"Diamonds Sleeping in the Sea" "Rina" Ikeda Elaiza talks about the kissing scene with "Shinpei" Saito Takumi

Ikeda Eliza plays Lina in the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "Diamond Sleeping in the Sea" (Sundays at 9pm) starring Kamiki Ryunosuke. She spoke about her thoughts on the fast-paced fifth episode and her favorite scenes. The drama is a story of love, friendship and family spanning 70 years, set on Hashima Island (Gunkanjima) in Nagasaki Prefecture, which developed through coal mining from the beginning of the Meiji era to the postwar high economic growth period, and in modern-day Tokyo. It is written by Nogi Akiko, directed by Tsukahara Ayuko, and produced by the same team behind the dramas "Unnatural" and "MIU404" (same network) and the movie "The Last Mile". After the broadcast of the fifth episode, Ikeda commented, "It seems that for everyone watching, it was a rush of rapid developments with many layers of shocks, and I empathize with the comments that the amount of information was so overwhelming that it made me feel like I was going crazy. I felt the same way when I first read the script. Every scene is only created when everyone on set spends a long time carefully facing it, so I'm very happy about all the reactions." As each of their love stories accelerate, Rina reveals her own sad past to Shinpei (Saito Takumi), saying, "The person I love dies. That's the curse." Shinpei also confides that his wife has died, and the two of them talk to each other, telling themselves, "We shouldn't fall in love with anyone anymore. If we fall in love, the other person will die," "I won't love anyone," and "I'm going to live alone," which became a hot topic. Regarding the scene, Ikeda said, "I shouldn't tell the person I like that I like him. I shouldn't tell him my secret and get him involved. But I don't want to lie. Rina has a lot of inner conflict. But even though there is a difference between what I say and what I think, I try not to lie completely." In the next scene, a sudden development occurs when Rina is found by Kotetsu (Wakabayashi Tokihide), a member of the Yakuza's pursuers, in an alley at night. Rina panics and runs away, but is caught. Kotetsu snatches the gun she brought out and points it at her. Sensing something is wrong, Shinpei rushes over and fires after a struggle. Shot in the chest, Kotetsu sinks into the sea. Rina kisses Shinpei while crying, saying, "I thought you were going to die, Shinpei," and apologizes, saying, "I'm sorry." Instead of answering, Shinpei kisses her back, and the scene became a famous scene that attracted the attention of viewers. Regarding the requests made by the director during filming, Ikeda said, "(Not just in this scene) we often talked about where and to what extent Lina's overflowing love and compassion should be brought to the surface. He doesn't really say, 'I want you to do it this way,' but he often asks, 'What is Lina thinking right now?', which is very helpful." When asked about his favorite scene from the broadcast so far and the scene he would like to see again, he commented, "Hmm, all of them!". "It's a story where many emotions intersect, so if you watch it again after various events are revealed, it might be interesting to see that there are actually hints in everyone's expressions. As for my own scenes, if you look back at some of the scenes where Lina is talking to Shinpei with glasses, I think you will enjoy it because you will understand what feelings were behind the words of the two of them."