On January 5th, Yuki Yoda announced her graduation from the idol group Nogizaka46 after about eight and a half years. Yoda had been a popular member of the group since she first joined, so her graduation announcement came as a surprise to many fans. She also spoke about her thoughts on graduation in an interview included in her latest photobook "Yoda" (Kobunsha), released on February 12th, but we also spoke to MANTANWEB about the reason for her announcement and her outlook after graduation.
◇ "It was quite a struggle."
He said he first started thinking about graduating "about three years ago."
"At the time, I thought there was nothing more I could do with the group. But somewhere in my mind, I wanted to graduate while I was still enjoying myself, so I chose to continue with the group."
In 2016, when she was 16 years old and in her first year of high school, she passed the " Nogizaka46 3rd Generation Audition". She moved to Tokyo alone from her hometown of Fukuoka and has been a member of the top idol group ever since. Looking back on the past eight and a half years, she says, "I struggled quite a bit."
"I was never the type to be in front of people, and I couldn't sing or dance. I was also really bad at putting my thoughts into words, so I think I often caused misunderstandings. I stumbled a lot."
She revealed that one of the reasons she decided to continue her activities was the influence of her junior 5th generation members who joined in 2022.
"The 4th generation members, who are my juniors from the first generation, are really reliable and I feel more like comrades than juniors, but the 5th generation members are my juniors from the second generation, so I feel like I'm their junior. For the sake of the 5th generation members, I want to try a little harder. If it weren't for the 5th generation members, I might have quit three years ago."
"It was only really recently that I started to enjoy my work. It was a while after I started thinking about graduating," she said.
"The time I spend working with everyone and my private life are all the more enjoyable now! I've had more and more moments where I think that if I stay on like this, I might be happy, but one day it might stop being fun. I decided to graduate because I want to see different scenery while I'm in the best possible condition."
◇ Hoping to pursue acting after graduation: "I want to do things I haven't been able to do before"
When asked about the atmosphere in the group from an objective perspective as a graduating member, she smiled and said, "When we were shooting the music video for my graduation song, I saw everyone playing UNO and cards in their free time, and I thought they were a really close-knit group."
"I'm more than happy that everyone is having fun. I'm looking forward to going to see everyone's live shows after I graduate, but I wonder if the 6th generation members will still be there by then? I want to keep seeing everyone shining brightly."
She said that her fellow third-year students, who she had shared the good times and bad times with for the past eight and a half years, had told her they were lonely, and she laughed, saying, "I'm starting to feel lonely too. I want to just go backstage after I graduate." She said of her classmates, "They're work colleagues, but to me they're like friends."
"We have a group LINE for the third-year students. All 12 of us, including the graduates, are in it, and it's called 'Memories First.' I hope we can keep sending each other silly photos like students did (laughs). I'm looking forward to having a class reunion with everyone someday."
The life of an idol is filled with irreplaceable encounters. "I'm glad I joined Nogizaka46," she says with a bright smile.
"There were difficult times, but honestly I don't have any regrets. I think I am who I am today because of all the experiences I had, and if there was just one thing missing, my way of thinking might have been different. But I really like who I am now, so I'm glad I was able to spend those eight and a half years."
The title of the blog she posted announcing her graduation was "It was fun!!" When asked if she would want to be an idol again, she immediately replied, "Nogizaka46!"
She will continue her entertainment activities after graduation. She is enthusiastic about the future, saying, "I want to try many acting roles." She has appeared in the "Ryosangata Riko" (TV Tokyo) series so far, and said, "I've had great encounters on every set, and I've been blessed with great works. From now on, I want to experience more different sets, and although I'm sure I'll hit a lot of walls, I want to keep hitting them. I don't have much experience on stage, so I'd like to try performing on stage!"
She also said, "I want to try things I haven't been able to do before," and her eyes sparkled as she said, "I want to do something like a sports day with all my fans (laughs)!" With a fulfilled look on her face, she expressed her hopes for her "second life" after graduating from being an idol.
