The second episode of the drama series "Lion's Lair" (TBS, Friday 10pm), starring actor Yagira Yuya, will air on October 18th. Producer Matsumoto Yuka spoke about the highlights of the second episode and behind-the-scenes stories from the filming.
The drama is a human suspense story in which Kouto (Yagira) and his younger brother Mijito (Bando Ryuta), who has autism spectrum disorder, meet a mysterious boy (Sato Ozora) who calls himself "Lion" and become embroiled in an incident. The script is a completely original one, co-written by Tokuo Koji, who worked on "My Housekeeper Nagisa-san" (TBS) and the "Ossan's Love" series (TV Asahi), and Ichinohe Yoshino, who will be making her drama series debut.
◇Highlights of Episode 2
In Episode 2, Kouto, Mijito and Lion's life together is not easy, and they end up having trouble one after another, making it an exciting and adventurous episode. An incident that seems to involve the older sister also becomes more concrete, and the story develops at a rapid pace.
What I want you to pay attention to in Episode 2 is the acting of Satou Taisora, who plays Lion. He's explosive. In particular, the expression on Lion's face in the last scene is as good as an adult's, so I want you to pay attention to it until the last second.
◇Behind the scenes of Episode 1
After the filming started, Kouto and Mijito acted together for the first time in a scene where they come out of the supermarket on their way home and Kouto waits for Mikkun to check out the color of his bicycle, which he is curious about.
Although this is the first time the two have acted together, when I checked their acting with the director and supervisor in a dry manner, I could sense the atmosphere of the two of them having been repeating this life monotonously for a long time. On the first day, everyone is anxious, and there is an air of searching for the right answer, but I remember that both the director and I felt a great sense of relief when we watched the two of them perform on the base monitor, and we could see the atmosphere and path of the drama, which made for a bright start.
Incidentally, in that scene, Mijito checks the color number, glances at his brother with a smug look on his face and says, "It's right," and Kouto replies, "Oh, it was right," in the tone he has said a million times. That exchange was ad-libbed by the two of them.
When discussing the acting with Bando, I often see Yagira say things like, "No matter how you come at me, I can adapt," and "Anything will do." Even on the set, he has become like an older brother to Bando, who is taking on the difficult role of someone with autism spectrum disorder.
