The "passing of the baton" ceremony for the NHK Asadora drama series was recently held at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo, attended by Kanna Hashimoto , the heroine of the currently airing " Omusubi ," and Mio Imada , the lead actress of " Anpan ," which begins on March 31. Hashimoto said, "I once again felt the weight of this passing of the baton, having received it from (Ito Sari, the heroine of " The Tiger and Her Wings") last time. I felt that today was the end of "Omusubi," so when I handed over the baton, I felt a great sense of loneliness. At the same time, I am looking forward to "Omusubi ," as both names are related to food, going from " Anpan " to " Anpan ."
Looking back on filming, Hashimoto said, "I'm really surprised that it's already been a month (since we wrapped up). I still can't forget about when we wrapped up filming, and I've been stuck to the role of Yui-chan in ' Omusubi' for almost a year, so I still feel like Yui-chan is inside me. When I hear that it's already been a month, I'm surprised."
Imada asked, "You filmed all in Osaka, right? What was the most enjoyable part of filming?" Hashimoto revealed what went on behind the scenes, saying, "There were a lot of scenes at the dinner table during the filming of ' Omusubi,' and the food that (food supervisor) Hirosato (Takako) made was so delicious that everyone kept eating even after the cut was called. In fact, even before it started, Kitamura Yukiya, who plays the father, said, 'If we're in the middle of eating in a scene, shouldn't we keep eating?' and he was eating the whole time (laughs). I myself was excited during the dinner table scenes, saying things like, 'Apparently there's sashimi today!'"
Hashimoto presented Imada with slippers made in Kobe, one of the settings for "Omusubi," and a Omusubi. Kobe is also known as the "city of shoes," and after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, platform boots became popular thanks to Namie Amuro's influence, helping to revive Kobe's shoe industry. To ensure Imada's comfortable studio shoot ahead of the long filming period, the slippers are custom-made from high-quality leather and are an original item with a soft "Anpan" color and the title logo engraved on them.
Upon receiving the slippers, Imada was delighted, saying, "They're toasty, like Anpan...but they're not toasty (laughs). I'm grateful for the slippers, which are such a lovely color. I'm looking forward to using them to get through the filming to the end. Thank you very much."
"Omusubi" is a "Heisei youth graffiti" about a heroine born in 1989 who always values her own individuality and connects people's hearts and futures as a nutritionist with her "gal spirit". It is an original work by Nonji Nemoto, a screenwriter known for NHK's drama "Shijiki Fudosan".
"Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Nobu Komatsu(1918-1993), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman." It is a "story of love and courage" that will make you feel the joy of living, depicting how these two, who were once nobody, overcame all sorts of rough seas to become "Anpanman," the embodiment of "unreversible justice." The script was written by Miho Nakazono, who is known for the "Doctor X: Surgeon Daimon Michiko" (TV Asahi) series.
The baton passing ceremony took place on the set of Nobu's home, the Asada family home.
