[CUT June 07’] Kiiroi Namida roundtable talk
Continued from “Trial in Absentia”. I do not provide scans. The thumbnail is merely for reference purposes. PLEASE DO NOT repost without permission.
With the 5 of you gathered together again, we’d like to talk about “Kiiroi Namida”. We will have the other 4 who are not portraying that particular character talk about the interesting points for each of the characters.
Matsumoto: Ah~, we’d love to talk about this.
So, we’ll start with the character that Aiba-san portrayed, a young aspiring singer Unoue Shouichi. What’s the interesting point for this character?
Ninomiya: None!
Sakurai: (laugh)
Ninomiya: Right. Aiba-san, I think his fashion sense is interesting. So the interesting thing here is fashion. He doesn’t wear this style well, cause he has this Heisei body structure (laugh)
Matsumoto: He looks better in knee-length shorts huh.
Sakurai: And, here’s what I think is good, the character somehow has some Aiba Masaki feel hidden in him… how should I put this?
Ohno: I get it!
Sakurai: You get it right?
Ohno: Oh I do, I really do.
Sakurai: I’m saying this is a good sense, no matter what character he portrays…
Ohno: There’s a specific Aiba-chan trait, it shows somehow.
Sakurai: Yes yes yes. Something like “that’s so him” coming out. I like that about him.
Ohno: Yes, right. That feeling.
Matsumoto-san’s character Katsumada Yuuji, a young man who went out to Tokyo to work as a result of mass employment. He speaks in Iwate dialect and wears a wig. What’s interesting about Yuuji?
Sakurai: Well~, there’s of course, Matsujun freeing himself from the regular characters he portrayed.
Ninomiya: Then, there’s him not appearing much at all (laugh)
Matsumoto: I’m just another regular cast.
Ninomiya: Yeah. That’s rare.
Sakurai: Cause you see… nah, nothing.
Ohno: What’s that about? (laugh)
Sakurai: I mean, to have Matsujun portray such a character, I think that itself is an unthinkable thing before this. What do you think? Captain.
Ohno: For me, I thought it was natural. When I first heard that Matsujun will be taking such a character, though I did think for a while “eh? how will he portray this?”, but when we actually started filming, he was really natural. It was like, a Matsujun from the past.
Sakurai: (laugh) He wasn’t like that alright!
Aiba: Ahahahahaha
Matsumoto: (laugh) Hey! Hey!
Sakurai: Ahahahaha! “(in a thick accent) I’m sure we can do it!” (laugh)
Matsumoto: I don’t have such an accent okay
Ohno: No no, it’s not that. It’s not the accent (laugh)
Aiba: You mean the part where he seems like a good young lad?
Matsumoto: That feeling right?
Ohno: Yes.
Sakurai: I get it, I get it.
So you didn’t feel that there’s anything out of place.
Ohno: Yeah, he was natural.
Aiba: And, when Yuuji suddenly joins the other 4 people, the whole atmosphere changes. I thought that was nice.
Next, the manga artist portrayed by Ninomiya-san, Muraoka Eisuke’s interesting points?
Sakurai: Eisuke… is difficult.
Matsumoto: Eisuke has a big heart. He brought me along and we went to the bath together, he’s a great person, that guy.
Sakurai: (laugh) Like he’s your senior from your local town.
Matsumoto: Yes.
Aiba: When Shouichi-san never asks Yuuji to go out together (laugh)
Matsumoto: Not even once.
Sakurai: About Eisuke, everything about him is interesting I guess? He’s the story teller, and he’s the main focus of the story, it’s like everything surrounds Eisuke within that story. And, unlike Aiba-san, he looks great in Showa outfit (laugh). He didn’t seem out of place at all.
Ohno: He was so natural.
Aiba: And his hairstyle is great too.
Matsumoto: He’s the most Showa of all.
Next, aspiring artist Shimokawa Kei portrayed by Ohno-san, what’s interesting about him?
Aiba: Kei-kun is very kind. He’s an earnest guy.
Sakurai: He’s so innocent.
Matsumoto: Innocent and naïve.
Sakurai: And, he couldn’t keep up with the rest.
Ohno: Yeah.
Aiba: That part, it was like “PIKANCHI” all over again. Always the character who struggles to keep up with the rest (laugh)
Ohno: Yeah.
Sakurai: You were really into the character weren’t you? Sensei. And,though this character is quite similar to Haru in “PIKANCHI”, but he wasn’t totally like it, and that’s great too right?
Ohno: Yeah.
Ninomiya: He says “yeah” no matter what you ask him (laugh)
Sakurai: Nfufufu
Ninomiya: And then there’s him being so honest, right? Living his life honestly, that’s so wonderful. He does his best in painting the one person he loves the most.
