Former Dempagumi.inc Member Mirin Furukawa Opens Up About Family Life

The last goal

On January 4th and 5th, 2025, Dempagumi.inc held their final ending live performances. After these two days, which she said she gave her all to, Mirin Furukawa spoke with FRIDAY in an interview in late January.

Throughout the interview, conducted in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, Furukawa’s words conveyed a strong sense of relief and fulfillment after completing such a significant milestone. Currently featured in a special gravure shoot in the latest issue of FRIDAY, “Mirin-chan” presents her “first and last” full-fledged photo spread. Here’s the second part of her special interview.

Click here to read the first interview.

ーーWhat were your thoughts regarding the other members?

“I had strong feelings, especially toward the newer members who recently joined, like, ‘Since you went through the trouble of joining Dempagumi.inc, I really want you to have a good experience’ and ‘I want you to feel that this is fulfilling work.’ But there were also dreams we couldn’t achieve, and I often felt guilty, thinking, ‘I’m sorry, it’s my own lack of ability.’

As we approached the ending, those feelings began to change. There’s a line in the song ‘W.W.D ENDING’ that says, ‘We ran together to the end, that’s a fact,’ and with that fact, I started feeling like, ‘Let’s all continue living with that shared experience in mind.’ Being an idol is tough, and it’s a job that consumes your life. But everything we experienced in Dempagumi.inc—the fun moments and the tough ones—becomes a tremendous asset in life. I really believe that everyone who went through this experience can handle whatever hardships come their way in the future.

We haven’t really talked much about what each member will do moving forward. I’m sure everyone will go their own way, but I hope they’ll always keep saying, ‘I was a member of Dempagumi.inc,’ and that they’ll live long, healthy lives that’s what I feel. In the end, health is the most important thing.”

During the group’s activities leading up to the ending, “Mirin-chan” had set one particular goal for herself.

“I decided, ‘In the end, I want to be someone that everyone likes.’ Over 16 years, I’ve had many goals, like wanting to increase our popularity or our audience numbers, but I find it a bit funny that my final goal ended up being that.

I’m really bad at socializing. I don’t respond to LINE messages, and I don’t listen to people very well either. I was forgiven because I was in Dempagumi.inc, but I knew I couldn’t keep going like that. I started to feel that I needed to value my connections more. I realized I couldn’t keep being the same old difficult Mirin-chan forever.”

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The wonderful epilogue to the ending live performance

When it comes to socializing, Dempagumi.inc was well known among fans as a group that didn’t hold after-parties following their live shows…

“Actually, we’re starting to make moves to hold an after-party. Pinky (Ayane Fujisaki) and Hina-chan (Haruka Takasaki) are the ones rallying everyone. I’m thinking, ‘Well, I guess we’ll do it.’ Maybe soon you’ll see pictures of the after-party posted on X (Twitter) or somewhere.”

ーーAfter the live shows, what did your family or child say to you?

“Some time after the ending, I decided to talk to my child and said, ‘Mama isn’t an idol anymore.’ I was curious to see how they would react. Then, to my surprise, my child asked, ‘Did you save the universe?’”

The title of the ending tour was “Surely, Dempagumi.inc Will Save the Universe!” Furukawa was astonished by her child’s sudden words.

“I had never told my child anything about saving the universe. But they had come to watch the two-day live with my husband, so I think they picked up the phrase saving the universe from there and then brought it up themselves. That was just so amazing. When I wrote about it on X, many fans responded with, ‘What a beautiful epilogue.’”

ーーHow did your family react to the ending live?

“My dad personally got VIP tickets for both days. My mom, in her usual way, quietly bought her own tickets as well. My parents have always supported my activities.

Also, my younger sister came to the live, which is rare. She attended on the first day, but she really wanted to see the second day as well, so she told me, ‘I signed up for CS TV Asahi (to watch the live broadcast).’ I thought, ‘Why didn’t you just tell me!? I would have arranged something!’ (laughs).”

The “FRIDAY Subscription” service offers unlimited access to behind-the-scenes videos, including the making of Mirin Furukawa’s “first and last full-fledged gravure” challenge, marking the end of her idol career. The videos are now available for viewing!

Mirin Furukawa is a gamer idol from Kagawa Prefecture. She has been leading “Denpa-gumi.inc” since its formation, and published her first book “At the End of Twintails, the Autobiography of #Misuzu” on March 14.