White Scorpion: Part 7 ACE: “Beyond Skill: The Art of Delivery”

“I also realized that I had been setting my own limits. There’s a part of me that becomes desperate when results don’t come. It was really good to recognize that. Because the audition was long, I developed patience, and I gained the strength to keep trying no matter how frustrating it got. Also, I feel a strong sense of gratitude towards those around me. It might seem obvious, but I don’t think I would have felt this strongly if I had just been living a normal life.”

── Why do you think you started feeling that way strongly?

“The presence of the fans who revived me was huge. And also, the staff members. There are so many staff members involved in this audition and in the WHITE SCORPION group, and they work for us from early morning till late at night. Seeing their dedication, I realized how fortunate we are, and it made me want to cherish people even more than before.”

─ ─ At this point, please tell us what you are proud of as an idol that you can not lose in this area.

“I believe my self-producing ability is superior to any other member of WHITE SCORPION!”

 

── You even list “signature facial expressions” in the special skills section of your official profile.

 

“Yes, haha! I put a lot of effort into studying how to present myself during performances and how to behave on stage. I’m always thinking about how to make our fans happy and excited. I’ve watched a lot of videos of idols to study. Especially =LOVE, because they have a wide range of music styles, so I can learn various presentation techniques from them. Among them, Inori Noguchi stands out for her expressiveness, so I take her performances as a reference for my own.”

─ ─ In the special skills section of her official profile, she also lists “cooking” and “writing.

“I think I’m good at cooking because I used to prepare meals when my parents came home late. I can cook Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes. For Japanese food, I make tonkatsu, for Western food, I make hamburgers or shrimp fry, and for Chinese food, I make dishes like shrimp chili, sweet and sour pork, and bang bang chicken.”

 

── In this day and age, “writing” as a skill seems a bit unusual.

 

“I enjoy writing. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to become an idol, but I also dreamed of becoming a novelist. So, I used to write down my daily experiences in a notebook. My favorite author is Mizuki Tsujimura. I admire her beautiful choice of words. I think conveying emotions beautifully through words is wonderful, and I wanted to become a novelist myself.”

 

── Former Nogizaka46 member Kazumi Takayama made her debut as a novelist while still in the group, and former SKE48 member Rena Matsui has also published novels.

 

“That’s right! Maybe I’ll give it a try in the future, perhaps, haha.”

I want to bring back to the group what each member has gained individually.

── In terms of the future, what ideal do you envision for WHITE SCORPION?

 

“I mean, think about movies like ‘The Avengers.’ They’re amazing, right? Each character is a hero on their own, but when they come together as a team, their power multiplies. For WHITE SCORPION, I think it would be ideal to become that kind of team. Each member of WHITE SCORPION has the potential and passion to shine individually, so imagine if we all excel in our respective genres, bring back what we’ve gained to the group, and deliver the best performance to our fans. If we can achieve that, we’ll have so many great live shows, maybe even fulfill our dream of a nationwide dome tour, and I believe it would open up a wider world for us. If we can dive into that world together, it might even lead to international success.”

─ ─ As for your personal activities, what would you like to try?

“I’d love to be featured in various magazines, sing solo songs, and perform in solo concerts. Through these experiences, I aim to enhance my own presence and increase my personal popularity, which I believe could also contribute to the group.”

 

── By the way, have you gotten used to the name ACE?

 

“Well, the name I came up with during the audition was ‘PEACE.’ I wanted to participate in the audition with a sense of fun and peace, and also because my pet hamster at home is named Sue-chan, so I thought it would be nice to be called Sue-chan without the ‘S’ in PEACE. But when I passed the audition and became a member of WHITE SCORPION, I was given the name ACE. I think they gave me that name based on how I appeared during the audition, and people who know my name might think, ‘Is this girl the ace of the group?’ Since the moment I received that name, I’ve resolved to become someone who’s not ashamed of the name ACE. I’ll live up to the name ACE!”

PROFILE
ACE
Born on November 6 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Hobbies: Snowboarding, playing games, sleeping
Special skills: Cooking, writing, and making a face.