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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

Caless Vocal & Dance School in Osaka is moving!? The truth is...

Season 2, Episode 56 blog

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

Yacchi

Hello, SCANDAL!

I'm afraid this is just me doing some chit-chat and not as part of a segment, but I was moved by something so I had to send this in.

I live in Tokyo, but the other day I went to Osaka for an acquaintance's wedding. The venue was near Kyobashi Station and there were many stores, so my friends and I were hanging around trying to find a place to have the after-party in the area when suddenly "Caless Vocal & Dance School" appeared in front of us!

I thought to myself, "This is the legendary school...!" and was so excited, but since I was with my friends, I just passed by it. But I thought I might not have this opportunity again and explained the situation to one of my friends who was nearby. They said, "Oh, you mean it's a sacred place? You should definitely take a picture! Everyone is still around here, so you should go!" I thanked them and went back the way I came.

As I went back and took pictures of SCANDAL on the signboard of Caless and the artists from the area, people passing by said, "What is this place? Is this place famous?" It was kind of embarrassing, but I was very happy to be able to take pictures of the sacred place.

Since I'm not familiar with the area, I didn't expect to end up so close to the venue by chance, and I was very moved!

TOMOMI: Wow! It seems that Caless is moving to a new location...

MAMI: Ehー!?

HARUNA: Really!?

RINA: Is that so?

MAMI: Where? Somewhere other than Kyobashi?

TOMOMI: I don't know.

HARUNA: Eh, seriously?

TOMOMI: I haven't heard the details.

RINA: I wonder where it will be.

TOMOMI: The building has gotten old, and they have been operating there for a long time, so they have to move. So Yacchi was lucky.

HARUNA: Indeed.

MAMI: That's trueー.

TOMOMI: It was probably the last minute.

MAMI: Does that mean they're working on relocating now?

TOMOMI: I wonder.

MAMI: So it's like a last look?

TOMOMI: Yeah, I wish I could have been there.

MAMI: Oh my.

HARUNA: So, if you're planning on making a pilgrimage to the sacred place of Caless, we recommend that you do it as soon as possible.

RINA: That's right.

HARUNA: Not that there's anything in particular...

TOMOMI: No, nothing.

MAMI: We can say that we used to go there.

TOMOMI: There's a calendar with our autographs on it.

HARUNA: It may have just been a coincidence, but we're happy for Yacchi.

RINA: Your friends are so kind.

All: Thanksー!

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 55

•The episode starts with this. And like the few previous episodes, HARU is absent for this one as well.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who has been recently wondering about their problems and where their boundaries really lie. They're currently in a relationship with someone who, to put it nicely, is a calm person who accepts their opinions. To put it badly, they're also a person who doesn't have the will to express their own opinions. When they go out to have fun, it's almost always up to the listener to decide where to go. Even when they want to make a decision together, the listener always makes the final decision. They're grateful to their SO in the sense that they respect their wishes. But there will be more and more moments in their lives when they will have to make more important decisions. They end up thinking that they might end up being more like a mother where they ask their SO what they're doing, what they're thinking, and ask them to complete tasks. They ask the band where the fine line is between kindness and irresponsibility.

•The band says that they really get that. RINA says that you feel lonely when too much is left up to you. TOMO says that kindness is an action based on consideration for the other person. If the SO is living this way with the intention of going to placed that the listener really wants to go to, and the listener will definitely find it fun, then maybe it's kindness. MAMI says that rather than asking where they want to go or what they want to eat, or what they're thinking about, she thinks it would be better to ask them why they're doing what they're doing. RINA says that the next time they decide to go on a date, it might be good idea for the listener to say they want to go where their SO wants to go. MAMI thinks it would be a good idea to start by making a decision by consulting with each other. RINA says to try speaking in a way that allows them to come up with ideas. TOMO says that, for example, when it's the listener's birthday, the listener can tell their SO that they're leaving the planning up to them. If you give them the task of planning something once in a while, it should become a habit. RINA says that it'd be good to talk to each other properly about this.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who has had a crush for three years on a younger person they met in college and is the same gender. During the time they've had a crush on her, she's had two boyfriends and seems to be doing well with the second one. After noticing that there was a mutual understanding between the two of them, the listener decided to stop thinking what they wanted to do about her. However, it doesn't mean that their feelings for her will disappear, and also don't know how to get rid of them. They don't get to hang out often due to living in different regions now, but when the listener had some time to spare where her crush was, they happened to find out that they were in the same area and decided to meet up. When they got to the meeting place, the girl and her boyfriend were there since they were out on a date. The bf knew they were good friends and wanted to meet the listener. They went to have tea and the friend + bf sat next to each other with the listener across from them. While she and the listener were having a good time talking about trivial things, the bf was sleeping peacefully next to her the whole time. She smiled at him, which made the listener's emotions get all jumbled up. When they parted, the two of them stood side by side while waving the listener off, and as soon as the listened got on the train, they burst into tears and cried silently for a while. They didn't know what they were about at the time, but they cried the next day and the day after that, and then they realized that they were tears of self-pity. If they told her they loved her, she might be more considerate, and they might have less chance of getting hurt. But they don't want to mix that kind of trouble into their relationship with her. They tell the band they want to reach a place where they can go as far as they want, even if they have to suffer in a gray area that is not black or white. They always are empowered by SCANDAL's songs, words, and attitude.

•RINA says that she's sure everyone means well, including the bf, but what a love triangle this is. TOMO says that it's sad. RINA says that the listener feels so much for the girl that it makes them cry. MAMI says that they probably didn't know what to do because their feelings are so strong. TOMO says that it's a really lovely thing to fall in love with someone and that it's not easy to find a love that makes you cry for three days straight, though it is painful. RINA mentions the song "Watashi-tachi" on LUMINOUS and that she wrote the lyrics with exactly these kinds of feelings in mind. If you have a relationship that doesn't have a name to it, or if you're in a situation like this, it might not be possible to date that person right now. But when you feel like you love someone, it's painful, but it can also be a very happy thing, like what TOMO just mentioned. When you become an adult, even that is a form of happiness, even though it is painful and warped. RINA wrote this song while thinking about having someone that you care about, so she hopes it'll give them a moment of peace when they listen to the song. She thinks it'd be better if the listener could be in a special position while supporting her and her bf. MAMI says that it would be great if they could continue to have fun together. RINA says that while cherishing the person important to them, the listener should also keep an eye on a new kind of world and hopes that they'll find people who will make them happy.

•They end the segment + episode by talking about how they received all sorts of messages today: godlike powers, fine line, and love advice. They were all long messages, too. TOMO says that she hasn't seen many other radio programs that get lengthy messages like the ones they get, which is something unique to their program. RINA agrees. They say they welcome all kinds of messages, though, whether it be lengthy messages or one-line long messages.

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

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

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

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

---

#front-page #catchup

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Aomori Quarter

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃9 of our tour, Aomori.
Thank you so much to everyone who came out.
Happy we got to come back to Aomori!」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Aomori
We've only been to this city 3 times in our 18 years, and with it being sold out as well is something I'm really grateful for🥲🫶
I'd love to be able to come here more often!
A luxurious town with sidewalks as wide as Tokyo's roads!」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Aomori I thought everyone was watching us with a refined sort of atmosphere, but it ended up being scorching hot - So awesome,, Yesterday was another really fun day〜 We'll come back to Aomori again〜🫶」

RINA: 「Aomori, performance ＃9 of our tour. An exciting night. The stage was so small today that I made eye contact with my bandmates more than usual. We had a little bit of movement and exchange of music, and it was very exciting. The audience was also very lovely. I fell in love with Aomori again. When we returned to the dressing room, we were surprised to find that all the mirrors instantly fogged up due to our body heat. Proof of a good day. In no time at all, the tour in Japan is halfway over.」

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Sendai Rensa

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃8 of our tour, Sendai.
Thank you very much to everyone who came out. It was such a happy atmosphere!」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Sendai🫶
Too good!!!!!
I want to live here!!!!!

Tomorrow is Aomori」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Sendai〜! The city, people, and concert were awesome🫶 We ate beef tongue for lunch and dinner!!」

RINA: 「Sendai, performance ＃8 of our tour. This is another city full of memories. We've done all kinds of live performances here. Today, when the floor was lit up brightly, I could see the whole place at once, and I was really glad that each of person were able to have fun in their own way. I felt my eyes watering every time my name was called. It was a new, wonderful atmosphere that couldn't have been created in the past. I'm glad that I'm still so moved by it. Thank you.」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" 🪼 Sendai Rensa
.
.
Thanks to everyone who came out
It was a night that made me realize again that people have reaーーーlly listened to this album a lot
Eh, something good happened We finished the biggest job of the century We won the lottery(?)
Everybody looked so nice, so I was really happy〜〜🪽
It was a great Friday night
.
.
.
Thank you♡
.
.
.
.
.
We're playing in Aomori today🪽🫧
Let's make it a hot night〜」

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Mito LIGHT HOUSE

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃7 of our tour, Mito・Ibaraki.
LIGHT HOUSE really is an exciting venue. It's awesome being close to the audience!
Thank you very much to everyone who came out.」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Mito〜!!!!!!
We were all so close to each other
We were as red as a lobster

Tomorrow is Sendai」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Mito〜🫶 Our first time back at LIGHTHOUSE in a while - We were so close to everyone〜! It was a hot, awesome night!! We'll be back in Ibaraki in July for Lucky Fes」

RINA: 「Mito, performance ＃7 of our tour. We were close enough to everyone that we could touch one another if we just reached out our hands. On this day I felt so much attention being paid to my hands and feet as I performed, and I thought a lot about how I needed to play carefully. I was so happy everyone drenched in sweat and letting loose and enjoying themselves. I'm glad that we put in the extra effort and decided to play in small venues. Thank you very much. We'll be back in Ibaraki in July for Lucky Fes '24.」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" 🪼 mitoLIGHT HOUSE
.
.
Thanks to everyone who came out
The distance between the stage and the audience was so close, right
Everyone returned home feeling as if they had just taken a bath
You guys didn't catch a cold, right
Thanks so much for a super hot night🫧🪽
.
.
Thank you♡
.
.
.
.
.
And
Today is Sendai〜
Let's make today another fun night〜」

TOMOMI's legs are like the ocean?? What unusual incidents have occurred because of someone's godlike powers?

Season 2, Episode 55 blog

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TOMOMI: This time...we'll just be reading messages. We've received a lot of them.

MAMI: Thank you!

TOMOMI: Let's get right to reading them.

RINA: Yes, please do.

Nekojarashi, 28 years old

Regarding the theme of "godlike powers," I would like you all to decide whether I myself am a "god" or "not a god."

For a long time, I have had a lot of trouble wherever I go, and things often don't go as planned.

When I go to the supermarket in a hurry, I end up taking the one cart from among many carts that contains items that the previous person left in their eco-bag after paying for it, and I have to look for an employee to explain.

When I take the shinkansen to my destination, delays due to bad weather are a given...

Whenever Russian roulette takoyaki is ordered at an izakaya, it's always me [that gets the one filled with wasabi].

