Be sure to watch Memi's face: it is often in motion, communicating even when she is not speaking. And please be patient with the video: it may take a few seconds to appear and become clear.
I've been a fan of Memi and Kyouko right from the time of their auditions three years ago,. Here are notes about various things they mention:
01:54 “Cute lately” – Kyouko emphasizes that Memi has been “cute lately.” Perhaps she’s thinking of how upset she was around a year ago when Memi invaded her Showroom, romped around and tickled her – after Kyouko had told everyone not to come, that she wanted all the time with her fans. Then, Memi was being “not-cute” (i.e., not behaving nicely).
05:10 Hinanonano – They talk about Kamimura Hinano’s hand gesture for her name, and Memi shows how complex it really is. It’s so cute when their voices bounce back and forth in shrill surprise: Kyouko at the complexity, Memi that Kyouko didn't know.
07:10 how to grow taller – Kyouko explains what she did to try to get to 150cm (she's now 153cm - 5'-1/4"). Memi finds it all hilarious. Perhaps partly because she would like to be taller than her 157cm (5'-2").
12:04 Minato Kanae – Popular horror author.
12:55 manga – They start talking about manga, and Memi is about to tell us if she likes shoujo manga, and how they differ from other manga, but Kyouko can’t stand the brief silence while Memi decides what to say and leaps in. This happens a few times through the show, but it’s hard to complain because (1) the whole show is so great, and (2) radio and TV professionals have a horror of “dead air.” On Showroom, however, what you see is at least as important as what you hear, in my opinion. Memi has learned to speak more quickly, but not yet quite quickly enough for the normal nervous TV pace.
Memi really is a bit of a manga/anime/idol/seiyuu otaku herself. When she tells Kyouko that Kinnikuman is a shounen manga, she seems slightly embarrassed to know the correct term “shounen-muke” or “shounen-aimed”. I suspect that shoujo is not Memi’s favorite genre. The two manga we know she likes are Saint Onii-san (Saint Young Men) and Madoka Magica. She says she reads manga from which anime have been made.
14:36 Memi’s age – A viewer sends a comment “How old is Memi?” apparently hoping to get “I am seventeen years old” in English, as Memi did for 16. But as she often does, Memi intentionally did not do it (like twintails, lol). Except for burikko gestures, Memi seems to resist keeping even successful bits of business. And management probably also doesn’t want her having to say it every year until she’s 24? 30? Lol.
16:37 Hirate Yurina – Memi talks about whether or not she’s in love with "Yuri." She loves her, but whether she has anyone she’s “in love with,” or who is her “true love,” she’s not sure. Hirate comes closest, she admits. But: “I like what I like.”
17:21 Black Sheep MV – As they wonder out loud what Techi said just before she went out onto the roof, there’s something in Memi’s expression that makes me suspect she may know.
18:51 exams – Someone asks what their memories of the exams are, and Kyouko realizes that Memi has no memories of them. It’s probably because she isn’t in third-year yet, but it could hint that she goes to a “helicopter school” that will allow her to get into an associated university without taking the national exams.
20:06 “meow-thousand people” – When they reach 30,000 viewers, Memi says “nyan-zen nin” or “meow-thousand people.” Memi is gradually turning into a cat, lol.
22:00 “urarara” – Memi seems calm and collected, but she must have actually been nervous beneath that. At one point, she’s trying to say something and it comes out as a jumble of sounds: “urarara.” But she just laughs at it and continues happily.
23:15 Minakami – They talk about the bungee-jumping and aren’t sure whether the place was Minakami “city” or Minakami “village.” Memi says someone in the audience will tell them, and a half-minute later someone does. Memi seems very happy to depend on the fans for information. She does it again later in the show.
28:00 persimmons (“kaki”) – Kyouko says the fruits she doesn’t like include persimmons. Memi’s surname Kakizaki means “persimmon slope,” and Memi is very funny expressing dismay that Kyouko doesn’t like them. Persimmons are a tree-fruit that looks like a cross between an apple and a tomato, and is quite astringent when unripe and very sweet when ripe. Memi shows that she knows a lot about them, and the differences among various kinds.
30:35 handmade Valentine’s chocolates – Memi says she used to make them every year for friends and family. Kyouko doesn’t do handmade and hasn’t given chocolate to friends since first-year high school (she is now 21). She is impressed when Memi says she doesn’t actually make chocolates, but rather chocolate macarons. Memi says they’re not that hard, that Kyouko would be surprised. Kyouko replies that she can barely make cup ramen, so macarons are out of the question.
37:00 studying for school – Memi says that right up until time for the show she was studying, and lists the subjects: English, Modern Literature, World History, Foundations of Biology.
42:32 Magia Record audition song – Kyouko says she did Hirai Ken’s 2004 song Hitomi wo Tojite Later (43:55), Memi says she did Melon Kinenbi’s Red Freesia. Kyouko didn’t know it, or the group, and Memi says it was an idol group that’s now disbanded. The song is from 2003.
49:54 Memi’s tight spot going to Korea – Memi talks about waking up at the time she had to go out the door to go to the airport for the MAMA performance, and how she had to just toss things in a shoulder bag and go, prepared or not. We saw pictures of her at the airport in Korea and it struck me then that everyone else had proper suitcases and Memi just had two shoulder bags.
51:50 Nivea – Memi has great skin but says she uses nothing but Nivea, about the simplest and most common old-lady skin cream you can buy. But it’s a good product that has served many women all over the world for over a century.
57:00 fathers – It turns out that, unbeknownst to the two girls, their fathers have been in touch with each other, at least by LINE.
When Memi speaks, she can come up with phrasing that sounds both cute and elegant in Japanese. I hope I have been able to convey some of that in translation. Kyouko is more straightforward, but is a real conversationalist.
My apologies for the things I do not translate. There are a few places where I either cannot hear clearly or do not understand what is being said.
Apologies also for the Daily Motion video. It may take a few seconds to appear and may be fuzzy for a while before it finally settles down.
via Anakamirikarutenani