One of Maro's interviews
 

A translation of an interview Maro gave. There's so much bad hype going on about him, but he doesn't sound half-bad here... :shakehead

Original article [here].

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Experiencing the "homeless life", invading the celebrity world! Hamasaki Ayumi's former boyfriend "Maro" Uchiyama Maroka tells all
14 May 2013. 16:00

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6226483d.png

In November last year, artiste Hamasaki Ayumi was spotted in Paris on a loving date with her new lover, "Maro" Uchiyama Maroka, a former dancer.

Both parties had announced the relationship as official on their blogs. After that, Uchiyama got caught up in a divorce case, and problems with other women also started to surface. In response to bashing from fans, he disappeared from the stage.

A few months after the incident, on 1 May, Uchiyama's blog, which had been on hiatus, suddenly came to life again. There was a video updated on the blog that day, titled "Debut", and showed Uchiyama earnestly speaking about his wish to re-debut.

After losing everything, "Maro" fights to carve out a new future for himself.

―― Your fanclub site and the message on YouTube were both unveiled on 1 May, so is that considered your re-debut date?

"The start of Hamasaki-san's tour was scheduled for mid-April, so I couldn't announce that I had left the troupe until that was over. After the tour began, I started my own preparations."

――What was the general reaction to your announcement?

"Well, with regards to the video, there were many who felt that it was "low-grade", and that they had never seen such a hateful video. (laugh) However, I'm glad that many people actually watched it, and for that, I have to thank Hamasaki-san.

――You talked about how you led a homeless life for about 1 month. How did that happen?

"I have family and friends in Tokyo, so if I had wanted to, I could have asked them for help. But I've reached this stage because of my own decisions, and to fall into this situation... I won't be able to forgive myself if I had asked for help from people who would say "I told you so". I have family, but even asking for "a warm place to sleep" would have sounded needy. At that time, I felt that I needed to do some self-reflection, rather than talk to people. So I left my things with a friend, packed up about 4 days' worth of clothes, and went off to think."

――That happened in January this year, right? Did you stay outside in the cold?

"I did stay in a hotel, but I also did spend some nights in the parking lot of an apartment complex somewhere. I just needed to be outside."

――After experiencing the homeless life, you travelled to Los Angeles, right?

"I needed some photos for my fanclub site. I thought lots about how I wanted to project my image, and I remembered Los Angeles. I'd lost all my photographer friends, so I actually had someone introduce a new photographer to me, and we worked together."

――Did that video contain the true message you wanted to deliver?

"No. There were so many things I wanted to say, but that would have dragged the video, so I did not say them. For example, I didn't get to explain why we're asking for an annual membership fee of 10,500yen for the fanclub.

――That's true. Celebrity fanclubs normally cost about 5,000yen.

"We decided on that not because I needed money, but because I want to take things seriously, so I want only fans who will truly support me. To the fans who believe in my ability to stand on stage and have forked out their money, I will never betray them."

――What made you decide to finally re-debut on your own?

"When I lost everything, it was true that I felt despair. But on rainy days, when I go shopping and my car piles up with stuff, and my beloved dog is by my side, I do feel a sense of happiness and excitement. With the divorce over, I could finally take back my original name after 8 long years, and it really refreshed me. And while it's true that I still need to provide for the family, I just felt free, and that I could decide my own life, so I just thought, "Yosh, let's do this!"."

――You'll be acting and singing from now on, so does that mean you won't dance anymore?

"Dance was one means to express myself, but I can't go back to being just a back-up dancer. It's not that I can't do it if she's not there, but I want to do things which I feel that I can do. Not that I think that I'm good at singing, but I can create my own music, and I really want to deliver my message of "It's ok to lose everything. Just love."."

――Uchiyama-san's blog also features the word "love", so the message is coming across.

"My previous tag phrase was "The world will be ok with "love"", and I still believe that. All things that happen on this earth, good or bad, including war, happen because of love."

――You plan to work on indies music first?

"Yes. I plan to produce a CD, and I've got my chords and lyrics done."

――What kind of song is it?