If it suddenly rains while I'm out and I buy an umbrella, the rain will stop the moment I leave the convenience store.

When I bought a full-length mirror online, it arrived at my house broken.

Three or four times in my life, I've found a lost wallet while walking and took it to a police box.

I often feel sorry for causing trouble to those who work with me, but I have come to the conclusion that perhaps this is because I am a "god."

I'm a god who takes care of the people around me who are "a little unlucky! If my taking care of the "not-so-lucky" moments increases the number of "happy" moments for the people around me, then that is an act of God, isn't it?

If I were a god,  I would take all the "not-so-lucky" moments of SCANDAL's and increase the number of moments of joy and happiness as much as possible. And above all, the members of SCANDAL, who always save me when I feel sad and depressed, will always be my "gods."

RINA: Hmm, what beautiful writing! ...Yes, you are a god.

TOMOMI: A god...I guess they're a god.

RINA: Aren't they a "god of absorption" who can become a kind person?

TOMOMI: If the number of moments when people around them are truly happy is increasing, then they really are a god.

RINA: It's great that they have the ability to accept things like Russian roulette and umbrellas. That's amazing.

TOMOMI: Yeah, they're positive.

MAMI: They're eating the spicy takoyaki and thinking that they're glad they got it.

RINA: Yeah, they got it, and they're enjoying it.

TOMOMI: Instead of thinking that they're unlucky.

MAMI: That's positive and wonderful.

TOMOMI: The reason they think they might be a god is because they are a god.

RINA: Good thought process.

MAMI: Our slightly unpleasant things might be heavy... for 4 people.

TOMOMI: There's enough for four people. We have our share of bad luck, too.

MAMI: As we've said before, a lot of stores...

TOMOMI: We're gods who destroy stores.

RINA: I don't like it. I hate it the most.

MAMI: We absorb everything up.

Staff: What kind of "bad luck" have you had?

TOMOMI: Twice in two days, bird droppings fell on me.

RINA: That's amazing. Amazing probability.

TOMOMI: It happened was when I was in middle school. On the way home, my friends and I would always sit in the middle of the road, chatting, and stretch our legs. I was sitting there, legs outstretched, and it hit me right on the leg. At first I thought, "Gross! Why is it warm?" Then I wiped it off, and a little while later, more droppings fell on the same leg...it was hilarious.

RINA: Maybe the bird thought it was their house.

MAMI: Right here!

RINA: Maybe it was where their toilet was.

TOMOMI: I heard that when birds see something shiny, they think it's the ocean and drop their feces. My legs were probably glowing.

RINA: How positive!

MAMI: Godlike...

TOMOMI: They were truly divine legs.

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Takamatsu MONSTER

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃6 of our tour, Takamatsu.
Although it was our first time in Takamatsu in 5 years, it was a red-hot, amazing night!
Thank you very much to everyone who came out.」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Takamatsu!
Everyone's enthusiasm made it feel like a sauna!
We're all set🧖‍�

Next is Mito!」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Takamatsu🫶 It was so hot and passionate and awesome〜!! We went to eat curry udon afterwards〜 So good〜!」

RINA: 「Takamatsu, performance ＃6 of our tour. There was so much excitement and heat even before we hit the stage, and I was very happy that I could feel the anticipation. Halfway through, the air conditioning breaker on the floor tripped, making the space incredibly hot and humid. But I think it would have been crazy even if it hadn't tripped. This tour's giving us a fresh perspective, and I'm happy I get to make lots of eye contact with the audience while playing. I want to do everything I can that day and give it all back. It was a good night. Thank you.」

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 54

•The episode starts with this. And like the few previous episodes, HARU is absent for this one as well since, as TOMO says, her voice is very nasal right now.

•TOMO then reads that there are 200 types of jellyfish in Japan. MAMI interrupts a bit and reads off a few jellyfish-eating animals, which include sea turtles, sunfish, penguins, thread-sail filefish, and chub mackerel. TOMO wonders if they eat tiny jellyfish. MAMI thinks that it means they eat jellyfish that are small enough to fit in their mouths. Kawai (a staffer) is heard in the background wondering if the animals eat jellyfish for the taste. The band doesn't think so. Kawai then wonders about penguins. RINA wonders if they eat jellyfish that don't have a taste. MAMI wonders how they eat jellyfish; perhaps they slurp them up. They laugh and say that sounds probable.

•The next jellyfish fact TOMO reads is that they're 95% or more water. They say they get that, and that they are like jelly. TOMO then reads that they don't seem to have a cerebral cardiovascular system. TOMO wonders what that means, and if they are considered a living thing. MAMI wonders what the definition is of a living thing. TOMO wonders if it means that something has a life force, and what is life if there's no heart? She goes, "Is this now a philosophical discussion?" The others chuckle. TOMO then wonders how they're able to move. The staff says they move using nerves alone. MAMI wonders how that works without a brain, and then reads a fact that says that instead of blood vessels, jellyfish have "water vessels" that carry nutrients throughout their bodies. TOMO says that they do sound like they're closer to plants, and that plants are living things. They then all laugh at this. TOMO wonders if that when they sting humans, it's not to protect themselves from being attacked but because their neres were touched. MAMI says that they probably can't control them since they don't have brains.

•TOMO then reads that jellyfish have existed for about 500 million years, and some say that they've been around for 1 billion years. TOMO wonders how long humans have been around. Ohno says 5 million years. TOMO says jellyfish are greatly their seniors, and that if you really go back to the source, there might have been a time when humans were jellyfish. She also mentions how in textbooks it says how life came from the oceans, after all. RINA says that at the museum in the Tower of the Sun in Osaka, there's a section on the history of life, and at the beginning there is a jellyfish-like creature on the bottom floor. TOMO says that they're like family to humans. Ohno mentions something about how ascidians (sea squirts) are closely related to humans. The band is surprised by this. MAMI says that humans eat ascidians, so wouldn't that make it cannibalism? They laugh. TOMO says that she gets humans evolving from primates, but starting as an ascidian is a bit too unexpected.

•TOMO then seemingly reads how jellyfish are nothing but mysteries. Ohno says something about how they sleep. TOMO and RINA say that's really cute. TOMO says that humans sleep to rest their brains, so why do jellyfish sleep? Ohno says to rest. MAMI goes, "Even though they just float?" TOMO then reads what is a bit of a scary fact about jellyfish: It's said that there's a jellyfish that is immortal. TOMO says, "What is an 'immortal' jellyfish anyway?" MAMI wonders if it's one from a billion years ago. Ohno seems to explain it but it's pretty hard to hear him, so instead you can read this page about that jellyfish instead lol. TOMO wonders if there are male and female jellyfish. MAMI reads that with moon jellyfish, it's a female if the underside of the body of a mature individual has a frilly skirt. They say that's cute. TOMO says that it's kind of scary that jellyfish will probably survive until the earth dies or the oceans dry up.

•Another jellyfish fact TOMO reads is that there was a jellyfish that was 37 meters long. She laughs while reading it and says that's scary. MAMI wonders if the person who found that jellyfish is in the Guinness World Records for it. The staff laughs and says that's a good question. Another fact is that a fishing boat capsized under the weight of jellyfish in 2009.

•Ohno asks the band to explain why they put jellyfish on the album covers. TOMO explains that the word luminous means "to emit light" or "to shine bright," and since jellyfish also shine brightly, they decided to go with them. They're also cute. But they didn't expect them to be such scary creatures. MAMI chuckles.

•Next, they play a game where they have to guess the name of jellyfish based on pictures shown to them. They're shown the first one and they say it's cute. TOMO says it looks like a wind chime and Ohno says that's a pretty good guess. MAMI guesses a bell jellyfish, which is not correct. TOMO guesses a blown glass jellyfish. Ohno pauses and says that they're right about the jellyfish being name after something made by humans. TOMO then guesses chocolate and then glass, which are both incorrect. MAMI guesses tea cup jellyfish. Ohno says that the name of this thing itself is a bit difficult, and that it appears in period dramas at night. MAMI guesses paper lantern jellyfish. Ohno says that's a good guess but it's called something else. TOMO guesses bonbori (another name for paper lantern), but it's still not quite it; it starts with 'an.' TOMO guesses "andon jellyfish (jimble jellyfish)," which is correct. TOMO wonders if the jellyfish pictured is a male since it doesn't have frills.

•The next jellyfish is shown. MAMI guesses a fan jellyfish. RINA guesses flower. TOMO guesses rose. MAMI guesses marguerite daisy. TOMO guesses chrysanthemum. Ohno says that it's not named after a flower. MAMI guesses typhoon, then hurricane. TOMO guesses windmill (fuusha). Ohno says that this one is also named after a man-made tool. TOMO guesses wheel and says it a bunch of times, which makes the others laugh. Ohno says its name contains a Japanese word. MAMI guesses sharin (which means 'wheel' in Japanese). Ohno says that that's kind of close. RINA guesses fuusha (windmill), which TOMO had already guessed earlier, though lol. Ohno says that it's something that all of them have right now. TOMO says motor. Kawai asks if she has a motor on her right now, which makes them all laugh. TOMO says she doesn't. MAMI guesses battery. Ohno says that again it's something they all have on them right now. RINA goes, "What could it be? An iPhone?" They all laugh. Ohno again says that it's something they all definitely have that you can hold in your hand. RINA guesses kasa (umbrella). Ohno says that answer does make sense since it's raining today, but that's not it. TOMO guesses bag. Ohno says that it's something that you have every day, especially when you go out. TOMO shouts out kagi (key) jellyfish. Ohno says it's key something. TOMO says kagi no ana (keyhole), which makes him laugh. They go back and forth a bit before they guess "kagi no te jellyfish (clinging jellyfish)."

•The last jellyfish is shown. They say it looks pretty. MAMI says it looks like a Tangela. RINA guesses hanabi (fireworks). Ohno says that it is named after something spectacular, and that it does contain the word 'hana.' He says that it may have been used at obon festivals in the past. MAMI guesses hanakazari (floral decoration). Ohno says that 'kazari' is a good guess. TOMO guesses hanakanmuri (flower crown). MAMI guesses hanakaza, which is close enough to be the correct answer: hanagasa jellyfish (flower hat jelly). Ohno mentions that it's located in Japan as well as South America, and TOMO wonders how that even happened for them to pop up in two very different locations at the same time. MAMI says that maybe a bird took it with them. TOMO goes, "It took a trip inside of a bird??" They laugh and RINA says that birds are amazing. They mention the jellyfish on the LUMINOUS covers are CG and even though there could be actual jellyfish that resemble them, they're original jellyfish specifically made for the covers.

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

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

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

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ YEBISU YA PRO, Okayama

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃5, Okayama, which we also hadn't been to in 7 years. Thank you so much to everyone who came out. It was so exciting!」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Okayama
It was such a hot night!!!!!
Everyone's energy was amazing!!!!!

