[CH.50] The Story of This Movie (Sumire’s POV)
**TL Notes: So as not to confuse you all, I made a list of the characters that get mentioned in this chapter that you may have forgotten before. Sumire Matsuda: MC Ms. Ogata: a professional pianist who instructed Sumire on the film |
The filming of the movie is going exceptionally smoothly, to the point where there are hardly any mistakes, which are usually due to flubbed lines or other failures. If there is an occasional pause in filming, it's usually because the director provides some direction like, "I'd like it to be a bit like this." Inwardly, I think that the term "professional work" is most suitable for such a situation. I'm very proud to be a part of the core team in this regard. So far, I've been able to clear the filming without any mistakes, and all the lines are in my head.
In parallel with filming, I'm continuing my piano practice as usual. Unfortunately, there's no place to play the piano in this studio, so I've borrowed a nearby studio and allocated my free time or post-filming hours to practice with the goal of keeping my fingers sharp. Ms. Ogata, a professional pianist, can't come here often, but she still shows up about once every three days.
The methods of instructing children in this era are still quite outdated, with many instructors who shout or use physical discipline, but Ms. Ogata doesn't do any of that. You could say she's efficiency-oriented, and because my piano experience is still relatively young, she explains things to me patiently. As a result, I can usually achieve the level of performance that Ms. Ogata desires with just one or two tries. I've heard the phrase, "Just because you're an excellent player doesn't mean you can be an excellent instructor," but that doesn't apply to Ms. Ogata. Thanks to her, I'm aware that my piano skills are improving.
Ms. Ogata humbly says, "It would be great if everyone had as much understanding as Sumire-san," but I'm just doing my best, and I really think Ms. Ogata's teaching method is excellent.
That being said, now that I've received the script, I finally understand how the piano and swimming are related to the movie, so I'd like to talk about what kind of story it is.
The protagonist, Toru Asakura, is a 27-year-old company employee who has been working for the same company for five years after graduating from college. He had a fairly fulfilling life with subordinates under his charge. However, due to his busy schedule, he was dumped by his girlfriend, whom he had been dating since college, and he was also experiencing a series of work-related mistakes, leading to a string of unfortunate days.
While trying to drown his frustration with alcohol and going out drinking every night, he stumbled upon an elderly woman who was quietly practicing fortune-telling in a corner of a shopping street. Tooru usually had no interest in things like fortune-telling, but that day, he felt like giving it a try. He wanted to know what the future held for him, as he felt completely abandoned by luck recently.
The elderly woman waved her hand over a crystal in front of her while muttering some unclear incantation. The crystal shone brightly, and after a while, the light subsided, and the elderly woman smiled faintly. She told him that from now on, everything would turn around, and only good things would happen. She asked him not to forget to maintain a positive outlook, her voice filled with emotion unlike before. Toru felt somewhat encouraged by her words.
As Toru paid for the service and was about to leave, the elderly woman handed him a bottle the size of an energy drink bottle, with no label or markings. It looked suspicious, but since he had been drinking, he accepted it with a smile and headed home.
Toru, who had returned home, changed into a T-shirt and shorts, and was about to lie down in bed. But before doing so, he decided to see what was inside the bottle he had just received. He took a sip of the strange liquid, which had a sweet but piercing taste, and then downed it. He collapsed onto the mattress.
As if he had time-traveled, Toru suddenly woke up, feeling a strange sense of discomfort. He got up and realized that his room felt unusually spacious, and everything around him seemed larger than usual.
There were many odd things, such as his T-shirt and shorts now being giant-sized, and his bed appearing to have grown to the size of a double bed. Most astonishing of all, his hair, which had been short just the day before, had inexplicably become thick and full, extending down to his back. He couldn't help but be amazed.
Toru was initially bewildered by the changes in his body. However, he couldn't accept them and panicked. He hurried to the phone and dialed his old friend from college, Ryuji Takada. Due to his voice now sounding like that of a young girl, Ryuji was initially skeptical and almost hung up the phone. But Toru quickly shared as much information as he could, things only he and Ryuji knew, such as secrets from their college days, the name of Ryuji's former girlfriend, and the name of their seminar's professor. With these unique details and the frantic behavior on the other end of the line, Ryuji began to believe it might indeed be Toru. He took time off work and went to visit his best friend's house.
