Actor Amane Okayama stars in NHK's evening drama "Hira Yasumi" (General TV, Monday to Thursday, 10:45 p.m.). The live-action drama is based on the manga of the same name by Keigo Shinzo, which has been serialized in Weekly Big Comic Spirits since 2021. The casting, including Okayama as the protagonist Hiroto, has been a hot topic. Among them, Nana Mori, who plays Natsumi, who also has many scenes like Okayama, has been receiving praise, with comments such as "Nana Mori's gestures as Nacchan are just like in the manga, they're amazing," and "I think Nana Mori is the best at recreating 'Hira Yasumi'."
◇The characters of the live-action "Hira Yasumi" who live in everyday life
The drama tells the story of 29-year-old part-time worker Hiroto Ikuta (Okayama) who inherits a single-story house from his neighbor Hanae Wada (Negishi Tokie) and begins living with his 18-year-old cousin Natsumi Kobayashi (Mori), who has moved to Tokyo from Yamagata. People with difficult life problems gather around them...
Riho Yoshioka plays Tachibana Yomogi, who works at a real estate company, Mitsushima Nazuna plays Yokoyama Akari, Natsumi's friend who attends art school, and Yoshimura Kaito plays Noguchi Hideki, Hiroto's best friend from high school who is a bit of a liar and has a clear conscience.
Like the original work, the drama is set in Asagaya, Tokyo, and if you know the area even a little, familiar (or so it seems) scenery frequently appears as part of everyday life. It's a work with a mysterious charm that is satisfying just by watching the expressions and gestures of the characters Hiroto, Natsumi, Yomogi and others who live there. The high level of reproduction of the atmosphere and warmth that cannot be created by simply quoting lines from the manga shows the careful drama production and respect for the original work.
◇Not just an imitation of the original? Mori Nana's lively appearance
Among them, Mori-san, who plays Natsumi, stands out. Natsumi, also known as "Natchan," is the cousin of the main character Hiroto. She moved to Tokyo from Yamagata to attend art school. She has a competitive personality, but can also be shy and self-conscious. She secretly dreams of becoming a manga artist, but has a mysterious prejudice that "drawing manga = otaku = embarrassing," so she has not told anyone that she draws manga. However, her dream is eventually discovered by Hiroto, Hideki, and Akari. At the end of the 12th episode (broadcast on November 20th), she is shown surprised and delighted to receive news that the manga she submitted has won an award.
I wrote that he is "extremely self-conscious," but Natsumi's reactions and behavior in response to these situations go beyond that of a typical "second-year middle schooler" and are almost like that of an elementary school boy. Furthermore, Natsumi is basically self-centered, lazy, and sometimes depressed, but he never makes the viewer feel disgusted by him, and the way he balances this is truly exquisite.
It's not an imitation of the original work at all, but rather a high level of "resolution" as "Natsumi played by Mori Nana." It feels like it's been a while since we've seen Mori-san so lively in a terrestrial TV drama, but that must mean she's perfectly suited to the role. I can't wait to see Mori-san's acting in the remaining two weeks.
