Monthly Puroresu visits AWG’s Tokyo Rooftop Girls at Coelacanth YouTube Studio

By: Jeff Brown, with photography by Masahiro Kubota

In addition to appearing in rings for both Actwres girl’Z, Action Ring Girl’z and being stage and voice actresses, Nagisa Shiotsuki, Sakura Mizushima, Koara Fujimoto, and Kanamic also upload an entertaining show on YouTube under the name NagiSakuKoalaMic in coordination with their talent agency, Coelacanth Factory.

Episodes vary in length and have fun themes, such as fashion designing the ring gear of debuting Coelacanth members or playing Pictionary with a balloon timer. After the March 12th ACTwrestling show at Korakuen Hall and the morning of Shiotsuki’s Red Frame Factory production of “The Holy Sword of Laugh’s Altar”. the quartet along with their manager Sakata Tomoyasu invited Monthly Puroresu into their studio, where they create content for their YouTube channel.

Monthly Puroresu: How did you start with this group? Can you talk a little bit about how you started?

Nagisa: They came here from a previous company and connected to our boss. I went to an artist workshop and he welcomed me to join him here.

Monthly Puroresu: What inspired you to create a YouTube channel?

Sakata: The YouTube channel was my idea.

Monthly Puroresu: Where do you guys get the inspiration for the episodes? You guys do all different types of things in each episode. You do silly things or funny things. Who comes up with those ideas?

Sakata: Ah, usually the ideas come from me.

Monthly Puroresu: You come up with all of it? Maybe I should just interview you.

Nagisa: Many of the ideas come from him. [laughs]

Monthly Puroresu: Do you get inspiration from seeing other people’s stuff?

Sakata: It comes from all over the place. Sakura Mizushima’s “Ciao!’ was my idea.

Monthly Puroresu: What is your favorite episode or do you have a favorite episode?

Nagisa: I like the picture contests, which was the first one we did.

Monthly Puroresu: With the balloons that pop and stuff.

Sakata: Yes. That pop!!

Monthly Puroresu: That was really funny, I mean, it was funny for me but maybe it wasn’t funny for you guys.

Nagisa: So funny. [laughs]

Sakura: I like Koara’s cup challenge.

Monthly Puroresu: I’ve watched them all, so I remember that one.

Nagisa: Thank you.

Koara: The arm wrestling contest.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, everyone is very strong. Was the fashion designer, with the hat and saying “ciao!” Was it all your idea?

Everyone: Ciao!!

Sakata: Yes, it was all my idea.

Monthly Puroresu: Will you be bringing that character back? Will there be another episode with the Italian?

Nagisa: Yes. Italian. Yes. Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Will there be more episodes with that character or are you done with that?

Sakura: [Speaks Japanese]

Nagisa: She wants to do more, but we don’t know yet.

Monthly Puroresu:
So how much time do you spend making one episode? For let’s say one episode, how many hours does it take to create that one episode?

Sakata: It takes about an hour to film each episode.

Monthly Puroresu: Then have take the time to edit it, correct?

Sakata: Yeah and the editing process takes around one week.

Monthly Puroresu: One week? It takes a whole week to make an entire YouTube episode?

Sakata: Yes, one week of work and I don’t sleep.

Nagisa: He makes and edits all our movies.

Monthly Puroresu: So that’s a lot of work. Wow.

Sakata: Hard work. Yeah.

Monthly Puroresu: Also hard work for you guys too because you have to perform in them.

Nagisa: Yeah, we perform while also doing ACTwrestling.

Monthly Puroresu: You guys have busy schedules right? Because you have this YouTube channel.

Everyone: Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: You have Actwres girl’Z.

Everyone: Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Action Ring Girl’z.

Everyone: Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Then you also have your other acting, right? Your stage plays and voice acting?

Everyone: Yeah.

Monthly Puroresu: Do you ever sleep?

Nagisa: A little bit. [laughs]

Monthly Puroresu: You have a new fifth member, right?

Sakata: Yes – her name is Chii Aoba. She’s sick today and couldn’t attend.

Monthly Puroresu: When did she join?

Nagisa: It was four months ago.

Monthly Puroresu: I saw her at Korakuen, so she wrestles, but is she doing Action RING Girl’z as well?

Nagisa: For now only Actwres girlZ but possibly in the future she will be a part of Action Ring GirlZ.

Monthly Puroresu: Is there a special theme you haven’t done yet that you’d like to do for a future episode?

