This interview is from the BBM website in March, when they released the BBM True Heart cards. It was split into two parts, this is the second half:

https://www.bbm-japan.com/_ct/17258166

Miyuki Takase (image from the BBM website)

Leaving behind the “dangerous rookie”

Daring to carry out a bold image change

What are Miyuki’s plans this year?

BBM: You started training in the autumn of 2016 and made your debut in January 2017, how did you feel about actually being able to get into the ring?

Takase: Now I think it’s a bit different, but before I debuted Actwres Girl’z really looked after me as a trainee, but as soon as I debuted I was treated exactly the same as the other wrestlers. The original members had been wrestling for two years right? I was treated the same as them, even when I couldn’t bump perfectly, and I started to make appearances in other promotions. So at the start it was really scary. I wasn’t really able to train much in the ring, so I didn’t really know what I should do in the ring, and my opponents were genuine pro wrestlers.

BBM: That’s certainly going to be worrying.

Takase: And one time I got really mad (haha). At that time, Saori-san (Anou) kept having matches so we didn’t really get to train together, but when we finally were together again I vented a lot to her. It was just around the time that my singles match with (Yumiko) Hotta-san was set up. And then I was told by Saori-san “you should take that energy into the match with you, and use it against Hotta-san.”

BBM: At first you had to deal with your feelings.

Takase: After the match, I was told by Hotta-san, “it’s difficult, pro wrestling. It’s not something you can take lightly, it’s something that is easy to do but not easy to understand.” I felt like I’d been told, “since it’s not easy, you need to try 100 times harder than you are right now.” From then on, lots of things changed inside me. I came to think that it’s important give 200% to the world I live in now, and try to grow every day, so I started doing lots of things after that.

BBM: Even though at the beginning you weren’t sure if you could go forward, within a few months of your debut your mindset levelled up… that’s amazing.

Takase: I think I was just that desperate (haha). I’m the type that if I decide to do something I go for broke, so I quit my part time job that I’d been doing until then, because I thought if I’m going to work part time I should be training at the same time, like working as a mover or a freight loader.

BBM: And as a result, in your first year of wrestling you were able to appear in many different promotions.

Takase: Since I got to participate in Pure-J shows, they also let me train with them in their dojo. And all I can say is that I was really lucky to be able to appear for WAVE. It’s because there was a fan who told Natsu Sumire-san about my existence.

BBM: What do you mean by that?

Takase: It must have been someone who watched WAVE and Actwres Girl’z, but I don’t know who it was. In August 2017 WAVE held their 10th Anniversary Show at the Ota-ku Gymnasium, and Natsu-san had a “white shirt” match. The wrestlers who appeared in that match were scouted by Natsu-san, and there was a fan who recommended me saying, “In AGZ there’s a wrestler called Miyuki Takase.” I was still a total rookie, so there’s no way that the people in WAVE would have known me, but when she searched online she thought I had a “face fit for a white shirt!” (haha). And Representative Sakaguchi was surprised, he said “why has Miyuki suddenly got an offer from WAVE?”

Promotion for the “white shirt match”

BBM: I’m sure he was.

Takase: So I made an appearance at the June Korakuen Hall show, and they set up my appearance at the Ota-ku Show. Of course, that was something I found out afterwards (haha). One more major thing was, at the June Korakuen Hall show there was the semi-final and final of the 2017 Catch the WAVE tournament. After I finished my match I seconded the winner, Rina Yamashita. I saw a really intense match up close and I thought, “I want to have that kind of match.” And from there I felt like I became completely absorbed in pro wrestling.

BBM: But it was a tough first year. Last year, your second year wrestling, you had over 110 matches, and you experienced being in title matches, you were really active.

Takase: I really owe WAVE a lot. In my case, the matches I had in WAVE really contributed to my growth as a wrestler. If I’d only been familiar with AGZ, I probably wouldn’t be as in love with wrestling as I am. For better or for worse, with AGZ you’re doing two things at once, you’re doing pro wrestling but also doing entertainment work, but in the case of WAVE, they all love pro wrestling, and they’re all just people who started wrestling because they want to be wrestlers. I was able to fight with them, and I was just able to learn from some of the best opponents.

BBM: Certainly your opponents were all at the top of the pro wrestling world.

Takase: The first person I had a singles match with in WAVE was (Ryo) Mizunami-san. Taking her moves, like a tackle or an elbow, her power felt totally different. Her passion in the ring was amazing, and whether she was attacking me or being attacked she was full of energy. She had the fans with her too and I thought she was really cool, it had an emotional impact.

