This article covering Star Troupe Top Musumeyaku Kisaki Airi’s retirement press conference was published by Nikkan Sports on February 6, 2019. The original article with photos can be found here. (Archive link here.)

Kisaki Airi decided her retirement would be “together with Kurenai-san” from the start.

Kisaki Airi, Top Musumeyaku of the Takarazuka Revue’s Star Troupe, who announced that she would be retiring together with Star Troupe Top Star Kurenai Yuzuru on October 13th, held a press conference on the afternoon of the 6th at the Takarazuka Theatre in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Her press conference occurred 2 and a half hours after Kurenai’s, which took place on the morning of the same day in Osaka. The location was also different, in a conference hall arranged in Takarazuka. In an odd coincidence, her outfit, consisting of a white dress with silver lame ornaments, happened to match with Kurenai’s perfectly. “Oh, does it really?” Kisaki said, laughing happily. “Do we have telepathy? Yes!”

Kisaki will retire together with Kurenai on the last day of the Tokyo performance of GOD OF STARS – Saints of Cuisine/Éclair Brillant, which opens in Hyogo’s Takarazuka Theatre on July 12th.

“I decided from the start that (my retirement) would be together with Kurenai-san.”

Kisaki debuted in 2010, and, like Kurenai-san, has spent her entire career in Star Troupe. In November of 2016, when Kurenai was appointed as Top Star, Kisaki joined her as Top Musumeyaku. Their home theatre debut performance, The Scarlet Pimpernel, which was also her first performance in Takarazuka, is a show full of memories for her. “(My heroine role of) Marguerite is always living inside of me,” she said.

Kisaki is from Hyogo, and she was drawn to the Osaka-born Kurenai and came to respect her. “Star Troupe has a bright and cheerful image, and when Kurenai’s personality was combined with that, the troupe became even brighter. I respect her as a performer and also as a person.”

She declared that her feelings for Kurenai were “everything about Takarazuka to me. She interacts with people so whole-heartedly. That character of hers saved me as well,” she added thankfully.

Kisaki was also attracted to her concentration in rehearsals, her attention to detail, and her sense of humour as a performer, as well as her good natured personality which will always relax a space. “Last night, she was on the phone with me saying ‘let’s be bright and cheerful going into (the press conference) but right after (Kurenai’s) press conference earlier, I got a call from her and the very first thing she said was ‘I ended up crying a ton!’”

Kurenai apparently tried to joke about breaking her promise with Kisaki by crying in order to hide her embarrassment. “Therefore, I was resolved that, no, I definitely won’t cry,” she said, forming a firm fist as she spoke.

Kurenai had said during her own press conference “Please don’t use pictures of me crying,” and apparently gave Kisaki a message to pass on to reporters. “‘For real, don’t use them,’ she said.” Kurenai helped Kisaki relax from the nervousness she had been feeling before the press conference.

Kisaki is classmates with the previously retired former Top Musumeyaku of Flower Troupe, Kano Maria, and former Top Musumeyaku of Snow Troupe, Sakihi Miyu. “They told me to take a deep breath before going in (to the press conference), and it made things a lot easier,” she revealed.

As for her retirement, she said “I can’t think about any of that yet. For the next six months and a bit, I want to live my life as a member of Takarazuka to the fullest.”