I translated a short interview with Inukai Atsuhiro and Iijima Hiroki about Bokura no shokutaku/Our dining table. Original is in the source with pictures. Please don't repost to Tiktok or Twitter without credit.
Inukai Atsuhiro and Iijima Hiroki are the stars of the drama Bokura no shokutaku/Our dining table that starts airing on April 6. Adapted from Mita Ori’s comic of the same title, this heartfelt drama depicts people bonding through food. Salaryman Yutaka is estranged from his family and struggles to eat around others when one day in a park he meets Minoru and Tane, two brothers many years apart, and ends up teaching them how to make rice balls. As the trio start having meals together, Yutaka and Minoru begin to get closer.
What were your first impressions after getting cast?
Inukai: I read the comic first and found it a heartwarming story. The script then possessed that same quality which made me excited to start filming.
Iijima: I too read the comic and found it a heartwarming story about people connecting through food. I couldn’t wait to play Minoru.
How do you see your respective characters?
Iijima: Minoru looks like a troublemaker, but he’s really family-oriented, he cares about his family so much that he can’t put himself first. In my performance I felt the growth that Yutaka gradually ignites in him.
Inukai: Yutaka is also essentially a person who is too nice to others, neglecting himself. He has a lot of baggage which I thought should reflect in my performance.
What was the first thing you did you did to get into character?
Inukai: I cooked rice in a clay pot like Yutaka. The rice turned out well. I felt like I understood my character after experiencing how he eats every day.
Iijima: I made it a point to appear like I don’t know my way around the kitchen. In my private life I do cook. Not that I’m any good at it.
Do you have any specialties?
Iijima: Not really. Maybe fried rice. Yesterday I made stuffed bell peppers. They were good.
That’s so fancy. The show also comes with lots of delicious looking food.
Iijima: They’re all delicious for real.
What did you like the best?
Inukai: The hot pot with kimchi, tomato and cheese. It was so good I couldn’t stop eating it.
Iijima: It was amazing. It’s the hot pot you see in the opening credits.
Inukai: Tane-kun doesn’t tolerate spicy foods very well yet, but even he ate it with a good appetite, it was that good.
Tane’s innocence is so charming on screen. How was it like to work with Kuuga-kun?
Iijima: He was the epitome of Tane-kun. I thought it could be intimidating for him to be surrounded by so many adults at his age, but he’d really boost the mood on set. He treated us like his actual brothers, and I was also chatting with him to establish that brotherly vibe.
What did you talk about?
Iijima: What’s popular these days and so on. We’d mostly talk about anime since I also watch it. We’d talk about what merch I’d get him etc. He likes Pokemon.
Inukai: Tane-kun is so cute and energetic, he brings the natural energy he has off camera into his performance. He was friendly since the first day of filming, his presence really helped me do my job. Thanks to him there were no gloomy moments on set.
What was your impression of each other starring together?
Iijima: He was the same Inukai-san he’s always been. He marches to his own drum both at work and in private. He’s totally different from me, he’s just himself.
Inukai: Iijima-kun was cute and cool in his early 20s, but now he has that mature sex appeal to him.
Iijima: Thanks. I’m excited to get older and expand the range of my acting.
How was it to act with each other?
Inukai: The directors wanted performances that feel realistic instead of entertainment, so we were able to work organically. There were elements that wouldn’t have transpired otherwise.
Iijima: It was easy to work with Inukai-san. Neither of our characters is a macho, so we were able to bring warmth into our performances. I also enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere in Mima, Tokushima Prefecture where we were filming. Saw huge mantises and stuff, it was laid-back.
Inukai-san, you hail from Tokushima Prefecture.
Inukai: It’s where I spent my formative years. I felt right back at home, which made me able to be even more true to myself.
The drama also depicts a love story between your characters. What was your experience portraying it?
Inukai: Iijima-kun and I can understand each other even without words, so the experience was very comfortable.
Iijima: After reading the script I thought trying to intentionally set up a romantic mood would feel out of place here, so I went about it without overthinking it, digesting those romantic feelings that arose as the filming progressed.
Were there any scenes that you found particularly memorable?
Iijima: For me it’s one of the early scenes where I feed Yutaka the rice ball. It was one of the first scenes we filmed. It’s when Yutaka and Minoru begin to get closer, and I felt like were able to establish an emotional connection there so I feel sentimental about it.
Inukai: It has to be the scenes of us all eating together. We’d continue to eat even after the cameras stopped rolling, sometimes that’d be my lunch for that day. It was a happy time in my life.
Just hearing about it makes me hungry. Sounds like the show is going to be food porn.
Iijima: The vibe of the show may make you feel less guilty about eating.
Inukai: If it makes you happy, who cares.
Iijima: Most of the dishes are easy to make, so I’d like everyone to try them at home.
Inukai: I want to make rice balls as I watch the show.
Last but not least, please leave a message for the viewers.
Inukai: The story is sprinkled with small daily observations. Sometimes we forget to appreciate food, but this show will remind you how wonderful it is to share food with others. Whether you’re a fan of the manga or a new viewer, I hope you’ll enjoy the story.
Iijima: We have to eat to stay alive, but food also connects us to other people. What we offer may not be big, but I’d like everyone to enjoy these small moments of happiness.
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Isak gets inside the huge hotel room, looking around carefully, his eyes meeting a happy Even in the end, letting himself fall back into the huge bed. It very much feels like they’re in a aquarium, high over the rainy city. Isak could never afford this.
“Come!” Even says, twisting himself a little bit on the soft mattress to grab his phone from the back pocket of his jeans.
“This looks expensive.” Isak says with a hesitant tone, carefully sitting next to Even.
He looks at Isak, still smiling, always so confident and chill.
“It was. But we deserve it, don’t we? After everything we’ve been through.”
Sure, Isak thinks they deserve it but he can’t get this worry about money, even if he’s not paying. Even lifts his head a little bit, leaving a soft, lingering kiss on his lips, staring deep into Isak’s eyes for just one second.
“Let’s take a picture before we get naked.” Even says and it sends all types of shivers down Isak’s spine. Even laughs and it’s so contagious, added with the anticipation of what they’ll do after that Isak laughs too. Even lifts Isak’s phone and they finally take one picture. Even shows it to Isak to see if he likes it. Isak grabs his phone back as Even stands up in one smooth movement, finally dropping his bag and leaving it next to the glass wall, staring at the outside world.
Isak stares at the picture, wanting the whole world to see him with the man of his dreams. They look good together.
“Can I post it?” He asks, feeling some type of guilt for wanting to show them to everyone who loves and hates them.
“Hm?” Even asks, looking over his shoulder. Isak lifts his phone and shows the picture. “Oh! Yeah! Why wouldn’t you?”
Isak shrugs as he posts the photo to his stories, bitting his tongue not to ask about Sonja seeing it.
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This time at the Oslo Pride, Vilde accompanied Noora and Eva! Of course Sana and Chris are there as well! But here’s a lil moment of the girls enjoying their time at #Pride!
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Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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