In the NHK morning drama series " Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. and others) starring Mio Imada , child actor Nagase Yuzuna is playing the protagonist Nobu's childhood with great acting, attracting attention. We spoke to Imada about her impressions of Yuzuna's acting and their interactions on set.
" Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Nobu (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.
At a press conference held on March 10th, Chief Producer Ken Kurasaki, who is in charge of production, explained the reason for casting Yuzuna, saying, "She's appeared in a variety of productions, and I thought she was a really good actress. Also, she has some similarities to Imada in some ways."
Imada smiles and says, "Yuzuna's brightness and liveliness are similar to Nobu's, so I'm happy that you say we are alike."
"I watched the first and second weeks, and Yuzuna-chan was wonderful, overflowing with bright power and energy. Combined with the contrasting softness of Kimura Yuuki-kun, who plays Takashi, I really felt that they formed the foundation for the relationship between Nobu and Takashi, and I thought that was definitely it."
There is also a scene in which a young Nobu makes a funny face, but she reveals, "I filmed the funny face scene first, so Yuzuna saw it and imitated it."
"She imitated the funny faces I made, and I felt like we created Nobu together, which made me happy. We didn't have an in-depth discussion about the role of Nobu, but when we were shooting on the same day, we always high-fived each other and said, 'Have fun!' When we read the script together, her Tosa dialect was perfect and I could feel her professional side, and her ability to take the lead and run without fear was a useful reference for me in playing the role of Nobu."
Yuzuna-chan is powerfully playing the young Nobu. How will Imada-san play the grown-up Nobu? I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.