※My relative's child has really grown bigger than any member of SCANDAL

Today we're playing in Takamatsu!」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Okayama〜🫶 It was amazing how excited everyone was〜 So strong〜! We'll see you guys again!」

RINA: 「Okayama, performance ＃5 of the tour. When I use in-ear monitors, I can barely hear the audience when performing, but I could hear them today. There was so much enthusiasm that it made me realize that we have such strong allies here as well. Thank you so much for coming today. It gives us energy for our next performance. I hope everyone has a wonderful time. Goodnight.」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" 🪼 Okayama YEBISU YA PRO
.
.
Thank you to everyone who came out🧡
The passion in Okayama was amazing, wasn't it🧖
Were we in a jjimjilbang
Thanks so much to everyone who waited so enthusiastically
For us to come to Okayama like this again🩵
.
.
Thank you♡
.
.
And today we're playing in Kagawa
Can't wait
Residents of Kagawa
Let me know‍�‍�‍�‍�‍�‍�」

SCANDAL's LUMINOUS Lyrics Essays


＃4 - TOMOMI's "Fanfare" Lyrics Essay



Until we reach "the place closest to eternity."

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On March 20, 2024, SCANDAL released their new album LUMINOUS! This is their 11th album in total and their first in two years since their previous album MIRROR, and contains 11 songs including singles "Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto" and "Line of sight" released last year; as well as "Anata e," co-written with Rhythmic Toy World; and "Plum," co-written with EOW. It is a diverse album in which all members were involved in writing and composing the songs.

Four lyrics essays by SCANDAL will be posted! This is the final one, written by TOMOMI about the song "Fanfare." This song is the first to include lyrics about this band that has become the "best in the world." As she recalled everything that had happened so far and thought about the present and future, what words came to mind...?

Last summer, we became the best in the world.
It seems we are the longest-running all-girl band in the world with the same musicians.
I don't really feel it that much.

I don't really feel it that much, but when I think back on it, it's true that many of our comrades over the past 17 years have stopped activities or broken up.
There are almost no other artists who debuted around the same time as us.

It seems that our forte is continuing to be a band.
I don't think a single person could have imagined that the school uniform-wearing high-school girls who sang "I can't pretend to be a good girl!" would be around for this long.
That includes us as well, of course.

We've changed considerably since then.

We ditched the uniforms, started writing our own songs, and established an imprint label.
There are even more accomplishments if I were to list them in detail.
We started being invited to large-scale festivals, J-WAVE and FM802 started playing our songs, the number of friends in bands increased, and we became seniors before we knew it.



A little before becoming the best in the world, in spring of 2023 we received an offer to write the ending song for the anime HIGHSPEED Étoile.
The story is about car racing and features a female lead character.

When we met with the anime staff to create the song, we were told that one of the important themes was that the characters in the story were independent women.
This is something that we, as adults, value in our current activities.

So,
I decided to write about us, who were about to become the best in the world, and intertwined it with the world of the anime.

To be honest, this was basically the first time I had incorporated the band's story into lyrics, and I didn't know where to start writing from or how much I should write about, and I rewrote them over and over again.

As I was writing, I thought about everything that's happened so far.

Though there weren't any major peaks or valleys, we've been through days filled with twists and turns in our own way.

Constantly grappling with insecurities, our attempts to overcome them may have been a series of failures.

Yet, I had never once considered the concrete possibility of our end until now.
Like many others, I thought somewhere along the line that we'd be around forever and ever.

But when it came time to become the best in the world, I started thinking for the first time about how far we could go and how many more times the four of us would stand on stage together, and I realized that reasons for it to end had formed.

When I start thinking about it, the miracles that have happened so far become even more precious to me, and I suddenly felt lonely.
The faces of my bandmates, our staff, and our fans also came to mind.
Even though I know that the end will come one day, I still wish that this life could last even just one second longer.



After lots and lots and lots of thought and consideration, I finally completed the lyrics and used the word "finale" for the first time.

I wrote that while crying.
With my own determination imbued in it.

When the time comes for us to each walk our own paths in life someday, I want us to celebrate our finale in the best state we've ever been.

With a goal that feels almost like a dream, the four of us will continue our journey together until we reach "the place closest to eternity."

This song was born from those kinds of thoughts.

That being said, even though we've become the best in the world, our world continues to be unchanged.

＜SCANDAL・TOMOMI＞

*The lyrics to "Fanfare" can be found here:
https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t16505-luminous-album-lyrics

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https://www.uta-net.com/user/writer/todaysong.html?id=14343

#front-page #luminous

【Translated Summary】"Yoru SCA ~Live streaming just before the release of LUMINOUS~" ＃3

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Thanks for waiting!

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•They start off talking about how LUMINOUS is officially releasing the next day on the 20th, and that as soon as this stream's over, the "Fanfare" MV will premiere, and that watchers of this stream will automatically be redirected to the MV (I don't think this happened? lol). That's why they need to make sure to end this stream on time. RINA laughs and wonders if they can do it. TOMO says that it's impossible for them to go over in that case, which the others agree with. HARU says that even if they do go over, the stream will automatically cut off either way.

•HARU asks the stream if anyone's gotten the album early on that day, AKA flying get day (getting a release the day before it officially goes on sale). TOMO says that a lot of people say that they did, and that those who ordered the ones with bonuses for fan club members only are supposed to be delivered the next day. RINA reads a comment that says they like the flow between songs 5-7 (CANDY, Vision, LOOP). The comments say that RINA's and HARU's mics are a little off, with the former being a little loud and the latter being a little quiet. TOMO asks if hers and MAMI's are okay, which the comments say they are. MAMI laughs and reads a comment that says TOMO's voice is always soft/hard to hear. The others laugh. TOMO says that her voice has always been like that, but today she'll make sure to speak loudly since they're celebrating the release of the album.

•They read more comments saying that people have listened to the album and like it. RINA says that they're finally able to feel like this album is finally complete when it reaches everyone. HARU says that although they may talk about a release beforehand, it doesn't feel complete until people listen to it. TOMO laughs while reading a comment saying that they're glad they had the CD+Merch Edition delivered because it's so big. MAMI reads a comment saying they'd like to go see SCANDAL live, and she says that they are having a tour, after all. TOMO says that there are a lot of overseas people in the comments today. They wonder if it's due to the different time they're doing this stream (11:30 pm JST vs. 9 pm JST, which was the time the previous ones were at).

•RINA says that it seems like a lot of people coming to the tour this time are ones that haven't seen them in a while, and that many of their fans are of an age where their lives have changed a lot over the past few years. She wonders if they're finally entering a period where they can enjoy their own time again. The band says that some people are asking if it's okay to come and see them for the first time, and they say that there's a first time for everyone, and that there are people of all ages and cultures at their concerts. They also talk about how there are so many things that they can only convey to their fans at concerts. They also mention that they'll be playing songs they haven't played in a while. TOMO says she was surprised at how she totally forgot how to play some of their earlier songs. RINA says that they do have about 170 songs in total, after all.

•They say that they also have a few release events before the tour and talk for a bit about that (if you bought a CD at a participating Tower Records store, you would be able to get a postcard handed directly to you by either a single band member or the entire band [minus HARU for the group one, since she was out sick then], depending on which one you went to).

•After they talk about the events, they stay silent and just look at the comments for a few seconds. MAMI laughs and goes, "Dot, dot, dot..." They all laugh at this. RINA laughs and says, "Are we done?" HARU says that they apparently don't have anything else left to talk about, which means they can talk about whatever they want. They start talking about the tour again and that it starts at the beginning of April. RINA says that there are dates with tickets still available, so they'd love it if people would come to them. They say that there are still tickets available for opening day in Hiroshima. MAMI goes, "There are still tickets available, despite Harmonyland being around there?" and says that she'll be going to it the day after their Kumamoto concert (and she really did go lol). The others laugh and say that it's nice to be able to fun things they like to do during a tour. They also mention that opening day and the finale will likely be totally different from each other. Opening day usually sets the flow for the entire tour, and Hiroshima is likely to be a pretty hot one since things that are done by the crowd during songs often start there. HARU says that everyone singing along to the bridge of "SCANDAL BABY" started in Hiroshima. They read a comment that says that Osaka won't be outdone either. RINA says that you could go to their concert in Osaka and then go see a comedy show the next day. HARU laughs and says that that's RINA's way of having fun while on tour, but then reminds her that they're playing in Nara the next day. MAMI says that she'd want to go to Universal Studios Japan to see some Sanrio characters. TOMO says that she'll join her. RINA laughs and repeats that they're playing in Nara the next day. HARU says that they could do all those things the day after Nara. They also mention things like how they're playing in Hakodate (Hokkaido) for the first time in 10 years, and the first time in Kumamoto in 7 years.

•They say that there are 10 minutes left. TOMO asks the viewers if they have any questions. HARU reads a comment that says the setlist is probably going to be awesome. RINA says that it will be, and that it'll be a battle against their ability to remember how to play their songs. HARU says that that's always been the case recently. MAMI says that they might be all stiff during opening day. RINA says she hopes they're not like that. HARU says that although this is a music club tour, they want to change the vibe a little bit from what they've done on past music club tours, so it might be quite refreshing. RINA says she thinks fans will have a lightbulb moment when they enter the venue. After looking at the comments a bit, MAMI says while smiling that she wonders if there will be big jellyfish at their tour. They say that there might be, but you'll only find out if you go to opening day. TOMO says that there might be nothing but jellyfish. RINA says there might be a huge tank right in the middle of the stage. They say how the tour is already starting in two more weeks and laugh again at how they're not sure if they'll remember everything. TOMO says they're starting full rehearsals soon and asks the others how many days it'll be. They say it'll be four days. HARU says that it seems like it'll be quite difficult to create the sounds [as heard on the new songs]. TOMO says that it'll be hard for the staff as well. RINA says that they want everyone to come to the tour because the band will work really hard so that everyone has fun and that they can give everyone energy to work hard again starting from the next day.

•They then say it's screenshot time. RINA holds up the postcard, HARU holds up the her Magazine, and MAMI does peace signs while TOMO holds up the script for the episode. RINA laughs and says that that's the script she's holding. TOMO looks over to the others and then puts it down right before HARU counts down, and then does peace signs while the others chuckle at her. They change poses, and at the very end TOMO does the jellyfish hand pose. HARU laughs and says that people say they don't like that pose. TOMO says for people to tell her what a good jellyfish pose would be. RINA says that MAMI does a very realistic one. HARU says that it's because her fingers are long. MAMI tries it and says that it does look like a jellyfish. RINA says she does it well. MAMI says it's kind of creepy, though. TOMO tries it too and wonders what the difference is between the poses since they look pretty similar. RINA reads a comment that says that pose actually means "octopus" in sign language. MAMI is immediately surprised and stops doing it, and goes, "Really??" They wonder what jellyfish is, then (this is what it is).

