Okamoto Natsumi will appear in the morning drama "Omusubi" (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00am, etc.), starring Hashimoto Kanna, which will air in the second half of 2024. She is a member of the "Hakata Gal Union" (abbreviated as Hagaren), and is attracting attention for her role as Tanaka Suzune, also known as "Suzurin," a blonde who stands out. Okamoto, who is taking on the role of a gal in her first morning drama, revealed that "I think gals are tough, and at heart they are tough," and talked about her impressions of Hashimoto, who is the heroine of the same grade and leads the scene.
Since her early teens, Okamoto has been an exclusive model for fashion magazines popular with her generation. Okamoto is also attractive for her bright character that she shows on variety shows, but she also reveals her true feelings about her gal role, saying, "The moment I step down from the role, I get really tired (laughs)."
"I just keep my energy high. It's not hard when I'm in character, but the moment I get off I get really tired (laughs). I'm not that low-energy either, but it's like I feel after playing sports (laughs)."
On the other hand, Okamoto feels that "being considerate and positive" is a good thing about gals, and she kept this in mind when playing the role, and from her perspective, the heroine Hashimoto has a "gal's mind."
"She has a very positive personality, and she pays close attention to her surroundings, and sometimes puts her own needs second. But it doesn't feel restrictive, and because we don't feel like we're being taken care of, we feel like we're all side by side creating a scene together."
Okamoto and Hashimoto were both born in 1998.
"When members of similar ages get together, sometimes tension can arise, but from the moment we met, Kanna-chan had a frankness and a casualness that didn't create any tension, in a good way, with either her seniors or juniors. I think that's why we were able to easily join this group led by Kanna Hashimoto. I also felt that it was quite amazing that she was able to naturally do that as the lead in a morning drama."
After filming was over, Okamoto said that it was "Kana-chan" who was the loudest in inviting her to dinner.
"It was the most physically demanding role because of the number of scenes she had, and she must have been using her brain too, but she smiled bigger than anyone else. I think that only Kanna can do that, so she's the strongest heroine ever. She's the strongest, including the fact that she never shows signs of being tired in front of us."
Okamoto, who spent fulfilling days filming with Hashimoto as the gal "Suzurin," said she was reminded once again of how much "living true to what you love can give you."
"I don't know if playing the role of a gal is directly related to this, but I really felt how much living true to what I like and what I like gives back to me and benefits me, so I want to cherish that. When I was a teenager, I saw and thought about too many things, and even though I didn't like them, I said "I like them" because I thought that would make them happier, and there were times when I got lost in a maze about what I really like and what I'm interested in. I realized through my experience that it's important to be able to nod to the things you like, so I want to continue doing that in the future."
