Shiori Doi is an actor who plays the role of the orange-haired engineer Yumi Mozuo in "Munou no Taka," currently airing on TV Asahi's Friday Night Drama slot (Fridays at 11:15 p.m., excluding some regions). Doi, who also made a name for herself for playing the role of Yamada Yone, a cross-dressing lawyer known as "Yone-san," in the NHK morning drama "Tora ni Tsubasa," talked about the reaction to the show, her thoughts on receiving the offer for this drama with its wide range of roles, and her future as an actor.
◇Even I was surprised by my dramatic image change
The drama is a live-action adaptation of the hugely popular comic by Hanzaki Asami, which just finished serialization in the women's comic magazine "Kiss" (Kodansha), starring Nanao. This "super laid-back work comedy" depicts the refreshing way of life of Takano (Nanao), a shockingly incompetent new employee who looks super competent but can't make copies or even start up a computer. The series will be produced by Sari Kijima, known for the "Ossan's Love" series (2016-2024) and "On a Starry Night" (2023).
Doi will play Suzuo, an eccentric engineer who has no ambition for success and is good at "making efforts to make things easier for himself," and whose catchphrase is "Dal...". Doi says of his impression of Suzuo, "Suzuo is completely different from Yone, he has a certain kind of coolness."
To play Suzuo, he changed his image from the short black hair he had in "Tora ni Tsubasa" to orange hair. Looking back on the first time he put on the wig, Doi said, "I feel like I'm finally getting used to it. To be honest, I found it funny at first (laughs). People who have seen Yone in this look might be like, 'Eh!?', but I was surprised too."
"The staff who were watching me on set were surprised when they saw me take off the wig and leave, asking 'Who is that?' (laughs). Having hair this bright makes me feel good, and it's fun because it feels like a new me. I really like it."
In this production, she co-stars with Shiono Akihisa and Iura Arata, who appeared in the NHK Taiga drama "To You Who Shines," as well as Takahashi Katsumi, who appeared in "Wings of the Tiger," in roles as employees working at the same company.
During the filming of "Tiger and Wings", he often saw the cast of "To You Who Shines". "I passed Shiono-kun in the hallway before "The Incompetent Hawk" started and said, 'I look forward to working with you again,' and I saw Arata-san walking around in a heavy costume many times. I didn't have a scene with Takahashi-san in "Tiger and Wings", but I'm glad that we had the chance to work together. Everyone's roles are so different that it's interesting and mysterious. This company is amazing (laughs)."
◇After pursuing his love of acting, "I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of actor I will become"
Speaking of Doi-san, his role as Yone in "Tiger and Wings" is still fresh in our memories, but he spoke of the magnitude of the reaction, saying, "I was surprised at how many people said they sympathized with me."
"I thought it was a character that people couldn't sympathize with, but many women in their 20s and around my age said, 'I understand how Yone feels,' and I realized that everyone is angry (at society). I was able to share society, the pain of living, and all that. Through the viewers, I felt like I wanted to do my best together with them, and I was encouraged."
The characters Suo and Yone have completely different impressions, but perhaps he accepted the offer for this work because he didn't want to be fixed in the image of the character.
"It's not like that, it's all about timing. I'm grateful for any role or any work, so I'm grateful that I happened to be offered a role that is completely different from my appearance to everything else."
When asked about his outlook as an actor now that he is more well-known, he answered with a sincere expression, "I would like to carefully face each and every thing and pour my whole body, soul, and passion into each one. I've always done it with the feeling that it was fun, so I don't want to forget that in the future."
"I love acting, and I love it more and more, so I want to be honest about it and keep that in mind. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of actor I will become as a result."
When asked what kind of roles he would like to play in the future, he revealed, "I love science fiction movies, so I would like to appear in a movie with a lot of CG and green screens," and said with shining eyes, "I would like a fighting role full of action. I could be an enemy assassin, and I would like to do a movie with CG. It doesn't have to be human, it doesn't have to be an alien."
Finally, he called out to the viewers, "There is a scene from Suo's past in episode 3 (broadcast on October 25th), and I would like you to pay attention to it in many ways. It was a lot of challenges, including the visuals! I hope you will look forward to it." (Interview, text, and photography: Endo Masaki)
