Takekoshi Kurumi is the "leader" of the six-member idol group "Devil ANTHEM." They have attracted attention on TBS's live morning show "Love it!" and have also been booked to appear on the second night of Fuji TV's music special "2025 FNS Music Festival," which will be broadcast on December 10th. We spoke to Takekoshi about the appeal of the group, affectionately known as "Debian," and their future prospects.
Devian began as a five-member group in December 2014. After some members graduated and some were on hiatus, new members Meisa Shiozaki and Nene Yabuki joined the group on February 2, 2025. The group currently consists of six members: Takekoshi, Shiozaki, Yabuki, Hitomi Mizuno, Yume Hashimoto, and Kaede Ando.
It could be said that we are currently in the Warring States period of idols, with many groups making the most of their respective characteristics to expand the scope of their activities, but what do they think is the appeal of Debian?
"They all have cute faces and good figures. Apparently the producers have a certain Debian body type or face that looks like Debian, so the girls who join Debian have small faces. The criteria for joining are face and bone structure, and the girls who join are those who can't sing or dance."
As new members join the group who are beginners at both singing and dancing, Takekoshi, who acts as a "leader," keeps things tight when necessary and communicates with the other members.
"I'm now the oldest member and have the longest tenure, so I'm working hard so that I can present a figure I'm not ashamed of. If you ask if we're super close, we don't hang out together in private. Of course, that doesn't mean we don't get along (laughs). We respect each other, and we work hard at lessons so that we can improve together. We keep our feet on the ground and move forward step by step."
◇Idol life is halfway through, graduation will be on the group's 20th anniversary
Takekoshi made her first appearance on the show on June 19th when "Love it!" aired. When she made her second appearance on October 30th, her self-deprecating greeting, "I have the fewest followers in the history of ' Love it!'," sparked a lot of buzz.
"I yelled out when I found out I was going to be in ' Love it!' I was really nervous the first and second time, but I'd always dreamed of appearing on TV, so I was really happy," she said with a smile.
However, she said, "I'm a really talkative person, but I feel small when there's someone who talks more than me," and perhaps due to nervousness, she was unable to join in the lively chatter of the regular members.
"I wasted a lot of time drinking water and I had to go to the bathroom a lot during the video. I also had to record "Love it!" so I had to hold it in for a while. I don't remember much (laughs)."
Takekoshi is currently 22 years old and is active both as a member of the group and as an individual. She has decided to retire from idol activities and the group when she turns 31, when Debian celebrates its 20th anniversary.
"I'd like to hold something like a reunion for all the fans I've met over my 20 years as an idol. You never know what's going to happen in life, so I don't know if I'll be able to make it until I'm 31. But I think it's amazing to be an idol for 20 years. I'm already halfway through, so I want to do my best for the remaining nine years."
In order to participate in the "FNS Song Festival," Devian won the qualifying block and the final live performance in the "TIF x FNS Song Festival Collaboration Project," and secured their spot on the show.
Looking ahead to the actual performance, she said enthusiastically, "I can confidently say that I am the representative of live idols.I will be appearing on terrestrial television, so as the representative of live idols, I would like to show people that this kind of world exists, that it is a wonderful world."
