Yahoo News Interview to Ichika Osaki [Call Me by No Name]

I translated a very long interview to Ichika Osaki, published on Yahoo News. I only left out a few questions that were not related to the drama. 

Last year, Ichika Osaki drew attention for her role as the daughter of Torako’s new partner in the morning drama Tora ni Tsubasa. Now, she’s taking on her first co-leading role in the drama adaptation of Yuuki Shasendou’s GL novel Call Me by No Name. Osaki portrays Kotoha Furuhashi, a beautiful and mysterious university student who’s fighting against her fate, after changing her name. As a fellow student, Megumi Yotsugi, expresses the desire to be her friend, Kotoha suggests a peculiar bet: they will be lovers until Megumi manages to guess Kotoha’s real name. With the drama shooting having come to an end, we had Osaki share with us her thoughts on it and her prospects for the future.  

Interviewer: What kind of things did you do on the set of Call Me by No Name?

Ichika: I would say I really focused on communication. I shared most of my scenes with Mio Kudou and didn’t get to interact much with the other cast members, but I made an effort to reach out to everyone, staff included, and memorize their names, in order to shorten the distance between us.

Interviewer: Was becoming a lead in a drama one of your goals?

Ichika: It’s something I wanted to try someday, so I was quite happy about it. Also, I had no idea how being co-lead with someone would play out, whether we’d work together encouraging each other, or we’d each focus only on our own selves. With Mio, it was a sort of complementary dynamic, and we supported each other through the filming.

Interviewer: Mio Kudo starred in Mashin Sentai Kiramager, which aired after your Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, making you both former Pink Rangers. Were you familiar with each other, also given that you appeared in an episode with both Sentai teams?

Ichika: We did indeed meet before, but at that time we barely got to talk to each other, so somehow this felt like a first encounter.

Interviewer: Did the role of Kotoha Furuhashi feel like a fit for you?

Ichika: Considering my short hair, I felt like we might be a match because of a “girl crush” sort of aspect. But as per the internal side of the character, I definitely lack the sensuality Kotoha displays numerous times in the novel. That was a challenge for me, and I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.

Interviewer: The script describes Kotoha as “so beautiful it gives you chills”. While I feel like you wouldn’t have to change anything to fit the description yourself, how did you tackle that?

Ichika: I wanted to embody that beauty as much as possible, so I admit I approached the filming while paying more attention than usual to my looks. For example, I tried to regulate my food intake a bit so my face wouldn’t swell up.

Interviewer: At one point, when Megumi asks about the proof of her being popular, Kotoha replies “You can tell just by looking in the mirror”. 

Ichika: I could only ever say something like that as a joke (laughs). In order to be able to say that convincingly, I feel like one would need a sort of persuasiveness that goes beyond mere beauty.

Interviewer: Were you familiar with Girls’ Love stories?

Ichika: This was actually my first experience with the genre, both in terms of novels, manga or shows. When it came to using something for reference, I decided to not limit myself to GLs, and included romance dramas in general. Sure, in this drama specifically, the romance is between two women, but it’s still romance. I’ve watched lots of scenes with heart-fluttering moments, trying to find out the sort of gestures that are considered cool and captivating.  

Interviewer: Do you think it helped on set?

Ichika: I’m not sure. Living as Kotoha, I wondered if doing the same things would work. One thing I realized is that expressing sensuality requires a measure of composure, so I was mindful of the pacing and tone of my line delivery.

Interviewer: How did you find filming the kissing scenes with another woman?

Ichika: I kept worrying about lots of different things, like if it was okay or if it hurt…In scenes in which we kiss with a certain intensity, I would continuously check if everything was fine, If I had perhaps cut her lips, etc.… 

Interviewer: Would you say attention was paid to show the beauty of such scenes?

Ichika: I believe the beauty of the footage is important to keep the viewers engaged. Softening the more graphic aspects, adding variations in pace can help in that sense. The director and filming crew took special care with planning the lighting and angles that would make the scenes look as beautiful as possible, so I entrusted myself to that and just focused on acting.

Interviewer: Was the result as beautiful as you thought it would be?

Ichika: Watching in the monitor on set, I could notice things like the careful shading emphasizing the face lines, and the light in the eyes. Even in the dark and heavy moments of the series, everything that goes beyond the acting itself was beautifully arranged, which I was very grateful for.

Interviewer: Kotoha appears to be the one taking the lead during the love scenes most of the time. Does that take into account the sensuality you were mentioning earlier?

