The good-luck charm you gave me
Kurashima Sara, Kurosawa Mirena long interview

--Do you remember your first meeting?

Sara
I… do. I think it was at a Ciao shoot or the audition, right? The first time we worked together was for a Ciao ad.

Mirena
Right! I was in 6th grade

--Please share some stories from around that time

Mirena:
I remember we got really excited about the ichigo daifuku [rice cake with strawberry in it] served by the staff at a shoot ♪

Sara:
Woow, so nostalgic! (haha) There was a time we had to meet up with the others at a nearby station to then go to the studio together, but I got incredibly nervous. Mirena noticed that and asked me if I was ok.

Mirena:
Because of that we came to talk a lot whenever we went to a shoot together.

--What did you think of each other when you first met?

Sara:
The moment I saw her I was like “Ah, it’s the girl from TenTele!” (haha) Honestly, I thought she was a lot smaller than on TV. Well, she’s still pretty small so she didn’t really change there.

Mirena:
Shut up! There weren’t any boyish girls among the Ciao Girls back then, so I thought “Ciao girls came this far!”[?]

Sara:
I don’t really understand (bitter smile)

--What were you usually talking about?

Sara:
We were helping each other with studying.

Mirena:
And we just fooled around taking videos. Stuff like „Ah, Sara’s face is so weird like that”

--And Kurashima-san transferred into the 2014 nendo of Sakura Gakuin, a year before Kurosawa-san

Mirena:
Right.Back then I didn’t think I would transfer in a year later.

--At that time, what was Sakura Gakuin to you?

Mirena:
I was looking up to them, but I felt like there was this huge unclimbable wall between the group and me. There weren’t any talks of a transfer exam, so I thought „Well, I don’t think I’m going to join”

--Did you feel like Kurosawa-san was going to join the group?

Sara:
I was the only one in Middle School 1st grade in the 2014 nendo, so I was wondering if anyone will join me in the second year. So I thought maybe it would be Mirena. Although I did get surprised when it turned out to be true.

--Of course it seems the Fukei got surprised by a TV Fighter [Terebi Senshi, the title of the kids on Dai Tensai Terebi-kun] transferring in.

Sara:
Until then I didn’t know the Mirena outside of Ciao, so seeing her sing and dance was a novel experience. I also felt like I should work hard to not lose to her, since we’re in the same grade.

--On the other hand, what did you think about Kurashima-san as a 1st year student, Kurosawa-san?

Mirena:
Honestly I couldn’t imagine her as a member so it was surprising, but when I first saw her on stage I was more amazed by her than surprised. I discovered a new side of hers.

Sara:
Whaat? I’m so glad ♪

--Kurosawa-san, did your confidence get destroyed during the first lessons?

Mirena:
The first choreography I was in was Verishuvi and I practiced so much, so I thought it’d go well and was full of confidence. Despite that, judging by the other students, I was wrong… I realized I was no match to their usual pace.

--There was that much of a difference?

Mirena:
It was night and day! They were amazing dancers, but more than that, their feelings towards the songs themselves were incredibly deep. At that time I was really impatient and wanted to quickly decrease the huge gap between me and my senpais who had years of experience.

--What did you do in order to catch up with them?

Mirena:
First I watched a lot of old videos, so I started with getting to know Sakura Gakuin again.

Sara:
When I transferred in, I watched a lot of videos too! We practiced together with Megu while watching old and new MVs, or concert footage.

--While we’re talking about contemporaries, Kurosawa-san, you joined together with some of your juniors. How did yo feel about them?

Mirena:
I was the oldest among them, so I felt a sense of responsibility and thought I should get myself together. I worked hard to serve as a kind of bridge between the transfer-ins and the other students.

--And now the then-kouhai Kurosawa-san became a leader and great partner to the Student Council President! Did you have any disagreements before arriving here?

Sara:
We haven’t fought even once.

Mirena:
I think we usually had the same thoughts. We decided to always share our opinions and talk through things with each other, so we didn’t really have any conflicts.

Sara:
And we considered Aiko’s opinions too, right? Lately we had a lot of chances to consult each other as the 2nd years and the 3rd years.

Mirena:
Like, „The departing people” and the „Inheriting people”, right? It’s already that time~ so fast!

Sara:
We only have a month left now.

--Have you managed to do everything you wanted?

Mirena:
First, one of my dreams of doing a stage play with the members of Sakura Gakuin got fulfilled with ’Shuoh Gakuen Choir Club’. I was constantly thinking about how to leave a mark in the history of Sakura Gakuin in the short two years, so I think I managed to do that with my MC and Talk work. From now on I’d like to enjoy the remaining time and graduate properly.

Sara:
I wanted to perform every song with the members of the 2016 nendo. Especially songs like Planet Episode 008. We get split into group for each planet, and the song changes completely based on who sings it, so I was always how it would sound this nendo.

I can understand you wanting to see that! Talking about something changing every year, the club units also change. This year you had a lot of „After-school activities” too right?

Mirena:
Right. But compared to Minipati or Logica? the Go Home Club didn’t do that much this year. I feel really sorry towards Maaya and Kano. But I want to do a perfect performance at the graduation ceremony ♪The original Go Home Club felt like they were triples, but this year we’re like uneven sisters. Our performance is really fun!

--There’s also a new member in Logica?.

Sara:
Momoko entered the club as a 2nd grader, so I was worried that she won’t be able to fit in that well. But ever since our first lesson, she was a natural (haha) I could feel her getting better with each lesson, it felt like we had this lineup for years.

--Kurashima-san was also in the „Watashi da yo” commercial for Waseda Academy

Mirena:
Seeing her working outside of Sakura Gakuin, I was really proud of her as a friend, like „You know she’s actually in Sakura Gakuin!!!” ❤ Although whenever I looked into her eyes on the posters on the trains I got a bit worried, because I felt like she was watching me (haha)

--How did you feel about it, Kurashima-san?

Sara:
I haven’t appeared in any commercials aside from ciao before, and this was my first time on a poster, so I was really happy!

Mirena:
Aside from that, this nendo, Yuzu and I were in Ciao Smiles, Aiko did ’Kiramake Tsubasa-chan’ and Momoko and Maaya were 12sai Supporters. Aaand…

Sara:
Momoe was in a movie and some ads too, now that I think about it, we were incredibly active this nendo

Mirena:
Right?! I hope all these activities will help on our ways to becoming Super Ladies.

--You two tried out a lot of new things. It has been a year since your ’Current students interview’ in the last photobook. Do you remember what you talked about back then?

Sara:
Not at all (plainly)

Mirena:
Just a little bit…

--Kurosawa-san, you were really determined, you said „I want to gain more experience points as a Sakura Gakuin student!”. Kurashima-san, you said „I want to make the buds we inherited from the seniors, bloom in the next nendo, with all my might!”

Sara:
(surprised) What? I said that?!

Mirena:
You did! You did! I thought it was amazing! (haha)

Sara:
I guess my mind and mouth were in a good mood that day, definitely. (haha)

--Did you make good use of the experience handed down to you by the seniors of the last nendo?

Sara:
They taught us directly too, but we also learned a lot by looking back at the time we spent together, after the graduation ceremony.

Mirena:
Yeah, and we had many chances of getting advice from our graduate senpais too, I felt like we could make good use of thing we learned those times.

Sara:
Especially because the play was a first for Sakura Gakuin, we got advice in acting by Hinata-chan and Marina-chan, and Ooga Saki-chan is in a choir club too, so she also helped us. I’m really grateful to them.

Mirena:
We learned a lot from our senpais, and I think we could grow a lot, so with experiencing the play, I think a new road has opened before us!

--I definitely want to see a stage play next year too. By the way, did you senpais tell you anything stern?

Sara:
Of course, they told us such things about acting, but they told us advice about how to pull out the true colors of the 2016 nendo.

--There’s only a month left, so with those words in mind, what are the „True colors of this nendo”?

Sara:
I wonder if we were able to show off each member’s personality… Buuut… (worried) If I had to express it in short, I’d say „12 people, 12 colors”.

Mirena:
Right! As totally different personalities, Sara and I had to combine our strengths, and while the 12 of us had our own personalities we blended them together beautifully.

--It’s like „Harmony while showing off each of your personalities” It’s interesting seeing how each nendo turns out. What do you think will happen next year?

Mirena:
We’re relieved the three 2nd years seem to talk and think among each other a lot facing the next nendo.

Sara:
I’m not really proud of it, but when we became seniors, we didn’t do that at all. Of course, we talked about what kind of Sakura Gakuin we want to do next year, but we couldn’t talk about anything tangible, like „What should we do in order to do this?” Last year’s seniors told us „You better start talking with each other!” so I thought we should’ve done it more, and now I regret it a lot.

--What were your goals for the 2016 nendo?

Sara:
We had the 5th anniversary last year, and we felt the strong sense of gratefulness from the seniors towards the people who supported us until then. Because so many people graduated already, Mirena and I felt a need to properly inherit the traditions of Sakura Gakuin while showing off our new colors.

--As the „First step towards new Sakura Gakuin History” did you feel pressure?

Sara:
I did, but more than that, I felt like „I have to smile my best for the people who have been supporting us!”

--I see. The others did tell us a lot that you were incredibly serious, but seems like it’s true!

Mirena:
Everyone says that, but it’s not true!

Sara:
Riiight? I always joke around a lot. When I occasionally get excited, I start enjoying anything and everything!

--Borrowing Mori-sensei’s words, you „Get drunk”, right?

Mirena:
When she’s dancing to Sakura Gakuin songs, she gets so into it, I don’t think the Fukei have seen that yet. (lol)

--You really like Sakura Gakuin, eh? Are there any sides of Kurosawa-san, we don’t see normally?

Sara:
People think of her as a serious person, but in the end she’s pretty easygoing!

Mirena:
But when I was small I was really self-conscious and couldn’t do anything properly, you know. I only got better after appearing in „Dai Tensai Terebi-kun”. I learned to think more like „I’ll manage somehow” and got a bit more confident.

--So even the Pro has some history. Well then, we won’t have anytime else to talk about this, so tell us about your graduation trip.

Mirena:
Well, the first thing should be the beret (haha)

Sara:
I accidentally left my beret on the bullet train……. I felt incredibly sorry while I was waiting for the train attendant to ask around……. (sweat)

Mirena:
We started off on a pretty low point, eh? (bitter smile) I just optimistically told her „It’s going to be okaaay~ ♪” while eating my Ogura Toast next to her.

--It’s an sudden event, but in the end it’s a great memory, right?” (haha)

Sara:
But it was my first time being together with Mirena for the whole time, so it was really fun! ❤

Mirena:
Yeah ♪ It felt like a school trip with just the two of us, even the bath and the onsen were reserved for us

Sara:
We could see the stars from the outdoor bath! It felt so nice.

--At the Meiji Village, you wore clothes of Shirai-san’s beloved Haikara people. [Haikara-san seems to mean people who started adopting western styles (apparently in a really smug manner) in the Meiji period, it comes from „High Collar”, not sure if the interviewer means that C-chan likes the clothes themselves, or the people]

Mirena:
I think it’s the first time the seniors are wearing traditional Japanese clothes in the photobook. So we may have broken new ground here.

Sara:
I always wanted to wear Haikara clothes, I felt like I was seeing a new me the moment I put them on! The Dengaku [Tofu on skewers with miso paste] we had in the castle was also tasty ♪

Mirena:
Sara was constantly calling it „Denden”. I told her that’s not what it’s called and she said „It’s good as Denden!” (haha)

--We have a photo of that![??] By the way, in last year’s senior interview, Shirai-san said” Mirena-chan is only good at answering” [?]

Mirena:
I ended up falling into the ’dark side’ a year before Sakura Gakuin girls usually do, so even though it was just my opinion, I wanted to talk back like „It’s nothing more than an answer!” (serious) [I was incredibly unsure about this part]

--I see, so the reason was because you fell to the dark side. And how did you escape?

Mirena:
One day, early morning Sara asked me to go jogging with her.

Sara:
What? I did?

Mirena:
……..So while jogging, we passed through a park, and stopped to play with a swing. Sara said „It’s a great change of pace just hanging out like this, right? ♪”

Sara:
(While trying to remember) Yeaaah?

Mirena:
Even though hearing that I thought „Did she take me with her because she saw how down I felt?”?!

Sara:
I can’t remember at all, sorry! But seems like I did something nice, even if I didn’t know about it ♪

Mirena:
And I thought „Ah, Sara is looking over me! I have to get myself together!” ……… (Drawing closer to Kurashima-san again) I did think that, you know!

--But, thanks to that event Kurosawa-san got saved and everything turned out okay! Now, the same way as last year, I’d like you to create a „report card” of the remaining students. Let’s start with elementary schooler Mori-san

Sara:
Momoe is really serious, she manages to properly do everything we tell her. I’d like it if next year’s transfer-ins followed suit. She also has an OL-like side like C-chan, I want her to become a senpai who can understand her kouhais’ feelings.

Mirena:
She became a much better performer since she transferred in, so I’d like her to get more confident. Will she change her burikko character to an OL? How will she bloom? I’m really looking forward to it.

--Let’s continue with Aritomo-san

Sara:
She wore those weird glasses during Logirl and she’s always performing gags I can really feel her independence. She also hates losing which is an important aspect of growing, so I want her to carry on on the road of her beloved comedy without losing this part of hers.

Mirena:
She said, „I should show off my love for dogs…” and put some moves where she draws the kanji for dog (犬) into the choreography. She’s also really open to the opinions of others.

--Even if she’s a bit off (haha). Next up, people know her as a noisy person, Fujihira-san.

Sara:
She might come off as a dummy, but she has a lot of things on her mind. Although, she gets shy when she has to show off on stage. I think she could show her greatness if she got herself together and didn’t get so embarrassed.

Mirena:
The fact that she’s a hard worker is great, but it’d be great if she could lose a bit of tension and just go with the flow sometimes.

--She’s surprisingly elaborate, I see. Next, Yoshida-san.

Sara:
She grew so much in dance, in talking, in singing! She has a strong foundation now, and she thinks about each movement of her hand to fit the lyrics, she has amazing potential. She’s a bit reserved though, so if she had a bit more confidence and put herself forward, it could have a great effect on the others too.

Mirena:
She got a lot stronger too! She got easily exhausted, but now she even got strong mentally. I think if Soyo and Kano tell the new transfer-ins how they felt when we transferred-in, it’ll be a great emotional support to them.

--The elementary schoolers and the middle schoolers are really different both physically and mentally, right? Let’s move on to Shintani-san!

Sara:
She has the same hairstyle as me. We joke about it a lot. She sometimes gets too serious, but if she can show off the same huge smile/laugh as during practice, her expressions will be much better.

Mirena:
Nonetheless, because of that, she pays attention to her suroundings a lot, and I sense her trying to absorb as much as she can. I think he became the bridge between the transfer-ins and the others this year.

--Next up Hidaka-san, full of Kuroshima-LOVE

Sara:
Marin has a wild imagination, and she looks at the world in her own special way. She’s wonderful, but she has a hard time working together with everyone. She has been relying on the support of the people around her a lot, but as the number of her juniors will increase, I’d like her to borrowe some power from her contemporaries who are better at communication, and become able to properly express her feelings.

Mirena:
She shines when it comes to things she likes, so I want her to cherish these.

--On the other hand, „Talk to me” Asou-san is great at communication.

Sara:
She didn’t change much since she transferred-in, in a good way. She easily talks to people, she immediately got friendly with the transfer-ins, so I think she herself grows while teaching things to her juniors.

Mirena:
She was a spoiled child, but this nendo, I think she became the most like a big sister. I believe she’ll be able to support the seniors and the foundation of the 2017 nendo. I also think she might show off what she felt as a Fukei watching SG, next year.

--Now, the second year’s who will be the center points of the next nendo. First the trickster Okazaki-san

Sara:
Momoko is fast at learning the dance moves, and she’s really careful about the minute movements too. And because of her personality, she easily talks to people, so she’s also good at teaching. She’s a lot like [Ooga] Saki-chan. She loved dancing too, and Sakura Gakuin is a shining place where you can hone your specialties, I want her to smile her best while continuing in this state.

Mirena:
She messes up jokes intentionally, but even then she’s serious about it and she can really brighten up the room. Next nendo I think she’ll be the all-important mood-maker. She transferred-in the same year as I did and we were the two oldest, so she always heard me out and supported me. She’s a really important person to me (haha)

--Seems like she holds the key to the next nendo. Next, Kurashima-san’s contemporary, Okada-san

Sara:
She has amazing memory! She still clearly remembers the time we transferred in, and I think it’s Megu who most remembers what the graduates handed down to us. She’s good at writing and she’s good at expressing herself, so she should be able to succeed the role of handing down the traditions of Sakura Gakuin to the next batch of transfer-ins.

Mirena:
At the Valentine’s concert, I left the division of the talks to her and she handled it really easily. I don’t have much time till graduation, but I hope I’ll be able to hand down the things I learned about MCing to her.

--Excellent memory, and expressive power, she’ll surely become „The HDD of Sakura Gakuin”. Lastly, Vice-president Yamaide-san

Sara:
This year was about creating a Sakura Gakuin with the seniors in mind, so even though Aiko had a lot of thoughts, we couldn’t really consider them, I feel incredibly sorry to her. But because of that, I hope they’ll be able to freely create their own Sakura Gakuin next year! Aiko is great at talking and singing, she takes good care of her kouhais, she’s truly multicolored. If she refines these skills, she’ll be even better at supporting everyone. Smile you best in your own way!

Mirena
She scolded the others in our place we seniors couldn’t do it this year, I think this year was really troublesome for her. Because of how reliable she’s been, the others started loving her a lot, and she could pull them together.

--We’re looking forward to the next nendo! The words „The road towards becoming a Super Lady” have come up before, but am I right in saying that the unknown you'll aim towards is the road of becoming actresses? [未知/unknown is read the same way as 道/road, not sure if he meant the pun]

Both:
That’s right!

Sara:
Before, I wasn’t that good at acting, but after joining Sakura Gakuin I came to feel how amazing it is through the other members and the graduates. Now I came to really like acting, so I will work hard to hone my acting skills and become able to be called on to a role for one of Mori-sensei’s works! But that’s something for after I’ve progressed a lot as an actress. By then I want to be like Tsunematsu Yuri-san, a multi-colored actress, who’s able to play any kind of role, be it in a spring love story or a suspenseful drama!

--The Fukei would be quite shocked if you played in a spring love story next year.

Mirena:
Definitely, they’ll be like „Whoaaa, it’s that Sara-chaaan~ (cries)”

Sara:
(Looking kind of happy) What? Would they? Then I’ll smile my best to shock the Fukei with showing a new side of mine!

--There’s the S personality (haha) Kurosawa-san, you have the same aspirations.

Mirena:
As a high schooler, I’d like to try myself out in many different genres, from TV, to movies and even the stage. Someday I’d like to make use of the things I learned as an MC Chairperson and be a presenter on a TV show too. A huge dream of mine is to become a reporter for the Tokyo Olympics in 3 years and do interviews with the players. I’d like the Fukei to see me and think „Ah, Mirena is working hard too”.

--As Fukei all we can do is watch over you work hard to reach your dreams! Lastly, first Kurosawa-san, please say a message to Mori-sensei!”

Mirena:
If it wasn’t for Mori-sensei forcing out my personality, by giving me the nickname „Pro”, or telling me my face is noisy, I don’t think I’d be the same Mirena in Sakura Gakuin! Just like the others, I think Sakura Gakuin wouldn’t be the same without Mori-sensei, I want him to still be our homeroom teacher even when he becomes a grandpa [TT__TT] I hope he will continue watching over Sakura Gakuin and……. (making a smug face) I’m waiting for your job-offer after graduating (haha)

--I think when he reads this he’ll be drunk in a good way. Then, from the 6th Studen Council President, Kurashima-san, a message to the Fukei who have been always supporting you.

Sara:
Ever since I transferred in, the Fukei have been writing me letters and comments on my diaries, it really felt like they were watching over me like a brother or a father….....

Mirena:
(nodding with a noisy expression) Yes, yes, that’s right!

Sara:
No, Mirena is too noisy! (Bitter smile)

Mirena:
(laughing) Don’t worry! Just let me say „No matter how far away they are, the Fukei waving their pink flags…… We are incredibly grateful to them!”

--Adding Kurosawa-san’s thoughts, please continue, Kurashima-san

Sara:
However far away they are, coming to our shows and events, no matter how hot or cold it is, watching over us during open-air performances. I’m really happy about the warmth they give me. Because the feeling of „We want our thoughts to reach the Fukei” let us, Sakura Gakuin, grow this much. I’m full of gratefulness ❤ Thank you for everything!

    2017. 03. 02. Shibuya

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/SakuraGakuin/comments/67xa1g/kuroshima_photobook_long_interview_with_the/