When the doorbell rang, quick footsteps could be heard, and the door swung open with something jumping out. Clinging to Toru's abdomen was a black-haired girl. All that could be seen was her swirl of hair because she was hugging his belly, but Ryuji somehow sensed that this child was a girl.
"Ryuji..."
The tearful girl looked up at Ryuji with upturned eyes, undoubtedly a beautiful young girl. However, Ryuji wondered how a child he had never met before could know his name. Coming to the only possible conclusion, with a trembling voice, he asked the girl.
"Are you... Toru?"
In a state of shock, the crying Toru nodded in response. Fearing that the child, who was wearing only a T-shirt outside the door, might be seen crying by the neighbors, Ryuji ushered Toru into the house. While listening to Toru's tearful story, he immediately grew suspicious of the drink given to him by the fortune-teller. He confirmed that there was still some liquid left in the bottle and securely closed the lid before putting it in his bag.
Ryuji, who had worked part-time at a detective agency during college, seemed used to handling irregular situations like this. While Toru wiped away his tears on the bed, Ryuji had already called Toru's mother and instructed her to come over. As a precaution, he also informed Toru's workplace about his friend's absence. While trying to calm Toru down, he talked to him, made breakfast, and by the time Toru's mother arrived, they were joined by Toru's five years younger sister, for some reason.
When Ryuji introduced the transformed Toru to his mother and sister, they initially thought it was a joke and didn't believe it at all. However, as Toru began to recount personal details and shared memories known only to the family, they gradually started to believe that the girl was indeed Toru. The ultimate proof came when they noticed that the girl's mannerisms and speech were exactly like their son's, a distinctive family identifier. It seemed that they were convinced that it was the same person.
"But big brother, to become such a cute girl..."
"Don't get sentimental, and don't try to hug me sneakily. I'm not a stuffed animal, you know!"
Leaving the siblings to their playful banter, Ryuji and their mother began discussing the future. Toru's desire to continue living alone in this state was, of course, rejected. It was likely that the neighbors were aware that this apartment was the residence of an adult man living alone. If a little girl were to start coming and going, it would undoubtedly attract a lot of attention.
Furthermore, in the body of a little girl, Toru couldn't go to work, and his colleagues might come to check on an employee who had been absent for an extended period. Above all, the transformation from an adult man to a little girl, an unheard-of change, meant that it was somewhat reasonable to have someone nearby to prepare for unforeseen circumstances when something happened.
Under their mother's guidance, Toru's younger sister purchased suitable children's clothes at the station, while their mother tidied up the room. Once that was done, Toru's opinion was completely ignored, and he was literally taken back to their family home. Ryuji, on the other hand, sought help from a researcher he knew through work to initiate a separate investigation into the analysis of that substance.
When their father returned home in the evening, they repeated the interaction they had with their mother and younger sister in the morning, managing to convince him that the transformed child was indeed their son. None of them had expected that Toru's return to their family home would take this form.
In a little girl's body, going out could lead to being stopped or even taken into custody, so they would have to explain the situation if that happened. However, nobody except their family and best friend would believe such an outlandish story. Even if by some miracle someone did believe it, there was a risk that Toru might be treated as if he were a lab experiment. That was a situation Toru absolutely wanted to avoid. If the cause of his transformation was the liquid from the fortune-teller, perhaps there was a chance he could return to normal when the effects wore off. Holding onto that slim hope, Toru spent his days secluded inside the house.
Meanwhile, his family and Ryuji were independently working to find the cause, trace the whereabouts of the fortune-teller, and understand the situation. Their father sought legal advice regarding obtaining official records and changing one's gender, while his younger sister used her college network to gather information about the fortune-teller. His mother, on the other hand, stayed close to her son who had turned into a little girl, monitoring for any unusual behavior or sudden physical changes.
The tension within the household, while not visibly evident, had been giving Toru, who had become sensitive and fragile, significant stress. To add to this, the information brought by Ryuji pushed Toru further towards despair.
