This round-robin style talk with all the 88th class members was published in the May 2017 issue of GRAPH, as part of a series on the more senior classes (those who have been in the company 10 years of more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The participants are:\u00a0Kouzuki Ruu, Asaka Manato, Kagetsu Miyako, Sahana Mako, Kurenai Yuzuru, Hoshou Dai, Yugiri Rai<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
88th Class Ties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Moon Troupe, Kozuki Ruu<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright, I\u2019ll start this off~! Oh, I got Maa-kun (Asaka)!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Asaka Manato is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Calm and collected, yet flexible<\/em> A big eater<\/em> So fast at remembering choreography!<\/em> Cosmos Troupe, Asaka Manato<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAhaha! (laughs) Did I say that about the choreography? I\u2019m terrible, aren\u2019t I! As for being a big eater, I must have been going through my growth spurt back then~ Also, saying I\u2019m clever is going too far! But, Ruu-chan (Kouzuki), thank you!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Kagetsu Miyako is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unchangingly a cute little creature<\/em> Sleeps with her eyes open<\/em> Suddenly turned into a great actress<\/em> \u201cNacchan is so cute \ud83d\udc96 \u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Moon Troupe, Kagetsu Miyako<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is really info you could only get from a classmate (laughs). But\u2026I know I still sleep with my eyes open (laughs). I\u2019ve always had people tell me I\u2019m like a little animal\u2026 Maybe it\u2019s because when I get flustered I\u2019ll be like \u2018Wa~h!\u2019? (laughs) Being able to talk with Maa-kun after so long, we were each able to learn from each others\u2019 experiences, so that was interesting. Above all, I\u2019m so happy that she became Top Star!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sahana Mako is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Able to see things in such an incisive way<\/em> Such a skilled actor<\/em> Feminine and kind<\/em> Snow Troupe, Sahana Mako<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think Natsuko (Kagetsu) is a really unique musumeyaku, so I\u2019m really honored to hear this from her! As our seniority has increased we have gotten into the habit of talking about all kinds of things, and I wish I had something like Natsuko\u2019s totally unique aspects that nobody else can replicate. But that spacey side of her is really healing too. We talk about anything and everything on or offstage, so our relationship has surpassed that of classmates.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Kurenai Yuzuru is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She has an odd way of looking at things<\/em> Loves Takarazuka<\/em> Stoic in her own way<\/em> Star Troupe, Kurenai Yuzuru<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cActually, at the beginning what I wanted to say was \u2018I want to paint the seats scarlet [T\/N: \u2018kurenai\u2019]\u2019 but she came back at me \u2018That means empty seats!\u2019 (laughs). Running away with myself in the opposite direction\u2026 (laughs). That\u2019s totally true! I never see what\u2019s close to me. But, I think maybe it\u2019s good that I\u2019m that way (laughs). I\u2019ve been good friends with Sahana Mako ever since we were in TMS. We would pretend we were in Masked Romanesque<\/em> together and stuff (laughs).\u201d<\/p> \u201cWho will I get\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Hoshou Dai is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The top dummy of the 88th class!<\/em> The calm before the storm\u2026<\/em> More of an older sister type in TMS<\/em> Snow Troupe, Hoshou Dai<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to hear that from Kurenai Yuzuru! We\u2019re equal, aren\u2019t we? Equal! And then, that memory from TMS (laughs). That did happen, didn\u2019t it! Why on earth did I do that, I wonder. Doing a rockette dance while twirling my hat around\u2026 Because of me, the commuter students all got horribly scolded\u2026I\u2019m really sorry about that!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Yuugiri Rai is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the 88th class band of goofballs<\/em> So multi-talented! & she loves cute things!<\/em> Her voice is the best!!!<\/em> Flower Troupe, Yuugiri Rai<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI did do that twirling recieve, didn\u2019t I (laughs). Dai-chan, you see me from all different angles, don\u2019t you. Even if you struggle at it, helping other people gives you energy, so I think picturing the other person\u2019s happiness helped me do my best. I\u2019ve always loved singing, so I listened to all different genres of music and learned them by ear. Daichan, do your best! I hope you will continue performing to the end with nothing to regret!!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Kouzuki Ruu is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A star student!<\/em> She\u2019s just really nice<\/em> She loves Takarazuka \ud83d\udc96<\/em> Back to Kouzuki Ruu\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Goal!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not that nice, though~ I have really major emotional swings (laughs). I hated being called a star student ever since I was a junior actress, and I really struggled to break out of that framework\u2026 Also, I don\u2019t know about the whole history of Takarazuka (laughs). I probably just said things based on what I knew from when I started watching Takarazuka \u00a0(laughs). But, the otokoyaku style and aesthetic hasn\u2019t ever changed! I think Rai-chan\u2019s strongest idea of me is from TMS, so if you looked at me now it might shatter the picture you have of me\u2026 (laughs). Thank you for saying I\u2019m grown-up and a star student \u2728 Please don\u2019t be disillusioned by the current me either!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This round-robin style talk with all the 88th class members was published in the May 2017 issue of GRAPH, as part of a series on the more senior classes (those who have been in the company 10 years of more). … Continue reading
