The 12th week of NHK's Asadora drama "Anpan" (June 16-20), "Unreversed Justice," depicted Taka (Takumi Kitamura), who landed in Fujian Province, China, as a corporal in the Kokura regiment. In Asadora set mainly in the Taisho to Showa eras, like this one, war is undoubtedly one of the things that cannot be avoided in the story. On the other hand, there are surprisingly few works like "Anpan" that directly feature "battlefields" rather than flashbacks or monologues. What are some of the Asadora that have featured unusual "battlefield depictions" in recent years? I would like to introduce them, including the words of the chief director at the time.
◇ The protagonist heads to the fierce battlefield where the "Imphal Operation" unfolds.
The work in question is the Asadora "Yell," which aired five years before " Anpan" and starred Masataka Kubota , in the first half of 2020. The story is based on Fukushima-born composer Yuji Koseki, who wrote the National High School Baseball Championship song "Eikan wa Kimi ni Kagayaku" and the pro baseball team Hanshin Tigers song "Rokko Oroshi," and his wife Kinko, with Nikaido Fumi playing the heroine.
The series began on March 30, 2020, and overcame a two-and-a-half-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concluding on November 26 of the same year, about two months later than originally planned. The final episode, which aired the following day, was a concert in which popular characters sang a number of Furuseki's hit songs, making it an unprecedented Asadora.
What was particularly impressive about "Yell" was the "battlefield depiction" in the 18th week, which aired from October 12th to 16th of the same year.
The subtitle for that week's issue is "Songs of the Battlefield." The protagonist, Yuichi (Kubota), visits Burma (now Myanmar) on a tour of duty. It is a fierce battlefield where the "Imphal Operation" is taking place. When Yuichi finds out that his teacher, Mr. Todo (Moriyama Naotaro), is at a garrison on the front lines, he takes a risk to go and meet him. The next morning, after the soldiers and the band have become one through music, tragedy strikes the unit.
The tragedy is a sudden enemy attack, and soldiers are shot one after another in front of Yuichi, who is unable to comprehend the situation, and eventually even Mr. Todo... Eventually, the long war comes to an end. Yuichi regrets that the music he composed has driven people to fight and taken the lives of young people, and he is no longer able to write songs... And so the story unfolds.
◇ The "irresistible tragedy" that the author wanted to convey in his "depiction of the battlefield"
The story was nearing its final episode in terms of broadcast time, and the 18th week was the "most important week" leading up to the postwar part. Teruyuki Yoshida, the chief director of "Yell" and the scriptwriter for that week, said at the time, "There was some hesitation and uncertainty about showing something like this at the dinner table in the morning," but looking back on the filming, he said, "I think everyone, including the cast and staff, was prepared."
Yoshida further revealed, "The script had actually been written once before the COVID-19 outbreak, but during the two-month hiatus (on filming), I rewrote the war parts." He said that this was because he had once again faced the question, "What is an irresistible tragedy, or a tragedy that cannot be helped, because I had never experienced it myself?" and wondered how to incorporate such an element into the film.
Furthermore, the 18th week was also the week in which "Yuichi loses his sense of self, and everything he believed in crumbles," and the depiction leading up to that point "turned out a lot more vividly than we had originally thought. Especially since we filmed the beginning right after the COVID-19 pandemic had ended. Taking that into account, I think everyone, not just us, was prepared for this."
Returning to the topic of "Anpan," in episode 59 (broadcast June 19th), which was the climax of the "battlefield" part, the opening title sequence and the production that did not play the theme song "Gift" by RADWIMPS at all became a hot topic, but on social media there were comments such as, "For me, it was a shocking war episode on par with 'Yell'. A special episode without an opening. It was very worth watching." This is proof that the "battlefield depiction" of "Yell" is still in the hearts of Asadora fans.
