"The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese" Original: Setona Mizushiro x Director: Isao Yukisada Creator Talk [Director's Interview Vol.76]

Characters speak on their own in my head

Q: I think this applies to the current story about humans, but the lines in Mr. Mizushiro's works are really piercing. How can you create words that resonate so much?

Mizushiro: For me, manga is a kind of work. Because that person is there, it's like I just automatically put it down on paper.

That's why I may have different opinions from the characters. For example, Imagase talks about his love as if it's real, but I think, ``Is that so? It's just an obsession,'' (lol).

But if I only include my opinion, it becomes my story, and I don't want to portray myself. In terms of sensation, it may be similar to making a documentary.

However, if it was a real person, I don't think they would be able to show me everything. In that respect, I can see everything about the character, so perhaps the lines come out naturally.

Yukisada: I see... In Mizushiro-sensei's original work, the core of the characters hasn't wavered and they're alive and well. If I had done the calculations in my head, this wouldn't have happened. He takes what you would understand when you say, ``I love you,'' and stretches it out to the fullest, and throws a lot of trials into it. That's why it's so realistic. I learned a lot.

Mizushiro: Thank you.

Yukisada: No, but no matter how much he "comes down", lines like this often come out.

I think I was able to include some of the most famous quotes in the history of romantic movies, such as, ``When you fall deeply in love with someone, it means they become an exception.'' Don't you understand?'' ``No, I understand.'' That's the exchange. When I came across this line, I realized, ``That's right, it's not number 1 or number 2.''

I have continued to make films that compete for number one or number two. I like the daily life of people who say, ``You're number one,'' but there's someone number two. However, I have never been aware of the feeling of being an ``exception.'' There is no work that defines love in this way, and if we were to say this, there would be nothing left to do with the love story (lol). That's an amazing line.

Mizushiro: Imagase has a love brain, so his words tend to be dramatic. There's something about that state that makes him feel good, and I think he's getting a lot of adrenaline going (lol).

Yukisada: I see (lol). In screenplays, these words tend to be written indirectly, such as, ``Someone said so,'' or ``There was a story like that.''

But it's only because Imagase-kun says it voluntarily that it's working.

The image of the main character in his shoes