"I don't have a professional producer, so I don't think it'll be a usual pop song. I'm putting together the chords on my guitar now, and am pouring my heart into it. As for acting, I'm currently going for auditions."

――Let's talk abit more about what happened before the re-debut. How long had you been Hamasaki-san's dancer?

"About 5.5 years."

――Did you follow all the news about the two of you last year?

"I was overseas then, so I didn't manage to catch it all, but I've heard about it from others..."

――Were there any things which the media got wrong?

"Lots of it. The worst was how my ex-wife, whom I've been separated from for the past 5 years, got portrayed as a victim. (laugh) The media was calling them my "beloved" and "beloved child", saying how they were the true victims, and even though I clarified that "she is not my beloved, we were just dating", everyone just started boo-ing me. There were things I wanted to say, but I couldn't."

――And then more and more information leaked out.

"When I decided to go steady with Hamasaki-san, I knew that I would become "bashing material" once the media found out more and reported on me. But even with that realization, I decided to stay together with her. So when the reports did come out, it wasn't too much of a shock. That's because I knew what was right in my heart."

――You seem to be giving lots of interviews lately, and you wrote about how you had no control over what others thought of you?

"Giving such interviews is depressing for me. For example, everyone asks "Have you broken up? Are you still together?" and I answer "You make your own decision, judging from how things are now". Then they would continue with "Do you have a girlfriend?", and I answer "Not now". Then they'd say, "So you're not together anymore". These reporters are so sneaky, I don't even know how to fend them off. (laugh)"

――Even so, thank you for this interview today. We're looking forward to seeing your future works.

"The world now is full of apathetic people, so I want to become more powerful. I want to shout with all my might that the answer to my dreams and ideas like "world peace" is love, so I'll be glad if you can support me."

only god knows what was going on with him... wouldn't jump t judge :dead2

i hope he has some success with his plans ♥

thanks Misa for translating. P.S. i love your set ♥♥♥ xD

He'd just... I don't even.
I was homeless for a month but lived in a hotel...
Wish I was homeless.

Yeah, I don't really care what happens to him in the future, but I'll still wish him all the best.

p.s. Thanks!! It's such a cute art piece I just had to make a set out of it! :D

I'm guessing that he was homeless in the sense that he doesn't have a place of his own to live (I'd imagine he had a rented apartment before but let it go to live with ayu when they got together). But he probably does have cash on him, to be able to live in a hotel and even go to Los Angeles. I mean, come on, he was the back-up dancer for one of the richest celebs in the country for 5 years, you don't just wind up bankrupt all of a sudden. :laugh

Anyway, this interview sort of suggests that his homelessness was self-imposed actually, not that he was truly penniless. Still doesn't explain why he ate grass, though...

Thanks for this.

Yeah...it's funny how people make a joke of someone else's misery and try to portrait themselves as victims, although I think whoever's done the interview kind of insisted on using the word homeless...:thud

Thanx Misa-chan for the translation!

Wow, that is not a flattering photo of him. :laugh

This part though

That's... crazy. 10,500 yen compared to the usual 5000 yen? Because it would be proof that fans will really support him? As someone who is only about the debut, isn't it asking too much? Maybe he'll get some leftover fans from his job with Ayu, but is it worth it?

Also, while he denied his ex-wife being a victim, he didn't deny the grass-eating part of his homelessness. XD

Thanks for the translation!

I love the title lol

"One of Maro's Interviews"

Just another one.

Thanks Misa~! ♥

Well, 10,500 yen is pure folly :shakehead

Maybe when he says I ate grass he just meant I had a taste of some grass lol
Anyway, it really sounds like let's catch attention..

Thanks for this.

I just can't trust him anymore. Too bad.

^ Same here :|

Finally the Maro-side of the situation.

I must have missed the piece of news wherein he said he ate grass. Haha. What the hell? :D

LOL I agree! he's ridiculous, an insult to the real homeless people

the ate grass part still sounds funny to me haha.

