Mana Ashida: "It's because you're the root of all evil!!" Breaking new ground in her role as a "mysterious college student"

Actor Mana Ashida is breaking new ground as she plays the mysterious university student Sakura in the film " I Oredewa nai enjo " (directed by Atsuhiro Yamada, released on September 26th), starring Hiroshi Abe . When the trailer was released, a scene in which Ashida shouts "It's because you're the root of all evil!" became a hot topic, with some on social media saying it was "so shocking it could be traumatic."

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Akinari Asakura (Futaba Bunko), which was nominated for the 36th Shugoro Yamamoto Prize. It depicts the horror of modern-day false accusations, where unsubstantiated information on social media becomes "truth" and develops into a major incident. Asakura is known for the original story and screenplay for the manga "Shohashoten," which is currently being serialized in "Jump SQ.", and "Six Lying College Students," which was nominated for the 43rd Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award and was also made into a film. The screenplay was written by Tamio Hayashi, who has worked on films such as "To Those Who Were Not Protected" (2021), and directed by Yamada, who studied film at New York University and made his commercial feature film debut with "AWAKE" in 2020.

The story centers around Taisuke Yamagata (Abe), a salesman working for a major home builder, who is framed as a murderer after a photo of a female college student's body is suddenly spread from a social media account believed to belong to him. Anonymous individuals on social media flock to identify Yamagata's personal information, and he is pursued across Japan. He embarks on a desperate escape to prove his innocence and find the real culprit.

Ashida plays the mysterious Sakura, a university student who relentlessly pursues Yamagata, who is caught up in the "flame war." Ashida has an image of being intelligent and pure, but with the high level of acting skills she has cultivated since her days as a child actor, she plays a mysterious character that brilliantly betrays the image that everyone knows.

The stills released show the "mysterious college student" Sakura's quiet gaze, but one that conveys a strong will deep within. At first glance, she seems like an ordinary college student, but Sakura's gaze suggests that she will be deeply involved in the core of the story.

Although Sakura is a mysterious character, Ashida said, "I tried to balance my performance so that when people think back on the story after watching it, they'll understand what it was all about." She also revealed that the most memorable scene was, "It was my first time doing action scenes where I was rolling around on the ground and getting blown away, so it was very memorable."

Regarding this work, Ashida said, "Social media is something that is very familiar to us, and I feel like this is something that could happen to me or anyone else tomorrow. I think this is a work that really makes you think about the nature of human relationships both online and offline, so I would be happy if everyone who watches it thinks the same way."

Asada herself has stated, "You'll definitely be surprised when you find out the truth," so we hope you'll "witness" the new horizons she breaks in this work.