Mio Imada plays Ranko, the second daughter of the heroine's family (the Asada family) in the Asadora drama series "Anpan" (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00am and others), starring Yuumi Kawai In the 38th episode (broadcast on May 21st), it is revealed that Go (Kanata Hosoda), a young stonemason who had promised to marry her, was killed in the war, and for the first time she opens up about her true feelings in front of Nobu (Imada). Kawai says that appearing in this series is "very meaningful," so we spoke to her about how she felt about this scene.
◇Looking back at the proposal scene between Ranko and Go on the night before he left for war
In the 29th episode (broadcast on May 8th), there is a send-off party for Gou the day before he leaves for war. While Nobu and the other three sisters are singing Yosakoi-bushi and having a great time, Gou can't help but leave his seat and tries to leave the Asada family.
Ranko chased after Gou and told him, "Gou-chan, you're a slow runner, so I'm worried you might get hit by the bullets. Please come and see me. Not just sure, but absolutely." Gou then proposed to her, saying, "If you come and see me safely, please marry me." Ranko replied, "I really love you. I'd like to be your wife. Please come and see me," to which Gou replied, "Thank you. I'll come and see you. Definitely."
Ranko and Gou are in love with each other, but have never spoken out their feelings until now. Looking back on the scene where their feelings finally came together, Kawai said, "Ranko is still in her teens at this time, but she learns what it means to love and lose someone through the war, and experiences a major event in her life. This experience also influences Ranko's way of thinking, and I played the role with the idea that it was an important axis for both the drama and Ranko."
This was Kawai's third time acting alongside Hosoda, who plays Go, in "Anpan." Kawai said of his impression of him, "We had worked together on a movie before, so I really trusted him to tackle the role of Go."
"Even during the test run before the actual performance, we were trying to figure out how we could communicate with each other, so I naturally put in more effort and stood up straighter. I had a really good time acting with Hosoda-san."
In the send-off party scene, there is a scene where Ranko and Go's eyes meet as they sing Yosakoi dance.
"We didn't exchange words, but our eyes were always looking at each other as Ranko sang and Go-chan listened. I felt like we were exchanging emotions with each other. I vividly remember the moment when I smiled and Go-chan smiled back."
Go and Ranko: "We hope this will provide an opportunity for people to think again about war"
In episode 38, the Asada family is overcome with sadness upon hearing the news of Gou's death in battle. While everyone else is saying, "Go was an honorable man," Ranko remains silent. Nobu is at a loss for words as Ranko stays up in the middle of the night lighting incense. The next day, one of Nobu's students comes to pay her respects and says that one day she wants to serve her country well, but Ranko cannot bear it and leaves. Standing at the stone yard, Ranko is reminded of her memories of Gou. When Nobu comes looking for her, Ranko honestly asks, "What is honorable about dying in battle?"
This was the first scene in which the taciturn Ranko exploded with emotion, and Kawai revealed, "When I read the script for this scene, I felt really glad to have been able to play the role of Ranko."
"I thought it was an important line, so my utmost priority was to get the words across properly. Go-chan is gone, and there's nothing more he can say. At a time when the world is drifting toward Nobu's militaristic ideology, Ranko has to convey her anti-war message with strong feelings. Since Go-chan is no longer with us, I felt I had to speak through Ranko."
She says that Ranko will continue to be anti-war in future developments, saying, "My first Asadora, ``Anpan,'' was 80 years after the end of the war, and I felt it was very meaningful to be able to appear in a production that tries to face up to the war head-on, and to be able to play a character like Ranko who can say ``no,'' and I felt that I had to play the role with care."
"Ranko is a person with strong, unyielding feelings that she keeps hidden inside. She doesn't always express her feelings in words, but she clashes with people more than you might expect, and she is a person with strong beliefs, so I would be happy if people can feel that. Even now, there are wars going on in the world, but to be honest, it's hard to really feel it. But maybe that was the case for people back then. I imagine that war was about being entangled in something big that we don't really understand, without even realizing it. I would be happy if viewers could, at least a little, think about Go and Ranko, and I hope that this will lead to an opportunity for them to think again about war."