•There are now two minutes left until midnight/the stream is over. RINA says it's probably too early to do this certain thing. HARU says that maybe they should just do it. TOMO asks what it is. HARU points and grabs to a largeish black and gold tube on the table, which is a party popper. They say that although it's not the exact time to do it, they will just go ahead and do it. HARU and RINA grab the black poppers while TOMO and MAMI have smaller silver ones. They wonder when they should pop them and decide to wait a little bit longer. HARU tells the staff to let them know when. They then wonder how much longer it is until it's time and try to figure out how the countdown to the MV is going to be like. TOMO says, "The countdown starts at 9 pm, right?" The band laughs and says it's at midnight. RINA says that was 9 pm was 3 hours ago. They start getting more frantic about what timing they should do it, and after shouting and yelling at bit, they pop them and the stream cuts off about 5 seconds later while HARU is in the middle of saying that the "Fanfare" MV is out lol

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#front-page #luminous

The jellyfish on the cover of LUMINOUS... What are jellyfish anyway??

Season 2, Episode 54 blog

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TOMOMI: This time... actually, "one problem" has arisen regarding the new album...
It's about the covers.

All: ...!

TOMOMI: So, we'd like to solve this "problem."

MAMI: ...yes.

TOMOMI: The title is... "Kurage wo Furage"!! ("Flying Get the Jellyfish"; kurage = jellyfish; furage = flying get, which refers to getting something like a CD one day it before officially goes on sale)

RINA: Isn't it way past furage time (for LUMINOUS it was March 19)?

MAMI: What? What does that mean?

TOMOMI: The covers of LUMINOUS feature jellyfish, but how much do we, SCANDAL, know about jellyfish? I don't think we know anything at all. This is a big problem.

RINA: I see.

TOMOMI: What about you guys? Do you know anything about them?

RINA: I heard that there are a lot of jellyfish in the ocean during obon season and it can be dangerous, so you shouldn't go near them.

TOMOMI: I heard that the end of summer is scary.

RINA: Because they're poisonous.

MAMI: They sting you. Does that mean they have spikes?

TOMOMI: When you get stung, you get a tingle and it swells.

MAMI: Like a cut.

TOMOMI: I wonder what it is. Electricity? I don't really know.

*Staff remarks: It's a big problem that you have only vague knowledge about jellyfish even though your album covers feature jellyfish!

TOMOMI: ...So, we ought to know the basics of jellyfish. We'll be studying them today. First, jellyfish are apparently plankton.

RINA: I see... When I think of "plankton," I think of something much smaller.

TOMOMI: Like a red tide, right?

Staff: They're the same as water fleas.

TOMOMI: Water fleas, huh?

MAMI: Does that mean that they're big plankton?

TOMOMI: Microorganisms?

RINA: Plankton that doesn't need to be seen under a microscope?

TOMOMI: Well, if that's the case, wouldn't it be really scary?

RINA: I'm suddenly feeling scared...

MAMI: Isn't "plankton" the oxygen for fish?

TOMOMI: Oxygen for fish?

RINA: Food?

MAMI: Don't they eat plankton?

TOMOMI: Oh, that's right.

RINA: Whales and stuff do too, right?

TOMOMI: So are there creatures that eat jellyfish?

RINA: Are there? I wonder.

TOMOMI: Humans eat jellyfish.

MAMI: Yeah, they're in Chinese dishes. Are those real jellyfish?

TOMOMI: Those are delicious.

MAMI: Yeah.

TOMOMI: And there are over 3,000 types of jellyfish in the world.

RINA: There are that many??

TOMOMI: That's what it says.

RINA: I didn't know there were that many.

TOMOMI: They have roughly the same shape. They're divided into so many different types.

RINA: I wonder what the differences are.

TOMOMI: I like going to aquariums and looking at the jellyfish area...

MAMI: They're cute, aren't they?

TOMOMI: I was thinking that the shapes and colors are slightly different from each other...

MAMI: Wouldn't it be hard to tell if you were in the sea?

TOMOMI: The shapes are similar.

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Kumamoto B9.V1

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃4 of the tour, Kumamoto.
We were able to come back to Kumamoto for the first time in 7 years!
Thank you very much to everyone who came out.」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Kumamoto!
It was such a great night with a cheerful atmosphere Love
It was also fun to take a walk around the area I went to on a family trip in January‍�

Next up is Okayama」

HARUNA: 「Thanks, Kumamoto〜! I'm glad we got to come back here for the first time in forever! It was so much fun🫶」

RINA: 「Performance ＃4 of the tour was Kumamoto. I'm glad that we brought this album with us on this trip to see each other again after several years of growing up together. It made me really happy to see that you're all doing very well and listen a lot to our songs. May the memories of this night be a good luck charm for tomorrow. Thank you, thank you.」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" 🪼 Kumamoto B.9 V1
.
.
Thanks to everyone who came out
Everyone in Kumamoto had such a sense of unity that I thought they were all friends(?)
Thanks so much for spending a fun night with us🤍
.
Thank you♡
.
We suddenly got some dango when we finished singing‍
They were the best…‍
I also ate chikuwa salad
I also ate menchi katsu (minced meat cutlet)
は ('ha' in hiragana) ハ ('ha' in katakana) Ha (葉; leaf) Ha (歯; tooth) [she's trying to say 'It was'] so good℡
I want to go to Mt. Aso㌔、I just want to (lol)🥵
.
.
The last photo is of me being surprised at just the right time
Tomorrow is Okayama」

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 53

•The episode starts with them eating some yogurt, and then this happens. And like the previous episode, HARU is absent for this one as well.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who likes to enjoy their time alone. They spent two days with friends last week and it was a bit exhausting. They aren't very good at speaking, and even when they try to convey something to others, they can't find the words to do so. They ask the band if it's okay to say no if they say no to hanging with friends if they feel too tired to do so, though they do want to hang out. They say it hurts to be alone, but it's difficult when there are times they feel lonely. The band says that they totally what the listener is saying. RINA says she thinks it's totally fine to say no to hanging out, and that there's nothing wrong with that at all. She doesn't think they need to force themself to see someone, so if for example they don't feel like they're in the mood the day before, she thinks it's okay to be honest and say so. MAMI says that, as her bandmates are well aware, that there was a time when she almost never asked them if they wanted to go out to eat together. TOMO says that that did happen a lot in the early days. MAMI says that she likes being alone and spend time alone, so there are times when she says no. That's why she's the kind of person who doesn't think anything of it when someone else turns her down. She thinks it's not good to be too cautious about it and end up feeling uncomfortable. TOMO says that it's natural to have days when you're tired and you don't have to force yourself to do something you don't want to. But, for example, if you made plans to go to the movies and tickets have already been bought, it would be better to go. RINA says that she has a friend who lived overseas for a few years and that you don't need to be as cautious in such situations compared to Japan. Many of them live by their own standards, so they can just tell each other things like they're not feeling it today and will be canceling their plans to hang out. She thinks it's really nice to be able to say yes or no to each other casually without leaving each other feeling bad. TOMO says it takes courage to say no at first, but your friends will come to understand eventually. So even if it takes time, it's a good idea to take care of yourself first. RINA also adds that being alone is not a negative thing at all.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who found someone they like and was wondering if they might be interested in the listener since they were very close when they talked, and talked to them when hanging out with a group of friends. And even though they like different types of music, the listener recommended SCANDAL to them and they got hooked, and asked the listener to go to their next tour with them, which made the listener very excited. This person had a girlfriend a little while before, which they didn't know until a mutual friend told them, so although the listener didn't confess their feelings, they knew how they felt about them and it made things awkward. They're now sure that they'll be attending the SCANDAL concert alone. The band basically says that it's a learning experience to know that there are people like this, and that they're sure they'll meet someone else that they like.

•TOMO then says that a "Quminous" (Queen of LUMINOUS) message has arrived. The listener says that their Quminous is their big sister who's 13 years older than them. When they were little, they used to make sweets and stuffed animals together; she would praise the listener no matter what picture they drew; etc. They hadn't seen or heard from her in 8 years, and the reason why they were able to see her again was because the Nagoya concert for Kanshasai Vol. 2 was on her birthday. She was kind as ever and praised them a lot, even though they're all grown up. They say that they want to properly tell her one day that she admires her more than anyone else in the family. The band says that's wonderful. TOMO says that it's really wonderful that they're able to say they love their big sister so much. They say that the listener is only 23 years old, so they might be embarrassed to say things like that to their sister. TOMO says that they might be able to say it when they're in their 30s. RINA says that relationships can change suddenly. She has 4 siblings, and there was a time when she didn't contact any of them for several years. They didn't speak a single word for many years, but somehow they became very close, and now three of them are adults and they've become more like friends. RINA thinks that the same kind of moment may come for the listener, and it would be wonderful if they could talk about what they've been thinking all this time.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who is writing in for the "godlike powers" segment. They say that their godly person is their husband. There's this kind of negative ion atmosphere around their husband that makes them feel very safe and peaceful when they're near him. Even their sister said the same exact thing when she was around him. MAMI says that maybe the husband is emitting negative ions, which the others agree with. TOMO says that they should bask in it a lot. MAMI says that when they're feeling down about something to just go and sit next to him. TOMO says that it's impressive when these kinds of people are part of your family; it's like coming home to a spiritual hot spot every day. She also says that they should do a whole episode of just these kinds of messages since she's really interested in them.

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

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

---

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

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS, day 2

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Performance ＃3 of the tour, Fukuoka day 2.
Thank you so much to everyone who came. These two days in Fukuoka were both completely different and amazing nights!」

TOMOMI: 「Fukuoka day 2, thanks〜🫶‍

So happy we got to see everyone's faces clearly!
A beloved city to us no matter how many times we come here🥹

Also, the anime "HIGHSPEED Étoile" starts airing today!
Air times and dates vary depending on the region, so please check it out!
I'll be watching, too」

HARUNA: 「Fukuoka day 2, thanks〜🫶 Fukuoka is always so much fun and I love it!」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" 🪼 Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS

Fukuoka︎ Thanks so much for these two days🫧🪼♡
Those who came out, were you able to have fun? How was it?
These 2 days in Fukuoka really were so hot…🥲︎
We're really close to the audience at some venues on this tour, so we're able to see everyone's expressions clearly,
And there are people are singing the lyrics to the songs on LUMINOUS, which is so touching🥲
It makes MAMI-chan happy
To know that our music are a part of your lives
Thank you so much for making time to come see us on a weekday night🤍
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Tomorrow is Kumamoto🧸︎
Can't wait〜ー
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(Those coming, how about coming with methe following dayto Harmonyland lolol)」

RINA: 「Fukuoka day 2. Concerts are really interesting because the same place can have a completely different atmosphere. I feel happy when I see them listening carefully and their excited expressions. The floor was sparkling the entire time. It makes me very happy that you guys each have fun in your own ways. We went all out today as well. Thank you for the wonderful night. We're still going here and there around the country. Please look forward to more overseas performances as they're unveiled.」

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS, day 1

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the second performance of the tour, day 1 in Fukuoka. Our first time in 7 years at DRUM LOGOS was the best!
Today is day 2, so please come by!」

TOMOMI: 「Fukuoka day 1, thanks〜🫶

Way happy that we're playing in Fukuoka tomorrow too‍」

HARUNA: 「Fukuoka day 1, thanks〜! So happy we got to see everyone having fun🥰 We'll do our best today too!!」

RINA: 「Fukuoka day 1. A red-hot night. Our first time playing in 7 years at the music club we went to on our 47-prefecture tour. There were still a lot of people who went to that concert, and there was about the same amount of people seeing us for the first time. How did they find out about us? I was really happy and my heart was full as we talked. We carefully perform each and every song with all kinds of feelings. We were full of gratitude today as well. We'll do our best tomorrow, too.」

"her" Magazine Vol. 4 Translations

Song Explanations

Gunjou pleats
Ultramarine pleats

MAMI: While making this album, when about half of the songs were finished, I wondered, "What kind of songs should we include from here?" I dug through my voice memos and this song came up. When was it from, again? I had pieces of the lyrics and melody for quite some time, but I never knew what kind of chords to use for the melody because I didn't write the song while playing the guitar. Although I had an image of it in my mind, I hadn't been able to give it shape for a long time.

