It was revealed on August 28 that season 2 of the TV drama series "Octo: Emotional Investigator Shinno Akari" (Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV, Thursdays 11:59 p.m.), which aired in 2022 starring actress Iitoyo Marie, will be broadcast in the same time slot from October 3rd.
Former Hinatazaka46 member Kageyama Yuka will play Takizawa Miku, who will be her new partner with the protagonist Shinno Akari (Iitoyo), an investigator who can see emotions in colors. Asaka Kodai, who will play Kazehaya Ryo, her partner in the previous series, will also continue to appear.
The setting has moved from the Kanagawa Prefectural Police to the Metropolitan Police Department, and the scaled-up emotional investigation is underway with Kazehaya, now the boss, and Akari and Takizawa as her new partners. In the sequel, she faces off against a Thai murder suspect who can see residual emotions in objects and places, a power similar to Akari's. Furthermore, her sister, who has regained her emotions, disappears and is put on the wanted list for the murder of an acquaintance. Akari continues her investigation to prove her sister's innocence. An unprecedented emotional investigation begins as the two cases intersect.
TVer is currently streaming "Octo Season 1". Episodes 1-3 will be available until September 3rd. Episodes 4-6 will be available from September 4th to 10th, and Episodes 7-10 will be available from September 11th to 17th.
Comments from the cast are as follows.
◇Comment from Iitoyo Marie
--Please tell us your honest feelings when you heard that "Octo 2" was decided.
I was genuinely happy. I was happy to hear that a sequel is being made, because it seems like everyone enjoyed Season 1, and I would like to do my best to respond to the feelings of producer Fukuda-san again this time.
--Please tell us about the role of Kokoro no Akari, played by Iitoyo-san, and what you are conscious of when playing her.
Akari has a special ability to see emotions in people's eyes as colors when looking into their eyes. Using this ability, she can search for emotions that are invisible to the eye, find the criminal's true motive, and arrive at the truth. In the previous work, Akari was shaken and sympathized with the criminal by searching for his emotions, but in Season 2, she is acting with the intention of showing her new partner Takizawa-san "face the criminal squarely," just like Kazehaya-san did when they were buddies. Also, I am trying to show how much Akari has grown, even if only a little, so that the two years have passed.
--Takizawa will be Akari's new buddy. What is your impression of Kageyama Yuka-san?
I am always working with Takizawa, played by Kageyama, and there are many scenes where we confront the criminal, so the amount of lines is huge, and we are filming under the scorching sun wearing suits and coats, so it is really hot, but Kageyama is always cheerful, so I think he is a really reliable buddy.
-- Akari has the special ability to see the colors of emotions. If you could have a special ability, what would you like to have?
I like books, but I don't have much time, so I would like to be able to read them quickly so I can read them all at once!
-- Please give a message to the viewers!
Kokoro no Akari, who I play, can see emotions in colors when she looks into people's eyes, but this time a new character will appear with the special ability to see the emotions of objects and places, "residual emotions." I hope you will pay attention to how Akari will confront someone with a similar ability. Also, Akari's beloved older sister Shiori gets caught up in a major incident this time, she reunites with Kazehaya, and her relationship with her new buddy Takizawa makes this an even more upgraded version of Octo! I hope that those who have been looking forward to it since Season 1 and those who have not yet seen it will take this opportunity to watch it and look forward to Season 2.
◇Comment from Kageyama Yuka
--Please tell us your honest feelings when you heard that "Octo 2" was decided.
During Season 1, I was just a viewer, so I was happy but also confused about whether I really belonged to be a part of it. Before I joined and even now as filming is progressing, I still have a lot of anxiety, but my great seniors sensed that and are always there for me...I really feel blessed to have been blessed with this wonderful connection.
--Please tell us about the role of Takizawa Misora, played by Kageyama, and what you keep in mind when playing the role.
This time, I am playing Takizawa Misora, who is a buddy of Kokoro-san's 8th Division, 1st Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department. Misora is truly filled with a sense of justice and is able to clearly determine what is right and what is wrong, and I think she is a person who has lived a truly upright life. I think that because of her straightforwardness, she hasn't had many setbacks. Her sense of "if you talk to her, you'll understand," her tendency to empathize too much due to her youth and innocence, her tendency to get caught up in her own subjective opinions, her innocence as a detective and simply at her age, are similar to me, so I'm trying to make use of those things when I act.
--What are your impressions of your co-stars, Iitoyo and Asaka?
Marie always has her own flow of time, and I think the reason the atmosphere on set is so calm and bright is because Marie's a very warm atmosphere. Also, I was able to watch her act up close, and I saw her discuss the finer details of her lines and gestures with the director and the team, and I was impressed by her wonderful way of dealing with her work.
Asaka's character is in a position to watch over Kokoro-san and her junior Takizawa as a senior, and this overlaps with Asaka's posture. She always takes a step back, sees what is going on around her, and I think she is someone who can understand people's minds without even trying to read them. And above all, she adds something special to Kazehaya's scenes, and I'm always excited and inspired by what she'll do next when we're setting up the stage.
－－Akari has the special ability to see the colors of emotions. If you could have a special ability, what would you like to have?
I thought it would be good to be able to play an instrument, but I like the process of working hard to be able to do something you can't do, so I would like the ability to extend time. I don't like infinite time, so I would like to be able to extend time, even if it is finite. Sometimes I feel like 24 hours in a day isn't enough, so I would like the ability to extend it to around 36 hours.
