Ryuu Masaki’s talk with the top students of the 101st class (who debuted in the 2015 performance of 1789 – Les Amants de la Bastille) was published in the June 2015 issue of Kageki.

Debut Class Talk – The 101st Class builds huge dreams!

Moon Troupe: Ryuu Masaki
Debut students: Takato Chiaki, Amashi Juri¹, Mano Kazuma, Agata Sen, Aomi Sario

Ryuu: Okay, let’s start with introductions. Can you tell me your nicknames and ‘charm points’?

Takato: I’m Takato Chiaki. My nickname is Kotti. My charm point is that my arms are a little bit longer than most people’s.

Ryuu: Oh! Can you spread your arms?

Takato: Sure.

Ryuu: Oh, I see it. (Looking in ‘Takarazuka Otome’) You’re 175 centimeters tall, after all. Of course they’d be long (laughs). Alright, next.

Amashi: I’m Amashi Juri. My nickname is Mariko.

Ryuu: So is the other nickname you put down, ‘Jurian’, something you’d like people to call you eventually?

Amashi: Yes. My charm point is my sideburns. They’re long so I don’t need to draw them in very much².

Ryuu: Wow! Can you turn to the right for a second? Oh…but you might still want to draw them in a little (laughs). Okay, next please.

Mano: I’m Mano Kazuma. My nickname is Sana. My charm point is my low voice.

Ryuu: Oh, you won’t have to struggle then. According to otome, you like visiting shrines and Buddhist temples? What was your favorite you’ve been to so far?

Mano: Maybe Meiji Shrine?

Ryuu: Oh, a famous spot, I see (laughs). Alright, next.

Agata: I’m Agata Sen. My nickname is Chisato. My charm point is that when I laugh my eyes end up like the marimo mascot character³.

Ryuu: So you read this ‘Agata.’

Agata: Yes. I’m from Uji, in Kyoto, and my home neighborhood was near a shrine called the Agata Shrine, so the reverberations of ‘Agata’ are soaked into my hometown.

Ryuu: I see. So you have to work hard so you don’t let down Uji, right? Alright, next.

Aomi: I’m Aomi Sario. My nickname is…

Ryuu: (looking at ‘Otome’) Charlie, right.

Aomi: Yes. My charm point is my arms. The veins stand out a lot, and people will tell me they’re jealous.

Ryuu: Wha~t, that’s great.

Aomi: They’re not doing it right now, but…after a show or after I’ve been exercising they really stand out.

Ryuu: You’re all so stiff (laughs). Are you nervous? Let’s try to relax a bit. Okay, next, let’s talk about why you all decided to join Takarazuka.

Takato: I’d always felt like it’d be really great to be able to perform on stage every day, and since I’m tall, when I saw a Takarazuka show I thought ‘I want to live on this stage’.

Ryuu: That’s so mature! What was your first show?

Takato: Star Troupe’s THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL.

Ryuu: Seven years ago, huh. Did you pass on your first try?

Takato: No, I passed my third attempt at the exam.

Ryuu: You really worked for it.

Amashi: When I first saw the otokoyaku coming down the stairs on a DVD recording, I really wanted to be like that. The first time I saw a show in the theatre I was 3 years old, when my grandmother took me to see Todoroki (Yuu)-san starring in Nova Bossa Nova.

Ryuu: I see! Do you remember it?

Amashi: Just watching DVDs later…the first show I remember watching is Star Troupe’s An Officer and A Gentleman.

Mano: The first show I watched was Moon Troupe’s ME AND MY GIRL in 2008, and the moment the curtain opened I was swept away by the beautiful, sparkling world. It felt like every single person in the theatre was united by the ‘Lambeth Walk’ scene, and I wanted my future existence to be onstage as part of it.

Ryuu: ‘My future existence’, that’s so grand (laughs).

Agata: The first show I saw was Cosmos Troupe’s Trafalgar and Funky Sunshine in 2010, and in the revue, when I saw the tall performers running around, I thought ‘they’re so cool!’ and was obsessed instantly.

Aomi: The first show I saw was Cosmos Troupe’s A Kiss to the Flames and Neo Voyage!, but before I arrived at the theatre I didn’t know a bit about Takarazuka. And the moment I saw it, I felt it was the only place in the world where just women could create such amazing productions, so I decided to try out.

Ryuu: And how does it feel now that you’ve actually debuted?

Takato: Up until the opening, I kept thinking about how I could prepare myself, but once I was actually on stage, I could feel the audience clapping while we were dancing. It was my first time feeling the whole theatre come together to create something, and it was really moving.

Amashi: When we presented the line dance in the rehearsal room, the senior actresses were watching from so close, and it was so moving to think that from now on I’d be together with such incredible people, and right now I’m so happy to be on stage every day.

Mano: On the opening day, I was totally emotional. I was full of gratitude to everyone who supported me until now, and it felt like every moment since I decided to take the exam was just…

Ryuu: It was flashing before your eyes (laughs).

