Classy Magazine August 2022 Issue. Akaso Eiji Interview “About Summer”
Q1. What comes to mind when you hear the word 'summer'?
'Sea' and 'Heat stroke' (laughs). When I was a student, I often went to the sea to play. I can't go now because I'm afraid of the sun burning , but when I was living in Nagoya, I went to a beach called Suishohama in Fukui Prefecture. The white sandy beach is beautiful and the sea is green and very pretty. The sea is better than the mountains. I had a heat stroke once (bitter laugh). I've been careful since then. Even if I am not thirsty, I try to replenish water.
Q2. Do you like summer?
I like it. But if you ask me if it's winter or summer, winter is better (laughs). No matter how hot it is in summer, one T-shirt is the limit, so you can't take off more than that (laughs). In winter, even if it is cold, you can wear it a lot. I do like summer though.
Q3. Please tell us about 'Summer Memories'.
When I was in high school, it must have been that I wore a school uniform and went to a summer festival. In my hometown of Nagoya, everyone was wearing a school uniform when we went to the festival, so even the girls were in school uniforms, not yukatas. A fireworks display was also held at the festival, and I enjoyed visiting various stores while watching the fireworks. Speaking of summer-like things after moving to Tokyo at the age of 20, it's like having a barbecue I think fits more.
Q4. How did you spend your summer vacation as a child?
During summer vacation, I kept going to my grandmother's house. Staying there for about a month with the feeling of returning to the countryside,Homework in the morning, going to the pool in the afternoon, smashing watermelons in the yard, or playing with fireworks or playing games with my cousins of similar age. I was always having a great summer vacation. It was really nice to ride a bicycle (mamachari) on a hot summer day ~ (laughs). When I returned to Nagoya, my cousins were sad that they didn't even come out to see me go. But I never say that I was sad.
Q5. If you're going on a date in the summer, what kind of date is ideal?
I want to go to Okinawa or Hawaii~ It's more of a trip than a date, but it's ideal (laughs). If it's a one-day date, I want to walk around while eating something in Enoshima. I've only been to Enoshima twice, but I want to go for a walk ,to have my palm read (hand) while eating some delicious food. If you are going to play at a camp or at the sea or swimming pool, I think it would be more fun to go out with colleagues or friends rather than a partner(lovers).
About the drama Ishiko and Haneo -Are you suing me for something like that?, in which Junko Arai x Ayuko Tsukahara, well known to make hits works, participates. Please tell us how you felt when your cast was decided.
I was really happy, and because they are making a lot of great dramas, I thought I had to work hard. For example, I felt that the beauty of the video and the delicate expression of emotions in
<Meet me after School > and <Beloved> had the power to attract the audience to the point of being swept away just by looking at them.
What was your impression of Tsukahara-san's directing?
She says, "You don't have to wait until the other person finishes saying the lines," or "Even if it's different from the lines, you can put your feelings at that time into words." It was a play that I hadn't done before, but it's raw, or it's something that is instantly born on the spot, so I wondered if it would be easier for people to watch it. I thought about what it means to "live the role" again, and I am receiving new stimulation everyday.
-Acting as Aoi Ohba, a client of episode 1 and a used car salesman. In high school, he was the ace of the kendo club, and he is a straightforward and kind character. Also noteworthy is the kendo scene of Akaso san , who has actually practiced kendo
It was helpful because I remembered how to handle the armor and how to wear it, but there were some parts that I forgot because I hadn't done it for more than 10 years (bitter laugh). It's been a long time and I feel nostalgic and happy,but the Jukdo sword didn't move as I thought…
I thought that if I could use the strength like I used to practice every day, it might be better and I would be happier.
-Akaso-san's acting is thorough enough to change his personal life according to the role. What are you conscious of when playing Ohba?
While valuing what I felt at that time, I always thought, "How does it feel to be sued for something that trivial? At a time like this, I keep thinking, "What would you do if it was Ohba?"
- What are you looking forward to participating in this work?
I have to say that It's possible to co-star with Arimura (Kasumi)-san and Nakamura (Tomoya)-san. Their acting is "Wow! Awesome!' I keep feeling it. I like the rhythm of the conversation between Ishiko and Haneo, and I enjoy being part of that worldview.
