In the Asadora drama series "Anpan " (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00am and others), starring Mio Imada , actor Motoki Nakazawa plays the younger brother of Takashi Yanai(Takumi Kitamura ). In the 54th episode (broadcast on June 12th), Chihiro, who has become a naval officer, reunites with Takami at a hotel in Kokura and confronts him about his true feelings. We asked Nakazawa how he faced this scene.
In episode 54, it is the summer three years after Takashi joined the army. When they meet again after a long time, Chihiro has become a naval officer. Takashi cannot hide his shock, so Chihiro explains that she has applied to become a naval reserve student. "There's no turning back now," Chihiro says calmly, and hands Takashi an old notebook... and so the story unfolds.
Nakazawa said she "can totally understand" Chihiro's feelings of wanting to join the naval reserve cadets. "Chihiro has always been a person who has read the atmosphere, so if other students asked her, 'I'm going to volunteer too. What about you?' I think she would have chosen to volunteer, even though she had her own beliefs and was taking into account the historical background. Having played Chihiro, I felt it was a natural progression, so I didn't have many doubts about it."
Chihiro was physically weak as a child and lived in the shadow of his older brother, but as he grew up, he grew into a kind, family-oriented young man who excelled in both academics and sports. Nakazawa recalls, "Chihiro had to endure a lot since she was little and didn't express her feelings much, but in episode 54, she finally let out her hidden love for Nobu (Imada) and her thoughts of 'If only there hadn't been a war...' This was the first time she let it all out on Takashi, so she wanted to let it all out."
"It wasn't a scene that Takumi and I had discussed in detail together and created, but rather we went into the shoot with very little preparation. We only had a minimal meeting, and didn't talk much about acting. I had the feeling that Takumi would take in everything as Takashi, so while we discussed movements, gazes, and camerawork, we focused on what was born on the spot, and the explosive power."
In the scene that was actually broadcast, Chihiro did not cry, but she confided, "I am worried whether it would have been better for me to shed tears, and whether this was really 100 percent."
"I was crying my eyes out during the test, so I wondered which was better. Takumi asked me, 'Would you like to ask the director to do it again?' But in the end, I thought that what the director approved was everything, so I didn't do it again. If they were parting as siblings, Chihiro would be pouring everything out, so she would shed tears, but if they were meeting as soldiers, she would say 'I'm leaving' without shedding any tears. I wasn't conscious of it, but it just came naturally to my performance without shedding tears."
What fate awaits Chihiro, who has become a naval officer and is now aboard a destroyer? We can't take our eyes off the future developments.
