“A New Role Model for Takarazuka Revue Members…” Up-and-Coming Actress Yui Karen: “The Determination She Showed in Her First Lead Role in a Drama”

 A Question That Arose During Her Time at Takarazuka

“I grew up watching lots of live-action adaptations of shōjo manga. And every time I watched them, the actresses gave me courage. So I’m so happy to be in that position myself!”

Yui Karen (28), who shone as a leading lady in the Tsuki Troupe during her time with the Takarazuka Revue, has continued to showcase her talent to the fullest since making the transition to the world of film and television in ’23.She has appeared in as many as 20 TV dramas, and on July 8, her first co-starring drama, *The Dry Colleague’s Obsession with Love* (BS TV TOKYO, every Wednesday from midnight to 12:30 a.m.), will premiere.

“The heroine of this series is a woman who has become hesitant about romance because she can read other people’s feelings through ‘scents.’ I’ve appeared in several romantic comedies before, but my roles were always as a love rival. My love never worked out (laughs). This time, it might be the first time my feelings are reciprocated… I’m already getting butterflies just thinking about it.”

The drama is set at a perfume manufacturer. The set was reportedly enveloped in glamorous scents.

“My co-stars, Taiga Fujibayashi (27) and Yui Oguri (24), also love perfume. They’d wear a different scent every day, and we’d chat about things like, ‘Where’s that from?’ If I were to wear perfume in my personal life, I’d go for a light, floral scent.”

Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Yui Karen entered the Takarazuka Music School at age 15 and joined the Tsuki Troupe as a member of the 101st class. She was cast as the lead heroine for the first time in the 2017 production of “All for One.” While on an elite career path, she says a “certain aspiration” began to take root in her fifth year with the troupe.

“When you think of a traditional Takarazuka ‘musume-yaku’ (female lead), you picture a demure, Showa-era style—someone who walks three steps behind the ‘otoko-yaku’ (male lead). But starting in the late Heisei era, the culture of overseas musicals began to influence Japan, and the portrayal of women on stage shifted toward stronger, more alluring characters. Yet I found myself wondering, ‘Why aren’t there any cool ‘musume-yaku’ in Takarazuka?’”

Within the tradition-bound world of Takarazuka, she continued to explore a new style. Then, following the final Tokyo performance of the Moon Troupe’s April ’23 production of *Ōten no Mon* and *Deep Sea – Carnival of the Sea Gods*, she decided to leave the troupe.Feeling that she had realized her own vision of a “cool female lead,” she was driven by a curiosity to “see a new world.”

Although she could have aimed for the top star position in theater, she chose the world of film as her second career.

“I want to become a new role model,”

“Most of the senior members who’ve transitioned from Takarazuka to the entertainment industry are those who reached the pinnacle as top stars. There aren’t that many examples of ‘musume-yaku’ (female leads) like me—who didn’t become top stars—taking on leading roles in movies and TV dramas and achieving success. I want to become a new career model for Takarazuka Revue members—that’s my goal.”

Yui Karen also appeared in the Sunday Theater series “GIFT” (TBS) during the April season this year. There, she had a heartwarming encounter with a top actress.

“Kasumi Arimura (33) is incredibly thoughtful and has a warm aura that envelops everyone around her. Plus, she’s demure yet has a strong inner core.When I mentioned, ‘I love incense that smells like black tea,’ Ms. Arimura actually brought that very incense to the set for me. She even had the same incense holder I use, and that instantly brought us closer.”

Yui Karen, who says this, is also building closer relationships with her co-stars and the production staff through her homemade sweets.

“I’m really into baking bread, and on days when I have a full day off, I start mixing flour and kneading dough the moment I wake up. It’s pure bliss. Just recently, I brought homemade focaccia and banana cake to the set as a treat.

I used to be an outdoorsy type back in my Takarazuka days, but ever since I started working in film and TV, I’ve become a total homebody (laughs). I follow almost every drama series each season, and I go to the movies often, too. Lately, I’ve been hooked on action movies like *Tyler Rake: Extraction* (Netflix). I’d love to try my hand at action roles someday.”

With determination, she has set out for new horizons and is about to take a giant leap forward.