Morning drama "Bakebake": Why did you choose Akari Takaishi as the heroine? The production director explains

The press conference announcing the heroine of the NHK morning drama "Bakebake" for the second half of fiscal 2025 was held at the NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station on October 29th, and it was revealed that Akari Takaishi will play the heroine. Production Director Hashizume Kuniomi responded to an interview after the press conference and explained the reasons for selecting Takaishi.

The audition for the heroine began in June this year, and 2,892 people applied. The number of applicants was the third highest after "Anpan" in the first half of fiscal 2025 and "Come Come Everybody" in the second half of fiscal 2021. After document screening, video screening, interviews, and a camera test for the final round, Takaishi was selected in September.

Looking back on the audition, Hashizume praised her, saying, "When Takaishi walked in, she shone so brightly that I thought, 'This is the girl.'" "I had them wear costumes, wigs, makeup, and act out the script that Fujiki Mitsuhiko wrote, and Takaishi-san seemed to really live there, rather than just act," she said.

Nine people, including Takaishi-san, were selected for the final round, and she reflected, "I chose nine people from among those with really high acting ability. This time, I was looking for people who could act naturally, and my standard was to make them feel like they really lived there. All nine were wonderful, and I think their acting was such that anyone could become a morning drama heroine. Among them, Takaishi-san was the one who made me want to watch her for the longest time, not that it was right or wrong."

Some of the nine were extremely well-known actors, but she said, "I didn't really care about the heroine's fame," and "I chose people that I wanted to work with. I thought that the morning drama audition was a very grateful opportunity to do that, and I thought about making a good work first and foremost."

The heroine of "Bakeke" is based on Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a fallen Matsue samurai and wife of Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn). The story is about a couple who love "ghost stories" together with their foreign husband, and who shed light on and speak for the "nameless people" who had been forgotten in Meiji Japan as it became increasingly Westernized. The script is written by Fujiki Mitsuhiko, who has worked on NHK's "Asagaya Sisters' Relaxed Life Together" and WOWOW's "Tokyu Series."