- Not only this work, but you will also appear in the morning drama <Maiagare!>. It looks like it will be a busy summer because of the overlapping filming.
Thank you very much. I'm very grateful. I'm really grateful To be in an environment where I can continue to think about acting all the time.
18 notes
·
View notes
First review of the year, yay, and it’s for a GOOD ONE: the totally wonderful, heart-fulfilling She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat (Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna/TsukuTabe)! This was a GREAT DORAMA, with LOTS going on. I’m giving this the ultra-deep treatment, so: long post and spoilers!
(I know some folks had issues with finding the dorama to watch; please follow @furritsubs for all the info!)
I had posted an update on my viewing of the show earlier in December, and I’ll quickly review the context in which this show was aired, although my last post kinda explains things, too:
So I’ve written before that NHK, Japan’s largest broadcaster, doesn’t always mind taking risks with their shows, like the wonderful Life as a Girl and many more. As well, NHK has a number of different show formats, the most famous one being their asadoras, or 15-minute everyday morning dramas (asa = morning, dora = short for dorama). NHK also has a late-night 15-minute drama format called a yorudora, and TsukuTabe was their latest 10-episode installment before the end of 2022. (Many Japanese QL shows air in late-night slots -- like Kinou Nani Tabeta and Cherry Magic on TV Tokyo -- I think in part because they are considered more “adult” and/or not necessarily meant for primetime/family slots. However, the popularity of these shows, I think, far outweighs their airing times.)
So! A late-night GL by NHK. And one that’s reminiscent of a few other shows -- namely, the aforementioned Kinou Nani Tabeta and Cherry Magic, both of which I saw echoes of in TsukuTabe. (For the IMPORTANT record: this was my first GL. If I’m missing any obvious GL tropes, forgive me in advance. And NHK has not shied away from queer/lesbian content before, most notably 2019′s Mistress.)
The show is set up between two neighbors, Nomoto and Kasuga. Nomoto loves to cook, but doesn’t have a huge appetite. And she loves to cook HUGE PORTIONS. Who’s gonna eat a huge portion of food?
She finds Kasuga in her building one day, carrying loads of delivery, which Kasuga clarifies is just for herself. Nomoto’s intrigued. She helplessly makes a huge meal one night, hears Kasuga approaching, and invites her in -- and away we go.
A couple of themes that I’m reflecting on. First, food. Damn it: Japan just WINS AT FOOD DORAMAS. YOU WIN! Food doramas -- Wakako Zake, Kodoku no Gurume, Kinou Nani Tabeta, SO MANY MORE -- you just suck me in. I even cook from these shows! LOOK AT THIS!
Yes, it IS beautiful!
At least in my opinion, when themes of food and cooking are connected to QL content in Asian content, I think the design is intentional to draw in food-loving audiences that may otherwise NOT watch QL. I felt that strongly with Kinou Nani Tabeta, which was wildly successful in Japan, not withstanding the unbelievable casting and acting of the A-list actors, Nishijima Hidetoshi and Uchino Seiyou.
But what I loved first about TsukuTabe is that the themes of food and cooking were used to tell multiple story strands about Nomoto and Kasuga throughout the show. Whereas in KNT, it was the actual cooking and eating of dinner every night that shaped Shiro-san’s and Kenji’s permanent relationship together, Nomoto and Kasuga had individually defined, previous relationships with food and cooking that just so happened to coincide upon their meeting. For instance, Kasuga reveals that she eats tremendous portions to make up for a childhood that was very conservative and sexist, where she was made to eat smaller portions than her father and brother, and was oftentimes left hungry at night.
Nomoto herself reveals in the middle of the series to Kasuga that cooking for people makes her so happy that she can literally cry, and she does.
Nomoto hasn’t had anyone else in her life before who would respond to the huge portions she loves cooking. It could come off as transactional, but for Nomoto, it is not at all. Her huge portions of cooking are meant as an investment in another person. If another person ever responded to her huge portions with total abandon and appreciation, as Kasuga does -- then that person has totally fulfilled Nomoto’s emptiness.
But what I also love about this theme of cooking is that TsukuTabe uses it to make a distinct critique of male-oriented Japanese society -- in that Nomoto has previously been pegged as a family-oriented person for her love of cooking.
