Fuji TV's Wednesday 10pm drama "Moshigaku" (If This World Were a Stage, Where Would the Dressing Room Be?) will begin airing on October 1st (Wednesdays at 10pm, with the first episode extended by 30 minutes). Koki Mitani, who will be writing the script for a primetime commercial TV drama for the first time in 25 years, and Ryunosuke Kamiki, who plays Horai Shogo, a character inspired by Mitani's youth, spoke about their impressions of each other and the 1980s, the setting of the drama.
◇How did the first commercial TV drama series in 25 years come about?
The drama is a youth ensemble drama set in Shibuya in 1984. It is an original story based on Mitani's memories of his youth. In a corner of Shibuya, a bustling center of youth culture, the drama depicts the struggles, setbacks, and sometimes love affairs of young people who are still unknown, in the full "Mitani world."
--Mr. Mitani, this is your first time writing a script for a prime-time commercial TV drama series in 25 years. Please tell us how you feel about being involved in a commercial TV drama series for the first time in a long time.
Mitani: It feels really strange that such a long time has passed without us even realizing it. It's not that we were avoiding each other, it's just that the timing just wasn't right, and before we knew it, 25 years had passed.
--Please tell us how this project came about.
Mitani: The staff on set were getting younger and younger, and wherever I went I was the oldest, so I somehow felt that it was difficult for young producers to approach me. Then a young producer from Fuji TV approached me. When I thought about what kind of thing only I could write, I thought, for example, what about depicting Tokyo in the 1980s, the time of my youth, and that's how I came up with this project.
- Kamiki, you play the character Horai Shogo, who is based on Mitani's youth. How did you feel when you were taking on the role?
Kamiki: I was happy, but also nervous. It was my first time working with Mitani, so I thought about how much of his movements and speaking style I should reflect in the role. There were some parts where I didn't know how to express or pick out elements of Mitani until I was working on it. It's still very difficult to decide how much to include and how little, and I was very worried when I heard about the role.
Mitani-san, did you know about me?
Kamiki: Of course (laughs). When I was filming a Asadora, I saw him near the studio and shouted from afar, "It's Koki Mitani!"
Mitani: But I feel the same way. Kamiki-kun, grow up... (laughs).
◇What are your impressions of each other?
--This is the first time the two of you have worked together, so what was your impression when you actually met each other?
Kamiki: When I saw Mitani-san appear on a morning show to promote his work, I had the impression that he was very knowledgeable, like a doctor who knew everything. So, I was really nervous to meet him in person, and I was worried about whether I would be able to keep up with what he was saying, whether I would be able to understand it properly, and I was worried that he would think I didn't have the ability to understand... My impression when I met him for the first time was the same as it was on TV.
Mitani: My impression of Kamiki has completely changed. The Kamiki you see here is probably the Kamiki you all think he is. He's a very earnest, good-natured young man, but in his everyday life, he's someone who puts all his effort into making people laugh and making them happy. He'll do anything, even comedy monologue, and he loves making people laugh and he loves comedy. I'm also a comedian, so honestly, I was surprised because this was the first time I'd met an actor who could so accurately and entertainingly embody what I'd written. He makes the script many times more interesting, and I was amazed that someone so young could have such power.
Kamiki-san, thank you.
Mitani: The actors I usually work with are mostly older, and I don't have many opportunities to work with actors in their 20s or 30s. Of course, I knew Kamiki's name and have seen his videos, but I wasn't thinking that we might work together someday, so working with him on set for the first time was a really fresh experience.
Kamiki: Whenever one of Mitani's works is released or broadcast, the first thing that's emphasized is the words "a Koki Mitani work," and you'll definitely see it. That's very memorable, so I get the impression that Mitani is an incredible person.
Mitani: It's not just Kamiki, but when I meet and talk with young actors, they have the wrong impression of me as a "master" (laughs). That's why it's so troublesome. I feel very uncomfortable being in an atmosphere where I'm overrated (laughs).
◇The reason for depicting 1984 in the Reiwa era
--Please tell us about your intention in having a character based on you appear in the play, and the significance of setting a story in 1984 in the Reiwa era.
Mitani: When I was in my late twenties, I had a part-time job writing scripts for the skits that were performed between shows at a strip theater in Shibuya. I wanted to portray that time from his perspective by creating a character that reflected who I was at the time. I feel like people living today are all living with some degree of anxiety. Shibuya in the 1980s was full of passion, with everyone trying to make their dreams come true. I thought that by depicting the people of that era, who believed that this brilliance would continue forever, I could send a message of encouragement to people living today. That was the starting point for this story.
Kamiki: I was born in 1993, so I don't know much about that era, but when I actually entered the world of the story, I was struck by how energetic it was. As Mitani said, it was lively, and everyone got really excited about a single event or a product that was released at the time, asking, "What is this? How do I use this?" Even if they had seen it before, it was a fresh feeling, like they were experiencing it for the first time. Their eyes were sparkling, and I thought that this was the era that everyone was living in.
--I heard that some of the filming took place on a huge set that perfectly recreated Shibuya at the time. What was it like filming there?
Mitani: It felt like I had traveled back in time. I felt like I wanted to tell my younger self that this moment would one day become a drama. The story is 90% fiction, but the setting is almost entirely true. I wrote it remembering myself at the time, and since the theme this time is theater, I wrote it with the feeling that I had embedded everything I had experienced, including the behind-the-scenes of the theater world from when I founded my theater company to the present.
Kamiki: It's not nostalgic or the world of "AKIRA," but I think there are a lot of people who like the "Neo Tokyo" kind of atmosphere. I loved it so much too, so I took some photos. You don't see those kinds of seedy alleys very often in the Reiwa era. There might be danger, but there might be fun. I don't know what's going on, but I want to go, and I think that kind of mysterious place is appealing.
