thing to do. They seem to agree that friendship is about having fun/experiencing things together.

•RINA asks HARU what she thinks. HARU says that it's also hard for her to say. But if they're going to say that friendship and affection are based on friends, then to put it simply, opposite-sex friendship is friendship, but same-sex friendship may be both. She says she doesn't feel that much affection for opposite-sex friends. If asked if she has affection for those friends, she might answer that she doesn't. TOMO says that thoughts on friendship vs. affection really does depend on each person.

•The last topic has to do with Japanese words/slang that are often used recently and can't really be translated into English, so I will not be doing so.

•As this episode was released 2 days after the Japan LUMINOUS tour finale, audio recorded right after finishing the concert is then played. They say they really worked hard. HARU mentions that the concert was live broadcasted, which made them a little more nervous than usual. RINA says it's because they're not good at having concerts filmed, which makes HARU laugh. HARU says that they tried to play the concert as usual without being as nervous as possible, but they were already feeling nervous when they were doing rehearsals. RINA says they're glad they had all kinds of people watch their live show, though. HARU says that the crowd was amazing from the start, and then asks the other members what they thought of it. RINA says she feels like they really went all out and was really glad they were able to put on this kind of concert. She also says that she thought her band mates were really wonderful. HARU thanks her. TOMO says that she feels that their album was conveyed to everyone in a good way, and that they couldn't have done their best without the program messages they received from listeners throughout the tour. She says she's really glad went all out. MAMI says she was so focused today that she had never been so focused in her 34 years of life. She goes, "No smile!", referring to how she didn't smile at all during the entire concert, which makes them all laugh. She says she didn't look forward and just looked at her guitar. She tells the others to praise her and they do, clapping and saying she worked hard. HARU says she was reminded that they really do have great fans. As she said during the MC today, she thinks it's tough to keep up with the band since what they do is different every time. She really thought that it's because the fans love them so much that they're able to keep up with the band and says thank you. Although she's said to see the tour end, they have a lot of event appearances and Karaoke Night coming up, so they'll have chances to see the fans again soon and are looking forward to it.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

What does SCANDAL, a band that has been together for a long time, think is the fine line between "stability" and "routine"?

Season 2, Episode 61 blog

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HARUNA: This time...we'll be doing "Catch up - Kyoukai-sen Kyoukai" (Fine Line Association) for the first time in forever! It has been quite a while.

RINA: It has.

HARUNA: Now let's select the "agenda" cards. Oh, Kawai-chan (*director) has prepared them.

→Drawing a card.

HARUNA: "Routine" and "stability."
(*Kawai: "I was wondering what you guys, who have been working this job for a long time, think about this")

RINA: I see...I think many working people may feel this.

HARUNA: Doing the same thing over and over can easily lead to a tedious routine.

TOMOMI: A "routine" is a state of being stuck in place. It's not about new ideas, but about repeating the same thing over and over again. Nothing more or less. "Stability" isn't about the mental aspect...it may have a mental aspect to it, but it's about being able to continue doing what you need to do and what you want to do.

RINA: I feel that "stability" gives you more freedom. It feels like you can be free within the foundation of "stability." "Routine" feels rigid.

MAMI: I wonder. "Routine" gives the impression of continuing to do what you've been given, while "stability" gives the impression of continuing to do what you want to do.

RINA: Like whether you're passive about it or not.

MAMI: Yeah. I feel like continuing to do what you want to do is not "routine" but "stability." But even when you're in a "routine," if you can find your own fulfillment in the work you're given, I think that will turn into "stability."

RINA: I think it has a lot to do with how you approach it.

HARUNA: "Routine" feels more negative.

RINA: That's true.

TOMOMI: It's about whether it's boring or not.

RINA: It's the degree of excitement. You want to change the way you perceive things, and the heart you have when you face them. When you feel like you're in a routine and you're tired of repeating the same thing over and over, try to come up with new ideas. If you look at it from a broader perspective, we've really been doing the same thing since we were kids. Just writing songs and performing live. Within that, we're expressing new feelings. I think it's all about your own state of mind.

MAMI: When I'm writing songs, I always feel like I'm playing octaves for guitar solos and such. I wonder if I can do something different, but I can't, so I just send them to everyone, thinking, "Oh well..." or "Pfft."

