It may not matter, but it's essential.
The live-action part of each episode begins with a barbecue scene. In that scene, all eight members except for Ozawa, played by Shinichi Tsutsumi, are gathered together, and then each member looks back on his or her own personal history.
Kubota: There was only one day when all the actors got together to shoot. . It was the only day that everyone's schedule could fit together. But since the eight of us came together by chance in the drama, we didn't know each other very well, and I think that feeling really comes through in the film. . Everyone was unfamiliar with each other, and they seemed to be strangers to each other. It was interesting to see how they were trying to find the distance between each other through their performances. But when you watch the film, you can see that they are talking about very deep things, but it seems so simple. I thought that was also interesting.
Kubota-san plays the role of Okamoto, who is like a scribe, writing down what the other seven members are saying. . And it is also a role where you cannot read what he is thinking deep in his mind from his facial expression. How did you approach the role of Okamoto?
Kubota: . As for the inner part, I thought I would play the role as I was inspired by reading the script. The director probably would not have wanted me to make too much of that part, and when I read the script, I wondered what the meaning of my role was, and I realized that the character is a person with inner torment.
In the episode about Okamoto, dreams are a major theme, but the story is about the blurring of the line between reality and dreams, so it may be a little more horror-like than the other episodes. I felt that the director offered me the role with this image in mind, so I did not add too much to the story, but rather subtracted from it. . So, I made the lines emotionless. As a result, I am glad that I had a silent agreement with the director regarding that area. When we were all talking in the barbecue scene, I had this image of him as a scribe, who was very superficial, even though he was part of the scene, and deep down there was like a big hole in the ground.
I felt that the drama depicted a "hole" in the hearts of the characters that could not be filled. After watching a few episodes, I felt that each of the characters had some kind of "hole" in their hearts that could not be filled, and that the drama depicted that hole. Do you yourself feel that you have such a hole in your heart?
Kubota: . not at all. My family is relatively close, but I am the third of three male brothers, so I always had their big backs in front of me. . So I naturally followed the path my brothers took. Looking back, it was very easy at the time, but that was not a choice I made, or perhaps I was just doing what my brothers were doing because they were doing it. I also had a lot of power struggles and skirmishes from a young age, which made me claustrophobic and ....... That's why I can't do small spaces, and if I do it the normal way, I can't get a mold of my face or anything like that (laughs).
. I think the past you want to change may be just one "hole" in your life.
Kubota: Only after I left my hometown did I realize that I had been looking at things through my own small lens. The world I was seeing and thinking about was only one small aspect of it. . But that doesn't mean that the place is bad, and it is not a denial because it is my roots and source to begin with. I think about how I will live my life, what kind of people I will associate with, and what I will do while facing the world in which I grew up.
But still, they probably think I'm full of holes, right? (Laughs) Maybe that's why I often get roles that are lacking in some way, and I don't get very happy roles. I guess that is the image of the people who see me. I think that's another kind of adherence, and I don't dislike it, but if you want to change that image, you have to change it in a way that works.
Lastly, each episode will focus on a single character, with a total of eight characters.
Kubota: It's hard to say, but I think it's the episode (episode 6) about Shingo, played by Tetsu Hirahara at ...... (Hirahara). He is supposed to be an able person, but his talent is not recognized by those around him, and he is seen as incapable. This makes Shingo a person who cannot do anything, no matter how he tries. In my opinion, what determines the image of a person is, in the end, his surroundings. However, since that is a mirror, it is the person himself who makes it so. Therefore, I believe that we are not alone in the world.
For example, (pointing to the red color of the light poles at the interview site) there is this red color. How red is this red? To me it looks very red, but to someone else it might look pink. But no one can prove how red it is. Ozawa, played by Tsutsumi-san, said something like that during my (Okamoto's) episode, and I really thought it was true. It may not be important, but I felt it was very essential. I thought to myself, "This director can talk about such a philosophical subject without hesitation! I thought (laughs).
