Yui Narumi is an actor who appears in the NHK morning drama " Anpan " (General Asadora , Monday to Saturday 8:00am and others), starring Mio Imada Along with the heroine Nobu (Imada), she plays Oda Kotoko, who joins the Kochi Shimpo newspaper as the first female reporter after the war. What were her thoughts as she took on this second Asadora in six years, since "Natsuzora" in the first half of 2019? We asked her about the highlights of the "newspaper company part." (Part 2 of a two-part interview)
◇ Kotoko's reason for joining the newspaper company is completely different from Nobu's.
Kotoko, played by Narumi, is a dual-personality character who is normally gentle and demure, but becomes spastic when she drinks.
"Her reason for joining the newspaper company is completely different from Nobu's - it's to find a marriage partner. It's a workplace with a lot of men. Basically, she plays a very demure woman, and behaves like Nagi so as not to cause any trouble, but as soon as she drinks she becomes a completely different person. I think that the gap between her personality and her ability to switch between different sides makes her a very fascinating character."
On the other hand, Narumi also says, "As the first female journalist after the war, she was a woman who survived adversity," and expresses her hope that she will "act while cherishing the background she has walked."
"Kotoko is a cheerful girl, but she's not just cheerful. I wanted to make her a character with a human touch, with a background that you could sense, and that was what I focused on the most. Also, I'm from Kochi, so I spent a lot of time learning the Tosa dialect. Usually, when I memorize lines, I have to memorize the words, but this time I had to memorize the sounds after I memorized the words. It took twice as long, and I think most of the actors in ' Anpan' have the same problem, so it was difficult, but I was able to get through it knowing that I'm not the only one."
◇ Although you feel that your acting is still in development…
Looking back at his first appearance in the Asadora"Natsuzora" six years ago, it was shortly after he began his career as an actor and he didn't have many scenes.
"At the time, I was excited and nervous about working with a senior actor I looked up to, and I was filled with fresh emotions, but now, six years into my career, I've been given the opportunity to take part in ' Anpan,' so I really wanted to be able to fully demonstrate the skills I have now, which I've cultivated through the works I've encountered along the way, as well as my experience in 'Natsuzora.' There were many things I had to prepare, including the Tosa dialect, so I inevitably had more time to face the role and had more time to prepare than usual. This naturally gave me confidence, and I was able to be on set without any unnecessary tension, so I discovered that if I take the time to prepare properly, I can act with a relaxed mind on set."
Although he felt that his acting was still in development, he felt a sense of accomplishment from appearing in "Anpan."
"I try to experiment every time I work on a role, thinking about how it will be reflected in the work, but with this production of ' Anpan,' I was able to approach the filming in a different way than before, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the character I play, Kotoko, will appear in the drama when it is aired."
In addition to Narumi, Kenjiro Tsuda Akira, the chief editor at Kochi Shimpo, and Yuki Kura will play Iwashimizu Shinji, a reporter at the editorial department. What are the highlights of the new "newspaper company part"?
"It's also the beginning of the post-war section, but I was impressed by what the production manager, Mr. Kurasaki (Nori), said: 'I want to make this a bright section that is full of freedom and vitality, and a sense of liberation.' I thought that this would be an important guideline, so I would like to cherish that kind of vitality, but also not forget that it was because of the war section that we were able to make it, and create an atmosphere that connects it to the next generation."
