The more you learn about petit pas!, the more you appreciate the kind of hustle that goes into idol; the current trio’s only been together for about a year, but Kokoro has been there since the beginning, now the leader of a self-mandated “little steps” group with the aim of being the most kawaii in Tokyo, combining a rock sound with a hip youth-culture aesthetic.

Three years on and a pretty good debut album still fresh, it’s fair to say that petit pas! may not yet have reached their goal, but they’re doing pretty okay nonetheless.

Kokoro spoke with Gekirock about the group’s progress, the album and her own career, and Phillter got in more handy practice in providing the translation (thanks, dude!). A few highlights:

It’s all “idol”, but it’s like being multi-talented.

Maybe I don’t like losing. I was betrayed by my childhood friend, so I don’t want to give up.

I’m deeply moved, when I opened the seal on the album I cried.

Read the whole thing. Kokoro has the benefit of being older than most — she’s 27 23, as Jul corrected — and experienced in a lot of media, so her perspectives are of a different sort than you often see. She’s also the group’s primary lyricist, a degree of creative control that many idols would probably kill for. One way or another — whether as an idol, a DJ, a model or an actor — you get the feeling that Kokoro will achieve what she wants to achieve.