The Spirit of ANGERME Nurtured by the Soil of "Yes and"

Previously, I participated in a project called "Hello! (New World) Project." The purpose of the project was to enjoy Hello! Project from various perspectives, and I wrote a column titled "What Theater Professionals Explain: 'This is Amazing! ANGERME on Stage'." I have summarized the interesting behaviors of ANGERME that can only be understood by those with theater experience, so if you are interested, please take a look. It is free to download.

This time, as the second installment, I would like to summarize ANGERME from the perspective of theater once again.

Kohei Dojima, who appeared as a guest on the 10-hour live broadcast of Akari Takeuchi aired on SKY PerfecTV!, left behind some impressive words. He expressed how the ANGERME members accepted him even though he was still a new fan, calling it the spirit of ANGERME that starts with 'Yes'. This phrase is a wonderful expression that succinctly captures the foundation of ANGERME, but for me, as someone involved in theater, it was a familiar expression in a different form.

There is a form of theater called "Impro." Impro stands for Improvisation, meaning that without scripts or stories, it is a type of theater where you create a story on the spot relying on a few rules. The process of expressing what you feel in that moment and then building new expressions upon that is very thrilling and allows you to enjoy a different kind of fun than regular theatrical performances. However, because it is improvisation, there is always the fear that your own expressions might break the story or make the audience feel awkward. As a basic principle to shake off that fear and continue to stay on stage with a naked heart, there is a phrase called "Yes and".
"Yes and" means to "affirm and add one thing" to the other person's proposal (offer).Whether this principle is followed or not changes the development of the story significantly. For example, suppose there was the following flow in an impro.

The above example does not follow "Yes and." B denied (blocked) A's proposal, and A's proposal disappeared. As the experience of having proposals blocked accumulates, one becomes afraid to make proposals themselves, and it becomes impossible to make bold expressions.

In this case, there is only "Yes" and no "and." The proposal does not disappear, but because it does not develop, A has to come up with a proposal again, which becomes painful.

As shown in the example above, by both parties saying "Yes" to each other's proposals and then adding a proposal with "and," the story develops. And as you can see from the example above, what is important in "Yes and" is the "and." "Yes" alone ends there, but with "and," positive feedback is created.

It has been a long time, but here I return to Mr. Dojima's words. I think the important part of the phrase "the spirit of ANGERME that starts with 'Yes'" is "starts with" which corresponds to "and."
ANGERME is a group that affirms. When a new member joins, they welcome them with all their might and express, "I'm happy you joined ANGERME," and even if it's someone's individual work, all the members are happy as if it were their own; that is such a wonderful group. However, isn't the true strength of ANGERME that it doesn't end with just affirming?
When Mr. Dojima appeared as an ANGERME fan, leader Takeuchi affirmed and accepted him. And not stopping there, she continued to "and" by saying, "Please play 'Manner Mode'!", "Please write a song!", "Please appear at the birthday event!"
Also, the surprise joining of Moe Kamikokuryo, which is a legendary scene among fans, also demonstrates an intense "and."

When asked about her special skill, Kamikokuryo answered, "I can play the drum set." In response, they "and" by saying, "Can you do it with air drums right here?" In response to that, Kamikokuryo plays air drums. And from here, a barrage of "and" begins. Takeuchi joins in on bass, Murota (for some reason) does pantomime, and finally, Tamura's soulful vocals are layered...
This is truly impro-like, and you can experience the fun of the scene accelerating endlessly as one "and" after another is repeated in response to someone's proposal.
I think this impro-like fun was demonstrated in the most understandable form in the DVD Magazine ANGER-bu series.

The fun of the story rolling at an accelerating pace by repeating "Yes and," and developments where you can't see the landing point happening one after another, seems to be applicable to the story of the group ANGERME itself. ANGERME is a group with a lot of changes in people coming and going, but it's not that the story rolls because people come and go, but rather, isn't it that graduates inevitably increase precisely because the story rolls vigorously due to "Yes and"?

Another characteristic of ANGERME is that there is no (or very little) tsukkomi (straight man/rebuttal). Simply put, it's a state of being left alone.
Tsukkomi is basically a denial (block). It is the act of stopping someone who is saying something strange (boke/funny man) by saying "Stop it." In comedy, since the boke is made on the premise of being blocked, it paradoxically becomes an affirmation, and there is no problem with tsukkomi. However, in daily life or on stages other than comedy, caution is required, and if you tsukkomi someone who didn't intend to be a boke, it may be conveyed as just a block.

