Mio Imada , vocalist of Mrs. Green Apple , plays Takuya Ise in the Asadora drama "Anpan " (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others), starring Motoki Omori He made his debut in the 91st episode (broadcast on August 4th) and left a strong impression on viewers with his unique character. Chief producer Ken Kurasaki, who is in charge of production, spoke about Omori's appeal and the reasons for his selection, praising him as "a genius at expressing himself."
◇ Shocked at first live concert
"Anpan" is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013), the manga artist and picture book author who created "Anpanman," and his wife, Nobu (1918-1993). It is a "story of love and courage" that will fill you with the joy of living, depicting how these two, who were once nobodys, overcame all sorts of rough seas to become "Anpanman," the embodiment of "unreversible justice."
Kurazaki says that her first time attending a Mrs. Green Apple 2023-2024 FC TOUR "The White Lounge"" which took place from 2023 to 2024.
"The live performance itself was different from a normal live performance; it was more like a musical theatre. The gaps between songs were also very theatrical. I was equally moved by Mrs.'s music, but even more than that, I was really drawn to Motoki Omori 's timing, his posture, his gestures, everything about him," he said, praising Omori's expressiveness.
"As I was in the audience, absorbing his expressions and the pauses in his voice with my whole body, tears naturally started to flow. The pauses brought tears to my eyes before the song even began, and I've never been able to forget it. Even on the train ride home, I didn't want to forget this impulse, or rather, I felt like I couldn't forget it. I couldn't sleep that whole night, thinking, 'What is this feeling?'"
Kurazaki, who was still feeling the afterglow of the live performance, said, "I honestly thought that I really wanted to see Omori's acting," and recalled, "I took the plunge and asked him to appear in ' Anpan ' as Motoki Omori , the actor."
◇Are Motoki Omori and Izumi Taku linked?
Takuya Ise, played by Omori, is modeled after the composer Izumi Tasuku. He composed numerous commercials, films, television, and radio plays. He also had a passion for musicals, composing over 15,000 songs in his lifetime. For the musical "Look Up at the Stars in the Night Sky," for which he was responsible, Takashi Yanai(Takumi Kitamura) was in charge of the stage design, and Ise was tasked with composing the song "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni," for which Takashi had written the lyrics.
Kurazaki revealed, "I absolutely wanted to play a character modeled after Izumi Tasuku. I definitely wanted to depict an episode in the second half of the story that revolves around the songs "Look Up at the Stars at Night" and "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni," which are important to Takashi, so when I thought about who would be best for the role, I decided that it would be best to have someone who actually writes the songs."
Last year, Mrs. released new songs for five consecutive months, and Izumi herself has a history of composing over 15,000 songs in her lifetime.
"There are some parts where Motoki Omori and Izumi-san are linked. I thought it would be better to have someone who writes and composes their own songs rather than someone who is just an actor, including the fact that he can create melodies that reach the masses, regardless of age, and Omori-san was a perfect fit for the image. When I spoke to Miho Nakazono, the scriptwriter, she gave me her stamp of approval, saying, 'That's great.'"
◇ Innovative character creation unique to Motoki Omori
Once filming actually began, he said, "Anpan san has created a unique and innovative character that is different from the characters we've seen in Anpan so far, and that has been an inspiration to us."
"He's not only an artist, but also a genius at expressing himself, so in a word, he's given a truly wonderful performance. There are also scenes where he sings, which I think are scenes that people all over the world will really want to see."
At the time of the offer, Omori said that there were no concerns at all about her acting, saying, "I think of Asadora as a martial arts competition between different industries, and I believe that it is only when talented people from various genres, not just actors, appear that chemistry on set is more likely to occur, so we were not at all worried about the fact that she did not have much acting experience."
"Kitamura (who plays Takashi) also said that it was very easy to work with Omori. He said that when he faced off against Takuya, played by Omori, both in rehearsals and on stage, he was able to get into the role naturally. He was worried and asked, 'Are you doing it right?' but the entire staff and cast were all very inspired by Omori's talent as an actor, so we told him, 'Just go for it.'"
