kemioの言わせて言うだけEverything · Society & Culture
#144 ふと思い出すあの人
kemio shares details about a Halloween film project two years in the making — two short films, in English and Japanese, rebuilding a 2000s New York movie around a theme of losing sight of what matters. The main topic this week is people who come to mind out of nowhere: kemio opens with the mother who passed away when kemio was two years old, a former manager from the early days of a showbiz career, and a British man met on a dating app whose story ends with a quiet gut-punch.
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What this episode answers
What kind of film project did kemio make for this year's Halloween?
Starting in May and shooting in Japan in early September, kemio reconstructed the screenplay of a 2000s New York film — a story about a salaryman, not a finance picture — around the theme of losing sight of what truly matters, producing two versions (English and Japanese) in which kemio plays both roles.
Who did kemio mention as people who suddenly come to mind?
kemio named two: a mother who died when kemio was two years old, leaving only one or two photographs and no living memories; and a manager who supported kemio from before anyone else could see the potential but left the project about two years into kemio's entertainment career.
What habits does kemio have around scent and memory?
kemio keeps almost-empty perfume bottles rather than throwing them away, opening them occasionally to travel back to a specific period; on trips, kemio buys a new fragrance at the airport duty-free and wears it throughout the journey so that the scent stores the memory of that trip.
What kinds of episodes did listeners share about people they suddenly remember?
Five listeners wrote in: a woman still unsettled by the memory of a manipulative ex she stayed with out of pity; a woman who still thinks of a first love whenever she smells the same fabric softener; a woman moved by a quietly dignified phrase — "a person of letters" — from a first love she met for drinks as an adult; a woman whose middle-school homeroom teacher suddenly quit and disappeared, leaving behind what she now thinks might have been a small crush; and a twenty-year-old who solved math problems furiously just to have an excuse to ask a cram-school teacher questions.
How did kemio's encounter with the British man from London end?
After kemio and the British man — who lived in New York — happened to both be in London at the same time and met at a bar (where kemio spilled the tequila soda ordered for him, which broke the ice), they met twice over three days; he messaged every day after kemio returned home, but contact stopped abruptly after a fourth meeting in New York, and he eventually revealed he had been seriously dating someone else since the moment they first met.
A Halloween Film Project Five Months in the Making
Last Halloween, kemio went deep on a Edward Scissorhands concept — custom fittings, a handmade costume, and an editorial photo series imagining Scissorhands landing in Tokyo. This year the bar went higher: a short film, in fact two of them.
The source material is a 2000s New York movie centred on a salaryman — not a finance story. kemio was drawn to its theme of losing sight of what truly matters, feeling it speaks just as clearly to the present day, and rebuilt the screenplay around that idea. Two versions were produced: one in English, one in Japanese, with kemio playing both roles. Preparation began in May; filming took place in Japan in early September. kemio declined to name the original film or the shooting locations until the works are released, but said: "I think you can enjoy it even if you've never seen the source film." A plan to host a proper analysis talk about the project roughly a year after release was also floated.
The People kemio Suddenly Remembers
As autumn's chill settled in, kemio moved to the episode's main theme. The first person kemio named was a mother who died when kemio was two years old. Only one or two photographs exist; there are no real memories. kemio said the thought that surfaces is: *what would my life have looked like if she had lived?*
Next came a high-school friend, then a former manager — someone who believed in kemio before the potential was obvious to anyone and who supported that early career, only to leave the project about two years in. "People who find you and back you before anyone can see what you might become are people you never forget," kemio said quietly. "I hope they see who I am now and feel proud."
Scent as a Memory Archive
Listener Pio (24) sparked this thread by writing that she dated a man she had liked from age nine to twenty, met him again at a reunion, got together with him — and still thinks of him the moment she smells the same fabric softener he used.
kemio agreed that of all the senses, smell is most tightly wired to memory, and shared a personal system built around it. Nearly-empty perfume bottles are never thrown away; kemio keeps them and occasionally opens one to step back into a particular chapter of life. Abroad, the routine is to buy a new fragrance at the airport duty-free and wear it every day of the trip — "storing the memories of that journey inside the scent" — so that opening the bottle later becomes a way back. Music works the same way: a song played on repeat during a certain period carries the whole context of that time back with it the moment it plays again.
Five Listeners' Stories
**Hana (28)** spent two and a half years with an emotionally abusive partner who had no money. She stayed out of pity and only found the clarity to leave when he said "I might as well just die." She is happy now with a wonderful partner, but in unguarded moments she catches herself comparing him to her ex and frightening herself with the question of why she ever said yes. kemio's take: "The people who hurt us tend to stick hardest. I think the body remembers."
**Yuma (28)** describes a first love who was quiet and cool in the way of a manga character. Meeting for drinks as adults, Yuma mentioned being a writer; the first love responded, "Ah — a person of letters." The weight and elegance of that phrase has never left.
**Imonin (age withheld)** had a middle-school homeroom teacher who told a rudderless student, "I think you'd make a great flight attendant" — the first real goal Imonin had ever been given. That teacher always appeared next to Imonin in class photos, once gave away the daily milk ration when Imonin was injured at club practice, and made time to listen when things were rough. Then the teacher suddenly resigned and was never heard from again. "Looking back, I think I might have had a little crush," Imonin wrote.
**Jiro Dakedo Jinsei Buchiagest (20)** wanted so badly to be noticed by a cram-school teacher that he tore through math problems purely to manufacture excuses to ask questions, applied hand cream before every visit, and wore long sleeves through the hottest part of summer. Now studying to retake university entrance exams, he says: "I want that teacher to see who I am today."
The British Man in London
Listener Nikoniko Corney (23) wrote about meeting a TikToker in Madrid, which prompted kemio to share a story from earlier this year.
kemio matched on a dating app with a British man living in New York, heard nothing back, and — true to form — sent a follow-up a month later: "I have not lived my life retreating after one jab." He replied saying he was currently in London; kemio happened to be heading to London the following week. They met for the first time in a bar during kemio's three-day stay. kemio promptly spilled the tequila soda ordered for him, which dissolved any awkwardness. They talked for three hours and saw each other twice across those three days.
Back home, he messaged every day, sending favourite songs as if to say *I want you to know me.* Then, after a fourth meeting in New York, the messages stopped entirely. His eventual explanation: he had been seriously involved with someone else since the very day they first met, and that relationship had become official. kemio consulted a fortune-teller last month; the verdict was blunt — no future here, let it go.
Takeaways
- kemio's Halloween project this year escalates from last year's editorial Scissorhands shoot to two short films — English and Japanese versions — reinterpreting a 2000s New York movie around the theme of losing sight of what matters, with kemio in both roles.
- kemio treats scent as a deliberate memory-storage system, keeping near-empty perfume bottles and buying new fragrances at airport duty-frees specifically to archive the feelings of each trip.
- Across kemio's own stories and five listener episodes, the episode circles a single insight: difficult or unresolved relationships tend to leave the deepest impressions, and kemio's own London story — ending with the revelation of a hidden relationship — remains an open wound.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.