It has been revealed that actor Hayato Isomura will be starring in the July drama series "We Still Don't Know the School Rules of That Planet" (Kantele/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10pm). This will be Isomura's first time starring in a commercial TV drama series.
The protagonist, Kenji Shiratori (Isomura), who is timid and clumsy in everything he does because of his unique sensibility, is dispatched as a school lawyer to a private high school that is in the midst of becoming coeducational due to the declining birthrate, and desperately faces the youth of young people whose problems cannot be easily solved by law or school rules in this school human drama. This is an original work written by Mika Omori, and Yamaguchi Kento, who has worked on the dramas "Avalanche" and "Fake Marriage" (both on Kansai TV and Fuji TV), will participate as chief director.
It was also revealed that Mayu Hotta and Goro Inagaki will appear in the series. Hotta will play the heroine Suzu Koda, a former teacher at a boys' school who becomes a good friend to the protagonist, while Inagaki will play Misao Ozaki, the chairman of the private high school where the two work. This will be Inagaki's first appearance in a commercial television drama series in about nine years.
◇Comment from Hayato Isomura
--How did you feel when you received the offer to appear in the drama?
First of all, I was happy to be entrusted with the big role of my first lead role in a commercial TV drama series. I worked with the two producers who approached me this time on the drama "TWO WEEKS" (2019), and they kindly told me at the time, "Let's do a lead role someday," so I'm really happy that they offered me the role and it became a reality. I want to show how much I've grown, even if just a little, and give back to them as Kenji Shiratori.
-What were your impressions when you read the script?
The scriptwriter, Mika Omori, created a character called Kenji who is timid, lovable, and has a different sensibility from other people. I thought it would be interesting to play him, but also difficult. Although he is in a position to give advice as a school lawyer, Kenji himself grows as he faces the worries of students, teachers, and parents. With the addition of Kenji Miyazawa's worldview, many stars appear, and I thought it was a very warm worldview.
--What is the role and appeal of the character you play, Shiratori Kenji?
He has loved stars since he was a child, and is a very sensitive and unique character. Because of this, he has his own worries and has grown up feeling that life is difficult. He has a trauma from school, but he enters high school as a school lawyer and grows as he interacts with students and teachers. When viewers watch the first episode, they will probably be left with a vague feeling in a good way, wondering, "What kind of person is Kenji?", but I think he is an addictive character as you watch, so I hope you will support him along the way.
--What are the highlights of the drama and your enthusiasm for it?
Kenji Shiratori visits the school as a school lawyer. As a lawyer, he works on the law, which is something that can be judged fairly and can be made black and white, but this drama is about how he deals with the gray areas of the worries of students, teachers, and parents in a place called school. The drama is filled with the movements of human emotions, which are sometimes dirty and sometimes beautifully depicted. This drama will make you think about looking up at the stars or looking up at the sky on the day you watch it, so I hope you will enjoy it with an open mind.
◇Comment from Mayu Hotta
--How did you feel when you received the offer to appear in the drama?
The lead actor, Isomura-san, has a stoic approach to acting, and watching him on TV I imagined he was someone who loved acting and was loved by it. When I thought about how Isomura-san would play Kenji, I thought it would definitely be a great production, and I felt very happy to be able to take part. This is my first time playing a high school teacher, but up until now I've mostly played student roles, so it's very moving to be old enough to play a teacher. Teachers have always been special to me, so I'm really looking forward to playing such an important role at this timing, the 10th anniversary of my debut as an actor.
-What were your impressions when you read the script?
Every line written by Mika Omori is filled with consideration and kindness, and the script made me feel safe to be myself, so I became addicted to it. I had the image that school dramas are centered on the students, but this work also shines a spotlight on the teachers. I don't think that anyone is perfect, no matter who they are, whether they are adults such as teachers or lawyers, or anyone else, because they are human beings. I felt once again as I read the script that each character affirms their own individuality and that people are connected to each other.
--What is the role and appeal of the character Koda Tama?
