Yajima Maimi

Maimi Yajima (矢島 舞美)

  • Nicknames: Yassui, Maimi-chan, Mii-tan
  • Birthdate: February 7, 1992
  • Birthplace: Saitama, Japan
  • Blood Type: O
  • Height: 165 cm
  • Audition Song: Momoiro Kataomoi
  • Hobbies: Making bee mascots, writing letters to friends
  • Special Skill: Horizontal bar, hula hoop, unicycle, etc…moving my body!
  • Strong Point: Steadily putting effort into even things I hate doing
  • Weak Point: Being shy
  • Habit: Saving food I love the most till the last moment
  • Favorite Color: White, green, yellow, pink, light blue (pale colors in general)
  • Favorite Flower: Hibiscus, cosmos, lily of the valley
  • Disliked Thing/Thing to do: Getting shots and anything else that hurts
  • Scared of: Snakes, bugs, monsters
  • Favorite Movie: “Home Alone” (all three)
  • Favorite Book: “Fuuchan no Harmonica”
  • Favorite Word: “Zenryoku toukyuu!!” (Go all out)
  • Favorite Season: Spring
  • Favorite Food: Quail eggs, umeboshi, fruits
  • Least Favorite Food: Liver, ginger, wasabi, sea urchin
  • Favorite Song: “I WISH” (Morning Musume)
  • Charm Point: My silky hair

Yajima Maimi first joined Hello! Project in 2002 as one of the fifteen children chosen from the Hello! Project Kids auditions after performing “Momoiro Kataomoi” by Matsuura Aya. She made her debut the same year in the movie Koinu Dan no Monogatari, taking on one of the main roles as an antagonist. The following year she then joined the first of the kids groups, ZYX, who released two singles.

In 2004 Berryz Koubou was formed, with the intention of rotating the kids throughout the unit. Yajima didn’t make the original pick, and the idea was eventually dropped. The remaining kids ending up forming °C-ute in 2005. Despite being the second oldest, Yajima is still the leader in place of the eldest, Umeda Erika , who thought she wouldn’t be mature enough for the place. The group didn’t make its official debut until late in 2006, with their first official single released in February of 2007.

Aside from leading °C-ute, Yajima was also the sub-captain of Little Gatas, the Hello! Project Kids futsal team, before joining Gatas Brilhantes H.P. as a field player. She’s also considered to be one of the fastest runners in all of Hello! Project, often coming first in the running events at the annual sports festivals and listing running as one of her hobbies.

Yajima used to host °C-ute’s weekly radio program, Cutie Party. She took over the role when Murakami Megumi left the group. It was also announced on 11-16-2007 that Yajima would be collaborating on a single with Hello! Project soloist Abe Natsumi. They released the single, 16sai no Koi Nante, on 2008-01-16.

In 2008 Maimi was selected to be a member of Hello Project’s new unit High-King.

On  March 11, 2009 Kojina (President of Mirai CO) revealed in his blog that Maimi and Fukuda Kanon would be participating in the movie Fuyu no Kaidan (Winter Ghost Story). The movie hit the theaters on May 23th, 2009. Maimi is the movie protagonist, and has the role of “extermining evil spirits/ghosts”.

Trivia

  • She is one of the best runners in Hello! Project.
  • She is said to be so forgetful that she forgets what she ate.
  • She adores cherries and Shabu Shabu.
  • Her specialty is Japanese Caligraphy (shoudou).
  • She says her strong point is not worrying about small things.
  • Yaguchi Mari gave her the nickname Yassui.
  • She has two older brothers.
  • “I My Me Mine” was the title of an article about Yajima Maimi. Because it sounds like “Maimi”, some fans call her like that.
  • One of the fastest runners in Hello! Project, and good at most sports.
  • Has two toy poodles and one jack russell terrier. She gave a puppy from the toy poodles to Shimizu Saki.
  • Has dreams of becoming an actress in the future.
  • Dislikes fish, and was criticized for it on GyaO’s Hello Pro Hour, since she had asked Abe Natsumi what her favorite type of sushi was, when Yajima herself doesn’t eat sushi.
  • She shares the same birthday (February 7th) with fellow °C-ute member Hagiwara Mai, as well as former Hello! Project members Kago Ai and Lehua Sandbo.
  • “I My Me Mine” was the title of a magazine article about Maimi. As it sounds similar to “Maimi”, some fans call her by that name.
  • Along with Sugaya Risako, Yajima is very often featured in magazines.
  • Has dreams of becoming an actress in the future.
  • Wears a Japanese shoe size of 24-25.
  • Doesn’t like cream, and thus rarely eats cakes, preferring tarts instead.
  • Has said that she is good at competitive eating, she once went to a wanko-soba eating contest and ate eighty-seven bowls of the food in ten minutes, more than all of the other contestants.
  • Michishige Sayumi revealed on her radio show that Takeuchi Akari (Hello! Pro Egg) was Maimi’s cousin.
  • Her role models include Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, and Fujimoto Miki.
  • She got to be the groups leader because Umeda Erika, though being the oldest of the Hello! Project Kids and °C-ute, felt that she wouldn’t have been responsible enough to be the leader of °C-ute, so it was passed down to second oldest member Maimi.

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

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