On November 14th, the new cast of the NHK morning drama "Omusubi" (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8am and others), starring actress Hashimoto Kanna, was announced. In the eighth week starting on the 18th, Yui (Hashimoto) will move to Kobe, and Shoya (Sano Hayato) will become a member of a corporate baseball team in Osaka. The cast members announced this time are those connected to Shoya's corporate baseball team, "Seiga Denki". Sekiguchi Mandy, Shimao Yasushi, Kawanishi Kenshiro, Miyake Hiroki, Hagiwara Riku, Narumi, and Maeno Ema will appear. This is the first time for Sekiguchi, Kawanishi, and Maeno to appear in a morning drama.
Sekiguchi will play Sawada Ryuji, the ace pitcher of the Seiga Denki baseball team. He is Shoya's senior and is known for his powerful pitches. As an athlete, he is also mindful of his diet and has a progressive side.
Sekiguchi commented, "I am honored to be able to participate in NHK's morning drama, which continues to produce masterpieces. Sawada is a stoic character who takes baseball seriously. And yet he is also progressive. I can relate to a lot of aspects of his way of life, and I think my acting has become even more passionate. Change sometimes creates friction with the world, but I hope that people can feel something through him, as he continues to work hard for the world he wants to see."
Kawanishi plays Matsumoto, a reporter for Sports Kansai. Matsumoto is a reporter who is dedicated to baseball and finds meaning in life by interviewing promising players. Kawanishi commented, "I work for a newspaper company called 'Sports Kansai,' which is a name that sounds like it could exist in real life, and I interview the players of Seikawa Electric with great enthusiasm. On the set, I was able to get new nourishment from seeing the actors who worked hard despite their lack of baseball experience, and the people who supported them. I will watch until the end to see the connection between this work and the living rooms of the viewers become even more intense from now on."
Shimao, who has appeared in "Ranman" and other dramas, plays Nakamura Shigeharu, the manager of the Seikawa Electric baseball team. He is a famous manager who skillfully develops the individuality of each player and sends excellent players to the professional baseball world every year.
Miyake, who is appearing in an morning drama for the second time since "Asaka ga Kita," plays Tachikawa Shusaku, a veteran chef at the company cafeteria. As a long-time member of the cafeteria, Tachikawa is in charge of the menu and cooking methods. He is a Hanshin Tigers fan and always serves extra large portions to the baseball team members.
Hagiwara, who is appearing in an morning drama for the second time since "Yell," plays Haraguchi Naoya, a young chef at the cafeteria. He follows the menu and cooking methods decided by Tachikawa, but has his own thoughts and is half-giving up. Hagiwara said that he and Hashimoto have been "friends since our teenage years," and commented, "I was happy to be able to appear in the drama, and it was a fun shoot."
Narumi, who has appeared in "Imotako Nankin," "Manpuku," and "Kumkum Everybody," will be appearing in her fourth morning drama. She plays Okubo Hoikudai, an employee in the general affairs department at Seikawa Electric's Ibaraki sales office. Okubo is a lively veteran employee who is merciless towards Shoya and the other members of the baseball team.
Maeno, who is appearing in a morning drama for the first time, plays Tanaka Akane, an employee in the same general affairs department as Okubo. She is Shoya's senior who is unhappy with the strong seasoning in the cafeteria. "Ever since I started working nine years ago, I have set my goal of appearing in a morning drama as my goal and have been working hard, so I am really happy that I have been able to make it come true," she said, adding, "I also tried speaking in the Kansai dialect for the first time, so I hope you will pay attention to that as well!"
"Omusubi" is the 111th NHK morning drama. The heroine, Yoneda Yui (played by Hashimoto), was born on the day the era name changed to "Heisei", and after growing up as a gal in Fukuoka, a certain incident led her to aim to become a registered dietitian in Kansai... This is a "Heisei youth graffiti." The story is an original work by screenwriter Nemoto Nonji, who is known for NHK's drama "Honest Real Estate," among others.
