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【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 158

•The episode starts with this.

•TOMO reads the next message from a male listener who says that they're in love with a junior colleague of the same sex. They've been trying to forget about him, but they really can't at all. They recently heard that he might be moving away for a new job. They ask SCANDAL to help them forget about him. TOMO then says that she'll read another message from another listener. They also happen to be a male listener in love with another junior colleague of the same sex. Every time they see him, they fall even more in love. However, they're in a lot of pain because of this one-sided love. They also ask SCANDAL how they can forget about him.

•RINA says that she can tell they're very caring, kind people, and that they're trying to get to a place where they're trying to work out what's happening within them. She also says that it's miraculous how they both found people that they like. TOMO says that the first listener should just go ahead and tell the guy since the guy might be moving away for a new job. If he really wants to forget the guy, then he can take the first step in doing so. Even if it doesn't work out, he might be able to forget about it since they'll then be far away from each other. MAMI says that she thinks if they want to forget about someone you like, then telling them your feelings could be a good way to do so. TOMO says that if you don't tell them, you'll keep thinking about it and will be stuck in a rut. MAMI seems to talk in the pretense that the listener(s) told the people they like and were possibly rejected, and that it might make things awkward between them after. HARU says that if they tell them their honest feelings, they probably will understand them. They all say that it's probably best to tell the people they like what they feel about them. RINA says that if they could convey that they care about them in a way that includes how they feel, it might get through to them.

•MAMI says that My Melody (the Sanrio character) would probably say to tell your feelings to the treasure box in your heart, and no matter what the result is, if you keep those feelings in the treasure box then they'll keep shining. HARU giggles in the background and RINA says that those are some nice things to say. TOMO says that My Melody really helps you out in your 30s. HARU goes, "Have we talked about this topic on this program before?" MAMI says they haven't, which makes HARU laugh. HARU says that MAMI's addicted to Sanrio right now, and it probably surprised their listeners to suddenly hear about MyMelo all of a sudden. MAMI says that she loves listening to "My Melody's Secret Room" radio program and listens to it every week. She goes, "Maybe those two [the listeners that sent in the messages] should try listening to it." TOMO agrees that they should. MAMI says that MyMelo's mindset is really something and her vocabulary is so impressive that it'll make you see things in a positive light, so she'd love for people to listen to the program. TOMO asks the two listeners to listen to it, which makes them all laugh.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener whose message was read during episode 140 (the first one) about how they started listening to SCANDAL because of their girlfriend. They say that they've known each other for 3 years and have been dating for 2 years, and are currently in a semi long-distance relationship. They see each other at least twice a month, talk to each other almost every day, and get along well. They do fight occasionally, and lately they've been fighting a lot about their future. The listener works in the medical field while the gf works at a corporation. The other day the gf said that she's paid a low salary and doesn't have much money saved. The listener is hoping to have enough money so that they won't struggle to make ends meet. The listener heard from their parents that they fought about money after getting married, which makes the listener think that it is better to have money saved up. The listener loves the gf, and the gf loves the listener. They don't want to leave the gf, but they sometimes worry that they'll have a hard time financially if the laws change and they're able to get married (they're both women, and same-sex marriage is still not recognized in Japan). They hate that they're weak-willed and how they can't say anything to reassure the gf. They ask SCANDAL if they should continue to put love first in their relationship.

•Both TOMO and MAMI say that that's fine. MAMI says that though money may be a concern as well, feeling love is the most important thing. It would be very heart-breaking to break off the relationship due to just money issues. TOMO says that things are fine as they are if they're okay with staying together with little money, or if they want to live a more abundant way of life together, there are different ways of changing that, including finding new employment. She also says that the most important thing is that they love each other, so it would be kind of sad to break up over money. She thinks there are many ways to go about things. RINA says that it seems like they're trying to be realistic about things since they're looking at things in the long term. They're thinking of these things right now because they're considering things seriously, and something like staying together for life is a difficult thing to do. TOMO says that they're not thinking of breaking up at all. RINA says that being able to talk about money isn't something you can really talk about unless you've reached a certain level with someone, even in a relationship. If you both understand each other and want to stay together, then you should talk about it. MAMI says they should find something positive to do. If that's not realistic, then try to think of other ways to make things better a little at a time. If their relationship is strong enough to the point where they're worried about money, it might be a good idea to try and work together and do what they can do. HARU says it's a matter of what the gf is going to do. She's okay with how things are now, so it's also important for the listener to find out how to reassure her when she's worried. They basically say to reassure the gf how they feel and discuss what they should do to be able to be in this together.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener whose message was read during episode 151 (the first one) about how they met someone at SCANDAL's anniversary event and are dating them now. On the day they submitted this new message (January 25), they had a meal and listened to the episode together. They say it was embarrassing to hear their message being read, but as a SCANDAL fan they couldn't be happier. The band gets all excited and MAMI goes, "You listened to it together?? Oh my god!" RINA says that that sounds like fun. HARU goes, "Wait, but they couldn't have known their message was read until they listened to the episode, right?" RINA says that maybe they listened to it together because it was read (as in they had already listened to it on their own, but then they listened to it together after that). MAMI says that it's so awesome that they listened to it over a meal. A staffer says something in the background, which makes HARU go, "Oh, katsudon, perhaps?" (since it contains the word "katsu" 勝つ, which means "to win"), while MAMI laughs. They keep going, "That's so nice!" TOMO says that that's the only thing they've been saying, and don't really have anything special to say, which makes the others laugh.

•They then close out the episode. HARU mentions the increase in messages about love advice. RINA goes, "Love is a pretty tough thing!" HARU says that this makes her think once more about how everyone worries about love, and apparently there are a lot of people worrying among their listeners. She says to send in a message to them if there's something troubling you and can't figure it out on your own. RINA says that even if the band can't fully answer something, it's nice to be able to talk about different topics and to let people know that others do worry about the same kinds of things that they do. MAMI says that there are a lot of things that'll make you feel better after getting them off your chest, and to please send in any messages like that as well.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Is it strange to not fall in love? HARUNA says to the listener feeling uneasy about love, "You don't have to fall in love like everyone else."

Episode ＃158 blog

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HARUNA: This week...we'll be reading lots of messages.

Rira

I have never been in love before. I still have no desire to fall in love with anyone.

I used to watch romance dramas. Somehow I saw falling in love with someone and taking special care of someone as things that happen because it's a drama series.

But now that I'm older and learned that I don't fall in love, I've realized that when I watch romance dramas, it's not that they're special cases--it's that I'm different, and that I can neither sympathize nor agree with the drama.

Because I don't know, I'd like to know if there is a fine line between the feeling of being special to someone, and the feeling of being in love.

When I watch romance dramas, I feel lonely and empty because I don't understand them, but that's why I'm so interested in them.

SCANDAL, do you think that love exists and is possible because it crosses that borderline?

HARUNA: This one is regarding love advice.

RINA: I think that it can be assumed that dramas are works of fiction, but if you ask if it's happening to a lot of people in real life, I don't think it's equal. However, I do think that dramatic things like grand romance do happen. I don't think it's possible to make a blanket statement on this.

HARUNA: I don't know if there's a borderline between the feeling that someone is especially important to you, and the feeling of being in love...

RINA: This is difficult to answer.

HARUNA: We talked about this before, but I think it's similar to the difference between love and romance...

RINA: You might feel lonely wondering if you have any romantic feelings for someone, but it's possible that you haven't met the right person. Also, asexuality is a trait that some people have where they don't experience romantic feelings. Perhaps you have that trait, but that doesn't mean it's strange at all. I don't want you to blame yourself.

MAMI: We don't live our lives with boundaries in mind. That's why I think it's better not to think too hard about it. The more you keep thinking about whether these feelings mean that you're in love with someone, or whether it's different from not romantically liking someone, the more you'll feel like you're stuck between the two and unable to choose either... That might be what it feels like.

TOMOMI: Not all love is dramatic, so I think there are some romantic feelings that are very difficult to recognize. There may be times when a person you love and care for as a friend develops new feelings for someone else. You may not notice it by an obvious trigger, but rather by a gradual change that is difficult to notice. I think there are cases where there are no boundaries.

HARUNA: I think there are many people who feel the same way as Rira. I think there are types of people who don't take pleasure in being devoted, or wanting to touch and be touched. A little bit of love can be an uplifting feeling. Just because you are in love doesn't mean you have to have physical contact. If you meet someone with similar values, it might be more liberating. I don't think you have to fall in love like everyone else.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 157

•The episode starts with this. RINA asks what letter it starts with. The staff says "G." TOMO answers "Amethyst" (?? lol), which makes the others laugh. It's wrong, of course. RINA goes, "Did this turn into gemstone names??" HARU asks the staff if they could guess it if they told them what it starts off with, which the staff agrees to and says it starts with "Ga." The band laughs and goes, "It's gotta be Gaspard!" The staff reminds them that Gaspard ranked 9th. After a beat, MAMI answers "Gabriel," which is the correct answer. They all go, "Ahh!" and clap. RINA and TOMO go, "Impressive!" MAMI goes, "Gabriel's an angel, right?" The others agree, and HARU says she thinks she's heard of that before. RINA says that none of their European staff are named Gabriel. MAMI seems to look up the angel Gabriel and reads a few things about it, plus the names of a few other angels (Raphael, Uriel, etc.). HARU says that they all have an "-iel" name. The staff says that an odd thing is that "Gabriel" is also 8th on the girls' name list (but of course that's spelled as "Gabrielle" - there's no distinction in spelling between the two in Japanese, which is probably why they do not mention it). HARU says that a popular baby names list comes out in Japan as well, and says that them doing the same kind of list in Paris makes it feel like it's a bit Japanese-like (even though I'm pretty sure every country does this?? lol).

•RINA wonders what the top names in Japan are right now. A staffer goes, "What are they?" and the quiz sound effect plays, as if it's supposed to be a quiz question (and it actually does turn into one lol). They laugh at this. TOMO guesses "Aoi." HARU says that she often sees "Hina" as a girl's name. RINA says she also sees ones like "Hana" and even "Haruna." MAMI says that "Tsumugi" is also a popular one. Another one they say is "Mugi." MAMI says that she feels that a lot of names that consist of two Japanese characters are popular. Their director seems to say that they already said what one of the current most popular name is for boys. TOMO guesses "Haruto," which is incorrect. She then guesses "Aoi." He says something else, which makes them then guess "Ao," which is correct. RINA says that that's a nice name. Apparently, it's in third place. MAMI says that her friend's baby's name is Ao. TOMO mentions Tsumugi again, which apparently ranks ninth. MAMI asks the staff if they've already said the first place girl name, which the staff says they haven't. RINA guesses "Sakura" (*bzzt). MAMI guesses "Tsuyu" (*bzzt). TOMO guesses "Hina," even though it's been said before, and then guesses "Hime" (*bzzt). HARU says that she thinks that Hina does seem to be popular. Their director says that Hina is in sixth place, but the first place name does start with "Hi." TOMO then guesses "Hinata" (*bzzt). MAMI guesses "Hima" (*bzzt). TOMO guesses "Himari," which is the correct answer. She says that it gives off a warm feeling (maybe since it contains 'hi,' which means 'the sun'; or becauce it's close to 'himawari,' the word for 'sunflower'). The band says that this ranking was interesting.

•HARU reads the next message from a 37-year-old listener from Brazil who is writing in for the "Life before SCANDAL" segment, and who happened to ask earlier on SH what the title of the segment is in Japanese. They say that they used to listen to L'Arc-en-Ciel, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Chatmonchy, etc., and that SCANDAL has been by their side during difficult times these past 10 years. They say that they're planning to go to SCAFES in 2026, which confuses the band (since SCAFES was their 10th anniversary event). TOMO goes, "We never said we have plans to hold another SCAFES," which makes them all laugh. MAMI goes, "But he has plans to go to it...", which makes them laugh again. HARU mentions that the listener is close in age to the band, so it makes sense that their former favorite bands were L'arc, AKFG, etc.

•The next quiz question is asked:

Carnival, the world-famous midsummer festival, took place last month in Rio. Rio = Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil.

What does Rio de Janeiro mean in Portuguese?

•RINA guesses "Taiyou no Machi (City of the Sun)" (*bzzt). MAMI guesses "Mizu no Miyako (City of Water)" (*bzzt). RINA goes, "Wait a minute - we're all thinking of Parque Espana," which makes them all laugh. HARU goes, "It's because it's also Portuguese." A staffer seems to go, "Is that right?" HARU then thinks about it for a second and goes, "Oh, it's Spain." TOMO then goes, "Taiyou to uta motomete... (Seeking the sun and songs)", which are lyrics to Parque Espana's theme song. They all laugh and the buzzer is sounded. Their director seemingly says that a hint is that "Rio" is describing that belongs to "de Janiero." HARU wonders what "rio" means. RINA says that once they hear it, they'll all be like, "Oh yeah." HARU asks if they're close to it with what they've said so far. The staff says they're surprisingly going in the right direction. MAMI guesses "Jounetsu no Senshi (Warriors of Passion)" (*bzzt), which she and the others laugh at. RINA asks if the word "sun" is in it. The staff says no. They're surprised at this and feel like it would be in it. TOMO guesses "Honoo no Miyako (City of Fire)" (*bzzt). RINA guesses while laughing, "Koori no Dance (Ice Dance)" (*bzzt), which makes the others laugh as well. HARU guesses "Ame no Machi (City of Rain)" (*bzzt). RINA guesses while laughing again, "Tsuki no Sekai (Moon World)" (*bzzt). MAMI guesses "Yami no Iriguchi (Entrance to Darkness)", which makes everyone laugh hard. HARU says that that has a total different image from what one would picture Rio to be. TOMO guesses "Tamashii no Shinden (Temple of the Soul)." Everyone laughs at this too. HARU goes, "How mystical!"

