On October 12th, actor Yo Oizumi appeared at a press conference in Tokyo for the drama "A Little Esper" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9pm), which he stars in and which starts on the 21st, along with his co- Aoi Miyazaki Miyazaki, Dean Fujioka, Takumi Kitamura, Atsuko Takahata, and Masaki Okada. Immediately after taking the stage, he started complaining repeatedly, which had the audience in stitches.
The host of the event was announcer Ayaka Ayaka Hironaka. Immediately after taking the stage, Hironaka asked Oizumi how he felt, saying, "The first episode is just one week away," to which Oizumi replied, "Our first episode is so late, isn't it? Aren't the (autumn dramas) starting one after another already? I wonder why it's so late." He continued, "We started filming early, so why don't we have any days off?", expressing his dissatisfaction.
When asked by Hironaka, "Is (filming) quite difficult?", she complained, "It's not that I don't have any days off, but they take their days off while I'm in Hokkaido (for work). That means I don't get any days off!" Dean then stopped her, saying, "Stop nagging me already (laughs)!" and Kitamura said, "A little more complaining... (laughs)," which caused the audience to erupt in laughter.
During the talk that followed, Hironaka made an unexpected mistake by calling Oizumi by his first name. The cast members erupted in laughter, and Oizumi stood up and retorted, "I can't overlook this! Calling the lead actor by his first name." When Hironaka apologized, saying he was in a hurry because they were running out of time, Oizumi replied with a dissatisfied look, "I guess I was in a hurry, but..." Shortly after, Kitamura teased him by calling Oizumi by his first name, to which he replied, "I told you to stop (laughs)! He's not the kind of person you should call by his first name!", once again eliciting laughter from the audience.
Another story from filming was that a dinner party that Oizumi planned turned out to be a poor turnout. "The producer's brother runs a sushi restaurant, so he invited everyone, but only Uno came. I was surprised that no one came even though the lead actor had invited so many people," he said, unable to stop complaining.
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.
