The premiere event for "The Silent Service: Battle of the Arctic Ocean," the second film in the "The Silent Service Osawa Takao, was held on September Getsuku at Dotonbori River in Osaka. Osawa, Ueto Aya, Kenjiro Tsuda, and director Yoshino appeared on a black ship modeled after the nuclear submarine Yamato, which appears in the film, eliciting huge cheers from the approximately 4,000 people in attendance.
The cast members appeared in refreshing white outfits. Osawa, who plays the captain of the Yamato, Kaieda Shiro, looked around the venue and said, "Osaka is a very passionate city," before congratulating the Hanshin Tigers on their first Central League championship in two years on September 7th. "I'm really happy to be able to come to such a passionate city like Osaka with the ' The Silent Service' team," he said in a bright voice, drawing thunderous applause.
Ueto, who plays freelance journalist Ichigaya Hiromi, also began by saying, "Osaka is the best!" and spoke of the city's appeal, saying, "When I come to Osaka, I feel positive. It's just so energetic." Tsuda, who plays the key politician Otaki Jun, is originally from Osaka, and expressed his joy in Kansai dialect, saying, "Hello, I've been hanging around the area a lot. I never thought I'd meet everyone on this river, so I'm really happy." Director Yoshino is also from Osaka, and was thrilled to be making his triumphant return with his latest film.
The latest film depicts the Arctic Ocean battle, the original manga's greatest battle scene, and the Yamato Election, which became such a social phenomenon that a TV special was made for it when the manga was serialized. Osawa expressed confidence in the finished film, saying, "I feel like everything has been powered up. I would love for you to experience it at the cinema." He also said, "The previous film and the drama series were both highly praised by people in Osaka, so I decided to come and see it this time." He added, "There's a lot to see. At sea, Kaieda fights under the Arctic Ocean as captain, and on land there is the general election battle. It's an incredibly exciting film with two hours of non-stop fighting. I hope the people of Osaka will enjoy it too."
Ueto also added that she felt the power-up, saying, "Watching, I forgot to breathe. It was so powerful, my heart was beating the whole time." She gave her stamp of approval. "It's like, 'Boom! Bang! Splash! Crack!', so I think people in Osaka will love it," she said playfully, drawing laughter from the audience. Tsuda said, "My character is fighting in the political part. It's quiet, but inside my heart, it's a battle that burns hot and steaming," and appealed to viewers to enjoy the battles that unfold simultaneously on land and outside.
The MC also mentioned that the "Osawa Taka Festival," in which people comment on images of General Ou Ki, the character Ou Ki played in the "Kingdom" film series, has become a popular event on social media. Ueto commented, "General Ou Ki is an expressive character, but I think it would be difficult to add a comment to Kaieda Shiro. It will test everyone's skills," to which Osawa replied, "I wonder why this festival started. If everyone is having fun," with a wry smile and a frown. "The character of Kaieda hardly moves. His facial expressions hardly change. He can only play in one situation." The audience was excited by the well-coordinated exchange.
The group then moved to TOHO Cinemas Namba (Chuo Ward, Osaka City) and made a surprise appearance at the film's preview screening. The theater was filled with cheers that sounded almost like screams. Osawa expressed his excitement to the audience, saying, "You'll be able to see a brand new film. I'm so excited." Ueto, who has had many opportunities to visit Osaka this year, says she always enjoys food, and on this day she said, "I had takoyaki," and Tsuda replied with a smile, "I ate some." As Tsuda spoke, enchanted voices of "Wow..." could be heard from the audience, and his deep voice captivated the Osaka fans.
During the stage greeting, there was also an opportunity to introduce the characters in detail, with Ueto saying, "In the previous work, Ichigaya was a Caster working for a large company. This time, he lives under the pressure of carrying all responsibility as a freelance journalist who does his own reporting. I was grateful to be able to portray more of Ichigaya's humanity, including his family background." Tsuda recalled his honest surprise when he received the role, saying, "I had read the original work, so I was like, 'Wow... Otaki...!'" and added, "It's a pretty important role, so I was nervous for a moment. But I was really happy and wanted to have fun doing it."
Osawa, who also serves as producer, said, "The theme is to surpass the previous work." He added, "From the perspective of fans of the original work, this is the most important block. I think it's the deciding factor. As a project, we put our heart and soul into making this block, as we felt that if we didn't make sure that people were happy with it, there wouldn't be a continuation. We put everything we could into it." He said he took on the challenge with extraordinary determination.
Osawa continued, "Kawaguchi-sensei also saw the film and said it was 'more than perfect.' I'm sure the film's creator was pleased as well," introducing praise from Kawaguchi, the original author. He continued, "I've been aiming for the film to be accepted not only in Japan, but around the world. Kaieda seems like the protagonist, but he's not the protagonist. I feel once again that he is a character who influences many people, and at the same time, is trying to convey something to everyone who watches." The Osaka premiere event came to a close amid thunderous applause.
After the event, Ueto expressed her joy, "I was so happy that everyone waved with such big smiles," while Tsuda added, "I thought it was great that they made a boat that resembled Yamato. They also made snow (of confetti), which made me so happy." Osawa also looked overwhelmed with emotion, saying, "The people in Osaka were so enthusiastic, and it was a really great time."
