Slow Train:Director Doi Yutaka and screenwriter Akiko Nogi talk about "Home dramas will never disappear" and the power to create original works

The New Year's special drama "Slow Train," starring actress Matsu Takako, was broadcast on TBS from 9:00 pm on January 2nd. This work was the "graduation project" of director Doi Yuta before he retired. Akiko Nogi, who Doi thought would be better off writing an original script, wrote the script. The two talked about the origins of this work, billed as a "family drama for a new era," and the future of the drama.

◇ "I want to do an original piece with Nogi-san" - their fifth collaboration

"Slow Train" is a family drama that revolves around the three siblings: Yoko, the eldest daughter who is a freelance editor living in Kamakura, played by Matsu; her younger sister Miyako, played by Tabe Mikako, who is still drifting around even after turning 30 and suddenly says she wants to go to Korea; and her younger brother Ushio, played by Tori Matsuzaka, who works as a track maintenance worker at the Enoshima Electric Railway, and the people around them. Popular writer Momoki Ken, who plays a major role in the lives of the three siblings, is played by Hoshino Gen, and Joo Jeong-hyuk, who is making his first appearance in a Japanese drama, also appears in the series. The series was filmed from January to March 2024, and was also shot on location in Busan, Korea.

Doi will be 60 years old in the spring of 2024. As a drama director at TBS, he wanted to create a work that would mark a turning point, so he approached Nogi. Nogi laughed and said, "If Doi asked me to film my 'graduation project,' I couldn't refuse."

The two have teamed up four times for the TBS drama series "Flying Public Relations Office" (based on a novel by then-author Arikawa Hiro, 2013), "We May Be Ashamed to Run Away, but It's Useful" (based on a novel by Umino Tsunami, 2016), and "Reprint!" (based on a novel by Matsuda Nao, 2016), as well as the film "Voice of Sin" (based on a novel by Shiota Takeshi, 2020), all of which were based on original novels.

Doi said he had long felt that Nogi would be better suited to writing original scripts, and that a big reason he approached her for this production was "that I wanted to do an original story with Nogi."

The reason it became a home drama was, "I knew Nogi-san was a busy person, and I knew that when it comes to doing something, she would do extremely thorough research, preparatory work, and so I wanted something that wouldn't be too demanding. Also, I was a big fan of Nogi-san's 'Kotaki Brothers and Their Struggles' (TV Tokyo, 2020), so I thought I could tell a story in a similar style to 'Kotaki Brothers', about family and siblings, while also giving a glimpse into the fairly real worries and diversity of people today. I thought it would be nice to make a home drama in that sense."

◇ "Unnatural" led to an increase in originals

Doi had seen Nogi's work on "The Flying Public Relations Office" and "Reprint!" and had recognized her "ability to write original material."

"In 'The Flying Public Relations Office' we included episodes that weren't in the original work. The story of the TV station side, played by Yui Aragaki, had quite a few original episodes. Nogi-san managed to do her own research despite her gruelling schedule. The original parts were fantastic. They functioned properly as episodes to further deepen the theme of the original work. In 'Reprint!' the final episode was also almost entirely original. We were tight on time so we tried to go ahead with what had been presented, but Nogi-san threw it all away and rewrote it all in one night. Through these two works I felt that she has the power to create something."

It is said that "Unnatural" (2018) was born when Doi commented at a drama wrap party that "it would be better if Nogi wrote more original scripts."

Nogi says, "I think that because we made an original series like 'Unnatural' and it was a moderate hit, the momentum for making original works has returned to the industry. It's not that original works are bad, but when you make an original work, you have to create all the characters from scratch. Creating something from nothing is a very different process from when there is an original work, and there are certain 'muscles' that you can only use when you do original works."

◇ Thinking of "Kuniko Mukoda New Year Drama Special"

When thinking of a New Year's special drama, Doi thought of TBS's "Mukoda Kuniko New Year's Drama Special."

"Even before I joined TBS, TBS was broadcasting the 'Mukoda Kuniko New Year Drama Special.' Even after Mukoda passed away, Kuze Mitsuhiko and others made it into a family drama and broadcast it at the New Year. I watched it every year. Mukoda's works are not at all the so-called 'family-friendly' dramas. The backgrounds are different for each work, but the characters live with various secrets and worries. If it's broadcast at New Year, it's something the whole family can watch casually, but it's good if there's something that lingers after watching. So, in my mind, when I thought of broadcasting a family drama at New Year, I had the image of Mukoda's drama series in mind."

Hearing this, Nogi said, "That's a scary thing to say (laughs). Even though I'm being compared to Mukaida's drama..." she added, while feeling embarrassed, "I think home dramas will probably still be made in the future, one year from now, five years from now, ten years from now. The form will probably change, though. In the end, I don't think home dramas will go away, and you can write as many stories about the changing image of a family as you want."

During filming, cast member Lily Franky said about "Slow Train," "I want to see what happens to these three siblings every year, so I wish they would do it every year."

Regarding the sequel, Doi said, "I think we could make something like 'Slow Train, North' in a few years," and Nogi said, "I'd say 'Slow, slow train' twice," so it seems the plans are expanding... Doi expressed his hopes, saying, "It all depends on the reaction to this work."

*"Slow Train" is currently streaming on TVer and other platforms.