The NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", starring actor Taiga Nakano (NHK General, Sundays at 8 PM, etc.), featured a new focus on the actor who played Sadaharu Ando in its 25th episode, "Omens of Disaster," which aired on June 28th.
"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.
In episode 25, Nobunaga's (Shun Oguri) new castle, Azuchi Castle, is completed. At the celebratory banquet, Nobunaga suggests that his retainers have a sumo match, and for some reason, he nominates senior retainers such as Hayashi Hidetada (Taro Suwa), Sakuma Nobumori (Daikichi Sugawara), and Ando Morinari (Tetsushi Tanaka) to be opponents for his young attendant, Mori Ran (Tetsushi Tanaka). What was thought to be mere entertainment turns into a humiliating defeat, and Nobunaga banishes the three without question.
Morinari was confused as to why he had become the target of the purge, but he eventually began to suspect that it was his son, Sadaharu, who was in league with the Takeda clan, and decided to question Sadaharu himself...
Feeling responsible, Sadaharu attempts to take his own life. He is stopped at the last moment by Koichiro (Nakano) and Takatora (So Kaku), but his suffering is deeper than imagined.
When Morinari asked, "Why would you do such a thing?", Sadaharu began by saying, "I'm just tired," and continued, "Since joining Oda, I've been constantly engaged in warfare. No matter how much I fight, it never ends. Just when I think one battle is over, I'm sent to the next battlefield, and my close retainers have been dying one after another. I don't know when I'll die either! Is there truly a wonderful world beyond this hell?! Oda Nobunaga is incapable of creating such a world!"
The role of the tormented Sadaharu was played by Yusaku Mori. He has previously appeared in the network's Asadora drama series "Beppin-san" (second half of 2016), "Hanbun, Aoi" (first half of 2018), and the historical drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (2022). In "Beppin-san," he played Nakanishi, an employee of "Kiaris," which was founded by the heroine Sumire (Kyoko Yoshine) and her friends. In "Hanbun, Aoi", he played Kobayashi (Kobayan), the first date partner of the heroine Suzume (Mei Nagano). In "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (2022), he played Ano Tokimoto, the son of Zensei (Shinya Niiro) and Mii (Emma Miyazawa).
As a result, comments on social media included: "I recognize Sadaharu-kun. He's like Nakanishi-kun from Kiaris," "I've been interested in Mori Yusaku-san since he played Nakanishi-kun, and he's a great actor. He seems to be a valuable asset to NHK, as I often see him in Asadora and historical dramas," and "So Mori Yusaku-san played Ano Tokimoto in ' The 13 Lords of the Shogun'." Other comments included: "Kobayan is shouting," "Ando Sadaharu in agony. Very typical of Mori Yusaku-san," "This kind of role suits Mori Yusaku-san," and "Mori Yusaku-kun often plays unfortunate roles, so I hope he gets a happy role next time."
