This season, Kataoka Rin is appearing in two drama series: "We're Worse at Love Than Pandas" (Saturdays at 9pm) on Nippon Television, and "Kimbap and Onigiri: Two Lovers Are Similar But Different" (Mondays at 11:06pm) on TV Tokyo. In "We're Worse at Love Than Pandas," she also takes on a comedy role, showing off a new side of herself. We spoke to Kataoka.
◇ "I wasn't nervous" about taking on the comedy challenge
"We're Worse at Love Than Pandas," starring Kamishiraishi Moka and Ikuta Toma, is a new academic romantic comedy that teaches us hints for living a happy life from the courtship behavior of animals.
When Kataoka read the script for the drama, he thought, "Humans really lack wildness."
"There are many examples of animals in the drama, but I think there are many moments when humans can be more wild and instinctive. It seems to me that this is obscured by various other things, and ultimately becomes invisible, so I hope that viewers will pay attention to this point and notice it."
Kataoka plays Murakami Nonohana, an assistant in the laboratory of university associate professor Shido Tsukasa (Ikuta), who studies animal courtship behavior. She is a modern girl who is able to handle the eccentric Shido well, but she is actually a very intelligent person.
"She's straightforward, but easygoing and a bit of a gal. But she's also a geek who works really hard at the things she loves. During filming, I was always conscious of how well I could tame Shiido-sensei."
This is my first time acting alongside Ikuta, who plays Shido.
"Ikuta-san is very reassuring just by being there, and because he has a lot of experience, no matter what I do, he always improvises and responds, so I was able to act with peace of mind."
He said he had no worries about taking on comedy.
"However, since I've played a lot of serious roles up until now, I was learning the tempo of my lines as I went along. How long should I leave between lines before they become funny? Lines can change quite a bit in a short space of time, so I was always consulting with the director about that as I acted."
◇I can't lie to my feelings...
If he were to compare himself to an animal, he would be a "carnivore," and Kataoka explains that the reason is "because I want to always be full of energy." In a sense, he may be a "wild" person who doesn't usually try to put up a front.
"I want to be myself, and I can't lie about what I think or how I feel. I don't want to have any regrets about not expressing myself, so I think that's the core of it."
Kataoka is currently devoting himself to acting. Is there anything that he bases his acting on when playing a role?
"I always try to think about what it is about a character that I can empathize with. Even though it's a character, they're still a human being. If I don't understand that person better than anyone, it will show in the play. That's the most important thing."
As mentioned above, Kataoka is currently appearing in "We Are Worse at Love Than Pandas" as well as "Kimbap and Onigiri: Two Lovers Are Similar Yet Different." "Kimbap and Onigiri" stars Akaso Eiji and Kang Hyewon as the heroine, and is a touching, pure love story about two earnest people who are attracted to each other despite being confused by the differences in culture and values between Japan and Korea.
This is a completely different type of work from "We're Worse at Love Than Pandas," and we asked Kataoka, who plays Somejima Noa, a regular customer at "Tanomi," a small restaurant where the main character, Hase Taiga, works part-time, about her personal thoughts on the drama.
"I think people can genuinely empathize with the theme of love between people from different countries, Japan and Korea. Also, there is a warm atmosphere throughout the entire work, and I hope that viewers will be able to feel the pain and warmth that comes from thinking about someone."
