Vol.3] "She, I Borrow (2nd season)" special feature! "In the 2nd season, I might have had a sense of a demon king" Interview and gravure with Aoi Yuuki, who plays Mami Nanami! Part 1

The second season of the TV anime "Kanojo, Oyasama" is currently being broadcast and distributed to rave reviews. This time, we interviewed Aoi Yuuki, who plays Nanami Mami, the devilish ex-girlfriend who mysteriously attacks him.

Kanojo, Oyakimasu" is a very popular romantic comedy serialized in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha) by Reiri Miyajima. The main character, Kazuya Kinoshita's ideal girlfriend, Chizuru Mizuhara, is actually a rental girlfriend ......?　The first season of the anime aired in July 2020 and gained popularity, and the long-awaited second season is scheduled to air this summer.

This time, a charming girl appears at first glance, but behind her back is a very scary side. This time, Aoi Yuuki plays the role of Asami Nanami, Kazuya's ex-girlfriend, who is a charming girl at first glance, but behind her back, she hides a very scary side. How did Yuuki portray the very strong Asami in the first season? We asked her how she played Asami in the first season and how she changed in the second season.
⇒ "I hate Kazuya, whom I disliked in the first season, but I came to like him! Part 1
⇒ "I borrow your girlfriend (2nd season)" Special Feature! vol.2] "In the 2nd season, I try to play various Chizuru's roles such as on stage and in junior high school! Interview with Amamiya Ten who plays Chizuru Mizuhara & Photogravure! Part 2

Chizuru" is something strong and cool that Asami wanted to get but couldn't

Q: The second season of the TV anime "Kanojo, Oyasama" is about to start. What was your impression of playing the role of Asami Nanami in the first season?

Yuuki: Before the anime started, there was a lot of talk about it on SNS, so I really felt the power of the original work. So I was working on the anime, hoping that people would like it even more. Asami's position in the story is very special, and she has a realistic and scheming side to her that we don't often see in anime, so I felt that it was a challenging role for me to play every episode.

I was a little scared, but the girls portrayed by Reiri Miyajima in the original story are very cute. So, from your point of view, what do you think is cute about Asami?

Yuuki: She makes you want to be tossed around a bit! I think that Asami is an important character. Her backstory is very special, so people tend to focus on that, but that's not enough to make up her position. I think she has an "attraction that I don't know what it is, but I'm drawn to her. I think there was a part of me that would be attracted to Asami if she did this to me, and I may have included my own preferences in my performance (laughs).

(Laughs) Also, the way she suddenly closes the distance between us! I think that is her main weapon. One minute she's having tea with me, and the next minute she's whispering in my ear. I thought it would be nice to create the feeling of being tossed around and controlled by Asami.

Q: So the audience is the only one who knows what's going on behind the scenes.

Yuuki That's right. The viewers are looking at it from God's perspective, so they see both sides of Asami's face, but as for Kazuya, will we be able to see a little of his dark side from the second season? Or, if anything, I feel that the current situation is not so obvious, so I think that is the clever part and Asami's dexterity (laughs).

Q: Did you feel any changes from the first season when you played the role of Asami in the second season?

Yuuki: Even the scheming Asami can't fully interfere with the rapid deepening of the relationship between Chizuru and Kazuya. There's a sense of destiny in which various heroines are thrilled with Kazuya, but their relationship with Chizuru grows deeper.

Asami is a girl who is good at taking the gray, but she gradually starts to do black things. She has reached a point where she cannot be stopped without getting her hands dirty. I thought it was a horror story ...... when Asami herself became impatient and changed her methods (laugh).

And I really like the scene with Ruka. I think Ruka is probably Asami's least favorite type of person in her history. She is straightforward, pure, and just pushes with the power of love. She doesn't back down or get scared. She used to use magic all the time, but she is weak against power types! I can see Asami's weak point, which is that she has been challenged with tricks like that. So, in the second season, I felt like I saw a new side of Asami.

Q: How was your interaction with Ruka?

Yuuki: Ruka has nothing to hide, she is so honest that even if she hid it, it would be revealed, and she pushes with the power of her love. She pushes with the power of her love for me, and it's up to me to decide how much I want to back away from her. I didn't want Ruka to seem like a bad girl, so I thought that her purity would stand out more if Asami played the heel role (laughs). (Laughs.) But Asami is not doing anything wrong either, so I was hoping that I could play the role while feeling the temperature of how the staff wanted to strike a balance between the two.

But the scenes were more intense than in the first season, so in the second season, I think I may have given off the feeling of a demon king (laughs). She is also very hard working in her own way. So if there are those who still like Asami-chan, their affection is genuine, and I hope you will cherish your own sense of her!　I laughed a little this time. I laughed a little this time, thinking, "That's scary! (laugh).

Q: But I think Chizuru is the one who has the most tricks up her sleeve. What is your impression of her?

Yuuki: I don't think there has been anyone, male or female, who dislikes Chizuru since the first season. She is beautiful but hardworking, clever but also a bit cute. But in the first period, I think she had a thick barrier against everyone. But in the second season, I wonder if that barrier, which was not there only for the grandmother, will be removed. I'm sure you will enjoy that part of the story, but the process is not convenient, and it's very good.

I think the thickness of her barrier is good and hardcore, but from Kazuya's point of view, it would be easier if he fell in love with her right away. But it isn't. I like the fact that you can properly feel the reasons why she likes Kazuya-kun a little bit at a time in a humanistic loving way, and that's the good thing about Chizuru.

The fact that she is a loving person and has a thick barrier is what I really like about her. She is proper to everyone, a bit stiff, but a good girl.

Q: That may be what Asami doesn't like about her.

YUKI: It's something strong and cool that she wanted to get but couldn't. That's why it's a complex for Asami. That's why it's Asami's complex. I really like the contrast between Asami's determination to be a good woman even though she couldn't be, and the way Chizuru continues to be a good woman. Chizuru is right, but Asami has her own circumstances.

Q: If you could sense that much, might your view of Asami change?

Yuuki: That doesn't mean I'm defending the meanness of her actions at all.

Continued in Part 2!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)