Takako Tokiwa as Yujiki

TAKAKO TOKIWA as Yujiki Interview

How did you first come to know the original manga?

TAKAKO TOKIWA as Yujiki There's this old friend of mine who I've known since elementary school. There are stacks of manga at her place like one of those manga cafes (laughs). That's where I first read it. I identify with childhood friends maintaining their friendships like my friend and I have. I'm just drawn into the incredible way the story unfolds. It's a lengthy story, but I could read it in a single sitting. I read the pages that would be shot on that day as a reference, but I couldn't stop myself from reading more.

What did you think of acting just the way in the manga?

My first scene was where Yukiji visits Kenji at his convenient store, she has one hand on her hip and is standing like a statue. People don't ordinarily stand like that, you know (laughs)?

TAKAKO TOKIWA as Yujiki How did you feel about being the only girl in the all-boy group?

My understanding of the Yujiki character is that she isn't self conscious about things like that. And I'm not either. I feel more strongly about being treated as equal. And these friends don't treat girls differently. Same age, same friendship and same camaraderie. I think it's a wonderful relationship.

I saw that the actors playing the old friends of the secret base got along well.

When you have first-rate professional people on the set, the atmosphere changes. But it was never tense. We all got in our characters like we were putting on shirts. We become friends with the same objective. It's a very cool experience. It's so great working with such a group of people. On many days, the shooting was long but I survived it positively with those acting friends of mine. And our objective was... to save the world! We had no time to be down and blue (laughing).

Is there anything interesting about the movie from a woman's point of view?

All the hunky handsome men (laughs). How can a girl miss it? They're not just good-looking but they all come with some twist to their personalities and history. And that's what makes this movie really interesting.

Profile

Takako Tokiwa's acting debut was in 1993 in a hit TV drama. Her first movie appearance was in Daniel Lee's 1999 Hong Kong film, "Xing yue tong hua / Moonlight Express". Coming up soon are Yuzo Asahara's "Tsuribaka Nisshi 19 / Free and Easy, Part 19" and a big budget TV period drama "Tenchijin".

Takako Tokiwa's other movie appearances include, Kenji Uchida's "After School" (2008); Junji Sakamoto's "Tamamoe" (2007); Hisako Yamada's "Fudeko, sono Ai / Fudeko and her Love" (2007); Tetsuro Shinohara's "Metoro ni Notte / On the Metro" (2006); Yoshimitsu Morita's "Mamiya Kyodai / The Mamiya Brothers" (2006); Shunsaku Kawake's "Hoshi ni natta Shonen / Shining Boy and Little Randy" (2005); Yasuo Furuhata's "Akai Tsuki / Red Moon" (2004) and Kazuyoshi Tsutsui's "Gerropa / Getup!" (2003).