The NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others) starring actor Ryusei Yokohama . The 17th episode, "The Sakura of Blooming in Bloom", will air on May 4th, and will see the start of a new chapter in which Tsutaju (Yokohama) will begin his full-fledged career as a publisher. "The business talk will become more serious, and the story will be centered around dialogue," says Yokohama, who talked about the highlights of the 17th episode and beyond.
" UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have built the foundations of Japan's media industry and pop culture. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, known for "Drama 10 'Ooku'" which was broadcast on NHK two years ago and became a big hit.
Regarding Tsutaeshige since the 17th event, Yokohama revealed, "His cheerfulness and fundamental desire to entertain people have not changed."
"However, Tsutae has absorbed everything he learns from interacting with people and making many mistakes, and he has become good at negotiation and conversation. Even when acting, I am conscious of things like lowering my center of gravity and lowering my voice. His dreams and goals will get bigger from now on, but I think that what makes Tsutae unique is that he will make mistakes just like he did as a boy, and still keep moving forward without getting discouraged, so I don't think that will change."
How does Yokohama feel about the response to the broadcast so far? "What makes me happiest is when people who don't usually watch taiga dramas contact me and say, 'I'm watching it.'"
"I feel like I've accomplished one of my missions by appearing in an NHK production for the first time. Recording is still hard, but there are people who enjoy it, so I want to deliver this production to them."
Yokohama, who has lived as Tsutaju, also confesses that "sometimes I feel like I can relate to it."
"Tsutajesu has also grown stronger, but she is now facing the wall of there being wishes that can be fulfilled and wishes that cannot. I too have become known to many people, but there are things I can do and things I cannot do, and at times like these we wonder what Tsutajesu would do, or if it were me I would do it this way, and so on. We feel like we are pushing each other forward."
Yokohama says that from the 17th performance onwards, the focus will be on dialogue plays.
"Dialogue drama requires skill, so I am working hard to hone that skill so that everyone can enjoy it. Also, the economy was not good during this time, so there are some parts that overlap with the current times. But Tsutaju is still cheerful and tries to cheer up the world, so I want to be close to the people who watch Tsutaju and make them look forward to tomorrow."
