It has been revealed that voice actress Haruka Tomatsu will make a guest appearance in the fifth episode (broadcast on February 12th) of Fuji TV's "Wednesday 10pm" drama "Mondai Bukken" (Wednesday 10pm), starring actor Hiro Shimono.
"Mondai Bukken" is a real estate mystery in which the mysteries of bizarre incidents that occur in real estate properties, such as suicides, poltergeists, disappearances, and garbage houses, are brilliantly solved by the protagonist Inugashira Kotaro (Kamikawa), who is smart, strong, and has a superhuman eccentricity, and the kind-hearted heroine Wakamiya Emiko (Uchida Rio), who has been demoted to the "Special Sales Department," which handles complaints about strange phenomena that occur in various properties.
In the fifth episode, a complaint is made to the special sales department about a couple living with their young child who have started to suffer from sleep paralysis in their home. According to the couple, about a month before the request, the couple started to suffer from sleep paralysis at 4am every morning...
Shimono plays Okazaki Ryo, a resident of the room where sleep paralysis occurs, while Tomatsu plays Okazaki's wife, Kyoko. The story follows Okazaki, who is considering giving up their precious home if the situation doesn't change, and Kyoko, who in addition to being paralyzed, can now see dark shadows. The two have also co-starred in the currently airing TV anime "My Happy Marriage," as well as "Kannagi," "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096," and "Delico's Nursery."
It was also announced that Ishii from the comedy duo "Sayaka" will play Koyama Keita, the real estate agent for the house the Okazakis purchase, and actor Harumi Shiho will play Miyake Takamasa, the neighborhood association president of the town where the Okazakis live.
◇Comment from Hiro Shimono
Ryo, the character I play, is Kyoko's husband, who suffers from sleep paralysis. He has a side that seems a little generous or unreliable, but he thinks about his family, and he makes requests to the special sales department, and he is concerned about Kyoko and his son Kodai. In order to make the performance sound natural, I tried to keep my voice down more than when I was dubbing. When I first read the script, I didn't think there were that many lines, but after looking at the other episodes, I thought there would be a lot of cuts and ad-libs, so I thought it would be difficult to remember what I was doing right up until that point, and in the sleeping scene at the beginning, I was in bed for quite a long time, so even though I was filming, I was putting Kodai, played by Matsui Ryoki, to sleep, and I really fell asleep.
This time, I, the voice actor, played Okazaki Ryo, and his wife Kyoko was played by voice actress Tomatsu Haruka, so I was surprised to find out that we were working together! However, I've known Tomatsu-san for a long time, so I wasn't nervous at all, and above all, thanks to the warm atmosphere of the staff, including Kamikawa-san and Uchida-san, it was a really fun shoot! Of course, there are serious scenes, but be sure to check out episode 5 of "Mondai Bukken," which is full of such a fun atmosphere!
◇Comment from Haruka Tomatsu
The impression I got of Kyoko, the character I play, was that she was a very earnest and sensitive person, and that she was already mentally exhausted from experiencing sleep paralysis. On top of that, she was sleep-deprived and had to do housework and childcare, so I imagined how little things gradually built up into frustration towards her husband. In fact, I myself have been paralyzed when I was tired, so I acted while remembering the awful feeling of being unable to move my body at that time. Also, because she was playing the role of a wife and mother, there were many parts of her character I could empathize with, and I think I was able to act without forcing myself to do the role.
I'm a voice actor, so I never thought I'd be able to appear in this film... it was a wonderful experience, like a dream. I'm still not used to acting in live-action films, but I did my best to empathize with Kyoko's feelings. Please watch and be excited to find out the true nature of the paralysis!
