Mangaka Maya Mineo’s legendary work, Tonde Saitama, has unexpectedly been adapted into a live-action movie. Nikaido Fumi takes on the challenge of her first male role, while GACKT received a direct offer from the author himself. These two beautiful people will be guiding us through a world from another dimension that defies all common sense of this world. We bring to you an extended version interview which includes parts unpublished in the magazine.

── How did you feel when you first heard that you’d be co-starring in this legendary work, Tonde Saitama?

Nikaido Fumi (below, N): First of all, I was surprised by how nice the casting is, and with GACKT-san playing the role of Asami Rei, I felt that this alone would the movie that much more convincing already.

GACKT (below, G): I’ve read Master Maya Mineo’s original before, so when I heard that Fumi-chan will be playing Dannoura Momomi, I thought, ‘I didn’t see that coming’. In the original, Momomi is a male, and I thought that they were changing his gender to female, but when I heard that Fumi-chan will be playing a male as per the original, I thought that was interesting.

N: Master Mineo’s work is a gag and a comedy, but it depicts a beautiful world that gives you the chills when you see it. To achieve that, I thought that perhaps it would be better to leave Momomi as a male. But I’ve only ever acted in female roles, so I was uneasy about it.

G: But that’s only normal (smiles). I’m somehow playing a high schooler, you know. When I first received the offer, I felt that playing a high schooler is impossible for me after all, so I thought of declining it. But I was told that ‘this is an absurd movie, to begin with’, and it was such an honour to be personally picked by Master Maya too, so.

── Is this your first time acting together?

G: It wasn’t direct, but in the drama Tempest, we did work together too, and we were also on Guru Guru 99 together as well. I still remember this even now, but Fumi-chan likes aeroplane seats, and she said that she knows which aeroplane’s seat it is no matter what the type is. I like aeroplanes too and I’ve changed around flying with a wide variety of airlines, but I was moved by how such an enthusiast exists.

N: On a program, there was a quiz where I’m supposed to identify the airline by looking at the seats, and I got all the answers correct and GACKT-san clapped and praised me, saying that it was wonderfully done. GACKT-san has an image of nobility and mystery, but when you speak to him, he’s kind, and he taught me a lot of things. That gap was lovely.

G: This time, we were able to have deep conversations about a variety of things while filming. It’s because Fumi-chan is a very interesting person.

N: Thank you.

Even if it is near, the distance between hearts is far for Saitama

── By the way, what kind of impression do you have of Saitama till now?

G: When I came to Tokyo when I was 20, the first place I lived in was Ikebukuro. My band members back then all lived in Ikebukuro, but when I told an acquaintance about it, they often replied with “Ikebukuro? You’re living in such a place? It’s almost Saitama”, and I didn’t quite understand. Just what kind of meaning “almost Saitama” held. Fumi-chan, when did you come to Tokyo?

N: I first started work at 12, and I officially came to Tokyo when I was 15

G: Where did you stay initially?

N: In Minato Ward.

G: That’s a whole other level!

N: It doesn’t feel like it’s the centre of Tokyo, but I could always see the Tokyo Tower, so it at least made me feel like “this is Tokyo”.

G: For me, when I first heard “Tobu to the west, Seibu to the east, this is the seven wonders of Ikebukuro”, I was moved, like, “Ikebukuro’s amazing!”.

N: My father came from Tokyo’s Machida City. I have relatives in Itabashi too, and I myself lived in Fuchu when I was young. But things were vague when it comes to Saitama. I only had the impression that it has the Saitama Super Arena, and that it’s a very very hot place in summer.

G: Momomi had a line about Machida and Fuchu too, didn’t he?

N: That made me feel so bad. When did GACKT-san first step into Saitama?

G: Right after I went solo, among the members who arranged the songs with me, there was one who lived in Saitama and that was the first time I went to Saitama. It’s near to Ikebukuro, but the distance between our hearts is far, that’s my first Saitama. That member’s home is in Saitama, but it’s in around the outskirts and he had a pipe organ in his house. After we were done with the arrangement, we went out to eat and we went to a place with an unexpectedly pleasant atmosphere. The toilet in that place had an automated sliding door that will close on its own. It’s a common thing now, but back it the day, none of the eateries in Tokyo had introduced it, and when I turned back in surprise thinking “What? It just closed on its own!”, the toilet lid lifted open. I surprised, like “Holy shit! Is this place haunted by something”?

N: Like a psychic phenomenon?

G: Exactly (smiles). Right now it’s normal but that was the first time I saw it, you see. When I later realised that it was automated, I was shocked. “Saitama is a more developed city that I ever expected!”. Since the first time that I saw an automatic toilet washer system was in Saitama, the impression I have of it is that unexpectedly has the latest things.

Can’t mix Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, and Ibaraki up

N: Ever since I was young, I loved Crayon Shin-chan and I only knew the name Kasukabe. But I often mixed up Saitama and Chiba, and when I’d say to my Chiba-native friend “You were born in Saitama, right”, they’d often get angry with me.

G: It’s crucial that you don’t mix up Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa. I often get mixed up between Ibaraki and Tochigi too, and the fans get angry with me. Though I see them as almost one and the same to me.

