Taken from the official site of Liar Game 2.
What did you think when you got the offer for another "Liar Game", two years after the original one?
I was surprised that it turned into such a big project involving a new season and even a movie. It has been two years since the first season and I was anxious whether I really would be able to perform as Kanzaki Nao again. However, when the producers told me more about the new story and showed me pictures of the new set designs, I had no choice but to accept the offer. Suddenly I was completely eager to tackle this project. (laughs)
Do you think that Kanzaki Nao changed?
Yes, she did. I myself did a lot of different things during those two years and occasionally looked back at this ‘precious time’. When I received the first parts of the story, I immediately said to myself, "This isn’t the Kanzaki Nao from 2 years ago." I was relieved, because the same amount of time passed for her and she grew up just like myself. Therefore it was a good sign for me to react that way. The story is also different and so are the performers who make it through the 4 rounds of games. You could say that the ‘Liar Game’ itself changed a bit compared to two years ago in general, I guess.
Upon filming a few scenes already, is there anything you’d like to point out?
Both, Akiyama Shinichi and Fukunaga Yuji who won the original game, didn’t grow up a lot during that long interval. However, Nao who nothing but cried in the beginning and wasn’t able to do anything surely shows that the participation in the game definitely helped her to grow up a bit. She has become strong and serious, I have to keep that in mind during the acting. Her personal growth will continue until the movie, but I leave it to the director to decide how far he is going to go with the role of Nao.
While acting, where and how did you notice the personal growth of Nao?
I can’t tell you too much details, but there definitely have been a few particular moments. For example a very strong scene where she says to Akiyama, "You can’t believe in other people, right!?" She was crying when saying this, but it sure was surprising for her to say something like this to Akiyama. Nao always put in her utmost effort, but her newfound strength was a real shock to me.
What are your impressions on the script of ‘Season 2′ ?
It’s "Liar Game", no doubt. The beginning is similar to ‘Season 1′. Finding a black box, being startled like "No way", being tricked by Tanimura and gathering in the hall of the game… that’s how it begins, kinda… (laughs). It was a relief to know that it’s still Liar Game and that there is a Kanzaki Nao.
When did you start to feel like "Yes, I’m back at doing Liar Game" ?
The absurd amount of cuts immediately made me feel like I’m back (laughs). By the way, the movie has 3000 cuts. An ordinary movie has around 1000 cuts, but ‘Liar Game’ isn’t just an ordinary movie after all (laughs). Other things that make me feel that I’m back is the natural tough schedule, the athmosphere at the set, the tense acting of everyone involved and the talks with Matsuda-san and Suzuki-san between the filming.
It’s been two years for Matsuda Shota too. How was it to perform together after such a long time?
At the set he is Akiyama Shinichi. Just now I spoke about the growth of Nao, but of course she alone isn’t the base of the Liar Game. Nao and Akiyama together create the foundation of the story and that won’t change in the sequel. Matsuda-san did a wonderful job and nailed his role again, I was really impressed and relieved to see the same Akiyama Shinichi from two years ago. Nao wouldn’t be able to rely on Akiyama like that, if he changed. Thanks to Matsuda-san, she’s able to completely rely on Akiyama again, will often get scolded and ends up crying because of that (laughs). I’m glad that like the relationship between those two, the relationship between Matsuda-san and me didn’t change over the two years either.
How about Suzuki Kosuke who plays Fukunaga Yuji?
He’s the same as ever. She’ll get tricked by Fukunaga and will be laughed at again (laughs). Suzuki-san put on an enthusiastic performance as usual, I really enjoyed watching him act again. By the way, his line in ‘Season 1′ , "Naochan-tte baka dayone. Ukeru~" had such a great impact on me, that I started saying "Ukeru~" in the same exaggerated way as him. In the movie there is also a scene of the two I really love to ad-lib.
This means that ‘Season 2′ might hold some potential ad-lib scenes as well, right?
I think so, too. We often have conversations like "Erika-chan, who are you going to impersonate next?", but I don’t know it yet. I’ll observe them and find some more scenes (laughs).
Why do you think is "Liar Game" that popular? What is so fascinating about it in your opinion?
‘Season 1′ was the first Saturday dorama. The staff and I were really tense and did a lot of mistakes. I still remember how nervous I was. Even now there are a lot of firsts, from the lightning to the cuts. Many things have never been done in a dorama before. That kind of originality really was a lot of fun. I guess that everyone really enjoyed watching something more original. Such individual characters and such a complex yet interesting psychological warfare was something new for a dorama. This time we moved to the 9pm timeslot on Tuesdays and I was anxious about how this is going to affect the style and story of what used to be a Saturday dorama. However, it was unnecessary to be that anxious. They didn’t try to fit into the usual color and style of a Tuesday-9pm dorama and I have a feeling that there is going to be a positive response towards this decision. I’m confident that it neither will betray the fans of the previous season nor the fans of the original manga. Please look forward to the new yet unchanged ‘Liar Game’ experience!
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Source: Liar Game 2 Official Site
Written by: www.kawaii-joyuu.com
Please don’t post this translation anywhere else.
so excited for this drama♥
Thank you for translation. This is one of my favourite dramas)
May I translate it in my native language (not english!) and credit you?
Sure, go ahead.
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