A circle of friends connected by goof-touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On July 18, current graduate student and book reviewer, Awaiyuki, appeared on the show. We asked her about how she became a book reviewer, her predictions for winning the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, and how she got hooked on idols.
INDEX
From tweeting book impressions and thoughts on Twitter to becoming a book reviewer
Celeina (MC): First of all, let me introduce you to my profile. Yuki Awayi was born in 2000. She is currently studying art at a graduate school in Tokyo. She reads a wide range of books, mainly the latest Japanese pure literature, popular literature, science fiction, mystery, light novels, and children’s novels, and publishes book reviews and articles related to the Akutagawa Prize, Naoki Prize, and other literary awards through her series and SNS.
Takano (MC): You are not in the literature department?
Awai: What we do is similar to that of the Faculty of Literature, but we also have an “Arts” course, so we study creative writing, and conversely, we also study criticism. I think it is rather broader than the Faculty of Letters.
Takano: I have read your twitter and notebook. Your thoughts are very deep.
Celeina: How did you start writing book reviews?
Awai: Originally, I wanted to have a place to output my thoughts on books, so I started tweeting my impressions and thoughts about books on Twitter. Then I was approached by a publisher, and I started writing various kinds of articles.
Takano: That’s amazing. I didn’t know there was such a pattern.
Awai: I am very grateful for that.
Takano: Have you liked books since you were a child?
Awai: I read novels rather a lot since I was a child, with periods when I stopped reading, but after choosing my current university, I started to read a lot.
Celeina: Did you start reading a lot of books when you became a college student?
Awai: I didn’t read much when I was in junior high school, and I started reading a lot in the middle of high school.
Celeina: What was the trigger for you? I have liked books since I became an adult, but I couldn’t get into them when I was a student.
Awai: I had pretty impure motives. When I asked myself, “What shall we do in class? I decided to read a book. That’s how I got into it, and that’s how I got into it now.
Takano: During class! But now you are active as a book reviewer. You never know what will lead you to where you are now.
Awai: Really, you’re right.
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Predictions for the Akutagawa and Naoki prizes from horse racing
Takano: And now, Mr. Awai. The Akutagawa and Naoki prizes will be awarded tomorrow. You have also posted your predictions for the winners.
Awai: Yes, that’s right.
Takano: I heard that your roots are in horse racing.
Awai: My father really liked horse racing, and when I was in junior high school, I started to predict what would come in first place, even though I didn’t spend any money on it.
Takano: I didn’t know that was such a fun way to enjoy horse racing.
Awai: I simply find the process of predicting very interesting. I like the process of taking into account various factors such as pedigree, lap time, jockey, and horse condition, and trying to guess what will come in.
Takano: Interesting. You like to predict and solve problems.
Awai: That may be true.
Takano: By the way, do you win at horse races?
Awai: Now that I’m away from it, it’s probably difficult, but in the past it was quite easy. The important thing is not the hit rate but the return rate, for example, how many yen you get back if you spend a certain amount of money. The hit rate itself was low, but I think I was able to hit a horse at a certain pace.
Takano: Do you have any regrets that you should have bought a ticket?
Awai: No, I don’t.
Takano: So you enjoy the process itself. How do you feel about tomorrow’s Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize winners, Mr. Awai?
Awai: Yes, I do. The Akutagawa Prize goes to Yusuke Norishiro’s “It’s Makoto”.
Takano: Mr. Norishiro, is this your fourth time?
Awai: This is the fourth time you have been nominated for the Akutagawa Award.
Takano: I think there are many fans of Ms. Norishiro who would like to see her win the prize soon.
Awai: I think there are many. He is a very popular person, but he has been missing out on awards because of a lack of recognition from the selection committee members. This time, “It’s Makoto” is an ensemble drama about a group of high school students who go on a school excursion and develop friendships there. The narrator, “I,” is looking back on the trip and typing things into his computer, and we are being asked to read it.
Takano: Yes, that’s right.
