I thought that each of the lead actresses should get a post, in order of appearance (but I'll save Aiko for last). So, let's スタト！
Hasebe Yu
Perhaps the most prolific of the whole group, Yu was the focal point of dream and DRM for nearly a decade (no, it's not the same group, I don't care what you say!). Also, if you didn't already know that she's really damn cute, may the photo above serve as exhibit 'A'.
In LOVERS HIGH, Yu gets the part of the 'plain-Jane' who wants to be a singing star. So, it's the opposite of real life, where she has sold a gajillion records and makes everyone look ugly by comparison. This requires some suspension of disbelief, of course, but the girl really seems to have kept some humility after all, and it works very nicely.
Her character Yua (or Yuwa) undergoes the biggest transformation in the film. Starting out as a normal girl with a nagging mother, she mails an audition tape and gets an invite to the finals. One just gets the feeling that somewhere down the hall are several girls with broken nails and bleeding eye-sockets -- a regular occurrence at talent searches like these. Yet Yua shows no signs of jealousy when Nao struts her stuff and clearly outshines most of the other girls with her coolness and fully-formed stage presence. The two characters don't speak to each other and it's doubtful that Nao even noticed Yua at this point, but nevertheless the wheels are set in motion.
After passing the first round, Yua shows up the next day to find that the audition-holders have vanished without a trace. Rather than get visibly upset by this (as some of the girls do), she realizes she's been had and calmly wanders off to be alone with her feelings. There, she is approached by a creepy guy who is a little too 'into' her. Enter Nao, who beats the guy up and offers Yua a ride on her motorcycle to the Girl's Box. If this club were real, I'd be filling out my change-of-address forms.
NEXT POST: Nagasawa Nao, the badass of the group.