[Report]Ren Nagase looks back on his first classic love story movie, “Yomeboku”! “I couldn’t help but cry at the end”

■ Natsuki Deguchi, who plays the heroine, is shocked by Ren Nagase’s artistic talent!? “Nagase-san is a master artist (laughs). He draws very unique pictures…”

A release commemoration event for the Netflix film “How I Met a Girl with Six Months Left to Live,” which will be available worldwide exclusively on Netflix from June 27th, was held on June 18th at KEYAKI in Truck Hotel, Tokyo, with lead actor Nagase Ren, heroine Deguchi Natsuki, and director Miki Takahiro taking to the stage.

“The story of how I, who had one year left to live, met you, who had six months left to live,” commonly known as “Yomeboku,” is a Netflix film adaptation of Morita Aoi’s bestselling novel, which became a hot topic mainly on social media. It is a heartbreaking yet refreshing love story about a time-limited love between a man and a woman who want to cherish their lives in the present.

At a preview screening held prior to the film’s release, 93 percent of audience members said they cried (according to Netflix), with comments such as, “It made me cry more than any other movie I’ve ever seen,” and “The love that was only temporary was heartbreaking, but the two of them seemed happy throughout the film and I felt positive at the end.”

At the beginning of the event, Nagase, who plays the lead role in the film, expressed his excitement, saying, “The release date is finally approaching, and it hasn’t really hit home yet, but I’m really looking forward to watching the film and hearing everyone’s reactions!” Deguchi also commented, “I’m really happy that the day has finally come when we can show it to everyone.”

Furthermore, Director Miki, who directed this film, said, “Usually I get anxious as the distribution or release date approaches, but this time, the atmosphere between Nagase-san and Deguchi-san was wonderful, and I think we were able to create a wonderful piece of work because of the influence of their vibe even while we were filming. I’m really looking forward to everyone being able to watch it.”

Nagase, who played the lead role in his first classic love story movie, commented that he “cried” at the end after watching the finished film. “It was my first time doing a movie that focused so heavily on love. I was a little worried about the time limit of the love story, but I was able to relax and be myself on set,” he said, looking back on the time of filming. “Until now, as a person involved, it was often difficult to enjoy a movie 100%, but with this movie I was able to purely enjoy the story, and I cried at the end. I was surprised because I had never done anything like that before,” he said, honestly sharing his thoughts when he first saw the movie.

He also shed a glimpse of confidence, saying, “The way the characters’ expressions were captured was wonderful, and Director Miki shot it so beautifully. I think it’s a film in which various pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely.”

Seeing Nagase in this light, director Miki recalled, “When I met Nagase, I wondered if his public image was that he had a cool and mysterious aura, but in reality he had a very friendly aura, and I felt that it would definitely be interesting to work on a project together. We talked about making the shoot like a session, where we could honestly express the expressions we were feeling at each moment.”

Additionally, in response to the many comments that “it’s not just sad, but makes you feel positive after watching it,” Nagase commented, “I think it’s the way Akito and Haruna live their lives that makes the viewers feel that way. Watching the two of them, you can savor the happiness you have now, and think positively about how you want to live your life with your loved ones from now on.”

Deguchi said, “I’m very happy if it made people feel positive, and it has given me confidence,” while Director Miki said, “When I first received the proposal and read the original work, rather than feeling sorry for Akito and Haruna, I felt envious of the two of them supporting each other. I wanted to express the atmosphere of these dazzling characters in the film.” Nagase and Deguchi both agreed with Director Miki’s comments, saying, “That’s what I wanted to say!”

This is the first time that Nagase and Deguchi have acted together. When asked about a memorable scene they acted together, Nagase mentioned the school festival scene, saying, “That scene was very elaborate! If someone asked me what my memories of high school were, I would say ‘My Wife and I’m Back’ because it was so sparkly (laughs).” In the film, Nagase played Akito, a member of the art club who was good at drawing, but Deguchi was shocked by Nagase’s artistic sense in real life.