TOMOMI: You had shared this song with us a long time ago. We said back then too that it was good but wasn't time for it to take shape yet.

MAMI: At that time it had no arrangement; it was just me playing on an acoustic guitar and singing, so it was difficult to convey to you guys what I had in mind. I had a vague idea that I wanted to make a song about clothes, so I started to again expand the image I had of it from there. When I thought about what kind of clothes gets me most excited, I suddenly thought, "Pleated skirts!" An image of me riding the train and going to all sorts of places while my pleated skirt fluttered in the wind kept expanding in my head....and that's how the lyrics started to come together. It's good because it goes well with the power and brightness that the word LUMINOUS, the title of this album, has, and because it's a song that we normally wouldn't have as the first track.

RINA: And recording for this song was finished last. When we decided on the tracklist at the end of recording instruments, the sound make-up of "Gunjou pleats" itself felt quite new to us. Since this was also a new challenge for us genre-wise, we all felt that it was the perfect opening for this album.

TOMOMI: I love this song!

All: Ahahaha.

HARUNA: The lyrics are really lovely, too. The cheerful lyrics about resolving uncertainties and moving forward on your own fit perfectly with our recent mood.

RINA: They do fit. The protagonist is an independent girl who knows how to enjoy her life to the max. I think that's really lovely.

TOMOMI: It'll be really difficult to perform live, though (laughs).

HARUNA: That's so true (laughs).

TOMOMI: Pop songs seriously are the most difficult ones. This made me realize that again.

MAMI: I wanted to make it sound like our roots: the Western dance music from the 1990s to 2000s that we used to dance to. I had the arrangement done to evoke a feel of hip-hop and R&B music from that era, including sound effects. Impressive guitar cutting, too, for example.

RINA: Each part had its challenging aspects to play, but I'm glad we tried so hard to make it sound the way it does.

HARUNA: Compared to recent songs, this one took quite a bit of time, didn't it? (laughs)

RINA: But it was fun, even though it took until midnight!

HARUNA: The guitar solo was recorded at the end, so we had a lot of fun using various effects pedals (laughs).

RINA: We were recording while thinking "Wow, that's cool〜" for each take (laughs).

---

Fanfare

TOMOMI: This is the ending song for the anime HIGHSPEED Étoile. It's a story about women who take on the challenge of car racing, and we were asked to depict strong women that match the characters in this anime. When we got this offer, it was right around the time we were also working hard to get a Guinness World Record.

HARUNA: Around spring 2023.

TOMOMI: Yeah. That's why we wanted to create a song that would fit with our own realistic story and the anime's story. MAMI wrote the music, and I added the lyrics to it. However, at that time, I had consistently been writing lyrics focused on everyday life. That's why it had been a long time since I had written lyrics with broader meaning.

RINA: It had been a while since TOMOMI had written an outward-facing song, or even a tie-in song itself.

TOMOMI: Yeah. That's why, to be honest, I had a pretty hard time. I like to turn feelings that you have in life, like "Oh, these are important feelings, but I feel like I'm going to forget them" into lyrics or songs. Instead, I wrote this song by really getting close to the band and facing our current situation deeply in my heart... As I did so and looked at everyone, I couldn't stop the tears from coming out. I ended up finishing the song while crying.

HARUNA: Back then, you didn't sleep at all while writing the lyrics, didn't you?

MAMI: You didn't sleep for about 3 days.

TOMOMI: I couldn't sleep. I got to the point where I could only sleep for about 6 hours a week. Towards the end, I was seriously crying every day while writing. During that time, even after getting our Guinness World Record, the band was constantly discussing what we were going to do and wondering what direction to take in the future. How can I put it... I'm sure I feel the same way about SCANDAL as the fans do. I probably subconsciously felt that things will just continue like this forever, as if it were a given. On the other hand, after getting our Guinness World Record, I thought it would be difficult to set bigger goals than that. How should we live from here on? How can we express ourselves as a band in our current state? I think that was probably the first time we really took the time to think about these things carefully. 17 years of hard work have been very much worth it, and I am grateful to be able to live as one of these four members of the band. Thinking about these things made me feel both pain and joy, and I kept writing and erasing things over and over again. We also did many pre-production sessions and tried singing it once, didn't we?

HARUNA: Although this is a tie-in song, the anime itself is a story that cherishes female strength and depicts unapologetic female characters, so we were grateful that we were able to fit well with it.

MAMI: The anime side wanted a song that was speedy and intense with a fast tempo, similar to SCANDAL's past songs that we often perform live. TOMOMI struggled not just with the content of the lyrics, but also with writing lyrics for songs with this kind of melody. I could sense the difficulty she was having, even from the sidelines.

TOMOMI: But it also gave me a chance to deeply think about the band again, so I think it was a good opportunity for me.

---

Watashi-tachi
Us

RINA: This song was developed starting with the lyrics—it's like I polished up lyrics I had written about 4-5 years ago. The things I was thinking back then sometimes have a different outcome when viewed through my current feelings. At the time, I thought the lyrics should be developed a little more, or that something was missing. But revisiting those lyrics now, I feel like not having a clear "answer" or "goal" is more realistic. I feel that my perspective on love as an adult, and the views of my friends and those close to me, have expanded significantly over the past five years. I was reminded that the same goes for the way partners are with each other, and that nowadays there are so many complex and diverse people out there, and many different forms of relationships. The answer isn't just to switch gears and move forward. As for the wording, I wanted to include lots of girly words and incorporate cute words. However, I'm not good at adding melodies after writing lyrics first, so I asked MAMI to finish it while I provided her with image references along the way.

HARUNA: You talked a lot about the music. You had a clear vision of what kind of music you wanted from the beginning.

RINA: That's right. From the start, I had an idea of wanting to incorporate piano keys and create a pop song that was bright, cute, and easy to hum along to.

MAMI: When I was given those references and compared them to the lyrics, I got the impression that the song was "bright but sincere," or rather, sad. Or emotional. I had hoped that the melody and arrangement could help convey those feelings. Ryo Eguchi, who also arranged "Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto," is very good at keeping the balance between the lyrics and the music, so we asked him to do that for this one as well.

RINA: He finished it in a very exquisite way.

TOMOMI: Did you have a title in mind for it from the start?

RINA: No, I came up with the title at this time. It ended up being a very stripped-down title, but I felt it was a word that could be used regardless of gender. I have many people around me, including those of the same gender, and I wanted a title that everyone who listened to it could feel was "their own song."

HARUNA: When RINA first sent us these lyrics, it was when we already had several songs for this album. Comparing it to the other songs, RINA said, "Maybe this one's a little too negative?" But we thought that these feelings are natural for us as well, and we replied, "There are many people who go through these things in their lives, and this can be a source of strength for them." These past 2-3 years, we went through things like the pandemic and releasing our 10th album MIRROR. This album as a whole feels like we've finally emerged from a tunnel, so this kind of song didn't sound negative to us. In fact, I think it's a song that makes you feel like we've changed so much that we're now able to sing songs like this in a realistic way. SCANDAL didn't originally write songs that felt like they were "still in the development process," but I'm sure that our fans, who have grown up alongside us, have experienced realistic love and experiences like this. It would be great if we could convey that we're living normal human lives just like everyone else.

RINA: That's right. I used to think that achieving a goal was the greatest happiness, but now I strongly feel like that's not the only thing. If we had sung this song 10 years ago, it might have sounded completely different.

HARUNA: So, when RINA was writing these lyrics 4-5 years ago and felt like something was missing, it was probably a genuine feeling. At that time, she might have been worried that the lyrics wouldn't capture a more advanced outcome. It's a song that we can sing now because we've changed a lot since then.

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Plum

TOMOMI: When making this album, we started talking about wanting to incorporate ideas from people other than just the four of us. We each listed the names of those we wanted to work with. At that time, I suggested EOW since I've been friends with their vocalist Laco since 7th grade (12 years old). No, maybe 6th grade (11 years old) (laughs). We're like childhood friends. We attended the same dance school and took lessons, formed a unit, and performed at events together. We really did spend our youth together. She's had so many experiences including being in an all-girl band, and after meeting some great members, she's now in the band EOW. I'm truly a fan of this band. I wanted a song with a "fun yet tear-jerking" EOW-like melody. and she was really happy when I mentioned wanting to work together. We had always said we should work together someday, and since our families have been friends for such a long time, both of our mothers cried with joy (laughs).

MAMI: These lyrics have been around for a while, haven't they? I wouldn't say they're from 10 years ago, but you probably wrote them when you were 26-27? I remember you showing them to me.

TOMOMI: Maybe so. They might be from my late 20s. Part of this song, not all of it, was completed at that time. I thought it would be good to work with Laco on something like "the end of love," and I thought it would fit the bittersweet feeling of adult youth coming to an end. I chose the title "Plum" because it included those elements. Since all of the EOW members are amazing musicians, I wondered how they would arrange the song, but it surprisingly fit seamlessly with SCANDAL. All them came to the recording as well, and did everything from direction of the instruments to the direction of the vocals. It had been a long time since we had someone else create a melody for us, so it felt refreshing.

HARUNA: I said this a lot back then as well, but the melody really made me think that it's definitely created by someone from the same school as us. The feel of the chorus reminded me of when we used to sing gospel together, and it was fun to be able to sing in a way that brought me back to the old days.

TOMOMI: I feel our shared roots in the chorus work especially. Originally, the last line of the chorus included the phrase "Those days were like a mirage," but then the idea came up to separate it and make it part of the chorus work. That was really interesting. It's nice when something we never would have come up with adds some spice to an album.

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CANDY

HARUNA: This song was recorded at the same time as "Plum."

RINA: We recorded "CANDY" and then were supposed to record "Plum" the next day. I remember that day very well because I had contracted COVID (laughs).

MAMI: It was originally a song made as the B-side for Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto, but when we saw the overall picture of the album, we wanted to include "CANDY" as well.

TOMOMI: That was when we were deciding on which songs to include.

RINA: We usually have 10 songs on an album, but this time we went with 11. So at first, it consisted of 10 songs excluding "CANDY."

