The Japan premiere in Tokyo for the movie Tonde Saitama (releasing 22 February) was held on the 28th and attended by Nikaido Fumi, GACKT, Iseya Yusuke, Brother Tom, Shimazaki Haruka, Kato Ryo, Masuwaka Tsubasa, Nakao Akira, Kyomoto Masaki, and director Takeuchi Hideki.

This movie is a work that was announced in 1982 by Maya Mineo, who is known for works like Patalliro!, and its revival in 2015 created a huge reaction on TV programs, SNS, the internet, and various media platforms. In a world where Saitama citizens are heavily discriminated against by Tokyo citizens, the son of the governor of Tokyo Dannoura Momomi (Nikaido Fumi) and Asami Rei (GACKT), a handsome transfer student returning to Japan from America, are mutually attracted to each other, but Rei, who is originally a Saitama native, is devoted to the Saitama Liberation Front.

Matching the world view of the movie, “SSS Sheet (Saitama Super Sheet)” mats were spread out over straw along, guards who would restrain Saitama citizens, and a green carpet associated with the line “You can even feed Saitama citizens with the grass over there” was displayed, yet for some reason, visitors from Saitama were excited. Nikaido and GACKT, who appeared on the green carpet, threw coloured balls, or Sai no Tama (彩の玉), into the audience, which is an analogy for “Sai no Kuni, Saitama (彩の国 埼玉)”.

Nikaido, who played a male in this movie, was dressed in a pants suit, saying, “Today (I am dressed) like a boy”. There are many scenes in the movie that disses Saitama, but she appealed, “From attacking, it heads completely towards love, so I think that it would be great if (viewers) would enjoy the change from dissing to love”.

On the other hand, GACKT revealed: “When I first heard that it’s a high school student, I immediately declined”. He was then persuaded with the words “but he’s a special high school student”, and accepted the offer, but with a wry smile, he said, “On the first day of filming, it was a kiss scene with Fumi-chan. I thought, ‘what a process’”. He also spoke of looking forward to co-starring with Kyomoto and mentioned an incident: “I went to his dressing room and knocked on the door, and when it opened, Kyomoto Masaki was right there. He said to me, ‘We finally get to meet~! But, you know〜 we’re the same type, aren’t we!!’. Right then, I blurted, ‘Are we!?’”.

Iseya, who was born in Chiba, proposed the next movie to be “Oyoide Chiba (Swim, Chiba)” and looked carefree as he took a selfie with Nikaido while GACKT and Kyomoto were talking. Lastly, everyone made the “Saitama pose” from the original movie, which symbolises Saitama’s Eurasian collared dove and the “tama (玉 / ball)” in Saitama, and exclaimed, “I love!” “Saitama!”.

Source: news.mynavi.jp

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA