Completing a New Work That Recognizes Each Other, Overcoming Every Wall, Moving One Step Further

Cho Tokimeki♡ Sendenbu Interview

Cho Tokimeki♡ Sendenbu, who announced their new album Tokimeki Egao on March 4th, make their first-ever appearance on pia Kansai Web. Representing the group for this interview are Haruka Koizumi (Oharu) and Hiyori Yoshikawa (Hiyorin). They spoke at length about the new album — the final release of their 10th anniversary year — as well as their ten-year journey, the viral hits they keep producing one after another, and even ideas for new songs.

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Oharu: The commemorative year kicked off with the release of the single "Sekai de Ichiban Idol" (the first track on Tokimeki Egao), and during the tour we were able to fill venues that we couldn't fill back when we first started. It felt like a special year where we got to settle some old scores, in the best way.

Hiyorin: In Osaka too, we were able to perform at Osaka-jo Hall for the tour finale. Also, in 2025 "Chō Saikyō" went viral and we got a lot of TV appearances — but it turned out a surprising number of people didn't know we'd been going for 10 years. Whenever we'd say "It's our 10th anniversary year," people would react with "You've been doing this that long? That's amazing. You've really worked hard." Being able to say with pride, "Yes, we've been doing this for 10 years" made me really happy.

Oharu: For me, it's "Suki!" going viral — it reached people overseas too. Just recently I saw G-DRAGON playing the song at his own live concert and dancing to it, and I thought, "Wow, it's reached even that far!" It's really wonderful that it reached people who had no idea who we were, and that it's being used like a global anthem. When "Suki!" first went viral, it felt like the song was walking on its own without us — but then when "Saijōkyū ni Kawaii no!" and "Chō Saikyō" also went viral, it became more like "Cho Tokimeki♡ Sendenbu — the group that sings Saijōkyū." I'm really grateful that so many people came to know us that way.

Oharu: We study it every day, but... (laughs)

Hiyorin: We honestly have no idea what the formula is (laughs).

Hiyorin: The (choreography strategy) was Hito-chan (Sakai)'s idea... As for the part of the song that went viral, sure, there may have been some strategy behind it, but the "you don't have to dance" thing came about naturally... or rather, it came from the couple who originally posted it. They shot it in a way that didn't require dancing, and because of that, lots of people started copying the format. So honestly, you never know where a viral moment is going to come from.

Oharu: We're still figuring it out.

Oharu: Loads of them. With "Chō Saikyō", we thought, let's not just do the chorus — let's try the B-section too. And then it was the B-section that went viral. So now people think the B-section IS the chorus (laughs).

Hiyorin: With "Chō Saikyō", Hito-chan tried posting different sections of the song. And for some reason, the B-section — "The camera roll on your phone is full of me, isn't it!?" — got an insane number of likes. So she told us, "This might be the one!?" and we thought, let's try filming it as a group too. And then it just exploded.

Hiyorin: "Suki!" was a song we performed regularly around 2018, but as for why it went viral... maybe the oshi-katsu (fandom culture) boom?

Oharu: Yeah, I think so. It started with fans channeling their feelings for their oshi into the song and filming themselves with it — but we genuinely had no idea it was happening at first. We really did nothing.

Hiyorin: We kind of jumped on the wave once we saw it. We re-recorded the "~Chō ver~" with all six of us, shot a music video, made new costumes...

Hiyorin: We'd never gone viral before, so it was like — grab this chance while we can see it! There was a real momentum to it. It was so much fun.

Oharu: Just ride every wave that comes.

Oharu: That decision... there was this moment on stage, in front of the fans, where each of us had to publicly declare whether we wanted the group to continue or if we were done. I was in tears saying "I want to keep going."

Hiyorin: Not at all (laughs).

Oharu: We had no idea when it would end (laughs).

Hiyorin: Did it keep us on our toes...? (laughs)

Oharu: I think everyone was just anxious (laughs).

Hiyorin: Hmm!?

Oharu: I was anxious, for sure (laughs).

Oharu: Every song on this album is different — it really is a collection of gems. There's a single concept of "youth," but within that you have innocent love songs and cool, confident love songs; sparkly youth anthems and bittersweet ones. Since the release is in March — springtime — there are also songs themed around encounters and farewells. It's packed with songs that fit all kinds of situations. I really think this is exactly what an album should feel like, and it's the perfect way to close out our 10th anniversary year. Also, the songs have gotten... harder (laughs). The difficulty level goes up every time, doesn't it?

Hiyorin: We record in a pretty compressed timeframe, so it's a scramble (laughs). Every week there's a new task — like, "Next, this one!" Sometimes two recording sessions back-to-back.

Oharu: For me it was the rapid-fire rap section in "JIRI JIRI" — it was incredibly hard. The note values are tiny and it's so fast. I thought, "Am I going to get the rap part...?" but I didn't, so I was relieved (laughs).

Hiyorin: Who got it?

Oharu: Aki-chan (Suda). She sang it smoothly, no problem.

Hiyorin: Yeah, even in rehearsals she was flying through it.

Hiyorin: "Born To Be Smile". The key is so high that the moment I finished recording, my throat just seized up and started squeaking (laughs).

Oharu: They asked me, "You're okay with wearing a school uniform, right?" (laughs)

Hiyorin: The "older sister" team — Oharu, me, Kanamin, and Hito-chan.

Oharu: They called us over with this very serious expression, and I thought, "What's wrong?" — and then it was, "So, the next MV has school uniforms. Is that okay? Just wanted to give you a heads-up." (laughs)

Hiyorin: "Thought you might need some mental preparation." (laughs)

Oharu: I was a little hurt, like... we're idols, surely school uniforms are fine!