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 60

•The episode starts with this.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who attended the Nagoya and Osaka performances of the LUMINOUS tour. She says that she had a big fight with her boyfriend 5 days before Nagoya and even talked about breaking up. She thought that she wouldn't be able to go to the concert if things didn't work out. Their ticket numbers were in the double digits, which can be quite rare, so she thought about what she should do. Then the bf contacted her and said he wanted to go with her, so they ended up making up and going to the concert together. She says that they were able to make up thanks to SCANDAL. The band says that's cute and that they're glad. HARU laughs and says that ticket numbers saved them. TOMO says that it happened at the right timing.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who also attended the Nagoya concert. They say they actually were betrayed so badly by someone they trusted that it'll probably take them several years to recover from it. They felt helpless and honestly couldn't even think about SCANDAL and wasn't sure if they wanted to go to the concert. However, their ticket number was in the single digits. The band starts laughing at this. The listener says they thought it was a reward from the heavens and decided to go. While there in the front row, the lyrics for some of the songs really hit hard and made them cry. RINA says that this listener is apparently a teacher (All: "Hey! Teacher"). TOMO says that ticket numbers do have the power to change lives. HARU says it does seem like that's true. No matter how dark your life is and unsure you are, it does make you want to go to that concert. RINA says that she's surprisingly the type of person who would get a little intimidated if her ticket is in the single digits. She's a little too shy to be far up front and prefers to watch from a distance. But this made her realize again that there are many people who do feel saved by being in the front row, so close that they can almost reach the stage. TOMO says that she hopes that they always help someone out with their concerts. RINA says a really interesting thing about music is that it resonates differently depending on your circumstances. HARU says that lyrics are amazing things. RINA says that they can sound completely different, and it's also the same as when they're performing the songs. HARU agrees that it really depends on the moment.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who, while waiting at a traffic light on their motorcycle, was hit by a car late at night the day before Golden Week started (April 26) and was rushed to the emergency room. They had made lots of plans for GW but had to cancel them due to suffering from whiplash and other nerve pain and instead concentrate on treatment and rehab. They had resigned to not being able to go to the Yokohama concert (May 6), but they told themselves that their body would be fine after rehab and that today's concert was only for today, and that they should go rather than regret not going. They were third row in front of TOMO and participated in the concert until the end. The band is surprised and wondered if they were able to stand there until the end. The listener says that they were so sore that they couldn't even lift their arms, but they have no regrets. They're also looking forward to the tour finale in Tokyo (May 25). The band laughs and wonders if they'll be okay. MAMI says that them being in the third row means that they also had a good ticket number. They laugh and say they're glad. HARU says that this is another case of being motivated to go because of a good ticket number. TOMO says she wishes they could give good numbers to everyone. HARU says that it's also interesting when your luck isn't as good, and it makes you want to go to another concert and hope you get a better number. RINA says she think she also got a DM from this listener who had written to ask if the staff could arrange a special set for them to watch the concert in a more relaxed manner. However, even if the band members get messages like this, they themselves cannot take action on it. They can tell the staff, but they can't reply directly to the person. That's why she really wishes people like this person would go through official channels instead, and that they should be more careful in regards to DMs because they are not staff's accounts. TOMO wonders if the listener's condition worsened by going to the concert. MAMI laughs and thinks it's the opposite. HARU says that the listener hopefully improves more by the tour finale and to not overdo it.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who is a little older than HARU and says they recently resigned from the company they had worked for since they graduated college (14 years), and that SCANDAL's songs like "Image" and "Sisters" have given them a lot of support. The band says it's impressive that they worked there for 14 years. HARU says that continuing to do something is a lot of work. RINA says it's very encouraging to have someone a little older than them listen to their music.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who only got hooked on SCANDAL about 2-3 months ago. They did know about songs like "Shunkan Sentimental" and "Shoujo S" before, and by chance they decided to listen to other SCANDAL songs. They also started watching music videos and listening to "Catch up." The band says thanks and that it makes them happy to hear that.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Establishing a new segment where listeners answer other listeners' concerns??

Season 2, Episode 60 blog

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HARUNA: This time...we'll just be reading messages.

Chiibo

I'm sending in a message because I want to ask for love advice.

As more people around me get married, I've started to think seriously about marriage. I'm still in the process of searching for that kind of partner, but as I meet various people, there's one thing that's been bothering me.

As I meet various people, I've recently begun to feel that people express their feelings towards me in various ways, and that the ways vary from person to person.

I understand that there are various ways of expressing things, but I'm struggling to answer which I'd be happier with: someone who can express themselves clearly, or someone who is not good at expressing their feelings and doesn't express them, or someone who doesn't understand them from my perspective. I'm honestly happy that they express themselves so clearly, but I also wonder if I can respond in equal measure and feel anxious about whether my message is getting through to them.

On the other hand, if they don't express themselves that much, it makes me curious when I don't know what they think of me. It makes me feel like I can't move forward and leaves me feeling frustrated.

I know this is a difficult topic to discuss, but I'd like to hear SCANDAL's honest opinions, and I was wondering if you could occasionally have a segment where listeners could answer listeners' concerns. I'd appreciate your consideration for this new segment.

TOMOMI: That's really good!

RINA: I like it.

TOMOMI: Let's do that.

RINA: There are all kinds of people, after all.

MAMI: But it feels like they already have the answer. People who show affection properly tend to have a more positive outlook on things.

HARUNA: That's true.

MAMI: You're glad about that, but it's a question of whether you can keep up with it, right? But they feel bothered by people who aren't good at expressing themselves, and they thought that their negativity is stronger, so it feels like they have the answer.

RINA: So you think it's better for them to express themselves.

MAMI: Isn't it about the "degree" of which they do it? Isn't that what the listener's worried about?

TOMOMI: I think the most important thing is to decide which one you like better. Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, and there's nothing wrong with that, so I think it's best to think about your own feelings first and then discuss the way the person you like in the future expresses themselves.

HARUNA: I thought it would be better to look at other aspects, and to be able to see a little more of each person's good qualities.

