■ “I think that during this filming period, Yano-kun was able to experience the days he really wanted to make come true.” (Yagi Yusei of FANTASTICS)
A report from the filming location, stills, and behind-the-scenes shots have been released for the movie “Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days” (to be released nationwide on November 15th), starring FANTASTICS’ Yagi Yusei.
Filmed in late March at a certain high school near the Kanto region, the important scene early on shows Yano (Yagi Yusei) realizing his feelings for Yoshida (Ikebata Anji) and suddenly confessing during class. Yano forgets his textbook, so he pushes his desk together with Yoshida, who sits next to him, to show it to him. An indescribable tension runs between the two. This alone is quite bittersweet, but when Yoshida tries to take notes, his elbow hits Yano’s elbow, causing him to squirm, and Yagi and Ikebata carefully act out the moment the two spend together, which is enough to make you squirm just by watching.
In a normal school drama, the two’s hearts would be beating fast, but Yano-kun has a disposition to be extremely unlucky. He gets so excited that he cuts his finger on a notebook, which is a rather unlucky scene. The scene where Yoshida puts a bandage on Yano-kun is unique to this film. Yano’s gaze suddenly intertwines with Yoshida’s… Yagi plays Yano-kun with perfect timing as he blurts out, “I like you.” Yagi also delicately expresses the unique atmosphere of Yano-kun, who is so pure that it’s sometimes hard to know what he’s thinking. Yoshida-san (Ikebata)’s reaction to the sudden confession is also cute.
Yagi, who plays Yano, says, “Yano is very pure. He has a very strong desire for safety, and his desire to protect himself from injuries and accidents is so strong that he doesn’t feel any need for other things. But after meeting Yoshida and his important friends, he begins to want to change. I think that during this filming period, we were able to experience the days that Yano really wanted to live.”
Ikebata, who plays Yoshida, revealed, “On the set, I wanted to deepen the relationship between myself and Kiyoko. Kiyoko is a serious, hard-working girl who gives her all to everything she does. In particular, she always gives her all to Yano-kun. I tried to prepare for the role while understanding the various feelings that Kiyoko has towards Yano-kun. What Kiyoko and I have in common is that we both worry a lot. I also find myself quickly asking family members and others, ‘Are you okay?’ I think I often compared myself to Kiyoko in that way.”
A little ways away in the classroom, Hashiba-kun (Nakamura Kaito/Travis Japan) is seen gazing at the two suspiciously behaving characters with a complicated look on his face. Hashiba-kun’s presence also becomes intertwined with Yano-kun and Yoshida-san’s faint love affair. Usually, there are many stories in which a love rival gets in the way or is bullied, but in this film, there are no bad or mean people. Everyone is kind and considerate of others. The story depicted through these overly kind characters takes a gentle and lovely direction. This is also linked to the atmosphere on set, where the cast members gather to chat during breaks in filming. In particular, Yagi and Nakamura, who are the same age, seemed to hit it off right after filming began, and were the mood makers on set that day. The cast members who seem to be having fun in the warm atmosphere on set are an important piece of this gentle story.
Nakamura said that he felt something when playing the role of Hashiba, “Hashiba is someone who is good at everything, including studying and sports. To be honest, I’d like to say that he’s similar to me (laughs), but I approached him as a character who is different from my usual self. Also, Hashiba is a really good guy, and very kind. While he seems unable to give up on his own love, there are times when he supports the love of the girl he likes. There’s a line where he says, ‘What am I doing?’ and I really did think that. But then he gets to know Yano and becomes closer to him. I thought that was also a part of youth. He’s a really cute character, including his confusion about such things.”
Regarding his co-stars, Yagi said, “Ikebata-san was very fresh. He’s bright, dazzling, and very earnest. Shortly after filming began, we shot an important scene, and at that time I thought again, ‘Ikebata-san is the only one who can play Yoshida-san!’ He’s a very reliable presence.” He also commented, “I’m the same age as (Nakamura) Kaito-kun, who plays Hashiba, and I call him ‘Umi-chan’ affectionately. We’re from almost the same hometown, so I feel a close bond. Although we play rivals, I also like the relationship between Hashiba-kun and Yano. Yano likes Hashiba-kun as a friend, and Hashiba-kun also cares about Yano. I think the relationship between the two is also a highlight.”
Also, in early April, a scene was shot at a certain place in Kamakura city that tells us exactly how unlucky Yano is. Yano was walking home from school as usual when he fell on a flat road, bumped into a roadside sign, tripped over his school bag, fell into a roadside irrigation ditch… a scene that begins just at the beginning, showing Yano’s “daily life” that becomes worn out before you know it. “The best thing about these things is to do them boldly!” he says with a smile, but in the end he plummets into the cold irrigation ditch. After his spectacular performance as an unlucky boy, he walks briskly as if nothing had happened, showing the typical Yano-kun who is used to bad luck. For Yano, who is constantly injured, bandages and other bandages are essential items for him every day, and there were a large number of bandages and bandages on standby at the shooting site. It was also a normal process of filming to put them on Yagi according to the situation of the scene.
Regarding the important point of scenes where accidents occur, Yagi reflected, “I think it’s about how natural you can make it look. I acted with the awareness that it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to Yano-kun, but something that is a part of everyday life. Like, ‘Oh, here we go again…'” Director Shinjo (Takehiko) also said this, but the feeling of ‘Oh, it’s happened again, as usual’ is so Yano-kun.”
Also on set, Yagi was seen sincerely facing his first lead role in a movie. “He gives the impression of being easygoing when he’s in a group, but on set he started to show leadership. He was very reliable,” said producer Ogawa. He took the lead as a leader on set, where Ikebata and other fresh teenage cast members gathered, and actively played the role of connecting the cast members together. At Yagi’s suggestion, a dinner party was held on location in the middle of filming to deepen the interaction between the cast members. Yagi’s reliability and kindness, which grew as a leader, was contagious to the cast and staff alike, creating the “gentle world” of “Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days.”
Movie Information
“Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days”
Nationwide release on Friday, November 15th
Starring: Yusei Yagi
Cast: Anji Ikebata and Kaito Nakamura
Original story: Yui Tamura’s “Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days” (serialized in Kodansha’s “Comic DAYS”)
Director: Takehiko Shinjo
Screenplay: Noriaki Sugihara, Kei Watanabe, Hajime Ibuki
Theme song: FANTASTICS from EXILE TRIBE “Yellow Yellow”
Distributor: Shochiku
(C)2024 “Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days” Film Production Committee
(C) Yui Tamura/Kodansha
Movie “Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days” production site
https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/yanohibi-movie/
FANTASTICS OFFICIAL SITE
https://m.tribe-m.jp/Artist/index/168
