This cute comparison Q&A was published in the March 1993 issue of GRAPH. It features 3 of the Top Musumeyaku of the time: Asano Kayo (Moon Troupe), Morina Miharu (Flower Troupe), and Shiraki Ayaka (Star Troupe), classmates who were known as the ‘Young Trio’ after they all ascended to Top Musumeyaku positions very close together.
The Young Trio’s Thorough Comparison Report
Asano Kayo | Shiraki Ayaka | Morina Miharu | |
1. Birthday | September 20. | September 27. | March 16. |
2. Zodiac Sign | Virgo | Libra | Pisces |
3. Blood Type | O | O | O |
4. Hometown | Tokyo, Edogawa Ward. | Tokyo. | Kawagoe, Saitama. |
5. Family structure | Father, mother, two older sisters. | Parents and one older sister. | Father, mother, older brother, older brother’s wife, and two dogs. |
6. First Love | Unknown (laughs). | 4th year of elementary school. | 6th year of elementary school. |
7. Certifications | None. | Abacus calculations level 2. | Not a thing. |
8. Favorite colors | White, black, primary colors. | White and black. | Sky blue and white. |
9. Favorite Accessories | Moon shaped earrings. I like silver. | Quirky designs, and recently I like silver. | Rings. |
10. Favorite singers | Nagai Mariko. | Nobody in particular. | Nagai Mariko and Shiina Megumi. |
11. Favorite music genres | Disney and anime songs. | Classical and jazz. | ‘New Music’.1 |
12. Favorite foods | Homemade food. | Traditional food and sweets. | Traditional food. |
13. Cooking specialty | Stirfry. | Beef stew, potato salad. | Meat and potatoes, curry, stew. |
14. Sports specialty | Sprinting (laughs). | Skiing, swimming. | Gymnastics, swimming. |
15. Hobbies | Decorating with my favorite photos. | Watching movies. | Spacing out (laughs). |
16. How you spend a day off | Maybe shopping, or just relaxing in my house the whole day. | I’m totally going to go shopping. | Just spacing out (laughs). |
17. A place you often shop | Osaka and Kobe. | Umeda. | Umeda and Shinsaibashi. |
18. Your collections | Accessories. Since I’m in this line of work I have a lot of sparkly things. | Pretty coffee cups and things with pictures of lilies on them. | Rings and earrings. |
19. Current interests | Animals’ emotions and how they see the world. | Foreign countries. Especially Europe. | Stuff about animals. |
20. Ideal man | Someone I could rely on, a warm person who I could respect. | Someone who has a goal he’s working towards, a kind and considerate person. | A considerate person, someone who would be by my side without my having to say anything. |
21. Personal motto | Be honest and fulfilled. | Do what I want to do now so I don’t regret anything. | Be honest. |
22. Strong and weak points of your personality | I’m naive enough it makes me stupid sometimes, which is both my strong and weak point. | It’s both my strong and weak point that I dive into whatever I like. | I’m really naive, which is sometimes a strong point, and sometimes a weak point. |
23. Your charm point | I can’t speak for myself. | My round face. | My dimples and thick legs. |
1 – An early ancestor of J-pop (which doesn’t seem to have been that ‘new’ any more at the time Morina would have been answering the questionnaire).