Yeah Im pretty sure it was just a poor choice of words. You can have a home but feel homeless... (thats how I was in college. I had an apartment, but it wasnt my home., but of course I never went around telling people I was homeless)

Theres just something about the man that is... aggravating me, I guess... lol

He's so hungry for fame and fortune, it's disgusting.

It's definitely better to see the whole interview than those 'eating grass' pieces of news, but I'm still confused. I really liked Maro so I just don't want him to turn into attention wh***

Thanks for the translation, Misa! It's good to read a whole interview than just sentences out of context.

Whaaaaaaaaaat a drama queen. lol wow. Seriously, good for Ayu that she didn't stay with this guy, cuz... jeez. Other people in this thread have said it all already. lol

Thanks for the translation!
Bha, I'm not particularly interested in him, so good luck and sayonara. From the way he's speaking he sounds like a nice boy, after all, but then the fanclub fee... 10500 yen on trust before you even show what you can do? Too fast, boya.

What a mess.
Makes the rotten amniotic fluid look good.

He's so desperate, its pitiful.

Is it he on the pic above????

If you mean the first post, yeah.. It's him..

thank you for translating!!
finally an interview from maro. a few parts of that interview sound a bit stuck up.

demanding that much money for a fanclub?? shouldn't you have already something to offer before asking for such an outrageous price? you do know that we are in a recession, right?!?

The thing is, I don't understand what the point of him having a fan club because to have a fan club you need fans. Plus, he's over here trying to make it look like he's in such a precarious position "I ate grass," "I live in a cardboard box" but clearly, he has money to rent hotel rooms and fly to and from LA and pay for studio time and all that stuff to work on his "debut." He's just a groupie that wants fame.

I guess he counts that Ayu fans who cheered him during her concert are still gonna be his fans no matter what he does.

Let's not delude ourselves, many girls (and guys) were fans of his dancing, personally I loved him too on stage but seeing his personality now is really discouraging.

He definitely still has some fans of him as a handsome guy, people that will still be interested in him no matter what he does, but I'm sure after this kind of whining for attention people who liked him as Ayu's dancer won't be interested in him anymore.

The fanclub thing. Who thought it was a good idea to charge so much?? I guess they decided to ride on the hype, regardless if it was good or bad.

I feel so embarrassed, he can't certainly believe the reasons he that gave, I mean come on, we are not all 5 year old kids in here.

What a publicity hound. Anyone who signs up for that fan club should have their credit line removed quickly to avoid stupid spending. I don't believe his homelessness or that they dated. You don't decide you need new pictures for your website and fly to LA after being homeless. Plus I've never heard of having enough money to rent a hotel room for a month counting as poor or homeless.

Um, anyone who actually paid to join his "fanclub" should take a look at themselves and question why they didn't spend that money on numerous copies of Hamasaki-san's struggling Love Again.

Now you're just assuming people actually joined his fanclub lmao

I wonder how many will.. :|

This.

His attitude actually really pissed me off in this interview. If you think that pretending to be "homeless" on and off for a few days, picking and choosing how you spend your plentiful cash all in the name of "self-reflection" makes us sympathetic to your issues and makes you a more worldly human being, then you need to reassess how much you have in life, materially and emotionally.

This is pathetic to me. Just another case of a spoiled kid trying to be poor and pitiful to gain sympathy for himself. Gah.

Thanks for the translation Misa...this guy is just a worthless leach. I can't stand losers that have no concept of true suffering ala "I broke a nail eeek le end".

The whole situation is just weird, but I don't hate him or anything. I don't know anything about him or Ayu, so I'm just gonna stay neutral about the whole thing.

I think if he really wants to depend on himself to make a fresh start, he should stop talking about the relationship and his homeless days. So pathetic.

Can I pay my Maroka club membership in grass and/or cardboard boxes?

The membership fee is really crazy!!

I thought there would be a good reason, but his explanation sounds so weak.