From a theatrical point of view, there is no tsukkomi (in the comedy sense) in a story. Tsukkomi is a meta-act, so performers in the same space rarely tsukkomi each other, and it is only the audience watching who tsukkomi in their hearts.
(Although there are some scenes where they tsukkomi meta-ly, that moment definitely means the story has collapsed. There are times when it is performed as a single work including that.)
Even in impro, there are times when you tsukkomi with the sole intention of making the audience laugh, but the story rarely turns in a good direction.

ANGERME basically does not tsukkomi. Even if there is an option of "not going along" with someone's proposal, I have rarely seen them tsukkomi.
Momona Kasahara's famous quote, "You guys are crazy," is also not a tsukkomi but just an explanation.
Recently, in the Budokan talk of "Let's Go! Nippon Budokan! Tsubaki Factory 26-Hour Special," even after Tsubaki Factory newcomer Marin Fukuda introduced herself in a yankee style, "Yes and" appeared instead of a tsukkomi.
Without tsukkomi-ing her self-introduction, which was not very yankee-like, "Hey! I'm Marin Fukuda who loves kamage udon!", Sasaki and Kasahara cheered and then shouted, "Kamage! Kamage!"
By doing "Yes and" without tsukkomi-ing, it becomes a message that says, "I affirm your courage and challenge. And I will enjoy it with you."

*Just to be safe, I'm writing this, but I'm not saying that tsukkomi is bad. It means that what advances the story is "Yes and," and what stops (corrects) the story is tsukkomi.

However, it is not as if there are no retorts in ANGERME. There is Musubu Funaki. Funaki-san persistently made retorts to Layla Ise. Yet, Ise-san did not shrink away; rather, she pushed her 'Rerapy-style' girl persona even further. Why did Ise-san not shrink away even when faced with retorts—that is, being blocked or told 'No'? I believe it is because the premise is 'Yes and,' and that order is an important point that must not be mistaken.

While possessing the spirit of 'Yes and,' ANGERME is also a group that has clearly expressed 'No.'
The blog post where Layla Ise wrote about her relationship with her peer Haruka Ota, who was on hiatus, is still fresh in our memories.

Former leader Ayaka Wada has also spoken out to fans to stop dangerous jumping behavior at live houses, and regarding Momona Kasahara's 'Red Lip Incident' (I will omit the details), she stated, 'There is no fixed form for idols or makeup. You should wear the lipstick you like.'

The concept of 'Yes and' does not deny the expression of 'No.' Rather, it is precisely because there is a soil of 'Yes and' that one can powerfully say 'No.' If you have the peace of mind that your relationship will not collapse and you will not be unfairly excluded even if you express 'No,' you can summon the courage to share your own opinions.

Here, I must write something that is slightly off-topic from the main subject. 'Actors must not say No' Regarding this. When I was an actor, I also believed that I 'must not say No.' If you say No, you will be replaced by another actor, your range will not expand, everything is an experience... You are driven into a situation where there is only Yes, using various expressions. Especially if the principle is 'Yes and,' it is no wonder that one would believe they must not say No.
However, as mentioned above, this is a matter of order, and the principle of 'Yes and' and expressing 'No' can coexist.

Creating an environment where one can say 'No' is the job of those in charge, such as the person in charge, producer, or director. Saying things like 'You can refuse if you don't like it' without creating that environment is equivalent to not giving a choice, and it can truly be called harassment.

On November 15, Momona Kasahara will graduate. When she first joined, she was unable to open her heart at all. Perhaps the seniors spent a long time continuing to 'Yes and' without making retorts to such a Kasahara-san. Now, Kasahara-san has become the person who performs the greatest 'Yes and' within ANGERME. We often heard other members who decided to graduate say, 'Momona pushed me forward,' and her statement that 'I think ANGERME includes the fans' is also, I believe, an expression of 'Yes and.'

Momona Kasahara, the child of such an ANGERME, is expressing her greatest 'No' and leaving ANGERME. It is a 'No' precisely because she has judged that even if she expresses 'No,' the group, the members, the fans, and above all, she herself can continue without breaking.
I pay my respects to the soil of 'Yes and' that nurtured the courage for her, who grew up in ANGERME and says ANGERME is her everything, to be able to leap out of ANGERME.

ANGERME is a tolerant group, but they won't say, 'It's okay for you to stay as you are, even if you're no good.' They also 'and' the fans by saying, 'Let's change the parts that aren't good!'
We, too, would like to return the 'and' as much as possible, not just staying at 'Yes.' By doing so, a positive feedback loop will be born between the performers and the fans, and perhaps we can get one step closer to a 'Dazzling Era of Love' (@46okunen LOVE).

Finally, Momona Kasahara-san, congratulations on your graduation. I am very happy that Kasahara-san, who was raised in the soil of 'Yes and' called ANGERME, will spread that spirit to the world. I will continue to support your dream, which you revealed on Hello! Station, of 'becoming rich and changing the world.'