Mio Imada plays Kiyoshi, the father of Takashi Yanai(Yuki Kimura, Takumi Kitamura ) in the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. and others), starring Kazunari Ninomiya. He talked about his feelings about his first appearance in a Asadora and his impressions of the role.
"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." Imada will play the hero (heroine) Nobu Komatsu, who is based on Nobu Asada , and Kitamura will play Takashi Yanai , who is based on Takashi Yanase Takashi.
Kiyoshi, played by Ninomiya, was a father who worked for a publishing company before dying of an illness while working overseas for a newspaper company. He was a man of great knowledge of literature and art, and Takashi loved him very much. The story begins with Kiyoshi having already passed away... That's the character he is.
Ninomiya, who is making his first appearance in a Asadora, recalled, "I was surprised because I thought I would never be called to be in a Asadora. After it was announced, people said 'Congratulations' to me wherever I went, and I received so many congratulations that I felt like I was the lead role (laughs)."
"When I received the offer, the role of Takashi had not yet been announced, so I found out later that it would be Kitamura-kun. This is the first time we've appeared together in a drama, but when I met him on a variety show, I thought he was cool and very skillful. I felt that we were people with similar characteristics, so it felt right for us to be father and son. And Nanako Matsushima is playing the role of the wife. I've already won in this life, I'll brag to everyone (laughs)."
Regarding the character Kiyoshi, whom he plays, he says, "I think he's the person who started Taku on the path he was on, so I want to leave as much kindness and warmth in Taku's heart as possible."
"I'm sure that when he was alive, he gave Takuma options for what he wanted to do, but didn't force him to do anything; he was a gentle father for that time. However, he passed away when Takuma was very young, so his memories are limited, so I would like Takuma to remember as much as possible (laughs). Humans tend to remember happy memories in difficult times, so I think it would be a richer life for Takuma if he didn't remember... But personally, I would like him to remember a lot (laughs)."
Finally, when asked about the highlights of the work, he said, "The story is of course fantastic, but the cast is also incredibly impressive. Each character is so strong, it's like a live-action version of 'Anpanman,' which is really exciting. Although I'm just a cast member, I'm looking forward to the broadcast along with all the viewers!"