BBM: She’s a wrestler that has intense matches.

Takase: I got advice from (Misaki) Ohata-san who watched my match with Mizunami-san and said, “your dropkick form is a bit off, it would be better if you do it like this.” And in the next match, Ohata-san watched me and said, “your dropkick has gotten better. You really practiced it didn’t you,” I’d had senpai that had given me advice before, but Ohata-san was the first person who had really watched and given me advice on how to improve. It really felt rewarding, I was so happy.

BBM: She really paid attention to you.

Takase: My dropkick was taught to me from scratch by Leon-san and Hanako Nakamori-san of Pure-J, so it’s a really important move to me. But to have someone point out that my form was off and then watch me improve, it made me feel that people took wrestling seriously. At the beginning I wanted to have matches with these people, I wanted to learn from them. So to get really precise advice from them made me really thankful.

BBM: When you’re asked now, “what is your profession?” how do you answer?

Takase: I answer that I’m a pro wrestler. I don’t say “I’m an actor”.

BBM: In the midst of you building up experience Actwres Girl’z held their first Korakuen Hall show last November, and there was a real…

Takase: Image change, right? (Haha)

BBM: If we compare with last year’s BBM card you look like a totally different person (haha). Actually on that day we were told that you were planning a new costume. Since it was just the time for the card photography, as insurance we took a picture with the old costume. But now…

Takase: Before I used to have long black hair, and I wore it in a ponytail. I started that when I was in Kagawa Prefecture playing Taira no Kiyomori (haha).

BBM: What on earth happened?

Takase: First of all, I thought I needed to repair my gear. The number of matches I was doing increased and my gear was getting worn out, so I wanted new gear to match our first Korakuen Hall show. At the Korakuen Hall show the main event was the final of the tournament to crown the first AGZ champion, and the tournament started at a prior show. I was full of confidence that I could win the title, but I lost.

BBM: You had regret about not advancing I guess.

Takase: What I came to realise was, while I was appearing for WAVE as well, that I had the image of a “rookie that doesn’t seem like a rookie.” I wanted to get rid of the image the fans had that “Takase is still just a rookie,” and “she lost, but she tried hard.” In order to be seen as Miyuki Takase, the pro wrestler, I wanted to change from my foundations.

BBM: So you cut your hair…

Takase: I’d actually been thinking about cutting my hair since I started wrestling. But, there are lots of wrestlers in AGZ with short hair aren’t there? I didn’t want to lose some of my personality. So I had some hesitancy about cutting my hair. But I thought, “as a pro wrestler, this is the start of a new year,” and decided to do it. I also reduced the fluttering decorations on my gear.

BBM: When you did the opening act at Korakuen Hall I didn’t realise that you had cut your hair, so I thought, “why isn’t Takase here?” (Haha)

Takase: That’s right. I was actually a bit reluctant to go out to the merch area before the show. I wanted people to be surprised when I made my entrance, so I thought “should I unveil my new look at the merch stand…?” But since it was busy I had to go out, but even so the fans were standoffish. It was like they thought I was a new trainee (haha). Some fans said to me, “I thought that Miyuki didn’t have a merch stall.”

BBM: The impact was massive. And it looked really cool. It was popular wasn’t it?

Takase: About 10% of the people said, “I liked your long, black hair,” but mostly the people were positive, and said things like, “your short hair looks good.” I was also happy I cut my hair. Plus more fans approach me now than when I had long hair. It’s probably because I looked frightening (haha).

Takase’s old and new costumes (image from the BBM website)

BBM: As a result, with this year’s cards there are now photos of your old look and your current look, so it’s good value.

Takase: I hope people get both (haha).

BBM: You were chosen to be on the BBM box this year, and you had lots of matches last year, so what do you want to accomplish this year? What sort of year do you want your third year in wrestling to be?

Takase: At the last show of last year, the 2017 team [Takase, Himeka Arita and Kakeru Sekiguchi] had a match against the original members [Saori Anou, Tae Honma, and Nao Kakuta] and even though it wasn’t a singles match we won. And at the first show this year I challenged Saori-san for her belt, but I couldn’t beat her. So on that note, this year I want to win a belt. [Something that she accomplished when she won the Beyond the Sea tag team titles at the April 28th Seadlinnng show]. Last year I aimed to win a belt, but now I have the strong desire to leave behind my rookie days, and come into my own as a wrestler.

BBM: I’m sure that you will accomplish that.

