Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei (PART 3)

The Troupe Survey is a current segment in the TakarazukaGRAPH magazine in which each month a different troupe is given a survey on their Top Star and a selection of their answers are printed in the magazine.
There are 4 parts to this article:

1.The things about (Top Star) that have made a big impression on us
2.Stage: Shows or scenes which have stayed in our hearts
3. We want to see (Top Star) as a…
4. The (Top Star) Awards
(The Top Star gives out special awards to troupe members)

As this article is so long I will be publishing the translation in parts!
You can read part 3 under the cut!

Part 3: We want to see Yuzuka Rei as a…

First Place, 9 votes: A Teacher

Haryu Mitsuki: In rehearsals, I often see her politely teaching Madoka (Hoshikaze Madoka, Top Musumeyaku) and giving advice to the younger actresses in a soft and gentle voice. So I think that if she was a teacher she would pick up on her students’ weaknesses and kindly teach them how to overcome them! And maybe during break time, she’d play dodgeball and other games with her students?!

Tsubasa Anju:If Yuzuka was my teacher I would give it my all and study so that she would give me her praise! And I would never sleep during class (laughs).

Yuzuka’s Comment: Being a school teacher must be a very hard job to do, but maybe if I could teach something completely unrelated to the performing arts it would feel like a hobby. For example, how much I enjoyed history classes at school always depended on what period was being taught. Also, I always found it exciting how the structure of each class would change based on the period we were studying. So I think it would be fun if I could teach with some pizazz like they do in high school dramas and films.

Second Place, 8 votes: A Pilot

Hina Ririka: I’d have heart-eyes if I saw her as a handsome pilot!!! She would definitely be the number one most popular of them all!!

Serina Ei:When I saw her on the national tour pulling along her case as she walked, I thought she would definitely look amazing wearing a pilot’s uniform and pulling a carry-along suitcase!!

Yuzuka’s comment:It would be cool to have an impressive job like that wouldn’t it? I’ve often thought about how wonderful it would be to speak fluent English and get to go back and forth between loads of different countries like international flight attendants do. I haven’t done anything to qualify for a job like that though! (laughs)

Third Place, 7 votes: A Doctor

Natsuki Manato: Imagine she’s your doctor. The moment she would enter the doctor’s office time would stop! And then she’d say “Why have you come to see me today?” with a sweet voice and her eyes drawing you in, and your symptoms would just get worse! (laughs) But as it’s Yuzuka, I’m sure she would use her abundant knowledge and accurate judgment to nurse you back to health!!

Nanairo Hazuki: I think if Yuzuka was a doctor she would be able to cure any illness with just her good looks!

Yuzuka’s comment:
If I make your symptoms worse then surely that’s a bad thing? (laughs) Doctors are amazing, they look after their patients and make sure that no matter how busy they are they never compromise the care that they give. I’ve had to go to the doctors countless times. I make sure to prioritise my health, but I still end up having to go… I can’t thank them enough for all the times they have helped me.

Other answers:

A ninja (Takasho Mizuki), Michael Jackson (Kaga Ririka), An Itamae (a type of high-class Japanese chef) (Minami Maito), Literary Master (Tsugumi Maho), an owner of a karaage chicken restaurant (Misora Maru), a Shinto priest (Shizuno Megumi) and a tv announcer (Kiran Rune)

BTS Photos:

End of Part 3, the forth and final part is coming soon!
For more takarazuka translations, click here

Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei (PART 2)

The Troupe Survey is a current segment in the TakarazukaGRAPH magazine in which each month a different troupe is given a survey on their Top Star and a selection of their answers are printed in the magazine.
There are 4 parts to this article:
1.The things about (Top Star) that have made a big impression on us
2. Stage: Shows or scenes which have stayed in our hearts
3.We want to see (Top Star) as a…
4. The (Top Star) Awards
(The Top Star gives out special awards to troupe members)

As this article is so long I will be publishing the translation in parts!
You can read part 1 here
Part 2 is under the cut!

Part 2: Stage - What Shows or Scenes have remained in your heart?

1st place, 23 votes: “Boys over Flowers” (2019)

Miharu Ayu: The fight scenes she has against Sakurako (played by Oto Kurisu) and Rui (played by Seino Asuka). I always love seeing Yuzuka in fight scenes but this show was extra special because they were staged as fistfights, which is pretty rare for Takarazuka and made the otokoyaku even more masculine! Seeing her using her whole body to protect Tsukushi (played by Shoroki Mirei) really moved me.

Takasho Mizuki: Domyouji (Yuzuka)’s dance during the song Metamorphoses. I have no other words for it other than that it’s the definition of coolness.

Oto Kurisu: Maybe this is in part due to the show itself being set in modern day, but she felt so real as Domyouji that I found myself thinking she was him even when we weren’t performing. Yuzuka’s acting is always so natural.

(in the photo, Domyouji in the original Boys over Flowers Manga, and the stars of the original 2005 Jdrama adaptation, Matsumoto Jun and Inoue Mao, with comparison shots to Yuzuka Rei and Shiroki Mirei)

Yuzuka’s Comment:This show is really important to me too! Even now whenever I think back to it I’m just overwhelmed by all the fond and warm memories I have from that show. I’ve done quite a few fight scenes with swords and guns before, but very rarely with my bare hands. That scene was one of those “fights between men” that is very typical of teenage boys. All the members of the F4 have a strong sense of chivalry which was suuuuper fun to play.

2nd place, 20 votes: “Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern” (2020)

Ichinose Koki: The back and forth she had with Miss Benio (played by Hana Yuuki) would change every day. I never stopped being excited the whole run because I’d always be wondering “Ooh what’s going to happen between them today?!!”. The kiss scene at the end of the show was especially well done. Whilst I watched I’d be thinking “wow the Lieutenant (Yuzuka) is real! He’s come straight out of the manga!”! I really wish there had been a compilation made of every performance of that kiss scene! (laughs)

Keina Maya:In the finale number where she dances in the silver military uniform she has this beauty that is so dignified and cool! That number is filled with a certain charm that you can’t see in any other show. I love it.

Haruya Yuri: She was just so cool in everything she did on stage, from how she would wrap Miss Benio in her arms, to when she fought to protect her men during the attack in Siberia! Also, let’s be honest, otokoyaku in uniform are the best.

Yuzuka’s comment:It’s such a wonderful show isn’t it? The Lieutenant is meant to have an almost fantasy-like beauty and charm, the kind that you don’t find in the real world, so I was quite anxious about how I could make him come to life on stage. But I also have fond memories of those days, even when I was having trouble with the character. I like the army uniforms too but they make it hard to show the lines of the body, so it took me a while to figure out how to wear it well.

3rd place, 11 votes: Dance Olympia (2020)

Yuunami Kei: The flamenco scene. Not only was her technique amazing, but she managed to make the whole theatre focus on one point, the sound of her feet. She performed an outstanding solo number that will go down in takarazuka history.

Mano Kazuma: The flamenco dance. It was a passionate performance full of life and soul which was so moving that I teared up watching it. I won’t forget it for the rest of my life.

Futaba Yuyu:The flamenco number is one of those moments where Yuzuka’s every movement takes your breath away and shakes your very soul! Yuzuka, are you actually spanish?

Yuzuka’s comment:In that scene, I wasn’t thinking about how to present myself as a takarasienne, but rather, as a human being. With the help of our choreographer, Satou-sensei, I focused on dedicating myself to the essence and feeling of flamenco.

END OF PART TWO
Read in Part 3!

For more zuka-relatedtranslationsclickhere
Part 3 coming soon!