RINA: So it's not about "going against yourself"?

HARUNA: Yeah.

RINA: Like their attitude towards others, or the nature of that person.

HARUNA: Yes.

TOMOMI: Some people are good at expressing themselves, and some are not, but it's important to know what kind of person they are. Even if you're not good at it, I think there will come a time when you'll understand that you're thinking things properly as you talk to each other, and you'll think that's okay, for both of you. I think it's important to be close to each other, and rather than deciding based on how to express it, I think it's better to prioritize your feelings and which person you really want to be with.

RINA: I don't think you need to feel that you have to return the same amount of love because someone has expressed it to you. If you love each other, even if you express it in different ways, there are things you can understand and feel for each other. If they say "I love you" a lot, I don't think you need to feel burdened by having to say it the same number of times.

TOMOMI: Because it's not about the number of times.

HARUNA: It's "to each to their own," including yourself.

RINA: That's right.

MAMI: Discuss things with each other. Each time.

TOMOMI: It's about understanding the other person.

HARUNA: Getting to know them better.

RINA: But it's great that the listener's so active. They started thinking about marriage and decided to take action to meet various people.

TOMOMI: That's important.

HARUNA: I've been thinking lately that you really do have to take action.

TOMOMI: Also, we should definitely have a segment where listeners answer other listeners' problems. Let's do it! First of all, let's ask for people to respond to Chibo's concerns.

MAMI: This is what we think, but what do you all think?

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 59

•The episode starts with this.

•They then go through each date and location on the Asia tour leg. First is Taiwan on June 9th. The venue, Legacy Taipei, is large live music venue that opened in 2009 and renovated from the site of a former sake brewery built in 1914. Its max capacity is 1,000 and has a vibe similar to Club Citta Kawasaki and Shibuya Quattro. It's frequently used for concerts by famous Taiwanese singers and international artists. TOMO says that a 1,000-person capacity venue is nice. RINA says she's glad they get to know about stuff like this before performing.

•Second is Guangzhou on June 11th at Tai Space Livehouse, which is in the heart of Guangzhou's nightlife scene. Opening the heavy door, you enter a live music bar that makes you feel like you're in the Tang Dynasty. The two-story design features beautiful walls decorated with red lanterns and wine bottles on the bar. The stage is huge and the lighting and sound equipment is excellent. TOMO says that playing somewhere with good lighting and sound is important. HARU wonders what's with the red lanterns and wine bottles. RINA wonders if it's a very sparkly place because it's in the heart of the nightlife scene.

•Third is Shanghai on June 13th at Bandai Namco Shanghai Base Dream Hall, which is the center of subculture events in Shanghai. Many Japanese artists such as Leo Ieiri, coldrain, and Naotaro Moriyama have performed there before. RINA says that a lot of great Japanese artists have performed there. TOMO asks if it'll be SCANDAL's first time performing there. HARU thinks so. MAMI wonders if there will be a huge line of people waiting in line to try out gacha machines. TOMO wonders about the "subculture" events and thinks that maybe they're the same as ones held in Harajuku and such. MAMI thinks that anime and manga-related events are probably held there.

•Last is Seoul on June 15th at musinsa garage. The brand Musinsa is well known in the fashion world, and the venue opened in the mecca of Korean indie music, with fashion brands and indie musicians having the same mindset in the sense that they can grow together. MAMI says that she uses Musinsa's app a lot. TOMO says that it is easy to use. HARU says that she likes this kind of info since she can imagine what it'll be like before they go there. RINA says it's interesting and that there's a big difference between knowing and not knowing what kind of culture a city has. TOMO says that they surprisingly don't have a lot of experience with playing concerts in South Korea; they had only played there once before, and for a festival. HARU wonders when that was. RINA says it was a long time ago, and MAMI estimates around 2014-2015 (2014 is correct). TOMO says that it was a festival with a lot of loud bands. RINA says that it was a really cool festival, and that people told them they were happy SCANDAL was performing as there were no other all-girl bands performing. TOMO says that it'll be their first time playing a solo concert (RINA: "Yeah, surprisingly"), and that they'll need to do their best.

•HARU says that that's it for the guidebook and asks what kind of concerts they want to do. TOMO says that they played at a lot of small venues in Japan, which made everything pretty simple, so she thinks they can take the tour as is overseas. They often make their setlists more compact when they tour overseas and do something different, but she thinks they can play the same setlist they did in Japan, and that it would be good to do that. Though they haven't decided on that yet, they want to make the performances red-hot. MAMI says that in order to deliver LUMINOUS properly overseas, she thinks it'd be great if they could deliver the atmosphere of the tour around the songs like they are in Japan. HARU says that they'll do their best.

•There's a pause before a hard-to-hear voice in the background seems to say that that was short. MAMI starts laughing and HARU also says that it was short. MAMI says that maybe they could do a quiz. TOMO says that maybe they could do another one based on info on Meiji's site (like they did in a previous episode). MAMI says to tell her what they'd like a quiz about. TOMO asks if MAMI's going to make one. MAMI says she'll look for some questions/info. TOMO asks if she could do 4 questions (presumably about each place they're going to). HARU says to start it off with Taipei. MAMI asks if it's okay to just ask something about Taiwan, which they say yes to. MAMI says she found a good one and asks:

Q. What is the time difference between Taiwan and Japan?

A. 30 minutes
B. 1 hour
C. 2 hours
D. 5 hours

TOMO answers 2 hours, which is incorrect. HARU goes, "Isn't it 1 hour?" MAMI says yes in English. Japan is located at 135°E and Taiwan is located at 120°E.

