The second episode of Fuji TV's Wednesday 10pm drama "If This World Were a Stage, Where Would the Dressing Room Be?" (Wednesdays at 10pm), written by Koki Mitani and starring Masaki Suda, aired on October 8th. Towards the end of the episode, there was a scene in which aspiring director Hisabe (Suda) passionately "presents" his plan to the members of WS Theatre, which sparked a stir on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In the second episode, strip shows are strictly regulated due to revisions to the Entertainment and Amusement Act, and the enthusiasm that was there two years ago at the WS Theater has become a lie. The audience for the show featuring dancer Patra (Amika) is deserted and not at all excited.
Meanwhile, Kube is wearing a happi coat from the WS Theater and is in charge of the pin-up spot for Patra's show. The theater's manager, Daimon (Nozoe Yoshihiro), invites him to work for them.
Accompanied by theater staff member Ban (Nomaguchi Toru), Hisabe visits the dancers' dressing room to say hello. There, he is reunited with Rika (Nikaido Fumi). However, when Hisabe pledges, "I'll do my best!", Rika looks away with disinterest... and so the story unfolds.
Later in the story, Daimon, who is struggling financially, calls together Rika and the other dancers and tells them that he will be closing the theater. Rika refuses to accept a farewell gift from Daimon and cannot accept the closure, to which Daimon shouts, "I'm sorry, but this is all I can do!"
Meanwhile, Hisabe stands up and says, "Excuse me for a moment," revealing that small theaters are currently booming in Tokyo. While Patra and the others are at a loss to understand, Hisabe passionately pleads, "We're going to put on a play! We're going to make this WS Theater the best in Shibuya...no, the best in Tokyo!"
Then, in a smooth flowing speech, Hisabe explains to the surprised Daimon and the others how much profit they could make by renovating the theater, passionately saying, "It's true that in reality it might not work out that well. But is that okay? If you're going to close this place anyway, why not give it a try? If it doesn't work, then you can just give up then, right?"
Furthermore, with the sudden arrival of Obaa-san (Rinko Kikuchi) and Horai (Ryunosuke Kamiki), Daimon, Rika and the others agree to turn the WS Theater into a theater for plays, just as Kubo had hoped.
On social media, there was a flood of excited comments about Suda's Kube's presentation, with comments such as, "Suda really suits this kind of talkative and passionate role," "Kube's on-stage performance is the best," "Kube's passionate presentation!", "Listening to the way Suda speaks makes me excited," and "Kube's presentation skills are amazing."
Additionally, with the story starting to move forward significantly, comments such as "It looks like it's going to get more interesting from now on," "It's getting more and more interesting," "It seems like it's going to be a very conventional and straightforward story, which is Mitani's specialty, so I'm very excited," and "The story seems to be starting to move, so I'm looking forward to what happens next" were also seen.
