The movie is about an eccentric 3rd grader, Kokko, who lives with her huge family in Osaka, and how her character develops throughout the summer break.
(Partial Translation)
Director Yukisada commented on Mana Ashida: "She's an actress who possesses wonderful talent". "She's got a rich variety of expressions, and the thing that surprised me the most is her passion for acting. During our first script reading session, she came without her script. She's supposed to have the most number of lines compared to anyone, but she never looked at the script. That left such a huge impression". He also noted how Ashida acted as a leader to the other child actors in the cast.
Director Yukisada also takes credit for helping Ryunosuke Kamiki realize his potential in the movie Tooku no Sora ni Kieta. "I can sense this aura of a genius in Ashida which I also sensed when I worked with Kamiki-kun. And the thing that Mana-chan and Kamiki-kun have in common is that both of them love to act".
One cannot help but feel how bright Ashida's future is when seeing her running innocently on screen under Yukisada's guidance.
Source:
http://img1.cna.com.tw/Japan/Photos/JpnNews/201403/20140321191426.jpg