Mano: Yes. I saw it all and thought, I’ll have to keep doing my best!

Agata: The thing that sticks most in my mind from the opening day is doing our kicks on the Silver Bridge. To be honest with you, that’s still kind of scary…

Ryuu: Right, right, it feels like you could fall so it’s scary.

Agata: Yes. But doing it while holding hands with my classmates feels safe somehow.

Aomi: I’d felt like I was wasting four years on the Takarazuka entrance exam…

Ryuu: But you made it, you did good.

Aomi: Thank you. Every day after rehearsals started was so happy, and now that I’m standing onstage, every day I feel glad I made it into Takarazuka.

Ryuu: You’re all finally feeling your dreams come true, right. What kind of performers do you want to be in the future?

Takato: I admire the generous, elegant type of otokoyaku, so I want to do my best to become like that too.

Amashi: My goal is to be a performer who always has heart, and who can take on whatever I’m given earnestly and directly.

Ryuu: I see. Heart is so important to a performer.

Mano: I want to be a performer who can convey my character’s emotion and the story to the audience through singing and dance, and portray a broad range of roles.

Agata: During the rehearsals, someone told me ‘You look like you’re enjoying yourself, but…’. So I want to become a performer who isn’t just enjoying myself, but is also conveying that enjoyment to the audience.

Aomi: I know it’s only because of so many people supporting me that I can perform on stage, so I want to do my best without ever forgetting to be grateful to everyone around me.

Ryuu: I see. I think all of you will have many different encounters starting from here, so I hope you’ll treasure each and every one of them and, now that you’ve entered Takarazuka, become performers who can bring dreams to others. Alright, now let’s have some questions from all of you.

Takato: The first time I saw you was at a special event held at the Hankyu Umeda department store for ME AND MY GIRL. You were just shining… I wanted to ask where that [sparkle] comes from.

Ryuu: I wonder… Well, of course we always say ‘Takarazuka is a world of dreams’, and if we performers don’t have those dreams in sight while we’re creating [the shows], I don’t think we can really bring them to life. So I think we need to be the biggest ‘dreamers’ of all. It’s important that we hold on to our own assortment of dreams day to day.

Amashi: For your current role of Ronan, can you explain how you built the character and what sorts of research you did for the performance?

Ryuu: I always, not just for this show, start by thoroughly reading through the script. All the most important points will be in the script, so I hope you’ll all take that to heart as well.

Debut group: Yes.

Ryuu: This role of Ronan is also one with a lot of challenges I haven’t faced before, so there were a lot of ‘labor pains’ in creating the character, but earlier I said ‘heart is so important’, right? That’s really important for creating your characters as well, and I think that the emotional fortitude needed to birth, raise, and put a character on stage all comes from the love you feel towards that character.

Mano: Ryuu-san, you play such cool romantic lead characters, but also [roles like] Scarlett or Oscar–you can portray such a broad range, so can you tell us what are the different things you focus on when playing male versus female roles?

Ryuu: Let me think… It isn’t really a matter of male versus female roles—when I was in rehearsals for the last show, Rose of Versailles, someone told me: “From the first step you take onto the stage it’s a matter of confidence and concentration. And the moment you step into the wings you’ll start the cycle of reflecting on and challenging yourself. That’s what it is to be an actor.” That’s exactly it, I thought. I always want to be honest towards the stage.

Agata: Ryuu-san, do you have any memorable incidents from your own debut?

Ryuu: The rockette dance for my class started on the Grand Stairs, and I remember that since we were told we were absolutely forbidden from looking down while descending the stairs my feet were always trembling with fear (laughs).

Aomi: Ryuu-san, you’re always sparkling so dazzlingy in the center, so is there anything you feel is important when you are creating a show with everyone in your troupe?

Ryuu: I think it has to be the energy of pursuing the same single goal. I think all of you are feeling it right now—when the energy of dozens of people is gathered together the power it creates is huge, and we use that power source to create the show. Is that all?

Debut group: Yes!

Ryuu: I’m happy that our troupe was able to welcome another new class after last year. I’m sure you all joined Takarazuka full of dreams, and in our current show, 1789, one of the themes is pursuing your dreams. And it was a dream of mine to be able to perform in a new foreign musical adaptation by Director Koike, so on opening day I felt that the synergy of all those dreams coming together had created a huge power. I’m sure that from now on you’ll all face stress and struggles that you can’t even imagine now, but if you always remember the joy and pride you felt standing on stage for your debut, and hold on to those feelings as you continue through the years, I’m sure you’ll be able to get through it, so please do your best!

Debut class: Yes! Thank you very much.

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1 – Amashi Juri switched specialty to musumeyaku at the end of 2017.

2 – Most otokoyaku draw in sideburns with pencil as part of their makeup process.

3 – Presumably Marimokkori (see here – please note the design, while maybe not technically NSFW, is very suggestive)