NEWS.WALKERPLUS.COM: GACKT with an unexpected offer to play a high school student in Tonde Saitama! 「I initially immediately declined」

The live-action movie adaptation of Maya Mineo’s comic of the same name, Tonde Saitama (releasing 22 Feb), held it’s Japan Premiere in TOKYO on 28 January at Tokyo Dome City Hall. It was attended by Nikaido Fumi, GACKT, Iseya Yusuke, Brother Tom, Shimazaki Haruka, Kato Ryo, Masuwaka Tsubasa, Nakao Akira, Kyomoto Masaki, and Director Takeuchi Hideki. Acting as a high school student for the first time in 5 movies, GACKT confessed that he was flustered when he was given the offer, saying, “Initially, I was told that I got an offer for the role of a high school student. I immediately declined”.

The original is a popular comic of the same name where the absolute dissing of Saitama citizens unleashes a crushing impact. Set in a world where Saitama citizens are heavily persecuted by Tokyo citizens, the story tells of the meeting between Dannoura Momomi (Nikaido); the son of the governor of Tokyo and the student council president of a prestigious school in Tokyo, and Asami Rei (GACKT) who looks like a Tokyo native at a glance but is actually a member of the Saitama Liberation Front. The uniquely “Maya world” character visualisations that looked like they came straight out of the original work also became a hot topic

GACKT, who plays the unique character of a transfer high school student who is a “secret Saitama citizen”, made the audience laugh when he opened with “Initially, I was told that it was an offer to act as a high school student. I immediately declined”.

“After that, they said, ‘Even if he is a high school student, he’s a special high school student’. Doesn’t that lead to the question of what kind of a high school student is that?’,” he said with a smile. Continuing, he spoke of how he found himself immersed in the world view thanks to his co-stars and the elaborate sets despite his initial bewilderment. “The first day of filming was a kiss scene (with Nikaido). We started with an ornate and luxurious set, as if it is of a level that is on par with the looks that we were in, to the point that it made the staff’s normal appearances look out of place. All my co-stars’ makeup was amazing too. Since the gateway into this was in this form, I got into its world view with the good start for both me and Fumi-chan”.

Nikaido too, who tried out a male role for the first time, felt that it was a valuable experience, saying “Highly individualistic people were gathered. It was as if people from different planets came to earth, did everything with a flourish, and then all went home with a flourish”. “I thought that I was the most decent one. I acted with the thought that I should properly do what I need to”, she added as a joke, and GACKT replied, “I thought I was the most decent one though”, drawing laughter from the crowd.