•TOMO asks if it's the opposite of the sun. The staff says that it's not related to the sun at all, and then seems to say that it's related to water. TOMO says while thinking, "Mizuumi...no......Machi (Lake Town)" (*bzzt). They laugh at this. RINA goes, "It's gotta be related to Lake Biwa (in Japan)," which they laugh at. They joke that it must be "Shiga" (the prefecture in Japan that Lake Biwa is located in) (*bzzt). HARU guesses "Kawa ga nagareru machi (City with a river running through it)" (*bzzt). The staff seems to say that they're close, and that the correct word was said. MAMI guesses that "kawa" (river) was the right word. TOMO guesses "Kawa no Miyako (City of Lakes)" (*bzzt), and then "Kawa no Shinden (River of the Soul)" (*bzzt). They laugh at how TOMO used "shinden" (soul) in her answer again. TOMO wonders if "kawa" is one of the correct words. HARU says that it seems so. The staff seems to give a hint as to what "Janiero" refers to. MAMI guesses "Michitarita kawa (River that is full of water)" (*bzzt). The staff tries to explain the hint more, but it's not really audible. They seem to get the hint, and then guess "Ichigatsu no Kawa" (River of January), which is the correct answer. HARU says that it's probably warm in Brazil in January since they're in the Southern Hemisphere. The staff seemingly explains why it's called that but it's inaudible (the real reason: Portuguese explorers first started exploring the area in January). HARU says that they've been saying the name without knowing what it meant. MAMI says that they weren't able to guess it correctly [without hints]. HARU and RINA poke fun at MAMI's "Yami no Iriguchi" answer, and HARU says that that would have been pretty cool if it did mean that. MAMI then laughs at TOMO's "Tamashii no Shinden" answer, and then says that there's probably a temple of the soul at the entrance to darkness, which they all laugh at. HARU says that sounds like fun.

•HARU reads the next and last message from a listener from India who is also an SH member They say there are two Japanese teams that they support: SCANDAL and the Japanese soccer team. They ask SCANDAL what their favorite sport is. RINA says that she was pretty sporty before she joined the band. She played soft tennis in middle school, and did track-and-field in elementary school. Her favorite one might be soft tennis. It's something that she wants to do even now. She says that they had done a shoot once before at a tennis court, which she enjoyed. TOMO says that she didn't play any sports; the only thing close she did was dance, which is what she chooses as her favorite. The staff seems to ask about any sports they watch. HARU says that she did watch some World Cup games. RINA says that she thinks they had all watched a World Cup game while they were overseas. The others all remember that too; they had watched it while eating after a concert.

•The next quiz question is asked:

It is said that India will overtake China to become the most populous country in the world.

How many people are there in India?

•They say that this is a simple yet difficult to answer question. TOMO guesses 700 million (*bzzt). MAMI guesses 1.36 billion. There's a pause after she answers, which makes her go, "Wait, wait?!" The staff then says that it's close. TOMO then guesses 1.34 billion (*bzzt), and then 1.47 billion (*bzzt). MAMI guesses 1.58 billion (*bzzt). RINA guesses 1.42 billion, which is correct. They all go, "Wow!" The staff then lists more info about the population growth and etc. that is not very audible. The band says that they'd like to visit India one day. They also encourage overseas listeners to keep sending in messages to the program.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

SCANDAL takes the "Ranking of Popular Baby Names" quiz for 2022 announced by Paris!

Episode ＃157 blog

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HARUNA: This week... we bring you the 8th edition of "I see - The Catch up"!
We bring you world news and country-specific quizzes! It's a very SCANDAL-like segment, with us having fans all over the world.

TOMOMI: I love this segment.

HARUNA: It seems that it's been about a year since the last one...

TOMOMI: It doesn't feel that long ago...

RINA: That's a lot of time.

HARUNA: The staff comes up with quizzes related to the country of the person who sent in a message, and the band members are asked those questions.
So far...
We have had quizzes based on messages from Estonia, Malaysia, Argentina, Italy, Russia, the US, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, India, and Indonesia.

RINA: Hearing it all again, that's impressive.

HARUNA: It is. "Catch up" is getting messages from all these countries, so it's quite a global program.

MAMI: We're very grateful.

HARUNA: Now, what countries are these quizzes from this time? Let's start with the messages. It's a quiz from a new country!


(*Note from the staff: This message in Japanese from an overseas listener has been left as is)

(*And a note from thoseguiltyeyes: There are a number of mistakes in this message, so I will try to translate those as such to English)

Sixpenny

Hello, everyone!

You well? It's cold, so dress warmly, okay?

I'm French, so please forgive my bad Japanese.

Ah! I went the Paris concert, so it was really the best night of my life!
But I'm sorry I said "Don't cry, Teimo-chan" (haha)
I was wearing a pink T-shirt

But you guys helped me find my purpose.
When will I make your fantastic music?

Enjoy this year!
I will continue to support SCANDAL from the bottom of my heart this year.

All: Thanks!

RINA: This was our first message from France.

HARUNA: I'm happy they went to our Paris concert.
Now then, from France, here's "I see - The Catch up"!

The city of Paris has announced the 2022 "Popular Baby Name Ranking'' based on last year's birth registrations.

The ranking of boys' names was Louis (4th), Raphael (3rd), and Adam (2nd).

What is in first place?

TOMOMI: No, no, wait a minute - That's too hard.

RINA: But it's a good question.

Staff: We'll give you a hint, of course.

HARUNA: Yes, a hint would be good.

RINA: Thanks!

*Hint: By the way, the girls' name ranking is as follows: No. 4 is Jeanne, No. 3 is Emma, No. 2 is Louise, and No. 1 is Alma.

TOMOMI: No, no, that's not a hint!

MAMI: Say the mens' ranking again, starting from fourth place.

HARUNA: Louis in 4th place, Raphael in 3rd, and Adam in 2nd.

TOMOMI: Um, Eve!

(*bzzt)

RINA: What could it be...

MAMI: Paris...

RINA: I wonder if it's one of the names of our European staff...

TOMOMI: Matthew!

HARUNA: George!

(*bzzt)

RINA: I don't know what a standard French name would be.

Staff: By the way, number 10 is "Leon." That's a hint.

TOMOMI: Leon...

MAMI: Eh, that's a hint!? Um, Mike!

(*bzzt)

RINA: It's kind of American, isn't it...

Staff: By the way, number 9 is "Gaspard"!

TOMOMI: Then, Noel!

(*bzzt)

TOMOMI: Liam!

(*bzzt)

HARUNA: Those are Gallaghers.

MAMI: That's Oasis.

TOMOMI: Those are European names, or at least British ones...

Staff: By the way, number 8 is Noah!

TOMOMI: Noah, huh... I said before that those aren't hints!

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 156

•The episode starts with HARU reading a message from a listener from Aichi Prefecture who attended the "recording field trip" for Catch up. They mention the Fine Line Association topics about food and are shocked that what they use for those foods they discussed aren't commonplace when they thought they were (ex. they use ponzu and chili oil for gyoza, and had at that point thought that that's what everyone uses as well). They also say they use mentsuyu (noodle soup base) on tofu and ohitashi (spinach salad). RINA says that that conversation really fired everyone up who was there. HARU says that ponzu is delicious, which the others agree with. RINA says that you don't really get the chance to have these types of convos, so you don't realize that what others do might differ from what you do. HARU says that putting mentsuyu on ohitashi sounds good.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who also attended the event. They say their answers for Smental were close to what HARU answered, and so symphathized with her (they're saying this due to how HARU answered differently than the other 3 members for most of the questions). HARU says thanks to this, which the others laugh at. HARU also says that after the episode aired they got a lot of messages from people saying that they also thought the same things as HARU. She then says, "Don't let it get you down!" The others laugh and RINA says that the listeners are being really considerate. MAMI asks their program director if it's okay to discuss and try to get each other's answers to match before answering, which he says yes to.

•This message/part then happens.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who recently sent in their initial message and then sent in a follow up shortly after. The listener has lived with her boyfriend for a little over two years, and they've been dating for almost three years. The bf might be transferred in April and will have to move to Tokyo. The listener wasn't surprised since he had been trying for a transfer request for a while. She is 28 while the bf is 25. She'd ideally like to get married and he says he's willing to get married as well, but he'd ideally want to get married when he's 30 and have fun without being tied down a bit more. She says she doesn't want to tie him down too much and is wondering if it's okay for her to go to with him to Tokyo without them promising to get married. She also doesn't want to quit her job since she enjoys it, so she's having a hard time taking the plunge. The bf says that he doesn't mind if she goes with him or not. She asks SCANDAL for their opinion.

•Right after the first message is read, MAMI then reads the update. The listener says that a few things have happened. Right after she sent in the message, the bf did in fact ask her to move to Tokyo with him, and even asked her to marry him. She was thinking about what she should do about her job when she found out that she was pregnant. She's been so happy since the beginning of the year that her family and friends have told her she's giving out too much information, but everyone has been encouraging her to leave my job for now and just try to work hard. She apologizes that she ended up quitting her job, but she's taking it as a positive opportunity to try something new. They got married on the third anniversary and had only two weeks to prepare for the ceremony. She says that even though she's moving to Kanto and is pregnant, she's still planning to go see SCANDAL on their upcoming tour and will be going crazy in her heart since she won't really be able to physically do so. The band says that that was a fast development. RINA says that the bf took more action as if being guided, and with the baby on the way, it's like she was being told that this is how things were to naturally flow. HARU says that life sure is interesting.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who asks the band whether she should be happy with the person she loves, or the person who loves her. She's had a crush on someone for a year and talk on LINE every day, but she's not sure if he likes her in the same way or just as a friend. She's afraid of ruining their relationship and so hasn't told him how she feels yet. While in the middle of all this, she met another guy, and it happened to be at SCANDAL's 16th anniversary event last year. They were in the same group and started talking to each other on LINE. Since she already had someone she liked, she wanted to keep her replies casual. However, he would somehow keep the convo going so that there was no awkward break. He lives in Kanto while she lives in Kansai, so if they ever got together, it would mean a long-distance relationship. They met again at BEST Xmas where they had both gone solo, and so enjoyed the concert together. He hasn't clearly said that he likes her yet, but he's planning to go to Kansai in March and asked if they could hang out then, which she said yes to. She says she honestly thinks she would have been attracted to him if she didn't already have someone she liked. She still likes the first guy more and can't give up on him, but she also doesn't want to stay in this half-hearted state and feels bad for the second guy, so she's been wondering if she should give up on her crush or not. She re-asks her question to the band of whether she should be happy with the person she loves, or the person who loves her.

•HARU goes, "Ono, you're responsible for this!" since he was the one who encouraged groups at the anniversary event to exchange LINE contacts with each other. The others laugh and agree. HARU also says that the second guy is obviously in SCANDAL's fan club (since the anniversary event was only for fan club members) so he probably does listen to "Catch up" and is probably like, "This might be me they're talking about!" MAMI jokes and says that they of course want to support the second guy (they refer to him as "MANIA"/"MANIA-kun" lol) since he's a SCANDAL fan. TOMO says that it's hard to lie about how you feel about someone you like, and that she thinks you should be honest and go for the person you're attracted to. The listener clearly likes the first guy more. MAMI says to try going hard on that first guy, if only to settle things, and tell him how they feel. If nothing comes of it, there's MANIA-kun who might like them, and they'll be able to look at him in a romantic way as well from now on. The others agree that it's probably better to first tell the first guy how they feel. TOMO says that there's a possibility that the more the listener and MANIA-kun will become more and more attracted to each other the more they spend time with each other, and there may come a time when she likes him more than he likes her. She says again how she as a members of SCANDAL is rooting for MANIA-kun, but she as a person thinks she should be with the one she likes. A staffer laughs in the background about how they're calling the second guy "MANIA," which makes the band laugh as well. HARU says that both MANIA-kun and the listener shouldn't give up for the time being. TOMO goes, "We're talking about you!", as if talking directly to MANIA-kun. They laugh and RINA says that whoever he is, he's probably realized that they're talking about him. RINA says that even if it doesn't produce results, if he has the power to wait and understand her, maybe it will bear fruit years later - "I have no idea if that'll be true, though," she adds. TOMO says that now he knows that the girl he likes has someone that she likes, which they all laugh at. HARU says that it's possible he's finding it out for the first time. TOMO says that they're rooting for the listener, no matter whom she chooses. HARU says that they're rooting for both the listener and MANIA-kun. TOMO says to eat some sweets together when they meet up in March, and that the band will send them some.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Three years have passed since this message about love advice...  SCANDAL is so excited to hear an update from the listener!!!

Episode ＃156 blog

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HARUNA: This time we're just going to read messages. There are a lot of messages, but we talk too much, and they keep piling up...

RINA: Yeah...

HARUNA: Not only are they piling up, but the contents of the messages are getting more and more deep...

RINA: We're happy and grateful for that.

HARUNA: We read this message about three years ago and have received an update about it. Let's read the message from three years ago.

RINA: It's like a review.

Harupon (3~ years ago)

This is my fifth year as a working adult, but love feels too far away from me and I no longer know what I like. However, in terms of age, I'm vaguely thinking that I would like to marry the next person I date. My favorite type has always been someone older than me and is reliable, and has that gap where they always seem to act silly but is a diligent worker.

Perhaps because I have a younger brother, I have never considered dating someone younger than me. However, I currently have feelings I've never felt before, for a junior colleague. He's four years younger than me and is unreliable and troublesome. However, he's honest, cute, and fun. We talk daily on LINE or on the phone--I never get tired of talking to him. However, once in a while there are moments when I'm conscious of him being younger and that dating him wouldn't be right. He's like a younger brother to me. However, if he ever got a girlfriend, I think I'd feel extremely jealous.

What kind of emotions are these? Our current relationship is enjoyable, and I don't want to be oddly conscious of it. SCANDAL, could you please give me some advice?

HARUNA: I remember that.

TOMOMI: Yeah, I remember too.

MAMI: This was three years ago.

RINA: I'm curious... They sent in a later development. I'll read it.

Harupon

Hello, SCANDAL.
It's been a while since I've sent in a message.
Actually, he proposed to me the other day, and we are getting married.

All: Ahh! Congratulations!

He's younger than me, but before we started dating, my message about asking for love advice regarding a man younger than me was read on "Catch up." (I think it was back in the early days of the program, but I'm too embarrassed to listen to it again now.)

Back then, I never thought I would end up getting married this way, so I feel like I don't know what's in store for me. We have a lot of decisions to make for the wedding and such, but I am happy every day.

The other day we both went to look at wedding rings, and the woman who helped us at the store was a SCANDAL fan. She noticed the sticker in my phone case and approached me. It was the first time I was approached in that way, and it made me very happy.

It was a very happy time for me, as I was able to choose a ring and talk about my favorite band, SCANDAL, and my heart felt so warm.

All: Congratulations!

TOMOMI: That's the best!

RINA: That's so lovely!

HARUNA: Congrats, but I want to hear about what happened in the last three years...

RINA: We need details.

TOMOMI: I want to hear how it started!

MAMI: From those feelings they sent to us three years ago, how did it go from, "Ah, I like him..." to seeing him as a love interest...

RINA: I wonder how they changed their mind about falling in love with someone younger.

MAMI: I wonder when it happened.

RINA: And he proposed! Thank you for sending in this message...but can you tell us a little more about it?

MAMI: Yeah.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 155

•The episode starts with this.

•The next topic is "going by yourself to a theme park." All of the band members say they've never done that before, but MAMI says that she had planned to do so in the past. HARU says that she had also thought about going alone. They all agree that if you think about going alone, then it's totally something doable. RINA says that she probably couldn't do that, though, since she doesn't know if she'd be able to have fun by herself. TOMO says that sometimes you are able to get on rides faster if you're solo (HARU says that's known as "single rider"), so knowing that, there could be times when you'd want to go alone. RINA says that those who go solo are cool. HARU asks the audience if there's anyone who has gone to a theme park solo. Quite a few people raise their hands, which surprises the band. MAMI asks if there's anyone who hasn't done so but would. Less people raise their hands for this.

•Their director wonders if anyone's gone solo many times. HARU wonders if there's anyone who actually prefers going alone, and some people apparently do raise their hands. They ask if it's okay to ask why they prefer going solo, and pick a listener to ask. HARU asks if they go to the "east" theme park or the "west" theme park (east = Tokyo Disneyland/Disney Sea, west = Universal Studios Japan; HARU was being vague about it so as to not mention any names likely due to copyright reasons). They say they go to the "east" one. TOMO asks if they go to the biggest one of the "east" parks (Tokyo Disneyland, since it's bigger than Disney Sea). They say that they have an annual pass so they go to both parks. The band is surprised and HARU says that they must really like theme parks. They say that it's the same as going to a cafe for them. RINA asks if they've specifically gone to eat there. They say they have. TOMO asks what the perks are of going alone. They say that they don't have to worry about someone else, they can eat whatever and whenever they want, and they can watch the shows/parades from wherever they want. HARU says that she totally gets all that. Another thing they say is that if they get tired, they can leave whenever they want. HARU says that she's getting to see the appeal of doing stuff alone when they hear stories like this.

•The next topic is "traveling solo," which the director prefaces by saying it's something that they've previously discussed on the program. There are some band members who have traveled solo before, with HARU being one of them, but she clarifies that although she physically traveled alone, she did meet up with friends after arriving. RINA says that that was when HARU had traveled to New York. HARU says yes, and that she met up and ate with friends who lived in NY. RINA says that she'd like to try traveling solo in Japan and doing all the activities solo. They then ask the audience if there's anyone who has ever traveled solo, and there apparently are a lot. HARU says that there are probably people who have traveled solo to go to a concert. RINA asks if there are people who have done that, and there are a lot. She then asks if there are people who have traveled solo but not for a concert, and people do indicate that they have. They ask where they've traveled. The first person says that they traveled solo back home today--they seemingly live in/around the Tokyo area and had just gotten back from camping in Miyazaki (Kyushu Area). They arrived at Haneda Airport and went straight to this recording. The band says that they're glad they decided to hold this in the evening. The next person says they traveled to London solo last year. HARU asks the reason why. They say they had always wanted to visit London, and it was kind of a pain to try and find/invite someone else to travel with them. The next person traveled to Nagoya to get their hair done by the boyfriend of an influencer they like. They also visited a cafe that the influencer likes. The band says that sounds like fun.

•RINA says that everyone has their own hobbies/likes, and since they're traveling for that purpose, it feels as if the destination is decided on on its own (rather than the person's own accord). She also says that she's different in that regard. HARU asks what she means. MAMI asks if it means that she wants to travel without having any particular thing/event/etc. in mind, which RINA says yes to. That's why she's always unsure of where to travel to. HARU asks if it's hard to plan unless she has a long vacation. RINA says that if it's somewhere within Japan, then it's not too hard to go somewhere for one or two days. MAMI says that one thing you could do is drive, get on the highway, have your driving app take you somewhere, and stop at whatever place you're close to when you're about to run out of gas. RINA says that that sounds really nice and doable for her. HARU reminds the audience that RINA is someone who will drive for 4-5 hours without ever getting out of the Tokyo area. RINA laughs and says that she was planning on leaving the area, but she ended up driving around it for 4 hours. The other three still can't seem to believe she did that.

•Next, HARU reads a topic that was selected by the staff: Soy sauce and ponzu. TOMO asks if they're supposed to find the fine line between the two, and says that they're two separate things. The director clarifies that they're supposed to find the fine line between what you use them on/for. He asks what the band uses on tofu. All of them say soy sauce. He then asks them to ask audience. Most people choose soy sauce as well, but there are a few that choose ponzu. RINA says that it definitely ought to taste good. MAMI + HARU say that they know it probably tastes good, but they like using soy sauce with it more. The next food is ohitashi (Japanese spinach salad). All 4 of them immediately pick soy sauce. The audience mostly chooses soy sauce with a few going with ponzu. TOMO goes, "They really like ponzu!" (likely because it's the same people choosing it each time). The director says that apparently younger people these days prefer ponzu. He then asks about sashimi. The band says soy sauce. Next, he asks about nabe (hot pot). TOMO, MAMI, and RINA go with ponzu while HARU goes with soy sauce. Only one person in the audience also choose soy sauce, while pretty much everyone else goes with ponzu. TOMO says that it also depends on what kind of nabe it is. The director says that he actually expected there to be more of a debate with this, but it didn't happen. The band laughs at this. The director says that his kids use ponzu for everything.

•RINA then asks if she can ask what people use for gyoza. TOMO says that she just uses vinegar. MAMI says that she uses vinegar and black pepper. RINA asks if there's anyone in the audience that uses ponzu for gyoza, and apparently about 1/3 of them do. MAMI says that it also tastes good with mayo. The others say that they don't put mayo on it, though it does sound good. Next, they ask the audience who eats gyoza with vinegar and soy sauce. About 1/3 does. Then they ask about ponzu, which about 1/3 does as well. They wonder what the remaining people do. They ask if about vinegar and black pepper, but don't really mention how many people raise their hands. The director asks who hasn't raised their hands for anything yet. They ask one person what they do, and they say that they don't use anything. HARU asks if there are people who do their own kind of original thing, and someone answers yuzu and black pepper. The band excitedly says that that sounds good. MAMI says that it sounds like it would go well with nabe. Another person says they use vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil. Another person says spicy miso, which surprises the band but they do say it sounds good. HARU asks if it's something that their family does, or if it's something that they themselves came up with. They say that there's a really good spicy miso sold in their hometown of Saitama. TOMO asks if they could send some to them, which makes everyone laugh.

•They then move on to the next and final segment, a small viewing party for their MIRROR documentary film where they'll also talk a little bit about behind-the-scenes stuff. They ask if anyone watched the film when it was up on U-NEXT and thanks the ones who raise their hands. They then show a teaser to the audience. Following that, they ask if there's anyone would has already seen the film and would like to tell the band their thoughts. RINA says that it might be easier if the band shared their thoughts on it first.

RINA: "I think we were able to take another step forward by doing this tour. We've been touring and making music while wondering how much we should be telling our fans. But when we were on tour last year, I really thought stuff like we might not be able to do this anymore, we might not be able to write any more songs, and that this might be our last tour. But we honestly put it all out there and made it into a singular work while trying to somehow tie it all together and playing concerts. We really wanted to sear the images of our audiences into our minds. We put our hearts and souls into these concerts, thinking that this might be the last time we see each other, so it really turned into a tour that had a different color than previous ones, and became an album that was special to us. There were steps that we couldn't have taken if we hadn't been able to do this tour. That period was like glue that wasn't adhering together, which is why there are things that we were able to thoroughly understand by having everyone see it in its entirety. It was really tough, but that's why it feels like we should go further. That's why we want our fans to see this film and to put it out into the world. We made this film and album with the determination to show all the good and bad things, even in our own lives, and as a band, and to leave it as a work that'll remain even after we die, which is big deal for us as a band. That's why I think the most important thing was to have people watch this."

HARU: "A lot of things that were planned went up in smoke due to the pandemic, and we were at a loss because of that. It wasn't easy to make progress, but that's why we released our album last year. We were able to tour in Japan and able to go overseas, and were able to properly connect it with this year. To summarize it, it was such an important tour for us. A lot happened on that tour, like having to cancel the US tour in the middle of it, but we were happy we got to see our overseas fans again. Then there was the pain of canceling the rest of that leg of the tour and getting sick--we experienced both sides of the coin. But it was all part of the experience. We could have gone on without knowing about it all, but there are many things that we were able to properly connect to this year because we know."

RINA: "When the rest of that leg of the tour was canceled, it was so shocking that we didn't know what to do. But after making the film, we realize now that it wasn't an issue. We didn't lose anything because of it. It was more about our mentality and feelings, and how to face music--there was a bigger theme floating there. That was more important that anything else, which makes it tough to face it and it requires strength, but we could no longer ignore it. It was hard, but I'm glad the four of us were able to face it. I think that was a really big thing."

HARU: "Yeah, we get really passionate when we start talking about these kinds of things. We hold a lot of discussions."

RINA: "But I'm really interested in how people felt about it."

HARU: "Yeah, so let's ask the audience if they have any comments or questions."

•They say that they have time to hear from one person, and invite anyone who wants to share their thoughts in a short, light manner. A fan comes up and says that she attended the Toronto, New York, and Boston shows and so was able to really feel that HARU's MCs were properly conveyed to everyone. The film then properly conveys that. She really wants people all over the world to see it. She also says that she was really worried when the tour was canceled halfway through. She wondered how the band was spending their time, and how they were making the transition from one place to another, which is able to be seen in the film. She closes by saying that when they say TOMO apologizing, seeing how the other band members immediately said positive words to her made the fan think of how they want to keep being a fan. The fan is emotional and tears up while speaking, which makes the band also sound emotional as they thank her.

RINA: "We've been playing concerts through our teens, twenties, and thirties, and although it still won't be smooth sailing from here on out, we've been a band while feeling like we don't know what could happen at any moment. But it'd be really great if that that tingling feeling could become an electrifying piece of music that touches everyone. We're definitely staking our lives to compose songs and play concerts, so we really hope that it reaches each and every fan and that its power spreads out as far as possible. There's something about having fans  that makes us feel stronger, and that's what makes it worthwhile. I think that this is what we ought to be doing, and it's why we're able to talk about how we would like to do our activities in this way this year."

HARU: "I was also very happy to hear that you could feel that my MCs were understood by the audiences. I talked a bit about it in the film, but of course there's a language barrier in different countries. Even though my English good at all, I try to convey my feelings to the audience, so I'm very glad to know that my words were conveyed to the audience regardless of whether it was someone's first time seeing us, or if they've been supporting us for a long time. Thank you very much!"

•It's then time to close out the episode. HARU says that it was very valuable to them to be able to talk about their activities from last year to this year in front of everyone and convey everything in person. She knows that their messages are conveyed via the radio as well, of course, but being in the same space and breathing the same air together helps to have everything reach listeners quicker. She then says that all four band members will share their thoughts on today's event.

MAMI: "Thanks for coming out today! It was really fun to see and hear your reactions in real time like this.
It's always just the four of us when we record, so it was a lot of fun to have a lively atmosphere in this space. I think there are signs that things are going to get better [pandemic-wise], so I'd be happy if eventually we could all take off our masks and see the smiles on everyone's faces with our own eyes. I hope we can create a space where people can be natural and not just applaud. Please apply again then! Thank you very much!"

RINA: "Thank you so much for coming from all over the country! It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we could meet today. I'm really glad that we had this chance to talk in front of everyone. There's a strong variety of people here, and when it comes to the band, it's just too important to us that we're full of emotions. We always deliver this podcast every week, and I think Catch up is the place where we can continue to share our voices and our feelings at the moment. It'd make me very happy if you could listen to our voices whenever you have time and whenever you feel like it. I'm really glad we got to see each other today. Thank you very much!"

TOMO: "Thank you very much! It's been a long time since we've had a chance to meet like this outside of a live concert, hasn't it? Since the pandemic started, there have been very few face-to-face events like this, so I'm very happy to see everyone. Does everyone have a Twitter account? If you could tweet your thoughts on today's event with a hashtag, we'd love to hear from you."

MAMI: "You can also post an Instagram Story."

HARU: "What should the hashtag be?"

TOMO: "Hashtag? Uh..."

RINA: "Isn't it 'Catch up' (キャッチアップ)?"

HARU: "That's it?"

Ono: "Add the '収録見学会' to it."

TOMO: "'Catch up'..."

HARU: "'Shuuroku Kengakukai'?" (＃Catchup収録見学会)

TOMO: "...yes, let's go with that."

RINA: "Simple is best."

TOMO: "Tweet using that hashtag. We always record this program with just the four of us and Ono, the bare minimum amount of people, at our office. It's always like, 'Is anyone listening to this program??' I sometimes get DMs about it, but they're so few and far between!"

HARU: "They have increased a lot, though."

TOMO: "A little bit. We know there are at least 50 listeners (the amount of people in the audience), so we better get 50 tweets using that hashtag! I'll be checking in two hours."

MAMI, RINA: "That's so fast!"

TOMO: "Please post yours by midnight. Thanks so much!"

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

What's the extent of someone doing something alone? Holding the Fine Line Association with listener participation for the first time!

Episode ＃155 blog

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(~in front of all the listeners who have gathered~)

HARUNA: So... today is February 12th, the second week of SCANDAL Catch up's first "recording field trip."

Staff: Please read the lines in the script.

HARUNA: Hmm? Oh, right here. "The tension and tension-filled atmosphere of each recording session is observed as is."

RINA: That's not true.

TOMOMI: Yeah, we're always on edge...

HARUNA: That's never happened.

RINA: You wrote down a lie.

Staff: Yes, we lied. Well, we have been doing it like this for three years.

HARUNA: That's trueー

TOMOMI: Three years - it's gone by so fast.

RINA: Yeah, three years.

MAMI: Ehー, three years??

HARUNA: So fastー. After 3 years, we've finally done a "recording field trip."

RINA: That makes us happy.

TOMOMI: This program started right around when the pandemic did.

HARUNA: We've talked with the listeners on the phone, but this is the first time seeing everyone in person and recording together. How was week one's episode?

RINA: It felt really special. More than anything, everyone's voices and applause made me feel glad that we were able to do this.

HARUNA: Yeah, I'd love to do this again next.

RINA: We talk a lot about what's "next." Well, we are aiming to record at Tokyo Dome.

HARUNA: Now then, this time we're doing "Kyoukai-sen Kyokai" (Fine Line Association)!

All: (*Very excited)

HARUNA: This will be the first time "Kyoukai-sen Kyokai", which is loved by all listeners, will have listener participation. Let's introduce today's agenda and message.

Zakisu

These are fine lines related to human behavior.
Please discuss amongst yourselves and find an answer!

Now, let me present the topic.

"The fine line between what you can do alone vs. what you can't～"

Staff: We will present the topics, so please discuss them with everyone. First, "going to eat ramen by yourself"!

HARUNA: First, who among the four of us can go out to eat ramen by themselves?

All: Me!

RINA: How about the listeners?

(*Almost everyone can do so!)

Staff: Next, "going to eat yakiniku by yourself"!

MAMI: Is that a question of whether it's doable or not??

TOMOMI: It's doable by yourself...

MAMI: I've never done that...

TOMOMI: Yeah, I never have.

Staff: If you haven't gone, then it's "not doable."

MAMI: I've never experienced it.

HARUNA: Me neither.

TOMOMI: I haven't.

RINA: I haven't...

(*None of the band members have ever done "solo yakiniku")

TOMOMI: But, it is doable.

HARUNA: I think I could do it if I wanted to.

MAMI: I could.

HARUNA: Among the audience, has anyone ever done "solo yakiniku"??

(*Several people raise their hands)

HARUNA: Ah, but not much.

MAMI: Is there anyone who's like, "I haven't done it before, but it's totally something I could do!"??

(*Many people raise their hands)

MAMI: Everyone can do solo yakiniku.

Staff: But if you can do it, why haven't you done it?

MAMI: Because there's never a time when I want to eat yakiniku by myself.

TOMOMI: You want to eat it with a group.

HARUNA: I've thought about trying it.

MAMI: There are "solo yakiniku" restaurants these days. You could totally go there if you wanted to.

TOMOMI: You want to order as many types of yakiniku as possible, right?

RINA: Right?

TOMOMI: There's a limit to what one person can eat.

HARUNA: Yeah. Yakiniku is more enjoyable when eaten with friends.

RINA: But even if you go with friends, you can't share "bibimbap."

HARUNA: That's not something you do.

RINA: I'd want to eat bibimbap alone.

Staff: Here's a new topic. The fine line between whether or not you can share bibimbap.

RINA: Yeah. Is everyone able to share theirs??

(* About half raise their hands)

TOMOMI: It's 50-50.

MAMI: RINA just loves bibimbap.

RINA: I can eat as much as I want. On our recent world tour, we went to a Korean restaurant at the end and everyone was sharing their food, but I was the only one eating alone.

HARUNA: That's so true. That's why I won't say to give me some anymore.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 154

•The episode starts with this.

•They then wonder what other common jobs that listeners seem to hold. MAMI says a hair stylist, and a few people seem to raise their hands. The band then asks if there are any people working in apparel. No one raises their hands, which RINA is surprised at. A staffer then says to ask if there are any students. There do seem to be a few. HARU says that it seems like mostly everyone has raised their hands, but asks if there's anyone who didn't raise their hands. A few seem to. The band is surprised and wonders what they do. Someone says they're a "自宅警備員" (jitaku-keibiin; literally means "security officer of one's own home," but actually translates to being a "shut-in"). HARU says that's a great way to phrase it. Someone else says they're searching for a job, and the band says they hope they find something. Someone else says they're a nurse. The band then asks if there are any others in the medical field and apparently many of them raise their hands.

•The first segment they do is a Valentine's version of "Smental" (where all 4 band members try to write the same answer in the first go). HARU says that they've never successfully done so. TOMO goes, "It's your fault!" (referring to HARU's 'mochi' answer during episode 137). HARU goes, "Ehh??" The band gets into place to play and wonders if this being a "Valentine's version" means that the questions are related to Valentine's Day. The first question is: "What letter of the alphabet seems like it would taste sweet?" TOMO and RINA says that this is a really good question. HARU reads the message that the question comes from. The listener is a nursery school teacher (MAMI makes a noise of recognition but HARU continues to read the message) who has been playing Smental with their kids for a while now. They asked the kids to name a hiragana character that seemed like it would be delicious to eat. They ask the band if there are any characters that look tasty at a glance. After the message is read, RINA reminds them that it came from a nursery school teacher. HARU goes, "Yeah!" and then a second later, "Oh!", and all of them then go, "Hey! Teacher!" MAMI says that they can never tell if HARU realizes things like that because she'll just keep reading the rest of the message without pausing. TOMO says that they should have all said the line right after the listener's job was revealed. HARU apologizes, which the others laugh at.

•Going back to the question asked about which letter of the alphabet that seems like it would taste sweet, TOMO says that one with no sharp corners probably would be best. RINA agrees. HARU says that it's not good to have a discussion like this at the start of the episode. The others are confused and ask what she means. She says that it's probably because their answers won't match up. She says that she's thinking about what her answer could be, though. RINA goes, "If there's one you're thinking of, then just write it down!" They reiterate again that they're not choosing one that has sharp corners. TOMO and RINA try to suggest to HARU that the letter(s) they're thinking of look like they're shapes of commercially available products, and that one of them has an 'accent' to them. HARU is really confused at what this means. They say that there are basically two possible selections, and HARU, who has no idea what they could be, goes, "What do you mean, two possible selections??" while the others and the audience laugh. HARU still doesn't understand what the 'accent' thing means. RINA says to imagine it even harder. HARU says that she is. She then says that she has four letters in mind. TOMO and RINA are surprised at this. MAMI talks about the Meiji chocolates in front of them and what they're shaped like, trying to give HARU a hint. HARU still doesn't understand what they mean at first, but then says that she understands...but then says that although she's saying she understands, she probably doesn't actually understand. She says that they should all just write down their first answer. RINA asks if they're going with the one with the 'accent' or not. HARU says without it. The others say okay, but HARU then suddenly goes, "Wait, I have no idea! This segment really is scary."

•TOMO then wonders what the audience thinks and if they understand what letters they could be talking about. Some seem to indicate that they do know what they mean. HARU can still be heard in the background saying that she doesn't get it. RINA again says that they'll go with the letter with no 'accent.' TOMO says to think simply about it and go with a letter that looks like one you could easily bring to your mouth and eat. Then she asks if HARU knows the alphabet, which makes the audience laugh. She says, "Okay, you know it? Just checking." They write down the answers and then reveal them. They actually all answer the same--the letter "O"--and get Smental for the first time. They all get really excited and say that they're really happy they got it. Their program director asks them what four choices HARU was thinking of. She says O, I, C, and U. MAMI asks her if she got the 'accent' thing. HARU says she didn't. The others go, "It was Q!" and point out that it has that line going through it. HARU is surprised and says that she had no idea that was what they were talking about. RINA says it was miraculous that they all answered the same. Then, HARU suddenly says that she finally understood the Q thing, which makes everyone laugh.

•They move on to the second question: "What is something you always have in your refrigerator, aside from chocolate?" The director says that the chocolate thing was a typo (lol), since it's not like everyone always has some chocolate in their fridge. The band says that there are all kinds of stuff that could apply. TOMO and RINA think that something is used daily could work. A horn sound effect is played to signal the end of thinking time. RINA goes, "Okay, let's do it." HARU and MAMI go, "Eh??" since they didn't really have time to consider things. MAMI asks if it's okay to narrow things down, which is agreed on. MAMI says that perhaps they should go with something that you can directly eat after taking it out of the fridge, like a condiment. HARU says that maybe it should be a drink. MAMI then says that maybe it should be something that you'd need to cook. RINA says that instead of a condiment, maybe they should go with an ingredient. TOMO says that maybe they should go with an ingredient that's smooth. RINA and MAMI seem to get it, but HARU doesn't seem to and says that there are lots of things that could fit that. RINA says to go with one that you can prepare in many different ways.

•They then write down their answers. RINA says that she feels that they'll all have the same answer. TOMO says that there are a lot of potential things she can think of, but she went with the one that seemed most likely. HARU says that she doesn't really get it, but she did write down something she always has at home. They reveal their answers. There's a pause before the audience starts to laugh. (They never mentioned what they had written, but it seems HARU wrote down "tofu" while the other three wrote "eggs") TOMO goes, "Hey!" to HARU. HARU goes, "This isn't true!" MAMI goes, "What do you mean by that??" HARU says to do these answers with her mind. RINA goes, "We only have you in mind when we do these!" TOMO says that it's okay if she doesn't like boiled eggs or such, and that there are many cooking methods to add flavor to them. HARU says that that's not it. RINA says that not giving her answer as "eggs" aside, she questions if HARU actually prepares tofu in many ways (since they had mentioned that they should answer with something that can be prepared in many different ways). TOMO says that HARU had no intention of matching answers with them.

•They bring up how they planned to go with something that's smooth, and HARU says that tofu is smooth. MAMI says that they were trying to continue the 'smooth' pattern from the previous question. TOMO says that because "O" is a smooth shape, they had said to answer this question with something 'smooth' that is also shaped the same. There's some laughter heard before HARU goes, "Yeah, that's true," but then asks to let her say one thing: She says that she doesn't buy eggs. MAMI asks if that means she doesn't make stuff like scrambled eggs or tamagoyaki. HARU says that she doesn't, and doesn't buy eggs because she's not that good at cooking them. That's why that idea never came to her. TOMO goes, "But generally speaking, eggs would be the correct answer for this question." RINA asks HARU if those hints they gave didn't connect with her. HARU says not at all. TOMO says that's HARU's a rare type of person for this, which makes the audience laugh. HARU says that now that it's been mentioned, she could totally understand eggs being the perfect answer for this question; it's just that eggs really aren't something that could have occurred as an answer for her. Their director then says that since they didn't get Smental, they need to do it one more time and ask that they all answer "tofu." RINA laughs at how HARU's answers have gone from mochi to tofu. MAMI says that they can't get their answers relating to white-colored things to match up. They write down and reveal their second answers. There's a pause before they all go, "Okay." and say unenthusiastically that they all matched up. TOMO says that they always sound down when they do this segment. They all laugh and joke that they should stop doing this segment.

•The next segment is to make a new program jingle. They say that since they have an audience today, they'll have them participate in making the jingle. The director says that they'll be giving HARU a bag full of some more unusual instruments that another staffer has found and pass them to the other members. MAMI says that HARU will take a look at the bag and then give them out. HARU looks through them and isn't really sure what they could be. RINA asks if they're all ones that she hasn't seen before. HARU says that there's at least one that she's never seen before, and that there are also ones that they've used before. There's a big one that they apparently all take a look at and are surprised. They wonder what it is. HARU says that she has no idea how it can be played. TOMO says that the pattern on it is cute. The staff briefly tells them what to do. They try it out and say it sounds like a rhythm instrument, which they decide will go to RINA. HARU picks out an ocarina next, which they had used in previous jingles. She then pulls out a bird whistle, another instrument that they used previously, and says she'll give it to TOMO, who had previously played it. The next one she pulls out she says is another mysterious instrument. The others are surprised when she shows it to them. RINA says it looks cute. It makes a chiming sound, which they say sounds really nice. They try to figure out how it's supposed to be played. They say that maybe it's supposed to be like cymbals. They try hitting them together, which makes a dull-sounding clinking sound. Everyone laughs and the staff says that that's not what it's for. The chimes are supposed to hit against each other lightly, like a regular chime. MAMI says that it's really hard to make it sound. HARU says there's one more, which looks like something you'd normally hit to make a sound. She says that maybe RINA should play this one. MAMI says it looks like a taiko drum rather than a tambourine. They try to make it make a sound, and it sounds like a light knocking sound.

•They try to decide the final lineup of who plays which instrument. MAMI asks if HARU is going to play the ocarina (instrument ＃2). HARU says either that, or instrument ＃1. RINA says she's unsure which instrument to go with for rhythm. She seems to try out instrument ＃1 with both hands, which they say make a nice sound. She decides to go with it. So the final lineup seems to be: HARU = instrument ＃4 (chime), MAMI = instrument ＃2 (ocarina), TOMO = instrument ＃3 (bird whistle), RINA = instrument ＃5 (some kind of drum?). HARU then asks their director what they had planned to have the audience do for this. He says that they hadn't planned anything for them, but clapping would be good to do. He also says that meaningless laughter works as well (as in the laughter the audience will probably make when hearing the band attempt a jingle). The band is amused by that and HARU wonders if the staff will include that laughter in the final jingle. MAMI asks what kind of tempo they're going for and goes, "Are we going for an intense one?" She and the others laugh at this. HARU says that since this is a Valentine's-themed episode, they should do it based on an existing Meiji jingle. HARU and TOMO briefly start singing this. Their director says to first make a jingle that advertises the "Catch up" program. HARU mentions that they had tried playing the melodies for "one more time" and "MIRROR" for the last jingles they did. MAMI asks the audience to raise their hands if there's anyone who has a song that they want them to play. One person suggests "SPICE." RINA jokes that that is an intense song (connecting to what MAMI said earlier). TOMO goes, "How does 'SPICE' go, again?" The others and the audience laugh. HARU and MAMI both sing/hum the chorus a bit. MAMI says it seems hard to do but they'll try it out.

•They test out their respective instruments and then try out playing the jingle.  RINA says that they did pretty well. Their director asks if they're done, or if they want to try another take. RINA says that they'll do another, and asks the others what they should do to close it out. HARU laughs and says she has no idea how to close it out. They decide to play the chorus all the way through, and then TOMO will close it out with her bird whistle. They do their second take and say that that one was really good.

