I'm really happy to say that I finally got around to translating this interview! I had high expectations for the Souen interview because the CallMeNo one (though less balanced in terms of focus; it's mostly Eda speaking) had very interesing insight on the series and actresses, and I was not disappointed by this interview with Eda, Kanna and Katoshi. I hope you'll enjoy it as well!
──(To Eda) You have been writing a column in Souen magazine for seven years, and whenever there's a new project you tell me about it through our draft exchanges. What you told me about the AyaHiro 2 set was "It’s full of really amusing women!" and you sounded so excited.
Kanna and Kanna: Ahaha!
──So, how was it?
Katoshi: Yeah, it was a really fun set!
──What aspects did you find particularly interesting and entertaining?
Eda: Well, they're essentially super weird all the time. Starting with the way they move!
Kanna: Eh, really?
Eda: Yeah (laughs). When it came to comedy shoots, having them as the center, carrying everything by themselves, felt just right. The fact that we began filming Season 2 at the SPA Resort Hawaiians surely played a role in this, but it definitely wasn't a quiet set. They were super chaotic, hard to grasp, so it felt like we took off while fumbling and bustling around.
I wasn't part of the team in S1, and many of the other staff members were new on set as well. On the other hand, these two had been there since last year, so they fully understood the circumstances and were able to stay in the middle of it all, full of energy. It felt like all the staff around was being led by them!
Kanna: Wow, very happy to hear that.
Eda: The schedule was quite tough, but they never appeared as if they were under stress. I kept feeling grateful to them the entire time!
──Since you two had already worked together in Season 1, you didn't feel like there was the need for a warm-up, or did you?
Kanna: The set clearly maintained Season 1's vibe. Back then, it was Katoshi's first experience filming for a regular drama, and sets can be really chaotic and hard to deal with. I remember trying my best to avoid letting her feel all that hecticness. I felt like I had to protect her, shield her from that, so I would always be like "Come, let's go over there!".
Katoshi: SO KIND! (crying)
Kanna: But honestly, she turned out to be a much stronger woman that I initially thought. She would've been fine without me doing that! And I mean, she probably didn't hear me most of the time anyway (laughs).
Katoshi: That's true. I really didn't hear you.
Kanna: I think that, ever since Season 1, we shared this core desire of being bright and happy no matter how tight the schedule or absurd the situation.
Katoshi: Kanna’s words just now reminded me of something. At first, since I wasn't used to being on a drama set, the chaotic atmosphere felt scary at times. But Kanna and our producer Kamiura would make everything fun, and thanks to that I was able to stop worrying, and there was a clear switch in my feelings.
After all, people do live by their own feelings, so thinking "It doesn't have anything to do with me" about this or that, really helped me a lot. That side of me was able to grow during Season 1, so when it came to Season 2, I genuinely didn't hear anything. There was no time for that, I think. Thanks to everyone, I became a stronger woman and I had lots of fun!
──Eda, this was your first time working with the two of them, and also your first time directing AyaHiro. Did you have any plans or stylistic intentions in mind?
Eda: I kept saying that I'd try to make it even cuter than Season 1!
Kanna and Katoshi: So cool!
Eda: Season 2 is divided in the Hawaiian Arc (EP 1 to 3) and the Living Together Arc (EP 4 to 6). There is a clear shift between the two halves. In terms of my role, I was told to turn the first half into a big festival, so I decided I'd go wild and do pretty much whatever I wanted to.
Season 1 reached that quite typical "will they/won’t they" point that you see in many other series, but Season 2 goes beyond that, so I wanted to show more of Hiroko's vulnerability and Ayaka's strength.
For that reason, I told the camera and lighting crew to have fun and go with the festival vibe, but to also always make sure the lighting and angles are beautiful! We were constantly looking for the best angles to make the two of them shine!
──When Season 2 was announced, fans on X were overjoyed. I had no idea Season 2 was so eagerly awaited! It really felt like a festival. This drama portrays what happens after a lesbian couple gets together, which I also think it's extremely rare to see. How did you two feel about that?
Kanna: I myself have never come across a drama that shows the after of a lesbian couple getting together! Within the space of a Office GL rom-com, AyaHiro straightforwardly tries to answer the question: "What's the goal, moving forward?". It really isn't something you regularly see in a drama.
Of course, trying to tackle this topic seriously means you have to consider aspects such as the current marriage system, so there's the risk to get quite heavy, but not with AyaHiro! The comedy element is always central. We wanted to make a big festival, after all! (laughs). Even while working on Season 1 I thought the series was able to create an excellent balance between seriousness and comedy, and this time I really feel like there's truly nothing like AyaHiro!
Sometimes you can't stop sobbing, other times you get absolutely wild...there's such a wide spectrum of emotions that at times it's hard to believe it's all just one drama! It even happened that I wondered "Wait, what am I even doing right now!?" (laughs). But that's what makes it possible for us to bring everyone something new and fresh! With all the content that exists nowadays, it's hard to come by something genuinely unique, but with AyaHiro, I myself am looking forward to every new episode!
Katoshi: From the table read onward, Eda sat beside me, talking very gently and carefully. And when I didn't really understand something, she would explain it in detail, always super kindly. It made me feel really supported!
Kanna: She approaches the characters with an incredible broadness of mind! She never leaves them alone, ever. It's not common at all to find a director who is able and willing to get this close to the characters!
Katoshi: Right. I’m truly grateful. Since it's more than just comedy, and the drama also touches serious topics, I really wanted to potray my character with proper care, but there were parts I had some trouble understanding. Whenever that happened, Eda would give me advice and, thanks to that, I believe I was able to convey Ayaka's feelings through my acting!
──Is there a particular piece of advice that stuck with you?
Katoshi: From the very start of the filming, she taught me what it means to feel love! I learned a lot about the human heart!
Eda: Why are you talking as if you're not a human yourself!? (laughs)
Kanna: Eda has lived many lives already!
Katoshi: For real! I've never met someone who is able to explain emotions so carefully and thoroughly. At times, I'd feel unsure about how and why Ayaka was feeling in a particular way, and Eda would always explain everything to me until I properly got it! I feel like I was able to grow as a human being through this drama.
──From what I’ve been hearing so far, Eda brought her careful directorial style with her, but were there any changes in terms of direction based on the essence of AyaHiro 2 itself?
Eda: The base is always the same. If, for example, you direct a character in a vague way, thinking "Well, I guess that's how they are", without going deeper, viewers will notice! People who relate to Hiroko would immediately feel like "She doesn't get Hiroko at all".
Hiroko's inability to show weakness to the person she really loves, Ayaka's tendency to resolve things internally, the awkwardness and frustration that emerges from loving each other too much...I get all that. I also understand how that might appear weird from the point of view of an onlooker, and my intention was to portray all that in an endearing way.
Based on the approach, lesbian narratives set in modern Japan can easily become sort of tragic and be portrayed in a heartrending, miserable way, but AyaHiro is different. They won't become victims of their times, nor will they become perpetrators. They're living life, brightly, just the way they are. I believe that's empowering.
As of now, I'm a heterosexual (note: I know this phrasing can be sensitive, and understandably so. My two cents are that by specifying it this way, I think Eda simply meant that even though it hasn't happened so far, she doesn't exclude that something might change in the future; for plenty of people, bisexuality does blossom later on in life), so I had many conversations with producer Kamiura about how to approach AyaHiro's relationship in an earnest way. I didn't force myself to carry it all alone just because I was the director. Whenever I didn't understand something, I would consult with everyone, including Kanna and Shiho!
So, I made "not carrying everything all alone" one of the big themes for AyaHiro 2. And I was helped a lot by the two of them, because their comedic talents went beyond my expectations! It might be silly to say, but this led me to the clear and full realization of them being actresses.
We made them do a lot of things that are pretty insane, and yet they never showed even a glimpse of shame or embarrassment! They'd even strategize behind everyone's back about how to make scenes funnier!!
Kanna: We've been watched!!
Eda: You have, you have! I heard you talk about how to make the "Party Time!" line even better, for example. The dedication to the series, the attempts at making it funnier...that attitude is the essence of the image I have of what actors are. True actors aren't those who merely want to look good on screen, they're those who can do things thoroughly for the sake of the project. And that's what you are, which helped me a lot!
──Eda, you've also worked on the GL drama Call Me By No Name. As for how you handled not being a lesbian yourself, was your approach that of trying to get to the bottom of that you didn't understand?
Eda: Yes. I think it's about not pretending to understand what you don't. I'm very straightforward in facing what I do understand, but when something goes beyond my understanding, I first try to acknowledge that. The moment you start to lightly assume that you get something, people end up feeling like you're looking down upon them. Like..."Who do you think you are!?".
Sure, creating is important, but once that part is done, you have to step forward and say "I made this".
This is merely my experience, but when it comes to GL series, viewers pay very close attention, even checking the end credits, seeing who made the drama, what they did before, etc. So I feel like there's the need to strengthen one's resolve and take responsibility even more.
