Yagate Kimi ni Naru (Bloom into You) or Yagakimi for short, is one of my favourite manga series and I’m very excited to see it get an anime adaptation. It’s not clear yet as to how much of the existing material will be covered within a mere 13 episodes but I’m definitely enjoying how things are transferring to the screen thus far.
Da Vinci interviewed our main couple Takada Yūki (Koito Yū) and Kotobuki Minako (Nanami Tōko) over two parts, and I’m splitting the post into 2 parts as well as it gets a bit wordy.
I’ll admit that I was initially disappointed when Kanemoto Hisako, who voiced Yū in the manga CM, went on hiatus over the summer which ruled her out of reprising the role in the anime but I’ve warmed up a lot to the Kotobuki-Takada dynamic now; they do have a proper senpai-kouhai feel to them (even if only 2 years of age separates them) which might not have been possible with the older Kanemoto.
It’s really endearing to see how adorable Minako finds Yukki – this photo of the pair from the first radio show episode where they attempt to replicate the radio show logo’s image just melts my heart…
These feelings of ‘love’: where are they headed?
The act of lying for the sake of living an honest life is a beautiful thing in itself (Kotobuki)
Q: First of all, could you tell us what your impressions of the series were upon reading the original manga and the episode script?
Kotobuki: There was a CM produced prior to the anime adaptation and that was when I first encountered the original manga, where my first impression of it was ‘this is just beautiful’. Through my involvement with other works I’ve had the opportunity to watch yuri series as well as read a variety of romance-centric stories featuring relationships between 2 women, or 2 men, or a man and a woman. In the midst of these lies Yagate Kimi ni Naru where the depiction of the main couple is bittersweet; you sense that the fragility [of their relationship] may be broken at any moment and that aspect is something that I find captivating.
Takada: I too, thought that is was ‘truly beautiful’. The pure white emotions harboured by Yū where she does not understand what ‘that special feeling’ means, her desire to know what is ‘special’ to Tōko-san, and how Yū’s pure feelings gradually come to be tinged by other colours – these aspects are all clearly illustrated. My first impression of the series was that it was ‘beautiful’ and ‘elegant’.
Q: The existence of such emotions that in theory cannot be revealed to other people allows the series to delve under the surface and cover aspects that aren’t necessarily refreshing or cheerful – does acting out such scenes create any other impressions of the series for you?
Takada: I do think that engaging with Tōko evokes all kinds of emotions in Yū. Falling in love with someone may bring joy and pleasure but you’ll also experience anxiety and pain at the same time – that is something that I feel to be so true, both when I am acting and as I read further on into the manga series.
Kotobuki: By choosing not to focus on facial expressions and instead, as an example, showing their [Tōko & Yū’s] feet and the difference in their walking speeds: you can discern ‘their emotions’ and find a sense of beauty in the way this scene has been framed. Portraying more of these aspects that, as you mentioned earlier, lie ‘under the surface’, helps to draw out the darker side of things, doesn’t it? Still, though it’s not always ‘beautiful’, the series manages to avoid getting too gloomy, which I find remarkable. I do believe that this is down to the fact that there is no ‘deception’. Even if you look below the surface, you will find it to be straightforward as well – yet another ‘beautiful’ impression that I got from this series. In terms of one’s values when it comes to romance, you will find that for every character in Yagakimi that finds love unfathomable, there will be another that takes the challenge of love head on, You’ll see different characters with different dispositions but there are no lies; you can feel that they’re living authentic lives. In a sense, the act of a telling a lie for the sake of living an honest life, is in itself, beautiful.
Q: That sounds deep (laughs)
Kotobuki: It is! So deep that you wouldn’t believe that this is a story about high-school students.
Takada: That’s true (laughs)
Q: There are numerous scenes where the words that come out of Yū’s mouth over the course of a conversation are the complete opposite of what she’s truly thinking inwardly.
Takada: That’s right; they come in the form of monologues.
Q: A memorable scene from earlier episodes is one where Tōko blushes when Yū takes hold of her hand in a discreet manner during a photoshoot, causing Yū to think that it’s ‘unfair’ [that Tōko is able to feel that way]. Her face is scary at that very moment.
Takada: With just that one word, right? (laughs) She felt like she was being betrayed.
Kotobuki: I think I’m starting to understand the concept of ‘love-hate’ now; how you could love and hate someone at the same time (laughs). When love changes its shape, feelings of affection can evolve into anger. And you wonder ‘why?’
Takada: I do think that Yū sensing that she’s been ‘wronged’ are feelings that most people would’ve experienced before. It could conceivably happen in our daily lives, even between friends. Thinking of it from that perspective, you can sum it up in one phrase: ‘Yū’s direct’ (laughs). The more intimate I become with the series, the more realistic I realize it is – rather than condensing those intricate emotions for the sake of the anime, Yagakimi chooses to put them at the forefront; pushing these fluctuating feelings and aspects that are normally difficult to portray, front and centre. And that is what makes [this series] so appealing, and so human.
I am eternally grateful to Minako-san for pulling me along (Takada)
Q: The state of Yū’s heart that’s still unable to find the true meaning behind feeling love for another person, and the thought that it is not actually something special – these are emotions that many people might have gone through themselves. I imagine that the both of you might, rather than fashioning them to be characters existing in a different dimension, choose to draw from your personal memories and experiences instead, empathizing with [the characters’] emotions through your performances.