•The Valentine's jingle is then recorded. The staff says to HARU that just singing it is okay (she doesn't need to play her instrument as well), and that they'll also have the audience help out by clapping. RINA taps out the beat for the audience to follow, and then tells HARU to try singing. She starts singing the Meiji jingle that she and TOMO had sung a bit earlier. TOMO is caught off guard and says something in surprise and starts to play her whistle. Chimes are also heard being played. They finish and HARU asks if it seems doable. RINA says while laughing that it seems that TOMO's having the most trouble. HARU says that they'll all keep getting better. They do a second take. After, HARU says that the audience's clapping should be a little louder. TOMO also says that they can all say "Meiji" at the end. HARU says that the band has improved their instrument-playing a lot since the start of this segment. They do the third and final take. After, they all excitedly say that it went really well. They ask the staff if it was good, which they seem to say it was.

•They then close out the episode. They say how this episode will come out the very next day, which they say is amazing. HARU says that there's usually about a week between when they record an episode until it's released, so their staff will start editing it right after this recording's finished. RINA says that they talked even more than they usually do, and HARU says while laughing that this episode was also probably even more disorganized than usual. TOMO jokingly goes, "Sorry about that!"

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Airing the first "recording field trip" held on February 12th!

Episode ＃154 blog

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(~in front of all the listeners who have gathered~)

RINA: I'm so happy~!

TOMOMI: About 50 people were chosen via lottery from among the many applicants.

RINA: You were all chosen from among enough applicants to fill up Quattro (*a small music club)!

TOMOMI: Congratulations!

RINA: Congratulations!

HARUNA: Don't be nervous; just enjoy yourselves.

RINA: We won't say anything scary...so it's okay

HARUNA: We've stirred things up quite a bit, though.

RINA: Yeah, we did say a lot of things on air the other day.

TOMOMI: Like, "Please each have a story ready to go."

HARUNA: (*to the staff) ...So, are we going to start recording now?

Staff: We've been rolling for some time now.

HARUNA: Eh, we have!?

RINA: Eh, what do we do?

Staff: Please start by saying hello.

HARUNA: So the usual, then.
Good evening, everyone. This is SCANDAL's vocalist HARUNA,
Bassist TOMOMI,
Guitarist MAMI,
And drummer RINA.

HARUNA: So... today is February 12, the first "recording field trip" of SCANDAL Catch up. We finally get to meet our listeners in person!

RINA: We've really been looking forward to this day! We thought it would be nice to have a chance to meet our fans outside of concerts, and this number of people here is also exquisite.

HARUNA: This is a good size for the first time we're doing this.

RINA: Are these "recording field trips" going to get even bigger??

HARUNA: It's possible, isn't it??

TOMOMI: Eventually.

MAMI: Like Tokyo Dome!?

TOMOMI: Before we play a solo concert there.

RINA: We've never even done a solo concert there, and now we're going to Tokyo Dome for a Catch up "recording field trip."

HARUNA: That's crazy. At any rate, this will be a fun recording, so please enjoy observing. Since you've come all this way, please participate in this recording. We plan to ask many questions.

TOMOMI: Are there any teachers here??

→7 people raise their hands...!

All: Ehー!! Teachers～!!

HARUNA: One, two...

All: Hey! Teacher!!

MAMI: We met some teachersー!!

TOMOMI: What kind of teachers are you guys??

HARUNA: That's really amazing. Something must be going on.

RINA: This makes me happy. I'm happy that teachers listen to our music!

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 153

•The episode starts with this.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who is a 3rd-year college student who retired from their volunteer group in December. In the group they held a meeting every week to come up with a project, and they say that the most enjoyable project they did was the "Kyoukai-sen Kyoukai" (Fine Line Association). They say that when they first heard about this segment on "Catch up," they decided to borrow it for their group. The band says that they're glad that their segment was useful for their volunteer group. HARU says that it's surprising how "Kyoukai-sen Kyoukai" was used in a volunteer group. RINA says that it surprisingly fits really well for that.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who thanks them for reading their message on episode 69 (about how they were suddenly praised by a business partner at work for being handsome), and for the Apollo pouch they gave him. They ask the band for advice on lies. The other day a female friend of his asked him to introduce her to a male acquaintance, and they made plans for the three of them to go out to eat. The guy got there first, and the listener + friend ended up going there together a little later. On the way there, the girl was like, "Aren't my hairstyle and clothes weird? Are they okay?" The listener thought that she looked cute, but the moment he thought so he realized that she had visible nose hairs coming out of her nose. He thought he should immediately tell her, but then realized that she might get hurt hearing that. Instead of straight-up telling her, he wondered if he should say something like, "Do you want to go to the bathroom?" Then he started to panic about not saying something to her right away and thought it might cause the atmosphere to get weird, so he did just straight-up say, "Your nose hairs are sticking out." He was surprised at himself for saying it. She got mad and ended up leaving before they got to the restaurant. He asks SCANDAL what he should have done, what choice would they have made in this situation, and what they would do if they had to tell something like that to people other than the band members. He also says that after that happened, he went alone to the restaurant to meet the guy friend and lied that the girl had some urgent business that came up. But the listener says that it actually ends happily: Some time after that, the guy friend and the girl friend did end up starting to date each other.

•The band laughs hard at this and say that the listener is a good guy. They say that he didn't really say anything that was bad; they were actually kind. HARU says that it's better to say things like the nose hair thing straightforwardly. They also kind of joke for a long time about how the nose hair thing lol. After this, HARU again says reiterates that it's better to be told that kind of thing straightforwardly. RINA says in a brash tone, "Like, 'Your nose hairs are sticking out'?", exactly how the listener had written that line in their message. They all laugh and HARU says that she doesn't want to be told in that exact way. TOMO says the line more softly and airily, which HARU says is a better way of saying it.

•They then close out the episode. They say how they were only able to read four messages, but all of them had great content.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Finally moving to their dream city of Nagoya! About the happening that the listener experienced, MAMI says, "What a coincidence!"

Episode ＃153 blog

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HARUNA: We'll be reading many messages for this episode. I'm happy to hear that more and more messages are coming through.

RINA: That makes me happy...

TOMOMI: We're grateful...

HARUNA: Let's get right to it.

Harurhythm

Good evening, SCANDAL. I sent a message about Nagoya last year. I talked about wanting to live in Nagoya, and I've decided to move there at the end of February! I'll be within walking distance to Nagoya Station.

I left Kanagawa for the first time and decided to change jobs for the first time in my life. When I went to Nagoya for a concert, I fell in love with it and started to think that I wanted to live there, and finally my dream came true. I'm really, really thankful to HARU.

By the way, when I went to see the apartment, the staff knew about SCANDAL and the conversation got lively, which was also fun. They often sing your songs at karaoke, and said they like "Shoujo S" and "Space Ranger." I was happy to be able to talk about SCANDAL in Nagoya, which I love so much.

I've been told by people around me that "there's nothing in Nagoya," but when I live there, I want to tell people from other prefecture about how appealing Nagoya is.

RINA: That's amazing... Their feelings for Nagoya.

TOMOMI: Congrats for making your dream come true - Such passion for Nagoya.

MAMI: Ah, Zepp is really close to their place in Nagoya.

HARUNA: And the real estate agent was also a fan... The real estate agent knows a lot of our early songs.

MAMI: They're probably from the same generation as us, but what a coincidence.

TOMOMI: "Space Ranger" is the first single from our indies era.

HARUNA: Harurhythm, please tell people from other prefecture about how appealing Nagoya is.

MAMI: We also want you to tell us about recent happenings in Nagoya...

HARUNA: Yeah, let's have them that.

TOMOMI: No, don't we already introduce a lot of those on the program?

HARUNA: Yeah?

TOMOMI: Two people have said, "Everyone knows that!"... And things like, "They opened Ghibli Park," and "Legoland is nice."

Fuyuinu

Hello, SCANDAL!

I'm working at a cafe in Shizuoka now. Before that, I was a normal office worker, but I used to work part-time at a cafe. I love cafes, so I decided to change jobs at the end of the year! Recently, I've felt that my work is fun and fulfilling every day.

The people at work were all good people, and we got along very quickly. Among them, there was one lady who was close to my age, and she also had changed careers. I asked her what her previous job was. To my surprise, she said that she had been working at Tsumagoi (the resort that SCANDAL's Mystery Tours 2 was held at) until August! ! I had participated in Mystery Tours 2, so when I told her about it, she was surprised and said, "I remember that large group!!"

When I talked about the huge oyakodon that was served for lunch, she said, "Everyone sure ate a lot～" haha. Apparently, that's their normal size! haha. By the way, she was serving curry at that time, so it was a near miss! haha. I felt that it was an interesting connection (?) with SCANDAL. I will continue to enjoy my work every day!

TOMOMI: Wow...

HARUNA: What are the odds?? Isn't this another crazy coincidence??

MAMI: We ate that curry. It was delicious.

RINA: "That large group...

TOMOMI: Ours was definitely that "large group."

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 152

•The episode starts with this.

•The rest of the episode is of them continuing to talk more about the 'recording field trip' and possible things they could do to communicate with the audience (sounds like they're reading from a list that the staff prepared), such as learning what area the listeners are from and talk about dialect words used there; or doing "Kyoukai-sen Kyoukai" (Fine Line Association) by taking in more opinions than usual and drawing where the fine line is on that topic; or a Valentine's version of "Smental." They laugh at the Valentine's version of Smental and wonder how that could work. MAMI says that it could involve chocolates, which the others go, "Aah" in realization to and say that sounds good.

•Another thing could be a Valentine's version of a program jingle. RINA wonders if they'd use instruments like they did for the previous jingles they've done. MAMI says that they could have the audience make the jingle/the melody for it instead. The director says, "Approved!", and they all laugh again. TOMO asks if the audience would have to bring along ocarinas. MAMI says no, and that they could hum instead. They all laugh and say that sounds hard. TOMO says that they won't get anyone to apply in that case.

•They also say that listeners are free to send in anything messages they'd like to ask SCANDAL, or would want SCANDAL to talk about. TOMO says that they're relying quite a bit on the listeners for this field trip, which makes their staff laugh in the background. She then says that they're having everyone send in messages regarding three things: a melody for the jingle, anything related to the program's segments, and anything they'd like the band to talk about. The band and staff all laughs at this..

•They then close out the episode. They talk a little bit about "Line of sight" and say that what they were recording at the end of last year was this song. They say it's a pretty intense song, and that it's their first dancy rock song in a while.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Holding the program's first public recording! What they'll be doing is something they'll only find out on the day of!?

Episode ＃152 blog

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HARUNA: This episode will be brought to you from the Hanzomon TOKYO FM studio.
Oh! This is sudden, but have a big announcement!! San-chunen... (HARU misspoke trying to say 'san-shuunen' = 3rd anniversary)

TOMOMI: What??

RINA: You said there's an 'important announcement,' but are you okay?? That was kind of clunky.

TOMOMI: Let's go back in time.

HARUNA: I'll pull myself together... We'll be holding "Right before the 3rd anniversary! SCANDAL Catch up's first recording field trip"!

All: Yayー!

MAMI: How auspiciousー!

HARUNA: We already announced this a little while ago, but we'd like to explain it again. At any rate, this is a 'recording field trip.' It seems to be a little different from a 'public recording,' which is the term normally used.

RINA: What's the difference?

HARUNA: We will record as usual, and have people observe that.

TOMOMI: Eh, isn't that what a public recording is?

HARUNA: That seems to be the difference...

TOMOMI: What's the difference??

(*Staff "It's not a public recording; it's a recording field trip")

TOMOMI: You're stubbornly saying it's 'different'... But you can't tell us what's different.

HARUNA: Maybe we won't know until the day comes...

RINA: I see...

HARUNA: I'm not used to saying 'recording field trip,' so I'll probably fumble the words...

RINA: That's why I fumbled at first...

(*Staff: "There's never been a recording field trip before.")

RINA: I've never heard of such a thing...

TOMOMI: Is this 'recording field trip' actually different from a 'public recording'?

(*Staff: "...It is")

HARUNA: It's an event for fans where they can enjoy "Catch up" in real life, right?
It seems that it will more compact than a 'public recording,' right?

MAMI: Then, during a recording like today's...

TOMOMI: (*Crash)

HARUNA: Eh??

RINA: Hm? Did TOMOMI's headphones just fall off?

HARUNA: Eh? So many surprises are happening...

MAMI: What's wrong with today?

HARUNA: Anyway, it's not that kind of 'public recording,' but we are holding a 'recording field trip'... It seems that the main content will be decided later...

RINA: Nothing has been decided!!??

HARUNA: We can be like, "Let's do itー!!", but...

RINA: Does that mean that we have nothing we can talk about??

HARUNA: We're going to do a 'recording field trip'...

RINA: We've confirmed that.

HARUNA: It seems that we'll talk about the main content today.

TOMOMI: Eh, what are we talking about!?

RINA: We're being tested...

MAMI: It's like, "We're going to show *this*", right? Doesn't that mean that people will be observing it?

HARUNA: Well, that's what it is.

MAMI: I mean, everything [for this program] is almost always undecided.

RINA: True. We do free talk every time. Everything's mostly undecided.

TOMOMI: Is there a topic to stick to?

RINA: We want to read messages, too. I think it'd be nice if we could communicate with the audience since they're coming all that way.

MAMI: But wouldn't that be a 'public recording'??

RINA: Ah, I see... That's no good, then.

TOMOMI: Eh, it's not!?

https://audee.jp/news/show/101526

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The 'recording field trip' will be held on February 12th somewhere in Tokyo. People who wished to attend were able to fill out a form until February 2nd.


