A press conference for the TV Asahi drama series "A Little Esper" (Tuesdays at 9 p.m.), which begins on October 21st, was held at the station's headquarters in Minato Ward, Tokyo, with lead actor Yo Oizumi, heroine Aoi Miyazaki, and scriptwriter Akiko Nogi in attendance. They explained the details of the production.
The drama is an original script by Nogi, known for works such as "Unnatural" and "MIU404." After being fired and divorced, Bunta (Oizumi), a salaryman at rock bottom, passes the audition for the mysterious company "Nonamare" and begins saving the world as a "little psychic." A mysterious woman named Shiki (Miyazaki), who believes Bunta is her husband, also appears and they begin living together, but Nonamare imposes a mysterious rule on Bunta: "You must not love people." This is the story of a sci-fi romance.
The project has been in the works for the past four years. Nogi said, "When producer Takashima (Ayari) and I were thinking about making something, she asked me, 'Why don't you do a drama with Oizumi?' When we were thinking about what would be good, I wanted to do something magical, and Takashima wanted something ninja-related. I told her I couldn't get into ninjas, and that's how we got to where we are today. But then I started doing Shinobi no Ie (The House of the Shinobi) on Netflix, so I'm glad I didn't do a ninja (laughs)."
When asked why she wanted to do a "magical story," Nogi said, "It would be tiring to do socially conscious stories every time (laughs). I wanted to do something fun." Oizumi grumbled, "I would have been fine with a socially conscious story. It would have been fine if it was about coal mines or something. Even if they say I'm 'a little bit of a psychic'..." referring to the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "Diamonds Sleeping in the Sea" (2024), for which Nogi wrote the script.
When Nogi retorted, "That's Kamiki (Ryunosuke)'s (laughs)! Do you really want to do it? (laughs)," Oizumi countered, "I can't be a 'little bit' actor forever either!" When Nogi tried to calm him down by saying, "But you've been doing some pretty serious work recently," Oizumi agreed, saying, "That may be true. Things have been pretty heavy recently, so maybe 'little bit' is just right (laughs)."
He seems confident in the work, and in his signature Oizumi style he said, "It started quite late compared to other dramas (in the fall season), so I was really looking forward to it being broadcast. I don't think there are many dramas that can be delivered with so much confidence. I wanted people to watch it as soon as possible and receive praise from all over the world (laughs)."
