{"id":7046492,"date":"2026-08-24T20:24:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animation\/interview-the-layers-of-the-last-blossom\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T20:24:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:24:36","slug":"interview-the-layers-of-the-last-blossom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7046492","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: The Layers Of “The Last Blossom”"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"LastBlossom2<\/figure>\n

The Last Blossom<\/em>, a new animated feature for adults, is in theaters nationwide for two days only \u2014 Sunday Aug. 30 and Monday Aug. 31. It\u2019s absolutely worth seeing. Akutsu was a member of a crime organization in Japan. But when we meet him, he\u2019s in prison, reflecting on his life, including his relationships with a woman named Nana and her young child. Akutsu is discussing all of this in the cell with a talking balsam flower. What they unravel will blow you away. (This Animation Scoop Q&A <\/em>with director Baku Kinoshita was conducted with a translator and edited for length and clarity.)<\/p>\n

Jackson Murphy:<\/strong>\u00a0What inspired you to tell this very emotional story?<\/p>\n

Baku Kinoshita:<\/strong>\u00a0My\u00a0last\u00a0project was \u201cOdd Taxi\u201d. It was a mystery. A lot of things going on with a lot of different characters. So this time I wanted to go in\u00a0the\u00a0opposite way and focus on one human and go deep into that one human and find\u00a0the\u00a0beauty within that person to portray in this movie.<\/p>\n

JM:<\/strong>\u00a0Akutsu and\u00a0the\u00a0flower\u2019s conversations in\u00a0the\u00a0prison cell are so compelling. What was so important to you when it came to presenting those?<\/p>\n

BK:<\/strong>\u00a0Akutsu is a very serious and quiet person. On\u00a0the\u00a0opposite end,\u00a0the\u00a0balsam flower is very talkative, sarcastic. He\u2019s a little savage sometimes. I wanted to have those contrasting personalities to show\u00a0the\u00a0contradiction between them, and I think\u00a0the\u00a0juxtaposition between them and\u00a0the\u00a0dialogue between those two differing personalities moves\u00a0the\u00a0story along.<\/p>\n

\"LastBlossom1<\/figure>\n

JM:<\/strong>\u00a0And there are also very difficult conversations Akutsu and Nana have \u2014 some really powerful scenes. What did you want to show with that relationship, and what does that relationship mean to you?<\/p>\n

BK:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s similar to\u00a0the\u00a0relationship between\u00a0the\u00a0balsam flower and Akutsu. Nana also has a contradicting personality from Akutsu. She tries to [present] herself as a sociable, cheerful and positive person. They fill in\u00a0the\u00a0parts they don\u2019t have within themselves. Nana is very strong-willed but sensitive, and Akutsu is very quiet but calm in any situation. I really wanted to depict\u00a0the\u00a0contrasting ways they fill in\u00a0the\u00a0spots they don\u2019t have, so together they make a whole.<\/p>\n

JM:<\/strong>\u00a0Very nice. I\u2019m going to remember what you do with\u00a0the\u00a0song \u201cStand By Me\u201d for quite some time. What do you love about that song? Why did you want to use it in this film?<\/p>\n

BK:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cStand By Me\u201d is popular everywhere in\u00a0the\u00a0world [including] in Japan.\u00a0The\u00a0first reason is\u00a0the\u00a0lyrics are really important. It described\u00a0the\u00a0relationship of Akutsu and Nana. But also \u201cThe\u00a0Last\u00a0Blossom\u201d is such a niche movie \u2014 I wanted to balance it with having a super popular song in it.<\/p>\n

\"LastBlossom3<\/figure>\n

JM:<\/strong>\u00a0There\u2019s a theme in this movie that memories can be painful. Was that a significant theme you wanted to address?<\/p>\n

BK:<\/strong>\u00a0Memories are very similar to having regrets. At\u00a0the\u00a0end of his life\u2026 Akutsu sort of had an ordinary life, but he may have had lots of regrets. To have\u2026\u00a0the\u00a0turnaround that he had,\u00a0the\u00a0regrets didn\u2019t disappear, but it made up for it. There are good and bad memories. There\u2019s painful, bad memories, and then there\u2019s good memories. I think it can go both ways.\u00a0The\u00a0story is really about Akutsu fighting for what he wanted to achieve, and\u2026 he was able to turn\u00a0the\u00a0painful memories into good memories.<\/p>\n

JM:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes. Absolutely. What you do in\u00a0the\u00a0third act\u2026\u00a0the\u00a0way you reveal\u00a0the\u00a0layers and\u00a0the\u00a0surprises\u2026 is so well-done. What was most challenging for you about crafting\u00a0the\u00a0third act?<\/p>\n

BK:<\/strong>\u00a0I worked with\u00a0the\u00a0same screenwriter I worked with for \u201cOdd Taxi\u201d, Kazuya Kinomoto. He\u2019s very good at story building, especially with laying out little pieces throughout\u00a0the\u00a0story \u2014 clues he\u2019d leave in and have them all come together at\u00a0the\u00a0end. For this movie, with\u00a0the\u00a0letters,\u00a0the\u00a0board game Othello and\u00a0the\u00a0big turnaround, it was already really incorporated in\u00a0the\u00a0script. So it was mostly his doing, but as a director, showing all\u00a0the\u00a0things he was trying to do in\u00a0the\u00a0script into animation was my job, and I think I was able to pull that off as well.<\/p>\n