Hiyorin: Filming with little kids was almost a first for us. It was only possible because of our work with "Aikatsu." When I was a child, I would look at idol big sisters and think they were so cute, that they had something I didn't, and I admired them so much. Thinking that I could now be on that side — it made me so excited. And the kids' eyes were just sparkling — so cute.

Hiyorin: Before we came into the studio, you could hear squealing and shrieking from outside. But the moment we walked in... (silence). They froze up from nerves. Like, "They're real!" (laughs)

Oharu: *gasp* — (laughs)

Hiyorin: The kids were recruited through a general public call, and some of their moms are Sendenbuin (fans of ours), so I think that might have added to the overwhelm.

Hiyorin: We don't get that many, actually.

Oharu: We're on the "more singing parts than dialogue parts" team.

Hiyorin: For this album though, I have a line in "Watashi ga Choco desu♡" — "Take it before I melt!" — and honestly, while I was recording it, I was convinced it would never be assigned to me.

Hiyorin: I never think any given line will be mine (laughs)! So when the assignments come out and I get the finished audio, it's always like, "Oh, that bit is me — okay okay okay..." But this time it was, "Oh wait, that's me... no way! Okay then, okay okay!" (laughs)

Oharu: What kind of emotional journey is that? (laughs)

Oharu: No idea. It's probably based on image and balance.

Oharu: Never been able to. Not once (laughs).

Hiyorin: I might have a preference, but it's more of a "Oh, it wasn't me... ah well." Whatever you're given is everything, really. And when you hear a member singing it, you think, "That sounds so good!"

Oharu: I don't feel frustrated at all. I've learned to accept it and move on (laughs).

Hiyorin: Though maybe back in the day there was a little frustration.

Oharu: There was, there was. Like, "I barely sing in this one."

Hiyorin: I think that feeling has completely disappeared now. Way back before the viral era, I used to think that if I had fewer lines, I'd lose my place in the group. I had no confidence at all, so I was finding my sense of worth in the vocal assignments. There was a period where I'd hit a wall about it — "I hate this!" But as I gained experience and started understanding what I could contribute to the group, I think I was freed from that attachment. This time, in "Egao de Chō Kansha," there's a line — "Smiling, I'll make miracles / The future is so bright it dazzles me!" — that I absolutely loved and recorded over and over until I was satisfied. But it went to Aki-chan, and when I heard the finished version, I thought, "That's exactly right — that's perfect!" Each of us really does have the parts that are right for us.

Oharu: Tokisen has a lot of songs like that, so it didn't shock me. We've never had quite that many ♡s before, but our love songs are generally pretty intense.

Hiyorin: That's true. But having the ♡ there makes the ends of lines sort of bounce — like a little "!" or a catch in the voice — and it put me in the mood to strike a cutesy pose while singing.

Oharu: It gives the song a color, you know. The song has a real personality to it.

Oharu: I feel almost honored to say this, but Maguro-san has basically become "the Tokisen person" at this point.

Hiyorin: He also wrote "Endless," "Memories," "Shitaki no Koi"...

Oharu: We haven't done many rock festivals like Japan Jam before.

Hiyorin: We've wanted to for so long.

Oharu: This is our first Japan Jam. The setlist is going to be crucial.

Hiyorin: We keep discussing among the members — "What do you think would work? What's our strategy?" (laughs). People tend to think of Tokisen as a love song group, so I really want to push the youth anthem side of us more. Actually, a lot of Sendenbuin love our youth songs. The strategy is: get them with the love songs, then hold them with the youth anthems! (laughs)

Hiyorin: It's basically our second hometown. Vol.1 sold out, so they're letting us do Vol.2!

Oharu: There are special segments you can only experience at a live show. Last time we did Russian Takoyaki roulette. There's definitely a playful spirit to it (laughs).

Hiyorin: It was shot in Okinawa. The title is "Hiyorinnpo," and it really is a book that's very "me." I was a bit hesitant about a photo book at first — I kept thinking, "Is there really demand for photos of just me?" (laughs) But they let me include lots of unique, personal items, and it's very colorful — I really feel like we made exactly the book I wanted to make. The weather was beautiful, the locations were gorgeous, and the photos came out really cute.

Oharu: Even as five members, we'll be doing lots of lives — rock festivals and other challenges we've never taken on before, so I'm really excited. Without losing the positive spirit we have now, we're in a preparation phase right now where we're working incredibly hard. So please look forward to April and beyond, and keep rooting for us! Also, something we've been talking about among the members is wanting to put out hit songs tied to seasons and occasions. We've always wanted this, but — for summer, we want something like ORANGE RANGE's "Ikenai Taiyō" (laughs).

── Very specific (laughs).

Oharu: And for winter, something like Hiromi Iwasaki's "Gerende ga Tokeru hodo Koi Shitai" — the kind of song that absolutely plays at every pool or beach house in summer, or every ski resort in winter (laughs). Having something like "Watashi ga Choco desu♡" for Valentine's Day — having those seasonal staples might be the next step forward for us.

── So what can we expect from you this summer, then? (laughs)

Oharu: ..."Tokimeki Taiyō" (Tokimeki Sun)!? (laughs)

Hiyorin: "Tokimeki Taiyo~!" (I want to make your heart flutter~!)

Both: Ohhh!

Hiyorin: We might just have a new song (laughs).

── We look forward to it (laughs). What about you, Hiyorin?

Hiyorin: I want to make everyone feel more at ease. I want to be able to say with a big voice, "Come with us, follow us!" Looking back, I really feel like what lies on the other side of every challenge is something huge. Juri's graduation is... a big decision she made for herself, and for us it's also a great sadness — but I want us to overcome that high wall, find a new stage waiting on the other side, and make everyone feel like they want to follow us even more. That's what I'll be working toward.

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