Sakamoto Yuji - Soredemo Ikite Yuku interview Part 1B

Second half of Part 1 of the interview. Apologies for shoddy quality. There are quite a few perplexing lines for me. I can read most of it but I have a hard time understanding his point so some lines seem machine translated. This Abiko dude knows how to speak in bloody long and difficult sentences. The original Japanese interview is here. Corrections and suggestions are most welcome.

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Abiko: I was shocked by this show and wanted to say to people involved in making TV doramas, "If this can be done, you guys have to work harder!" In terms of Dialogue, acting and execution. Even when novels and doramas are predictable and string together cliches, that is ok. However this dorama has been the beginning rejected (such mediocrity) and has been about being real.

Sakamoto: Yes.

Abiko: As for that secret (about the quality of the show), who's intention/will power was it that made this possible? What type of the miracle of collaboration, chemistry or from an original script with a strong idea that the scriptwriter Sakamono-san. Can you tell me in detail the start of your plan?

Sakamoto: After I did Mother for Nipponterebi, I could not decide on what to do next. At that time, I heard from Fuji TV about the bare bones plan for 'there is a killer and there is his sister'. I thought it was interesting, very interesting. For doramas, the past and the future are must both exist in the story. You can't do doramas only about people who have suffered from traumas in the past live difficult lives. However, if the viewer can forsee  or anticipate the future (of the story) then the dorama can continue. I had to plan for what will happen.

Abiko: Certainly.

Sakamoto: As for dorama planning, even if you have special plans or settings, sometimes you have cases where what's going to happen next has not been written. After coming to do standstill, I thought there was a destination to this project and I went to 'I want to makes this dorama!'. After that I asked Eita-san and he agreed to do it. After that, it could finally move forward as a TV dorama.

Abiko: At that time the of screnarios has not started, right? At that time, Eita's character (the victims brother) hasn't appeared, right? As for the murderer and his sister, did you want Eita-san to play the murderer?

Sakamoto: At first, that is what I thought. In my head, I had the image of Eita-san as the murdererer and at that time, Eita-san also indicated his interest (in the role). After that, I was thinking of the plot and from out of the people associated with the victim came the main character...

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Sakamoto: Well, there are a variety of factors that lead me to this decision. First, I could not write from the murderer's point of view. The victim's family, I put to the side and I could really feel the plot start to advance.

Literally: If you don't determine (what is) good or evil,you can write anything.

Abiko: So the story starts from 'there is a killer and there is his sister'. In the beginning what were the components that you wanted to write? Heating up the materials/story about the people involved with the crime. From before, this is your writing style isn't it? 

Sakamoto: Well...... actuallly its not.  I did not feel that its would have been easy to expand on the dorama.

Abiko: In this case gathering the necessary materials, hunting for scenarios and developing them. What is the nucleas of what you were developing?

Sakamoto: I haven't brought any story materials yet. Well,before writing anything the only thing I determined was that it was not going to be black and white. In regards to Soredemo Ikite Yuku, it means the victim's family. The victim's families go through a lot of things and I wanted to paint that confrontation. I wanted a dorama about two characters with different thoughts and positions meeting. So I wanted to see whatever themes flow from it.

Abiko: There is an interview where Mitsushima-san said she was offered the job and her schedule didn't match and she had to refuse, However I read that you really wanted her for this role.

Sakamoto: When Mother was other, I wanted to next job to be with Mitsushima-san. The keyword that come out for me was 'younger sister'. Please do this Mitsushima-san. I want you to do this. That was my intention at the start of the plan though it was pretty big.

Abiko: from there, if I'm not working or repeat Shinahan while trouble this and that producers and directors and we willl or realigning the plot.

Sakamoto: A lot of TV doramas are shot in Tokyo, right? So from the start I wanted to set it in the countryside. No matter how much effort you put into it, there are people who are tired of seeing Tokyo. The only things I thought about were going to the countryside and the dorama looking different from usual.With that, we decided to go to locations like Nagano and Yamanashi...