Takaishi Akari plays the heroine in the NHK morning drama "Bakeke" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). The story is set in Kumamoto, where Nishikiori Takeru (Sugita Rairin) and Masaki Seiichi (Hidaka Yukito), students at Matsue Junior High School, end up staying at Heaven's (Tommy Bastow) house as students. We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, Chief Producer (CP) and production supervisor, about the reasons for casting Sugita and Hidaka and the appeal of their acting.
◇Selected through an audition. What is the appeal of acting?
Sugita and Hidaka were selected for the roles of Heaven's students from an audition that had 287 participants. Hashizume said, "Sugita, Hidaka, and Shimokawa Kyohei, who plays Kotani Haruo, who was spotlighted for the episode in which he falls in love with Toki (Takaishi), were also selected from these auditions. All three have already demonstrated their talent in various productions, and I believe they are undoubtedly the next breakout stars among actors in their early twenties. I hope that when I watch 'Bakeke' in 10 years' time, I'll be able to say, 'That was amazing.'"
Regarding Sugita, who plays Takeru, the younger brother of Nishikori Yuichi (Yoshizawa Ryo), he gives his stamp of approval, saying, "He has his own unique sense of timing, and he exudes an aura that is different from other people. I think he is a very rare actor."
"The moment I saw him at the audition, I thought, 'This is the guy for Yoshizawa's younger brother!' I think he has a similar aura to Yoshizawa. In the 19th week, there was a scene where Nishikori and Takeru were talking, and I strongly felt that there was an atmosphere that only Yoshizawa and Sugita could create."
Regarding Hidaka, who played the role of "Detective Masaki" in the 99th episode (broadcast on February 19th), he praised him, saying, "He's a very pure and straightforward actor, but he also has a great sense. I get the impression that he responds beautifully to what the other person says. He's a very talented actor."
"The scene in which Masaki shows off his 'brilliant deduction' involves a large number of actors, and each actor has a line to speak. Furthermore, Masaki had a long line to speak, so Hidaka-san was nervous from the day before filming began, fretting, saying, 'My lines are so long!' I sent him off by telling him to 'do your best,' but he performed brilliantly during the actual shoot, which was amazing."
◇What I told the two of them during the filming of "Bakeke"
Although Takeru and Masaki appeared from the fifth week, they didn't get the spotlight until the Kumamoto episode.
Hashizume recalls, "Shimokawa-san had her moment to shine in the 10th week, but as for Sugita-san and Hidaka-san, although they'll be in the show throughout, their moment to shine comes after the Kumamoto arc. I told them to be patient until then and to develop their characters properly."
"Now that I look back at their acting, I can see that they've built up their acting skills right up to the Kumamoto arc. It's really amazing."
When the student roles were being cast, the plot development had not yet been solidified. Yokogi Tomisaburo, a student of Lafcadio Hearn who served as the inspiration for Masaki, died of tuberculosis at a young age, so Hidaka was told that "he might die during the story."
"At first, I created the character of Masaki based on the character Yokogi Tomisaburo, but in the end, the character just had a slightly similar name. I told Sugita-san from the beginning that I wanted him to develop the character to that extent, as I would also be depicting the brotherly relationship between him and Nishikori. However, Sugita-san and Hidaka-san have experience and are good at acting, so I trusted them and told them to act however they wanted."
In addition to the veteran actors with solid skills, the acting skills of the young actors also shine in "Bakeke." I'd like to keep an eye on not only the direction of the story, but also the performances of Takeru and Masaki.
