Miho Nakazono , who is in charge of the script for the NHK morning drama " Anpan " (General Asadora , Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others), starring Mio Imada , spoke about her current state of mind after finishing writing, the ending of the story, and her thoughts on the spin-off.
◇ Regarding his second morning Asadora, "It wasn't as difficult as I had feared, but it was still tough."
"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."
This is Nakazono's second time writing a script for a Asadora, following "Hanako to Anne" in the first half of 2014. Looking back on the days writing "Anpan," she said, "People who have given birth say that the second child is harder than the first. That's because they know it's still not that hard. They know it's much harder. I've heard that if you know how hard it is, it's even harder."
"I was pretty prepared for this, but back when I was working on 'Hanako to Anne,' Asadora were broadcast six days a week, so the fact that it's now only five days a week is a big deal for a scriptwriter. You usually run out of things to do around Friday (laughs). I was trying to squeeze out every Saturday I could from the script, so in that sense it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. But it was still tough."
Nakazono likes alcohol, but says that he cut back on the amount he drank while writing "Anpan ." After finishing the manuscript, he went out drinking with Miyoko Asada , who plays Kura Asada (Kurabaa), and said with a smile, "While writing, I would drink occasionally, but only to make sure I didn't get a hangover, but at my favorite bar with Kurabaa, I went full throttle and drank a lot, it was a lot of fun, and I definitely got a hangover. I don't remember much about the second half, but it was delicious."
"I think that Asadora are such a big responsibility that they can affect the mood of the viewers for the entire day, so I was really relieved to have managed to finish them safely. I'm a slow writer, so I was worried whether I would be able to write everything properly on schedule, but thanks to the production manager, Kurasaki Ken, I was able to finish it quickly. I call Kurasaki 'Mr. Tokimi', and he schedules everything down to the minute. He would say things like, 'The deadline is almost here,' so I felt like I was under pressure the whole time."
◇Was the ending decided from “100 possibilities”?
After overcoming such a long writing period and completing "Anpan," Nakazono was asked, "What if you were offered a third Asadora?" to which she replied, "I've only just finished writing, so I'm not yet ready to say, 'Let's do a third one.'"
"When I write for a Asadora, quite a few people say, 'Please write about me,' or 'Make me the heroine of the Asadora.' This time, two people said the same thing, but I had to decline, saying, 'Wait a minute. I don't want to think about that right now!' I'm sure that if it were Sugako Hashida, she'd already be thinking, 'I'll write this next,' but I'm not as diligent as her (laughs)."
With less than a month and a half left until the broadcast of "Anpan," the show is in its final stretch. Some viewers have already expressed concern about "loss," but production manager Kurasaki is optimistic, saying, "If viewers show their support, there may be talk of a spin-off or something. I would like to do that."
Nakazono also expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "When I write a Asadora, the characters develop, so I feel like I want to write more. There are actually many characters that I would like to portray in more depth, including episodes that I couldn't draw due to time constraints, as well as characters who disappeared after a short period of time."
Regarding the ending of the story, Nakazono revealed, "I actually thought of about 100 different ways to end it." He then addressed the viewers, saying, "I wrote the final episode while taking into consideration the opinions of everyone, including the production team. I think it's an ending that will please everyone, so please be sure to watch until the end."
