Mio Imada is also Yuumi Kawai for her role as Ranko in the NHK Asadora drama series "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. and others), starring Imada Mio. Currently, the movie "I Still Can't Say That Today's Sky Is My Favorite" in which she plays the heroine is currently in theaters, but she previously teamed up with the director and screenwriter of the same film, Ooku Akiko, in "I Didn't Love Them Because They Were Family, They Were Family Because I Loved Them" (NHK), which was Kawai's first lead role in a drama series. The first episode premiered exactly two years ago today (May 14th). What kind of drama was it, and what kind of acting did she show?
◇Currently 24 years old " Extremely Inappropriate!" "Ankoto"... Last year's performance was outstanding
First, let's take a quick look back at Kawai's career up until her first Asadora, "Anpan."
Kawai, born December 19, 2000, is from Tokyo and is currently 24 years old. She made her debut in 2019, and her performances in the 2021 films "Yuko no Tenbin" and "Summer Film Ni Notte" were highly praised, winning her the Newcomer Award at numerous film awards, including the Blue Ribbon Awards. Extremely Inappropriate! to work in films after that, and her popularity skyrocketed with the January 2024 drama "Extremely Inappropriate! " (TBS).
His success this year was remarkable, and he starred in his first terrestrial drama (with Ryota Bando ) in the late-night drama "RoOT" (TV Tokyo and others) that started in April after " Extremely Inappropriate! ". He also Chainsaw Man his hand at voice acting for the first time in the animated film " Lookback " (released June 28th), based on a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto , known for "Chainsaw Man", and starred in the films "Ankoto" and "Namibian Desert", which were released in June and September, respectively. He was constantly making waves, including in commercials, and was ranked first in the actor category in the "Yahoo! Search Awards 2024".
Her performance in "An no Koto" also earned her the Best Actress Award at the 48th Japan Academy Awards in March this year.
◇"Kazokazo" embodies the protagonist's 10-year journey and also speaks fluent Kansai dialect!
In 2024, the drama "I Didn't Love My Family Because They Were My Family, They Were My Family Because I Loved Them (Kazo Kazo)" was broadcast on terrestrial television in NHK's "Drama 10" slot.
The original work was an essay written by Nami Kishida on her blog, which was then adapted into a drama by adding anecdotes from interviews with her family and people involved, as well as her own unique perspective. The story depicts events in a family that are "overloaded with information" and cannot be explained in a single word, such as "fun" or "sad." Kawai plays Nanami Kishimoto, a high school student who is a "third-string girl" with a complicated sense of self-consciousness.
In the drama, Maki Sakai plays Nanami's mother Hitomi, Ryo Nishikido plays her father Kosuke, Aoi Yoshida plays her younger brother Sota, and Jun Miho plays her grandmother Yoshiko Okawa. Momoko Fukuchi, Eita Okuno, Kento Hayashi, Kanji Furudate, and Maho Yamada also appear.
Kawai-san embodies the 10-year journey of the main character Nanami, who loses her father, has a wheelchair-bound mother, and a younger brother with Down's syndrome, and who sometimes feels crushed by her family environment, but still pushes ahead recklessly. Her performance is so raw, including her fluent Kansai dialect, that when I watch it again now, I'm amazed and wonder if it's really the same person who played Ranko in "Anpan".
The episode was first broadcast two years ago, so it's no surprise that filming took place before that, but the raw emotional expression here shows just how deeply he was able to identify with the role.