#front-page #catchup

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 151

•No blog post about this episode was posted beforehand. Guess they forgot to write one lol

•HARU reads the first message from a listener who writes hello to both the band and the radio program director Ono. The listener says that they're probably wondering why they addressed Ono as well, and that they did so because they have a story that they'd like for him to hear too. They bring up how during the Mystery Tour last year, Ono said to everyone that they should exchange contact info with the people they were grouped up with. The listener got the courage to ask this particular person in their group and then hung out together afterwards. They also attended BEST Xmas together where they got to see Ono yet again. Then, the day after on Christmas, the two of them started dating. They both wanted to tell the band and Ono about this, which is why they sent in the message. They also say that there's actually another coincidence that happened back in October 2020 when there was a fan club-only screening event in theaters to watch the Kiss from the darkness livestream before it came out on Blu-ray/DVD with only a few people being selected to attend. It turns out that they both had won entry and sat in back/front of each other. The band congratulates them and TOMO thanks Ono, who laughs at that. They say that at first Ono wasn't going to make an appearance on stage at the Mystery Tour, and it was only decided on the day of. They say that this whole thing was truly all about fate. TOMO says that she wants to give them all the sweets, which the others laugh at.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who has been dating their boyfriend for three years and living with him for two years. He said that he'll likely have to move to Tokyo since he's being transferred there in April. The listener is 28 while the bf is 25, and the listener would like to get married eventually to him. The bf also wants to get married, but ideally when he's 30--he apparently wants to play around a little more without being tied down. The listener says that they don't want to tie him down too much, but they're wondering if it's okay to follow him to Tokyo without promising to get married to each other yet. The listener says that they don't want to be separated from him so they want to go with him, but they also like their job and are enjoying it = they don't want to quit. The bf says that he doesn't really mind if listener stays where they are or goes with him to Tokyo. They ask the band for their opinion. The band basically says that the listener probably would have been more inclined to go if the bf had asked them to go with him, but since he didn't, the listener has a choice in what to do. Since they like their job, the band says that they don't think they need to give it up for this. They could stay behind for now and perhaps decide later if moving is something they'd want to do, and to not worry about age since they're both still young.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who basically asks how the crowds are like at SCANDAL's overseas concerts. They mention how the crowds in Japan almost all do the same thing and it's like the entire venue is unified. They think that it's due to the collectivism (fitting in with others) that is unique to Japanese people. They also ask if there's a big difference due to how people eat and drink at concerts overseas. The band says that it's completely different overseas, and agree that pretty much the entire audience does the same kind of thing, which they say is impressive. They also mention that people do eat and drink (usually alcohol) while watching concerts, and there are also servers that are walking around. MAMI says that there are specific spaces that have tables to sit down and eat/drink at, and that the overseas crowds are more rough around the edges + have fun however they'd like. RINA says that everyone doing their own kind of thing gives a sense of unity, in a sense. They say that everyone's free to do whatever they want. A staffer asks a few things to them, such as if photo/videos are allowed overseas. The band says they are. The staffer then asks if there are people who mainly focus on recording and not enjoying the show. The band says that that's not quite the case (lol nah, I can definitely think of some who fit the bill ), and that usually it looks like having fun comes first and recording is secondary. They say that you're free to enjoy yourself/have fun however you'd like.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who is a "silent listener" who has been listening to "Catch up" from the beginning and is sending in a message for the first time. They say that they've lived in the Kanto region since they were born, and that ever since liking SCANDAL they've admired Nagoya. They also can't help but wonder what kind of place Mie is (referring to how they talked about in a previous episode that Mie can be considered to be part of several different regions). The band wonders if the listener has ever been to Nagoya before, and that they can't really help out with the Mie thing since they don't really know either. They do know that there are a bunch of fun places like amusement parks and such, though.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener whom she says is in their teens; however, they are writing in for the "Life before SCANDAL segment" where people talk about their favorite bands before discovering SCANDAL. The band is really surprised since the listener is still only in their teens. The listener says that they got hooked on SCANDAL last year, and that their favorite bands before that were Fuji Fabric and Akai Koen. In particular, they listened to Fuji Fabric since their mom also listened to them. They ask SCANDAL if there are any artists that they've been a fan of since they were kids. TOMO says that her parents love Keisuke Kuwata and so she's been listening to him ever since she was little. CHARA's another one, although she wasn't that young when she first started listening to her. MAMI says that she's been listening to JUDY AND MARY and THE BLUE HEARTS since elementary school [because of her mom]. HARU says that for her it might be Hikaru Utada. RINA says that mothers/parents have a big effect on them in this regard. The others immediately agree. MAMI says that they'd have music playing at home and in the car, after all. RINA says that it's YUKI and Ayumi Hamasaki for her, and that she still likes them and thinks they're amazing even now. HARU wonders how young the youngest people listening to their music are right now. TOMO reminds them of how there was a five year old at their Paris concert (she's also briefly featured in the MIRROR documentary).

•As they're about to close out the episode, they're told they have one more message to read. MAMI reads the message from a listener who wrote in for the Power Word Awards and says that a definite contender happened during episode 118 when HARU said, "Its name...what is its name?" when asked what her childhood pet turtle's name was. The band laughs at this. The listener then says how they have a cat and it's impossible to live with it without calling it by its name. They ask if the turtle did have a name after all. HARU says it didn't have a name and was referred to as "Kame-chan" (Turtle-chan). They laugh at this and RINA says that was cold to not give it a name. HARU says that they didn't give it a name when they first got it, and so the timing to name it kind of slipped away.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 150

•The episode starts with this.

•RINA reads the next message, which is from the same listener as the first two messages. The band kind of laughs at that. TOMO says that this person must be creative. The message goes as such:

My eyes open. The morning is the same old, same old.
Time is moving faster that I thought.
Is this a dream?
A dead cell phone at my bedside. I see.
Having understood everything, I get changed, open the door, and start running.
Give it a listen:

"Alarm ni Narakanatta no sa" (My Alarm Didn't Go Off; a parody of "Ai ni Naranakatta no sa")

•HARU laughs and the others go, "Aah..." MAMI says that this one is the best for her since she totally gets that whole situation [of your alarm not going off]. HARU says that the song intros are getting longer and longer.

•MAMI reads the next message:

When there are nothing but completely ordinary days,
You realize that you're just an ordinary person,
And that you admire those who are a little different.
But you don't need to be eccentric.
You don't have to have a special ability.
Normal is best.
Give it a listen:

"Roundoff" (a reference to MAMI's story way back in episode 9)

•The band laughs hard at this and say that this person must be an avid listener of the program. MAMI recounts the story that she told during that aforementioned episode. TOMO says that she feels weird about this story, no matter how many times she hears it. MAMI also agrees. HARU says that maybe he was leading into a cartwheel. They say that as you get older, past stories from your childhood get more cuter. TOMO says that recalling in your 30s a story like this that happened in middle school is kind of cute, but it would be really weird if this had happened in high school.

•HARU reads the next message and comments about how it's really long:

We always say, "Let's make it the best night ever!", and we're very happy to be have the best night ever with all of you guys every time. Thank you.

But you know, sometimes it's frustrating to think that just thanking you isn't enough. When we put it into words, it becomes long and unorganized. But even so, the feelings I want to convey remain in my heart without disappearing. We also feel that there are people among the listeners who feel the same way.

When we wondered what this was, we thought it might be the feeling of mutual love between SCANDAL and our listeners.

If Natsume Soseki's love is "The Moon Is Beautiful, Isn't It?", then the love between SCANDAL and our listeners is having the best night ever.

We thought it would be nice if we could tell everyone that that's when we have the best concerts ever. We put those feelings into this song. Give it a listen:

"Saikou no Yoru Desu ne" (This Is the Best Night Ever)

•The band says that they did get kind of close to how an MC at one of their shows would go. They say they got the sentence endings accurate to what they say (ex. だよね - da yo ne).

•TOMO reads the next message:

I love you - Even though I love you - Because I love you - I do love you

Because I love you, this is the most exciting one
Give it a listen:

"Hougen LOVER" (Dialect LOVER; a play on the DREAMS COME TRUE "Osaka LOVER" song that SCANDAL has covered; the first line of the message also features lyrics from the intro of the song)

•The band all goes, "Aah..." TOMO says they do love discussions about dialect, they wouldn't write a song about it.

•RINA reads the next message that's also from the "Koutoubu no Chandelier" listener:

We tend to eat a lot during the New Year.
Homemade food at my parents' house for New Year's Eve.
It's so delicious that you can't help but eat a lot.
What foods are indispensable for New Year's?
Eating this thing really makes you feel like a new year's coming.
This is what you think of when you hear the word "white," after all.
Give it a listen:

"Omochi." (in reference to the mochi thing from episode 137

•The band laughs hard at this and says that they're being made fun of again. They say that this was a good one and that a song called "Mochi" sounds cute. RINA says how MAMI's newest signature Fender guitar is named "Omochi."

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who didn't do a song intro, but instead made up an imaginary album and included details such as the title, song names, who wrote the songs, the songs that are the 'singles' or answer songs, and which members are on lead vocals. The band is impressed by this. RINA goes, "They don't work for [our label] Victor, do they?" MAMI reads that the album title is SUNNY. TOMO says that it sounds like something they'd do. RINA says that that was the name of an old dance group she was in, which makes the others laugh. MAMI then says that the listener wrote 10 song titles. The first song is the title song of the album: "ブラックダイヤモンド" (Black Diamond). The band laughs really hard at this. Apparently, it's also the answer song to "Ceramic Blue." Before MAMI reads the name of the second song, she pauses and goes, "Uwa, wait a minute!" This makes the others laugh and wonder why she's saying that. The second song is a single which is titled "ガールズバンド" (All-Girl Band) with lyrics by RINA and music by MAMI. They laugh and say that would definitely be the case. HARU says that the listener probably came up with that since SCANDAL's close to breaking the all-girl band Guinness World Record. TOMO says that it could be a song that's about returning to their roots right before the record's broken. The third song is also a single, and is titled "ほのかな君の甘いメロディ" (Honoka na Kimi no Amai Melody; Your Faint, Sweet Melody) with lyrics by RINA, music by MAMI. The contracted title would be either "HonoKimi" or "HonoMelo." The fourth song is titled "Distance" with lyrics by HARU. They laugh and RINA says that it totally sounds like a HARU song. HARU even says that she thought she'd be the writer as well. The fifth song is titled "タバコ" (Cigarettes) with lyrics by RINA. RINA says that she'll totally write this song. MAMI says that the listener's giving them ideas.

•The sixth song is titled "プリンな感じ" (Purin na Kanji; Feels Like Pudding) with TOMO on main vocals and lyrics written by her as well. TOMO says that she might not be able to write a song like that. The seventh song is titled "ドライブする" (Drive Suru; Driving) with lyrics by RINA and music by TOMO. The band goes, "Aahh, that's totally possible." RINA says they probably got the idea since RINA's been talking about getting her driver's license recently a lot. The eighth song is "それが恋なのさ" (Sore ga Koi na no sa; So This Is What Love Is) with MAMI on lead vocals and lyrics by her as well. TOMO and RINA say it sounds possible. The ninth song is titled "アップルホリデー" (Apple Holiday) with lyrics and music by MAMI. They say that they can picture that happening. The tenth and last song is titled "SCANDALロード" (SCANDAL Road) with lyrics by RINA, music by MAMI. They laugh and RINA says that the license thing is kind of getting drawn out too much. They say that it was impressive the listener did this and wonder how long it took them to think up of all of it. They also say that they had no idea people would take this segment to this kind of length, and say to continue to send in any song titles that sound like they could be SCANDAL songs.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Listeners' skills will be put to the test! What are some "song titles that sound like they could be SCANDAL songs"!?

Episode ＃150 blog

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HARUNA: ...Though the new year is in full swing, today is our first day of work for 2023 (*Note from the staff: The first recording of the year was on January 10th). Best regards for this year as well.

All: Thank you!

HARUNA: This time, we'll be doing our new segment: "Song titles that sound like they could be SCANDAL songs"!

RINA: That was really exciting [when we did this segment at BEST Xmas].

HARUNA: We got a lot of emails after that, so we'll be bringing you this episode from our usual studio in the office. The content is the same. We've asked listeners to think of SCANDAL song titles that are unlikely to happen, starting with an intro to the song.

RINA: It's fun to introduce them.

TOMOMI: It is! Let's hurry up and get to it.

HARUNA: Here we go. "Song titles that sound like they could be SCANDAL songs"!

Koutoubu no Chandelier

I'm in a pinch because I have no money this month! But I want to eat lots of good foods!
I'm sure that happens to you, right?
I know it's not good to keep relying on them, but I have no choice!
Give it a listen:

"Saishuuheiki, Jikka" (Your Parents' House, The Final Weapon)

MAMI: Ah, I see...

RINA: They parodied it from our song "Saishuuheiki, Kimi."

TOMOMI: But they seriously thought about it...  It's hard to put the word "My parents' house" into lyrics.

RINA: Also, they grew up in a good house.

TOMOMI: Here's the next one. It's from Koutoubu no Chandelier...

HARUNA: Eh!? This one too!? Wow.

(*Staff: "When it comes to joke segments, this is what happens. We use messages that are interesting, so if some are interesting, we'll keep including them from the same people.")

RINA: I see.

HARUNA: I see. Koutoubu no Chandelier is impressive.

TOMOMI: Now, let's introduce it.

Hey. Don't forget that I'm here, too. I want you to make one about me, too. Remember that I'm here, too.
Now give it a listen.

"HYOGO"

All: What?

(*After a beat)

All: Ohー!!

(*Note from the staff: Recently, there's been a lot of excitement about Aichi Prefecture (mainly Nagoya), where HARUNA and MAMI are from, but they have absolutely no love for their hometown. SCANDAL has songs titled "TOKYO'' and "OSAKA'," and when doing this segment at BEST Xmas, many people suggested that they should make a song called "NAGOYA.")

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 149

•The episode starts with this.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who basically says that they were having a tough time career-wise and such, and the MC that RINA did at the Kobe performance of their MIRROR tour helped to dispel all of the pent-up/uncertain feelings they were having, and thanks her for it. RINA says that she's happy that MC helped them out.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who did a speech at a friend's wedding last year. They ask SCANDAL if any of them have given speeches at weddings before. HARU says that she's never done that, and TOMO also says the same. RINA says that's surprising. TOMO says that her hometown friends' weddings usually take place in their hometown and so she can't really take part in them that easily, and that her friends in/near Tokyo have asked her if it's something she would do in the future, she still hasn't actually done it yet. HARU says that she hasn't really had the chance to go to that many weddings after becoming an adult. And although she has gone to some hometown friends' weddings, she's never done a speech at any of them.

•RINA mentions that her little sister's wedding was the other day, the day right after their MERRY ROCK PARADE festival performance. She gave a speech not as a friend but as her older sister, and that was her first time doing so. TOMO says that having her do a speech as her older sister is a little unusual (perhaps implying that friends rather than family members tend to give speechers in Japan?). RINA says that her family's pretty complicated and so she became the representative of the family with this speech. She also says that she didn't really know what to say ahead of time and wanted her feelings to properly come through, which is why she did the speech on the fly, saying whatever she was thinking at the time. HARU is really surprised and says, "That's so impressive! There aren't many people who can do that." She also says that it's kind of like their concert MCs.