Matsumoto: And of course, “Atarimaeda Crackers!” right?
Sakurai: Right (laugh), he has a lot of delicious script lines
Aiba: Such as “reality is harsh~” (laugh)
Now, what about Mukai Ryuuzou, the aspiring writer portrayed by Sakurai-san?
Ninomiya: About Ryuuzou-san, it’s his whirlpool-print jacket I guess? He kept wearing that thing.
Sakurai: That’s about all of it (laugh)
That’s it? (laugh)
Aiba: Ahahaha. “Interesting point = whirlpool-print jacket”, that’s all! (laugh)
Ninomiya: Cause he doesn’t even wear shoes.
Aiba: He only has a pen. That guy, are you sure he actually wrote a novel in the end? (laugh)
Ninomiya: He didn’t.
Matsumoto: It’s only the planning stage.
Sakurai: Even now it’s still planning stage.
Ohno: Ah-ha-ha! Hahahahaha
Sakurai: You’re laughing too much, Ohno-san (laugh)
Aiba: (laugh) You see, everyone is working hard to achieve his own dream right? Ryuuzou-kun, he’s totally useless.
Matsumoto: The worst (laugh).
Sakurai: He the worst, even for me.
Ninomiya: It’s so awful to get involved with someone like that!
Ohno: Hahahaha
Sakurai: (laugh) You wouldn’t want to get involved.
Do you continue to chase after your dreams, or do you give them up?
This movie’s main theme is “dream”, what would you do in your own situation? A dream that doesn’t seem possible, do you continue to chase after it, or do you give it up and choose another path?
Ninomiya: Um, how would it be? For Eisuke, it wasn’t about giving up on his dream or not, he was more concerned about being able to accept his job. Honestly I don’t really have a dream myself, so I think it’s good just to do whatever your heart tells you… I don’t know, I’ve never held on to any dream before, so I really don’t know. I guess it also depends on the dream you have.
How about Ohno-san?
Ohno: How would it be I wonder? It depends on the situation I guess?
Matsumoto: (laugh) Well of course.
Sakurai: (laugh) Really, that’s obvious alright.
Matsumoto: Let’s hear you talk about something besides that obvious point.
Ohno: U~m, well, I’ll keep doing it until something happens I guess?
Matsumoto: Oh, how positive! So it’s proven of what we’ve said of you just now, you’ve become more positive!
Sakurai: (laugh) We didn’t say “he became more positive” alright!
Aiba: (laugh) Not even once did we say that!
Ohno: What the heck did you guys say about me (laugh). Uu~.
Ninomiya: And what the heck is that “uu~” (laugh) Were you going to cry (naku)?
Ohno: (he heard it wrongly) No I’m won’t vomit (haku), I won’t vomit.
Ninomiya: Of course I know that! (laugh)
Sakurai: Ahahahahaha!
Ohno: ……What were we talking about again?
Do you give up your dream, or do you chase after it(laugh)
Ohno: I’ll chase after it I suppose. Because I believe that as long as I don’t give up, it might come true one day.
I see. What about Matsumoto-san?
Matsumoto: How is it I wonder. This is a different generation now. Speaking of chasing after one’s dream, it’s much easier now. If I were living in that era, I might just continue living a normal life.
What about the current Matsumoto-san?
Matsumoto: ……ah?
Sakurai: You made him angry! (laugh)
Ninomiya+Aiba: “AH?” (laugh)
Ohno: Ahahahahaha
Sakurai: Surprisingly that’s what triggered the bomb (laugh)
I’m sorry (laugh)
Matsumoto: Ahahaha. How is it I wonder. I might chase after my dream, but it’s also possible that I won’t.
You mentioned in CUT before that “I can keep doing something with the same feelings from 10 years ago”.
Matsumoto: Well but, that’s not a dream. At least not for me.
That’s all?
Matsumoto: If that’s fine with you (laugh)
Thank you. What about Sakurai-san?
Sakurai: U~m, this concerns the time era too, I think it’s not always a negative thing to choose to give up your dream. Even when such things happen, it’s good to be able to move forward positively without looking back. But right now, I want to be someone who will chase after his dream.
Finally, Aiba-san please share your thoughts.
Aiba: Time is a restriction after all, will it be wise to chase after your dream in that limited time frame, or should you give up something else, it depends on the situation and environment. But, if there’s something I really want to do, I will try my best to do it. It’s just that, if I steer away midway, “ah, I’ll look for something else too” I might start thinking like that, and I’d most probably think that I can take another path too. It’s fine for me either way, as long as I’m going towards a good direction.