We interviewed Maya Imamori, who plays the heroine of the Super Sentai series "No.1 Sentai Gozyuger" (TV Asahi, Sunday 9:30 am) and the "Black Warrior" Goju Unicorn/ Sumino Ichikawa . We asked her about the main story that started in March and the movie " No.1 Sentai Gozyuger Revival of Tega Sword" (directed by Ryuta Tazaki) that was released on July 25th.
Imamori was born on March 26, 2006 and is 18 years old. She hails from Miyazaki Prefecture. She started posting videos on TikTok when she was in junior high school and attracted attention, and was scouted by the talent agency "Seju" to make her debut. She was selected as the Grand Prix winner in 2023 at Kodansha's Miss Magazine beauty contest, which has produced Yuki Saito, Kana Kurashina, Yua Shinkawa and others.
When asked about the reaction after appearing in "Gojuja," she said with a smile, "My grandmother supports me the most." She continued, "When I moved to Tokyo, she told me, 'I'm sad that I won't be able to see you on TV anymore, but I'm looking forward to seeing you on TV someday,' and now she sends me LINE messages saying, 'I watch it every week,' which makes me happy!"
Filming was full of first-time experiences, including action scenes. He especially struggled with the dubbing. "At first, there were so many things I didn't understand that I almost cried. But recently, I feel like I've finally gotten in sync with Gojuu Unicorn. In the past, we sometimes didn't finish recording at the scheduled time, but recently we've been able to finish in an hour, and the director even told me, 'You've all gotten better!'" he said happily.
Kadono is a cool but charming detective who uses her charm as a weapon when necessary. "I played the role with the intention of not wanting to become a character that would not be liked by people of the same gender, but I'm happy when I get comments from women saying, 'I love your playful side!'" she said, smiling at the reaction from her fans.
In the movie, there is a scene where all the Gojugers try their hand at beach volleyball. Imamori herself has experience playing volleyball. "I played volleyball from the first grade of elementary school until the second grade of junior high school, so I was excited to show off my skills, but I couldn't do it well (during filming) (laughs). But the boys in Gojuger are all good athletes, so they were good at it. When I asked them, 'Have you ever played?' they said, 'No, it's just for fun,'" she said, revealing what happened behind the scenes with a wry smile.
It's rare for the Gojugers, all with their own unique personalities, to join forces, but in the movie they unite in front of a powerful enemy. "Even when they're playing beach volleyball, they don't work well together at first, but they gradually get along and even form a circle. It's a rare sight because they don't work together in the main story (laughs). Even when they're united, they still have their share of mismatches, just like the Gojugers, so I think that's one of the highlights," he said.
The movie "No.1 Sentai Gozyuger: Resurrection of Tega Sword" is currently being shown as a double feature with the movie "Kamen Rider Gavv" (TV Asahi, Sundays at 9 a.m.) and "Kamen Rider Gavv : Invaders of the House of Snacks" (directed by Sugihara Teruaki).
*The correct pronunciation of the character "崎" in Director Tasaki Ryuta's name is "tatsusaki."
