On February 27th, actress Shiori Doi attended the press conference for the completion of "Yamada Todoroki Law Office" (General TV, March 20th, 9:30pm), a spin-off drama of the NHK morning drama "The Tiger and Her Wings," held at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo. She spoke about her feelings about returning to the world of "Wings of the Tiger" as the main character.
"The Tiger and Her Wings" is an original story based on the life of Yoshiko Mibuchi (1914-1984), Japan's first female lawyer and later a judge, with Sairi Ito playing the heroine, Torako Inozume. "Yamada Todoroki Law Office" depicts the unknown episodes surrounding the establishment of the Yamada Todoroki Law Office by Torako's best friends, Yamada Yone (Doi) and Todoroki Taichi (Junki Tozuka). The story incorporates extensive backstories of Yone and Todoroki, depicting the world of "The Tiger and Her Wings" from the perspective of a lawyer.
Doi, who played Yone, recalled, "Since filming began quite a while after the main story, I went to the set wondering if I would be able to return to the role of Yone." She added with a look of relief, "I was able to return to the way I felt back then in no time, which made me realize how big a role we had built up over the course of a year in the main story. When I saw the finished product, I was relieved to think that, although it is a spin-off, I will be able to deliver it to everyone as a separate work."
He said he was "really happy" when the spin-off was decided, but honestly confessed, "When I heard the content, I thought, 'So that's what we're doing.'" He revealed, "When we were filming the main story, I said, 'I want to do this,' and I imagined it as a fun story about the daily life of the Yamada Todoroki Law Firm and solving everyday cases. I never imagined it would turn out to be such a hard-hitting spin-off, so that was a surprise."
On the other hand, she said with a smile, "By making all the parts that I had filled in through imagination clearer, the resolution of Yone increased and many things made sense to me. I once again thought how cool Yone is, and it gave me courage."
The press conference was also attended by Junki Tozuka, who plays Todoroki, and Chief Producer Ozaki Hirokazu, who is in charge of production.
