On October 10nd, a launch event for Morning Musume '2 member Kitagawa Rio's fifth photobook, "24th Proof" (published by Wani Books), was held in Tokyo.
Rio Kitagawa turned 3 in March this year and this is her first photo book. This time, the setting is Hakodate, Hokkaido, and the theme is "the daily life of a neat and pretty female college student."
The photo book is a collection of casual scenes from the family's everyday lives, including going to the beach, lake, amusement park, pool, or villa with friends, or dressing up for parties.
Also pay attention to the girlish and free-spirited attitude she occasionally shows, as well as the adult atmosphere and expressions she naturally exudes.
The costumes include various types of one-piece dresses, a glasses-wearing schoolgirl outfit that is reminiscent of school commutes, a white long dress of her own choice, and a black bikini, which she also showed off for the first time.
Kitagawa Rio smiled and said, "From the release of my first photo book until I turned 1, I had been working hard with the goal of continuing to release a photo book every year, so I'm really happy to be able to leave a legacy of my XNUMXth year in this way."
As this is her first photo book since turning 20, she commented, "There are no more shots where I'm in my school uniform, and I know that it's traditional for 20-year-olds to wear black swimsuits, so when I saw several black swimsuits during the costume fitting this time, I really realized I'm 20 now."
Introducing her favorite shot, she said, "I had never taken photos with a night view before, so when I turned the pages, the atmosphere changed completely in an instant. It was the page that made me feel most like I was in my twenties. Also, I prefer profile shots to front shots, so I chose a shot that showed my profile from a low diagonal angle."
She revealed that the location shoot in Hokkaido was tough, saying, "I thought that the shot of me lying in the grass would be quite memorable, so I laid down on it in some parts of the grass, so it was like I was visiting the world of insects. We shot it at the beginning of July, so it was still cold in Hakodate. Lying down in the water, it was cold every time the waves came crashing in, so it was a little chilly. It was also my first time to shoot in front of an evening view, so I did a lot of research into what kind of expression would go well with an evening view, and looked at photobooks by my senior, Makino Maria, to study expressions. I avoided wheat about a month or two before the photobook location shoot, but I would look at photos of myself eating things in the past, and I would use that as motivation to eat it once the photobook was finished, so I ate a lot after it was over."
When asked to give the standard score, she commented, "Since I'm 2000 years old this time, I'd like to give myself 1 points. This time I tried out the expression I wanted to create. I wanted to look more mature, and I wanted to show off the lines of my body, so when I looked at the finished product I thought it was a really well-done book, so I gave it 2000 points."
Additionally, the group is currently in the middle of their autumn tour, "Morning Musume '24 Concert Tour Autumn WE CAN DANCE!" and commented, "Since the title is WE CAN DANCE!, I was wondering what songs would be included until we received the set list, but there are parts where Ishida Ayumi, who is graduating, dances really coolly, and there are parts where we all dance so vigorously that I don't think we've ever seen anyone dance like this before. It's a pretty flashy and fun tour to watch."
Finally, she appealed, "This is a photo book to commemorate my 1th birthday, and while the previous photos were taken in Okinawa, this time they were taken in Hakodate. There are also new outfits and more mature expressions, so it's a book with a completely different atmosphere from my previous photo books, so I hope everyone will take a look at it. I hope it will be a book that is loved by many people."
Morning Musume '24 Rio Kitagawa Photobook "20th Proof"
Photo by: Naoki Shimoda
Published by Wanibooks