Ichika: If you go too aggressively, it can come off as scary and give the impression of a lack of composure. We kept consulting, trying to find the right balance.

Interviewer: What about the scene that marks Kotoha’s encounter with Megumi, where you extend your hand as you lie on a garbage dump?

Ichika: For that scene as well, the acting was obviously important, but even more so were the angles and lighting. It’s the opening scene and it has no words, so we did our best to try and create visuals that would draw in the viewers.

Interviewer: Is there something you were especially mindful of in terms of making Megumi’s heart race?

Ichika: I would say I did everything pretty nonchalantly, avoiding elements that would be stereotypical of that sort of moment. In a way, the parts that were not supposed to make hearts flutter were sort of key, and I was never able to imagine how they would turn out in the end.

Interviewer: There’s also a scene in which you’re eating together, and you feed Megumi…

Ichika: I’ve never done that to anyone, nor I’ve ever had someone do that to me, so I felt awfully nervous during that scene (laughs). Making someone flustered by saying a line is much less nerve wracking compared to doing so via a direct and purposeful action. Also, feeding someone while speaking is surprisingly hard, and I experimented quite a bit trying to find the ideal “Ahh”.

Interviewer: Kotoha a strong character, in essence, isn’t she?

Ichika: Her strength is nothing but a faΓ§ade. She is determined and quite firmly grounded, but I found her to be deeply vulnerable as well. The really strong people are those who can confront people face to face, emphasizing with them, while Kotoha is merely pretending to live strongly. Her looks and tone might be tough, but I’ve always considered them more of an act, while performing.

Interviewer: She seems to be quite hard to get a hold of!

Ichika: She’s constantly switching between getting close and pulling away. You might see her very affectionate one moment, and then the next she suddenly and sharply enters her own detached mode. I felt as though she herself couldn’t fully understand whether she was in a good mood or a bad one 

Interviewer: Sounds like a difficult role to play.

Ichika: The scene in which she has to express her weakness was really tough for me, since that is something I find challenging myself. When director Eda told me “Even your fumbling around, in itself, is exciting and very Kotoha-like”, I managed to find some enjoyment in it. It was difficult, but I was able to perform unrestrained, so it was a blissful and satisfactory experience.

Interviewer: Were there parts of Kotoha that you found close to your own self?

Ichika: While I can’t say that the role fully overlaps with me, I think that there might be a lot of similarities between us, on an essential level.  

Interviewer: The carrying of trauma and fate were also difficult aspects to portray for you?

Ichika: It definitely was important for me to avoid expressing it in an overly simplistic way, focusing only on the heaviness of it. I tried to think about how to convey the pain, and about what Kotoha would authentically do.

Interviewer: Is there something you perceive as a sort of “fate” yourself?

Ichika: No. I hate the idea of fate (laughs). I’m the type of person who only wants to do what they like!

Interviewer: Did you enjoy the Enoshima date scenes?

Ichika: They were fun, but I was carrying Kotoha with me by portraying her, I couldn’t let myself be too much in high spirits. I wish it could’ve been a more fun date.

Interviewer: In the drama, the date was planned by Megumi. What about your own ideal date plan?

Ichika: I don’t like moving much during the day, not even for a date (laughs). Ideally, we’d go out to eat at around 4PM and then hop to a few different places. I feel like that would be fun.

Interviewer: In the past, you said you ate 500g of roasted meat all by yourself. How much do you plan on eating, starting your date at 4PM? (laughs)

Ichika: I can handle quite a lot (laughs). I feel like I could also manage desserts, taking breaks now and then. Even when traveling, I prefer eating tours to sightseeing. And the other person should also like to eat a lot and be proactive.

Interviewer: Do you often go on food tours? 

Ichika: Not really. I would, if I could find someone to go with, but I don’t have friends who eat that much.

Interviewer: And since you don’t want to move, would an aquarium date also be out of the picture?

Ichika: Tough question. Aquariums can be fun once you go, but I’m an indoor person, and it takes time to motivate me to go out. It would be great if I could wake up and find myself already there, though (laughs).

Interviewer: Is there anything else from the filming of Call Me By No Name that left a strong impression on you?”

Ichika: It was quite intense. We would film from morning until night, and everything was quite memorable. If I had to pick, what comes to mind is the scene in which Kotoha’s weakness, or rather her true self, comes out. It required a lot of thinking on my part, and I was completely unable to pull it off, initially. I’d think “That’s not it!”, and I would keep trying, over and over again. Thankfully, I was allowed to take all the time I needed.

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