The second episode of the drama series "Ignite" (TBS, Friday 10pm) starring actor Shotaro Mamiya will be broadcast on April 25th. We spoke to Shota Hatanaka, the producer who planned, produced and wrote the script for this series, about the behind-the-scenes of the first episode and the highlights of the second episode.
The drama is an entertainment about a rookie lawyer who is full of a sense of justice but makes a lot of money by inciting lawsuits. It is produced by the content studio "BABEL LABEL", which includes directors such as Michihito Fujii of the film "Seitai" (Immediate Abunai Deka", and Kento Yamaguchi of "Ikusagami", in their first collaboration with TBS.
◇Producer Shota Hatanaka talks about the highlights of Episode 2
In the first episode, Uzaki (Mamiya) enters the doors of the Peace Law Firm. However, the firm is a group of lawless people who sneak into places where conflicts are brewing, incite people, and sometimes team up with the opposing lawyers to always win their cases.
In the second episode, Uzaki, who is still not convinced of the reality of the law firm, is once again drawn into the next hot topic case by Kenjiro Todoroki (played by Toru Nakamura) and his friends. The next hot topic is a suicide attempt that occurred in a powerful rugby team at a certain university. The members of the Peace Law Firm target Hayato Nishida, played by Kaito Miyachika(Travis Japan), the younger brother of the attempted suicide, Makoto Nishida.
Uzaki is not convinced by the members of the office who are plotting to get a large sum of money from the university, but the attitude of the university officials as if they want to pretend the suicide attempt never happened in order to move forward with the university championships that are just around the corner makes Uzaki's lawyer switch on. While Uzaki is arguing with the university alumni, Todoroki and the other members try to find out the truth behind the suicide attempt, but the team members and officials keep quiet, and they are unable to get any new information.
Meanwhile, Uzaki comes into contact with Iiyama Naoki, a former member of the rugby club, played by Shiozaki Taichi (M!LK). From Naoki, who was also close to Uzaki's brother Masato, Uzaki learns of the bullying that Masato and his friends had experienced within the club. Upon learning this, Uzaki is unable to sit back and goes after her parents, but her parents refuse to acknowledge the bullying, in order to avoid disrupting the club before the tournament in which the future of the rugby club's ace, Hayato, depends on.
In this way, the university officials, the rugby club, and even his parents are trying to bury the fact that his older brother Masato was in the club in the dark. How will the members of Peace Law Office cut into the organizational darkness lurking in this powerful school? This is the highlight of the second episode.
The highlight of the film is how the "lawless" Peace Law Offices will ignite the heart of Hayato, who has been convinced that his brother's suicide attempt was due to "his own weakness" while the university keeps the truth hidden. This is the human story that depicts the change in his heart.
In particular, the scene where Miyachika, who plays Hayato, is torn between the rugby tournament that determines his future and the presence of his brother who has always been by his side as the truth of his brother's bullying comes to light is a major highlight of episode 2. Also, following episode 1, please pay attention to Uzaki's passionate performance as she "loudly" knocks on the door to Hayato's heart, her target.
Furthermore, in order to prepare for the character of Nishida Hayato, who is the ace of a strong rugby team, Miyachika practiced rugby before filming began, and you can look forward to the rugby scenes in which he performs with the utmost realism, just like an active player.
◇ The first day of filming kicked off with an explosion, and a look behind the scenes at Tao Tsuchiya's role-making
The scene in the beginning of Episode 1 where the route bus crashes and explodes took place in the first week of filming at the end of January, so it was the most tense scene from the very first day of shooting. With only one shot, we were able to successfully film that powerful crash scene thanks to the meticulous pre-meetings and planning by the stunt team and production team.
We were able to show the footage of that large-scale crash scene to lead actor Mamiya and the rest of the cast before filming began, which allowed them to sense the team's determination to make this drama seriously, and morale on set was high when the cast began filming.
Tao Tsuchiya also appeared as a key person in episode 1. To play the role of Misaki Saito, who lost her husband in a small town and lives with her young child, we had her create the character of Misaki through various discussions about clothing, makeup, etc., starting from the costume fitting stage, with the somewhat difficult theme of "being Tao Tsuchiya but erasing the Tao Tsuchiya-ness."
After the broadcast, we received many comments from viewers such as, "I didn't think it was Tao Tsuchiya," and "She's completely adapted to the role," which made us think, "As expected."
The first day the cast began filming was the opening scene of Episode 1, in which Uzaki arrives at Peace Law Firm. The three members, Todoroki, Inoo Mari (Kamishiraishi Moeka), and Takaido Toma (Ryoki Miyama), already had a sense of unity, as if they had all worked at the same law firm before. Along with the freshness of Uzaki, a rookie lawyer who gets caught up in the situation, it was impressive how the acting of the four members felt so real from the very first day.