Sakata: TikTok videos.

Nagisa: Yes, our short episodes we have on TikTok, and we’ll have more in the future.

Sakata: Tokyo Rooftop Girls.

Nagisa: Yes. Tokyo Rooftop Girls.

Monthly Puroresu: I don’t know what that is. Sorry.

Nagisa: Videos of us girls, talking on the rooftop or balcony.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh, you make videos on the rooftop. Okay I understand now –  that’s the name of the TikTok channel.

Everyone: Yes! [They all laugh]

Monthly Puroresu: You did an episode about Super Sentai, which is what is known in as the Power Rangers.

Sakura: Yes, yes, yes. I love Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes. In America we call them the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Sakura: Power Rangers, yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Is there anyone you’d like to have as a special guest at some point in the future?

Sakata: Natsumi Sumikawa.

Nagisa: Mii, another member of Actwres girl’Z, as well as Miku Aono.

Monthly Puroresu: They are going to be guests?

Nagisa: We hope, we hope.

Nagisa: We hope to invite many Actwres girl’Z members to be on our YouTube.

Sakata: Nagisa and Sakura’s Actwres girl’Z debut one year anniversary.

Nagisa: Oh, yes. Our one year anniversary.

Monthly Puroresu: Congratulations!

Nagisa: Yes. Thank you.

Sakura: Thank you.

Nagisa: February 13th is our one year anniversary.

Monthly Puroresu: Do you have a favorite match in your one year career? All four of you, do you have a favorite match?

Nagisa: The tag match, me and Sakura Mizushima against Naru and Rico Fukunaga. That happened in Osaka on August 7th, 2022.

Monthly Puroresu: Now, you faced each other right? Actually a couple times, right?

Nagisa: In a singles match?

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, was that fun? Do you like wrestling each other, or do you like teaming together more?

Nagisa and Sakura: Yeah, teaming together!

Monthly Puroresu: The magic, where did that come from? The idea for your magic act during matches?

Koara: I didn’t think “I’m a magician.” But the audience told me, “You look like magician.” So now I’m meant to be a magician.
However the written article said that I didn’t do magic, so I thought I must do magic from now on. [laughs]

Monthly Puroresu: What is your favorite match so far, Kanamic? I know you haven’t had many matches, but of the ones you’ve had, what’s your favorite?

Kanamic: It was versus Sakura Mizushima in Osaka on November 22nd.

Nagisa: The day before, she was still crying.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh, you were crying?

Kanamic: Nervous.

Nagisa: She was nervous.

Monthly Puroresu: I see, I get nervous just watching that stuff sometimes.

Nagisa: Everyone cheered hard: “Kanamic! Kanamic!” and she felt like [imitates Kanamic crying].

Sakura says the when match finished and I rush to Kanamic and ask “Oh, are you okay!?”. Someone took a picture of that moment.

Kanamic 3-12-23 Actwres girlz #かなみっく #石川はるか #AWG pic.twitter.com/rJXF3JT5C2

— 📸Masahiro Kubota 写真屋 (@_MasahiroKubota) March 19, 2023

Monthly Puroresu: For Action Ring girl’z, do you come up with those characters or are they given to you?

Nagisa: Each team is chosen by the Action Ring Girl’z for each of the members. But each member decide their character for themselves.

Monthly Puroresu: Nagisa, you use the sharpshooter, also known as the scorpion deathlock. What wrestler inspired you to use that? Because your outfit reminds me of Bret Hart, do you know Bret Hart?

Nagisa: Bret Hart… You mention him in my article but I don’t know who that is, unfortunately. So, the story of my move is that one of my Actwres girl’Z seniors said “You should try to do the scorpion deathlock.”

Monthly Puroresu: Well, it’s pretty good, it’s cool.

Nagisa: Yeah. I think so too.

Monthly Puroresu: Sakura, your muta lock is insane. Do you know what move I’m talking about?

Sakura: Ah, kama-gatame, yeah.

Monthly Puroresu: Did you come up with that or did someone suggest it?

Sakura: I wanted to be able to do it, so I spoke to Act-san and said: “I want to do kama-gatame, how do you do it?”

Monthly Puroresu: So then she showed you how to do it?

Sakura: Yeah, so I practice together with ACT, and my first match, my debut match, ACT was Wild Bunny.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, ACT was Wild Bunny.