Jyu is a homeroom teacher for a third-year high school student. She loves Miyazawa Kenji and is gradually drawn to the same-named Shiratori Kenji. Kenji has been told by those around him that he is not normal because of his childhood experiences and his unique sensibilities, but Jyu is said by the students to be a normal, good teacher. She is a character who does not excel at anything in particular and has a complex about continually getting average marks. The word "normal" can sometimes be perceived negatively, but I think it means that the person has a high level of empathy and kindness, so I am looking forward to seeing how the school that Kenji disliked will look in the end as these two different people, Kenji and Jyu, get closer to each other.
--What are the highlights of the drama and your enthusiasm for it?
I felt from the script that because no one is perfect, even as an adult, we connect with others while accepting each other's imperfections. I hope that the drama will be a warm and thoughtful work that makes viewers want to look up at the night sky.
◇Comment from Goro Inagaki
--How did you feel when you received the offer to appear in the drama?
I was genuinely happy. It's been a while since I've acted in a commercial TV serial drama, and this is a school drama with a school lawyer as the main character, and the lead actor is Hayato Isomura, who I also worked with in a movie, so I was really happy because I wanted to work with him again. I played a student role in a school drama a long time ago, but times have changed and I think this drama has a taste that captures the current trends, and it was very moving to think that I've been given the role of chairman (laughs). There are many staff members I'm working with for the first time, and I'm looking forward to acting with young actors.
-What were your impressions when you read the script?
I enjoyed reading it. The script written by Mika Omori is filled with hints and realizations for living a rich life, and has a warmth that wraps around our hearts. The relationships between people are carefully depicted, and I think it will be a wonderful drama that will sympathize with people in all situations.
--What is Ozaki Misao's role and what is its appeal?
The character I play, Osaki, is the chairman of the board of directors of the school corporation that manages the high school where the main character works, and a former junior high school teacher. In recent years, the declining birthrate has put the company under strain, and he is fighting to prevent the school he inherited from his father from going under, and is the person who decided to merge the boys' school and the girls' school. When the main character, Kenji, comes to the school as a school lawyer, he is cold and rude for a certain reason, but the reason for this gradually becomes clear. At first glance, he seems very strict, but he is a righteous and responsible person. Yet he is carrying something unfathomable deep in his heart, and I would like to play his own conflict well.
--What are the highlights of the drama and your enthusiasm for it?
It's a wonderful drama that teaches us that there are places where people can make up for what is missing. That being said, I think it's a work that can make you feel a little kinder on a Monday night without having to think too hard, so I'll do my best to make it reach everyone's hearts.
◇ Comment from scriptwriter Mika Omori
I have always wanted to write a drama set in a school. All the school dramas I have written have left a deep impression on me, and I wanted everyone to see the drama surrounding the school today, which has changed with the times. I could not be happier to finally meet a producer and director who share my thoughts, and to be able to create it together with the cast and staff, including Hayato Isomura, Mayu Hotta, and Inagaki Goro, who are so exciting to watch. As I listened to various stories from the school lawyers, the astronomy club members, and the advisory teachers, my imagination was expanding too much and I was worried that I would not be able to fit it all in, but I think it is working out for now. I hope that students, teachers, and former students will all watch it.
Comment from producer Hiroko Okamoto
My work as a school lawyer, my encounter with screenwriter Mika Omori, and the writer and educator Kenji Miyazawa led me to come up with the idea for this story about a complex and timid protagonist together with producer Shiraishi. Like Kenji, we all live our lives with our own "imperfections." The world that Omori weaves is filled with a modest richness that seeps into our hearts and affirms us completely. The cast and staff will work together to create a story filled with positive prayers that will make us look up at the sky, gaze at the stars, and turn our worries and sorrows into hope, even when we are faced with problems at school, with our families, or ourselves.
This is my third time working with Isomura-san. I offered him the role because I thought he was the only one who could play the charmingly imperfect Kenji. When Isomura-san, Hotta-san, and Inagaki-san were all together before filming began, the gentle and calm atmosphere of this work was already floating around the three of them, and I was sure that it would reach everyone through their acting. I hope that through this sparkling summer drama, you will find something in your heart that is not just "mums".
