Summary
Kitajima Maya began her journey as a thirteen-year-old aspiring actress, eventually reaching the age of twenty or twenty-one by the conclusion of the narrative. Born on February 20th, she stands at 155 cm tall. Before her discovery, Maya worked as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant alongside her mother, Haru. Her father passed away when she was young, leaving her with a mentally unstable mother who long viewed Maya as useless and discouraged her from pursuing acting, fearing she would become a laughingstock. This skepticism was evident when Haru refused to attend a school play where Maya portrayed a pitiful character; although the role was intended to be laughable, Maya’s performance infused it with profound depth and sadness, earning her the attention of former diva Chigusa Tsukikage. Under Tsukikage’s mentorship, Maya embarked on a promising yet difficult career, with the diva ultimately severing Maya’s ties with her mother to support her decision to become an actress. Maya’s acting prowess stems from her emotional intensity and natural ability to fully embody her characters, contrasting sharply with the technically driven style of Ayumi. Her training methods are brutal, and she delivers performances with such intensity that she often displays unconventional behaviors, such as lying on the floor to simulate sitting on a broken chair. While she considers herself unremarkable and worthless, echoing her mother’s insults, she possesses a unique talent for captivating audiences without even realizing it. Despite her immense potential, Maya struggles with inferiority complex, particularly when comparing herself to the beautiful, talented, and wealthy Ayumi, who harbors a secret competitiveness toward her. Maya holds no ill will toward Ayumi, driven instead by the belief that acting is the only thing she has. She receives consistent encouragement from an anonymous fan who sends her bouquets of purple roses, a gift she initially receives with antipathy because she suspects the sender, Hayami Masumi, took malicious pleasure in bringing down Tsukikage’s acting school. Maya is known by several nicknames: "The Stage Storm," acknowledging her ability to overshadow other actors even in supporting roles, and "the girl with a thousand masks," a title given by Tsukikage to honor her versatility. Masumi also calls her "Chibi-chan" (little child), a term reflecting their age gap that can be either satirical of her immaturity or an expression of genuine affection.
