"This guy's a total chameleon with his looks," Fuyukawa Tetsu thought, catching sight of Tsukitake Asuka in the van and pausing for a moment.
No big reason for the pause—just that Tsukitake had switched up her style again. Gone was the cool, short princess cut from before, replaced by what could only be described as a "dangerous wife" vibe. Her jet-black hair was now styled in a long braid, cascading over her ample chest. At 5'9", her statuesque figure was draped in a black halter dress, her curvaceous hips pressing against the van's seat, exuding a lazy yet magnetic allure.
"Did her hair get longer? Extensions, maybe?" Fuyukawa's mind wandered to the odd thought, but the next second, he froze.
Not just him—everyone around, including Sayoko and Kawaguchi, turned to stone.
Under Fuyukawa's gaze, Tsukitake casually grabbed her braid with her right hand while holding a tube of lipstick in her left. With a light tug, she lifted the hair off her head.
A wig!
And beneath it—a bald head!
A bald head glinting under the sunlight!
A 5'9" bombshell revealing a shiny scalp!
Sure, Tsukitake's delicate features made her bald look oddly refined, her face appearing even smaller and more elegant. But the visual shock was too much. Fuyukawa was petrified on the spot.
Then he caught the playful glint in her big eyes and the teasing curve of her lips. Snapping out of it, he thought, Curious and cheeky—this woman's like a cat. A Persian cat, at that!
Keeping his internal commentary to himself, Fuyukawa shifted focus. He directed Kawaguchi and Nogi to help the crew set up the scene, had Sayoko hand out the day's script to the actors, and then led the cinematographer, Honda Kojiro, to scout the shooting location while discussing the script.
Barely five minutes on set, and they were already prepping to shoot! The pace was lightning-fast, catching everyone off guard, but the crew quickly sprang into action.
Honda Kojiro, after a moment of surprise, gave Fuyukawa an appreciative glance. Young and sharp—this guy's got a bright future, he thought. In an industry full of overeducated underachievers, Fuyukawa's efficiency stood out.
Without wasting words, Honda shouted for the wardrobe and makeup team to get the actors ready, then dove into script discussions with Fuyukawa. "This guy's on top of things—saves me the hassle," Fuyukawa noted approvingly.
As they hashed out the script and shooting techniques, the set buzzed with activity. Actors scrambled to memorize lines while getting makeup done, the camera crew set up equipment, and Sayoko and her team filled in wherever needed. The pace felt almost rushed, but it worked.
In Japanese film culture, speed doesn't always mean cutting corners. Take classic Hong Kong films—often shot in a flash yet still iconic. Young and Dangerous wrapped in seven days; Stephen Chow's God of Cookery raked in millions in just two weeks of shooting; Gunmen took 19 days; Saw prepped in five days and filmed in 18; From Beijing with Love was squeezed into 28 days during downtime from another project. These films thrived despite tight schedules, not because of endless budgets or time, but because they nailed authenticity.
Fuyukawa wasn't a film scholar, but he suspected it came down to immersion. In Japan, where storytelling often draws from everyday life—think slice-of-life anime or grounded yakuza flicks—audiences crave relatability. Overpolished sets or flawless costumes can break the spell. A soldier in a war scene shouldn't look like a K-pop idol with spotless clothes and perfect makeup. That dissonance pulls viewers out, making them question, Is this how a soldier would look? Once that happens, the illusion shatters, and emotional connection falters.
For a project like Surrounded by Beauties, an interactive romance game turned film, staying immersive was critical. Players know it's fiction, but the goal is to make them feel the story. Overacted performances or unrealistic costumes would ruin it. Luckily, Fuyukawa's three-month shooting schedule aligned perfectly with this need for natural, grounded storytelling.
Honda's crew was impressively efficient, and since Surrounded by Beauties was a modern romance, the sets didn't need much dressing up. Soon, with Tsukitake and the others in makeup, filming began under an old apartment building. The first scene featured Lao Liu, the sidekick, riding an electric scooter with the protagonist to meet Xiao Lu, a potential roommate.
This wasn't the game's opening, but films aren't shot in order. Fuyukawa chose this scene to ease the actors into the rhythm, as it was straightforward. Honestly, though, the most excited person wasn't Fuyukawa or the actors—it was Kawaguchi.
The game's protagonist never shows his face, but for filming, someone had to play the role—reaching out a hand, say, while angling away from the camera. With a tight budget, Fuyukawa didn't hire an extra; he tapped Kawaguchi for the part.
Kawaguchi was over the moon, barely sleeping the night before. A 30-year-old lifelong bachelor, he was thrilled at the chance to get close to the actresses—even if "close" just meant holding hands or watching them flirt with the camera (or rather, a sound-capturing device for kissing scenes). It was the closest he'd ever been to a girl, and he was buzzing.
Surprisingly, his nervous, earnest demeanor charmed the three young actresses—seasoned JK idols from Japan's cutthroat entertainment industry. Their amusement helped them relax, which was key. Fuyukawa's two rules for Surrounded by Beauties were simple: keep it natural, keep it real, make players believe this could happen.
Thanks to Kawaguchi's awkward charm, the first few scenes with the JK actresses passed in a single take! Even Honda, reviewing the playback, gave Kawaguchi a thumbs-up, joking that he had a "magic knack for putting women at ease."
Magic knack for putting women at ease! Kawaguchi's ego inflated instantly. But then came the wardrobe scene with Tsukitake Asuka, and he froze.
Tsukitake, now in a pale blue wrap dress and white blouse, was a knockout. Her beauty and figure—5'9" with a jaw-dropping 36D bust—rivaled even Japan's legendary昭和-era beauties. The dress hugged her curves, accentuating her hips and leaving little to the imagination. It was a look straight out of a high-end Shibuya fashion shoot, dialed up to eleven.
Kawaguchi's face turned beet red, his nerves shot. But that wasn't the worst of it.
Tsukitake glanced at the flustered Kawaguchi, then turned to Fuyukawa with a sly look toward the wardrobe set. "He's a bit short, and his presence doesn't quite match mine," she said bluntly. "How about you act this scene with me instead?"
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