Q: This is your first time working together. What were your impressions of each other?
Yamamoto: I’ve always adored her!
Kuriyama: She keeps saying that (laughs).
Yamamoto: I used to only watch anime, and didn’t really watch shows with real people. But whenever I happened to see her on screen, I would be completely captivated. Back then, she was probably the only celebrity I was aware of. I remember I used to watch Rokubanme no Sayoko.
Kuriyama: So that must've been around 2000.
Yamamoto: Because of that, when I heard that Akari would be played by Kuriyama, who I admire so much, I was really excited, and felt like "Eh, is that really okay"? "Isn't too much!?".
Kuriyama: I was really happy to hear that, but at the same time I felt a sort of pressure, and worried about not matching the image she had of me (laughs).
Q: Miss Kuriyama, what was your first impression of Miss Yamamoto?
Kuriyama: The very first thing I thought was "What a beautiful person". She's so pretty, apparently flawless, wonderful both inside and out. And that impression has not changed after meeting her. I had heard about her otaku disposition, and I honestly had no idea what that might look like. When I finally got to meet her, she indeed had such a disposition, but at the same time she was really bright and an incredible communicator, which helped me a lot!
Q: Miss Yamamoto, considering that you got to co-star with someone you were deeply admiring, has your impression of Miss Kuriyama changed through the filming?
Yamamoto: At first, I thought she’d be kind of cool and distant, but turned out she'd come speak to me in a very friendly way, and has a very casual side to her. I was surprised by this contrast!
Kuriyama: As for me, I thought she might be hard to approach, being so perfect. And yet, she's really easy to talk to, and she would actively move conversations along. Even though she's younger than me, I believe she's a very reliable person.
Q: The series features moments that get your characters' hearts fluttering. Is there anything about your co-star that makes your heart skip a beat, like it would happen for your character?
Kuriyama: Honestly, I could keep looking at her forever.
Yamamoto: I was saying the very same thing to Hama (Masaya Hama), who plays my husband! I really love her look with the uniform in the dining bar. She's so pretty. Like...her visual quality is on another level compared to anyone else!
Kuriyama: Very similar to what I was thinking! She's absolutely picture-perfect. And you know how this story starts off with love at first sight? Well, she definitely has the sort of charm that would make someone fall for her at first sight!
Yamamoto: I feel so flattered! Thank you!
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Q: The title of this series is Otona ni Nattemo / Even Though We're Adults. What does "being an adult" mean to you?
Yamamoto: While I am an adult, age-wise, I feel like I’m certainly not as put-together as I thought adults would be when I was a kid (laughs).
Kuriyama: Everyone feels that way.
Yamamoto: I remember thinking adults knew everything.
Kuriyama: Right, and yet we obviously don't know everything. I personally used to think adults could do nothing wrong and were always righteous, almost like saints. But that's actually very different from reality.
Yamamoto: When you think about it, maybe there’s no such thing as an adult.
Kuriyama: Maybe you're right. It's common for people to say things like "You're an adult, so...", but it feels so restrictive, doesn't it? You're an adult, so you have to do what's right. You're an adult, so you have to confront this and that. It's really just like the story of this series.
Yamamoto: I feel like we could talk about this forever. It’s quite deep, isn't it?
Kuriyama: See how, when you're still immature, you get all passionate about things you think you can do, then you end up failing, the setback feels so deeply frustrating and you get down into a slump, wondering why you just cannot do it? I think that when you develop the capacity to accept yourself even in those moments, and the willingness to think "It is what it is", and to feel "That's who I am", then maybe you can call yourself an adult!
Yamamoto: That's right! And that inner state can only come with experience!
===
Q: In the drama, the characters face many challenges and conflicts. Have you two ever experienced major struggles?
Kuriyama: One time, I had a role that had an incredible amount of lines. Barely able to sleep, I ended up making mistake after mistake, so we had to do multiple takes...I felt so bad for everyone on set. That experience even made me wonder if I should continue doing this job.
Yamamoto: I totally get that. When things don’t go well for me, I also end up wondering "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this..."
Q: How did you overcome those struggles?
Kuriyama: When things are tough, I remind myself of past successes. The positive memories help me push through the difficulties!
Yamamoto: I just tell myself, “If the director said it was OK, then I must be doing fine.”
Kuriyama: Exactly! If you don't stay positive, you just can't keep going, and you might end up making more mistakes, and everything would only get worse. However, if I'm honest, sometimes after filming, in the car back home, I think things like "Maybe I didn't do that right..." or "I wasn't very good in that scene". It can really stay with you.
Yamamoto: I remember crying out of frustration on the train home. Other passengers must've wondered why I was crying. When I used to do modeling work, I'd cry on the production bus, too.
Kuriyama: So it wasn’t just me. It’s nice to know someone else relates to that!
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Q: Many Model Press readers are chasing their dreams. What advice would you give them? What's the key to achieving your dreams, in your opinion?
Yamamoto: I’ve always loved Takako Shimura’s work, and part of me thinks that if I got to be in the first ever drama adaptation of one of her manga is also because I kept expressing my love. If I consider that I might have gotten the role of Ayano because my words reached Shimura, this means that what matters the most might be to put what you love and what you want to do into words.
Kuriyama: There really is power in words. My belief is that dreams come true if you keep doing your best with what you have to do, and with what's right in front of you. While it's important to have big dreams, even those projected into a distant future, I think they won't come true if you neglect your present. Face what's ahead, one thing at a time and I'm sure your dreams will come true one day.
Thank you very much for your precious insights!
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