Deguchi asked, “Nagase is a talented artist (laughs). He draws very unique pictures, doesn’t he?” Nagase replied, “When I draw eyes, I can’t always get the pupils in focus, so my pictures end up looking scary. Maybe my pictures are even used in the actual movie (laughs).” He looked back on that time and made the audience laugh.

Regarding the atmosphere on set, Deguchi recalled, “We were both shy so at first we couldn’t even make eye contact,” and Nagase said, “At first, Director Miki managed to get the situation under control so we were just able to talk, but as soon as we were alone I was constantly worried about whether it was okay to speak to him…what should we talk about…” Looking back on the early days of filming, Director Miki said that this sense of frustration worked to the benefit of the film.

The reason they became close was because they decided on nicknames for each other. Nagase called Deguchi “Degu” and Deguchi initially called him “Akihito-kun” by his character’s name, but eventually they became close enough to joke around by calling each other by their full names, “Nagase Ren” and “Uncle.”

Next, they each announced their favorite scene from the film. Nagase selected the heart-wrenching fireworks scene that he wasn’t able to see with Haruna. He commented, “The two of them care about each other so much that they end up missing each other, but that scene is so sad and touching.”
Deguchi selected the touching scene in which Akito brings Ayaka, played by Yokota Mayu, into his hospital room, explaining his reasoning, “Although it’s a story about Akito and Haruna’s love, friendship is also a theme. This scene is filled with Akito’s kindness and the feelings of each individual character, so I chose this scene of a lovely reunion.”

The director selected the scene in which Haruna has Akito draw a picture for him, and said, “We shot this scene towards the end of filming, and the atmosphere between the two of them was really good. As I was shooting Haruna’s expression, I was overwhelmed with emotion and I couldn’t cut. In fact, everyone watching on the monitor cried at this scene. It’s a scene that was very important to me in this film, so it’s a memorable one, and I hope viewers will pay attention to it.” He spoke of the passionate feelings he put into this scene.

The theme song for this film is “Young People’s Everything,” a cover of Yorushika’s suis, which became a hot topic on social media when it was released the other day. “When we first started making the film, rather than asking them to create a new song, we talked about finding a song that everyone has heard before, one that would open up a drawer of memories, and we decided on “Youthful Everything,” which I love myself. This film is a story about two people receiving each other’s feelings and passing on the baton of feelings. And I thought that music itself was what I wanted to express in this story. In fact, suis covered Fujifabric’s song, and the music has been passed down to future generations… I wanted to express that in the song,” said the director about the feelings he entrusted to the song.

Nagase also has a deep attachment to this song, saying, “Suis’s version really reaches into your heart, and I think it has a gentle voice that can loosen up any stiffness in your heart.” Deguchi also said, “I liked this song so much that I had it on my playlist, so I was really looking forward to the cover. When I actually heard it in the credits, I thought it fit the work really well, and I thought it was a song that would leave you immersed in the afterglow, letting your imagination run wild, like, ‘Haruna was suffering because of her illness, but she must have been very happy.'”

Nagase also shared a memory related to the song, saying, “Whenever the director went to karaoke, he would always sing ‘Everything for the Young’.”

Finally, Nagase concluded the event by promoting the film once again, saying, “This film will be distributed all over the world, but the story of life and love is a common theme that transcends countries and generations. The purity and straightforwardness of high school students that is unique to this work is carefully and delicately portrayed, and each scene is as beautiful as a painting. Be sure to check it out.”

Movie Information

Netflix movie “The story of how I, who had only one year left to live, met you, who had only six months left to live.”
Available worldwide on Netflix from Thursday, June 27th
Original story: Aoi Morita “The story of how I, who was told I only had one year left to live, met you, who only had six months left to live” (published by Poplar Publishing)
Director: Takahiro Miki
Screenplay: Tomoko Yoshida
Music: Seiji Kameda
Cast: Ren Nagase, Natsuki Deguchi, Mayu Yokota, Kyoka, Ikuho Akitani, Issei Otomo, Rui Tsukishima, Toru Nomaguchi, Kenji Mizuhashi, Atom Shukugawa, Fumino Kimura, Nene Otsuka, Tooru Nakamura, Yasuko Matsuyuki

Netflix official website
https://www.netflix.com/jp/