You're kidding, right?
Hard to believe, isn't it? But it's true.
I was shocked when I first met him too.
My first thought was, "Wow, he has Kinue-san's stage name."
And it's not a common last name either.
I never thought I'd end up a Takanashi myself.
Gosh, this is the biggest surprise I've gotten all year.
You'd better invite me to the ceremony.
You'll get bombarded with autograph requests.
I wouldn't mind.
Oh, not that I should upstage the bride.
Never mind me. The groom's going to be completely overshadowed.
Ouch!
Oh, and there was a kid named Akira in my grade at school.
Wow, really?
My life's built by all the people in your orbit, huh?
That's right.
I can't wait for you to meet everyone.
I'm looking forward to it too.
Congratulations on getting married, Ryouko-san.
Thanks.
A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA
Happy New Year!
Ugh, the noisiest one of all.
Don't say that. Have some love for your son.
Come in, Sara-chan.
Happy New Year.
Now, make yourself at home.
Oh, Nii-chan, happy New Year.
Hey, happy New Year to you too.
But forget about that. Introduce me to your wife.
Don't go asking her anything weird.
I won't. What a rude thing to say.
Yeah, sure.
Nice to meet you, Ryouko-san!
I've heard so much about you.
Seriously?
I bet it was just some nonsense about when we were kids.
I just got back from a long overseas assignment.
Sorry I haven't had a chance to say hi.
I already told her about that.
Shut up.
Oh, also, my kid says she has some questions for you.
Right, Sara-chan?
Nice to meet you. I'm Sara Takanashi.
Nice to meet you.
My name's Ryouko.
U-Um...
You're really tall, huh?
That's so lovely!
S-Sorry, I mean...
Relax.
You got this, Sara-chan!
Is it true that you're friends with this person?
Akira Takanashi
The eternally blooming prince
It is true. We were schoolmates through junior high.
W-Wow!
She was even at our wedding.
Really? Holy crap!
Isn't she the top star for male roles?
You must've been totally overshadowed.
I'll bet!
It was like it was Akira-sama and Ryouko's wedding.
Thank you for being born a Takanashi, Dad!
Not like it was up to me.
Though I'm glad you're happy.
Thank you for marrying Ryouko-san, too, Uncle!
It all comes back to her, huh?
Okay, who here wants ozouni?!
Me!
And that's how I, Sara Takanashi, ended up
going to Akira Takanashi-sama's alma mater, Awajima Revue School.
Sara Takanashi
Awajima Revue School Dorm
This is it...
The legendary dorm,
where all the Awajima Revue students stay!
The real deal!
Reception
I'm Sara Takanashi. I'll be moving in as of today.
Oh, that's right.
The RA will be right with you.
Please have a seat over there.
A reception area!
It's so classy!
Stairs!
So... old and classy!
Floorboards that creak under your feet! So classy!
What is she up to?
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I'm Koshimizu, the RA.
Oh, no, don't mind me.
Does Koshimizu happen to be written "small clear water"?
Yes, why?
My name's written "small bird playing," read as Takanashi.
I know. I saw the roster.
Wh-What a coincidence!
Is it?
Sara Takanashi is a beautiful name.
Thank you.
I get that a lot.
You wouldn't even need a stage name.
A-About that...
There's already a star named Akira Takanashi-sama,
so I'm probably going to have to change it.
Oh, that's true.
This is the laundry room.
So old! And classy!
Is it all right if I take pictures?
Huh? Sure, but...
You aren't allowed to post them or anything.
Right, got it.
I'll remember that.
These are just for me.
This is the shared bath.
Go ahead, take pictures.
Thank you!
It's a super classy bathhouse!
What a free spirit.
I like her.
She's going to lighten the mood here.
Things were so stuffy back when I was a prep student.
I don't want my underclassmen to go through that too.
I want to change things.
I wonder what I should do.
This'll be your room.
Your roommate is a fellow student named Yanagihara-san.
What is it?
Nothing. I just...
I thought I'd be sharing a room with you, Koshimizu-senpai.
Sorry, I can't help but be a little disappointed.
Wow.
We only met a few minutes ago.
Aww... We aren't together.
She's beyond friendly.
Overly attached, even.
Well, Yanagihara-san's nice too.
You want to change things?
What, you becoming a politician or something?
Not really, but...
Well, our upperclassmen were mostly trash.
She's nice, but, well...
She's a little odd, but she isn't intimating or anything.
Thank you.
I'm Sara Takanashi.
That's her real name?!
I was born in Tokyo, miraculously, with the same last name as Akira Takanashi,
who inspired me to apply for Awajima.
Written "small bird playing" and read as Takanashi?
It's too perfect!
Next, Fujisawa-san.
R-Right!
