Actor Mikami Hiroshi will make his official appearance in the NHK drama series "Tokyo Salad Bowl" (General TV, Tuesdays at 10pm) from the seventh episode airing on February 18th. He plays detective Agawa Hiroya, who holds the "truth" that connects the present with the past four years ago. Mikami said, "Myself from 10 years ago couldn't do it, and my self from 10 years in the future won't be able to do it either. I'd be happy if viewers could meet my current self, and I'm grateful to the series for providing such an opportunity. More than anything, I hope that viewers will enjoy the story."
The drama is based on the manga "Tokyo Salad Bowl - International Investigation Case File" by Kuromaru, who is also known for "Kurosagi". Set in Tokyo, where about 700,000 foreign residents live, Nao plays the green-haired international investigation police officer Mari Koda, and together with Ryuhei Matsuda, a Chinese interpreter with a past, Ryo Yukino, the drama is a socially conscious entertainment that picks up the lives of those who are about to fall through the cracks of Japanese society.
Agawa, played by Mikami, was a highly skilled veteran detective who was fluent in Chinese, but made a mistake by getting too involved in the foreign community. He once intentionally mistranslated something while questioning a foreigner, which led to an incident that involved Oda. He was temporarily sidelined, but returns as Koda's partner.
Mikami commented, "After reading the original work, I thought that Agawa Hiroya was a man who was living on the edge. I felt like the 'final flame' that should burn in his life was smoldering. I thought it was interesting."
"The quality of the extremes is different, but I felt that if I could use the extreme expressions that I have now, which emanate from my whole body, I might be able to fit the role -- that's what I took on," he revealed, adding, "After considering how much of the scenes that are off in the original work should be shown on screen, and how much of the emotions I should express, I feel that Agawa has become a three-dimensional character."
He added, "Space is important in a story. After actually acting, I thought that maybe I should have added a bit more of a dream-like immediacy rather than realism. What would be the best way to convey the sense of fatigue from life? If the lines are three-dimensional, perhaps I should have made the acting a bit more off...I'm still thinking about these things. But I won't know until I open the lid and let everyone see it. I wanted to challenge myself to expose myself and give it a try, and I feel that I was able to do that."