•MAMI then starts looking for a quiz question about Guangzhou. She looks for a bit and then says, "Wow, this is a hard one!" The others ask what it is. The question is:

Q. There is a Chinese proverb that says, "Eat in Guangzhou." What province in China is Guangzhou located in?

The band laughs and says they have no idea. RINA asks if they would have heard about this province before. MAMI says yes and that there's a sauce that makes Chinese food easy to make. TOMO starts excitedly saying something that is kind of hard to understand but is apparently incorrect, so MAMI instead asks what kind of food egg foo young is. HARU goes, "Ahh, what was it again??" and then guesses Canton (Guangdong), which is correct. MAMI reads that Cantonese cuisine features flavors that make the most of ingredients such as shark fin, swallow's nest, lobster, and abalone, and is famous for its egg foo young, shumai, and babaocai. The others say they should eat those.

•Next, MAMI looks for a quiz about Shanghai. HARU says that this is fun. MAMI goes, "Really?" TOMO agrees that it's fun. MAMI finds a question and says that it's hard, and that it's about Shanghai Disneyland.

Q. What area opened in Shanghai Disneyland in 2018?[

A. Frozen
B. Mulan
C. Toy Story

TOMO and HARU guess Frozen while RINA guesses Mulan. MAMI pauses and says that the correct answer is Toy Story. They all go, "Aah!" TOMO says that there's a new area opening at the Tokyo Disney Resort in June that features Frozen. MAMI says that the hotel is being talked about a lot.

•Lastly, MAMI looks for a question about Seoul. She says there are a lot of them coming up and finds two that are interesting. HARU laughs and says that she can ask both of them. The first question is:

Q. What is the most common last name in Korea?

TOMO guesses Choi, which is incorrect. HARU and RINA guess Kim, which is correct. MAMI then reads the second question:

Q. What is the approximate population of Korea?

TOMO guesses 60 million, which is incorrect but is close. RINA guesses 70 million, which is also incorrect. MAMI says that that's further away from the correct answer. TOMO guesses 50 million, which is correct. RINA laughs and asks what's up with this quiz and all the hints they're being given. HARU laughs and says they're being given too many hints. MAMI says that it seems like there isn't really much of a band culture there. RINA guesses that it's because there are a bunch of dance groups, which MAMI agrees with. HARU says that those are basically all who appear on TV. TOMO hopes that their own band sound reaches those in Korea. MAMI says that they hope the people will enjoy it. RINA says that it makes them happy that there is an interest in SCANDAL there. She also says that it's impressive when artists from your own country are known worldwide, and that it's really nice to know that people are interested in Japanese all-girl bands. HARU says that she saw on Twitter recently that someone had come from Korea to see the LUMINOUS tour, so it makes her happy to see when fans are happy. TOMO says that a lot of people from overseas have been coming to this tour (‍�), and also mentions how she ran into a fan from Spain at Azabudai Hills the other day. MAMI says that she wants to go to Azabudai Hills. HARU says it's a really nice place. TOMO laughs and says that she thinks they're in the center's target demographic.

•They then close out the episode. HARU says that their program director Ohno wasn't here today and so they largely did what they wanted to. TOMO says that they took over doing quizzes from him, which makes the others laugh. HARU says that it's impressive how they were able to do a quiz like that right away. RINA says it'd be nice if they could record for this program overseas if they can. MAMI says that maybe they could record something while walking around the different cities. TOMO says that the audio might be only iPhone-level quality, though, and that they might not be able to do it due to their tight schedule.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

---

*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

An in-depth look at the Asia tour leg in support of LUMINOUS, which starts from June 9!

Season 2, Episode 59 blog

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HARUNA: This time...we'll be doing a new project. It is titled,
SCANDAL TOUR 2024 “LUMINOUS”
"A guidebook of our Asia performances"!

We are currently in the middle of a nationwide tour in support of our new album LUMINOUS, and will be starting the Asia tour for it in June. We will be going to Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Seoul, and we'd like our listeners to know more about the Asia tour! ...And not only that--we have created a "travel guide" to help us enjoy our tour.

Fans in each country also listen to "Catch up," so we'll be delivering this episode in easy, slow Japanese. We will proceed based on the Asia tour travel guide.

TOMOMI: A travel guide was actually made for us.

MAMI: There's a place to write your name on it. It's a guidebook written entirely in hiragana.

HARUNA: Let's start with the dates...

Sunday, June 9 @ Legacy Taipei. Taipei
Tuesday, June 11 @ Tai Space Livehouse. Guangzhou
Thursday, June 13 @ Bandai Namco Shanghai Base Dream Hall. Shanghai
Saturday, June 15 @ musinsagarage. Seoul, Korea

RINA: It seems like there are almost no tickets left.

