Sano Hayato plays Yotsugi Shoya, the boyfriend of Yui (Hashimoto) in the NHK Asadora drama "Omusubi " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others), starring actress Kanna Hashimoto . In the 65th episode, broadcast on December 27th, the plot where Shoya receives a "reverse proposal" from Yui drew attention. We spoke to Sano about his co-starring with Hashimoto and the behind-the-scenes of the much talked about reverse proposal scene.
◇ Kanna Hashimoto is "a person who has love for people and for her work"
Sano says this will be his second time acting alongside Hashimoto in "Omusubi." He previously worked with Hashimoto on the film "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War," and the team got along really well. "We go out to eat regularly, and we're still in touch," he reveals.
Sano began by saying, "I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm being condescending, but..." and went on to praise Hashimoto's performance as the leader, saying, "As a friend, I wondered what it would be like to be the leader of such a big production, but he's just himself, and doesn't put on any pretense. Of course, he's not prejudiced towards people, and I think he's a person who has love for both people and the production."
Furthermore, touching on the hard schedule of the Asadora heroine, he reflected, "We film an incredible number of scenes while also juggling work outside of the Asadora, so even I often find it tough. It's been six months since filming began, but I've never seen Kanna not in good spirits."
"You might say this is obvious for Kanna, but she always remembers her lines, and as the leader, she is the strongest and brightest. It may sound cliché, but she is like the sun on set, and she saves the entire staff of ' Omusubi,' and all of us in the cast. Even though she probably doesn't have time to memorize her lines, she thoroughly reviews and memorizes the names of the enormous number of staff members. I really respect her."
◇ The first time we saw Kanna Hashimoto in the "reverse proposal" scene
Shoya, played by Sano, was the ace of the prestigious Seikawa Electric baseball team, but after injuring his right shoulder, he gave up on his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. Driven to "become a different person," he remembers how Yui, who once dressed up as a gal at the Itoshima Festival, had transformed into a completely different person, and so he gets an image change to a blonde "gal boy." When Yui sees Shoya like that, she is furious and says, "Don't mess with gals."
In the 64th episode (broadcast on December 26th), Yui's sister Ayumu (played by Riisa Naka) explained to Shoya what a gal is, and they danced Para Para together. Ayumu gave him advice: "If you cherish this moment with the person you love and enjoy it to the fullest, it might change your future."
In episode 65, Shoya visits Yui, who has returned to Itoshima, and apologizes, saying, "I underestimated gals." Yui looks back on how she fell in love with Shoya, and proposes to him in tears, saying, "I don't expect Shoya to make me happy. We'll be happy together. We'll be happy together no matter what. So please marry me." Shoya nods and embraces Yui.
Regarding the memorable reverse proposal scene, Sano said with a wry smile, "We were actually planning to shoot it in Itoshima, but I'm such a bad rain man that we ended up shooting it on a set."
"Kanna is very skillful, so she is very carefree before filming, but once the real thing starts she concentrates and is the type to perform crying scenes brilliantly. But for this scene, before filming began, Kanna quickly disappeared somewhere and there was a moment when she was concentrating by herself. It was the first time I had seen her like that since I met her. After that, Shoya and Yui's acting was amazing. The atmosphere at that time is something I will never forget," he said with a sigh.
Finally, when asked what to look forward to in the new year, he said, "Shoya, who gave up baseball, is working hard at Hoshikawa Electric, but he has many thoughts after that...We need to keep an eye on what Shoya's job will be, and also on Yui and Shoya's 'family'."