Kotobuki: That might certainly be so. It has always been a habit of mine to start with myself when getting to grips with a role, and most of the time I end up instilling my own qualities and experiences into a character. For this series too, I would often think, ‘If I was Tōko…’. In that sense, the more time that Tōko spends talking with Yū, the more the special feelings, those feelings of love, begin to accelerate to the point where they cannot be stopped – the way she opens up her mind feels realistic to me.
These are experiences I have gone through myself so thoughts like, ‘Should I go that far?’ or ‘Ah, so that’s the kind of expression you’d make’ or ‘A smile just unwittingly crossed her face’, were things that I was often able to draw from within myself. Initially, I had thought of Tōko as a hardened person. Her cool outward appearance gave off such an impression but my feelings were surprisingly misplaced – she turned out to be someone whose emotions do not aggressively fluctuate upwards or downwards. Rather than creating a personality separate from my own for Tōko, I thought that I should inject more of myself into her through my performance, believing that it would bring me closer to Tōko’s character. On the other hand, the darkness that lies within Tōko is something that doesn’t exist within me so I did have to develop those aspects carefully.
Q: This is going to be a bit specific, but there is a scene in volume 2 of the manga* where Yū says ‘Shall we do it at my house?’ when inviting Tōko for a study session at her place, with Tōko replying ‘Huh?’. I do think that this was a symbolic scene, the very moment where the fluctuating emotions that Tōko normally keeps hidden, rise to the surface.
Kotobuki: I think you should look forward to the grand moment where that one ‘Huh?’ resounds in the anime (laughs). You are right in saying that her emotions are indeed wavering in that instant, and it is a scene of much importance. It wouldn’t do to take an overly comical approach; neither would it be appropriate for her to remain completely composed – I was quite troubled, trying to figure out the right balance. I think it’s amusing to see how Tōko becomes increasingly flustered as she falls more and more in love with Yū. The choice to take those jumbled-up emotions and deliver them to the audience had already been outlined within the episode scripts so us actors took it on board and incorporated it into our performances. In our daily lives we may find ourselves in situations that suddenly make us go ‘Huh?’. It is one of the important points when doing Yagakimi – whether or not we can mirror the natural essence of everyday life. Yū’s so natural though, isn’t she?
Takada: Yū’s probably the most natural of the roles I’ve done in my career so far and is a character where I just had to look within myself to find elements that I could project onto her. Because she’s so natural, I tend to wonder how far I can stretch the range of her expressions. For example, there’s a scene where Yū’s startled by something Tōko says and I had quite a lot of trouble deciding whether it was just a trivial type of shiver or whether she was shaken because she had positively felt something ‘special’ – I wondered how expressive Yū should be. I mean, if someone told me ‘I like you’, I’d probably go ‘Oh yay, I like you too!’ (laughs)
*from chapter 8
Q: (laughs)
Takada: I’m constantly thinking, ‘how does Yū, not understanding what the feeling of ‘love’ entails, truly feel about accepting Tōko-san’s love?’
Kotobuki: Thankfully, for Yagakimi the time intervals have already been determined beforehand and [the staff] will ensure the dialogue that we’ve recorded within that ‘frame’ ends up corresponding to the animation. We’re given that sense of security, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the things we’ve created within such a space will be refashioned before it goes on air – [that back and forth is] kind of like playing catch ball.
Q: Are there any scenes between the two of you where you found that you were perfectly in sync, or anything that felt just right? Something that you didn’t have to work on in advance, where it came naturally: ‘I knew that would be on her mind’?
Kotobuki: I have the tendency to ‘consolidate then create’, so at first I was pretty much just trying to unravel all the hazy images inside my head. Perhaps that was the kind of situation that everyone found themselves in, so from watching episode 1 people might get the impression that Tōko is fairly aggressive – I used to think that she was some kind of ‘otherworldly creature’ myself (laughs). As she lives life purely by instinct, I decided to approach the role in straightforward manner and Yūki-chan, who plays Yū, took me on seriously as well – just like Yū would. Instinctively, I felt that she was someone whom ‘I could lean on’. That ‘Yūki-chan would somehow make everything alright’ (laughs)
Takada: (laughs)
Kotobuki: That trust exists between us and I was naturally drawn to her, right from our first conversation. But that’s just my own one-sided feelings; maybe she’s actually thinking ‘you’re such a burden, Minako-san’ (laughs)
Takada: To be honest I have the complete opposite image: that Minako-san who plays Tōko-san, is the one who’s dragging me along with her, and for that I am thankful. It’s true in terms of our roles, as well as in terms of setting the tone in the studio. In some ways Tōko is very much a free spirit and you can see that in how she honestly tells Yū whatever is on her mind – this is a trait that is very much shared by Minako and it gives me a strong sense of security as well. It’s my first time handling a role in such a dialogue-heavy work and [Minako] was the one who approached me first, and it made me think ‘She’s so similar to Tōko-san’. A reliable senior who’s loved by all those that surround her, a cool senior whom people love to gather around – that is precisely the kind of person that Minako-san is, inside out.
Kotobuki: (laughs)
Takada: You’re really pulling me along though. Which is why it gave me all sorts of strange feels when you said that you could ‘lean on me’ (laughs). All I can think about during recordings is how all my seniors are so amazing, and that I’m just doing my best to keep up – knowing that you’re thinking about me in such a way makes me feel so happy.
Interview & text: Shimizu Daisuke
Seiyuu+ 
this is feeling like real life yuu & touko romance!