•HARU reads the next message from a listener who wrote in about the previously discussed topic about which region(s) of Japan Mie Prefecture is part of, which was apparently also discussed during BEST Xmas. They try to explain what regions they think it's part of, and the band kind of chimes in as well...and then they read another message from a listener who is writing in about the same thing...and honestly, it's not very interesting so I will not be translating it lol

•They then close out the episode. They remind people of upcoming things such as the documentary releasing on DVD/Blu-ray and their "unlimited UTOPIA" tour happening in Japan in the spring.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

MAMI's lucky number is "2"! Her reasoning makes RINA go, "That's an interesting view"

Episode ＃149 blog

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HARUNA: For our first episode of 2023, we will be reading a bunch of messages. Let's get right to it.

TOMOMI: Let's read them.

Matsukiyo

I had a graduate school exam for a school I really want to go to in order to achieve my dream, so I studied hard while listening to SCANDAL's songs every day.

You are assigned an exam number when you take the exam, and the results are announced based on that number. I think I've been lucky with the exams I've taken so far, so I wondered if my number would have a "7" in it. However, my exam number was "0821," SCANDAL's anniversary date!

The moment I received that number, it was like SCANDAL was cheering me on! As a result of studying, I was able to pass the exam! Thank you very much for giving me power outside of musical instruments!

SCANDAL, do you guys have lucky numbers, or numbers that make you happy to see?

HARUNA: There are numbers that make me happy to see, like my birthday.

RINA: Yeah, totally.

TOMOMI: If it's an item's expiration date is on your birthday, you kind of treasure that item.

RINA: [Lucky numbers] are definitely a thing. "821" is my birthday and the day SCANDAL formed. Hotel room numbers count for me, too.

TOMOMI: Do you guys have a lucky number?

HARUNA: Yes, mine is "8."

MAMI: Really?

TOMOMI: Because it's auspicious?

HARUNA: I was born in August of 1988, and whether it's an angel number or a soul number, it's also "8."

TOMOMI: Huh!

HARUNA: It's partly because it widens out at the end, but it's surrounded by "8".

TOMOMI: I never thought about it like that...

HARUNA: Eh? Well then, for example, what do you go with when you choose a number from 1 to 10?

TOMOMI: It depends on the day. By the way, today it's "2"...

HARUNA: Does it depend on your mood that day?

TOMOMI: Not at all; it's not decided.

HARUNA: What about you, MAMI?

MAMI: I haven't thought much about it. But when I happen to look at the lucky number of the day on a fortune-telling app or the like, it makes me go, "I guess that's right"... But I might not have a specific number.

HARUNA: MAMI hasn't decided on one either.

MAMI: But my favorite number is either "2" or "5."

HARUNA: Because of your birthday?

MAMI: Because "5" (May) is my birth month. "2" is the one that's most fitting...

RINA: The one that's most fitting??

MAMI: In terms of ranking, "＃2" is good. I'd rather go with the number that supports 1 rather than go with the leading number of 1. That's why "2" and "1" stand out as winners, but isn't that because there's a ＃2? I think "2" is the most comfortable number. I don't want to be ＃2. I respect and admire it, but I don't have to be ＃2.

RINA: That's an interesting view.

TOMOMI: "2" has the cutest shape.

RINA: Shape!? Yeah, I guess it is cute.

MAMI: Isn't "6" cute?

RINA: Well, "6" is also cute because it's rounded.

TOMOMI: Yeah, "6" is cute too.

HARUNA: What about you, RINA? Your favorite number from 1 to 10.

RINA: I like "8." But in the old days, when I finally learned to use the abacus and finally learned to do mental arithmetic, I would be doing flash mental calculation all of the time when items were being rung up at the market checkout.

HARUNA: Huh!

RINA: That flash mental calculation, it felt really good when the total number had a good cut-off number.

HARUNA: A well-defined number is good, isn't it?

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 148

•The episode starts with reading messages from listeners who attended SCANDAL's BEST Xmas Christmas concert. One of them mentions how they started getting hooked on Johnny's boy groups in 2022. They also wondered if SCANDAL would cover a Johnny's group song at BEST Xmas (something that SCANDAL always does), and ask the band how they decided to cover the song they did ("Eejanaika" by Johnny's WEST). MAMI says that they took a long time to decide which group to cover. TOMO says that the discussion for what song to cover next year starts the moment that a BEST Xmas concert is over (as in they started talking about what song/group to cover in 2022, way back in 2021). HARU says that they stopped talking about it until wintertime, when they realized that the concert was soon and that they needed to seriously discuss what to do. RINA says that they started to really discuss things starting in November.

•HARU says that since BEXT Xmas is like a year-end party, they want to do a non-band performance. The first song they ever covered for BEST Xmas was "SHAKE" by SMAP (fun fact: you can see SCANDAL singing in the background in this video lol), which is also a standard song sung at karaoke. After that, they decided to do an ARASHI song ("A･RA･SHI"), and then figured that they should do standard/popular songs of the Johnny's groups. TOMO wonders how many songs they've covered so far at BEST Xmas. RINA figures that it's probably almost 10 songs (9 songs, to be exact!) since this was their 11th BEST Xmas (actually, it was their 10th lol).

•HARU says that there hasn't been really been a year-end party feel since the pandemic began, though it wasn't as if they did decide to stop holding their Christmas concerts. TOMO mentions that they did SEASONS held on Dec. 24, 2020, though it wasn't actually considered a BEST Xmas concert. HARU says that they wondered what to do for 2022, and it was ultimately their staff that reminded them that the BEST Xmas concerts are the most fun concerts they put on. RINA says they didn't actually decide to do it, but rather thought that it'd be good if they did hold it. HARU says that Johnny's groups have a lot of uplifting, exciting songs, which is really impressive. TOMO says Johnny's groups' songs are ones that everyone knows. RINA says that they'll get people excited even if they don't know the songs.

•TOMO says that they don't know what to do for next year, so maybe they'll take requests on what song to do. MAMI says that there might be some songs that will be released in 2023 that they could cover. RINA laughs and goes, "You mean the latest song??", which MAMI says yes to. RINA says that to let them know if anyone knows a Johnny's group's song that would fit well with SCANDAL. TOMO says that they won't reveal which song they choose to do, but they will keep a list of songs submitted.

•Next, HARU announces that they will be playing audio taken during BEST Xmas of the "Catch up" segment where they asked people to write in for a few weeks ago: "Song titles that sound like they could be SCANDAL songs." The submitted ones read at the concert were:

-Silent Listener - The band likes this and says that it's about the entire audience, as they're silent listeners (no vocalization allowed at the concert).

-Corn Potage - The band laughs and also really likes this one, saying that it totally sounds like it could be a SCANDAL song; they say that it sounds like a song RINA would write, and RINA goes, "I will write it!"

-Takarakuji - Means 'lottery.' Of course it's supposed to sound like "A.M.D.K.J.", which means 'ladder lottery.' The band quotes the song's lyrics and replaces 'amidakuji' with the word so that it ends up being "Unmei no takarakuji = Lottery of fate." RINA says while laughing that they're kind of being made fun of.

-Sasakure, Nukeru - Means 'removing a hangnail,' and the title in Japanese sounds like "Yuugure, Tokeru." The band laughs hard at this and say it's a good one. Their program director says that it was sent in at the last minute at 5 pm that day.

-Tsumanai Tsumori no, Nagoya de ne - Kind of means something like, 'Though Boring, Stay As You Are, Nagoya' - a play on "Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne" as well as in reference to previous "Catch up" episodes where HARU and MAMI, who are from Nagoya, say they love the city but would never want to live there again. HARU says that this person must be a heavy listener of the program, and also says that they really understood the pair's thoughts: Although they can no longer be with/live in Nagoya, they still love it.

-NAGOYA - Since SCANDAL already has songs titled "TOKYO" and "OSAKA." MAMI says that those two songs have the same melody, but a song about Nagoya wouldn't fit with the song's flow, in particular the first lines of the songs. TOMO and MAMI try to make Nagoya fit with it but it doesn't quite work out well. MAMI states again that she really does love Nagoya. HARU then reads the next song title from the next listener, and it also happens to be "NAGOYA." The band laughs and TOMO goes, "Enough with that!" Their director says that there were actually about 30 messages that suggested "NAGOYA" as well.

•The episode then goes back to the back in the studio. They say that they'll keep this as a regular segment for the program. Then, they do this where they list their resolutions for 2023.

•TOMO goes last. She says hers is to cut back on pressing the snooze button on her alarm. She says that she presses it a lot, probably about 10 times. She says that she's aware that she's pressing it 10 times, so she does finally wake up on the 10th time. MAMI says that she totally gets it. HARU says that she really hates the snooze function since it's basically nagging you to wake up. TOMO says that she hates it too, which makes HARU laugh. She says that she knows it's not a good thing to do, which is why she wants to cut back on doing it and wake up on either the first or second time. HARU wonders if she could set her alarm to the last possible time she could wake up. TOMO says that is what she's doing right now, so that "hit the snooze button 10 times" thing really is meaningless. The staff and RINA chuckle at this. TOMO seems to show them how many alarms she has set up for times other than sleeping, which is apparently a lot. The band understands and says that they also set alarms for stuff like reminders to go and eat, head out the door, etc. TOMO says that she sets about 5 alarms to go off before she needs to leave the house. RINA goes, "Are you sleeping then?" TOMO says she isn't, which makes them all laugh. She says she's awake but is spacing out. Setting all these alarms really are kind of pointless, she again says; it's better to just set one alarm (TOMO: "I want to eliminate doing pointless things").

•They they close out the episode and talk a bit about their upcoming Japan tour "unlimited UTOPIA" in the spring. They're in talks to hopefully allow vocalization at those concerts, and they named the tour as such because they hope that things will keep improving for everyone/everything.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Airing the "Business trip Catch up" held at the annual Christmas concert "BEST Xmas 2022"! Plus, their goals for 2023!

Episode ＃148 blog

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HARUNA: Happy New Year, everyone!

All: Happy New Year!

HARUNA: Please continue to listen to "Catch up" in 2023. Let's make it a great year～
So, each member will announce their New Year's resolutions.

All: Oh!

HARUNA: We'll each list three resolutions for 2023.

RINA: That's a lot...

TOMOMI: Three is difficult...

HARUNA: Asking for three things is a little greedy.

MAMI: I wonder if everyone has made their resolutions and goals for the new year...

HARUNA: I wonder... When I was a student, I set goals for the new semester and the new school year, but after becoming an adult... Not really.

RINA: Even if you set a goal, won't you quickly forget it?

HARUNA: I don't even remember my goals from last year.

MAMI: I don't remember.

RINA: I don't even know if they were fulfilled.

MAMI: I don't know.

TOMOMI: ...I can't think of one.

MAMI: What do we do...

(*They were asked to each write three things)

HARUNA: They've turned into ones that reveal my true nature...

RINA: What do you mean? Conceptually? That could be good.

TOMOMI: Didn't it say "everyday life"?

HARUNA: It's not like that.

RINA: The theme's too broad.

HARUNA: I wrote mine on the premise of "everyday life."

(*Since everyone has finished writing, everyone will reveal theirs)

HARUNA: Now, let's reveal them! Ta-da! (*Opens them all at once)

RINA: ...hey, aren't ours kind of the same?

HARUNA: Ah, they are!

RINA: They're just written differently but are similar.

HARUNA: I'll reveal mine.
The first is to exercise a little more. The second is go to bed early. The third is to travel.

RINA: Nice. But you're just imagining that you'll go to bed early.

HARUNA: I've started going to bed late again recently.

MAMI: You wake up early, don't you?

HARUNA: I do wake up early. So I'm just getting less sleep.

MAMI: By the way, what time did you sleep yesterday?

HARUNA: Yesterday I slept early, around 1:30 am.

RINA: Goals that can be achieved if you work hard.

HARUNA: Yeah, that's the most important thing: You have to set goals that can be achieved.

MAMI: But that's the hardest part...

HARUNA: That's right. Next up is MAMI. It's kind of similar to mine.

MAMI: The first is to build up my stamina. The second is to improve my quality of sleep. The third is to cook more.

RINA: Nice.

MAMI: We have fewer chances to perform live, and I feel that my physical strength has dropped, so I have to work hard. Also, when it comes to sleep, I can't fall asleep unless I keep my eyes open by playing games for an hour after getting into bed...

HARUNA: I totally get that!

RINA: You say that's not good, right?

HARUNA: I can't sleep until I can't keep my eyes open anymore.

RINA: Is that because of the games?

TOMOMI: It feels so good when you can't keep your eyes open.

MAMI: Ah! It feels so good!

HARUNA: Now I go to bed early, like 3 am.

RINA: That's pretty late.

MAMI: If I keep going, I won't go to sleep until 4 or 5 am, so I want to go to bed earlier.

HARUNA: Now then, RINA.

RINA: The first one is to travel alone. The second one is to drive to a slightly far away destination. The third one is to continue Pilates.
It resembles everyone else's.

HARUNA: Are you okay with traveling alone?

RINA: Yeah, I actually never traveled alone. Our job kind of has us traveling all the time, and I'm thinking of going somewhere on when we have some days off, so I thought I'd try going somewhere.

HARUNA: And driving?

RINA: I just got my driver's license, so I thought I'd give it a try.

MAMI: Wouldn't it be nice to take a long drive around Japan alone?

RINA: Really nice.

HARUNA: How long is longer?

RINA: Hmm, how much?

HARUNA: Hmm, maybe 4-5 hours.

RINA: I've driven for 4-5 hours.

HARUNA: What? Really? Where??

RINA: Within in Tokyo.

HARUNA: 4-5 hours in Tokyo!!?? You're lying, aren't you??

RINA: I went to Shibuya about 4 times in one day.

HARUNA: Ehー!?

MAMI: That's not really going somewhere??

RINA: I was scared to leave Tokyo... My friend who was riding with me got tired... It took too long.

HARUNA: Of course it did!

TOMOMI: That might be really annoying...

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 147

•The episode starts with this. RINA again says how TOMO is really good at snapping. TOMO snaps cleanly again and wonders why she can do it so well. The others continue practicing in the background and HARU goes, "Ah, I kind of did it!" They continue trying to do it and wonder what exactly makes the noise when you snap; they seem to think it has to do with your finger bones. They wonder if it has to do with your skin being on the dry side. TOMO goes, "Am I dried out?" The others laugh and say that must be the case. TOMO says that she doesn't know how to explain how snap correctly. HARU says the same, and that she can't explain why she can't do it correctly. At the end, they replay RINA's line with an echoing effect added to it, which makes them laugh and say it sounds scary.

