The final episode (episode 32) of NHK's night drama "Someday, in Zero Gravity" (General TV, Monday-Thursday 10:45 PM), starring actor Kiryu Aso, was broadcast on October 30th. This second coming-of-age story about women in their 30s aiming for space with a "microsatellite" reached a beautiful conclusion with the success of the "mission" and the turning of attention to the dreams beyond. Dedicated viewers expressed their emotions with comments such as "It was a great drama" and "I'm grateful to have come across it." I would like to unravel why this drama resonated so deeply with viewers.
◇Even a conversation at a family restaurant can hold its own in this drama
The drama will be broadcast over eight weeks with a total of 32 episodes. Four girls from the astronomy club who shared their dream of "going into space together" in high school suddenly reunite with their forgotten dream as they go their separate ways as adults. Encouraged by their "old" selves, they begin their second youth. Their goal is to send a homemade "microsatellite" into space and observe Earth. Along the way, they have to part ways with some sad friends, but with the support of those around them, they turn their dream into reality.
At first glance, the dreams and challenges of four women in their 30s, former members of the astronomy club, may seem like a fantasy about the unknown universe. In fact, just like the size of the "ultra-small" satellite, the story is depicted on a scale that is familiar to viewers, so it doesn't seem unrealistic, and as the story progresses, it evokes empathy and emotion from many viewers. This is where Takeda Yuki's skillful scriptwriting shines.
The four former astronomy club members, all in their 30s, are brilliantly portrayed. They include protagonist Mochizuki Asuka (Kiryu), who is overwhelmed by her work at an advertising agency and finds herself unsure of what to do; Hibino Hikari (Misato Morita Nozomi), who is always cheerful and positive like the sun, but secretly struggles with illness; Mizuhara Shu (Katayama Yuki), who is good at being spoiled and says what she wants to say, but also has a sensitive side; and Kiuchi Haruko (Ito Marika), a single mother who is earnest and pragmatic, but who also showers love on her son. I think one of the reasons for the show's success is that the drama (script) is so captivating that it holds its own even when the women are just chatting happily at a family restaurant.
Of course, the family restaurant scene owes much to the acting ability of Kiryu as Asuka, Morita as Hikari, Katayama as Amane, and Ito as Haruko, and many viewers must have felt a sense of affinity with the natural interactions that were neither skits nor offbeat. It could be said that the accumulation of such scenes is what eventually made viewers "accompany" the four girls (and those involved with them) and made them want to pursue their dreams together.
◇ Casting the right people for the right roles for the four high school students
In terms of casting, the careful production of the drama was evident from the casting of Tamaki Sora, Juri Kosaka, Aoi Shirakura, and Yamashita Kiriri, who played Asuka, Hikari, Shu, and Haruko in their high school days. Some scenes seamlessly switched back and forth between the past and present, but perhaps thanks to the perfectly placed casting, it didn't cause the usual confusion or discomfort, and even evoked a strange sense of nostalgia.
As an aside, Uesaka, who plays Hikari, and Shirakura, who plays Shu, are reuniting after playing students in the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "Mikami Sensei ," which aired in January and became a huge hit.
And we must not forget the presence of Daiken Okudaira , who plays another of " Mikami Sensei 's" students, Kanazawa Sui, a member of the university's space engineering research lab. "Kanazawa-kun," who prefers solitude and is initially annoyed by Asuka and the others' efforts to build an artificial satellite despite being amateurs, and who sometimes throws harsh words at them, is the character who shows the most growth in the play. After Hikari's death, he becomes the leader of the satellite's development and takes on the important role of embodying Hikari's thoughts and will, and there are many scenes where Okudaira's acting ability comes to life, as he expresses his inner changes and emotional turmoil with his slow, almost vomit-out delivery of lines.
Setting aside moralistic talk about how it's noble to pursue your dreams no matter how old you are, " Itsuka, Mujuryoku no Sora de" is filled with many universal elements that make you think, simply, "It was a good drama." Perhaps that's why it struck such a deep chord with viewers.
