Mio Imada stars in the Asadora drama "Anpan" (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00am and others). Toda Keiko, who plays the role of Maki Tetsuko, a congresswoman who influences Imada, talked about her impressions and the appeal of the role.
"Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Nobu (1918-1993), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman." It is a "story of love and courage" that will make you feel the joy of living, depicting how these two, who were once nobody, overcame all sorts of rough seas to become "Anpanman," the embodiment of "unreversible justice."
Maki Tetsuko, played by Toda, is a member of parliament from Kochi whom Nobu meets. She is a lively woman who moves ahead at a faster pace than Nobu, and has a strong belief in "reaching out to those in a weaker position." This is the character who will later have a major impact on Nobu's life.
Toda said that based on Tetsuko's name and personality, she imagined him to be a reference to the character "Tetsu no Maki-chan" from the popular anime "Soreike! Anpanman" (Nippon Television), for which she is a voice actor.
"She's a very righteous and spirited character. Although she's not actually modeled after Maki from Tetsuka, Tetsuko is exactly that kind of character, and I got the impression that she's a cool woman who always stands for justice."
In "Soreike! Anpanman," Toda plays the main character Anpanman. Will there be any scenes in the future where Tetsuko says lines that are reminiscent of Anpanman?
"Nothing in particular (laughs). I wasn't even conscious of Anpanman, and I just wanted to do my best as an actor. I'm sorry I couldn't meet your expectations (laughs)."
He met Yanase's wife, Nobu, who was the model for Nobu, once at a party and greeted her from afar, but they had never met in person. Regarding the role of Nobu, who has an influence on the model Nobu, he said with a smile, "I think I've been given a very challenging and reliable role."
"I think that in the story, Tetsuko and Nobuchan's feelings towards children resonate very well. So I wanted to make that the central feeling in the performance. I wanted to work hard to spread happiness to children."
In preparing to play the role of Tetsuko, Toda said she read a variety of materials written about female politicians from the post-war period.
"I felt that it must have been extremely difficult and amazing for women at that time to be able to speak their minds without hesitation and to take on leadership roles. It was difficult to figure out how much of that I could express, but I would be happy if viewers could feel it," she said.