•Next up is from the MAMI category. Listener Yurina's message from episode 103 is played. The entire excerpt is played, including SCANDAL's comments. After, the band wonders what words were chosen. Then, the audio of RINA saying "No good; you can hear my bones" from the previous one is played by the staff as a joke. The band laughs and goes, "Come on!" RINA goes, "Don't tease us like that!" HARU then announces what the real Power Word from MAMI is: "Expose his lies!" The band laughs and RINA says that it sounds scary taken out of context like that. MAMI says that it makes her sound like a psychopath. They laugh and comment about the dude that the message is about and say that he really is worthless.

•Next up is from the TOMO category, and is from episode 135 during the question "Which hiragana character do you want to physically hold in your hand?" A lot of that part plays, up until the part where they all decide to just write whatever character comes to mind. After the audio plays, the band is unsure of what words were chosen. It ends up being, "What can you do with ひ (hi)??" TOMO lets out a small laugh, and they all start repeating the line. They say that the excerpt played was so long that they couldn't tell which words were the chosen ones. They also comment that they sounded super excited when discussing all of that. HARU says that listening to the Smental segment again makes her feel kind of embarrassed. RINA says that you wouldn't think that the band is all in their 30s, which makes a staffer in the background laugh super hard. She also says that they should bring that kind of energy for when they make their next album. MAMI wonders what happened at the end, and if they were able to all write down the same hiragana character. TOMO recalls that they ended up choosing the 'representative' character for hiragana (あ; a). HARU says that in the end they didn't choose one based on what they'd want to hold in their hands; they just wanted to finally all have matching answers. TOMO says that she still thinks about what you could do with ひ. MAMI says that TOMO sounded really angry when she said that line in the episode, which makes all of them laugh.

•Last up is from the HARU category. Before they get to it, the other three say that there are probably lots to choose from and that they're excited to see what was chosen. Apparently there are many entries that have been chosen, and the three wonder what they could be. They think that one of them could be the mochi thing from episode 137, or the number thing from episode 140, or the "You got your license!" line from episode 145. HARU says that even she doesn't know what would be chosen. She then starts to read the first one which is from episode 137 (TOMO: "I knew it!") in response to the question, "What kind of white-colored thing do you think of when you think of winter?" The excerpt is played starting from when they're trying to write down what RINA's favorite white-colored food is, which everyone seems to know right away except for HARU. The Power Word chosen is when HARU says "Mochi." They laugh and RINA says that she sounds super curt. HARU then goes, "Wait, this is wrong?" The others are confused while a staffer says something in the background. Apparently that was the only one chosen for the HARU category, which was not what was written on the paper she had in front of her. A staffer explains it further to her; she laughs and says that they need to explain things better. Closing it out, they talk a little bit about the segment. MAMI says that these were the words chosen by the listeners. HARU says that she was really picked on by her band mates as well as the listeners, which makes the others laugh really hard. They say that they'll do their best so that a lot of words can be chosen for the 2023 awards.

•They then close out the episode by each saying a last greeting for the year. They start from RINA: "Thanks for another year! The more years the band is together, the more we truly feel that we're supported by our fans. We were able to get through this year because of all of the support from our fans. We hope to continue to do fun things together on Catch up, so best regards for 2023 as well! Thanks as always!"

•Next is MAMI: "Thanks for another year! We hope to make 2023 a more active year than 2022, and that we get more chances to see you guys at concerts, events, etc. Best regards in 2023!"

•Then TOMO: "Thanks for another year! It felt like we were able to return to everyday life little by little in 2022, and it made us really happy that we got to see our fans a lot. We have a lot of things planned for 2023 and plan to have even more chances to see everyone, so please look forward to it all! We're almost about to break the Guinness World Record [for longest-running all-girl band with its original members]. We're still confirming that, but please cheer us on for that as well!"

•Finally, HARU: "We held a world tour in 2022, and people around the world listen to Catch up. It feels like 2022 was a year in which we were connected to everyone in all sorts of ways, including concerts, and it was such a happy year for us. We hope to strengthen the band and our fandom even more in 2023, so please lend us your strength! Thank you!"

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

What remarks from SCANDAL are memorable for listeners!? Holding the "2022 SCANDAL Catch up Power Word Awards"!

Episode ＃147 blog

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HARUNA: This is the last episode of Catch up for 2022. Thank you very much this year too!

All: Thank you!

HARUNA: We received a lot of emails from our listeners. We also talked to them on the phone. Thanks to your messages, the number of segments grew. It was a fulfilling and enjoyable year. We will be looking back at 2022 - "SCANDAL Catch up Power Awards 2022"!

RINA: Time for this segment!

TOMOMI: It's been a year since we did this segment!?

RINA: Yeah.

MAMI: That's what happens; time goes by so fast.

TOMOMI: It feels very recent, but it's been a year, huh...

HARUNA: But do you guys remember last year's Power Words...?

TOMOMI: I don't...

HARUNA: Yeah...

RINA: What kind of Power Words are they this year...

HARUNA: As for what kind of awards... Each member's "striking remarks" and "remarkable comments"...etc., AKA "Power Words" for the 2022 episodes will be selected by the listeners and introduced in an award format! Thank you for all your entries! Thank you for listening back on this year's episodes.

RINA: They must have listened to them in a different way than they usually do, right?

HARUNA: Some interesting words will pop up by listening back on the episodesー

RINA: I definitely think there are some.

MAMI: What did we say...

HARUNA: Let's get to it: "SCANDAL Catch up Power Word Awards 2022"
This one is from the RINA category.

RINA: From me!?

HARUNA: This is from Biwasshi. From episode 116 during the "NOT ONE MORE TIME" segment where we tried doing a simple mission in one shot, these are RINA's Power Words from when she was challenged to snap her fingers.

RINA: What is it...

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→Playback
(Excerpt from ＃116 from the 22-minute mark)

RINA: I've never been able to snap my fingers in my life...

HARUNA: It might be difficult to judge finger snaps...

MAMI: Wouldn't it be okay if some kind of sound was produced?

RINA: Right?

HARUNA: Now for RINA's challenge! Finger snapping!
(*Counting down)

RINA: (*Failing to snap...)

HARUNA: That's a sound I've never heard before...

RINA: No good; you can hear my bones.

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HARUNA: So, "SCANDAL Catch up Power Word Awards 2022":
From ＃116 in the RINA category, it was "You can hear my bones"!

RINA: That's so embarrassing... This is the worst!

TOMOMI: It's scary to snap your fingers so hard that you can hear your bones!

RINA: A bad kind of Osaka dialect came out.

HARUNA: That super-Osakan intonation on it sounded nice.

RINA: Even though I had been using standard Japanese up until then.

HARUNA: It's not like that, though.

RINA: Oh??

MAMI: Can you try snapping your fingers again?

RINA: Because I've gotten better and have grown.

RINA: (*Failing to snap...)

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Apollo』 - Episode 146

•The episode starts with this.

•The band then asks the listener they're on the phone with if they + their friends cover SCANDAL songs. They say they do, and they do songs like "Shunkan Sentimental." The band also asks if they play the actual songs + have all the necessary instruments/etc. when together, and the listener says they're missing a vocalist. MAMI goes, "What if you go, HARU?" HARU says that she should go. The listener asks her to please come, which makes everyone laugh. HARU says they should tell her when and where their next session will be. TOMO says that HARU could probably make it if it's in the Tokyo area, and HARU says that it would make her happy if it was. There's a pause before the listener says that they will hold it in the Tokyo area for her. The band goes, "Ah, she can totally go, then!" while laughing. HARU says that maybe she should also make a separate/secret social media account like the listener did. They thank the listener for their message. TOMO says to send a photo to them the next time the listener and their friends do a jam session. The listener laughs and says that they'll send them DMs.

•A staffer asks in the background how the listener + their friends are able to meet up when their schedules are probably all over the place. The listener says it is hard to coordinate and that sometimes it will only be two of them that can make it. They also say that the member lineup could totally change depending on the day and who can make it. The band says that that changing lineup actually sounds fun. The listener says that the previous month they had a 4-member lineup with two guitars, a bass, and drums, though they didn't have any vocals. HARU asks if there's no one who'd want to try doing vocals. There's a pause before they confirm there isn't, which makes the band laugh. The band jokes that they'll send over vocal tracks to them. RINA says that once they get used to the tempo of the songs, they could play their instruments alongside the recorded track. HARU says that they even do that sometimes when the four of them rehearse.

•TOMO asks if the listener + friends have decided on a band name. They say that they've never thought about it. HARU says that it doesn't seem like they're trying to be a 'band' in the first place since they do jam sessions, and the members change in and out. They say that that kind of setup is nice and sure to be fun, though. A staffer asks the listener if they and their friends have a goal. They say that they hope to all be able to play "A.M.D.K.J." together, which makes the band happy. MAMI asks if the group is mixed gender, which they say it is. HARU says that it'd be nice if they had a girl singing vocals. The listener agrees and hopes that maybe someone listening to the program might want to join. TOMO says that the band will give that person some sweets. The band says that they'd like to hear the group; TOMO says they should take a video and send it to them. They also say that they sometimes get DMs that say things like they performed a SCANDAL song at their school festival. The listener says that they'll send a video once they improve some more. The band thanks the listener and ends the call with them.

•The band takes the next and last call from a listener. What happened for the listener in 2022 was that they discovered SCANDAL and went to their first SCANDAL concert together with their mom. The band asks if 2022 was the first year they learned about SCANDAL, to which the listener says that it was. HARU asks how they discovered them. They say that they did know their anime-related songs like "Shunkan Sentimental" from Fullmetal Alchemist and, since they play the drums, decided to do a drum cover of it. They listened to the song on YouTube, and since they had auto play turned on, a lot of SCANDAL songs played after that. They were like, "These are nothing but great songs!" and decided that they wanted to see them live. They seem to live around the Sendai area, and when they looked up SCANDAL's tour dates they realized that they did have a Sendai date, but it had already passed--or so they thought. The date actually had to be rescheduled due to an earthquake in that region, and thanks to that they were able to go to the show after all, and even got third row seats. The band says they're happy to hear about all of that.

•RINA says that it makes them happy to hear when someone hears their music on YouTube or the like and decides that they want to see them live in concert. The listener then mentions how they would play SCANDAL's songs while in the car with their mom, which got their mom interested in their music as well, and they then decided to go to see SCANDAL together. HARU asks what her mom thought of the concert. The listener says that they both felt the same, and that they cried when they first heard the intro to "MIRROR." The band laughs and says they're happy + they find that cute. TOMO says that it's really nice when parent and child have matching interests/tastes. HARU says that she totally understands that. TOMO asks if that means it's like that with her and her mom too. HARU says yes. RINA says that when you grow up your mom kind of becomes more like a friend, which HARU really agrees with. HARU also says that it's crazy that they got third row seats for their first concert. They talk about a few more things, but really the only noteworthy thing the band mentions is that it makes them happy to hear thoughts directly from fans like this.

•After the call, HARU mentions that both listeners' happenings were related to SCANDAL. They say they're happy and grateful for that. They then realize that they had been assuming that they would share stories that were more personal and not related to SCANDAL. TOMO says that what makes them happiest is that SCANDAL is around in their everyday lives. RINA says that this year was tough for the band with all that happened, but hearing their fans' actual voices and learning about how they spend their time really makes them feel relieved. HARU also says how concerts really are important, and gives examples of the two listeners attending and them making friends, etc. They again thank the listeners for their reports.

*As always, you can send in a message to the program here. I've made a 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 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Annual year-end special! While on the phone with SCANDAL, listeners hold a debriefing on what happened this year for them!

Episode ＃146 blog

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HARUNA: Now then, for the first time in a while we will call listeners on the phone from the TOKYO FM studios and bring you a report on what happened this year for them!

RINA: Can't wait!

TOMOMI: Yay!

MAMI: Chop-chop!

HARUNA: The listener, Okapon, is already on the line! Hello!?

Okapon: Hello!

HARUNA: Let's have a debriefing session about what happened this year for you, if you would!

Okapon: This year, my links with SCANDAL increased!

HARUNA: Niceー! Any in particular...?

Okapon: I'm in my sixth year as a member of society, but since I became an adult, I haven't had many relationships outside of work. I wanted to make new friends, so I started a social media account exclusively to use for SCANDAL-related purposes...

RINA: Ohー!

Okapon: I was able to meet people at concert venues...

TOMOMI: Niceー.

Okapon: I had gone to concerts alone until last year. I had a lot of fun even on my own, but going with someone doubled the fun. That made this year a fulfilling one.

HARUNA: That's great.

RINA: I'm happy for you!

TOMOMI: So you'd communicate on social media and be like, "Let's go together to the concert today!"?

Okapon: We replied back and forth, saying things like, "We'll both be at the Atsugi concert tomorrow, right?" and deepened our friendship.

TOMOMI: Sounds like fun!

MAMI: Sounds niceー. You probably added stuff like, "@(username) is going to (concert)" to your account name.

RINA: Ah, yeah.

TOMOMI: Stuff like, "@__ is going to Atsugi," or "@__ is basking in the afterglow of this concert," or, "@__ hasn't seen them recently"?

Okapon: I did do that.

HARUNA: Little by little we're going back to enjoying concerts just like before [the pandemic].

RINA: I feel happiest when fans are on good terms with each other. That's what makes me happy.

Okapon: With the people I met on the tour... I play an instrument, and we figured we should go to the studio together to play a jam session.

All: Ehーーーー!!

TOMOMI: That's so nice!

RINA: That's awesome!

TOMOMI: What instrument do you play?

Okapon: I mainly play drums, but I also play bass and keyboards.

TOMOMI: A jam session between fans sounds like funー!

Okapon: It is a lot of fun!

MAMI: That's niceー.

HARUNA: The friends you make through your hobbies after becoming an adult are truly precious.

RINA: That's right.

HARUNA: Since we work as SCANDAL every day, we don't have many other people whom we see daily. So if you have the same hobbies as your friends, you'll be able to see, hear, and talk about all sorts of things in a different vector. That's important because it's a great input.

RINA: That's true.

HARUNA: I'm really happy that that depth is connected to SCANDAL!

Okapon: Same here!