Kodai Matsuoka stars in "Kimi to Shitashi Kiss wa Forever" (Kimi Kiss), currently airing on ABC TV's "Drama L" slot. The drama is an original story set in a lakeside hotel that has been fully renovated from a closed elementary school, and is a series of ephemeral yet precious and beautiful short stories that weave together various forms of love with loved ones. Matsuoka spoke about the appeal of the drama, the challenges he faced on set, and his thoughts on the final episode in which he played the lead role.
◇If we could create something in harmony with each other
In addition to Matsuoka, "Kimi Kiss" also stars members of "Team Handsome!", a group of actors affiliated with Amuse, including Kanata Hosoda, Junsei Motojima, Kenta Izuka Kenta, Aoyagi Ruito, Ota Masahiro, Mizoguchi Takuya, Fukuzaki Nayuta, and Koseki Yuta. Each actor plays a main role in the film, making it a so-called omnibus-style production.
With only the final episode remaining to be aired, Matsuoka felt from the beginning that "not only is the visuals beautiful, but the conversations themselves are interesting, and the show is not afraid to leave gaps in conversation, and makes effective use of periods of silence."
"There weren't many cuts, and the scenes that could be shot in long takes were shot in long takes. The images convey that great importance was placed on capturing emotion and atmosphere, and I thought it was also appealing that the film conveyed the reality that life-sized people were present."
Matsuoka plays Shinohara Ayato, one of the five childhood friends. Nicknamed "Sai," he moved to Tokyo to pursue his acting career but struggled to achieve success. Meanwhile, Yoji (Koseki), now a popular artist, asks him to appear in a music video being filmed at a hotel, prompting him to return to his hometown for the first time in a long while. He briefly reminisces about the time he spent with Keita (Ota), Akira (Mizoguchi), and Ryuka (Nakai Tomomi), but seems to harbor complicated feelings...
Yoji and Psy once made an important promise, but at the end of episode 9, Psy suddenly disappears on the morning of the day Yoji was to shoot his music video. Matsuoka reveals, "I could understand why he puts up a false front after making a promise to Yoji, and I also sympathized with Psy, who doesn't know what to do because the gap between reality and his ideals is so great."
"So this time, rather than creating a role from scratch, I first memorized the lines, then understood what kind of scene it was and what meaning it had, and then went to the set. You don't know how the other person will react until you're there, so I didn't have to be nervous, and I hoped we could create the role by responding to each other."
◇ I thought a lot about what is real.
Matsuoka also said that this time, in order to create a more "natural" feel, he was conscious of not "putting things into a mold or a box" on set.
"I tried to forget about theatricality and theories of acting for a moment. I was really thinking about what it means to be real, so even in scenes where there are conversations, I didn't speak too clearly, my pronunciation was just barely audible, the tempo was so bad it seemed slow, and I wasn't afraid to take in long pauses, so I think it was a new challenge for me."
Regarding the final episode, which will conclude the story of the five childhood friends from episode 7 onwards, as well as the drama as a whole, Matsuoka said, "I think it will depict what happened in the past, and the complex human relationships that arise because they were close friends, although it's not quite a feud."
"I think that the 'promises' that people make are the opposite of freedom, and I think Sai is feeling the restrictions that come with making a promise. In addition, I think many people have experienced the difficulty of using their own abilities in their work, and how to resolve the frustration that comes from growing and making compromises, so I hope that people will feel something when they watch the film."
The final episode of "Kimi to Shitashi Kiss wa Forever" will air on ABC TV at 12:10 a.m. on December 21st, and on TV Asahi at 2:30 a.m. on the 20th. Episodes 1 to 3, as well as the latest episode, are available to watch on TVer and ABEMA. All episodes are available to watch on FOD and Prime Video.