Sakura: No, no, no! [laughs]

Monthly Puroresu: I’m sorry, I didn’t say that!

Sakura: Bunny! She is Wild Bunny! Mii and I were part of a tag team match against Wild Bunny and together we practiced the kama-gatame.

Monthly Puroresu: Nagisa, where did you learn to chop so hard? Your chops are frightening.

Nagisa: Thank you! My first job here was with Action Ring Girl’z under the name Minato Martin, and I was with Red Fragment, The Age of Red Fragment. That was my previous affiliation.

Monthly Puroresu: I remember that it was led by Arisa Hoshiki, who went by the name Mikasa Martin.

Nagisa: Yes. My first job was as a member of Red Fragment. I used to team with Arisa Hoshiki and for my technique Miku Aono (also in Red Fragment, under the name Luna Martin) taught me.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, because she kicks really hard too and you chop really hard. You’re both kind of frightening.

Nagisa: Yes! Both really hard!

Minato Martin. #ARGレッドフラグメント #アクトリング pic.twitter.com/b4yDhCxS8E

— Burning Ham-Eater (@Chris2KLee) July 28, 2021

Monthly Puroresu: Koara, koalas, you really love koalas correct?

Koara: Koala. Yes. Koala! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!

Monthly Puroresu: That is part of your name? If I understand correctly, that koala bears inspire your character.

Koara: Not inspired, but I do like koala bears.

Monthly Puroresu: The logo, what inspired the Coelacanth logo?

Sakata: My company 20 years ago, that was the company logo.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh, okay so it’s an old logo that you’re continuing to use.

Sakata: Now I use it here, recycled.

Everyone: Recycle!

Monthly Puroresu: Recycle. I like it. Do you have someone that you have not wrestled yet that you wish to wrestle? Like a dream match?

Kanamic: Hmm..

Nagisa: All of Actwres girl’Z?

Monthly Puroresu: The whole roster. Anyone.

Kanamic: I want to be a tag partner with CatMASK Calico.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh that’s probably a good team, Kanamic and the cat.

Nagisa: She wants to be kicked. [Laughs] Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Kicked!?

Nagisa: She wants to be kicked. So, Mari or Miku or Natsumi. Yeah.

Monthly Puroresu: Okay. Koara, do you have a dream match? Is there someone you wish to face?

Koara: Natsumi-san.

Monthly Puroresu: One-on-one?

Koara: Yes, yes, yes a singles match.

Nagisa: She wants to be like Rocky.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh, Rocky?

Koara: Bonka bonka [punches like a boxer]

Monthly Puroresu: Sakura, what is your dream match?

Sakura: CHIAKI or Mii. [points to signed portrait of Mii on the wall] Mii.

Monthly Puroresu: Now you team with Mii in Update+.

3/12（日）#ACTwrestling ＠後楽園ホール
Start 18:30　結果

4.Tag match
　茉莉＆○なる
　（11:06/バウンサークラッシュ）
　●未依＆水嶋さくら【update+】#アクトレスリング pic.twitter.com/1cfvCKBifb

— アクトレスガールズ / Actwres girl'Z (@actwresgirlz) March 12, 2023

Sakura: Yes, yes, yes, yes!

Monthly Puroresu: How did that come about? Was that Mii’s idea?

Nagisa: Oh, yes it was Mii’s idea.

Sakura: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Nagisa: Mii’s and Fuka’s idea.

Monthly Puroresu: Fuka, she’s like an advisor for the company.

Nagisa: Yeah, an advisor.

Monthly Puroresu: Okay. Does she come up with a lot of ideas or a little bit of ideas?

Nagisa: Yes, many ideas are Fuka’s ideas.

Monthly Puroresu: Nagisa, what is your dream match?

Nagisa: So my dream has already come true. I wanted to face Miku and I did, now I get a second dream match on March 24th at Shin-kiba.

But I want it to be only me and Miku. So on March 24th at Shinkiba, it’s me, Koara and Chika Goto in singles matches against Miku. I want it to be only me! [laughs]

Monthly Puroresu: Do you have a favorite venue to wrestle at? For example, you wrestle at Shin-kiba, Korakuen Hall and Colega Studios. Is there a favorite venue, a favorite place to wrestle?

Nagisa: I like each place, but my favorite is Osaka.

Sure, all the places I like, but yes my favorite is Osaka. The audience is so hot.