Ever since we were Lower Students she\u2019s been calm and collected, and I\u2019ve never seen her mess up, or seen her cry. But, when we all would get together to goof around, she\u2019d join in, that kind of feeling. In any case, she\u2019s really clever. Also, although she\u2019s the younger one, she has an older-brotherly feeling of \u2018Everything will be okay!\u2019, and she\u2019s a really reliable person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although her appearance hasn\u2019t changed at all up to now, I seem to have an image of her eating a lot more in the past\u2026 I remember that she wouldn\u2019t be affected by whatever went on around her at all and just steadily kept eating at her own pace\u2026 (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since she was a lower student she\u2019s been able to memorize the choreography so quickly! It was the same way in things like Takarazuka Special, and recently when I asked her \u2018So how do you learn the choreography?\u2019 she told me \u2018I don\u2019t know, I just kind of look at the choreographer and my body moves\u2019, so I wasn\u2019t able to comprehend it at all (laughs). I think she comes by it naturally!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s always been just like a little squirrel. Even as her seniority has increased that hasn\u2019t changed at all, so no matter when I look at her I think \u2018She\u2019s so cute~\u2019. As for her personality, she\u2019s really laid-back but also has a bit of a mysterious side to her. I want to have a mysterious side, so I\u2019m jealous of that part (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we were in TMS, she would really sleep a lot. But she wouldn\u2019t close her eyes properly when she slept, so you could never tell if she was asleep or not (laughs). Nacchan (Kagetsu), do you still sleep with your eyes open~?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s such a great performer! What an actress! I was so moved by her in Grand Hotel<\/em>, and her role of the grandmother in Spring Snow<\/em> was so powerful! I was thinking \u2018and that\u2019s Nacchan\u2026?\u2019 I was able to talk to her in the dressing room about performing the other day, and as a senior actress she has such an amazing way of thinking about things, and she has really sharp perception. I\u2019m so happy that the little creature from TMS became able to have such deep conversations! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s always been like this, but she sees things in just slightly different ways from other people. Ever since we were in the music school, I picture Kyabii as looking at things from her own point of view and laughing (laughs). Of course it wasn\u2019t in a bad way at all. As we\u2019ve been in the company longer we\u2019ve gotten so close, so as we\u2019re talking about different things, often I\u2019ll realize \u2018Oh, she must have been looking at things this way!\u2019 and being surprised. She\u2019s so fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love Kyabii\u2019s acting. Perhaps this is related to her unique way of looking at things, but when we were doing the Culture Festival, all she was doing was drinking something and scowling but she had a totally different atmosphere to everyone else. And now that she is bringing that to her current performances, so I really love that sense she has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think she has an image as a really intelligent person, but she is also such a gentle and feminine person. I like that part of her too (laughs). She\u2019s so considerate, like a really reliable older sister, and she\u2019s also so kind, and always sees the good points in people. Basically I just love Kyabii (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we were asked our reasons for deciding to try out for Takarazuka, she said \u201cI want to paint the seats of the Grand Theatre red\u201d. But\u2026they\u2019re red already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s a dyed-in-the-wool traditional Takarazuka fan. Back then [in TMS] she went and wrote in my performance notebook, where I would pour out my passion, that she loved Asazumi Kei-san. But, even though she said she really liked her, she wrote her nickname of Kayoko-san as \u2018Kakoyo-san\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since she was a lower student, she would diligently practice the things she was struggling with. But since she was seeing her goal in a slightly different way to other people, it would have the opposite effect, she would end up running away with herself even further. As a result, to come all the way around she would put in even more steady work than anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our classmates always say that me and Dai-chan (Houshou) were about even in terms of being common-sense challenged, but they all say \u201cIf we had to choose, Dai-chan was the worst!\u201d so just give up and admit it! (laughs) You\u2019re number one!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the day before a holiday, when we were Lower Students. One of the screws in her head must have come loose. She was goofing around on the train station platform, waving her hat around and cheering \u2018Ya~y!\u2019 Of course she was promptly spotted in that state by an upper student, and I\u2019ll never forget watching her be scolded like nothing else (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was talented in Japanese Dance, so she would help you get your kimono on and look after you and such, but once we all entered the company her character totally changed. What\u2019s with that? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since we were lower students, Rai-chan (Yuugiri) and Kurenai and I would be the group goofing around (laughs). Although she has a diligent side too, she also has a lot of surprising aspects (laughs). The thing that left the biggest impression with me was when we were taking the entrance exam. During the \u2018creative dance\u2019 portion of the exam, she\u2014she was in a volleyball club, you know\u2014next to me she was doing a twirling serve receive (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s so good at drawing, and really skilled at making things. When she was a junior actress she made slippers for a senior actress. She didn\u2019t just put a simple picture on them, but she was so dedicated to making the design! That creative side of her is so cute, and it made me think she had a surprisingly feminine side to her too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since we were in TMS she\u2019s had an amazing voice and such good singing skills! She did well in our classical voice class of course, but especially in popular music, her sense of rhythm was really impressive. \u201cSo that must be what it\u2019s like to have natural talent~\u201d I thought; it made me jealous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever since she was in TMS she had the top grades, and she\u2019s the leader of all of us. Ruu-chan is so reliable, just having her there lets me feel comfortable! No matter what happens, she\u2019ll calmly be able to handle it, and she gives off such a grown-up aura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve never seen her being really grumpy or irritable. My strongest image of her is her smiling gently. Ruu-chan is so nice that I\u2019m always ending up relying on her \ud83d\udc96<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s always loved Takarazuka, and she knows so much about it, so whenever we asked her about old times she would have an answer\u2014she\u2019s our Professor Takarazuka! I only had superficial knowledge, so she seemed to me like she was really my senior, a powerful individual who even back then had the otokoyaku aesthetics down and a real presence as a Takarasienne (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n