It was announced on November 21st that actress Misato Morita will be playing the lead role in the NHK Asadora drama "Mawaru Swan," which will air in the first half of 2027. At a press conference held at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo on the same day, Morita spoke about her thoughts on being the heroine of the Asadora and how she felt when she received the offer.
This time, Morita was not selected through an audition, but through an offer from NHK to play the lead role. Morita confessed, "I was so surprised, so surprised, I didn't know why it was me. It may sound strange for me to say this, but I'm not particularly dazzling, cute, or particularly talented..."
However, when told the story of "Meguru Swan," she said self-deprecatingly, "The main character is someone who quietly does her best in her ordinary everyday life, and I think she's very relatable. With this, viewers feel like they can talk to her through the TV. I realized that if she's that kind of heroine, she could do it even if she's not particularly flashy," which drew laughter from the audience.
The offer was announced as a surprise, about 10 days before the press conference, when he was called in for an "interview." Morita recalled, "I was so shocked I can't describe how shocked I was. It was like a bolt from the blue, I was speechless, and I was so shocked I thought I might develop temporomandibular joint disorder."
Morita has previously appeared in "Okaeri Mone" (first half of 2021) and "The Tiger and Her Wings" (first half of 2024), but she says she has always dreamed of becoming a Asadora heroine.
"I've auditioned countless times since I was a teenager, but I was almost always rejected based on the application documents. I have some bitter memories of auditions, and I always thought that I would never get the chance. I've seen actresses of my generation, such as Kiyohara Kaya in ' Okaeri Mone ' and Sairi Ito in ' The Tiger and Her Wings ', working hard and leading the charge in leading roles, so I have a lot of respect and fear for them, and at the same time, I want to do my best so that I don't fall behind them and can repay the kindness of everyone who has helped me at NHK," she said with emphasis.
The 116th serial TV drama, "Meguru Swan," is set in modern-day Nagano Prefecture. The protagonist, who aspires to become a detective and becomes a police officer, is assigned to the "Public Safety Division," where he spends his days feeling dissatisfied with his mundane job. He is not someone who has accomplished anything, nor is he someone who is desperately pursuing his dreams. This human comedy follows the protagonist, who lives an ordinary, everyday life, as he finds his way to "protecting an everyday life where nothing happens." The script is written by comedian Bakarhythm.