So according to Maro paying 10k makes you a good fan (Maro-only fan) and 5k makes you unfaithful fan who may betray you by entering other artist's fanclubs?

thank you!

now i felt more sympathy to me, i had me this guys, hes nice, took a pic with him and that now he seems to be weird to me, pretending to be homeless and it looks like a cheap publicity stunt even before his debut,i dont know it just feels so weird

and the way he talked abut Ayu seemed like noting happened and hes just being happy that he can get a lil bit popularity form her (just from what i read)

just hope theres no more cheap article like this Maro, it does not do anything to boose your sale or whatever

So there's no chance for that 2ch commentor to give the grass to him since he is affordable to rent a hotel room for a month and went to LA? Tsk tsk tsk...I wish to see a good drama not boring

Same. I wish I had a hotel when I was actually homeless and sleeping on a friend's living room floor for 8 months without anyone close to talk to because my boyfriend at the time left me because of my "drama".

Seriously. He was a dancer for Ayumi-freakin'-Hamasaki. Look how she decked out Tim! Look how she's taken care of SHU-YA and others! I feel like this guy is right in line with Manny. Just another person Ayumi had a relationship with who, in hindsight, feels his entire life was destroyed by the breakup when his dumb choices have nothing to do with Ayumi and he's feeding off the publicity for pity.

I don't get the 10.5K yen bit either. This is like Suzuki Ami announcing a comeback then selling the CD at twice the price of every other CD on the market. Economics isn't on Maro's side here. No one will join the fan club because he doesn't have 10,500Y worth of news and updates to give out every year. It's not like he's 2002 Ayumi here. He's a nobody to the public right now, and worse, the people who do know him know only bad things at the moment.

Same. I feel like Ayumi deserves a hug for putting up with people like Manny and Maro. She clearly lets them in, they either use her for her fame or her money, and then when she needs them (i.e., wanting Manny to go back to Japan with her after the tsunami) they're too busy counting her cash to realize she's a person they mislead into believing she would have a real friend.

I'm not saying Ayumi is perfect, but you definitely don't see her emblazoned on every magazine talking about how Manny ultimately betrayed her, she needs to start over, and she set aside all of her millions to go be homeless and eat grass.

He looks really... strange. But ok..I never found him atractive in any way.. but he looks worse than before, I think. The short hair don't fit's him.

I also just realized why I don't trust him anymore, and actually really dislike him.

He is attacking ayumi and blaming her indirectly. He is talking about being "homeless" when he actually wasn't, talking about eating grass, which is just outrageous and plain desperate, and who is this going to affect in the end? Ayu of course. "Why would she let her bf become homeless and eat grass when she's one of the wealthiest females in Japan? Maybe she got angry and took everything away from him!! She's so evil omg!" This is the reaction he wants from people in my opinion.

So without even saying it up front, he's the victim and wants people to feel sorry for him, blame ayumi of course, and on top of that support his music career which is pure ********.

He's obviously trying to save his own ass, I get it, but where's your pride Maro? Where's that man that spoke up first and revealed that he was in a relationship with ayumi in his blog? Pick up your balls Maro. What an ass.

this. man. this. I feel exactly the same way when he said he would take responsibilities from dating her. oh sure sure. and you're right, they said ayu is one of the richest female celebrity in the WORLD, even beat beyonce.
and btw, what really happen between AYu and manny?! like, why did they break up?!

Wait...does he have a paid fanclub?

Good luck to him. I never liked him enough to follow him now, so... meh. Moving on.

Yup he sure is, 10k yen

So he wasn't really "homeless", he spent nights in the street because he wanted to. Using the word "homeless" in this case is pure drama... And the eating grass part of the other interview, that was just too much, at least he stopped saying that.

More like he wants fans that can afford his extravagancies... So fans that can't join the fanclub because it might be more than what they can afford are not true fans?


This interview is a lot better than that other one, but it still sounds like he's trying too hard to make people pity him and stop the hate...

thanks for translating.

this whole debacle is absurd. smh

oh Maro Maro honey boo boo there are always gonna be haters, just f* deal with that fact. there's no way you can debut as a singer and then want to stop all the hate in this society. im just saying.

Nothing he says makes any sense. This is all an elaborate publicity scheme.

10,000 yen!?!?!?

WHAT THE!?