── Ibaraki and Tochigi are completely different! The population density in Ibaraki is higher! (※The write is a native of Ibaraki Prefecture)

N: For both Tochigi and Ibaraki, when you actually visit them, you’d know the difference. Tochigi has holiday home areas, while Ibaraki has the sea…

G: Oh, that’s right. They’re completely different…. Speaking of north Kanto, the way Gunma is depicted this time was interesting.

N: That scene was filmed in both Tochigi and Shizuoka too. Even if you look at the movie on the whole, it does look like there weren’t many shots that were filmed in Saitama, does it?

Aristocrats from another planet bringing pride to the prefecture

G: There are so many locations this time, and in addition to that, every time we change location, filming would go on until midnight of the next day. But because we start early in the morning, I was worried about Fumi-chan getting sick

N: Thank you. I finished filming a scene that was different from GACKT-san’s, and when I watched the preview of the completed version, I was surprised that such tough situations happened. Even though I knew how the story went with the script, to think that things turned out like that.

G: When I watched the very first scene that we shot, I was confident that this movie will definitely turn out to be interesting. When Fumi-chan appeared in costume in the extremely extravagant set of the student council room, laughter was already welling up. I’m someone who likes manga too, so I knew that I’d definitely hate it if a manga live-action adaptation was done half-heartedly. But that was an unfounded worry.

N: Director Takeuchi (Hideki) told us, “The more seriously you act, the funnier the movie will be”, so we simply acted normally without resorting to cheap tactics, didn’t we?

G: That’s right. The director said, “If you aim to make people laugh, it’d be cold, so please be serious with the acting. I want to make a movie that will have the audience snickering at that”.

N: Just once there was a time when I couldn’t hold in my laughter and the moment I was out of frame I lose it. It was GACKT-san’s scene in the climax though.

G: Is that so (smiles).

N: Everyone was so amazing, I thought that Momomi was the most normal role (smiles).

G: I thought that same thing, that I was the most normal one (smiles). After all, the moment Kyomoto (Masaki)-san appears on site, everyone just gets shocked.

N: Kyomoto-san was amazing.

G: Among Kyomoto-san’s lines was one that went like “Saitamalaria, a febrile disease unique to Saitama that is borne by the miniature Kasukabe mosquito. If left untreated, it will sometimes lead to death”, but Kyomoto-san stumbled halfway and started grumbling angrily, “My lines are so long! And what the hell is a miniature Kasukabe mosquito!”. That was so weird. But I couldn’t laugh, so that was painful.

N: As it went on, it turned into a heated scene. GACKT-san and Kyomoto-san were like legendary figures, so the reality that they were acting as Asami Rei and Duke faded more and more until it was a fantasy world. When the two of them are next to each other, it’s really so beautiful. His scene with Iseya-san was wonderful too.

G: Within the entanglement that I had with Iseya-kun was a scene that I proposed to the director. As a fan of Master Maya, I believed that it’s definitely better to include such a scene if we’re working on this from Master’s world view. I want those who watch the movie to expect it somewhere.

N: That scene was really really wonderful! It was awesome! (claps)

G: Thank goodness then (smiles). Even so, this time, I was overwhelmed by Kyomoto-san from start to end.

N: I think that it’s rare that so many classy people from different planets are gathered. I think the same of GACKT-san too, but everyone seems to hover above the ground they stand on. It really made me wonder if they’re really human (smiles).

G: That’s not true at all (smiles).

N: I felt the same with Takeda Kumiko-san who plays Momomi’s mother too.

G: I also thought that Kumiko-san was a very unusual person, it felt like she would float in the air.

N: But director Takeuchi is the oddest one around after all (smiles).

G: The director would look at the monitor and guffaw on his own. Even though I don’t think it was all that funny at all. I was swayed by that in the beginning.

N: The director would be the only person laughing at the site, so that was kind of bizarre (smiles). Furthermore, he’d give the OK without looking at the monitor too and say, “Because I know that it’s more or less OK at such a time”.

G: The director is a creative person, so I suppose he could see the big picture of the movie from the very beginning. Because you wouldn’t be able to get the right balance if you don’t have the vision for such a movie. I think that this is a work that is packed with director Takeuchi’s particularities in every scene.

This movie’s impact on these two’s future

── Where does this movie stand in both of your careers?

N: It’s not particularly difficult in my career, and I’d be glad if people who watch it would come to think that Saitama is a nice place. Including director Takeuchi’s particularities, the movie has the good parts of Japanese film along with that part of Western films that forcibly brings to life things that have no place in reality, and it’s turned out to be a very interesting movie. I have nothing but gratefulness for the chance to be involved in this movie.

G: Even though it’s a live-action adaptation of this world view, I was troubled over a number of things and I did wonder if it was going to be a heavy burden on me, but I think that in the end, this casting was correct. In addition, I once again felt the latent potential of Japanese film. And in that sense too, this movie will come in as one of the top 5 live-action movie adaptations of manga.

── It seems like you’ll feel something special when you go to Saitama in future, doesn’t it?

N: I went to Saitama before this, but it was unexpectedly normal.

G: Exactly (smiles). My feelings towards Saitama hasn’t changed at all. Now and forever.

Source: numero.jp

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA