nebulancer

Horimiya Eichi’s Speech – “Perm”

“Hyakunen Aoharu. Horimiya Eichi’s Speech: Perm!

Hey there~! Are you perhaps enjoying Hyakunen Aoharu?

This time, we’re not doing the usual otherworldly stages, but it’s instead a school AU! I can’t help but wonder if some parts feel nostalgic to all of you out there, too!

So with a familiar topic like that, we’re doing... not the Minors’ Speeches, but the Adults’ Speeches! While all of us are chatting about the individual things we’d like to talk about, I’d like to get talking about my perm!

...Ahah, yes. It’s a very familiar topic, isn’t it? Ehehe...

Actually, I tried perming my hair for the very first time, to go along with last year’s promotional picture update! I showed it off a good deal back then too, so all of you might be going, ‘Okay, okay. I got it already,’ about this, but I haven’t talked enough about it, so once more!

Speaking of which, I’ve had this hairstyle for about two years now.

I trim the parts that’ve gotten longer, refresh the parts that’ve loosened up, performing maintenance on my hair time and time again. I’m preserving the same hairstyle over time.

After all, it’s for the sake of my beloved perm!

Ever since I was young, my hair’s always been fluffy, and if I were to let it grow out longer, it’d have a tendency to curl in on itself.

I’d often get asked if I had a perm even if I hadn’t done anything to it. Whenever that happened, I’d reply throughout those days with, ‘It’s not permed~ It’s my natural hairstyle!’

I went to a high school that banned perms, so the student guidance teacher would always be suspicious of me...

In university, I’d try dyeing it another color in one go, or mess around by turning it a lighter color, but I didn’t actually change the hairstyle itself.

With a slightly envious eye, I looked upon the times when girls would chop all their hair off for a makeover. I sure wanted to change my entire appearance in one go, to make people go, ‘Ooh~!’

And so, now that I’m part of this industry, I’ve become capable of chatting with hairstyle and makeup professionals. I started talking to them about my hairstyle.

I consulted with them, like, ‘I want to perm my hair, which is something I’ve actually been seeking out for a long time now! But since my hair’s already naturally frizzy, it’d be too late... or it’d be sort of meaningless, wouldn’t it?’

Nevertheless, the hair- and makeup artists encouraged me in a good direction!

‘You can approach the imagined ideal that you, yourself, want to be. You’ll be able to decide the angle and strength at which it’s curled, so that you’ll be able to handle it normally. It’s completely different from a natural perm! If you want to give it a try, might as well go ahead and do it! I think it’d look nice on you!’

Having them say that to me, I felt courage well right up~ So, I gave it a try!

The result...?

Things are sooo much easier for me now!

Things have gotten incredibly easy for me!

In the past, due to bedhead, wind, or humidity, my hair would be going crazy as it curled like mad. However! Now, it is a controlled curliness!

It seems similar, but it truly is completely different...!

First, there’s no super-strong curls in it, so it doesn’t have my hair spring up in an unpredictable angle. If my hair puffs up a little due to the humidity, it’ll still look pretty decent despite that! That’s a big deal!

The number of times I’ve looked into the mirror in the morning and screamed, “GYAHHH!” have gone down by an unbelievable amount!

When I see myself reflected on pillars or glass while I’m on the move, I’ve even become capable of going, “Ooh? Hey, feelin’ good~.” This just... plain makes me happy!

The way I see it, I even look pretty stylish! This is also a big deal!

This industry... well, I guess it’s obvious talking about it, but everyone’s got good taste. They’re all such fashionable people...!

Er, I do like fashion itself, but the inborn aesthetic sense I have is... uh. I wouldn’t like to say that it’s nonexistent, per se, but when I see truly fashionable people from up close, I think, ‘I... really am pretty ordinary, huh~’

Even when stylish people have and wear the same thing as you, they just somehow look different, don’t they? I suppose you could say that they look a cut above the rest, or that they’re completely picture perfect...!

There are tons of people like that around me, and I admired them. Having gotten the sensation that I’m just a little bit closer to them... makes me just so happy to know!

Ah—

From an outside perspective, I might not have changed all too much, and I might just be... trying to convince myself, but!

I’d like to proactively delude myself into thinking in a way that makes me feel happier in a positive way!

Though it may be but a perm – yet still, it is a perm!

It’s because it’s my own face that I see every day. When I casually catch sight of it, I go, ‘Ooh? Feelin’ good!’ That’s what makes me happy!

I’d like to encourage you to create your own favorite points about yourself, too!

Let’s make it so that you raise your sense of motivation – for yourself, by yourself~!

Today’s me and tomorrow’s me... I’m sure I’ll be feelin’ good, just a little bit!”