Awai: In the process of typing and recording, the narrator’s memories of the school trip are condensed to show how precious the trip was for me, and I was definitely moved by all the descriptions.
Celeina: I’m curious!
Takano: How about the Naoki Award?
Awai: I think the Naoki Prize is quite a crowded field this year, but my personal favorite is Tow Ubukata’s “Bone Ashes”. Ubukata Tow has a background in science fiction, but he has also written historical novels, mystery novels, and many other kinds of novels. This is my first horror novel, and it’s about a construction worker who hears a rumor that there are human bones buried underground, so he goes to dig them out, and he unleashes a disaster that was sealed up underground, and he becomes possessed by a terrible evil called “bone ash. The narrator becomes obsessed and tries to justify his irrationality with logic. From the reader’s point of view, that’s not right! I want to say to him, “That’s not right!
Takano: Yes, that’s right.
Awai: The narrator forces you to be convinced and the story goes on, which is interesting or scary. It’s fun to read.
Takano: I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s announcement.
Celeina: I think I’ll buy both “It’s Makoto” and “Bone Ashes” and go home.
Takano: Now, I asked Mr. Awai to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time.
Awai: So far we have talked about reading and horse racing, but recently I have also started going to idol concerts.
Celeina: A new element.
Awai: I go to see a lot of idols, but the one I support the most is Mana Manaka of FRUITS ZIPPER, an idol group that broke out last year on TikTok with a song called “My Cutest Place. The song “My Cutest Place” became their big breakthrough on TikTok last year, and in the year since their formation, the group has been climbing up the ranks and is already scheduled to perform at arenas. Recently, they released a music video for a song called “Cho-Shineitai Song ~Is it OK to be so happy? ～It is a song filled with happiness, and it is a cheerful song that symbolizes the momentum of the group FRUITS ZIPPER itself, so I selected it for many people to listen to.
Celeina: Let’s listen to the song.
INDEX
What leads to reading, horse racing, and idols
Takano: How did you get into idols?
Awai: I started watching idols when an acquaintance told me about them and I decided to go to one myself. I go to a live idol group called “Live Idol” that performs at a live house, and there is a mixture of various desires for approval or self-expression on the floor. For example, there are those who want to wave penlights and get responses from the idols, and there are those who want to dance and call out in the back. Each person enjoys it in a different way, and that kind of chaos is interesting to watch.
Takano: I guess you are looking at things from a higher layer. There is a book reviewer’s point of view.
Awai: That may be so. Also, Mana Manaka, whom I introduced earlier, is an indecisive person. But I think her indecisiveness, on the other hand, makes her a very considerate person.
Celeina: Yes, I think so.
Awai: Knowing that kind of persona makes you want to support them even more, and I think that’s because idol content, like idols, is all about storytelling.
Takano: Reading books, horse racing, and idols are genres that don’t seem to be connected. But listening to Mr. Awai’s story, it makes a little more sense. I felt that the reasons why you got into them were connected.
Celeina: I see. I feel like I want to take a peek inside your brain (laughs). (Laughs) I wouldn’t go so far as to peek into your brain, but I can get a glimpse of it through your book reviews on Twitter and in your notebooks. You can also check out his discussion of the latest movie “How Do You Live?
Awai: I look forward to hearing from you.
Celeina: FIST BUMP is a circle of friends connected by the Gutai Touch, and we are asking you to introduce us to your friends.
Awai: It is a novelist named Mio Nukaga. We had a chance to talk at the university, and from there we started talking about books, so I am personally indebted to her.
Celeina: If you had to sum it up in one word, how would you describe her?
Awai: He is very knowledgeable about the behind-the-scenes of the publishing industry and is a scary person, but he is kind to everyone, and his students love him and I love him. He is a very good teacher.
Takano: Thank you very much. I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I will connect you to novelist Mio Nukaga.
Celeina: Today’s guest was Yuki Awayi, a book reviewer who is currently a university student. Thank you very much.
Awai: Thank you very much.
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