TOMOMI: It looks like they sold out immediately. Thank you very much.

RINA: I'm happy. It's been a long time since we toured Asia.

HARUNA: That's right; we haven't been able to go since the pandemic started.

TOMOMI: Asia, yes.

RINA: Sorry to keep you waiting.

HARUNA: At any rate, we're very happy.
Next, "The purpose of the tour!"

"It will be fun, safe, and exciting"

TOMOMI: That's true.

RINA: Indeed, that is the goal.

HARUNA: Next, the "Tour rules"!
There are four. The first one is "Wear whatever you like."

TOMOMI: If you can "wear whatever you like," then that's not a "rule."

HARUNA: The second one is "Have fun however you'd like to."

RINA: That's right.

HARUNA: The third one is "Be careful not to overeat."

MAMI: Yes.

TOMOMI: That's important.

HARUNA: The last one is "Meiji is preferable for snacks."

MAMI: This is true.

TOMOMI: No doubt.

RINA: We'll bring some.

HARUNA: The next page of the travel guide is a map. It shows the location of each city.

MAMI: I think Guangzhou is the furthest away this time.

HARUNA: That's right.

MAMI: Isn't Guangzhou 4 or 5 hours away (by plane)?

TOMOMI: Ah, that's close.

HARUNA: ...is that so?

MAMI: It takes a second to get there.

HARUNA: Hong Kong is like that, too.

TOMOMI: Well, it's about the same distance as a domestic trip. It's the same as taking the shinkansen to Hiroshima.

HARUNA: That's true. It is close.

RINA: It feels like everything is close.

HARUNA: Yes, because we had gone to Brazil.

MAMI: We traveled 30 hours each way.

RINA: That's true.

TOMOMI: Once you experience going to Brazil, you become "invincible" when it comes to transportation. Europe also only takes a second to get there. First of all, there's no need to transfer.

HARUNA: That's right.

MAMI: In other words, "just one flight" on a plane means that it's "close."

TOMOMI: Yes, it is close.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 58

•The episode starts with this. RINA says that even if the listener were to go out with the friend, she doen't have to feel like she has to get married to him. If she thinks she might like him and want to date, that's fine; it's also fine if they break up. HARU says that they could keep things as they are right now. TOMO says that she's personally never really had a friend turn into a romantic partner. That's why this situation sounds pretty novel and nice to her. RINA says the situation could go either way, so it's good to do what the listener wants to do without being too cautious.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who says that their son is a heat-generating boy who raises the temperature of the room just by being in it. Even on a very cold day in the middle of winter, they don't need to heat the room when they sleep next to him. They say their son is a divine being who makes me feel warm just by being in the room with him. On the other hand, it's the worst in midsummer. The band laughs and says that's cute.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who went to the Hiroshima stop of the LUMINOUS tour and stayed over at a friend's place there. After the concert, they told their friend their thoughts on the concert. The friend said, "They're playing concerts for the album they made after setting a Guinness World Record, right?" and was really impressed. The listener asked the friend how they knew about SCANDAL, and the friend said that the listener had written about them on their Instagram. The listener has been posting their thoughts after every concert or CD release, hoping that it would reach as many people as possible. They're glad to know that some of their friends read their posts. The band thanks the listener. TOMO says that she often looks at the posts that the band's tagged in, which makes her happy. HARU says that posts like the listener's are important. MAMI says that if you know which artists your friends like, you'll definitely tell your friends about when you hear things about them, even if you don't know much about that artist. Things like, "Oh, I hear this artist is touring now."

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who went to the Okayama stop of the tour where their boyfriend was able to get ticket numbers 1-2. Their previous message had been read during episode 38 where they had met at SCANDAL's Mystery Tour event and then started dating, but they kept it a secret from everyone who was in the same group as them. Since at this concert they were in the front and center in the group photo, they laughed hard that it was obvious they had traveled there together. RINA says that they're taking photos with the audience and also letting the audience take photos and videos. TOMO says while laughing to be careful if you don't want to be in the group photos. RINA says that that's such a peaceful way for their relationship to be exposed.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who is a second-year college student in what is essentially a light music club. The club had a welcome concert for new first-year students, and they covered "DOLL." They had performed at the school festival last October and covered "Kagerou," "Kagen no Tsuki," and "SCANDAL BABY" but the listener was satisfied with their performance, so they wanted to have a second go at it with the same members. They discussed what kind of music would be simple and cool. "DOLL" was the first song that came to mind and they suggested it since it was the first song they learned when they started playing bass in middle school. They usually play bass but wanted to try playing guitar and sing, so they asked the vocalist+guitarist and they let them do so. They were having so much fun on the day of the concert that they don't remember much about it, but they do clearly remember the sparkling eyes of the first-year students. "DOLL" was released in 2008 and so they thought that not many of them would know it due to them being only 3 years old when it was released, but they were really happy to hear them say how cool it was. The band thanks the listener. They also talk about things like how the number of people who bring their kids to SCANDAL concerts has really increased, as well as people who are expecting and say that they'll come back to see them after things settle down. RINA says that she's really happy everyone is moving forward in their own lives. HARU says that she also happy that those fans do come back, and that everyone's grown up together.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who says that their boyfriend is very lucky when it comes to SCANDAL, and lists 3 reasons. ①He's tall, so even if he's in the middle of the crowd, he has a clear view of the band. ②He often appears in the crowd photos. ③He won an invitation to go backstage and meet the band (one of the winners of the lottery held for the Highlight single). The band mentions things like it could be beginner's luck and such. MAMI talks about how Sanrio has a lot of lucky draws but never pulls the stuff that she wants.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who has given copies of LUMINOUS to their co-workers, who are listening to it, but they can't seem to remember the title "Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto." Some misrememberings include "Ankoku no Naka de Bokura Eien ni" and "Ankoku no Naka de Zutto Boku-tachi" (both basically mean "We're Forever in the Darkness"). They ask the band how they can get people to remember the title properly. The band wonders why they think "ankoku" (darkness) is in the title. TOMO goes, "That's the complete opposite!" MAMI says that they could just go with "Highlight." The others agree that they could just shorten it to that.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Is "If we can't find partners in a few years, let's get married" a possibility from SCANDAL's point of view? No?