Takase: I’ve managed to improve my personal levels of power, but this year I want to win a belt and use my actions to my spread the name of Actwres Girl’z. I don’t feel like I’ve led AGZ forwards yet, and I think that there are some fans that don’t think “AGZ is synonymous with Miyuki Takase.” But there are lots of wrestlers who make appearances for other promotions, so if they’re asked “who do you think of when you say AGZ,” if there are people who would say Saori-san and the other original members, I think that there are people who would say myself, Kakeru Sekiguchi, or Himeka Arita.

BBM: On the other hand, there is now another new promotion within AGZ called Color’s. What do you think about that?

Takase: If you talk about the promotion splitting, to me it’s the same Actwres Girl’z. So I think that synergy will be created by splitting into two. As for the make-up of the members, Color’s have SAKI-san, but other that it’s a lot of people who have just debuted isn’t it? Beginning has the original members, and us, the Actwres Girl’z that people are used to seeing. So Color’s, that SAKI-san has created, will have a different character I think, and hopefully we will be able to improve each other’s good points.

BBM: You don’t feel a sense of rivalry.

Takase: Well Color’s obviously has a lot of rookies, so even when the two groups faced each other, you can say that they have SAKI-san, but right now I think Beginning has the advantage. But if I think of future development, that’s the attraction of Color’s. In all honesty, SAKI-san is someone who can take them forward.

BBM: I’m sure that’s right.

Takase: We have competition in terms of the number of shows and attracting customers, but rather than thinking of each other as enemies that feud with each other, I hope that we can mutually help each other to grow. And within Beginning there are some wrestlers like Himeka [Arita] who are threatening to catch up with me, so I can’t lose to them.

BBM: At the last Beginning show you faced Maika Ozaki in a singles match. And just now the name of a power wrestler like Arita came up – it seems like you are a wrestler that fights with power, but also that a different approach is needed.

Takase: Yes, I think that I can’t focus too much on power. With AGZ it might be said that I am strong, but when I went to WAVE, I realised that no matter how much I tried I couldn’t overcome Mizunami-san’s lariat or guillotine. I like head-to-head contests, but when I think of belts you have to prioritise winning don’t you.

BBM: Because you’ve failed to win belts when you fight bravely.

Takase: When I participated in Catch the WAVE last year, I thought that I shouldn’t just do what I like to do, I also have to do whatever it takes to win.

BBM: She retired at the end of last year, but [Misaki] Ohata was a good role model wasn’t she.

Takase: I really think so. Right now, when I compare with Himeka who can lift the heavier dumbbells, I still think it’s me. But if we line up in the same way, in terms of physique she overwhelms me. Even if you say it’s good not to compare yourself to others when training, there’s a limit to that. So when I think about what I need to do in order to overcome that, it’s things like fighting style, and moves. In fact, it’s because Ohata-san was able to beat Mizunami-san, who was bigger than her, with her power.

BBM: So this is literally the year that you level up.

Takase: I’ve come to this point frantically, so I will readjust that. I want to show a new side of myself.

BBM: I think there are people who will get to know Miyuki Takase and Actwres Girl’z through this interview. What do you want to show them?

Takase: As far as wrestling goes, AGZ still hasn’t fully matured. But since we are still not fully mature, we are all desperate to succeed. I think people might feel “impatient” when they are watching, but if you keep watching a bit longer, you’ll see us become able to do things that we can’t now. You can see this process of development in all the wrestlers, so I would like people to pay attention to that. There’s obviously something great about watching people that are fully developed, but I think it can be fun to keep watching wrestlers who are in the process of developing.

BBM: And amongst that, how about yourself…

Takase: When you feel stress building up, or you want to take a weight off your shoulders, please come and see my matches (haha). I’ll take those negative feelings and beat up my opponents for you.

BBM: Because in a good way you are a chivalrous wrestler (haha).

Takase: I was told by my parents that, “the only person that thinks you are a maiden is you”. [The term for “chivalrous” used here has masculine overtones, which I assume is why Takase brings this up]. Sometimes I dress up, and it’s enough for me, I think that it’s feminine, but it’s not acknowledged by other people (haha).

BBM: I think that you are totally different in the ring and out of it, I want to watch a match and then go and see you afterwards at the merch stand.

Takase: Yes, I’m really not scary. Actwres Girl’z, us in Beginning and the other group in Color’s, have lots of shows, and there are ACT shows where all the wrestlers appear. And on April 30th the next AGZ Korakuen Hall show is planned. Please come and meet me at a show.

All translations are unofficial, and all mistakes are my own. If you would like to support my translation work you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/twf870928