－－Please give a message to the viewers!
Octo Season 1 is watched as a viewer, and Season 2 is watched from the inside, but I feel that Season 2 focuses more on human relationships. Between seniors and juniors, siblings, parents and children... I think there is always an emotional exchange between human relationships, so I think every episode is a work that viewers can empathize with and feel something from. I hope that the role of Takizawa this time will be something that connects the viewers to this work. At first, Takizawa is unaware of Kokono-san's special ability, but gradually accepts and acknowledges it, and then is able to give him a push, so I hope that you will enjoy Octo 2 with us from the same perspective as Takizawa from the first episode.
◇Comment from Asaka Kodai
--Please tell us your honest feelings when you heard that "Octo 2" was decided.
When we were filming Season 1, we were so busy that we didn't have time, but I was genuinely happy that it led to this work. I am also very grateful to be able to participate in Season 2, and I want to meet the expectations of the viewers so that they can enjoy it.
--Please tell us about the role of Kazehaya Ryo that Asaka plays, and what you keep in mind when acting.
Two years have passed since the previous film, and my character, Kazehaya, is now the section chief of the 8th Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division. He is now in a position to lead and support the team, which overlaps with my own age. You will be able to see many different sides of him, such as the face he shows in the team, the scenes where you can see the trust he has built with Kokono since Season 1, and the way he watches over his juniors and sees a glimpse of his past self. I am conscious of the versatility and pace of the role when I play Ryo, including his struggle to grow as a section chief.
--Takizawa will be Akari's new partner. What are your impressions of Kageyama-san?
Until now, Kazehaya and Akari were partners, but now Akari and Takizawa are interrogating side by side, and this time I'm the one watching over them, which is very refreshing. Kageyama-san is a very intelligent person, and I think he is perfect for the role of Takizawa.
--Akari has the special ability to see the colors of emotions. If you could have a special ability, what would you want it to be? I love nature so I always wish I could hear the voices of plants. I have some potted plants at home, and when I go hiking in the mountains I wish I could hear the voices of the trees.
--Please give a message to the viewers!
Like Season 1, Season 2 also deals with many cases that are closely related to modern society. It is a drama that is very close to people's emotions, and I thought it was interesting to ask "what are emotions?" If you can see emotions in colors like the main character, Akari, you can understand, but for many people emotions are invisible, so it made me think about "emotions" again. It is a detective drama like no other, where the truth of the case is revealed based on the emotions of the criminal, which are never reported. I would be happy if it becomes a trigger that changes the way you usually look at the news. There will be an exciting development until the end, so please look forward to it from the first episode!
◇Comment from Producer Fukuda
--Regarding the production of "Octo 2".
Two years ago, I planned Octo because I wanted to create a detective drama that would not focus on finding the culprit or uncovering the trick, but would instead focus on the motives of criminals and the emotions behind those motives. What prompted me to create this was when I learned that when you look further into the seemingly gruesome or sinister crimes reported in the news, there is always a motive that is not reported in the news, and that the origin of that emotion (murderous intent) is not only hatred, but is born from the ultimate pursuit of positive things such as the love and hope that anyone can have. And now, two years later, society is filled with more crimes that make you want to look away than ever before, and the whole society is filled with anxiety. It is precisely because of this that I hope that Octo will once again be an opportunity for viewers to feel closer to those crimes that at first glance seem incomprehensible, and think, "Maybe that could happen to me..." Even before Season 2 was decided, I had been regularly talking with Marie Iitoyo about things like, "If we do Season 2, how about this kind of setting?", so I have a particularly strong feeling that we created Season 2 together as planners, and I think that Season 2 was made possible because she was so committed to it, so I am very grateful. I think that playing Kokoro no Akari is a physically and mentally demanding role this time as well, but I would appreciate your continued support for Kokoro no Akari until the end!
In Season 2, I wanted to give Kokoro no Akari a new junior buddy, and the image I had in mind was "someone with a strong sense of justice, but who encounters Kokoro no Akari and the feelings of various criminals and questions and worries about his own sense of justice, and is the person closest to the viewer's perspective."
At that time, I saw Yuka Kageyama talking with specialists in a certain field, and I saw that she had her own strong opinions and was able to verbalize them, but she also had the ability to eagerly absorb the opinions of those around her, so she was just the perfect junior buddy I had in mind, and I immediately offered her the role. In fact, Kageyama Yuka approaches every scene with her own plan for each scene, but she doesn't get stuck on that idea, and her eagerness to listen to the director and Iitoyo's opinions and her willingness to grow are very impressive.
Since the filming of Season 1, Asaka Kodai and I have talked not only about Octo, but also about our future plans, so I honestly felt that I had to show Asaka how I have grown when we worked together again after two years. I think Asaka probably felt the same way, and I could really feel that he was very enthusiastic about the filming. In that sense, I would like you to pay attention to the presence of Kazehaya Ryo, who has become Kokoro Akari's boss this time.
--Please tell us your enthusiasm and a message to the viewers.
In addition to the unexpected emotions depicted in the sensational cases that seem to capture the present in each episode, Season 2 will introduce a new Thai murder suspect, who will allow us to see the emotions of the criminal left in the murder weapon. In addition to the emotional investigation battle that transcends national borders, there are also shocking developments that no one could have foreseen, so be sure to enjoy it from the first scene of the first episode to the last scene of the final episode!
