To the Future is a small GRAPH interview of junior actresses. This one was published in the May 2017 issue.

To the Future: Nonoka Himari

Profile
Debut Show: Rose of Versailles, April 2013
Nickname: Himari
Birthday: January 18
Hometown: Fukuoka, Fukuoka prefecture
Blood type: O
Offstage thing she’s most interested in: I like looking at photos of Disney characters. It’s really refreshing.

First Takarazuka show:
The 95th class Culture Festival performance. After that I saw Raindrops Fall on Roses/Amour, that is… at the Takarazuka Grand Theatre.

School clubs:
I was in the going-home club¹!! After school I would go to other lessons every day, such as ballet, piano, English, and swimming.

Motivation for taking TMS entrance exam:
When I saw the 95ths’ Culture Festival performance, I was really moved by how sparkling everyone was, so I thought ‘I want to be on the same stage as them,’ and decided to take the entrance exam.

Memories of the debut performance:
During the linedance on opening day of our debut performance, everyone was so happy to be on the Takarazuka stage that we were all crying as we were doing the kicks… I’ll never forget what I saw that day!!

A role that had a deep impression:
Don Juan as a child, from Don Juan. Since I was the child version of Nozomi-san’s amazing performance, I went all-out during rehearsals. Nozomi-san taught me many things, and it’s a role that had a big impression on me. I have a lot of memories of it.

Senior actresses I admire:
Nono Sumika-san and Nozomi Fuuto-san. As a musumeyaku, I think Nono-san’s aesthetic onstage, her attitude, and her acting skills are so amazing. I really respect her!! I want to progress day by day so that one day I can be a sweet musumeyaku like Nono-san. As a performer, I really respect everything about Nozomi-san: how she deals with difficulty, her way of thinking during rehearsals, and how much effort she puts in every day. She’s a very kind and trustworthy senior actress.

Dream as a performer:
I want to get better every day so that I can reach my goal of being a wonderfully complimentary musumeyaku who makes the otokoyaku look more wonderful than ever. Also, I’m not going to spare any effort to become a performer that the audience finds memorable.

1 – ‘going-home club’ is a term for people in Japanese middle/high schools who do not participate in any clubs and leave immediately after school.