On October 12th, actor Takumi Kitamura appeared on stage with lead actor Yo Oizumi at a press conference in Tokyo for the drama series "A Little Esper" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9pm), which begins on the 21st. Oizumi teased him about the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan ," and the exchange of jokes and responses thrilled the fans who had gathered at the venue.
Kitamura played Takashi, the husband of the main character Nobu (played by Mio Imada ) in " Anpan ," which aired its final episode on September 26th. In "A Little Esper," he plays Ichimatsu, a mysterious university student.
At the press conference, Kitamura shared an episode from filming, in which he was blending in with the extras and the director, who was standing right in front of him, lost sight of him and asked, "Kitamura, where are you?!" He laughed bitterly, saying, "I wasn't on set much (at that time of filming), so I guess I wasn't very visible..." Oizumi pointed out, "It's fine now, but Kitamura-kun still had that ' Anpan mood' at the beginning."
To this, Kitamura retorted, "Oizumi has been saying it all this time! Like, ' The Anpan hasn't come out in this scene' (laughs). I think he's an actor who can clearly switch (roles)." When Oizumi said, "He's finally become Ichimatsu now, but (on set) he says things like, 'Give me some bread,'" Kitamura immediately retorted, "I didn't say that (laughs)!"
Oizumi continued, "That's probably why the director couldn't see it either, because Anpan was still there," to which he replied, "But if Takashi was there, I think he would have seen it instead!", causing the audience to erupt in laughter. Main cast members Aoi Miyazaki, Dean Fujioka, Shohei Uno, Atsuko Takahata, and Masaki Okada also appeared at the press conference.
The drama is an original script by Akiko Nogi, a hit maker known for "Unnatural" and "MIU404." After being fired from his job and divorcing his wife, Bunta (played by Oizumi), a salaryman at rock bottom in life, passes the audition for a mysterious company called "Nonamare" and becomes a "slightly psychic" who saves the world.
