■Here’s his favorite line in Kansai dialect! “Protecting someone means protecting everything that person holds dear!” (Raul)
The movie “Akabane Kotsuko’s Bodyguard” starring Raul (Snow Man) will be released on August 2nd.
On July 20th, less than two weeks before the film’s release, a surprise stage greeting and prayer event was held in Osaka by the film’s lead actor Raul and heroine Deguchi Natsuki, in hopes of the film being a huge hit.
The first place the pair visited was Namba Yasaka Shrine in Osaka City. It is said to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity to business, and in recent years has become a popular destination with many foreign tourists.
The highlight of the shrine is the impressive power spot, the Shishiden, a stage modeled after a giant lion’s head, which is said to swallow the hardships and evil spirits of those who come to pray there with its huge mouth, bringing them good fortune and victory.
At this shrine, which has such benefits, Raul and Deguchi first participated in a prayer in the main hall. After receiving a prayer from the priest, they prayed for the victory of all the classmates and bodyguards, including Ibuki Arakuni (Raul), who are fighting hard to protect Akabane Honeko (Deguchi), and for the movie to be a big hit.
Afterwards, the two moved to the shrine grounds and went to the lion hall. Raul was surprised to see the huge lion for the first time, saying, “It’s really big!”. At the exit, he was also excited, saying, “Wow! It’s amazing!!”
With the impressive lion in the background, the photo session started with a panel in the shape of a votive plaque in hand. “Everyone in Kansai! You must see ‘Akabane Honeko’s Bodyguard’!” he called out in Kansai dialect, and the Osaka campaign began in a friendly atmosphere before the stage greeting in the evening.
Next, the two headed to Osaka Station City Cinema. In fact, the audience was not informed at all that Raul and Deguchi would be appearing on stage that day, so it was a complete surprise. It was a special preview screening before the film was released nationwide, and the audience was told that there would be a special video that they could only see there.
The two, watching the atmosphere at the venue from the wings, had a mixture of nervousness and joy on their faces. Finally, the MC announced a special video, and the venue went quiet. “Hey, hey, you came all the way here, are you sure you want a special video?” said the narrator, who sounded just like the main character of the film, the delinquent high school student Arakunin, as Raul and then the two appeared at the exit.
The audience let out a shriek-like cheer, and while they were surprised by their sudden surprise appearance on stage, they welcomed the two with thunderous applause.
In front of the still-excited audience, Raul greeted the audience, saying, “Thank you for coming to see the movie today! It may be a short movie, but I hope you have a fun time. I look forward to seeing you today!”
Deguchi then expressed his gratitude to the warm audience, saying, “Thank you for coming today. I’m very happy to meet you all in Osaka! I hope you enjoy yourself today!”
When asked by the MC about his thoughts on his surprise appearance, Raul replied, “I have a trauma about stage greetings.”
In fact, just the other day at the completion preview event “Akabane Kotsushi FES.” held in Tokyo, when all the cast members were supposed to go down the stairs to appear on stage, one person missed the timing and went down the stairs early. “I was really nervous this time, so I didn’t want to miss the timing to appear,” said Raul, and Deguchi said with a big smile, “I was grinning when I saw how nervous he was backstage!”
The adorable banter between the two brought smiles to the audience’s faces, and they gave warm applause for the surprise appearance, which was a huge success.
On this day, the main and heroine of this film appeared together on stage for the first time in a local area. Furthermore, this was actually the first time for the two of them to greet each other on stage in Osaka, so when asked how they felt about being on stage, Raul said, “I always look forward to seeing the excitement of the people in Osaka, and I was glad to see them so excited today as well! Actually, while everyone was watching the end credits, I came here through the back passage where the projector is, so I was really excited. It was a valuable experience,” revealing his excitement at being backstage at a movie theater he doesn’t usually go through.
Deguchi then said, “I’ve always had the impression that the excitement of the people in Osaka is something different, so I’ve been really looking forward to it. Everyone is so smiling, and so cute!” She looked happy at the enthusiastic audience.
In honor of the location, Osaka, there was a corner where they performed their favorite lines from the show in Kansai dialect. When asked by the MC, “Do you still remember the lines?”, Raul replied with enthusiasm, “I was filming until recently, so of course!”
He revealed that he had actually practiced his intonation with the MC, who is from Kansai, just before going on stage, and said, appearing nervous, “Please tell me if I’m wrong…”, before delivering a powerful line: “Protecting someone means protecting everything that person holds dear!”
As the audience applauded his perfect intonation, Raul shyly said, “See you later,” and tried to leave the venue. The MC retorted, “Don’t go home! (laughs),” and the venue was filled with laughter at this typical Osaka exchange.
Next, Deguchi said, “Ibuki-kun, don’t glare at your classmates!”, showing off his cute Kansai dialect that was just like the basics. The audience applauded, saying, “Too cute!”, and he proudly said, “I won this one (laughs).”
Next, the two were asked about their memories of Osaka. Raul said, “When we came to Osaka on tour last year, all the members of Snow Man went to eat okonomiyaki, but I had a mouth ulcer at the time so I couldn’t enjoy it very much… (laughs). Today I was able to eat a lot of floury foods!” He seemed happy to have gotten his revenge.
Deguchi then shared her memories of Kansai cuisine, saying, “I’ve been here a few times for work, and I did a lot of eating around Dotonbori! I went home with a crab in one hand and takoyaki in the other, making that famous pose (laughs).”
Also, when asked about his impressions of the prayer for a big hit that took place at Namba Yasaka Shrine before the stage greeting, he made a comment that was typical of Ibuki Arakuni, the bodyguard played by Akabane Kotoshi, who plays Deguchi, saying, “The power of the lion with its wide open mouth was so incredible, I felt like I was going to be attacked, so I thought I had to protect Deguchi!”
Deguchi responded with a smile, “You’re lying! (laughs),” and continued, “I thought the lion hall would be big enough for a person to fit inside, so I was surprised at how much more impressive it was. I think the movie will be a hit, as I was able to perform the prayer without any problems.” The audience responded with thunderous applause. It was an immediate reaction that made it seem like they were receiving some kind of blessing.
As the stage greeting took place after the screening, questions about the film followed. When asked about points they wanted the audience to pay attention to, Raul said, “I really like the scene where everyone in class 3-4 is introduced one by one. The more you watch it, the more you can enjoy each of their personalities, so I hope you’ll watch it over and over again.” Deguchi also said, “I also love the scene where the warehouse shutters go up and the bodyguards appear; it’s really cool. It’s a fast-paced scene, so I want to watch it over and over again!” They both said they like the scenes where the unique classmates make their appearance. They want to see these powerful scenes where the skills of each character shine through at the cinema.
Finally, Deguchi expressed his gratitude, saying, “I don’t often get a chance to meet everyone in Osaka like this, so I was really happy today. I would be thrilled if you all help make ‘Akabane Kotsuko’s Bodyguard’ a success! Thank you very much.”
Raul expressed his enthusiasm in a mix of Kansai dialect, saying, “Thank you for coming today. As you’ve seen, this is a really exciting and enjoyable movie, perfect for summer vacation. I think it’s a movie that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders, so I’d be happy if you could invite your friends and have fun together this summer!” The audience erupted in loud applause and cheers, bringing the stage greeting to a close with great success.
Movie Information
“Akabane Honeko’s Bodyguard”
08/02 (Fri) ROADSHOW
Starring: Raul
Cast: Natsuki Deguchi, Daiken Okudaira, Hikaru Takahashi (the official spelling of “taka” is “Hashigodaka”)
Yuuki Kura, Chihiro Yamamoto, Junki Tozuka, Yui Narumi, Aoba Nakata, Tan Nagai, Ryotaro Sakaguchi
Subaru Kimura, Daisuke Shiba (Moguraider), Shiba (Wednesday Campanella), Seira Anzai, Yuki Tachibana, Hiroki Matsuoka, Sakurako Okubo
Yuki (Tosa Brothers) Kanade (3ji no Heroine) Mio Kudo Ryota Miura Taito Takahashi (the official spelling of “taka” is with a hyphen) Ano
Kenjiro Tsuda Sarutoki Minagawa / Kenichi Endo / Tao Tsuchiya
Original work: Masamitsu Tanzuki’s “Akabane Honeko’s Bodyguard” (serialized in Kodansha’s “Weekly Shonen Magazine”)
Director: Junichi Ishikawa
Screenplay: Hiroyuki Yatsu
Distributor: Shochiku
(C) Masamitsu Tanzuki/Kodansha
(C)2024 “Akabane’s Bodyguard” Film Production Committee
Movie “Akabane’s Bodyguard” production site
https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/akabanehonekomv/
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