Season 2, Episode 58 blog

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HARUNA: This time...we'll just be reading messages.

Takana Mentaime Mayo-don - 26 years old - Female

I have something I'd like advice for. I have a close male friend that I trust. My friend and I live in different prefectures (he used to live in my hometown but moved due to work), but we meet about once a month and go out to eat or go out of the prefecture. When we meet, it's usually like a girls' night out, and we enjoy talking and updating each other on what's going on.

Neither of us has a boyfriend or girlfriend. We usually talk about marriage values and ideal partners, and recently, my friend told me that he could see me as a romantic partner, and that if neither of us had a partner in two and a half years, we should get married.

For some reason, I started becoming romantically aware of my friend. Up until now, I had been the one to invite him to eat or send messages on LINE, but since then, my friend has invited me to eat every time he goes back to our hometown, and messages have started coming more frequently. I feel happy because I see a different side of my friend, and I feel like I've discovered even more good things about him.

I feel a little uneasy about our relationship, which is more than friends but less than lovers. But we've been friends for a long time, so sometimes I think it's best that things stay the way they are.

I broke up with my ex-boyfriend six months ago. I feel sad, and there's a part of me that still lingers over it. I don't know if I'm trying to fall in love with my male friend because I want to make up for these feelings I have, or if I'm trying to fall in love with my friend but am still attached to my ex. I can't sort out my feelings.

Please give me a hint on what to do.

TOMOMI: What's with the "two and a half years" thing...

MAMI: I know, right?

TOMOMI: Not two or three years, but two and a half years!

RINA: Isn't it because they're turning 30?

TOMOMI: I wonder.

RINA: Like a milestone.

HARUNA: The listener is in her late 20s.

MAMI: But what kind of promise is that? After all, you don't know what'll happen in two and a half years...

HARUNA: I wonder what's up with that. I kind of don't like it...

MAMI: I totally get it! After all, if you don't have anyone else...

HARUNA: Yeah, why is it something that has to be decided?

TOMOMI: Because they've been friends for so long, it must have been embarrassing to say, "Let's start dating after all," right? So he decided on a period of time as a kind of joke, not that they would wait two and a half years for each other. Maybe unless something like that was said, they would both feel uneasy. Or something like that.

RINA: And to tell them calmly.

MAMI: So, if the friend said it as a joke, the listener fell for it.

RINA: The relationship has shifted a bit. It feels different from before.

MAMI: Yeah.

HARUNA: She's aware of that.

MAMI: He said "two and a half years" later, and she doesn't know if he's serious or not, but it might make it impossible for either of them to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, right?

RINA: They don't have to think that far, right? If you find someone you really like within two and a half years, I think you should be free to do whatever you want, since there's no such rule.

TOMOMI: I think he's referring to an insurance-like period.

RINA: Because it makes you feel safe.

HARUNA: It can also be viewed as romantic interest.

TOMOMI: The guy is also comfortable with their current relationship and wants to take a step forward, but I think they're both thinking the exact same thing: if the relationship breaks down, there may be no going back. If you don't really like each other in that way right now, I think you should enjoy your relationship as it is! If you've become aware of him romantically, then you can make the decision to go out with him... I don't think you need to think so hard about it.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 57

•The episode starts with this.

•RINA then mentions how, until recently, the four of them had often been together on travel days and such, and this is the first time they're spending so much time apart. She says it's fun to hear what each member has been up to during the concert MCs. HARU brings up how she had mizutaki soup delivered to her. She felt that she shouldn't go out to eat too often due to her recent sickness, and when she said she wanted to eat something good for her body, their staff had mizutaki delivered from a mizutaki restaurant.

