So i translated some key points from an article about the struggle Kisumai had before debut. I’d appreciate if you liked the tweets if you read ;;

thread below

At the time of formation, Fujigaya, had already been in the agency for 7 years and the oldest member Kitayama had turned 20 years old. their beginning definitely wasn’t an immediate one. +

Kisumai were presented as “the group of leftovers”, etc. After various units being created and demolished, various people their age and even younger debuting, Kisumai became labelled as “the group of people that didn’t get chosen”. +

A year after one member of Kisumai left, Hey! Say! JUMP debuted and Kisumai had to back dance for them. Inside they were frustrated, but they couldn’t show that to anyone. +

(By the way, this wasn’t in the interview but on various tv shows tama has said “that was really a hellish time for us” but it actually encouraged him to try harder, he wanted to prove to people that he could debut) +

But even after that, they were faced with more problems.

In Kis-My-Ft2 and ABC-Z’s stage play, for some reason Yokoo and Nikaido‘s names weren’t there.

Johnny-san had decided that they would continue with the five of them. +

But then, Kitayama and Fujigaya decided to speak up. They went to Johnny-san and insisted on it being the 7 of them.

Kitayama: “when someone asks us ‘can you do this?’ there has never been a time where fujigaya and i have said ‘no’” +

This is why Kisumai always present themselves as “a group that will do anything”, they have no NGs, they will take any chances. This is how they’ve been going through the last 15 years.

now i’ll translate the parts that write about each individual member

Kitayama Hiromitsu

The member that has been “pulling the group along”. He’s been chosen as the main personality of this year’s 24 hour TV. He threw away his dreams of being a soccer player and decidated his entire being to becoming an idol instead. +

Kitayama says “if it’s for Kisumai, i don’t care if people hate me”. He wavered a lot at first but came to strongly believe that what he’s doing is right.

Tamamori Yuta

The member who has been appearing in many dramas and films. He’s grown to be highly recognised as “the face of the group”. When he was a junior, he and Miyata were scolded a LOT.
It’s not like Tama originally /wanted/ to be the center +

but in Myojo 2016 he wrote “I’m the center, i have self-awareness and preparation.” He doesn’t show it but he makes a lot of effort and has to carry a lot on his back. He may seem natural and “loose”, but that’s exactly why he’s a strong person.

Fujigaya Taisuke

Whilst Fujigaya constantly appears in dramas or stage plays, he was also chosen as the MC for A-Studio+. He got high approval after a certain talk about him “receiving DNA” from Nakai Masahiro, who was their former mentor.

*This was a joke on a certain TV+

show, as Nakai is like a father figure to Kisumai.

He does his solo jobs coolly as “Kisumai’s Fujigaya Taisuke”, carrying many things on his back. But when he returns to the group, we see the playful and airheaded Gaya we all know.

He often used to overthink and overwork, but he is slowly returning to his natural self.

Yokoo Wataru

Yokoo’s talent for Haiku poems was discovered through the TV show “PureBato” and he has his own corner on the magazine “Inu No Kimochi” (because of his love for dogs) featured every other month. He also shows us he’s a new type of idol on their regular show +

“Jumanyen De Dekiru Kana” in their “100yen per meal” segment and we see his serious sides and talent in cooking. He struggled a lot with deciding his own character but since he found the answer within him, he’s been in top form. He’s considered Kisumai’s “final secret weapon”.

Miyata Toshiya

The member that could be regarded as Kisumai’s “balancer”, he has many solo jobs. There is many layers to him and he’s bravely embracing the “loved idol” image. After becoming well known for loving anime, he has plans to debut as a voice actor +

for the movie “BEM” this Autumn. He says “just love what you love, and one day you’ll be able to apply that to your everyday life”. Miyata’s giving many people hope and courage.

Nikaido Takashi

Nikaido once said “i want to become Kisumai’s chatty ‘entertainer’ character”. He’s extremely active in the variety show area, becoming part of the investigation team for the show “Sekai No Nanda Kore!? ~Mystery~” He’s a man that can do a variety of things, +

but he often holds back for the other members. If you pay attention to his hard work and his utmost support for the other members, anyone can tell that he loves Kisumai more than anyone. He’s a key person for Kisumai’s activities.

Senga Kento

No matter what he leaves behind, Senga has always chosen Kisumai over everything. On “PureBato”, he has received a lot of praise for his watercolour paintings, and when given the chance he will design Kisumai’s logos. He pours his overflowing artistic talent +

into Kisumai. With his high sense of aesthetic, he helps Kisumai’s performance reach an even higher level.

Kisumai: “every solo jobs we do is for Kisumai’s sake”, “we want to make kisumai more well-known”

with these words as a driving force, they work together to improve.

This is shown in the lyrics of COUNT 7EVEN

“We won’t let go of the things we’ve connected. We know it’s hard to keep going.”

They were all brought together with different ages and backgrounds. It wasn’t easy to bring them together.

They prohibited formal language and through the various quarrels and collisions, through the combination of frustration and happiness, they were able to connect and bond.

Kisumai have always declared: “we’ll continue living with the seven of us” “one life, always together”.

There’s scenery that the seven of them want to see together, a world that they want to show to the fans, a dream that they want to grasp.

They were “the group of leftovers”, but if you look back then you realise they’re definitely necessary. There’s still so much more to come.

- end of thread -

thank you if you read this far and also thank you to @shoripii for sending me links to help me understand certain parts and just in general dealing with my flails and cries over this

here’s the article link: https://realsound.jp/2020/07/post-591217.html/amp?__twitter_impression=true