Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). In the 35th episode (broadcast on November 14th), there is a scene in which Toki's (Takaishi) mother, Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki), explodes with the complex emotions of a foster mother. We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the production supervisor for this series, about Ikewaki's performance in this scene and the reason for casting Ikewaki in the role of the mother.
◇ "The Matsuno family exists because of Chizuru Ikewaki"
In episode 35, Toki confronts Sannojo(Rihito Itagaki ) and reveals that she became Heaven's ( Tommy Bastow ) maid to help her biological mother, Tae ( Keiko Kitagawa ), who had become a beggar. After hearing Toki's true feelings, Fumi reveals her complicated emotions, a mixture of jealousy and pride, saying, "I would be happy to sell my body for my biological mother."
Hashizume explains, "That scene looks like it's between Toki and Sannojo , but it's actually a scene between Fumi. It depicts what Fumi, as a foster mother, thinks after hearing Toki's story."
"She would become a rasshamen (a Western concubine) for her biological parents, but can't she become one for her adoptive parents? Fumi has pride and self-confidence in having raised Toki, and she also has parental love. At first, it felt like that was denied, but then she found out Toki's true feelings and came to terms with it within herself in this scene. Ikewaki's facial expressions and timing are truly wonderful, and she has built up her emotions for this scene, and the explosive power is incredible. I think it is precisely because Ikewaki is able to so firmly accept the situation that Takaishi is able to act so freely."
Regarding Ikewaki's acting, Hashizume said, "It is because of Ikewaki that the Matsuno family exists."
"Takaishi, Takashi Okabe (who plays Tsukasanosuke ), and Fumiyo Kohinata drives a wedge between them, keeping them together so they don't drift apart. It's Ikewaki's presence that brings the Matsuno family together and allows everyone to act comically freely. It's Ikewaki who brings the comedy scenes back to reality and acts with a solid presence."
◇ Chizuru Ikewaki is "like a mother to everyone"
This will be Ikewaki's first appearance in a Asadora in 24 years, since she played the heroine in "Honmamon" in the latter half of 2001. Although it will be her first appearance in a Asadora in a long time, she says that she is "a very reliable presence" on set.
"She has experience as a heroine, so she thinks a lot about what's going on on set, and she gives us lots of ideas about how we can do things better. Not only is she good at acting, but she also leads everyone behind the scenes. She's not a mood maker who actively tries to liven things up, but she's very considerate, so she's always in the dressing room, and will give us a nod if something happens. She'll even tactfully communicate things that might cause friction if we say them directly, and give us advice so that the set runs smoothly. She really is like a mother to everyone on set."
When asked why Ikewaki was chosen to play the mother, she gave an unexpected answer: "Actually, I hesitated for a long time about casting the role of Fumi."
"I decided on Okabe-san to play the father and Kohinata-san to play the grandfather right away, thinking, 'It would be interesting if we cast these two,' and I approached them early on. On the other hand, for the mother, I wondered, 'Who could play this role? It's a very difficult role,' and I thought about a lot of different people and had a hard time deciding..."
After much discussion among the production team, they decided on the casting direction, saying, "It can't be too comedic. It can't be too serious. It has to be someone who has the ability to bring everyone together when everyone else is doing whatever they want," and they came to the conclusion that "Ikewaki is the only one."
"I thought it would be a long shot, but I reached out to her and within a few days I got a reply saying she would be appearing. I was relieved and glad that she did, and there were so many things that we were able to do because of her, so I'm really grateful. I'm filming every day, feeling happy that she was in the show."
When Ikewaki's appearance was confirmed, Hashizume and director Murahashi Naoki reportedly told her, "Don't even try to make it funny. Please act seriously from start to finish."
"At the beginning, I often talked with Ikewaki-san and the other cast members about how 'it's fun because we're living seriously.' From the outside, they may look like they're doing something funny, but they're not trying to be funny; they're just living seriously. That's what makes them so entertaining. The other cast members are also conscious of this when they act, and Ikewaki-san's comedy scenes are the funniest because they're so real. I'm really impressed by how wonderful they are."