•They talk about Kumamoto, which happened on April 7, next. HARU says it was their first time playing there in 7 years (not since their 47-prefecture tour). RINA says that it seemed like the audience really listened a lot to the new album and were following along well. HARU says that it was also great that it seemed like everyone was having fun in their own way. RINA mentions how the band WANIMA had given them dumplings backstage (they were playing at the same venue the next day). HARU says they ate them on stage. RINA says that the bands have a connection with each other with having the same photographer. MAMI says that SCANDAL gave a lot of bread to WANIMA when they played there the next day. TOMO says that she was actually sick but started to feel better around the time they were in Kumamoto, and she was finally able to go outside. She did a lot of walking around and went to coffee shops, clothing stores, etc. and had fun doing so. She also played Pokemon GO and beat a lot of Pokemon, caught a lot of Pokemon, and beat a lot of gyms so that her team (Valor) was now in control of them.

•After Kumamoto was their concert in Okayama on April 12. HARU says it had also been 7 years since they last played there. TOMO says that they were going to play there for their KFTD tour that unfortunately never happened. HARU says that TOMO's relative came to see the show. TOMO says that her relative had been coming to see them for a long time and thought that she was still in elementary school, but she's all grown up and working in the bridal industry now. She hadn't seen her in 7 years and now she's taller than all of the SCANDAL members. HARU says that the concert was also really good. TOMO says that everyone was really loud. RINA says that she could hear the audience even with her in-ears in, which doesn't happen often.

•Following that was their concert in Takamatsu on April 13. MAMI says that there was udon in the dressing room for them to eat as soon as they entered. There were also inari sushi and tempura. They also went out to eat curry udon after the concert and ending up eating next to a bunch of fans. RINA says it was like an after-party. They say that the concert was really hot. MAMI mentions that the breaker for the air conditioning in the venue tripped about halfway through, so it was literally really hot. TOMO says that that was something that often happened before the pandemic. RINA says that Takao, the drummer of UNISON SQUARE GARDEN, came to see the concert and it made them really happy how complimentary he was. HARU says that he said his band would love to do another joint-band concert with SCANDAL. She then mentions that their program director Kawai is coming to the Mito concert and so will record audio after it.

•The audio recorded after the Mito concert is then played. They say they were close enough to the audience that they really could have shaken hands with them if they stretched out their hands since it was a small venue with a 350-person capacity. They say the atmosphere was hot and great, with lots of people calling their names, and they could see everyone's faces clearly. MAMI says that everyone looked like they had just gotten out of the bath. HARU says that it being sold out despite being a weekday made them really glad they came. TOMO says that the sticker they played in the dressing room 7 years ago is still there, although it's a little beat up now. She says she really felt the passage of time. HARU says it's great how they're still going strong 7 years later. They say that they're going to be heading to Sendai now, since their concert there is the next day.

•The audio then returns to SCANDAL recording in the studio where they close out the episode. Before they do, HARU reads a message from a listener who is from Okayama and tells a story of when they were in middle school and found a bat at school that looked very weak. They gently scooped it up and went to the nurse's office where the nurse and a female student were. As soon as the listener opened their hands and showed them the bat, they both yelled out. TOMO goes, "So there are bats in Okayama!" HARU says that Kawai, who is from Okayama, has never seen a bat there, but there seem to be plenty of people from there that have. TOMO says that when they asked the audience during the Okayama concert if there are bats there, a lot of people said there are. She says that the band was like, "So Kawai was lying after all!" and laughs. HARU laughs too and says rather than her lying, it's more that she's never seen any.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

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*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Interim report on the "LUMINOUS" tour! A spoiler-free recap!

Season 2, Episode 57 blog

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HARUNA: This time...since we're on tour for our new album: "The real story! LUMINOUS, Katarimasu! (Talking About LUMINOUS)"
The LUMINOUS tour started on April 2 and will continue until May 25, so without giving away too much information...we'd like to give you a look back and an interim report from the four of us.

By the way, as of this recording, the last concert we played was on April 13 in Takamatsu.

RINA: First, we played in Hiroshima on the first day. The first day was amazing, wasn't it?

All: Yeahー.

RINA: We were really energized.

TOMOMI: We felt at ease that the first day was in Hiroshima.

All: Yeahー.

HARUNA: It was our first time having Hiroshima as opening day of a tour, right?

TOMOMI: It might have been.

RINA: Even though it was a weekday, we were so happy that the venue was filled to capacity.

HARUNA: Also, the crowd was so pumped up that it was hard to believe it was the first time people heard this setlist...

TOMOMI: Everyone was so vocal.

RINA: It was a good groove, or rather, a good opening.

HARUNA: It was good, and it was fun! If you have a good first day of the tour, you feel different afterwards, don't you?

RINA: That's true. The beginning is important.

HARUNA: We fell in love with Hiroshima all over again.

RINA: Yeah, we did.

HARUNA: Oh, by the way, I took a break from this program, but my nasal voice has not returned.... I was still dragging it out after the first day, up to around Fukuoka and Kumamoto. But I still had a great time in Hiroshima. I was just trying to do what I could do at that time, but really, it is best to be in good spirits. But even so, the fans were warm, and we were able to put on a great concert.

RINA: When you've been doing this for a long time, it's normal to have days with various situations. It's normal as a human being. But you have to give 100% on that day, right? It was a great day, and I felt that we were really able to do that at the concert.

HARUNA: After Hiroshima, we went to Fukuoka the next day. How was Fukuoka?

RINA: Fukuoka was also scorching hot... We last played at that venue on our 47-prefecture tour. It had been a long time since we'd been there, and I thought the two days had completely different vibes.