Monthly Puroresu: Oh yeah, Osaka, they have a reputation for being pretty rowdy. Sakura, your favorite place to wrestle?

Sakura: Shin-kiba because I get to be near the audience.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, it is very close up at Shin-kiba. Koara, your favorite place?

Koara: Like Sakura, I enjoy that the audience is close at Shin-kiba.

Monthly Puroresu: Kanamic, do you have a favorite place?

Nagisa: She joined in October at Korakuen but she attended many times before.

Monthly Puroresu: So you had attended shows before joining?

Nagisa: She says the overseas tourist audience, so many come to Korakuen. She’s glad that you and many overseas tourists come to Korakuen. So, yes, her favorite place is Korakuen.

Monthly Puroresu: There was on the 12th, I saw a lot of foreign people in the crowd. You had a lot of people come from overseas, that’s exciting.

Koara, your tag match on March 12th, did you have those ideas for the comedy choke spot. Was it your idea?

Koara: Calico!

Monthly Puroresu: Okay, it was Calico! It was a great spot.

Thank you😊
Cats like to ride on tops!😼✨ pic.twitter.com/rGyRjFSlcI

— CatMASK calico (@CatMASK_AWG) April 1, 2023

Monthly Puroresu: For your entrance, Sakura, you use the ribbon.

Sakura: Oh yes yes!

Monthly Puroresu: Was that your idea, or was that given to you?

Sakura: Yeah, it’s my idea, as a child I did rhythmic gymnastics, which is why I use it.

Monthly Puroresu: Kanamic – your ring gear, what was the inspiration for it?

Kanamic: I design it.

Monthly Puroresu: You designed it yourself?

Kanamic: It’s inspired by the Korean idol group TWICE. Do you know them?

Monthly Puroresu: No.

[All of NagiSakuKoalaMic laugh]

Monthly Puroresu: I know of  idol groups.

Your ring gear inspiration Koara, we saw the video with the Italian.

Sakura: Ciao!!!

Nagisa: She likes green. You know Demon Slayer, the anime?

Monthly Puroresu: It’s inspired by an anime character?

Nagisa: Yes. Tanjiro Kamado. Checkered. A little bit inspired by anime.

Monthly Puroresu: Cool, it’s very unique. Sakura, what was your inspiration?

Sakura: My name’s Sakura and it means Japanese flower. So I wanted a Japanese style like a kimono.

Monthly Puroresu: Okay I can see that now, that’s cool. Now Nagisa, I wrote about yours, the blue is because of the ocean? You like the ocean and surfing?

Nagisa: I like the sea and blue, so I was inspired by those things, and the design was made by Sakura.

I sent her some pictures and then she designed that.

Monthly Puroresu: What inspired the design? Like the shoulder epaulets.

Sakura: Ah, yes. I wanted it to be [mimics firing rifle] bang bang, military.

Monthly Puroresu: It’s military themed, that’s cool.

Nagisa: Thank you.

#アクトレスリング 新年一発目！
北沢タウンホール公演ありがとうございました！

幅広い世代のお客様がたくさん見に来てくださり幸せでした！
下北沢あったかい…🫶

なぎさくタッグの勝利で始まったこの年は、絶対いい年になるね✨
2023年はUpdate+の年です‼︎#AWGアプデ#なぎさく pic.twitter.com/Z7mH0TSfz0

— 汐月なぎさ (@Nagisa_520) January 11, 2023

Monthly Puroresu: So you all have strong color themes. Nagisa is blue, Koara is greenish, Kanamic is pinkish, or maybe Sakura is more pink.

Sakura: Yes. Pink.

Monthly Puroresu: I noticed that even on the YouTube channel, you’re all very color co-ordinated.

Nagisa: Ah, yes on YouTube.

Everyone: Blue, pink, green and white.

Monthly Puroresu: Whose idea was that?

Nagisa: They are each other’s favorite colors. We think Kanamic is an angel, so angel is white.

Monthly Puroresu: Do you get tired of wearing the same color all the time? Do you wish you could have a different color or are you happy with the color that you have?

Koara: Red.

Monthly Puroresu: Red? Why do you want red?

Koara: It’s a powerful and strong image color.

Monthly Puroresu: It is a very strong and a regal color. You’re pink, Sakura. Are you happy with your color or do you wish sometimes you could be a different color?

Sakura: Black or green.

Monthly Puroresu: Maybe you could switch with Koara.

Kanamic: I like pink and green.

