Vol.5] "How can I express Ruka's preciousness?" Interview with Nao Higashiyama, who plays Ruka Sarashina, and photogravure of the interview! Part 1

The second season of the TV anime "Kanojo, Oroshimasu" is currently being broadcast and distributed to rave reviews. This time, we interviewed Nao Higashiyama, who plays the role of Ruka Sarashina.

Kanojo wo Ouboushimasu" is a popular romantic comedy series written by Reiri Miyajima and serialized in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha). 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.

The newest addition to the cast is Nao Higashiyama, who plays the role of Ruka Sarashina, the aggressive girlfriend (temporarily) who may be pushy, but her feelings for Kazuya are second to none.

I was thinking about how I could express the preciousness of Ruka.

Q: How did you feel when the second season was decided?

Higashiyama: The original work was popular and I felt the great response after the anime started, so I was wondering if I could expect a continuation. I was wondering if I could expect a continuation, so I was happy to see that become a reality.

Besides, there was a constant stream of goods during the second season, and all of them were cute!　As a person involved in the project, I thought it was no wonder that the series was so popular, with all the wonderful illustrations by Hirona Hirayama (character designer).

I heard that Ruka was also very popular.

Higashiyama: During the postrecording stage, I had no idea that she would be so loved by everyone. Of course I, the actress, thought she was cute like my own child, but I had heard that men have a strong desire to chase after her, so I thought that a more mature woman like Chizuru or Asami would be better. I also heard that men have a strong desire to chase after men, so I thought that mature women like Chizuru and Asami would be better.

So I thought that if he was spoiled like Ruka, he would get cold feet. But that is not always the case. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are staff members who like Ruka, and it makes me really happy when I realize that Ruka is loved by everyone.

Q: What do you think is the charm of Ruka?

Higashiyama: I think it's the fact that she has a passion that is not common among people. When I first saw Ruka, I thought it was amazing that she was able to display so much horsepower in her love life. She was so energetic that even during recording sessions, she would make sure her stomach was full so she wouldn't run out of energy before recording.

Kazuya is at a disadvantage because he has feelings for Chizuru, so when he says "I love you" so many times, I felt that it was a bit too much and that he was being a little too loud. I thought it was a fine line between saying "I love you" over and over again and coming off as childish.

I had to be careful to make the character cute and not overjoyed at being approached so forcefully.

Q: So it's a difficult character to find the right balance.

Higashiyama: It's hard to explain in words, but I feel like I have to find the perfect balance between Ruka's aggressiveness and cuteness. While doing it myself, I had to think about how I could express Ruka's preciousness, adjusting things if I felt they became a bit forced.

Were there any directions given to you?

Higashiyama: I didn't receive specific direction very often. But if I let my guard down even a little bit, I would sound like I was losing power, so I wanted to play Ruka with the energy that she has. I wanted to play Ruka's energetic side well. I was directed to do so from time to time. As for her powerfulness, I felt that she did not make it easy for me at all (laughs).

You also have an image of being powerful and energetic, don't you?

Higashiyama: I am certainly energetic myself, but Ruka's power is amazing!　If I don't move around in front of the microphone, I don't become Ruka if I do it quietly. Also, during the "on-duty" times, I get pretty out of it. I work that hard to express Ruka.

I like Ruka because she seems to be very patient, but her rival is a strong enemy, isn't he? From Ruka's point of view, and from Higashiyama-san's point of view, how do you see the character of Chizuru?

Higashiyama: Now that I have finished playing Ruka in the second season, my image of Chizuru is being updated, but since the first season, I have felt that Chizuru is a strong woman and somewhat unmatched. ......

From my point of view, Chizuru actually has a fragility as well, and she covers up her weakness with her strong self, which I think is unfair because the more I get to know her, the more I like her (laughs), but she is a cool character from a male point of view and a respectable character from a female point of view. He is a professional as a rental girlfriend, but he is also a professional as an actor, so he is a professional as a human being! I feel like she's like that, and she seems seamless. However, in the second season, we gradually see that she is someone who needs someone to support her.

But Ruka may not be aware of her weakness, so she may feel that Chizuru is just a strong and perfect woman, and that she is young, and she is aware that she is running with the feeling of love, and that she is just a woman that Kazuya will fall in love with, so I think she will have a hard time comparing the two. That's why I think it's even more painful for him to compare her with him.

That's why Ruka is trying even harder.

Higashiyama: She becomes more and more impatient, wondering how she can make Kazuya fall in love with her. When she reaches her limit, what kind of action she will take may be a highlight.

I wonder how it would be like to be in the second position from the beginning.

Higashiyama: Well, I myself didn't really understand why Ruka was attracted to Kazuya in the first place. In the first season, I was on the anti-Kazuya side (laughs). Ruka said that since he was so gentlemanly and kind to his rental girlfriend, if she were his real girlfriend, he would take better care of her, but now that I think about it, I don't think that's the only reason. They say that love is something you fall in love with, so I think there was something more intuitive about Ruka. I think Ruka was thrilled with Kazuya because they were on the same wavelength, or she felt something in her heart that she couldn't put into ...... words, but she could feel it.

However, I think it is even harder for Ruka now because she has been in a state of frustration for so long that I feel she has a bias toward the feeling of love she felt at first. She's been given too little water, and she's been saying, "Water! Water! I think it's a state of "water!" ......

Q: What did you think changed in Kazuya's image in the second season?

Higashiyama: I think it is very difficult to put feelings for someone into action. It is not good to be self-centered. ...... But in Kazuya's case, he wanted to help the other person!　I want to help them! I think it's great that Kazuya's actions were in line with what he wanted to help the other person. That is not something you can aim for easily, and I thought he was able to fit what Chizuru was looking for because he was able to watch Chizuru carefully and think correctly. It's a tough part for me as Ruka, but ....... I love the fact that he's not motivated by the desire to drop her, but rather he's trying to help her out in a cerebral way.

To be continued in Part 2!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Junichi Tsukagoshi)