Day 24, rather right than right on time
Hm, in hindsight having the most important people on the most important days poses a bit of a problem... I don't have access to the entire collection of pics and clips and time to write and get into zuka-squee mode is rare, too. I'll try anyway. I'm a day behind but this is the best I can do so there.
AYANA OTO!
To be honest, I don't remember how this started. I remember people squeeing over their babies left and right on my flist and I tentatively took my eyes off Mamitroupe and Osasa to see what the fuss is all about. I also remember being all over Saeko and seeing the (first) Tsuki version of Elisabeth and someone, most likely Jenn (kyttenfae), pointing out to me that little Rudolph was Saeko's little sister. That tidbit was interesting and made me curious, but I had little love for tiny Rudolph, so that certainly wasn't the trigger.
I don't know what was but I know I started stalking Hiromi two to three months into my serious zuka phase, quite early actually, and I really wish I'd remembered how that happened. But I do remember that after researching Mami & Co. and learning everything about Osasa, Hiromi attacked on a completely unguarded flank. Her dead serious cuteness and genuine sweetness just floored me. She had been moved to yukigumi only a few months months earlier and I found myself really caring about her, whether she was happy where she was and how she was faring, looking for hints in all those Elisabeth iri/de photographs on Yahoo!. (They all looked quite stressed out and dead beat, especially Mizu. :( )
To me, she stood out because she was not at all what I had been looking for before. She had joined the revue because her sister had chosen that path, not because she wanted to become a star or be able to continue dancing (if those had been reasons she never voiced them afaik) but to be close to her beloved older sister. That's such a sweet and so very personal, emotional motivation and I started to like her as a person first. I think even after Saeko retired and Hiromi transferred to yukigumi, after some time of finding her place in the troupe and making some new friends, being on stage with friends and enjoying the performance was very important to her. I rarely had the impression that she put up a front (during talks) or did something just to please a general audience. Everything seemed to be up-close and personal for her and with her. She did some things for her fans and for her club, but even that always seems to be up-close and personal: These were the people who supported *her* so she did something *for them*.
On stage she seemed so genuine, not like she's trying to play someone but trying to be that someone. And I'm saying trying here because sometimes the 'being' didn't really work out. Oh, let's not kid ourselves, it happens to the best.
My favorite Hiromi role is Koitengu. Hands down and without question. This was not just her role, she really was that little imp. It makes me squee every time I see it.
She was also great in her other nihonmono roles, be it Amehiko in "Akaesasu Murasakino Hana", Yamanami in "Hoshikage no Hito" or Kazuya in "Yarazu no Ame". I don't know, but her performance was different, with an extra something, in those productions. It seemed to be less effort, as if it was coming easier to her.
Of all her roles in western-style musicals her Lucheni is the one I love the most. And her Lucheni is also my favorite Lucheni and you can all just stay where you are with your scholarly educated reason. I don't care who's the better singer or better creep. Hiromi's was just the right mix of nutty-crazy, creepy-crazy and dead-cute crazy in all the right moments and it killed me dead on the spot from the start. I remember watching it on the train, in an otherwise empty car, making all kinds of funny noises, LOL.
In general, she was a solid performer, but she didn't stand out as singer, dancer or actress. What was special about her was her presence on stage and how much of herself was still visible in all her roles. I think friendly personal relationships and connections are important to her and it made me happy to see how she found her place and friends in the Yukigumi family. Especially that she got along so well with Mizu, Yumiko and Tonami (that Brilliant Dreams edition was so squeeworthy!). Maybe her sweetness and innocence is just disarming and makes people protective of her. :P
There was also a special of Hiromi and Yuuhi together and it was also very sweet. I guess people can't help but love this puppy.
On this note, have the tl;dr version of why I love Hiromi:
Puppy Hiromi.
She doesn't just look cute. She *is* cute, even at the mature age of something around 30.