On January 30th, it was announced that rookie actress Mine Azusa will play the starring role in the upcoming film, "Signal: Getsuyobi no Ruka".

The 20 year old managed to grab a triple crown with "Signal: Getsuyobi no Ruka", as it'll be her acting debut, movie debut, and very first starring role. She will portray the character, 'Sugimoto Ruka', a young girl who hasn't taken a step out of a certain movie theater for three years due to an incident in the past.

Mine was personally choen by director Taniguchi Masaaki. He has been coaching her since before the filming and has high hopes for her future as an actress.

Taniguchi commented, "Mine has a very powerful gaze, which is an essential part of the film. I haven't been easy on her from the get-go, [as I've been] making her practice her speaking and so on. I was surprised when she suddenly got that strong expression on her face towards the end of the filming. From that moment on, I knew that a great actress was born."

[caption id="attachment_218041" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Nishijima Takahiro and Mine Azusa"][/caption]

The film is based on a novel by Sekiguchi Hisashi, and it's set inside a nostalgic movie theater that has been running in Niigata for over 100 years. It depicts a summer romance between Ruka, a projectionist, and Keisuke (AAA's Nishijima Takahiro). The romance is very peculiar, as Ruka makes Keisuke agree to three rules: (1) 'Do not approach Ruka on Mondays, she's depressed all day', (2) 'Love with Ruka is not allowed', and (3) 'Do not ask questions about Ruka's past'.

"Ruka is a character who suppresses her emotions, therefore it was quite difficult to express the change of emotions in her heart," Mine commented. "One thing we have in common is that we are trying to overcome our pasts. She does it in her way and I'm doing it by acting. It felt like we were stepping forward together. First of all, I have to thank the director for his support, but also the other actors and the staff. It's thanks to them that I was able to perform until the very end."

Nishijima was impressed by Mine and said, "People are very passionate and affectionate when they are gathering all of their courage. Mine Azusa was all that -- pure, passionate and affectionate. I hope you will be able to feel the same heat from her on� screen."

Mine returned Nishijima's kind words with: "I wasn't yet familiar with filming and all that, but Nishijima talked with me about every scene we had together. He was leading me throughout the filming."

Additionally, it was revealed that actor Kora Kengo will appear in the film as someone from Ruka's secret past.

Kora is from Kyushu just like Mine, which helped them find various topics to talk about. Mine said, "We've talked about a lot of things. He also gave me various advice, such as putting your feelings into your performance without minding the cameras at all."

"Signal: Getsuyobi no Ruka" will open in Japan on June 9th.

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Source: eiga.com