"...The so-called drug you drank, we had it analyzed, and it turned out to be just plain water. I know you're not the kind of person who would tell such a boring lie, so it's likely that the substance either lost its potency or was a unique chemical that would turn into regular water over time."
"Is there a possibility that if what I drank back then was the cause, it could return to normal over time?"
"For an adult man to change into a little girl, it probably required a tremendous amount of energy. Now, since it would be the transformation from a child to an adult, I assume the required energy would be even greater. Personally, I think the role of that substance might have concluded when it changed your skeletal structure and rejuvenated your cells, transforming you into a little girl's body."
This was essentially a death sentence for Toru, stating that he likely couldn't return to his original adult male form even with the passage of time. After hearing this, Toru's will to fight diminished, and he adopted an attitude of indifference towards everything. He spent his days lying around, feeling like nothing mattered. While the family initially sympathized with him and refrained from blaming him, given that Ryuji had explained the situation to them, after two weeks of such behavior, their patience was wearing thin, and they too began to grow frustrated.
The one who voiced his anger was Toru's father. He had intended to give him a stern talking-to, but Toru, who was in a self-destructive state, responded with strong resistance, leading to a heated argument. While his father's anger flared, he still maintained a degree of composure, and he saw what Toru needed at this moment. Toru had no outlet for his current frustration and anxiety. The father believed that if Toru had a goal and engaged in physical activities, it might help him think more clearly about his future.
Just as he glanced at a stack of flyers on the desk, Toru's father picked them up and handed two flyers to Toru.
"You used to be a terrible swimmer, right? And you've never played a musical instrument. Do it for two months, see some results in piano and swimming. If we determine that you haven't been serious about it, we'll disown you from this house. You'll end up in a facility or get picked up by someone, but you have to find a way to survive."
"What?! Are you kidding me, Dad? First of all, this transformation isn't my fault!"
"You're right, it's not your fault. That's why your mother, Shoko, and I are doing everything we can for your sake. But when we see you giving up and wasting your time with a defeated look, it's clear that your current situation won't benefit you at all. Even though you've turned into a little girl from an adult man, the fact remains that you have to live and continue to live, no matter what."
In the end, Toru couldn't say anything in response to his father's firm, calm statement, despite the confrontational tone. He knew that his father's words were driven by genuine concern. Acknowledging his own self-indulgent and apathetic lifestyle, Toru decided to accept the conditions.
Upon hearing the conversation, his younger sister raised her hand and offered, "I can play the piano, and we have an electronic keyboard, so I can teach you, big brother." However, her offer was declined by their father, as it could lead to undue favoritism among family members. Ultimately, a mother's acquaintance who ran a piano school agreed to help Toru for the two-month period. For swimming, they asked another friend of their mother who worked at a local swimming school if Toru could join. Of course, they paid the fees, which were deducted from Toru's account.
While Toru worked diligently on piano and swimming, he faced numerous challenges both among the neighborhood kids and during his outings. Nevertheless, he managed to make enough progress to receive approval from his family members. By that time, he had developed a sense of emotional stability, allowing him to remain optimistic and positive even when faced with the hopeless conclusion that he might never return to being a man.
Toru solidified his determination to live as an elementary school girl and began taking the necessary steps to achieve this goal. At this point, the ending credits rolled, and the subsequent scenes depicted the lives of his family and his close friend Ryuji, marking the end of the story.
I can understand why the sudden introduction of swimming and piano might seem out of place, and I had the same concerns when I first read the script. So, I decided to ask the director about it. It turns out that when they asked me to practice for those scenes, the director had initially planned to make a film set in an elementary school. However, they later came up with the current story and changed the direction of the film.
The director wanted to make the most of my hard work, as they appreciated the effort I put into practicing. Personally, I didn't mind if the story was altered to accommodate my practice, but they insisted on using it. They also agreed to cover the expenses since it was their request for me to practice. I think that's fair, considering it was their request and I put in the effort.
It seems that other actors and the crew don't mind it too much, so maybe it's not as abrupt as it might seem. If, by any chance, people ask me questions about it after the movie is released, I'll share this story as behind-the-scenes information.
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