Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK morning drama " Bakebake " (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). The 40th episode (broadcast on November 21st) featured a "Heaven Asadora " where participants answered questions about Heaven (played by Tommy Bastow). We spoke to production manager Hashizume Kuniomi about how they created such a harmonious scene.
In the 40th episode, it is revealed that Heaven was not born in the United States. Since the students of Matsue Junior High School "know nothing about Teacher Heaven," they decide to have a little fun answering questions about Heaven, with Toki (Takaishi) joining in.
The quiz scene was the idea of screenwriter Fujiki Mitsuhiko, who explained why he included it in the film: "Heaven has a slightly gloomy side, and parts of the story are portrayed through the prejudiced eyes of Japanese people at the time, so I thought that people who have only seen the drama might not feel close to him. When I tried to make him a lovable character, I had to show his background. One way to do that was to have a quiz competition that was easy to understand and fun, but also allowed people to see his personality without being too explanatory."
Before the quiz question was asked, Heaven would say "Heaven!", which was a unique use of onomatopoeia, just like on a quiz show.
"I think that kind of quiz Attack On is a culture that began in the mid- to late-Showa period. It certainly didn't exist back then, but I didn't feel that this scene had to be based on historical fact. I thought it would be fine as long as it was presented in a fun way. Of course, there are scenes that have to be based on historical fact, but Lafcadio Hearn(the model for Heaven) is said to have loved jokes and parties, so I portrayed him in this way."
Although the scene was portrayed as humorous in the drama, a quiz competition was held from morning to night during filming, and there were concerns as to whether it would actually be entertaining.
"On set, there were a lot of things that we didn't know until we put the scenes together in editing. I was worried whether it would really work out. But the actors were very talented, and the three students (Sugita Rairin as Nishikori Takeru, Yukito Hidaka as Masaki, and Shimokawa Kyohei as Kotani) weren't just playing quizzes, they were also putting in detailed performances. The lines themselves weren't really ad-libbed, and were exactly as written in the script, but they put in detailed performances with their facial expressions, body movements, and speaking tone," he said, praising the actors' efforts.