TOMOMI: When those 10 songs came together, we felt like we needed to add more dynamics and tension to the album, so in a haste we decided to include it.

MAMI: I think the inclusion of "CANDY" really improved the album's balance.

TOMOMI: I've had the lyrical pieces of this song for quite some time, but I didn't really give it a proper form until early 2023. I've already talked about the content of the song in a few interviews, but I was hoping it could be a song that would be able to encourage people who are living like they're all alone. It's like a support song for those who are too kind, overly emotional, or are clumsy in life like those around me, and wanting them to feel not just the bitterness but also the sweetness of life. That's why it's titled "CANDY." This song is of course great with our usual band-style performance, but I vividly remember when we performed it last year at a camp-type festival called Muginotoki Ongakusai. Doing it stripped down, acoustic, like we did there, was refreshing and fun. It made me feel like our range of expression is deepening as we move forward. Since this song fits well with acoustic performances like that, I thought it would be nice to have more songs, though not all of them, in this kind of direction from now on.

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Vision

HARUNA: The B-side song for Line of sight.

RINA: I wrote it impulsively right after getting back from COUNTDOWN JAPAN at the end of 2022. In the dressing room at the festival, I had a moment of realization after talking to a close female photographer who has been taking pictures of us since our debut. I've always believed that SCANDAL's music contains many hints for life. That's something I'm proud of, and it's an aspect where I can acknowledge myself for being able to express those feelings. But when I'm alone, there are moments when I think about things I wouldn't when working or on stage, sometimes even engaging in self-destructive thoughts—that's just part of being human. In those moments, I catch myself thinking that this mindset isn't good, but at the same time, I can't help but think, "I'm lacking here," or "It would have been better if it were more like this." That's what the photographer pointed out to me. She said, "RINA, you sometimes doubt yourself, don't you?" That really struck a chord with me, and that conversation led to me to create the lyrics and music at almost the same time. It was good that those cloudy feelings could be channeled into music in a positive way. It became a song that reminds me to acknowledge those feelings and to live true to myself. I'm glad I could preserve it as a piece of music.

MAMI: It's a very RINA-like song.

RINA: At that time, I also couldn't imagine what my future would look like, and I also wanted a vision for the band. I like setting a goal, working backwards from there, and thinking, "This is how I'm going to put it together!" But it was stressful at the time because I wasn't sure where I was headed. This was a period of time when I wasn't able to let go of my frustrations, so I wrote this song while thinking, once again, that I like to live my life with a bright future in mind. I felt like I needed to capture that feeling before I forgot it, so I decided to write it all at once and then go to sleep. I wrote down those feelings with momentum. I hadn't written that impulsively in a long time. I was really struggling and feeling like things weren't going well, but looking back now that the album is completed, I think this song is also very positive. The album's title LUMINOUS means "to emit light" or "to be clear," and if I look at "Vision" as one of those them, even if the vision isn't clear, I can now feel that the destination I arrived at through struggling is the correct one.

HARUNA: When we held the Line of sight signings, a lot of people said that they like "Vision." Later, when we performed it live, the crowd was really into it. This song felt too precious to just leave as a B-side song. Its placement on this album adds an intriguing connection to the next track as well.

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LOOP

RINA: This song made me realize again that I really love rock music (laughs). I created it with the hope of having a song that we could really rock out to during our music club tour, which was already scheduled at the time. It's an alternative rock song, and I wrote it with a vibe like, "Let's distort those guitars!" I can't play the guitar well, so when I produce on my own, I always loop chords and build on top of them. For parts where I don't know the chords, I just focus on the rhythm. I wanted to make a song that embraces this "limitation," so I created the chords using loops.

HARUNA: We put this song on hold once. We wanted to leverage the looping chords, but on the other hand, it inevitably becomes monotonous that way, so we wondered how to address that challenge. There was a time when we couldn't come up with many ideas for that, but it was good that we later asked Satori Shiraishi to arrange it. He devised a way to make it not monotonous.

RINA: We changed the chorus. By creating several patterns for the melody itself, we were able to get rid of those issues. I changed the lyrics accordingly. The structure is extremely simple, so we can perform it to our hearts' content without any burden on our playing. We recorded the whole thing all at once, and it only took about an hour, right? The key point was to make it loud and distorted, with an energy that emanates something.

HARUNA: We also tried to balance it to match my vocals.

RINA: I made about 3 versions with completely different lyrics. At first, I wanted a longer tone with fewer words and more of a shouting feel, but finding the right balance overall was challenging. After considering how to highlight HARUNA's vocals and other elements, we decided to go with a calm tone for the chorus. That fit in nicely, and we were able to land on the form we have now. But thinking about it again, the change in mindset that came from confronting this "limitation" during the production process was a big thing for me. This "limitation" had always been a source of frustration. I understood that I had been struggling with the same issues for a long time, and that nothing would change if I didn't do something differently. I kept repeating that cycle, feeling exhausted by staying in the same place. So, it was a significant change for me to face my own weaknesses and the areas I wanted to fix, and to be able to challenge myself to break through and try new things. On the other hand, while this is my own problem, I feel that it is similar to societal issues when I watch various news programs. People getting hurt and broken over the same things, and the feeling of frustration like "How long will this keep repeating?" resonated with me. It'll probably won't ever go away. It's incredibly frustrating. I don't think anything will change just because I was able to create this song, but I feel like I was able to express my frustrations and sublimate them.

HARUNA: It's also nice that this song is after "Vision" and then leads to "Line of sight."

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Line of sight

MAMI: We were on SiM's nationwide tour when we received this offer, so this song is from around autumn 2022. The offer was to provide the theme song for the arcade game "Mobile Suit Gundam Arsenal Base LINXTAGE," which would play during battle scenes and other exciting moments. When it comes to songs that'll hype up battles, I thought we could tackle it with the kind of band sound SCANDAL is good at, but I didn't want it to be the same as before. Keita Kawaguchi, who arranged it, made it look very stylish. If I had done it myself, it might have turned out even more stout. I enjoy playing this song the most now (laughs).

All: Ahahaha.

TOMOMI: Kawaguchi's arrangement is very stylish and sounds very light, but it's actually quite difficult to do.

MAMI: It's the same for "Gunjou pleats."

TOMOMI: It's like we're improving our skills while having fun (laughs).

MAMI: It's more like we're studying. After all, he's someone who has been arranging our songs since our debut, so there's a sense that the variety in his arrangements has contributed to my current skill set (laughs), allowing me to do more. It's difficult, so it makes you want to take on the challenge, and there's an exhilarating feeling that makes it so much fun to play. Whether it's the melody, lyrics, or arrangement, I think it's necessary to have external input and discover things that we can't see just by doing it ourselves.

RINA: But when we were making "Line of sight," things were really tough. The production period was around the time COVID hit and live events kept getting canceled. It was already the worst kind of feeling, but because the four of us overcame such a difficult time together, we were on the same page. I think it's a song that expresses the desire to look in the same direction again and do your best even if you're struggling. But really, it was tough to do while looking at ourselves like that. And the situation with the pandemic, too. Listening to the song again now, I'm amazed at how we broke free. I never thought we could reach LUMINOUS from the pain we felt at that time. Going through these ups and downs, reaching a point where the four of us are living as we want to is definitely the right thing, and realizing that we ourselves are shining gives me a huge sense of relief. I really thought things were hopeless. But because we struggled so much to get to that point, I also think that's why it turned out to be such a cool song.

HARUNA: It's really significant that we managed to overcome it. I also think this is around when everyone evolved again, including the way we write lyrics. We're no longer bound by the rules we had before. We were able to get rid of the production flow and the structure of lyrics, which had been solidified to an extent, around this time. We were even able to forget the rules and put our feelings into music. That's why it felt like the possibilities were expanding again.

RINA: In a way, we might have been so desperate that we couldn't even be bothered with those rules.

---

Anata e
To You

MAMI: This is the song we asked Rhythmic Toy World (※a four-piece rock band formed in 2009) to write the music for. I'm good friends with vocalist Ucchi (Naotaka Uchida), and we hang out at festivals, talk, and even go out for drinks. I'm simply a fan of Rhythmic Toy World myself and really love the melodies Ucchi creates, so I'm happy I got to sing a song like this this time! I've always thought that Rhythmic's spiritual nature as a band is similar to SCANDAL's, and that SCANDAL listeners would definitely like their sound. It would also make me happy if people started listening to them because of this connection.

HARUNA: As for the lyrics, you wrote some pretty in-depth stuff.

MAMI: I was allowed to express myself rather frankly. I wasn't sure how much I should say, so I had to check with the members and Ucchi and make adjustments. Looking back on the production process, I think 2023 was definitely a year in which I wanted to express my gratitude to everyone again. Because it's not like I'm working 100% for myself, having people who listen to and support us is what makes me successful. I also want to make sure not to forget their existence, and I thought it would be good if we could reaffirm that by singing this song ourselves. Even in the process of creating lyrics, there was this idea of stripping away the rules we had before, just like we talked about with "Line of sight." I've always had a division in my mind between what's okay to say and what I shouldn't say, but this time I wrote without even worrying about that. I used to think that being too direct with lyrics might not be a good idea, but I threw away that notion as well this time. I was like, "I'm just going to write it all down!" I previously didn't show any painful or difficult parts, but I feel like I've been allowed to do whatever I want this time. I'm very grateful to the members for allowing me to sing these lyrics.

RINA: I very much feel that our true feelings can be conveyed now by speaking frankly like this. The line "You're the reason I'm here singing" might sound very superficial if you don't dig deeper into it, but because those words include everything about our career to date and what we're dealing with, this one line really hits home. There's weight to it. MAMI was worried about whether it was okay to say all of this, but I really thought that a strong piece of music was created by expressing everything to this extent. It's a really cool way to express our intent, and I think fans will be happy to hear it. You can feel the life in those words because we've come this far.

MAMI: During the pandemic, we were working on songs for live performances. When those performances couldn't happen, it felt like we couldn't create anything at all. However, now that we're able to perform live again, I think that the meaning will change again, including the places where we'll sing it. I think this song represents the lives of the four of us, standing on stage as SCANDAL.

RINA: Every line of lyrics resonates with me. Everything makes sense to me. It might make some listeners think, "You still feel that way?" But we haven't achieved the dreams we envisioned. We've come this far with so many different feelings. However, there is certainly a strength here that allowed the four of us to choose this path of becoming a band, and to hold each other's hands throughout our long journey.

MAMI: But you know, in writing this, I also wanted to say that these feelings have come to a close. There's also a sense of closure—a good ending, so to speak. I actually intended it to be happier and more cheerful, but I must have felt like there needed to be some sort of closure at the end. This song brought it all out.

