Takashi Kashiwabara Interview with IQIYI
Kassy: Hello friends at IQIYI, I am Takashi Kashiwabara. My first online film: Happy Plan will premiere at IQIYI on 2 July. Don't know whether you know about The line application. This story is about how a girl from China get to know a Japanese man online and they eventually fall in love with each other. The love story was based on the IT generation we are living now, whereby internet is widely used everywhere. In the film, both of the main leads did not use language to communicate verbally. I think this type of love story is special, that is why I wrote this story. Please watch this film if you have the time.
Q: In 1996, you starred in Mischievous Kiss and it was very successful. In 2013, you guest starred in Mischievous Kiss - Love In Tokyo. What is your thoughts regarding the 17 years gap?
Kassy: It had been 17 years since i starred in Mischievous Kiss, I personally felt that it was like reminiscing the past. It had been so many years ever since. When I saw Irie Naoki been reenact again onscreen, I felt very happy. At the same time, I am glad that Mischievous Kiss is still popular after 17 years. Yuki Furukawa did well acting as Irie Naoki too. It was like reminiscing the past while enjoying a dream ride in the time machine.
Q: The media labelled you as "The last pretty boy (handsome young man) in Japan". How do you feel about being crowned by this name? Nowadays, artises have a variety of images, personalities and charm. There is also a demand for younger artises that look handsome. Some of the artises even shared about their daily life in the social media, what is your thoughts about this trend?
Kassy: Regarding the "pretty boy" label, that was 20 years ago already. I had became an uncle now. (Shy) When I thought about myself being labelled as a pretty boy for ten over years, I felt very happy. This has also reminded me that I am no longer a pretty boy. When I was younger, I disliked this name and strongly rejected it. However, now that I am getting older, whenever I thought about this, I still feel happy.
Regarding the social media, I am not good at it and I don't like to post my personal stuffs on the website. I prefer to stay at home most of the time , therefore in Japan I don't use social media such as Weibo ( Twitter) or blog too. However, recently I have opened a Weibo (Twitter) account in China. If there is any news I would like to share with my fans, I will post it online. In order not to disappoint my fans, I will try to interact more with them in the future.
Q: It looks like you are not contented to stay as an artiste. We know that you are a fan of Oasis and you formed a band before. Not only that, you wrote lyrics and was the vocalist for your band. In this recent film - Happy Plan, you became the scriptwriter and director. Are you planning to work behind the screen?
Kassy: As a matter of fact, when I was 23, 24 years old, I formed a band with my brother and was involved in some musical activities. Although I am not an all rounded artiste, I formed the band to challenge myself. After writing the script for Happy plan, I felt that being a scriptwriter is an enchanting job. I will not be working behind the screen, but in the future I will focus more attention on scriptwriting. Although I do not know which type of method I will use to meet everyone, i may not appear as an artiste too. However, one thing is certain, that is I will work hard in every project that I received. Please continue to support me.
Q: Is there any director or actor you would like to work with in China?
Kassy: Personally, let's not talk about whether I will work with any China director or actor first. From my innocent point of view, I like director Zhang Yi Moe directorial film - Under the Hawthorn Tree. When I watched this film, I could feel the emotions of the main characters. Those strong feelings of sadness and pain, and how both the actor and the actress thought about each other. These delicate and deep feelings were captured onscreen. To be able to captute a person feelings and present it in such beauty, I think director Zhang Yi Moe is really a great director. Although I do not know if there is any chance for a collaboration, but if you ask me is there any director or actor I want to collaborate with, I would definitely choose director Zhang Yi Moe.
