It has been announced that popular voice actress Uchida Maaya will appear in the drama series "After School Chart" (NTV, Saturday 9pm) starring Matsushita Kohei. Uchida will appear as a voice actress in the 8th episode, which will be broadcast on December 7th, and will play the character of the capybara Kapita, who is in the heart of Tonosaki Maaya (Eima-chan), a student in class 1-2.
In episode 8, Mana doesn't speak at school, worrying her mother, Aya (Maho Nonami) and her teacher, Yoshino (Chiaki Horan), but then the school doctor, Makino (Matsushita), discovers that she has selective mutism. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder in which a person cannot speak in social situations. Aya, her mother, is shocked, but she learns that Mana wants to get along with her classmates, but is struggling with a deep conflict that keeps her from expressing her feelings well.
Kapita, played by Uchida, is the only one who expresses Mana's feelings in the story. Uchida commented, "When I read the script, I thought it was a work with very delicate parts. I think it's a drama that can be viewed from various perspectives, such as if you were the person with the troubles, or if you were the person watching over them, so I hope many people will watch it."
"When I played the role of Kapita, my biggest wish was that he not be scary. I would hate it if he suddenly appeared and upset Maa-chan's feelings. I played the role with the desire to be someone Maa-chan could open up to, someone who was close to her. I was careful to speak with kindness in mind, so that he did not come across as a bad guy who actually has a sense of self and tries to control Maa-chan. I am also looking forward to seeing how Kapita appears in the finished drama. I also sing a song, so I hope that everyone will enjoy watching Kapita in action."
The drama is based on the popular manga of the same name serialized in "BE・LOVE" (Kodansha) by Mayu Hinase. Makino is a pediatrician with a shaggy head and a sour face who is extremely stubborn. He is stationed at an elementary school's nurse's office full time, but he is always unsociable, the children are scared of him, and he is always complaining about school chores, which earns him a bad reputation from the teachers. He is always bullied by the children and is in a bad mood, but he has a keen observational eye and a keen eye for diagnosing illnesses. He can spot abnormalities and "invisible SOS" in the children, as well as hidden illnesses and their causes, and he saves the children, their families, and sometimes even the teachers.
