This GRAPH feature gave stars a chance to talk about their current activities and interests, as well as share personal photos. The December issue included Serika Toa, Seino Asuka, Agata Sen, and Kiyora Haryuu.

Otome Times

Serika Toa, Cosmos Troupe

An incident that made you laugh recently
During the last performance run, one day Rui Makise suddenly transformed into a costume designer and started grabbing at my costume saying things like ‘Shall we take this in about 15 centimeters here?’ (laughs). She wasn’t mimicking one of the designers or anything, it was a totally original character ‘Designer Rui’. It was so funny I wanted to keep seeing it so I’d call out to her ‘Mr. Designer~’ and she’d rush over with something like ‘How about some gyoza-shaped ruffles here!’ (laughs). I about died laughing (laughs).

A precious photo
The rehearsals for Promises, Promises have started. There’s a lot of dialogue and a lot of songs, so it feels like “This…won’t work unless we put our whole hearts in it” (laughs). We all want to come together as a unit and give it our all! So we took our masks off long enough just long enough to take this commemorative photo. It’s not an adlib based comedy, it’s the back-and-forth in the acting that makes it funny, so I think we’ve got to put a lot of acting power into it. We’ll do our best so everyone in the audience can enjoy it!

A recommendation
I love movies, but if I’m going to take the time to watch I want it to be something that will really get me emotionally, a real tearjerker. So I guess I watch movies to have a good cry and be refreshed (laughs). Recently, it was Her Love Boils Bathwater, starring Miyazawa Rie. It’s the story of a mother and her family, after she is told she has a terminal illness. I knew I would cry but I was surprised at how much. I was bawling! You’ve got to watch it!

Seino Asuka, Flower Troupe

An incident that made you laugh recently
During the national tour of Sorrowful Cordoba/Cool Beast!! all kinds of fun things happened between all of us classmates. On the last day, Hoshikaze borrowed a line from the show, saying “(the last day) is here…” in Eva’s voice. And then Izumi mimicked Elio (Yuzuka), saying “I’m not going out to the bullfight today,” so we all responded “No! Do it!” (laughs). Also, whatever happened we all kept saying “How amazing~” like Anfelita (Oto Kurisu). And we thought up a spinoff story to Sorrowful Cordoba, Joyful Cordoba. It was stupid stuff like that but it made us laugh all the time (laughs).

A precious photo
This was during the same national tour. We took these photos first thing in the morning, at the park in Fukuyama Prefecture that’s said to have the world’s most beautiful Starbucks. The first shot is of us making a pose from the Sorrowful Cordoba prologue; Marika Yume took it for us from the bridge. The other is of us trying to look like Yuzuka-san modeling for Joseph. We tried our best using our whole bodies to express what we would look like if we were models!

A recommendation
I’m really into Korean dramas. I started watching Her Private Life since Oto told me it was good. The lead is a girl who works at an art museum. She’s obsessed with her favorite idol, but gradually is drawn more and more to her senior at work and starts to waver between them. The scenes of her supporting her idol were so relatable and sympathetic, and it has so many different genres in it like the arts, romance, hobbies, and all kinds of things, so it’s really fun!

Agata Sen, Snow Troupe

An incident that made you laugh recently
In City Hunter, Umibouzu (Agata) works as bartender at the Cat’s Eye cafe. One day, part-timer Kasumi (Haori Yuuka) wouldn’t work at all, so Miki-san (Seina Nozomi) got angry with her. “We’ll take it out of your wages!” I said, and Seina-san followed up with “Right, you make 900 yen per month, so how much should we take out?”. Isn’t 900 yen a month way too little!? And she’s going to deduct even more…Miki-san is really intense…is what I was thinking, but then Seino-san got all flustered and said “I messed up! That’s per hour!!” so I couldn’t help laughing (laughs).

A precious photo
I always keep the cow keyholder my junior Saran Reia gave me in my bag, but one day it suddenly escaped. I desperately searched the whole rehearsal room and everywhere around there, and was depressed when I couldn’t find it, but then Saran-kun said “What if it’s actually waiting for you at home?”. I thought, oh, maybe that’s right~ and went home, and found it in my apartment’s lost-and-found box! It really has homing instinct, I thought (laughs).

A recommendation
Dancing for long stretches onstage makes my feet tired, so I tried putting insoles in my shoes and it felt amazing! I especially recommend the brand Sidas. I don’t use them just on stage but in daily life as well. Just putting insoles in changes the whole way I walk, and I think few people are into them so I thought I’d tell you about it.

Kiyora Haryuu, Moon Troupe

An incident that made you laugh recently
Although during the rehearsals for the Bow Hall LOVE AND ALL THAT JAZZ I was feeling my own inabilities painfully, the atmosphere of everyone coming together to create the show was so fun, and there were even some heartwarming moments in interactions with Director Tani Masazumi. For example, he accidentally called Reika (Haru)-san’s character, Colonel Sommer, Colonel Sophie, like in Elisabeth, which was really funny. And once I was rehearsing my songs too loudly, and Director [Tani], who was instructing next door, closed the door slooooooowly, and though I felt bad about it the way he did it was so funny (laughs).

A precious photo
My birthday came during the Bow Hall rehearsals, and all my classmates in the cast helped me celebrate. Ichihane Meru retired with this show, so in that way it’s a photo full of memories… My classmates are comrades I’ve spend so long together with, which means that I can open up to them without any hesitation. It’s reassuring to know they’ll always give me their objective opinions, and I’m so happy to see them growing as well.

A recommendation
I’ve loved Disney Princesses since I was a little girl. When I watch the cartoons, or videos of the Princesses at Disney resorts, it gives me so much energy. The performers at the theme parks act just like they do in the cartoons, and it’s so cute how they seem to have jumped right out of the 2-dimensional world! They’re professionals at giving hopes and dreams, and just looking at them makes me happy, so they’re so healing to me.