misc

trivia/fun facts
my opinions/preferences
midi files
videos

MAX

• MAX wishes to stay active as a group until the members reach their 60s, and are aiming for a world record for their longevity.
• MAX used to live together in one apartment, along with Namie Amuro when she was still in the Super Monkeys. They later moved into different houses, albeit in the same apartment.
• MAX is known to have frequented some of their fansites in the past and interacted with fans in BBSes.
• MAX gave their first autograph to a lady running a market where Reina bought bananas from.
• MAX had a manga named MAX Live Story - Fly towards the spotlight! (MAXライブ・ストーリー きらめきへ跳べ!!) outlining their career serialized in late 1998 on Mannish magazine. It spanned 6 chapters. It is mostly lost media, as only its chapter covers are available today.
• Before it was decided that the group would be named MAX, names such as Harem Queen and Lady Madonna were considered.
• MAX's debut single, Koisuru Velfarre Dance ~Saturday Night~ (or Koivel for short), has 2 versions; one with more adult lyrics written by Yasushi Akimoto, who later went on to produce AKB48, and one with lyrics that the member themselves worked on. While the version with the members' lyrics wound up being released as a single, the original version was released on a compilation album titled We Love Saturday Night!!, under the title DI DI LA LA LA ~Shigoto ga Koi no Jama wo suru~ (Work gets in the way of love). This version is nowhere to be found online, and copies of the album are elusive. Maybe I'll pick one up and upload the song someday.
• MAXIMUM COLLECTION, MAX's 4th album, was originally to be released on April 26th 1999, however it was cancelled. It was eventually brought back and released in September.
• There was an album that was scheduled to be released in 2002 that was shelved due to Mina's departure. The recording was almost finished.
• When hanging out, they like to go to karaoke and bowling.
• There used to be a rumor that Reina and Lina were a lesbian couple in MAX's heyday. It is unknown if they actually were.

Nana

• Nana used to be afraid of dogs.
• Nana had already achieved some small fame prior to her debut in the Super Monkeys, having acted in an Okinawan commercial.
• Nana used to pose as a MAX fan and talk in MAX fansites' BBSes.
• During their 1999 tour, Nana fell off the stage while trying to talk to a fan.
• Nana found and returned actor Ariyoshi Hiroiki's wallet many years ago.
• Nana was in her school's rhythmic gymnastics club until middle school

Reina

• Reina's father used to be in a band too, as mentioned on her instagram.
• Reina's favorite drinks are beer and lemon sour.
• Reina is/was a fan of The High-Lows, and especially their vocalist, Hiroto.
• Reina has mentioned wanting to front and write for a band and throw a secret concert with them. It's unknown if she ever did that.
• Reina has a tattoo on her buttocks.
• Reina and Lina used to have a troublemaker reputation.
• Reina has owned 50 pairs of shoes in the past.
• Reina used to eat goldfish food as a kid.
• In a 1997 interview, MAX said Mina and Reina are the worst at bowling. Reina even threw a ball that went backwards once. How does a bowling ball go backwards?

Lina

• Prior to the release of Give me a shake, Lina's nickname in MAX was Rina.
• When MAX arrived at the venue where they were to perform at the 49th Kouhaku Uta Gassen, Lina came down with a 39°C fever and collapsed upon arrival. She was able to perform due to an injection she was given in the infirmary.
• Lina and Reina used to have a troublemaker reputation.
• Lina has gone through the most hairstyle changes out of every MAX member.
• Before Super Monkeys, Lina was to debut with a CC Girls-type group, where she would wear tight and revealing clothing, as she mentioned in a 2006 interview. As far as I know, that group never came to be. Lina commented saying she found it weird that she was expected to debut with such a sexy image while being fresh out of school.
• Lina loves the smell of gasoline, she sometimes even chases behind cars to smell it.
• Lina was really close with her grandpa. He was the one who taught her to walk on stilts, and he would give her foot massages afterwards. He lived to be over 100 years old.

Mina

• Mina learns dance moves slower than the other members.
• It is highly likely Mina was intended to start her own solo career before she got pregnant, as 1. she was the center of MAX at the time, 2. she was the only member to have a solo song (Paradise Lost) 3. she had started making solo appearances in magazines.
• When asked which member they'd want to marry, everyone in MAX (including Mina) answered that they would marry Mina, the reasons being: She gets up early in the morning (Reina), she knows a lot of things (Nana), she knows how to ride the train and teaches me too (Nana), she installs and wires machines for me (Reina), she's good at getting things done alone (Nana), when I ask her about something I don't understand, she looks it up for me (Reina), she likes doing research (Lina), she's a walking dictionary (Reina)
• In a 1997 interview, MAX said Mina and Reina are the worst at bowling.
• Mina was voted by the other members as the MAX member who likes sex the most. She was also voted most easily infatuated, and the member with the flashiest underwear.
• Mina is likely claustrophobic; she is afraid of small, enclosed places. She leaves the door open in the bathroom because she is afraid it might not open if she locks it.
• She is also afraid of the dark.
• Mina has eaten goat ball sashimi. She liked it.

Aki

• Aki worked at an advertisement company for some time after she left MAX. She now teaches dance classes.
• A widespread rumor about MAX is that Aki was bullied during her stay in the group. Aki herself deconfirmed those rumors in their 2015 20th anniversary concert.
• Aki released a solo song under stage name AHKY in 2014.

how did you get into them? spotify recommended me love impact melodic remix back in october 2022 and i instantly loved it and decided to listen to more of their stuff (only eurobeat at first but i slowly started liking their non-eurobeat stuff as well)
favorite member? reina!!!!! but i love lina as well
favorite song? hard to choose so i'll pick 5 songs: ano natsu e to, nobody else, stay, stranger in the night, love is dreaming
favorite album? once again really hard to choose because all their albums have a special quality that makes them good :( but if i had to pick just one it'd be maximum ii because i like how sophisticated it sounds
favorite live? tie between live contact 2015 and no boundly
recommended songs for new listeners? i suggest going through and listening from their earlier singles to their newer ones on spotify for a start but if you want some album-only tracks: extasy, really love me, private crime, lovin' all night, what's going on, dancing hero, mi mi mi (yes it's a cover of that song)
favorite voices in MAX? reina and aki, but the other 3 have amazing voices too :)
favorite outfits>either the ones worn in this performance or these suits, they look very warm and comfy
favorite performance of another artist's song? either summer planet, embrace, or blue velvet
favorite pv? tie between dracula and ginga no chikai also be with you gets a shoutout