Mirage² Talk About How They've Grown Through "Phantomi" and How Meeting Fans Have Changed Them
The four member girl group "mirage²" from the drama "Secret x Heroine Phantomirage!" (TV Tokyo Series) will release their best album on June 24.
From April 7, 2019 to June 28, 2020 the series "Secret x Heroine Phantomirage!" aired as the 3rd season, following "Idol x Warrior Miracle Tunes!" and "Magical x Heroine MagimajoPures!".
And from those works, the girl groups "miracle²", "magical²" and "mirage²" joined together to create the 9 member girls performance group, "Girls²".
Their best album "MIRAGE☆BEST -Complete mirage² Songs-" is the permanent version that includes all the songs that mirage² have released to date. In addition, a mirage² version of Girls² songs will be included as bonus tracks. The bonus DVD includes all MVs, dance videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and transformation scenes from "Phantomirage".
All of mirage² events until now have garnered the attention of over 50,000 people, attracting both kids and adults alike. They've made outstanding performances in the real world, out of their drama, by appearing on "Oha Suta" (TV Tokyo Series) as Oha Girl from Girls². This time, we've met up with the members to talk about their memories with fans, how much they feel like they've grown, looking back over the past year and to recommend songs from the album (Yui Sato; 佐藤結衣).
One year ago, I was full of worry and tension.
-- This is your first appearance on Real Sound, please introduce yourself.
Saki Asumi (Saki from now on): "It's a complete beginning!" Lover of the latest trends and information on entertainment, I am Saki Asumi (Kira Yamaguchi)!
Kokomi Sakurai (Kokomi from now on): "My heart is fluttering!" Bright and energetic, lover of everybody's smiles, I am Kokomi Sakurai (Minami Hishida)!
Yotsuba Shizuki (Yotsuba from now on): "I want to protect those precious to me!" Cool and poker faced, I am Yotsuba Shizuki (Toa Harada)!
Seira Kureha (Seira from now on): "You are, Phantomi-like!" Everyone's older sister who is good at hair arrangements, I am Seira Kureha (Ran Ishii)! It's a pleasure to meet you!
-- It's a pleasure to meet you too! First off, how did you feel when it was decided you would star in "Secret x Heroine Phantomirage!" and the unit mirage²?
Saki: I was pretty surprised. I had auditioned for the work but I remember being extremely nervous when singing and dancing because the directors were all there.
Kokomi: I was super nervous too. There were so many people I didn't know at the audition venue...
Saki: All my friends at the dance school suddenly became my rival at the venue, so I became even more nervous. That's why, when I got the role, I was happy to say "I'm glad I did my best!". It was my first time acting so it was a challenge but I decided to work hard and face it head on with positivity.
Yotsuba: For me, I'm naturally tense so I tend to get looked down upon, and I'm not good in public places but I wanted to bring smiles and energy in "Phantomirage!", and I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do it. But when we started it was really fun and I feel like it's opened up a new path for me.
Seira: Unlike the three, I joined as a new member in September 2019, the shoot started last minute when it was decided I would appear. I'm used to dancing cool dances at the dance school so I was worried I wasn't going to be able to act bright and cheerful like Yotsuba. It was also my first time acting, and I appeared half way so I was feeling a lot of emotions, like if I could keep up with the others. But I got close to the 3 quickly and the fans cheered me on, so it was a really quick yet strong year.
-- When did you all learn to perform such as singing and dancing?
Saki: In first grade elementary, my mom brought me to a dance school. My mom originally wanted to dance but she couldn't, so I guess she entrusted it to her daughter instead (lol). At first, when I took the trial lesson, I said it "it wasn't fun" but my mom persuaded me and said "why don't you try one more time?". I remember it was more fun so I'm glad I went back. If I hadn't, I wonder what I would be doing now... I'm grateful!
Yotsuba: I wasn't interested in this kind of thing at first. I did soccer with my older brother but when he quit I said something like "so are you going to dance?". I started dancing in kindergarten but I started singing just a little before "Phantomirage!" started.