HARUNA: Yeah. I like the Fukuoka venue (*DRUM LOGOS). The atmosphere, that is.

RINA: You can see all the way to the back.

HARUNA: It's important to be able to see the audience's faces.

RINA: It is important!

TOMOMI: Very important.

HARUNA: Fukuoka was fun too. Did you go anywhere in Fukuoka? After the concert?

RINA: Yes, I went to the Fukuoka Prefectural Art Museum by myself on the day before the concert, where various Fukuoka-related artists' works were exhibited. I enjoyed the exhibition, and after the concert, the staff and I went out to eat at a zosui specialty restaurant that served zosui in a lunchbox...

HARUNA: I didn't know there was such a place.

RINA: It was my first time there, and it was a wonderful restaurant.

HARUNA: You're pretty active this time, aren't you?

RINA: Yeah. I'm trying to go to places where I can see many things. I hope to be able to talk about my memories of the place each time I do an MC.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 56

•The episode starts with them eating yogurt for the first 5 minutes, then HARU reads a message from a listener writing in for the "godlike people" segment. They say that the band probably has experience that moment when you walk into a restaurant and a crowd gradually grows behind you, and by the time you leave, a line has formed, and you feel lucky to have gotten in at the right time. That's happened to them a lot since they were a child. They often get a window seat, and they don't know if it's the divine aura they emit or the fact that the food they're eating looks so delicious, but they feel a little lucky when they go out to eat. They ask the band what they think. TOMO says that this often happens to MAMI's mother. MAMI says that it also happens to HARU's mother as well. HARU agrees and says that she also feels that way sometimes. TOMO says she might as well, which makes the others laugh. She also says that there's been many times where band has gone out to eat and says that they came at just the right time. HARU agrees and says she thinks she likely thought that when they recently went out to eat udon while on tour. The band agrees that the listener does have godlike powers. MAMI says that while this is unrelated but is still on the topic of the divine, when she went to see a palm reader recently, they told her that God resides in her fingertips. The others say that's impressive. HARU says that MAMI's playing guitar with God's hands. MAMI says that she was also told she's an alien, which makes the others laugh. Another thing she was told was that she's a human spiritual hot spot. She shows the band her reading presumably on her phone, and they say that it's very detailed. HARU says that MAMI is also a person with godlike powers.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who says there's a video they'd like SCANDAL to watch about Nagoya. They've recently gotten hooked on Robert Akiyama's videos on YouTube, which a lot are about Nagoya. They say that they thought it might be fun if people who know Nagoya well, like the band, could watch them. Both TOMO and RINA say that those videos are the best. HARU asks if they've watched the videos about Nagoya. RINA says of course, and TOMO also says yes. She mentions that he did a fake commercial song about the snack Bisu-kun, and also does videos like that for different kinds of cities/prefectures. They talk about this guy for a bit, but since people that aren't from Japan will probably not find it interesting/probably find it hard to follow along, I will not be translating the rest lol

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who is also writing in about Nagoya. They'll be attending the Nagoya performance of the tour, and regarding the special page on the MANIA site where people can leave tips/suggestions for the cities that the concerts will be in, they say that there's nothing that they can think of to recommend. The band laughs. The listener says that like what's been mentioned on "Catch up" when talking about Nagoya, they have many places that they like but do not have many recommendations. They thought they had to write something to make Aichi Prefecture more exciting, so they wrote down Sukiya (basically the equivalent of Yoshinoya). The band laughs again. They ask HARU and MAMI, who are from Nagoya, what they should write. TOMO says that there are plenty of Nagoya food specialities that everyone's likely tried before, but you could write something like a good cafe that you like. Basically anything that's good that's not necessarily a Nagoya specialty. MAMI says she follows Instagrammers who post about gourmet food in Nagoya. RINA asks if there's been anything good posted recently. MAMI thinks about it and says that she thinks they did post about some bakeries. RINA says that cafes would be good to recommend. MAMI seems to have found it on her phone and says that they had posted about the bakery Petit Pont L'eveque Noda and that the food looks good. TOMO says that stuff like that would be good to write about.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who mentions another listener who mentioned in a recent episode that the person they're in a relationship with doesn't speak their mind, and it's exactly what their own husband is doing. Sometimes they get angry at him for not speaking his mind, but sometimes he looks them straight in the eye and says that what the listener wants to do is what he wants to do, so they've given up on trying to change that. The band brings up how they're married and the husband has probably been that way ever since they started dating; they're sure the two got married because they wanted to be together, despite the husband being that way, so it's okay to think of it as just their way of doing things. The fact that he looks the listener in the eye and tells them that what they want to do is what he wants to do is probably because he really loves them. RINA says that sending messages like this in to vent a bit is something that's good since it can be stressful to deal with. They bring up how they mentioned last time that they suggested to have the SO plan the listener's birthday or such, and it might be good to have this listener's husband do the same or plan a wedding anniversary.

•Then this happens, and the episode is closed out.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here.

I've updated the guide as how to input your info and message for those who need assistance (click to enlarge):

---

*A list of all episode summaries from ＃1-160 can be found here

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup