The NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others) starring actor Ryusei Yokohama . The 16th episode, "Farewell Gennai, the Guardian of Horai", aired on April 20th, depicted the last moments of Hiraga Gennai, played by Ken Yasuda Ken, as the subtitle suggests. Gennai's brokenness and the death he could not escape even after regaining his senses in prison left Tsutaju (Yokohama), Tanuma Okitsugu(Ken Watanabe), and viewers feeling helpless, but what did chief director Ohara Taku want from Yasuda, who plays Gennai?
In the 16th episode, the sudden death of Iemoto (played by Tomoya Oku) comes to an end without any solid evidence. When Okitsugu tells Gennai that he will refrain from further investigation, Gennai becomes furious. Meanwhile, Tsutae visits Gennai's mansion, known as the "house of misfortune," and asks him to write a new play for the New Year, but is concerned by his occasional strange behavior.
Just then, Tsutae and Okitsugu receive news that "Gennai has killed someone."Okitsugu, who is in prison, tells Ikenori about the construction of Joemon's mansion, which Okitsugu is said to have arranged, but Okitsugu has no idea about it...
This Jouemon was actually a fake, and someone had said his name and asked Gennai to do false construction work. Jouemon also teamed up with the carpenter Kugoro, drove Gennai into a state of confusion, then killed Kugoro and framed Gennai for the crime. However, Gennai himself had lost his memory and had no way to prove his innocence. His Okitsugu confession of his true feelings to Ikenari from prison was filled with sorrow, and the contrast with his previous "brokenness" must have been shocking to many viewers.
It all came about thanks to Yasuda's passionate performance. Ohara revealed that what he wanted from Yasuda for the role of the "UNBOUND" Gennai was for him to be "careful" and "quick-talking." "The only directorial instruction was that Gennai should be careless and quick-talking," he said.
According to Ohara, this "appropriateness" has "both sides - a careless part and an appropriate, spot-on part," and Yasuda has brilliantly "expressed this in three dimensions" in the Gennai that we see today.
Regarding the 16th episode, Ohara said, "We consulted about how to express Gennai's insanity and mental state, including how he should move on set," but at the same time, he thought, "I've entrusted it to Yasuda, so I want him to do what he wants." It can be said that it was only thanks to Tadashi's "careless" and "suitable" acting, which took Ohara's intentions into account, that Gennai's brokenness and sadness were able to be conveyed.