Kokomi: Eh, is that so! I admired E-girls since I was little, and I wanted to be an artist who could sing and dance, so I started learning dance and singing in first grade elementary. So when we performed as the opening act for E-girls with Girls², my heart was pounding!
Seira: I too admired E-girls. I learned cheer dancing at 3 years old but in fourth grade elementary, I learned about E-girls so I began dance and vocal lessons. I wanted to be like E-girls so I worked hard and set goals for myself everyday.
That scene in episode 1 was a true story!?
-- Do you think you play characters who are similar to you?
Kokomi: I think Kokomi and I are pretty similar. In episode 1, there was a scene where I was eating cherry tomatoes, but I had done something like that before so it was almost a true story. (lol)
Saki: Ahaha! Kokomi has an energetic and bubbly image, but you're normally quite calm right? She's the youngest amongst the members but she's the most mature. There's that difference. When she becomes Kokomi, I say "Aw how cute!" but when she returns to normal I'm like "Oh, what an adult~". But when there's music playing or there are sweets, she runs around eating and her energy rises.
Kokomi: Lately, I've been careful to not eat so much (lol) Saki is just a bright and energetic character. And then theres the fashion trends. Whenever we talk and I find some news online, she always already knows.
Saki: Really? (lol) I do always have my phone in hand so I may as well check. Like calling or texting my friends. And when I watch the news on TV, I say "ah so there's something like that"... That's why whenever I talk to Kokomi, I say "I know~". But it's not like I'm concerned, I just know.
Kokomi: But, you use "pien" (slang for being happy or sad) and "manji" (swastika)!
Saki: That's because my friends from my hometown use modern language in high school, but I ended up catching on and using it too. Nowadays, finger hearts with "kyun!" (heart wringing) is popular on SNS.
Kokomi: I'm always introduced to new trends.
-- What about you Yotsuba and Seira?
Yotsuba: Yotsuba is a cool poker faced character, I think we're similar because we're both not good at expressing our emotions. But Yotsuba can study and gets good grades, I don't... (lol)
Seira: Ahaha! I have quite the difference between my character and I. When I looked at Seira profile like "Descendant of Phantom Thief family" and "maintain the pride of the 3", I thought "wow, that's a high hurdle!". There was a lot of pressure for me to be able to perform properly because she's a character with a lot of personality.
The difference between your first meeting
-- Kokomi, Saki and Yotsuba, your first meeting was when it was decided you were to be mirage²?
Saki: Yes. We had met for the first time during rehearsals a month before the filming started.
Kokomi: Back then, Saki was much more like an older sister. She was a lot more innocent then than she is now but did you calm down when you became a high schooler? (lol)
Saki: Whew, that's good! When we first met, Kokomi was a 6th grader in elementary, so from my point of view I was like "there's a kid here that's like a baby! How cute!". She was very quiet and didn't seem to talk much. Her calmness hasn't changed but compared to back then, she talks a lot more.
Kokomi: That may be true! I'm not shy but I can't talk to older people. It's easy to put up a wall when you talk to someone for the first time. But from the shadow of the wall, I look at the person, get to know them and then gradually let myself loose.
-- Seira, you started half way right? What was that like?
Seira: To be honest, the three of them were already experienced, and at first there was a lot of times where I felt awkward. But Saki took initiative. I thought, what a reliable leader. And, I had actually met Yotsuba before mirage². In the dance school when I was waiting to get my photo taken, Yotsuba passed me, sitting and waiting. At that time, we made eye contact and I thought "what a cute girl!" but at the same time, she was so cool that the atmosphere was scary (lol) When I was told I would be part of mirage², I saw the photos of the members and I shouted "it's that girl!" from the bottom of my heart. I was a little wary when we met but now I love Yotsuba's unique atmosphere.
Yotsuba: Ah~ At that time, I was nervous and not good at greetings (lol) I don't remember much from that time but my impression of Seira was that she was a serious girl that always studies. But I was surprised that such an interesting character popped out when shooting.
