In Akina, Gunma Prefecture, the famous Mount Akina, Seiya wasn't there to race. There was no AE86 and no tofu shop, as this was the world of Oshi no Ko, not Initial D.
It turned out that the genius child star, Kana Arima, had some serious connections. A few days ago, when Seiya told her he wanted to try his hand at acting, she used her charm on her mother to talk to a director. About 10 days later, she secured a minor role for Seiya. Since Seiya said he didn't need a salary and only wanted to gain some experience, and with a little push from the genius Arima, the director reluctantly agreed.
Because Seiya was a child, a guardian had to be present on set. Yuko was supposed to be the guardian, but since she had been busy with her work, she asked Arima's mother to go instead.
"Seiya, I asked the director, and you don't have many lines. Just hold the bamboo sword with a determined look on your face and swing it around. You have to do a good job. I worked hard to get you this role, so if you mess it up, I'm not getting you any more roles," the little red-haired girl in a white dress and beret said, standing with her hands on her hips, lecturing Seiya as a "senior."
"Alright, everyone, get ready. We're about to start the next scene. Kana-chan, and the other kid, Seiya-kun, it's your turn to go on set."
The director's command set the crew into a flurry of activity. Seiya was given a kendo uniform and a bamboo sword.
"Hey! I told you to prepare a smaller, hollow bamboo sword. This kid is only five years old. How is he supposed to swing a sword that's almost as tall as he is?"
The movie Seiya was in was a romance film called "From Now On, I'll Protect You." It was a clichéd story about a girl who runs away from her arranged marriage and meets the love of her life. Arima played the younger version of the main character, who gets lost in the mountains and is attacked by a wolf but is saved by a young boy who lives there with his grandfather. As the main character, Arima had a lot of screen time. But Seiya, who played the kendo boy, had only one scene. Since it was a low-budget movie, he falls off a cliff after fighting the wolf, and the role is taken over by a grown-up male lead.
According to the script, Seiya just had to hold the bamboo sword, have a determined look on his face, rush at the wolf, and swing his sword a few times. The acting required for this was not high for a newcomer. And with Seiya's great looks, the director had agreed to let him be in the movie.
"A bamboo sword? It's a surprisingly good first-time role."
While the director was scolding the prop team and thinking about using CGI to remove Seiya's movements, he was surprised to see Seiya holding the heavy, solid bamboo sword with both hands. His stance was also professional, and the director was stunned.
"Seiya-kun, can you hold that sword?" the director asked with gleaming eyes.
"No problem. I'm not a master, but I did take kendo classes before."
The director was delighted to hear this. He then asked, "Can you swing it?"
"Huu! Huu! Huu!"
Seiya didn't answer and just swung the sword, which was almost as tall as he was.
"This is perfect! I only let you have this role because of Arima, but it looks like no one is better for this role than you," the director said with a satisfied look. It was hard to expect a child to be a perfect actor, as there were only a few geniuses like Kana Arima. Seiya's kendo skills were perfect for the role, and his acting was no longer as important.
After all the preparations were done, the actors were in their places. Aside from Seiya and Arima, an animal actor came on stage. Since it was a low-budget movie, they couldn't afford realistic CGI. It was possible, but the budget wouldn't allow it. So, a police dog that looked like a wolf was brought out.
"Kana-chan, you don't need to be scared. This is a trained police dog, and it's just wearing makeup to look like a wolf. Our crew will command it to pounce on you, and Seiya-kun, you just need to swing your sword to scare it away."
Even with the director's guarantee, Kana was scared when she saw the dog. It was normal; after all, they were only five or six years old, and the dog was almost as tall as them on all fours. Any normal child would be scared stiff, if not burst into tears.
"Seiya-kun, don't be scared. Just imagine it's a big, friendly dog," the director reminded him before filming. In this scene, Kana, as a runaway girl, was supposed to be scared of the wolf. But Seiya, who was protecting her, couldn't show any fear. This wasn't an easy feat for a child. The director had planned to use camera angles to avoid showing Seiya's face or just to shoot his back. But since Seiya had shown off his kendo skills, the director thought he was a prodigy and didn't want to miss the opportunity to have his face on screen.