I LOVE THIS. Oooooh gosh, it is pointed and spicy. Oftentimes, I interpret cooking as a means of compassion and investment -- a definition of creating family through the intimacy of cooking and eating together.
BUT I LOVED THAT TsukuTabe turned this on its head. TsukuTabe’s storyline definitely checked me. Here, TsukuTabe points to its audience and says -- if you cook together, create a family together -- why does that responsibility always fall on women? Why does it always SEEM to fall on women? Even in the nostalgic gaze of adults reminiscing about their childhoods -- isn’t it usually the mothers making the home and table for their family? Do you KNOW what it TAKES for a mom to actually pull that shit off? I love that Nomoto calls bullshit on all of it in one shot.
And actually, KNT turned the tables a bit on this paradigm, too. KNT showed that a gay male couple could still say tadaima and okaeri to each other, to cook together, and to have dinner every night. I don’t think the KNT storylines were necessarily created as a critique of society, though -- those storylines were more meant to demonstrate to an audience that a gay male couple CAN be family. (EDITED TO ADD: the wonderful @bengiyo notes in the notes that KNT actually had quite a bit of critique about the way gay males are treated in society, and I totally agree, so I want to edit this post without hiding my previous content -- I think the writers of the KNT dorama and manga both handled the societal critiques in more subtle ways than in TsukuTabe. To reinterpret what I was trying to say about KNT -- I think the presentation of common familial practices in KNT was deliberate to demonstrate that those exact practices can absolutely be used in a same-sex relationship, helping a Japanese audience to see that family is family, no matter who’s in it.)
TsukuTabe does not shy away from the critiques. Besides this cooking-related storyline (I mean -- Kasuga literally being hungry as a child, chosen to receive less food than her younger brother -- BOTH of her parents were total misogynists), there’s also stories about equity told WITHIN the food itself.
In Japan, there are often assumptions held that between a cishet couple, a woman will eat less than a man. This concept is borne out in part by couples bowls, often given as wedding gifts, where one bowl is smaller than the other.
I actually first saw the trope of couples bowls in the second volume of the Old Fashion Cupcake manga. Togawa and Nozue are on a trip to an onsen, and are wandering the town in their onsen yukatas (very cute). They go into a ceramics store, and Nozue is silently struggling with wanting to get two bowls for himself and Togawa -- but all the couples bowl sets are different sizes. (The scene ends with the cashier leveraging her radar to create a set of two same-sized bowls for our darling Cupcakes.)
Kasuga is shown in the beginning of TsukuTabe at a restaurant ordering a karaage set. The shop’s master gives her less rice than the male customer sitting next to her. She seethes. And asks for more rice. She gets her full portion.
So we know that Nomoto eats less than Kasuga -- but I happen to really, deeply love the way this difference is portrayed in certain parts of the show, because I think it indicates that the series is treating this pairing as a cishet couple would normally be treated in everyday Japanese society -- the kind of society that TsukuTabe is very pointedly criticizing.
This scene depicts the gals eating haruko meshi, a salmon donburi topped with ikura (see footnote). I’m showing the first two screenshots purely for the GORGEOUS LOOKING DISH, HOLY EFF, but I love the overhead shot of their differing portions!
I love the looped critique shown in this shot, while also honing in on who Nomoto and Kasuga are, authentically. They’re gonna eat different portions because they’re different people, which, like, sometimes happens in a coupling. Why should they be treated differently than a cishet couple, simply for both being women? I think that’s what the show is saying.
AND: there’s a small but lovely resolution to this particular thread in the last episode. Kasuga takes Nomoto back to the restaurant where Kasuga was initially served less rice. The shopkeepers changed their policy, as Kasuga discovers -- and they ask all customers if they wanted a small, medium, or large portion of rice. Nomoto, of course, takes the small, and Kasuga takes the large.
Guh. I just love this. I really love the quiet critique happening in these shots, in these differing portions of food, that allow these two to be themselves while coming to terms with what it means for them to be spending time together.
So, speaking of spending time together, perhaps I saved the best for last in this review by analyzing the actual coupling of Nomoto and Kasuga together (but listen, okay, for me, the food ranks really high, REALLY HIGH).