Seira: But I'm not really a serious character, it was the first time I had that kind of work place and I didn't know what kind of people were going to be there, so I may have been like a model student... But when I opened up to everyone, I burst open in various ways! (lol)
What song do you recommend is "like the members!"
-- In the best album "MIRAGE☆BEST -Complete mirage² Songs-", please recommend us some songs and which ones you're fond of!
Saki: For me, I recommend the newest song "Let's Walk" (Arukidasou). When you understand the message contained in the lyrics, it's full of words that will encourage you, it'll spread the idea "Maybe I can do this". To people who have a dream, and to people who are looking for a dream, it's a song that'll touch your heart so I definitely want you to listen to it.
Yotsuba: I too recommend "Let's Walk". I most especially like the choreography during the musical interlude. It's the first time I've danced that kind of genre but when I saw it for the first time I thought "can I do this..." but when you can dance it, it's a lot of fun. I would like you to pay attention to the choreography!
Kokomi: For me, I recommend "Rock Paper Scissors" (Janken Pon). It's in our debut single but in the MV, there are EXPG Kids dancers and I remember playing rock paper scissors with all of them like a train.
Seira: For me, I want to recommend "You're the Best Friends!" (Kimi wa Saikou Friends!). The song is also included in the Miracle (Kiseki) Mini-Album, we haven't been able to show it directly to our fans at the release events. The choreography is cool and it's different to the usually energetic and smiley mirage², so I want to hurry and show it.
-- You just talked about the release events just now, is there anything that left an impression on you when you interacted with the fans?
Yotsuba: Every venue we go to is impressive, but I just can't seem to forget the scenery at Sapporo Dome. When I first went to Hokkaido, I thought "I wonder how many people will be there" or "there may not be a lot of people who come"so I was very surprised to see there were more people than I had imagined.
Seira: That was really cool! It was the first time the four of us stood together on stage. It was summer and the weather was really nice so I was happy to hear fans say "it's hot but do your best!". After that, a lot of little kids would tell me "I love you!", it made me think it would be good to work hard.
Singing, dancing and laughing to the new stage!
-- Are there any places during your activities as mirage² that you thought "I grew here"?
Saki: It's definitely acting, since it's my first time experiencing it. In comparison to when I didn't do it, I'm still a little inexperienced but I wanted to take on more challenges in acting and over the past year, I gained more confidence little by little.
Kokomi: For me, it's dance. Everyone is naturally good at it and it was hard for me to keep up, so it was a little frustrating. In the past, I would store all the frustrated feelings all by myself within me, and I wasn't able to change the power to practice. Over the past year, I've gotten stronger and I'm now able to do a lot more various active things. During release events, I was tense at first and quick to talk but now I have fun speaking more gradually. I think I was able to overcome any difficulties because I had friends with me.
Yotsuba: What I think I grew most in is that I'm able to smile a lot more. Even when I think I'm laughing, it often feels like I'm not because I don't have any facial strength. (lol) However, the amount of times I've stood in front of the fans has increased and I'm now able to smile more naturally. Back then, I could only say words like "yeah" or "don't need it" in conversations. But Saki advised me "you should speak a little more", now I can communicate with the other members and I learned how fun it is to talk. Now I'm able to say what I think.
Seira: Yep yep! Me too, in the past I would always say my opinion and I was not good at interacting with other people but through these activities I became more active by connecting with the members and staff. And working together, in terms of performances, I feel like I've been able to "show my own charms". I think I've acquired the conscience to not only dance well but to allow those watching to enjoy it.
-- Would you like to play do active roles in the future?
Saki: Of course I want to do more artist activities but because I've experienced acting through mirage², I want to continue working as an actress!
Kokomi: Now that we're appearing on Oha Suta, I feel like variety is a lot of fun. Since I was able to experience a lot of things in the past year, I want to expand my horizons and challenge more things in the future.
Yotsuba: I also want to aim to do more solo activities as an artist but I also want to perform on a big stage as a group. Right now, Girls² aim is an arena tour!
Seira: The live tour we had been preparing for this year had been cancelled, and it was everyone's dream to "definitely do an arena tour someday". I want to make it happen!
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