Happy (belated) birthday, Ruby Kurosawa!
Your drive to overcome your shyness and your eventual success in doing so is what really struck a chord with me!
You were my initial best girl for Aqours. When Aqours was the new group in town and the initial R cards were introduced to the sticker shop, your card stood out to me the most. I really liked your character design! Your ruby red hair was striking, and your facial expression and body language conveyed that you were the shy girl of the group, and I’m often drawn to shy and/or introverted characters. I thought that you were the most adorable of the Aqours members (still do), and I prematurely picked you as my best girl. I was eager to find out more about you. Once I did find out more, I learned that my hunch was correct and that you were, indeed, best girl material.
You have an intense love for school idols – a trait that’s shared with your sister. While you normally appear quiet and anxious, you can talk a mile a minute when discussing anything pertaining to school idols. It reminds me a lot of me. Generally, I keep to myself because of social anxiety, but in the event that I become close to others or when I’m on the internet and can scream into the void, I go on and on about my interests, and it can be hard to get me to shut up. While I’m not afraid to talk about things that I love, every now and then, I do feel like I have to hide that side of me the way that you did for a while. You and Dia were devoted to school idols until, one day, Dia did a complete 180 and said that she wanted nothing to do with school idols anymore. Since you valued your sister more than idols, you ceased talking about idols in her presence, but continued to admire them in secret.
When Chika tried to start a school idol club, you were interested in the idea, but you initially declined joining as to not upset Dia. Your best friend Hanamaru was also interested in the idea, but she didn’t feel that she was the kind of girl that was fit to be a school idol. She encouraged you to go for what you wanted instead of always thinking of others’ opinions, and that gave you the courage to try out being a school idol. You encouraged her to become a school idol as well, and you were both able to overcome any doubts that you had! You gained more confidence with each live show that you performed and were able to tackle your shyness head-on. It really made me happy to see you becoming more sure of yourself and growing as a character because it gave me hope that I could do the same.
I love your voice, and while the centers that you have are amazing songs (especially SKY JOURNEY, which is one of my faves), I wish that you had more of them so that you could truly sunshine. (Oh well – at least the solo albums showcase your voice well!) It’d be remiss of me to talk about your discography without mentioning Cotton Candy Ei-Ei-Oh! – one of the most notable songs within the Love Live! songverse. On YouTube, its official upload even surpassed Snow halation in views within the span of two months when Snow halation had been out for a year! If that doesn’t convince everyone of the sheer power that Ruby Kurosawa has, I don’t know what will. I know that the both the MV and the song itself are “love it or hate it”, but I absolutely love them both. The song is an earworm, and the MV’s visuals are truly something to behold – something straight from a fever dream. Also, the song’s lyrics are about food, and whenever that’s the case, you know that you’re in for a good time! (See also: after school NAVIGATORS)
I’m happy to call you one of my best girls, but I haven’t been giving you the attention that you deserve lately because those Nijigasaki girls keep trying to hog all of my attention with the innovative things that they keep doing. Nevertheless, you are still my precious daughter, and I hope that this post is decent at painting you in a positive light! Never stop being the idol-loving, shy seamstress that you are! Ganbaruby!