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1:47

HARUNA: I worked on this song last year, before summer. We were brainstorming ideas together, whether it would be for an album track or a B-side for a single. We had just released Line of sight and were preparing for Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto, so it was when we were often writing songs about our feelings towards our band. So, I was hoping to create a song that was more in tune with everyday life, but I didn't really have a clear direction in mind. That was when I found myself lying in bed and thinking about all kinds of things. My mind was spinning round and round. You know how sometimes you start thinking about past relationships when you're frustrated? As I thought about that, the lyrics that would become the basis for this song started pouring out and I quickly wrote them down in my phone's notes. It was exactly 1:47 in the morning. The melody naturally emerged from the lyrics, and I sent the acoustic version to everyone at first. Although I wrote about love in detail, in the end I feel like it became a song about the changes in my own sense of independence.

TOMOMI: HARUNA kept talking about this song's second verse around this time. Things like, "I didn't really like drinking that much," or "I didn't really like this food either." When you become an adult, you think "I should be able to eat this kind of food because I'm an adult," or "It's cooler to like this kind of food." We've all grown up while having an ideal image of adulthood in our minds. As we age while maintaining that awareness, and when we become adults in the true sense of the word, those "I actually didn't like that" feelings I heard from HARUNA really resonated with me. That's why I think this song's second verse is really great!

All: Ahahaha.

HARUNA: I think that feeling applies to love as well. Whether it's relationships or the band, or probably anything else, I feel like I have a particularly strong ability to accept things. Since I'm someone with a broad range of acceptance, I tend to try things out that everyone says are good, and I can usually understand and appreciate the fun or deliciousness in them. I'm the type who likes to try various new things and experiences. But as I accepted all these things and moved forward, I started to realize after turning 30 that I'm more fit to burst than I thought. So over the past few years, I've started to think about what I really like and what kind of person I am by nature, in relation to my already oversaturated capacity. I'm starting to feel like I need to whittle down all of these things I've gained. That's how I feel about past relationships, too. It's just as the lyrics say: I was trying to like the things the person I loved liked, but when I think about it now, I didn't really like those things that much. But even so, I think it's okay to be like that. I sang it as a romantic experience with no particular sense of pessimism. This song is about the importance of having various experiences and realizing various things through them, and that although the person you loved at the time is on a completely different path, you're passing time together on your own paths.

TOMOMI: So cute.

RINA: This song has a really good sound.

TOMOMI: When I first listened to the demo, the "ta-ta-ta-ta" in the chorus was really impactful.

HARUNA: I imagined it as just an alternative shoegaze-like song at first—nothing really special. I had mentioned to Satori Shiraishi that I thought that kind of arrangement might work. But when we actually went into the studio and started from scratch, the melody itself was so straightforward that when we put chords on it, it ended up feeling pretty standard. We talked about things like how the beginning of the song has a bit of a rap-like rhythm, so it might be a good idea to start with a breakbeat-like rhythm instead of starting with instruments. We were so worried about all these things that we both fell silent for a while. Satori then suggested, "Why don't you create the rhythm with your voice?" So I gave it a try. The same goes for the "ta-ta-ta-ta" part. When I tried playing the bassline with my voice, I thought, "Oh, this might be pretty interesting?" It started to come together nicely. It ended up creating a sense of time passing, which was great. I'm happy that we started from scratch and ended up with a fun sound, and I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

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Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto
We're Always in the Highlights

MAMI: These lyrics were actually written in 2022, when we contracted COVID during an overseas tour, which had to be canceled. I didn't think we would catch COVID overseas, and we had no choice but to live at a hotel, and that was the first time I really thought I might die. I had never strongly felt, "I don't want to die yet!" in my life before, but at that moment, I thought for the first time, "Oh, I might not want to die here." I had always been the type to think that when it's time to die, it's time, so I had never really felt the strong desire to cling to life. But when I thought that we might not be able to perform on stage as a band anymore, I felt like I should preserve my current feelings as lyrics. When you see so many artists and idols passing away for various reasons, it really makes you realize that the people in front of you aren't going to be around forever. I wanted someone to support me while recognizing that.

HARUNA: You were a little angry (laughs).

TOMOMI: She was (laughs).

RINA: Well, it is the truth (laughs).

MAMI: The actions and words of those who support you can sometimes affect not only their own mental state but also that of the group. I was angry about that, and I really felt that our presence itself is not eternal after all. We've been saying this for a while now. We recognize those things anew, and we want everyone else to do the same. But music endures by continuing to be shared in this way. When I wondered how many "eternities" we would be able to play in the future, I thought it would be good if we could continue our activities feeling that the present is the best time for us. I'm glad I was able to preserve it as music like this again.

TOMOMI: "Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto," as well as "Anata e" and "Fanfare"—it's rare to have such a collection of songs that focus so much on the band rather than us as individuals. It feels like there haven't been many songs like that previously in our career. But when we decided on the title LUMINOUS, we felt that it was connected to our journey so far. It was a necessary time in the process of getting to this point as a time to truly confront ourselves.

MAMI: There was a period when I had really frustrating feelings about the band SCANDAL. This song was created at that point in time, so the lyrics were like, "Why don't you understand us?" (laughs) or "We're working so hard, you know!" Now that I've said what I wanted to say, I feel like this is the end of that mindset. As TOMOMI mentioned earlier, I vividly remember when we were brainstorming for words when we decided on the title LUMINOUS. We brought together words like "light" and "piercing" while saying things like how "pure feelings are coming out." When I look back at it again like this, I realize that many songs were created with that kind of mindset. Even though we didn't put it into words, we've been grappling with this sort of haze for the past few years, searching for the light at the end of a long tunnel. Finally, a glimmer of light appeared, and little by little, we started moving towards it on our own. It's like we all shared that feeling even without saying it out loud. I think we came up with a really fitting title.

TOMOMI: When you listen to each song individually, they're not necessarily very cheerful. But when you put them together, you can feel a light-hearted mood to it. There were also plenty of difficult parts, but accepting them as part of the process allowed us to move forward.

RINA: Each of us wanted to write what we were thinking in a transparent way, which is why the album became a collection of pure expressions. I'm glad we were able to create it in this way at this point in our journey, and considering the uncertainty of how long we'll be able to deliver music in this "album" format in this day and age, I really think it's great that we were able to preserve it like this. I think it's an album filled with emotions that will still feel important even when we reach our 40s and 50s. I feel like we should give ourselves plenty of praise and even flowers to celebrate the fact that we were able to create this, our 11th album. I'm proud that we worked so hard, if I do say so myself.

HARUNA: I feel like we truly captured the essence of what it means to create an album together as the four of us. Up until now, we've been writing our own songs and coming up with ideas ourselves, of course, but we had our staff supporting us, and it felt like we created this piece as a team. We still have a lot of people supporting us, and while we're still a team, it feels like we were able to create this album more faithfully to our own ideas and beliefs. During recording sessions and even yesterday, it was just the four of us recording vocals together. That also made me happy. The album is filled with songs that we honestly think are good and were able to create with 100% purity, so we've been able to take more responsibility for the band SCANDAL and move forward. It feels like shedding old skin. I think this is an album that makes us feel that SCANDAL is at a very important time in its history right now.

TOMOMI: That feeling has been there since MIRROR. Since then, we've been trying to express our current feelings in a more pure way in our songs. From there, we started to see further changes in our mindset, creating a gradation that led to this. On MIRROR, we expressed our own darkness, or rather, our "confusion" as is. The gradient of transitioning from that tunnel-like state to LUMINOUS allowed us to reconnect with our feelings by connecting the two albums. I think that was the situation for not just us but for everyone in the world, too. After all, we really didn't know what would happen at that time. I'm so glad we were able to reach the light in this way.

If you enjoy my translations, please consider leaving a tip!

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#front-page #luminous

SCANDAL TOUR 2024 "LUMINOUS" @ Hiroshima Club Quattro, April 2

Spoiler:

SCANDAL: 「The tour's finally kicked off with the performance in Hiroshima!
Thank you so much to everyone who came out.
We'll be touring all over Japan, so please come to a performance close to you︎」

TOMOMI: 「Thanks, Hiroshima!
The reason why it was a great night from the very first day was because everyone in Hiroshima is amazing

Photography is allowed at the very end of the performances on this tour,

＃SCANDAL_LUMINOUS

So please use this tag when posting🪼」

HARUNA: 「Opening day in Hiroshima was such a great night〜!
I realized again that I really like the songs on this album〜. Thank you to everyone who came out!」

MAMI: 「SCANDAL TOUR 2024 “LUMINOUS” 🪼🫧 HIROSHIMA CLUB QUATTRO

It's finally begunー!
Opening day in Hiroshimaー!
Thanks so much to everyone who came out🪼

Hearing the songs from LUMINOUS live really gives you a different impression of them, right
How was it🥹🫧

In the dressing room, the staff put up a paper
That had all of our concerts we've played in Hiroshima so far on it
I felt so grateful that we've been able to come to Hiroshima so many times,
And I thought how lucky we are
That we were able to come to Hiroshima again in support of LUMINOUS🥲🪼♡
It's not a given, and I won't forget it

We ate Musashi and okonomiyaki, and got powered up by everyone--
It was such a great way to start the tour
Thank you so much

We'll do our best in Fukuoka tooー‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍」

RINA: 「Our tour has begun. Opening day in Hiroshima. A city that I've alーways loved and have very fond memories of. I'm glad we were able to kick off the tour from here. It's so awesome to have a packed music club waiting for us on a Tuesday night. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you guys have a wonderful time and experience. And if you run into another tough day someday, remember today. I'm rooting for all of your springtimes.」

SCANDAL's LUMINOUS Lyrics Essays


＃3 - HARUNA's "1:47" Lyrics Essay



Both are lovable sides of myself.

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On March 20, 2024, SCANDAL released their new album LUMINOUS! This is their 11th album in total and their first in two years since their previous album MIRROR, and contains 11 songs including singles "Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto" and "Line of sight" released last year; as well as "Anata e," co-written with Rhythmic Toy World; and "Plum," co-written with EOW.

Four lyrics essays by SCANDAL will be posted! This is the third one, written by HARUNA about the song "1:47." What is the difference between who she was in her 20s and who she is now in her mid-30s?

The title "1:47" ("Ichi Yon Nana" = "One Four Seven") refers to the time when fragments of these lyrics were written and saved in the notes on my phone.

Just like the opening lyrics, I was lying in bed before going to sleep, unconsciously pondering all kinds of things.

As I was thinking about the things that happened today, about myself, about my surroundings, and about work, I suddenly thought, "Ah, I wonder how that person's doing." With nostalgia and my immaturity back then making me feel itchy, I felt like jotting down this situation and wrote my thoughts down in a flurry.

What I thought as I wrote was that my lifestyle, thoughts on love, and my values really have changed between my 20s and 30s.

In my 20s, I wanted to know about everything, I wanted to try everything, I wanted to be dexterous, I wanted to like what the person I loved liked, and I wanted to be dyed in the hue of the person I loved.
I just wanted to absorb as much as possible, and I think that feeling was very important as an experience.

Now that I'm in my mid-30s, I feel like my style has become much more stripped down and simpler than it was back then. Maybe the alcohol I pretended to enjoy as an adult isn't actually something I like that much. I couldn't at all bring myself to read the novel that was recommended to me. I'm living very honestly to myself.

