Kumai Yurina


Kumai Yurina (熊井友理奈)

  • Nicknames: Kuma-chan, Kumai-chan, Kumaichou, Yuri, Yuriine
  • Birthdate: August 3, 1993
  • Birthplace: Kanagawa, Japan
  • Height: 178cm
  • Blood Type: B
  • Hobby: Purikura, collecting stickers, listening to music
  • Special skill: Jump rope, unicycle
  • Strong point: I don’t really know, but my friends say, “You’re bright and funny”
  • Weak point: Natural airhead!? I can’t get up in the mornings!
  • Habit: Putting my hair behind my ears
  • Favorite color: Light blue, white, orange, etc. I like black and brown clothes!
  • Favorite flower: Hibiscus, baby’s breath
  • Disliked thing/thing to do: Bugs: bees, stink bug, praying mantis, horsefly. Birds: crows!
  • Scared of: Monsters, fires, earthquakes
  • Favorite movie: “Hotaru no Hoshi,” “Koinu Dan no Monogatari,” “Monsters, Inc.”
  • Favorite book: “Musume Monogatari,” “Tottemo Minimoni,” “Helen Keller”
  • Favorite word: “HAPPY,” “shiawase” (happiness), “LOVE”
  • Favorite season: Summer
  • Favorite food: Ice-cream, sushi rolls, nattou, yakiniku
  • Least favorite food: Green peas, tomatoes, mayonnaise
  • Favorite song: “Hare Ame Nochi Suki” (Morning Musume Sakura Gumi), “Iku ZYX! FLY HIGH” (ZYX), “FIRST KISS” (Aa!)
  • Charm point: My tall height… haha

Kumai Yurina was one of the 15 winners of the 2002 Hello! Project Kids audition. In 2004, she was chosen as one of the members of Berryz Koubou.

She is currently the tallest member in Berryz Koubou at 178cm (5’11″) and sometimes a lead singer in the group. She is also the tallest member in Hello! Project.

On 2009, she was chosen to promote rock band Base Ball Bear’s new album, “(WHAT IS THE) LOVE & POP” in a TV commercial that features only her, this is her first time doing a solo CM.

Some fans speculated that one of the reasons Yurina might have been chosen is for her surname: Kumai = Kuma = Bear, other rumours also saying that Base Ball Bear found out about Berryz by checking out their CD’s in a music store where Berryz were next to them.

She also left a comment on the official BBB site: “Love&POP contains many up-tempo songs, and the whole album conveys a lot of power. My favorites are “Stairway Generation” and “Umi ni Naritai pt2! I had these on loop. I’d definitely like to go to their concert as well.” Base Ball Bear is a Japanese rock band under EMI Music Japan. Since two days ago when the CM appeared on YouTube, a record of 12 million or more views and more than 80 comments. The majority of users left comments like Kumai-chan is “kirei” and “kawaii” written in English and Japanese.

It was announced on July 2009 that Kumai Yurina would be part of Tanpopo # along with Kamei Eri, Mitsui Aika, and Okai Chisato.


Trivia

  • Has a younger brother
  • Has a dog named “Mint”
  • Her favorite artists are ayaka, Crystal Kay, UNJASH and Sakurazuka Yakkun.
  • The Berryz Koubou member she is closest to is Sudou Maasa
  • She claimed that her own name is a bit difficult to say.
  • Hello! Project Kids Audition song: Koi wo Shichaimashita! Tanpopo
  • She sometimes get to keep the change when it’s 30 yen or so. And when her grandfather comes to visit, he sometimes give her 10 thousand.
  • In one of Berryz Koubou’s DVD magazines, Kumai has claimed she wants to visit the country Belize.
  • Sugaya Risako said “I often share a hotel room with Kumai-chan. She sets an alarm clock, which rings really loud. Even though it is ringing really loud, she doesn’t wake up at all. She always turns it to the maximum volume”. So, Natsuyaki Miyabi says Kumai’s new nickname should be “tissues”.
  • She has claimed that all the dance lessons they took (before they debuted with their first single “Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai”) were the hardest things in her life.
  • She said that is important to keep the memories of past time with, for example, an album. To her, that and her family and friends are all precious.
  • Since she likes fireworks, she wants to make a firework with the words “Berryz Koubou”.
  • From Sono ~Sono Subete no Ai ni~: her good subject is Japanese Language and her favorite food is Kinakomochi.
  • If we were talking about fruits, Yurina resembles a Pink grapefruit.
  • In elementary School, she was part of the broadcast board.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurina_Kumai

http://j-ongaku.org/wiki/Kumai_Yurina