In the Asadora drama series "Anpan " (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00am and others), starring Mio Imada , actor Motoki Nakazawa plays the role of Chihiro, the younger brother of Takashi Yanai(Takumi Kitamura ). In the 54th episode (broadcast on June 12th), Chihiro, now a naval officer, is shown confessing his true feelings to Takashi for the first time when they meet again at an inn in Kokura, and Nakazawa's performance as Chihiro left a strong impression on viewers. We spoke to Kurasaki Ken, the production manager, about the reason for casting Nakazawa.
◇ Selected for the role of Chihiro in an audition that brought together "next-generation aces"
" Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Noriyuki Yanase (1918-1993). It is a "story of love and courage" that will make you feel the joy of living, depicting how the two met, overcame all sorts of rough seas, and arrived at "Anpanman", the embodiment of "unreversible justice."
Chihiro, played by Nakazawa, was a weak child and lived in the shadow of his older brother, Takashi, but as he grew up, he became a kind, family-oriented young man who excelled in both academics and sports. Nakazawa participated in an audition that gathered dozens of young actors who could be called the "next generation of aces," and won the role of Chihiro.
Kurazaki revealed that appearance was also one of the reasons for casting him, saying, "Historically, Chihiro was physically weak when she was young, but when she grew up she was good at judo and excelled, surpassing Takami, so I thought it would be best to play someone taller and more muscular than Kitamura, who plays Takami."
Nakazawa-san went to the gym almost every day for about two months until filming began, and gained about 8kg in weight. He trained his body to make the difference in his weight compared to Kitamura-san, who plays Takami, even more obvious.
"Nakazawa-san had been training to build up her body even before filming began, and she made every effort to be convincing in the role of Chihiro, who Takashi feels insecure about, by being good at both sports and studying."
As with the heroine audition, various selection processes were carried out, including reading the lyrics of "Anpanman March" from verse one to three, mixing joy, anger, sadness and happiness, but Kurazaki recalls, "Nakazawa herself is a really pure and honest person. Her straightforward gaze links with Chihiro in some ways, and a big part of it was that I fell in love with Motoki Nakazawa as a person."
"At an audition, normally you want to make yourself look good and get accepted, but Nakazawa-san looked at me with wide eyes and said, 'These are my weaknesses,' and openly revealed his weaknesses. It felt more like a conversation between two people than an audition."
◇ Takumi Kitamura and "unspoken harmony"
In episode 54, it is the summer two years after Takashi joined the army. When they meet again after a long time, Chihiro has become a naval officer. Takashi cannot hide his shock, so Chihiro explains that she has applied to become a naval reserve student. "There's no turning back now," Chihiro says calmly, and hands Takashi an old notebook... and so the story unfolds.
Kurazaki revealed, "This episode is written in various autobiographies of Yanase-san, and I definitely wanted to depict it in the play." When choosing the role of Chihiro, he also placed importance on "who would be a good fit for the scene where Takashi and Chihiro reunite at the inn in Kokura (depicted in the 54th episode)."
"I had thought about that scene before the audition and was wondering who would be suitable to play Chihiro, the character who explodes with mixed emotions. I thought Nakazawa, who was excellent at expressing sadness and anger in 'Anpanman no March,' would be the best fit, so I offered her the role."
In this scene, Nakazawa-san perfectly expresses Chihiro's complex emotions. Kurazaki also gives her stamp of approval to her and Kitamura-san's acting chemistry.
"Even though we don't exchange words with Kitamura, we have a tacit understanding and we can tell that we trust each other. Kitamura has also said that there are scenes in which Chihiro could only be created because of Nakazawa, and I'm really glad that Nakazawa got the role of Chihiro."