There's no good or bad in either—both are lovable sides of myself.
Also, I really love who I am right now, and I'm looking forward to evolving again as I get older.

"1:47" is a song about an independent woman who wishes for the values of her past that she can no longer encounter as her present self, and for the happiness of the person who spent that time with her.

＜SCANDAL・HARUNA＞

SCANDAL has often encountered bats for some reason. Are there any in your city? No?

Season 2, Episode 53 blog

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TOMOMI: This time, we'll just be reading messages.

MAMI: Yay! Then let's keep reading.

TOMOMI: Let's read them.

Aoi (26 years old)

I was completely ready to send my thoughts on LUMINOUS, but because I couldn't help but symphathize with your recent stories about bats, allow me to share that message instead.

TOMOMI: Here's a bat story!

MAMI: Ehー?

I was born in the countryside of Yamaguchi Prefecture and lived there until I changed jobs the year before last and came to Hiroshima. There were so many bats. Especially in middle school. The end of the hallway and the gym at my middle school were pretty crazy.

MAMI: Eh, they mean inside the school??

TOMOMI: That seems to be the case.

MAMI: Isn't that crazy!?

The floor gets pretty dirty when there are bats... I was in the school band, and especially when we stayed late and it got dark, the music room would be filled with them.

All: Ehー!?

MAMI: Close the windows!

RINA: Why!? Why are there so many inside?

Of course, we had them at home, too. Bats, wild boar piglets, foxes, wild rabbits... There was so much nature. I guess it's just the way it is in the countryside.

RINA: There are too many...

MAMI: There are as many as in a small zoo.

TOMOMI: Were there really that many bats??

RINA: On the contrary, this is too much.

TOMOMI: Yamaguchi, huh...

RINA: Does that mean that even if bats come inside, everyone just accepts it and lives their lives?

TOMOMI: I guess so? I guess it's just everyday life now.

RINA: That's pretty unusual.

TOMOMI: Do you mean that the further west you go, the more bats are there?

MAMI: I wonder...

(*Director Kawai, who is from Okayama: "There aren't any in Okayama...")

TOMOMI: So there aren't any in Okayama!

MAMI: They are there!

TOMOMI: You just haven't seen them!

MAMI: They're all over the place in the evening.

TOMOMI: There are a ton.

MAMI: I'll ask my local friends again. I'll ask, "They're there, right?"

TOMOMI: I'm sure they're there.

MAMI: Yeah. I'll talk to them.

【Translated Summary】
『SCANDAL Catch up supported by Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt』 - Season 2, Episode 52

•The episode starts with this. They also mention that HARU is absent this episode due to feeling under the weather.

•TOMO then talks about when she went to promote in Sendai. She says there were people at the event who said they had been a fan for 13 years but this was their first time going to an event, and that the upcoming tour will be their first time to see SCANDAL live. There were also many fans who cried and told her stories that moved her. She says it was a very happy time. She was actually delayed in her promoting due to an earthquake that happened that morning in Ibaraki Prefecture, which affected the shinkansen going to the Tohoku area where Sendai is. Her first promo job for the day was to make a live radio appearance. She couldn't make it on time, so she had to ask them to move her time slot a bit later. In between schedules, she was able to go to Benyland, a local amusement park. MAMI says that TOMO's schedule said that she could go for about 15 minutes and asks her what she did in that time frame. TOMO says that because the band has been mentioning Benyland on "Catch up" for a long time, the staff said that she could go for just a little bit. Due to the delay with the live radio appearance and other factors, they had to fit the visit in in the middle of her schedule, but she actually ended up being able to be there for about 30 minutes. She rode the Yagiyama Cyclone roller coaster and says that it was pretty powerful and it was also scary how there was only one seatbelt for two people in each car. She says she'd love to go there again with the entire band.

•Next, they read messages from listeners. TOMO reads the first one from someone who says they've been a fan since elementary school, but so far has only listened to this program and read social media posts from the band, and hasn't sent many messages to the band. However, when they went to TOMO's event in Sendai, she gave them the pseudonym "Marguerite," so from now on they'll be sending many messages. RINA asks if that did happen. TOMO says yes, and that they wanted a name to use for when they send in messages, so they asked TOMO what name she'd give them if compared to a flower. TOMO thought they were really cute and looked like a marguerite (daisy), so she named them as such.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who says there's one thing they're wondering about, which is what Igari of HEY-SMITH said in his release comment for LUMINOUS about how there's probably one part that the band re-recorded many times. As an amateur, they don't understand what Igari meant no matter how many times they listen to the album. They ask the band what they think Igari heard that made him think that. The band laughs at this. MAMI says that Igari had LINE'd her a little before the comment was posted and said that it might sound a little condescending, but the comment made her really happy. She says it wasn't condescending at all. TOMO laughs and says that they wouldn't have minded even if it was. She also wonders what part he thought they re-recorded a lot, but since there are a lot of parts where each of their instruments stand out, that might be what he's referring to. MAMI says the guitar solo on "Gunjou pleats" sounds like it was recorded by chance. However, she did record variations of that solo as many times as she could. TOMO says that all of those solos were different, depending on the take. MAMI says that it's because sometimes they have to do a lot of editing and cutting. TOMO says that you'd be surprised if you listened to all of the different takes, and would have a hard time believing it's the same song.

•RINA reads the next message from a listener who says that they got their driver's license and looking forward to listening to SCANDAL's songs on the way to school. The band congratulates them. Ohno seems to ask RINA how her driving is going. RINA says that it's the same and that the furthest she's driven is still Tokyo Disneyland. MAMI asks her if she's just stuck to driving in the Kanto area. RINA says yes, and that she'll do her best to drive further.

•TOMO reads the next message from a listener who bought the Magazine Edition of the album and when reading TOMO's 100Q + 100A and read TOMO answered Awaji Island as the place she'd like to live. As someone who was born, raised, and live on Awaji Island, they were so surprised that they screamed. They can't help but wonder what about that rural island made her like it so much. TOMO says that she's from Hyogo Prefecture so it's easy to get to the island, and so she has a lot of good memories of it. She remembers going there with her grandma. It's nice because it's the countryside and is different from the kind in her hometown of Kakogawa. There's the ocean and mountains, and the food is delicious. It's a place that makes her feel relaxed and at home, which is why she wants to live there. MAMI says there's a Hello Kitty place there (probably referring to this), which makes the others laugh. TOMO says there didn't used to be trendy stuff like that on the island. MAMI says that she's signed up for email newsletters about Awaji tourism. TOMO laughs and asks why. MAMI laughs and says it's because of the Hello Kitty resort. She was thinking that if she's able to go, she'd like to stay a few nights and enjoy different parts of the island. TOMO says that glamping's pretty popular there right now. Ohno then mentions onions, and TOMO says that the onion soup there is great. She then says that she chose Awaji Island because a quiet place in the countryside would be ideal for her lifestyle.

•MAMI reads the next message from a listener who tells the band their thoughts on the album, which they loved (way too long; will not be translating it lol). The band thanks them and that that was some great feedback. They also say things like they're happy the album's resonating with everyone more than they imagined. TOMO says there are a lot of songs that they wrote for themselves and for everyone who listens to them, and they're really happy that everyone's taking it all in.

•Then, TOMO says that they're going to try and directly hear some thoughts on the album and call a listener. After the listener, a woman, picks up, RINA reads the message that she had sent. She mentions that "Fanfare" in particular resonated with her. TOMO had mentioned that she wrote the lyrics while her autonomic nerves were in disarray, and the listener says her nerves were also in disarray. After the message is read, TOMO asks the listener if she upset her nervous system with the song. The listener laughs and says it was very much in disarray, which makes the band laugh. They then talk more about things related to the listener, such as who she's going with to the tour and how/when she discovered SCANDAL, which I don't particularly feel like translating lol

•They then close out the episode. MAMI says that although their tour ends on May 25, they'll be playing at the MORI, MICHI, ICHIBA festival in Nagoya the next day on May 26. She also mentions that her mom will be there. TOMO says, "Ah, of course!" and they laugh.

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

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

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

*All episodes of Season 2 can be found here

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#front-page #catchup

LUMINOUS was released on March 20. Talking about the promo they each did in different cities!

Season 2, Episode 52 blog

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TOMOMI: On March 20, we successfully released our new album LUMINOUS!
Thankfully, we received a lot of feedback right away, which means that tonight, we will open the "LUMINOUS Customer Center!"

MAMI: A customer center, huh.

TOMOMI: Yes, a customer center!
In order to make LUMINOUS an even better album and loved by many people, we will strive to further improve the quality of the album and introduce the "voices" of our listeners regarding LUMINOUS.

Before that... you were each a "manager for a day" in different cities, weren't you?

All: Yes!

TOMOMI: First, we'd like to start with a "work report" for our customers.
First, let's start with Nagoya's manager, MAMI! Take it away.

MAMI: Yes. I went to the Tower Records at Nagoya Parco as a one-day manager.

TOMOMI: Thanks for your hard work.

MAMI: Thanks for your hard work. As a report, many people said they were seeing me for the first time. They had never been to a concert of ours, and although they've heard our songs, they had come to this event first. I was impressed by these first timers.

RINA: That's a good start.

MAMI: It makes me happy.

TOMOMI: I wonder if they discovered us recently.

MAMI: They said they discovered us during the pandemic, which was when it was difficult to hold concerts, so they missed the chance to go initially. They decided to try going to an event first.

TOMOMI: I'm grateful for that.

MAMI: I did feel grateful.

TOMOMI: That's all for your report?

MAMI: That's all, but what else is there to report...?

TOMOMI: Promoting in Nagoya.

MAMI: Ah, promo. Let's see. I also made a radio appearance, and I'm always interviewed by the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper when I do promo in Nagoya...

TOMOMI: The reporter is adorable, aren't they?

MAMI: That reporter has been replaced...

TOMOMI: Eh? Oh, that's right. They retired, didn't they?

MAMI: But the person who replaced them was very knowledgeable and did a lot of research on us.

TOMOMI: That makes me happy to hear.

MAMI: It was an atmosphere filled with love.

TOMOMI: Thank you very much.
Next, Osaka's manager, RINA!

RINA: Since I was in Osaka, a huge number of people came out, which made me happy. I had announced on my Instagram Live that I was allowed to stay as the store manager until the very last minute, so also the store was located in Tennoji, there were many people who worked nearby and came running in 10 minutes after getting off. I also got the impression that many of them spoke to me in a polite manner.I'm glad we were able to communicate with each other.

I was the only one who stayed the night for promo purposes, so I was given the chance to do radio and TV appearances for two days. They were so passionate about digging into the album, perhaps because Osaka is the band's hometown, but it made me really happy. They were all DJs who knew us, and also appeared on [Satoko] Nii's radio program. She listens to "Catch up" and said how impressed she was with what we talked about during the episode where International Women's Day was mentioned, and other details. I felt the love that Osaka has for us. It was great.

MAMI: Nii was also the MC when we got our Guinness World Record.

TOMOMI: She's always been a great help to us. Manager RINA, thanks for your hard work.

RINA: Thanks for your hard work.