Akari Takaishi plays the main character Toki Matsuno and her future husband, Lefkada Heaven, in the NHK morning drama series Bakebake (General Asadora , Monday to Saturday, 8am and others), which will begin airing on September 29th and run in the second half of 2025. About six months have passed since filming began, and the Tommy Bastow, who are already in perfect sync, spoke about the mutual charms they felt during filming and the "moments when they connected."
"Bakebake" is based on the story of Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a fallen samurai from Matsue, and her husband Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), and depicts the heroine, who loves ghost stories, going about her everyday life with her foreign husband. The script is written by Fujiki Mitsuhiko, who has worked on NHK's "Asagaya Sisters' Relaxed Life" and WOWOW's "Shooting Break Series."
-While playing the roles of a married couple, please tell us what you each thought was wonderful about each other, such as how you approached your roles.
Takaishi: Tommy just loves Japan, and he's been studying Japanese on his own for 10 years, and he continued to study even during filming. I really feel his passion for Japan, and his desire to learn more about it, so I'm really happy about that, and I think he's very similar to Yakumo, the model for him. He's a very kind person, so I think we might have something in common.
Mr. Bastow: There are so many good things about Akari. She speaks to me so kindly, and she tries her best to understand my halting Japanese, even using simple Japanese. We were on the same wavelength from the moment we met. I'm drawn to her wonderful side every day. When a big horsefly flew in during filming, I panicked and couldn't deal with it, but Akari handled it calmly, which I thought was really cool.
Takaishi: At the time, there were horseflies flying around me while I was sitting upright and acting, but Tommy fought them off for me (laughs). It was a fun shoot.
--Watching you two interact, it seems like the atmosphere on set is really great. Could you tell us about any memorable episodes from the set or how you spend your free time?
Takaishi: Tommy loves jerky, so I bring him some jerky as a souvenir and we eat and compare it together with the other cast members. My mother once came to watch the filming, and I gave her some jerky and fruit as a gift. Tommy bites into a whole apple, and it's so refreshing to watch.
Mr. Bastow: Like Ryuk from (the popular manga) "Death Note" (laughs). I especially liked the Genghis Khan jerky I was given.
Takaishi: We Bakebake went out to eat yakiniku together as a team. Everyone got along well and it felt like a family. Bastow-san is good at Japanese, so we all had fun chatting about trivial things.
Mr. Bastow: We chatted like friends, asking things like, "How was your weekend?" The yakiniku was also delicious.
--You seem to get along well together, but were there any moments when you felt you understood each other through filming or communicating in your free time?
Mr. Bastow: The moment I met Akari, we really became good friends. We were on the same wavelength from the start, and we were able to spend time on set like friends and like a married couple.
Takaishi: I can't speak English, but I've started to understand what Tommy is saying even before the interpreter. I don't know why, but I've started to understand what Tommy is thinking, his intentions in acting, and things like that. Our acting is perfectly synchronized. I'm sure you'll be able to feel that atmosphere if you watch the drama.
Mr. Bastow: Yes, I hope that viewers of the drama will feel the same way.
