Former Nogizaka46 member Saito Asuka appeared at the world premiere of the drama and movie "Oshi no Ko" held in Tokyo on November 17th. Saito plays the role of Hoshino Ai, a legendary idol who shines as the undisputed center of the idol group B-Komachi in this production. As a former idol, Saito spoke about her feelings about playing an idol role, saying, "I was an idol for about 12 years, and this production came after I graduated, so I had to be prepared for it."
When she was offered the role of Ai, Saito prefaced it by saying, "I would have been happy if it was written in a slightly pop style," and revealed that she had initially declined the offer, saying, "I honestly didn't want to do it, so I turned it down. I thought there was no need for me to do it."
Saito received another offer, and explained how she ended up taking the role, saying, "They told me specifically what they wanted to portray in the live-action version, and if that's what they were aiming for, maybe I could play Hoshino Ai. I also received the enthusiasm of the staff, so I thought I'd give it my best shot and accepted the role."
Singer Ano-san, who played the role of MEMcho, said, "Our personalities are polar opposites," but added, "You know, my good and bad points. I understand my good and bad points better than anyone else, and expressing that is the same as what I do at live shows, so I empathized."
Kaito Sakurai, who plays the lead role, reflected on the filming, saying, "I thought I had to approach the live-action version of such a popular work with the utmost love and respect. In the scenes I was acting in, I always checked the original work for every scene, and pursued authenticity." She said she faced a lot of pressure while filming. Despite feeling the pressure, Sakurai smiled and said, "I had a strong feeling that the entire team was on the same page and heading in the same direction with love and respect for the work, so rather than feeling pressure, I was able to immediately shift my focus to wanting to deliver it to everyone as soon as possible."
"Oshi no Ko" is a popular manga written by Aka Akasaka of "Kaguya-sama: Love is War" and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari of "Scum's Wish," which has been serialized in "Weekly Young Jump" (Shueisha) since 2020 and has a total circulation of over 18 million copies (as of August this year). Set in the entertainment industry, it tells the story of Aqua and Ruby, twin siblings left behind by the legendary idol Ai.
The live-action version (drama and movie) is a joint project between Amazon and Toei, and the eight-episode drama will be exclusively streamed on Prime Video from 9:00 pm on November 28, and the sequel movie will be released nationwide on December 20.
Also attending the event were Saito Nagisa, Hara Nanoka, Kayashima Mizuki, Yoshida Kotaro, Kurashina Kana, Kaneko Nobuaki, Kaname Jun, Director Smith, and Director Matsumoto Kana.