:thud

Now, I don't want to be mean, but I'm okay for paying a 300 yen/month fanclub (such as Sayuri Sugawara's fanclub that I wanted but only to be hampered by the fact that I need a Japanese phone!!!), but 10,000 yen!?!?!? That's almost three times as much as Sayuri Sugawara's fanclub (on an annual basis)!!! I can't afford that - I've got other things to do, such as at school!

Now, 10,000 yen and eating grass... That's just really unusual...

I don't really understand what's going on...

Maro or Mannie..
i think, Maro is worse because he's out to do interview bout his miserable life after the break up.

and the fanclub fee is 10K, he's crazy.

I hate him!! What the heck prevents him from saying a confirmed setence" We already broke up"?? ****!! He complained the media so why didnt he say that simple sentence himself? He doesnt want to confirm coz he wants to attract Ayu's fan and media's attention. The reason for anyone to read the whole interview is merely to find out that precious sentence. I hate him. Anyway, I feel so happy that Ayu kicks that guy!!

Oh, so that is what he is doing... I was already wondering.
Would be good for him he can gain some fans though. Wish him luck :S

I'm just confused as hell about the whole thing, Mannie included. I'd like to say that Maro just happened to be there at the right time after her divorce, but then he was there after Nagase too, so idk. Then just comparing the two relationships in general, both featured in Ayu's PVs, sudden announcement of their relationship (and I'd like to say break-up too, but it STILL hasn't been announced officially) mere months apart. I love Ayu, I just hope she doesn't make a habit of this. I'm actually surprised she didn't start a relationship with Shu-ya yet tbh lol

sesshy and I were talking about this last night on Skype too, the homeless thing is such b.s. Even this attempt to "re-debut." He worked for Ayumi Hamasaki and avex ffs. I'm sure he'd have no problem getting picked up by someone else if he really wanted to. And he already said he can't really sing, so he's really not endearing himself to possible fans, especially with that fanclub price.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't manny and his friend(s) bash ayu on facebook and then later on back peddle when the the ayu-stan rushed to her defense? Really low down dirty **** like making fun of her for having a hard time adjusting to "american life" when they first got together and how she would spend all day crying.

Mannie's friend bashed Ayu, not Mannie himself and that friend never back peddled for anyone and he's still one of Mannie's best friends.

bad~ bad photo~ bad interview~ BAD MARO~~ hate him!

saigodansu is right, it was only his friend who said those things. Mannie, however, posted some meme that said something like, "Better to have loved and lost than to spend eternity married to a psycho" or something like that. After there was that whole Twitter fiasco where he said that he and Ayu were still married.

That whole situation was odd, this whole situation is odd...

Oh please the same people that thought it was so good that Maro was with ayu are now saying that he's a leecher of fame.

He was a back up dancer for different artists before, he was in the scene. He doesn't need ayu to leech on, I don't think he's less popular or more popular since he was with her.

I never liked him and I think all of these guys that ayu chooses as lovers are just wrong for her. Nagase was decent enough.

as an ayu-fan, the only thing i can say is that: is a shame keep watching his face on LoveAgain video clips

I'm not watching those videos again, and this is not a tantrum, I just couldn't, it wouldn't be entertaining or amusing, it would be cringe-worthy and annoying.

Same happened with love songs, I can't watch those videos, I just can't.

I don't watch those videos not because of Maro but because I didn't like the concept, the scenes don't fit, she hits Maro like some crazy b**** and he falls like her 40kg could really hurt him, it's just super fake.

I always liked Maro, he was a good dancer but then again I hardly ever heard him talking, he was just handsome guy who could dance and now that I slowly discover his way of thinking which is lame and somehow I don't care if he's there or not anymore.

