Taiga, Joe Odagiri, and Masayoshi Tominaga, the live-action version of "Pumpkin and Mayonnaise", what are the musicians of the three men?

"Pumpkin and Mayonnaise" synopsis

Tsuchida, who works at a live house, secretly works at a cabaret club to support his live-in girlfriend, Seiichi, so that he can realize his dream of becoming a musician. On the other hand, Seiichi is in a slump, having mixed feelings about the fact that the band he left out of has signed a contract with a record company and replaced them with a gravure idol as the vocalist. spend. At that time, Tsuchida is approached by a customer, Yasuhara, who comes to the store and offers her a mistress contract, saying that she has a job that will earn her more money. One night, the money he had hidden from his mistress is discovered, and Seiichi goes to work after learning that Tsuchida is having a physical relationship with the man. Then, just when Tsuchida starts working exclusively at live music venues like before, her past lover Hagio (Joe Odagiri), who she still can't forget, appears in front of her. The feelings from the time when he was hiding come back to life, and he becomes obsessed with his relationship with Hagio, clinging to the past.

Index

• Taiga's ability to breathe life into ambiguous characters
• If I had him play a gay man, he would be Joe Odagiri.
• What is Tominaga's work that continues to depict obsession and dependence?

Taiga's ability to breathe life into ambiguous characters

``Pumpkin and Mayonnaise'' is a romance manga by manga artist Kiriko Uokai that was serialized in ``CUTiE Comic'' (Takarajimasha) from 1998 to 1999, and directed by Masayoshi Tominaga. This is a story of the love life between Seiichi, who quit his band and spends his days in his apartment, and Tsuchida, who starts working at a live music venue and working at night to financially support her cohabitation with him. . In the original, there is a lot of blank space in the background, and the episode progresses from Tsuchida's perspective, so Seiichi's face is often seen in profile or from the back of his head, so I have no idea what his expression is, what his tension is, and what he's thinking. . Rather, the sense of distance between the lovers, who live together physically but are emotionally distant, is reflected in the inability to see Seiichi's facial expressions, but of course this is not the case in the movie.

Taiga was chosen to play Seiichi in the movie. Taiga portrays Seiichi's personality, which was completely ignored in the original work, as a person with a quiet demeanor and a well-defined shadow. Director Tominaga's direction is said to have emphasized Seiichi's natural innocence. Seiichi spends a day at work building a display cabinet to make Tsuchida happy, but as it collides with the toilet's sliding door, it falls apart as soon as Tsuchida opens it. Seeing this, Seiichi's face was taken aback! This movie has few lines and purposefully features a lot of silence, but it is Seiichi's comical movements similar to Buster Keaton's that saves the lovers from the silence that befalls them.

After Seiichi learns that Tsuchida has been earning money as a mistress to support their life together, he begins to work furiously. The expression on Seiichi's face when he suddenly changes from quiet to dynamic is also interesting, and Taiga plays him as a person with real flesh and blood. The plot is a story about a couple in their 20s chasing their dreams, unable to pursue them, and heading for a breakup, but it's not dark or damp. As Taiga himself says, ``Although it's a story of separation, in a sense it's a story of Seiichi becoming independent and expanding his place outside of his apartment, so I played it as a story of hope.'' Probably the body.

"Pumpkin and Mayonnaise" (C) Kiriko Uobai/Shodensha, 2017 "Pumpkin and Mayonnaise" Production Committee

By the way, Asami Usuda, who had previously been chosen to play Tsuchida, director Tominaga, and the producers were looking for an actor who was close to music, and they came across Taiga early on. In the movie, the acoustic guitar that Seiichi always keeps within reach when he is composing songs is Taiga's own guitar, which he has been using ever since he bought it when he was in junior high school.

If I had him play a gay man, he would be Joe Odagiri.