LINEBLOG.ME: GACKT Recalls "immediately declining" Tonde Saitama Offer & Kiss Scene With Nikaido Fumi

Lead Stars Nikaido Fumi, GACKT Appear at Tonde Saitama Japan Premiere
The live-action movie adaptation of the manga of the same name which was self-deprecatingly written by mangaka Maya Mineo-san who lived in Saitama at the time, Tonde Saitama, will go on screens nationwide on 22 February.

To commemorate the completion of the movie, the Japan premiere was held on 28 January in Tokyo and it was attended by not only the two main stars; Nikaido Fumi and GACKT, but also Iseya Yusuke, Brother Tom, Shimazaki Haruka, Kato Ryo, Masuwaka Tsubasa, Nakao Akira, Kyomoto Masaki, and director Takeuchi Hideki.

GACKT Confesses He “Immedately Declined” The Offer to Play A High Schooler
One day, the son of the governor of Tokyo and student council president of Tokyo’s top school, Dannoura Momomi (Nikaido Fumi), meets Asami Rei (GACKT), a handsome transfer student returning to Japan from America. While the two of them are mutually attracted to each other, once it was found that Asami was originally from Saitama, they were torn apart by the prefectural border of Tokyo and Saitama. In a fight to obtain freedom for Saitama citizens, a battle that involves the whole of Kanto unfolds.

On this day, lead stars Nikaido and GACKT entered the “Sai-gyoku Hall (彩玉ボール)” which is named in reference to Saitama’s (埼玉) nickname of Sai no Kuni (彩の国). Loud cheers erupted from the audience. Wearing a beige coloured suit and pants, Nikaido greeted, “I came dressed as a boy today”. GACKT greeted the audience “Good evening” numerous times, getting the audience excited as if it was one of his concerts.

GACKT played the role of a high school student, but he confessed, “When I first heard that it’s a high school student, I immediately declined”. But he revealed that when he heard about the plot and that it was no ordinary high school student but a special one, he accepted the offer.

In addition, GACKT recalled that the first day of filming was a kiss scene, blurting out his state of mind on that day, “I thought, ‘What a process’ (smiles)”. As he acted, he said that with the ornate set and costumes, their appearances felt normal, and he recalled, “It felt like we were being manipulated by Director Takeuchi’s hand until the very end”.

When asked about the impressive cast, Nikaido said with a smile, “Really highly individualistic persons were gathered this time”. She said, “People representing all their different planets came to earth and gathered with a flourish, did whatever it was with a flourish, then went home”, and added, “I thought that I was the most decent one on site (smiles)”. To that, GACKT retorted, “That’s what I thought the whole time though. I thought that I was the most decent one” and the hall was enveloped in laughter.

Also, GACKT said that they filmed not with the intention to make people laugh, but instead they put all their efforts into filming seriously. He said, “For the scene where Iseya-kun stuffs peanuts into my nose, they were holding peanuts while saying ‘Stuff peanuts into his right nostril like this’ while rehearsing and doing it to me over and over, do you understand how I feel (smiles)”.

Lastly, to the fans who are looking forward to the movie, GACKT said, “When you think that it’s lame, please let out your voice and laugh out loud”, and added the message, “As this is a movie that pays exceptional attention to even the smallest of details, there may be things that you may not understand with just one viewing, but perhaps takes 2 or 3 viewings to get through”.