Interview with Motoki Nakazawa: Taking on the challenge with "Anpan" (bean-jam buns) with the words of Ryohei Suzuki, the "baseball player who rises above the rest" in mind

Actor Motoki Mio Imada plays Chihiro, the younger brother of Takashi Yanai(played by Takumi Kitamura ) in the Asadora drama series "Anpan " (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. and others), starring Motoki Nakazawa. In the 62nd episode (broadcast on June 24th), Takashi returns from the battlefield and is overcome with grief upon learning that Chihiro has been killed in battle. Nakazawa, who brilliantly played the kind and scholarly Chihiro, looked back on the filming of "Anpan."

◇How do you feel after wrapping up filming?

"Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Noriyuki Yanase (1918-1993). It is a "story of love and courage" that will make you feel the joy of living, depicting how the two met, overcame all sorts of rough seas, and arrived at "Anpanman", the embodiment of "unreversible justice."

Chihiro, played by Nakazawa, was a weak child and lived in the shadow of his older brother, Takashi, but as he grew up, he became a kind, family-oriented, and well-rounded young man. In episode 54 (broadcast June 12), Chihiro, now a naval officer, reunites with Takashi for the first time in three years and tells him that he will be leaving Sasebo on a destroyer and heading south five days later. After that, it was not revealed whether Chihiro was alive or dead, but in episode 62, it was revealed that he had been killed in battle.

Regarding his feelings when filming wrapped up, Nakazawa revealed, "I didn't feel like I had finished anything at all."

"I still wonder if this is really the best I could have done, and if this was really 100%. But I don't feel that lonely. We've wrapped up filming, but it still doesn't feel like it's over."

She explained the reason for this, saying, "If I come to NHK, I'll be able to meet Takumi and the ' Anpan' team," and "Because I have the feelings of Chihiro inside me."

"Still, I felt sad when I heard that filming was underway," he said. "I do feel that Chihiro is no longer with us, but it was because of Chihiro that Anpanman was born, and I think Chihiro lives on in Takashi and Nobu-san (Imada-san)."

◇ "Anpan" will be "a work that will have a major impact on my acting career"

"Anpan" was Nakazawa's first appearance in a Asadora. Looking back on the long filming period, he said, "This work has had a big impact on my future acting career."

"The set was filled with senior actors with a lot of experience in stage and film, and they accepted me no matter how I acted. I was watching the monitor in the waiting room the whole time, and as I watched everyone's performances I felt that 'the options in acting are really endless.' I had the luxury of being able to see everyone's talented acting up close, and just watching them really taught me things, like, 'Wow, what an interesting performance,' or 'I didn't know they had this kind of talent.'"

Filming surrounded by talented actors was a valuable experience for Nakazawa, who said with shining eyes, "I was always inspired while filming." He looked back on an episode from the TV drama "Gekokujou Kyuuji" (TBS, 2023), in which he had a similar experience.

"'Gekokujou Kyuujin' was also a really good set, and I played the role of a student of the main actor, Ryohei Suzuki. During filming, Ryohei told me, 'I hope you will encounter many works that surpass this one.' That really stuck with me, and I feel that ' Anpan' surpassed me in some ways. I don't mean to rank them, but ' Anpan' was the longest of all the sets I've been on, and I was able to absorb a lot, so I think it was a voluminous set."

When asked about his future goals, he stated with conviction, "I want to become an actor who can catch any ball that is thrown to me, like the senior actors I co-starred with in ' Anpan'."

"I want to gain more experience than I did on the set of ' Anpan,' and I also need to be on the receiving end of things, so I've set a goal for myself to become that kind of actor. I don't intend to solidify my acting style yet, but I want to gain more experience and watch the acting of various people, and continue to improve as an actor."

Nakazawa, who became known nationwide for her role as Chihiro in "Anpan," can't wait to see what she does next.