Off the bat, the show doesn’t show any heat between these two. They don’t actually get together in the traditional sense -- no conversation about dating, no physicality, nothing. They just spend time together and talk and eat and cook. The manga itself only has three volumes in Japan, and I’m not even sure that they HAVE gotten together yet in the manga at present. I BELIEVE, by following Twitter and IG, that something MAY be brewing with them holding hands, but I’m honestly not sure yet. But back to the dorama:
Nomoto’s journey in this show is that she comes to realize that she is a lesbian, in love with Kasuga. In this case, her journey is similar to that of Ida in Kieta Hatsukoi, who begins to date Aoki, but doesn’t know what love feels like, because Ida has never dated before. He doesn’t know what it feels like, admits it, and wants to explore it.
So, Nomoto has never dated before. She’s talking about Kasuga to a co-worker, without revealing that Kasuga is a woman. The co-worker (HELLO, MORITA MISATO, LOVE YOU AND YOUR RISKY WORK) knocks Nomoto on the head with the obvious, which leaves Nomoto stunned:
And Nomoto goes into reflection mode, thinking about her childhood and teenagehood, when her friends ask her who she likes and who she’s dating.
(But, before that happens, a quick note on colors, inspired by @respectthepetty, the best colors analyzer -- while Nomoto is in the dark for some time in her revelations, Kasuga sees the light, and it’s made clear in the show that she likes Nomoto, which lights up her lonely and otherwise previously dark life.)
Much of Nomoto’s ultimate reflection on her past and her sexuality takes place in a literal fever dream, where she sees herself as a youngster, not relating to her friends (“everyone is dating now,” etc.). And then she sees Kasuga walking away.
(Where else did we see this? In Cherry Magic: The Movie, when Adachi wakes up from his accident in a fright -- starting his journey to acknowledging Kurosawa as his life partner, both internally and externally.)
In Nomoto’s case: she recognizes that she needs to grapple with her past, and move from it.
And then, Kasuga comes to Nomoto, food in hand, ready to care for Nomoto in her fever. As Nomoto eats alone after Kasuga departs, Nomoto finally acknowledges her feelings -- and is determined to be okay with them, no matter how society reacts to it, even saying it out loud.
What I LOVE about the character of Nomoto is that she’s not ever particularly weighed down by society. She thumbs her nose at it. She certainly hears her mother’s demands to “find a nice guy to settle down with.” She grew up with friends who expected her to date men. Yet, throughout the entire show, gender equity is the forefront conversation, and you can see some of the fire in this last screenshot of Nomoto. It’s the same fire you see in her in the first volume of the translated manga -- Nomoto just doesn’t stand for inequitable bullshit. Her own revelations about her own sexuality needed some time to simmer -- but society will not keep her back from being who she is. I LOVE the way she is written. (And Higa Manami played her BEAUTIFULLY.)
The show ends with Nomoto seeing the light, standing beside Kasuga.
Again: they don’t officially get together. Nomoto acknowledges that what she will do is stand beside Kasuga. Because I don’t know where the manga currently stands with them being an actual couple, I can’t blame NHK for not pushing this envelope, but I do wonder a touch if some viewers were disappointed by not seeing a romantic acknowledgement between the two of them.
For me, it’s no matter, as y’all know I love a good and quiet dorama. (My god, the biggest show of last season in Japan, Silent -- that didn’t even end with a kiss, I was a little shocked!).
TsukuTabe took the assumed roles of women and totally spun them on their heads -- a tremendously important exercise in a country that is not famous for its gender equity.
Tackling two major critiques of society -- gender equity and LGBTQ rights -- this show took on a LOT, it did not shy away from it, and I deeply loved and appreciated this dorama for it. There was so much going on. Hunger and starvation leading to companionship and fulfillment. It was a beautiful show, and watching it was a great way to end 2022.
* * *
Two quick footnotes. First: the actress who plays Kasuga, Nishino Emi -- y’all should follow her if you’re on IG. She is SO SO SO COOL. She’s a great singer, great fashion taste, everything! She’s badass.
