Ren Tsukasa’s column on the members of the 97th class was published in GRAPH through 2018. Her interview with Umino Mitsuki was published in the January issue.
Ren’s columns includes recipes! I haven’t tested them yet so I can’t guarantee results, but I’ve tried to make sure they are understandable.
REN’S KITCHEN – Umino Mitsuki (Moon Troupe)
Hello, Takarazuka GRAPH readers!! I’m Moon Troupe 97th class member Ren Tsukasa. All through this year, I’m going to be writing this Classmates Investigation Page. The 97th class members are all full of individuality, and I’m going to gradually draw out their appeal and work hard to write an enjoyable column every issue, so I hope you will keep reading!
First guest: Umino Mitsuki (Moon Troupe)
~About their costume theme~
Ren: Once it was decided that the guest for the memorable first column would be Umi (Umino), we started talking about ‘What should our costumes be?’… The first ideas we had were ‘Disney OR strawberries’ (laughs)
Umino: Right! I like the Disney Princesses and such…
Ren: But, since it was such a rare opportunity we thought it would be best to go for a broad topic, so we decided on this! Strawberries.
Umino: My beloved strawberries… (laughs) Somehow I have a ton of strawberry things. And if my classmates know about any tasty strawberry sweets they’ll tell me about them, and I also check for new products to buy… (laugh).
Ren: But you never dreamed you’d become a strawberry! (laughs) How did it feel?
Umino: It was surprisingly hard to keep the shape right. See, it sort of looks like a tomato, you know (laughs). But it was a lot of fun.
Ren: While we’ve been photographed before, we haven’t had a chance to be photographed together before, have we? In classmate photographs they would have all the otokoyaku and musumeyaku separately… Therefore, this felt really new and fun.
~First impressions of each other~
Umino: My first impression of you? Serious!! Super serious and diligent (laughs).
Ren: Eh? Ever since TMS?
Umino: Yeah! I thought you were a really sensitive and methodical type who would be like ‘That’s wrong!!’ if something was a centimeter or even a millimeter off (laughs).
Ren: You thought? (laughs)
Umino: Yeah!! (laughs) But in the past tense… (laughs)
Ren: My first impression of Umi…hmm… What was it?
Umino: I tried not to be noticed… (laughs)
Ren: You did!! I don’t really have much of an impression (laughs). But if I think about it…you had really white skin. Besides that, when you were roommates with our classmate Nana (Sara Anna), I would often go to eat hotpot and such there, so I most likely felt it was fun to have a good time all together like that… But honestly, in TMS, we didn’t interact much, did we?
Umino: Not really. I don’t think I was that close with our other Moon Troupe classmates at the time, either. It’s interesting to think about.
Ren: Also, when an exam was coming up and we’d all be dancing, I feel like Umi-chan was the only one who didn’t get tired and would just keep dancing~ Even after I would be like ‘No more!’ (laughs)
Umino: Once the music’s on I just want to dance!! That’s the type of person I was. Ah, but maybe I still am now!
Ren: You definitely are!! When you’re dancing, you always have such a nice expression, and you show how much you’re enjoying yourself with your whole body 💖 It’s really great!! It’s wonderful!! (laughs)
~Being assigned to Moon Troupe~
Umino: Maybe the first time I felt ‘I’m a Moon Troupe member!!’ was in the first production after my assignment, Romeo et Juliette? Actually, when I was a fan, I just watched Star Troupe, so I always thought ‘I’m gonna be in Star Troupe!’ (laughs) And my debut was in Star Troupe too…
Ren: (laughs)
Umino: In that production the sense of individuality of all the Moon Troupe members came through really strongly, and I felt like it was a troupe that really loved acting. I remember it really vividly even now!!
Ren: Is that so… As for me, since I had been in Moon Troupe ever since my troupe rotations, Romeo et Juliette was the first show where I participated as a proper member of the troupe… But it was my first time being able to perform in a shinjin kouen, and my first time acting together with the senior actresses… I have a lot of deep memories of it. Is there anything else you have a strong impression of?
Umino: When I appeared in the restage performance of Tsukigumo no Miko when I was ken-3. I’ll never forget that!!
