"You Are a Good Child" is an ensemble drama centered around a young elementary school teacher, the students in his class 4-2, an elderly woman living alone in the neighborhood, and a mother who, haunted by her painful past, hits her young daughter. This latest work by director Miho Go, who took the Japanese film industry by storm last year with "Where the Light Shines Only," stars Kengo Kora as Okano, a novice teacher who is serious about his work but still somewhat unreliable. While he has played a variety of roles, including Takasugi Shinsaku in the currently airing NHK taiga drama "Hana Moyu," this is his first time playing a teacher. "I was more anxious before filming, and I was overthinking things. You often hear people say, 'Children are amazing,' and I really think that's true. I was worried about having dozens of kids like that in front of me. I wondered if I could properly face them. But once we started filming, the children called out to me, 'Teacher, Teacher,' and I felt like they made me into a novice teacher. I feel that this overlaps with the environment Okano finds himself in." Almost all of the cast members are children living in Hokkaido. "I think there was only one person in my class who came from Tokyo. Some kids went to school in Otaru, where we filmed, and some came from even further away. There were quite a few local kids, too." Speaking in front of nearly 40 children, regardless of their acting experience, Okano laughs, "It was a lot of work. They had so much energy." "But I think that's okay. It's natural, and we've been through the same thing. That's why it was fun." Okano's expression is gentle and happy when he talks about the children. He struggles to face the problems that befall him one after another, including bullying in his class and complaints from parents. As he struggles with how to interact with children from diverse backgrounds, one day he gives them homework. While the audience will have to see what the assignment is in the cinema, the scene the next day when the children share their impressions of completing the assignment is one of the film's highlights. "The day before, Mr. Wu said to me, 'Takara, really give me your homework today.' He said, 'Tomorrow, I'll film you listening to it all in one take.' So I gave everyone their homework exactly as instructed, and we shot that scene first thing the next morning."

The children's words and expressions are so lifelike...or rather, they're so genuine. Perhaps he was trying to hide his embarrassment, but his choice of words and his expression were at odds with each other, and he would say simple yet poignant expressions.
"Because I really asked them, the children's reactions were so real. I don't think I could have drawn them out any other way. I didn't want the children to try to act cool. Those were words that would never have come out of the written lines."

This is also a scene where Takara's listening skills are on full display. I've interviewed him several times, and each time he talks about his acting, he says, "I try to listen to the other person." Even in the classroom, as Okano, he listens, looks, and responds.
"Listening is important, probably more so than looking," he says. "When I saw the finished film, I really felt that Mr. Wu had laid out the path for me. When I responded to a casual comment with a 'Yeah, I agree,' it was incredibly effective when you watch the video. It was probably around the middle of filming. I said, 'You never know what's going to happen to Okano, do you?' And he casually replied, 'Well, he'll keep hitting walls, but Okano's going to be okay,' and that was incredibly effective. I think it's a matter of whether you pick up on Mr. Wu's 'that,' or whether you think about it." The catalyst that indecisive Okano takes a step forward as a teacher is Kanda, a student who spends his time alone in the corner of the schoolyard after school and on holidays. Asakawa Ren, who plays Kanda, is a professional child actor who traveled from Tokyo. "That kid was incredible even during rehearsals," Takara recalls. "I usually treated him like a child. But when we were acting, I'd have high expectations of him, like, 'You came all the way from Tokyo and you've been given such interesting roles,' and maybe because I was playing the role of a teacher, I was stricter with him than the other kids, or maybe I treated him specially. He said he wanted to continue acting."

Until recently, Takara was often the youngest person on set, but he has now become considerate of his younger juniors.
"I think it's also because the roles I'm getting have changed. I'm getting roles that are completely different from before." He continued, "I'll probably change even more when I turn 30." "If I continue doing things the way I am now, there will be so many roles I won't be able to play when I'm in my 30s. I don't want that to happen. So I have a lot of homework I want to complete before I turn 30, and I feel like I'm working on it now."

He has definitely changed. He has changed. In the past, he often said, "I don't know if I want to continue acting." "That's what I really thought back then. But, I don't know, I guess I stopped running away. Before, I felt like an amateur somehow. I would belittle myself. I think that's gone now. Reflection and regret give you power, but servility only hurts you and does nothing. That's what I thought." He still carefully searches for the words he wants to convey as he speaks. But his tone is different. He exudes a healthy confidence, one that exudes the conviction he gained one step at a time through worry. Filming took place in Otaru, Hokkaido, over a month last year. "I was there all the time and didn't even return to Tokyo. This was a first for me, so we filmed mostly during the day. There was almost no nighttime shooting. Most of the scenes were at school, so I enjoyed Otaru at night," he says with a smile. His way of enjoying himself, "I just ate sushi all the time. It's completely different. Eating all this good sushi for this price (laughs)." Finding the time to enjoy himself in this way is also a big change. "I think it was thanks to the role. I felt like I could be in it." People called out to him as he walked around Otaru. "Everyone knew we were already filming, so they'd say things like, 'Good luck,' and that was fun." Whenever he goes on location in a rural area, like this one, he tries to find time to run. Rather than getting to know the area, "I like running on unfamiliar roads. Also, there are things you can only think about when you're moving. Maybe it's making time to be neutral." He doesn't dismiss others outright, yet he also remembers to cherish his own time. This is a way of life that doesn't lose its essence. Takara, always noted for his stylish dressing, both in media and in private, is always garnering attention. "I love clothes. I've always loved them. It might just be a hobby," he admits, but when it comes to work, "I usually wear tracksuits." Costumes tailored to the role are prepared for the set. "So I choose clothes that are easy to move in, like shoes that are easy to take off and put on. I might not dress as stylishly when I'm on set (laughs)." Finally, I asked her what she thought about one of the film's catchphrases, "Children and adults alike want to be hugged." "There are times like this," she said, making the gesture of actually hugging something, then lightly tapping her chest, "and there are times like this," she said. "There are times when you really are hugged, and you can only feel it skin-to-skin. That's what this film depicts a lot." "When I think about myself, I don't actually remember being hugged that much. But I do feel like I received more than that. So I think that 'hugging' in this case means facing each other." Three stories loosely connect in one town, and the film depicts the importance of memories of being loved by someone. "There were all kinds of people. I wasn't alone. We were all connected. I got chills when I saw the finished film." In the film, Okano's older sister, Kaoru, who is raising a young son, cheerfully tells her troubled younger brother, "If we love children, the world will be peaceful." Takara says, "I want those lines to be more than just empty words." "I can understand, or at least get, the opinion that they're empty words, but it's definitely better to put them into practice. I want them to resonate as words and as images. I believe that's true, and it's not just empty words, I really want to believe that."

His words are persuasive because he was raised in a loving and nurturing environment.