Secondly, aaahhhh, I kinda got obsessed with haruko meshi! Really quick: haruko meshi is from Miyagi Prefecture, where Nomoto is from, and is like a salmon sashimi and ikura donburi, but instead, the salmon is cooked with the rice with seasonings, like takikomi gohan. Kinou Nani Tabeta has a GREAT depiction of takikomi or kayaku gohan -- you can add mirin, sake, and shoyu to your rice cooker to cook the rice in those seasonings with other ingredients, like veggies, mushrooms, or even fish. If you have kids, make takikomi gohan -- I have never met a child who didn’t like seasoned rice!
Anyway, anything with ikura floats my boat, so I think I’ll have to make haruko meshi soon (although maybe without a ton of ikura since it’s so damn expensive), but holy fuck, doesn’t it look so good?!? AAAAHHH, I LOVE FOOD DORAMAAAAASS!
95 notes
·
View notes
could you pls rec a few j-dramas (romcoms or melodramas) from 2021 onwards?
*sweats nervously* bc I honestly don't like to rec things bc my taste is questionable... ngl 😂 but here we go! I don' think I have any melodrama recs though... as I cannot think of any I've watched 😅
— Kieta Hatsukoi (2021) | episodes: 10. genres: comedy, romance, youth.
— Animals (2022) | episodes: 08 (+ 2 specials). genres: business, romance, drama.
— Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi ga Dekinai!! (2021) | episodes: 10. genres: comedy, romance, life.
— Ore no Kawaii wa Mousugu Shohikigen!? (2022) | episodes: 09. genres: comedy, romance.
— Fight Song (2022) | episodes: 10. genres: comedy, romance, life.
— Seishun Cinderella (2022) | episodes: 10. genres: comedy, romance, fantasy.
— Hitomonchaku nara Yorokonde! (2023) | episodes: 10. genres: comedy, romance.
+ not a rom-com or melodrama but highly recommend for a fun and relaxing watch! 💐
💐 Ryosangata Riko: Puramo Joshi no Jinsei Kumitate Ki (2022) | episodes: 10. genres: business, life, drama.
+ also not a rom-com or melodrama but a life one with a bit of romance if you're looking for a longer watch (aka an asadora!) 💐
[yes hello i miss them!!]
💐 Okaeri Mone (2021) | episodes: 120. genres: romance, life, drama.
~ Hope some of these catch your attention! Happy Jdrama watching!
48 notes
·
View notes
hello ^^ hope this ask finds you comfortable.
How are you enjoying 光る君へ?
It is the first taiga drama I managed to stick to while it's airing and I am having a great time (and new vocab) but sometimes I wonder what the overall reception is like since it feels very modern?
to me it feels like they did a great job connecting the romance, friendship and political activity of the women to heian sentimentalities but I cannot help but wonder how much the strict gender divide that always comes up when reading on the time is actually historically true and also if the writer took a lot of liberties or whether there are feminist readings of that period that are getting acknowledged by the writing...
dunno where this ask is going, just checking in to see whether you have any blorbo in that show
<3
I'm so late with my reply once again, I'm sorry. :(
I'm a couple of episodes behind, but I'm liking it a lot! It's certainly a new kind of taiga. I've never seen smooching like that on a taiga lol.
Taiga viewership has been on the decline for a while now, and Heian period taiga generally does a bit worse since it's not as easy to understand as your usual samurai stuff. I have to google like once per episode and I keep forgetting who's who with all the titles haha. So it's doing worse than Dou suru Ieyasu last year, but that was a sengoku piece so it's not fair to compare.
But even Ieyasu struggled to keep the more conservative traditional taiga viewers on board, and it seems like NHK is purposefully trying to reach new audiences. Hikaru kimi e is not doing so well with middle-aged and older male audiences who've been the target group of taiga for a long time, but it's been pulling in women who haven't been big taiga fans before. It's been NHK's most viewed drama on NHK on demand. The new asadora Tora ni tsubasa (with Itou Sairi!!!!!) that just started is also similarly about women making history, so it feels like NHK is realising they can't remain as the older man's broadcaster if they want people to keep paying their fees.
I really should do more reading on Heian period in general! Some parts of the drama are of course fiction, since there is no actual proof of Michinaga and Mahiro ever having a romantic relationship, and the kind of justice Michinaga represents to Mahiro is a modern idea when he was in fact quite interested in marrying above his social status, becoming the first in his family to do so. But I'm watching them as blorbos so a bit of fantasy doesn't bother me haha.
3 notes
·
View notes