Sara Takanashi
Eri Fujisawa
I'm Eri Fujisawa.
I don't necessarily hate my name,
Sawa
Eri Fujisawa
though I would have preferred the traditional kanji for "sawa"
and "picture jasmine" for Eri.
I had a classmate in middle school named Eri-chan.
Her name was written "picture jasmine," so I wanted mine that way too.
Picture pear
Eri
Eri Fujisawa
The kanji for "sawa" in Sawanoi-kun's name was cool too.
Eri
Sawanoi
Sawa
I kept wanting to be someone else.
Maybe it's because she had "picture" in her name,
but Eri-chan's really good at drawing.
She posts her art online, but not under her real name.
And though I adore Eri-chan's name,
I think it's cool that she's taken on another identity.
Sawanoi-kun is on social media, where he goes by "Noi."
How do I know? Because he shared his secret account with me!
Does he have a crush on me, maybe?
Well, that's okay.
I'll put that aside for now.
I feel like giving myself a new name now too.
And that's why I came to Awajima!
Of course, that isn't true.
It's not, but the reason I had the urge to become someone else...
was because I fell in love with Akira Takanashi.
I-I know, right?
I have to pick a new name that'll be different from Akira-sama's.
Oh, of course.
Takanashi-san's cheerful and quick to make friends.
Before I knew it, the two of us had hit it off.
What?!
Akira Takanashi was at your uncle's wedding?!
What do you even mean?!
Totally crazy, right?
But my dad was overseas at the time,
and I was in the hospital, so we couldn't attend.
No way!
You missed your chance to meet Akira Takanashi-sama?
Can you believe it?
Biggest mistake of my life!
Just work with her onstage and you'll get to see her all the time.
T-True...
Either way, you probably shouldn't bring that up too often.
About who your relatives are and stuff.
You don't want people getting jealous.
Sorry if that's overstepping.
Oh, no, thank you.
That was a little intimidating.
Yeah...
But it kinda felt like a drama. I can't help but think it was cool.
A drama?
I guess it was no skin off your nose, huh?
D-Don't say that.
Still, it's not really anything to worry about.
I mean, you weren't trying to brag or whatever.
That girl may have been intimidating, but she was just giving you life advice.
Life advice?
Street smarts, I guess?
I never knew Eri-chan and Sawanoi-kun were in a relationship.
I liked Eri-chan, and Sawanoi-kun was one of my friends in class.
But let's say you were bragging.
What's so wrong with that, you know?
Uh-huh.
It's just that some people don't appreciate it.
Ah...
And she was just warning you that there are people like that.
Oh, that makes sense.
It wasn't that I was bragging either.
I never knew Eri-chan and Sawanoi-kun hadn't shared accounts,
nor did I care.
Noi
Is it just me, or is someone eating in class?
Tired
Noi
The account Sawanoi-kun told me about was secret and special.
I had no idea, and I didn't care.
I liked Eri-chan,
but she said she hated my guts.
She told me I didn't stand a chance of getting into Awajima.
I got in.
So I gave her the news.
In that moment,
she bit her lip slightly and said, "Okay."
She should've put on a brave face and congratulated me.
Here.
You dropped your eraser.
Oh, thank you.
She's the girl who scolded us earlier.
She's pretty when she smiles.
What's her name again?
Wasn't it Utagawa?
Utagawa...
Shizuka Utagawa
Utagawa written "Gagaku river" and Shizuka written "silent aroma"?!
Wow...
She really lives up to her name.
Later, we became friends with the elegant Shizuka-san too.
The three of us were always hanging out.
Human relationships, huh?
You're right. It's complicated.
I've had to start all my relationships over from scratch myself.
You too?!
There are all kinds of people here, after all.
Including a lot of showbiz folks.
True...
I wished Eri-chan had drawn me.
I wanted her to be proud of me.
To brag about me being her friend.
Oh no!
What do we do? Eri-san's crying!
What's wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?
You didn't need to see that! Jeez!
Are you having trouble with your roommate?
I'm perfectly fine.
What about you, Sara-san?
Getting along with everyone?
Yup.
Are you sure you're okay?
I'm fine, I'm fine.
Going back to human relationships...
I was just remembering something.
Maybe I shouldn't mention this,
but I have a secret DVD at home.
What are you talking about?
Akira Takanashi-sama is in a DVD of my uncle's wedding!
I'll have them send it to me.
Let's watch it together in secret.
Or you could come over to my place.
She's trying to cheer you up, Eri-san!
Oh, Sara-san!
If we can have it all together someday...
Shizuka Utagawa
Amazing! That was incredible!
Did you really write that script, Mister Uncle?
That's a rude thing to say.
I don't have a ghostwriter.
I know! That's not what I meant.
Thank you all for coming.
Have you already been to Yuuki Kaburagi-san's greenroom?
May we?
There was a huge line at her greenroom!
I know! And there were a ton of celebrities.
It was like a dream.
Even now, coming back to reality, I still feel like I'm dreaming.
That's what my day felt like.
Rena Araki was lined up at the greenroom to say hi.
She's so pretty!
Her face is so small!
For real!
Kanon Sasaki-san...
Yuuki Kaburagi
Do you like Yuuki Kaburagi-san?
We'd bonded over a magazine clipping I kept in a sheet protector.
You like celebrities, huh?
Why do you think Kanon told us she's related to Shun Arikawa?
It was to invite us to the greenroom, right?
Yeah, well...
Obviously, she wanted to gloat.
"Oh, don't tell anyone else."
She could've just kept her mouth shut, then.
Oh, and the "Mister Uncle" thing?
Mister Uncle!
Also, I don't even know who Shun Arikawa is.
Seriously.
I think my mom said she liked him or something.
Yikes, they're scary.
What's up with them?
They took that picture together, all happy and smiling.
They were squealing and flooding him with all sorts of questions.
And now they're talking behind her back, roasting her over lunch?
We've been classmates since elementary school, and she's always been like that.
You know the Children of Tomorrow Theater Troupe?
She's been going there since she was a baby.
You know, I'm actually in the Children of Tomorrow Theater Troupe.
So what, you know?
She's absent today because she's working as an extra, right?
Huh.
They scared the appetite out of me.
I figured they were the type to dismiss you outright if you spoke your mind.
Huh? Sure, whatever.
Look, she's pissed.
Just like that, they'd just brush you aside.
Those kinds of people.
I thought I'd at least try to stay neutral.
I wouldn't take anyone's side.
I wouldn't stand up for either.
I wouldn't join them in mocking her,
nor would I stir anything up.
I was better off being a lone wolf.
I'd keep quiet, neither hot nor cold, and I'd live my life in peace.
No way!
What's wrong?
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!
Starring Kaname Kohinata
Script by Shun Arikawa
Kyaname's performing soon!
Oh.
Kanon, for real though! Look at this!
Hey, you're right.
You like her, huh?
I adore her!
Do you think you could get me into her greenroom?
You just want to brag, don't you?
You want to flaunt your connection to a celebrity.
You don't even know Shun Arikawa that well.
You aren't even interested.
How can you bring yourself to be so shameless?
Utagawa's such a cool name. It sounds badass.
I know!
It feels perfect for her.
Right? She's so collected.
I'm not particularly collected.
But I think that was when I started pretending to be.
Although...
Huh? Are you mad? Why?
Acting is hard.
We've been together since elementary school,
so we've always kinda known each other.
Which is why they can be pretty harsh, but they aren't bad people.
They're always getting on my case too.
Sasaki-san's way was more impartial, calm, and mature.
I appreciated it, though.
Thanks.
Sasaki-san...
Kanon-san...
To tell you the truth, I want to go to Awajima.
I'm getting nervous.
I told you that you didn't have to come.
I want to be there for the results though!
It'll be awkward if I don't make the cut.
In that case, I'll console you.
I'll be there to cry or laugh with you.
You're hopeless.
She was the first person I confessed my dream to.
I was going to Awajima.
And Kanon-san was set to study abroad.
Kanon
Are the prep students presenting at the cultural festival this year?
Read
There's lots for us to do, but only the upperclassmen are performing
Kanon
Read
Aww
Kanon
Aww
Kanon
Okay, I'll make sure I'm back in Japan for next year's cultural festival!
Our dear Shizuka-san's put on a grin.
What's up?
Just a friend from middle school.
She's studying overseas.
You liar!
You said you were starting from relationship zero!
And here you're having a hot convo!
Oh?
My clique fell apart, though.
Although one person was on my side.
I-I'm so jealous...
I didn't have anyone.
You have us now.
Exactly.
Thank you!
Utagawa
Koshimizu
Hello? Hello?
S-Sorry...
I know we're supposed to go to the common room to make calls,
but this was from a friend who's overseas, so I got carried away.
It's cool.
It's just that I've always assumed
you were the quiet, proper type.
I feel closer to you now, knowing you can be pretty silly.
Much obliged.
Were you stretching while you were on the phone?
Y-Yes.
It's a habit that I haven't shaken since I was a child.
I think it's good.
It's important to be flexible.
Thank you.
Though it might be a bit rude to the person on the line.
You're absolutely right.
Also, please be careful going forward.
I will.
Well, wanna do our nighttime stretches?
It's important to be flexible.
After that,
once my roommate, Koshimizu-senpai, and I each got into bed,
we quietly did our stretches.
I can't wait to see Kanon-san.
I have kind and goofy upperclassmen.
I can't wait for you to meet them.