Ren: Ah, definitely, it was such a unique situation since you joined as the only new member, so you had to learn all the choreography, and the fight scenes… That must have been really tough.
Umino: Yeah. But when I had been to see the Bow Hall performance as an audience member I was thinking ‘I wish I could be in this show!!’ the whole time, so I was really happy to be in it. Even though it was difficult, I enjoyed myself 🎵
Ren: We were…the absolutely most junior troupe members, after all. I can confidently say that that show is one that only Moon Troupe could have done!! It was really an amazing production.
~Their relationship in Moon Troupe 💖~
Ren: I think we must have become close when we were in shinjin kouens together, right? in PUCK and Grand Hotel and such we would act together a lot.
Umino: That’s true, definitely, but outside of Grand Theatre shows we would act together sometimes, and then also we’ve been paired up for dance numbers too!! But I think when we really started to get closer was during the shinjin kouen of Grand Hotel. Yes, for sure! I can still remember that. I was so, so nervous… (laughs)
Ren: Ah~ I have a strong impression of that too. You were so nervous that your hands were ice cold and your eyes were full of tears and you were saying ‘What do I do~?’ I was playing Gruschinskaya’s (Umino’s) companion Rafaela, so I thought ‘I’ll get into the mindset of my character!!’ and held your hand until it was just before I had to make my entrance and then went out! (laughs)
Umino: So nostalgic…
Ren: Huh? You look like you’re going to cry!! Or actually, you’re crying… (laughs)
Umino: … (laughs while crying) I was pretty pitiful. But if you hadn’t been there for me…I would have had such a difficult time (laughs).
Ren: Even for us I think that was a major shinjin kouen experience.
~What they like about each other~
Ren: Let’s try saying what we like about each other!! (laughs)
Umino: What we like about each other…? I like how gregarious Renkon (Ren) is 💖 (laughs)
Ren: Hm~ Gregarious? That’s what you think? (laughs)
Umiino: Yeah, yeah. Although while that’s how you are at heart, since until now you were in a position where you had to keep everyone in line, you kept a really close eye on everyone and paid really close attention…And then your real nature… Ah, sometimes you will be a bit pessimistic (laughs) But now that I think about it, I feel like you have a lot of aspects that I don’t~
Ren: Ah~ So maybe we’re opposite personalities?
Umino: Yeah! I think so.
Ren: As for me, I like your musume-like, feminine aspects, and also how you won’t waver once you’ve decided ‘I’ll do this myself!!’ …Ah, you’re stubborn, I guess (laughs)
Umino: Stubborn!! (bursts out laughing)
Ren: So~rry (laughs). But it’s really striking to have someone with such a different personality so close by!! I’m going to keep a clo~se eye on you from now on (laughs)
~About the future~
Ren: If there are any goals or something you’re thinking about, out with it!! (laughs)
Umino: The future… Now that we’ve graduated from shinjin kouens, I’d like to get some mental breathing room and really think over things… I want to take in everything and incorporate a variety of new information into myself, and use that to improve onstage as a musumeyaku! I’m growing up… (laughs)
Ren: Oh!! Then I’ll be looking forward to that, then (laughs) If you end up not changing at all I’m going to show you this column~ (laughs). ‘You messed up!’ (laughs) I’m joking! As a comrade in my troupe I’ll definitely look after you!
Umino: It feels like you’re my older sister somehow… (laughs)
Ren: (laughs) Let’s keep encouraging one another and make great shows!
Umino: Yes. Let’s keep getting along from now on too 💖
Chef Ren’s recipe!! Every issue, I’m going to present a recipe using my guest’s favorite ingredients~!
Simple strawberry sauce, not too sweet!!
Makes: About 200g
Ingredients:
Strawberries – 1 pack [T/N; I’m not certain but this seems to be around 16 large-sized strawberries]
(if available) Blueberries – 50g
Sugar – 3-4 tablespoons
Lemon juice – ¼ of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
Directions:
- Chop the strawberries very small.
- Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and mix together. Cover and cook on medium heat.
- Once it comes to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes while removing the scum.
- After it cools, transfer it into a storage container.
It’s best if you eat it as soon as possible~!