It has been announced that the Netflix film "One Year Left to Live, Buying a Man," starring actors Ko Shibasaki and Eiji Akaso, will be released this year. The unpredictable love story depicts the strange and sometimes pure relationship between a 40-year-old single woman who has been given a terminal diagnosis, played by Shibasaki, and a troubled host, played by Akaso.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikawa Toriko (Kodansha), winner of the 28th Shima Kiyoshi Romance Literature Award (2021). Katakura Yui (Shibasaki), who has always said that "saving money is the best entertainment" and has passed on romance, marriage, and childbirth because they are not cost-effective, is diagnosed with a cancer screening and is given a prognosis of how much time she has left to live. She then feels a strange sense of relief, thinking, "If I'm going to die, there's no need to save anymore." Then, a pink-haired host named Sena (Akaso) appears in front of Yui with a strange request: "Can you lend me some money?" Yui then "buys" Sena for 720,000 yen.
The director is Kazama Taiki, who has worked on the popular Fuji TV dramas "Silent" and "The Beginning of the Sea." The script is written by Okada Yoshikazu, known for the NHK Asadora dramas "Churasan" and "Hiyokko," as well as the film "10 Years Left of Life."
Shibasaki commented, "After reading the original work, I intuitively thought, 'Ah, I want to play this role.' Her hairstyle, work style, company uniform, meticulousness, and frugality... all of them seem very different from my usual self, but I also sensed a tricky side to Yui, and that's what interested me. Unconstrained by societal conventions, she builds her own little castle and lives there, and the way she calmly, yet subtly cherishes it, is similar to me in some ways. Perhaps I sympathized with Yui's inner child. And above all, I wanted to experience for myself the complete change in my outlook that occurs when I meet pink-haired Sena. Thanks to her, I've come to feel the importance of 'oshikatsu' (supporting your favorite idol). After all, you really do need an idol."
Akaso said, "Sena is a character who accepts the harsh reality, but lives lightly without showing it. I found it interesting to see how what he takes for granted gradually crumbles when he meets Yui. There is a natural groove in the conversation between the two of them, and the comfortable dialogue between them is also appealing. The work depicts a positive theme: we change ourselves by spending time with others. I would be happy if it can be a light for people who are anxious or conflicted about the future."
Yoshikawa, the original author, sent a message saying, "I never imagined that my incredibly shabby novel, in which a local office worker desperate to save money meets a local host struggling to make ends meet, would be made into a film with such a stellar cast. I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of film it will be, and I hope that this story will be a source of daily sustenance for someone."
