Maya Imamori plays the heroine of the Super Sentai series "No.1 Sentai Gozyuger" (TV Asahi, 9:30 a.m.), "Black" Goju Unicorn/ Sumino Ichikawa . We asked the first "female black warrior" in the history of the Super Sentai series about how she prepared for the role.
Imamori was born on March 26, 2006 and is 18 years old. She is from Miyazaki Prefecture. She started posting videos on TikTok when she was in junior high school and gained attention. She is now a member of the talent agency "Seju". She was selected as the grand prize winner in 2023 at the Miss Magazine beauty contest, run by Kodansha, which has produced such Yua Shinkawa.
This is her first time appearing in a drama series. "This was my first time going through the document screening for the Sentai audition and my first time going to the audition venue, but everyone I met was a good actor, so I never thought I would get in. It's only been about a year since I started acting, so I'm still nervous," she said.
The character she plays, Kadono, is a cool but cunning detective who also uses her charm as a weapon when necessary. "She's usually cool, but depending on the time and situation, she uses her cunningness as a Minato-ku girl. But she also cares about her family, and she works part-time at a bento shop... she's a girl with quite a variety of sides to her," she explains.
Imamori herself says that the Gojuja members have told her she's "sly!" "But it's really difficult to fully express Kadono-chan's slyness," she says, laughing. She says that she uses Mori Kasumi, a senior at her agency who is also known as the "Reiwa era's sly queen," as a reference for her role, saying, "I read all the magazines that Kasumi is in, and of course I watch her on TV!"
He said he never thought he would play a "Black" character, which has a strong masculine image, but revealed, "I had told my older sister that I was auditioning for a Sentai team, and she asked me, 'What would you do if you were asked, "What color warrior do you think you are?" and I replied, "Maybe Black. Someone who is not influenced by anything?" I was just joking around at the time (laughs)."
When asked about the highlights of Kadono, she smiled and said, "I want men to think I'm cunning and cute, and I want women to think I'm cool." She enthusiastically added, "So I want to do lots of action scenes (where I can show my coolness)!"
"No.1 Sentai Gozyuger" is a work commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Super Sentai series. The story is about five heroes with animal and dinosaur motifs fighting against the number one monster who has topped all fields, rivals with the power of past Reds, and even Gojugers themselves, over the Centa Ring, a ring that is said to grant any wish if you collect all of them.
