“Bakugyaku Kazoku Bakugyaku Familia” Interview with Tokui Yoshimi and Hayashi Kento

Adapted From the famous comic by Tanaka Hiroshi, the movie director Kumakiri Kazuyoshi produced this movie “Bakugyaku Kazoku Bakugyaku Familia”. The story is about a former teenage troublemaker who was called as the strongest man, but due to a certain insident, he has become an empty shell now. He called his former delinquent friends to regain his glory. This drama is an action and violence packed drama.

In this movie, Tutorial member, Tokui Yoshimi, acted as Tetsu. He leads  the movie as the former gang leader. Young talented actor, Hayashi Kento was enthusiastically portrayed a refreshing image of Tetsu’s son, Shuuhei. Other members of the cast includes Sadao Abe, Tetsuji Tamayama, Nao Omori, Kazuki Kitamura, ARATA, and Mitsuko Baisho.

The original manga series ran from 1994 to 2004 in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine magazine and amassed a total of 11 volumes. Bakugyaku Kazoku opened in theaters across Japan on September 8. The film premiered at the 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival on March 30.

  Tokui’s rebellious phase is in kindergarten!?

Q. Tokui-san and Hayato-san’s characters this time are really the opposite of your characters, right?!

Tokui Yoshimi (TY) : Everyone said so, but actually it’s the closest character with my own personality. I’m actually a very quiet person. Being Tetsu in the movie, I don’t have to speak much, and that’s very easy to do. However Kanto dialect is very difficult!! I used to speak with Kansai dialect, so during the act, I don’t know how to process the ending of my sentence. For example, in Kansai dialect, I used to end the sentence with “..jan” (laugh). Because everyone is used to see me speaking in Kansai dialect, I would have hard time if they don’t see my hard work in this movie.

Hayashi Kento (HK) : Shuuhei is… someone who is completely not me. I don’t even want to fight. But somehow I admire him. By talking with him, or being friend with him, maybe my high school will have lots of fun.

Q: This movie is portraying about a family crash, were there any time that you rebelled against your parents?

HK : Of course. Near the beginning of the movie where I stood against my father, I remembered that I had that scene before in real life, so I just acted as it was. That time I was really angry to both my father and my mother. I feel like I want to bash them, but of course I can’t. That’s why that bashing scene feels so real for me.

TY : Is that’s so?! I never remember I was rebellious in the first place. I think my peak was during my kindergarten.

Kindergarten?? It’s quite early!

TY : Yes, when I was 3 or 4 years old, I kicked the door, broke the window, I remember my feet got hurt badly, too. Then about in the third grade of elementary school, my rebellious phase was slowly stopping. But then after that, I don’t know myself anymore (laugh).

  Communication at the scene is dirty talks, not the fist!

Q : Tokui-san and Hayashi-san’s role as father and son is really interesting. What were your thoughts of each other when you know that you’re going to act together?

TY : That time, Hayashi-kun was 20 years old. “Ah, so he is my 17years old son?” was really a mixed feeling. If my son was Enari (Kazuki) kun, I think I will be ok. But Hayashi-kun is so good looking and has a tall posture, so I’m a quite worried. But when we finished shooting, strangely I feel Hayashi-kun is my own son.

HK : Rather than a father, I think Tokui-san as my brother and certainly, I was so anxious at the first time,too. When the actual shooting started, in my bashing scene, I saw scary face that I don’t see often, yet gradually I can feel his dignity as a father.

Q : There are also many great actors involved in this movie. How do you communicate each other?

TY : I was very nervous at first. Nakamura Tatsuya made a hella scary face….and I was like, what should I do….(laugh). The shooting in January was very cold, so everyone waited and sat around the bonfire together. I cheered up the situation with my neta (story). Wherever the place is, neta always works.

Q : In the movie, you communicate with fist, but in reality you communicate with neta!

TY : Yes. I mean, everyone there is real actor, since there are so many people there, bad talks about other artists may raise up, like… “Ah, this person! that person! The person I date long time ago…”. I am afraid with that talks, so I calm myself with neta.

HK : I was also there once when you told the neta. I was surprised with it (laugh). It’s like the neta is full with everything that must not be said in television. … Anyway I really have a great experience working with all of them.

TY : I show my erotic back. The pink back… (laugh).

 Young people are passionate; the father team choose safety first in action scene. 

Q : The action scene is very brutal, right?

HK : During my fighting scene with Ishida (Hoshi)-kun, because I, myself never had that kind of fights, I find it fun. Because I am a man, I am longing to collide like that once. Ishida-kun and I are in the same age, so maybe our tension is the same. When we start the shooting, both of us already feel so hot.

TY : The youngsters are great .Meanwhile we’re the father team always discusses about the safety first. Our talk is pretty much like, “this movement is dangerous so please be careful” to each other (laugh).

Q : Is there any real punch that you have done?

TY : There’s a scene of Murakami Jun-san who plays as Igarashi, beat an iron pipe to Tetsu. Eventhough that pipe is fake, but it’s pretty hard, so it’s very painful that time. I got some bruises also at my back. The punch and the kick from Murakami-san were ok. But that fake pipe, even though the staffs said, “it’s ok, it’s soft”, but actually it’s not. Those pipes are really painful… really.

HK : For me, there was a scene where I rode on a bike very fast under the rain, it was actually quite hurt. I can’t even open my eyes, so it becomes a worrying situation. But the Director said “Let’s go!” so I did my best.

  If things get messier, he’s happy! Actually Director Kumakiri is a Do-S!

Q : Speaking of Director Kumakiri who was debuted with Kichiku daienkai, he is famous for violence movie. But, what do you think about the director?

TY : Often we see Director Kumakiri as a shy person. But in shooting location, when everything gets messy, his tension is higher. When Hayashi-kun was stroked in the rain, he seemed so happy. He added more blood in the rain scene and gradually the location is full of blood. That director is a little bit strange…I am worried (laugh).

HK : Ah, the fight scene I was talking just now, too. There’s a scene where I hit Ren-kun. It’s pretty dangerous, but the director said, “That kick is the best! Nice!” .. I can’t say anything (laughs).

Q : But the fights feel really real. I think you will make everyone who watches the movie gets cheered up.

TY : I think our generation is the generation who can be patient the most although something happened, for example, “I really want to discuss about this, but I can’t”. I think Abe Sadao who portrayed Atsushi will say the same. In that movie he can’t protect his own daughter. But there’s nothing he can really do. It’s going to be painful when you realize you have hurt your precious person. That’s why, Atsushi’s character who always puts up too much finally burst in anger and confronts people.

HK : This movie is about a person who realize had hurt the precious one, who had abandoned the past, and finally go to fight. “I will protect you” is like the catchphrase of the movie. In my generation, communication is getting sparse because of the digital technology. Anything you want to talk is going to be sent by mail. People can’t talk face to face properly and tend to avoid it. I think that’s our generation is, that’s why I want to show them with this movie to see these figures of cool fathers.

Reporter : Maho Morita, Photographer : Bito Nonobu
Source : http://movies.yahoo.co.jp/interview/201209/interview_20120918001.html

The Cinema Today website put streaming a 75-second trailer for the live-action film adaptation of Hiroshi Tanaka’s Bakugyaku Familia manga. The video features the theme song “Kohaku no Sora” performed by the Japanese rock band 10-FEET.

For more info about the DVD: http://bakugyaku.com/