Wow I hope he didn't eat public park grass...who knows how many dogs have piddled in there. He could take after Bear Grylls lmfao :laugh

I dont think that quite it. Its not like ayu coming out saying she was in a relationship / breakup with Manny or Maro did any good for her career. If anything the fans in Japans seemed to react badly to whatever ayu did with Manny and Maro and only seem to do damage to her popularity.
If anything I could see this more of being a hastened, in the moment love decision, than a plot to increase her sales, she hasn't had much room for personal love in her career

this is the interview of an offended man, who was left by a gorgeous sucessful woman

all I wanna say is that I hope Ayu gets more fortunate with men, I hope she will keep her private life private, go back to basics with hiding her private life like it normally was some time ago, and not have her new lovers pop up everywhere

I just hope that Ayu starts keeping her private life private, because she's turning into the boy who cried relationship. I like how Kuu deals with her marriage. She didn't tell us who she was with until she married him (because she got knocked up, lets be real) and only told us that she had a boy, but no face and no name. She's not using them in her music, though you know some stuff is inspired by them. What a strange new world, Kuu is keeping it classier than Ayu :laugh

^
I think that's because they're so different as artists!XD
Ayu could never separate who she is from her music, and this includes everything that happens to her!XD Kuu has always been more of an amazing performer, but that's it, she's not that invested emotionally, except for the rush of singing and the love for music.

^Ayu was private when she was with Nagase. The whole Mannie situation seems fishy to me. And from a lot of the posts on here I've seen, people think Maro was a stunt, too. Even if she was in love, she doesn't need them in PVs and on covers :/

And I disagree with Kuu being less emotionally connected, since she writes the majority of her own music. While some songs are played up, like Blingx3, she does write about the people in her life, like Darling which was written about Kenji. She usually cries at her concerts, if that's not emotionally invested I don't know what is.

^
True enoughXD
Even if I still think they have a different level of investment in their music (not necessarily one better or stronger than the other, but still)

^Mind you, I don't like doubting Ayu. I would like to think she had some genuine feelings at least. While I am a bit skeptical about Mannie, I don't doubt her feelings for Maro. I just don't think she would use someone who has been her friend for years like that. Dunno why I feel that way. And I do appreciate that she's open with her fans. I don't deny that I'm nosy. I would like to know Kuu's son's name. But, I guess its about finding that fine line between being honest with fans and over-sharing. But, only Ayu and her boyfriends know the truth. I can't judge any of them, so I try and remain neutral. :P

Why do I have a feeling that Maro had feelings for ayu for a long time already ..

A lot of the songs released during her relationship with Nagase were about him... Some, like Honey, were even obvious.

^I love that song :D

It's reaaaaally difficult for me to doubt Ayu, it's easier to doubt anyone else, lol
I was suspicious of the Mannie affair too, but then she explains in interviews and I'm just like "wow, yeah, of course now everything makes sense, poor my bb"XD
But it's true, involving her personal life this way, with PVs and stuff, it's strange, she never did it before, it's natural people get suspicious of it.

I haven't followed the whole Ayu-Maro thing but man, this is horrible! I mostly agree with everyone. Why does he had to make this statements and make him so miserable and make look like Ayu's the culprit of his misery? A not gentlemanly action of him. I can't imagine how love turns ******.

Ayu will definitely find her other wing someday.

I can understand not wanting to doubt Ayu as her fan. However, she's not my number one, so I tend to be just as critical to her as I am with others in the situation. I didn't really buy her earthquake thing, with Mannie. And she's been hush hush about Maro, so who knows. I suppose she could just be excited about being in love, but why start now and please, show some restraint :P

The Mannie thing was most likely a lie but it's not her responsibility to give her fans the gory details. And it was Maro who first confirmed their relationship after the tabloids leaked it, not ayu. Her love life may be a mess but I don't think it's fair to judge her on that. I feel sorry for her. And while her decision to include them in her work may be poor I don't think it is as big of a deal as fans make it out. In both cases they were paid actors, it's not as if they were doctors or professors and she invited them to be in the video.

Now that more people are realizing it was a stunt with Maro, maybe more will start noticing it was with Mannie & Tomoya too. You can see with how much they had them both lie about with Maro, how far Avex will have her go for publicity. And as with all celebrities, they don't care if it's bad publicity as long as they make headlines. They more than accomplished their goal, not only did she get alot of headlines and TV time out of it, many fans were believing it all until Maro's interviews made it so much more clear they were lying.

When did maro and ayu broke up??

Tomoya and ayu was the only true relationship I suppose.