──Kanna, have you ever found yourself having to confront that uncertainty, that feeling of not knowing, in your portrayal?
Kanna: It might sound strange, but when I'm acting it's almost as if I become Hiroko herself, so no, I honestly never felt any particular lack of understanding. But whenever I felt like maybe my perception was a bit shallow or I was missing something, Kamiura P. and Eda would always be there, speaking to me almost like divine voices. They'd be like "Ah, you're struggling here, aren't you?" and they would guide me and help me put my feelings into the character.
I think something similar happened in Season 1 as well. I would absorb what I heard or read, and add that to my performance. For example, I once received a letter from a lesbian who told me about how she hadn't come out to anyone. I definitely integrated those perspectives into my acting.
──Katoshi, Ayaka faces her feelings for Hiroko very upfrontly. Did you also experience something similar to Kanna, with layering other's voices and experiences into your performance?
Katoshi: Hiroko is so charming that I was able to perform purely from my own heart, without any discomfort or dissonance. When I happened to feel unsure about something, I would receive hints from everyone, and then I was able to go on performing very naturally.
Kanna: Katoshi is so funny that, whenever she's thinking "Hmm, what should I do?" those feelings always end up slipping out through mumbling. Let's say she's told something like "Ayaka is supposed to appear motherly in this scene", then before starting to film you'll hear Katoshi repeat between herself "Maternal...parental...feelings...". It's almost as if she's installing the new settings!
Eda: You're so right! There were so many moments in which she was in a "Now Loading" phase!
Katoshi: Oh, that's so true! When I'm thinking, I tend to focus on a single thing, visually, and I get my brain working until it feels just right.
──I see, so you sort of internalize it that way.
Katoshi: Precisely. I reach the point when it all clicks and I get like "I see, I see!". For Season 2 we had to film many scenes on the bed, and we obviously were super close, so I guess she got to hear my process!
──Lastly, what kind of impact do you hope or expect for Season 2 to achieve?
Kanna: I personally think AyaHiro is overall a really strong drama. In terms of feelings, the creator side is just as passionate as the fans. Among the viewers there are obviously many lesbians and, in a positive way, I absolutely do perceive their gaze.
Everyone involved in this drama, from producer Kamiura and director Eda, all members from the staff and us actors, work from the foundation desire to bring change to entertainment.
First of all, why is GL so rare in a world with so much content? Entertainment has the power to change things. We all believe that AyaHiro can be a catalyst in that change.
Season 2 addresses a lot of different themes, such as what happens after a lesbian couple gets together, sex, the "goal" for lesbian couples in Japan, coming out to one's family, etc. And it tries to convey to all those people watching who might be feeling lost, that the goal they have found for themselves is just as good as any other. My expectation is for the series to be powerful message-wise, and to bring real-life insight to those who watch.
Katoshi: I think AyaHiro is a god-tier drama. No GL is as entertaining as it is.
We were able to make Season 2 all thanks to the people who got to know us through the previous season and became fans of AyaHiro. Season 2 is insanely funny, and filled with elements that I think will resonate with viewers.
We also have fans from overseas. My sincere and strong hope is for AyaHiro to spread even more widely and become a deeply loved piece of work.
Eda: When the info about Season 2 dropped, I thought about how rare it was to see women get so excited about other women! The festival vibe was surely made possible by Season 1's success. With CallMeNo, everyone was quieter in their expression of excitement. I'm personally very thrilled, because I feel like this women supporting women aspect is going to spread more and more after the drama starts airing!
Aside from Japanese viewers, CallMeNo was appreciated by many Chinese people as well, and moving from there, a lot expressed the intention to check out AyaHiro too. So, I'd be happy if the show received more attention from overseas as well.
I also absolutely want heterosexual people to watch, too. Having access to marriage, straight people might take the formation of mutual trust for granted. What's really important is not to have "marriage" itself as a goal, but to achieve that as a result of the building of mutual trust. I hope many people will watch AyaHiro, and feel inspired to think and talk about it!
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On X if you want to share:
[English] Souen Interview with Kanna, Katoshi and Director Eda!
— SapphicLoner (アリ) (@thesapphicloner) July 14, 2025
Definitely a must-read! It says a lot about the love and dedication poured into AyaHiro, and the high hopes for this series to become a catalyst for change.
Also, Katoshi might not be human. 👽#あやひろ2 pic.twitter.com/aAgHfrlYUy
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