Original author ma2 visits the set of the drama “The Reason We Fall in Love” starring Kikuchi Fuma to offer encouragement

■ “I was really happy when people said, ‘Kurosawa and Aoi were there.'” (Fuma Kikuchi)

The TV Asahi Oshidora Saturday drama “The Reason We Fall in Love,” starring Kikuchi Fuma (timelesz) and featuring Kumagaya Rinka as the heroine, will begin airing on October 12th.

As filming for the drama is progressing smoothly towards the first broadcast, the original author, ma2, visited the set to offer encouragement.

■ The original author, ma2, was “trembling” at the sincere approach of Fuma Kikuchi and Rinka Kumagaya to their roles.
ma2 visited the office filming location where the love stories of six men and women, including Kurosawa (Kikuchi Fuma) and Aoi (Kumada Rinka), unfold.

On the day, the filming of the memorable two-shot scene between Kurosawa and Aoi, which was also featured in the original work, was taking place, and ma2 watched the two performers with rapt attention. “I was thrilled to see Kikuchi and Kumada performing the two-dimensional characters I had drawn right in front of me!” he said, so excited that he glued himself to the monitor and occasionally cried out in excitement.

After observing the filming, they met Kikuchi and Kumada for the first time. Having heard about ma2’s visit beforehand, both Kikuchi and Kumada were nervous, saying, “What if they think we’re different from what they imagined?” However, when ma2 said to them, “Kurosawa and Aoi were there,” they were relieved and said, “I’m glad to hear you say that!”

Furthermore, ma2 gave high praise, saying, “The drama was able to express temperature and atmosphere that cannot be expressed in a picture, and I thought it was impressive.”

Kikuchi then revealed some behind-the-scenes information from the filming, saying, “The parts between the frames that aren’t depicted in the manga are also expressed in the footage, so while we respect the worldview of the original, we also carefully discuss with everyone, including the director, how to bring out the best in the drama.” MA2 was very impressed with this.

■There is also a scene where Kikuchi and Kumada, who are struggling to express their characters, ask for advice!
As this was a rare opportunity to meet the original author directly, Kikuchi and Kumada also asked ma2 for advice. Kikuchi confided, “Kurosawa is a character who doesn’t show much emotion, but I feel that he is a person who is full of love. I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to express that…” to which ma2 immediately gave their stamp of approval, saying, “I think you’ve already done that! Just play the role as it is!”

On the other hand, when Kumada asked “What is the most important thing to remember when playing Aoi?”, ma2 answered without hesitation, “The part where I love Kurosawa!”, to which Kumada agreed deeply. “I’ll try to incorporate the message I received into the role!” she said enthusiastically.

Furthermore, Kikuchi and Kumada spoke of their passion for the original work, and ma2 was thrilled, saying, “I’m so happy to hear their voices directly. I’m glad I wrote them.” She also sent her best cheers to the cast and staff, saying, “After watching the filming this time, I’m convinced that this will be a great drama!”

■The entire cast was delighted with the surprise! They received a newly drawn illustration of the cast and the original characters together.
In addition, there was a pleasant surprise for the main cast members who play six men and women who are timid when it comes to love, including Kikuchi, Kumada, Shichigosankake Tatsuya (Travis Japan), Saito Nagisa, Yoshihisa Hajime, and Yamazaki Hirona from ma2.

Each person was given a newly drawn illustration of a two-shot of each cast member with a character from the original work, such as “Kurosawa Tomoya x Kikuchi Fuma”. The cast members were delighted and impressed by the illustrations, which made the most of the characteristics of each character, saying things like “Amazing!” and “We’re so happy!”

■ Comment from Fuma Kikuchi (role of Tomoya Kurosawa)
Today’s shoot was very nerve-wracking. I was a little worried that ma2 would think that it was different from the image. But I was really happy when she said, “Kurosawa and Aoi were there.” I can work even harder from now on.
I get even more nervous when shooting scenes from the original work, like this time. The parts between the frames that are not drawn in the manga are also expressed in the video, so we carefully discuss how to bring out the good points of the drama while respecting the worldview of the original work, including the director, and create it. The more we shoot, the more things become visible, and when we connect the cuts and complete it as one scene, it can look different from what we imagined, so we are looking forward to the finished product.
I received a colored paper with a newly drawn illustration from ma2, and I was very happy! It’s wonderful to have a two-shot with a character from the original work. I feel like he drew me looking my best, so much so that I would like to use it for my driver’s license photo if I could (lol). I’m going to hang it up in a place where I can see it easily in my house, and after looking at the illustration, I’ll try my hand at shooting.

■ Comment from Rinka Kumagaya (role of Aoi Morita)
I had heard that ma2-san would be there, so I was excited from the morning. This time in particular, there were many scenes from the original work that were filmed, so the sense of tension increased.
When I read the original work, I was able to empathize with it because it was full of the heart-pounding and heart-fluttering situations that everyone dreams of, such as office romance. That’s why I was really looking forward to playing Aoi-chan, and I felt a strong desire to “absolutely play the role myself!” When playing Aoi-chan, I was told to keep in mind the importance of acting without wavering from my feelings of “I love Kurosawa!”, so I would like to incorporate that into the role!
I was also very happy with the illustration I received. “I noticed that I was able to draw Kumada-san’s hair in the same style as Aoi-chan’s hair, and I thought it was amazing that you were able to give her the same silhouette,” he said, which made me realize once again how glad I was that I had cut my hair.

■ma2 (original) Comments
It was an amazing experience to see Kikuchi-san and Kumada-san acting out the two-dimensional characters I had drawn right in front of me. The characters came to life, and Kurosawa and Aoi were right there.
I learned that the drama would be made by switching the timeline and episodes, but there was no sense of strain and it had a very comfortable flow. The drama also expressed the temperature and atmosphere that cannot be expressed in pictures, which I thought was impressive. Having seen the filming this time, I am confident that it will be a good drama, so I hope that the cast members will act freely.
The show will be broadcast at 11pm on Saturdays, so I think it will be a drama that will make people who have worked hard at work or housework this week feel warm and fuzzy as they watch the love stories of six adults, including Kurosawa and Aoi, played by Kikuchi and Kumada, and think, “That was a good week.” I hope everyone will enjoy the drama.

Program Information

TV AsahiOshidora Saturday “The reason we fall in love”
Broadcast starts on October 12th
Every Saturday from 23:00 to 23:30

Cast: Fuma Kikuchi and Rinka Kumada
Ryuya Shichigosan, Nagisa Saito, Hajime Yoshihisa, Hirona Yamazaki
Original work: ma2 “The reason we fall in love” (serialized in Shucream’s “OUR FEEL”)
Theme song: timelesz “because”

“The reason we fall in love” program site
https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/watakoi/

timelesz OFFICIAL SITE
https://ovtp.jp/