Monthly Puroresu: Nagisa you’re like, “I’m cool with blue, it’s fine.”

Nagisa: Ah, different color, so I want red too.

Monthly Puroresu: Red?

Nagisa: Red because my mentor is Miku Aono and her image color is red.

Monthly Puroresu: Yes, Miku has a very strong red theme.

3月12日(日) #アクトレスガールズ
後楽園ホール公演✨

シングルトーナメント決勝戦🏆
まであと1日。

アクトレスガールズへの想いも、ベルトへの想いも負けない。

今の私の全てをかけて闘います。
観に来てください。 pic.twitter.com/WsSBruAB99

— 青野　未来 (@miku_aono) March 11, 2023

Monthly Puroresu: Is there something you wish that Western fans knew about that maybe you don’t think they know?

Nagisa: We want overseas fans to know about NagiSakuKoalaMic.

Monthly Puroresu: You wish they would know more about your group and your YouTube channel?

Nagisa: We have the YouTube channel and we also do the Tokyo Rooftop Girls TikTok.

I also want to say: we are actresses, I’m an actress and a voice actor. So not a pro wrestler but we are Actwres girlZ and we are performers. Please know we are performers.

Monthly Puroresu: Don’t call you wrestlers, call you performers.

Everyone: Yes.

Monthly Puroresu: Are there things you have learned from acting and then also used as performing as a wrestler? Or vice versa.

Nagisa: For example now I am in the play, and the play and ACTwrestling have similar points.

Koara: How to convey what is decided realistically is a similar point. The play is decided and ACTwrestling is decided, but the audience is seeing it for the first time, so they don’t know the finish. So we have to convey in a realistic and exciting way for the audience. So this is a similar point.

Sakura: We use a lot of facial expressions in both to communicate to the crowd.

Monthly Puroresu: For each of you, what inspired you to become actors?

Sakura: My dream is to be a voice actor and to be challenged with new characters.

Koara: I didn’t like my previous work, so I wanted to be a new version of myself.

Monthly Puroresu: You wanted to change your life. I was researching for each of your articles and I discovered that you did nursing. Is that correct Koara, that you were a nurse?

Koara: Ah, yes!

Monthly Puroresu: Then you wanted to do something different?

Koara: I want to try acting as other people, and to play parts different from myself.

Monthly Puroresu: You like the challenge of becoming someone else, taking on a new persona or a new character?

Koara: Yes!

Monthly Puroresu: What inspired you to start acting Kanamic?

Kanamic: I like One Piece.

Oh, do you know One Piece?

Monthly Puroresu: Yes.

Nagisa: Kanamic likes anime.

Kanamic: When I was a junior high school student I liked One Piece. One day I listened to a radio interview about One Piece with one of the voice actors. That radio interview gave energy, I was given power by it – it inspired me to be a voice actor.

Monthly Puroresu: What inspired you Nagisa, to do voice acting or stage acting?

Nagisa: I’m not a voice actor, but I am a stage actress. Similar to her I want to be a different person and I want to act as a different person.

Monthly Puroresu: Is it fun to be someone that you have nothing in common with?

Nagisa: When I was elementary school I took part in the acting club. I couldn’t forget my dream, even when I became an adult, I want to be an actress, and I want to be challenged.

Monthly Puroresu: Okay. I have two more questions. First, what was the inspiration for the name Coelacanth?

Sakata: Twenty years ago, my company was formed by student friends. We were students, so one member is sleepy and says “Coelacanth!”.

He was dreaming about eating Coelacanth and then it became Coelacanth Factory.

Monthly Puroresu: For each of you, what are your goals for the future?

Koara: I want to break out and I want to be mad, I want to go crazy. Just good meaning, for fun like a comedy, I want to go crazy.

Monthly Puroresu: Like play someone who goes crazy?

Koara: Yeah, play someone who is crazy.

Monthly Puroresu: What about you, Nagisa?

Nagisa: I want to be on many stages, I want to be a lot of different people and yes, I want to be crazy too. [laughs]

Sakura: I want to be part of Actwres girlZ and a voice actor. I also want Actwres girlZ and my voice acting to be known by many people. Also, I want to be a Power Ranger or part of Pretty Cure.

Kanamic: My dream is to appear in One Piece anime and I want to do an act that can show my own goodness.

Monthly Puroresu: Did you have anything else you’d like to say?

Everyone: Thank you!