The 11th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, titled "The Honkoku-ji Incident," aired on March 22nd, and viewers' attention was drawn to the words and actions of Nagamasa Asai, played by Ayumu Nakajima.
"BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" is the 65th Taiga drama. With Toyotomi Hidenaga (Koichiro) as the protagonist, it depicts the miraculous feat of unifying Japan together with his older brother Hideyoshi (Tokichiro) through their strong bond, a success story of dreams and hopes.
The script is written by Hiroyuki Yatsu, known for his work on "Hanzawa Naoki" (TBS) and the Asadora drama series "Ochoyan." The music is composed by Hideaki Kimura, and the narration is provided by actress Sakura Ando.
In the 11th episode, Nobunaga (Shun Oguri), who has seized control of the Kinai region, gives new orders to Koichiro (Nakano) and Fujikichiro (Sosuke Ikematsu).
Through Matsunaga Hisahide (Naoto Takenaka), a warlord who rules Yamato, the brothers are ordered to have Sakai merchants, including Imai Sokyu (Masato Wada), pay 20,000 kan in war funds. However, the Sakai merchants are all cunning and difficult to deal with, and the brothers are forced into a tough fight. Meanwhile, the Miyoshi Three, who want to depose the newly appointed Shogun Yoshiaki (Ukon Onoe), seize the opportunity while Nobunaga is away and attack Honkoku-ji Temple in Kyoto where Yoshiaki is staying...
One day, Nagamasa and Ichi (Aoi Miyazaki ) notice a bonfire in the garden. Burning in it is a bronze mirror that Nobunaga had given to Ichi. Ichi resigns herself to the fact that this is something she brought upon herself, unable to sever her ties with the Oda clan, but Nagamasa picks up the bronze mirror from the flames with his bare hands. Ichi rushes to Nagamasa's side, who has burned his hand. "Why would you do something like this!" Ichi asks, to which Nagamasa replies, "It is something important to you. You don't have to throw it away. I don't consider you a hostage. You are a bridge connecting the Oda and the Asai clans," and he embraces Ichi to his chest.
On social media, viewers reacted with comments such as, "How kind Asai-sama is," "Asai-sama is just too nice!", "I'm falling in love with Asai Nagamasa-dono!", and "I really love Nagamasa-dono."
For Nakajima, who plays Anpan, this is another good-guy character following his excellent portrayal of Jiro Wakamatsu in last year's morning drama " Asadora ." Comments such as " Ayumu Nakajima is so cool... just like Jiro in ' Anpan', he's playing a good young man!" and "He looks just like Jiro. What a gentleman..." were posted, as well as enthusiastic comments like "The Asai couple are truly precious" and "I really want the Asai couple to be happy."
