Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). In the 46th episode (broadcast on December 1st), it was revealed that Matsue Middle School student Kotani Haruo (Shimokawa Kyohei) has feelings for Toki (Takaishi). We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the production supervisor for this series, about the reasons for casting Shimokawa and the appeal of his acting.
Shimokawa is 21 years old and was born on August 11, 2004, in Hokkaido. He attracted attention for his role in the film "National Treasure" (directed by Lee Sang-il), starring Yoshizawa Ryo, in the role of Ryo Yoshizawa Tokuji, the best friend of the protagonist Tachibana Kikuo, played as a boy by Kurokawa Soya. In "Bakebake", he was selected alongside Sugita Rairin and Yukito Hidaka from an audition that saw 287 people take part, and plays Kotani, a student at Matsue Junior High School who is a student of Heaven (played by Tommy Bastow).
Hashizume recalls, "Filming had already begun, so we held auditions with a carefully selected group of people."
"Shimokawa's performance in 'National Treasure' was fantastic, and he has also worked with Takaishi on a film, so he's a very talented actor. I think he's a versatile actor who can do a lot of different things, and I thought that his dexterity would be a good match for the character of Kotani, so I cast him."
Before taking the audition, Shimokawa told Takaishi, "I'm going to audition for ' Bakebake'," and Takaishi sent her a message of encouragement saying, "Do your best."
"Takaishi-san said he was sure that Shimokawa would be chosen for the role of Kotani. He was such a perfect fit for the role, and to be honest, I was so impressed that I wondered if it would actually be interesting to cast someone who was such a perfect fit for the role (laughs). He's a truly wonderful actor."
In the 10th week, the romance between Kotani and Toki will be depicted, but is there a real person who served as the model for Kotani?
"There are some people I used as inspiration, but the character is mostly original. Otani was one of Hearn's students, who moved to Tokyo, graduated from the Imperial University, and helped Hearn and Setsu. There's an episode in which Hearn became jealous because Otani and Setsu seemed to have a good relationship during their time in Tokyo, so I used that as inspiration when creating the character."
Toki suddenly feels a premonition of love. How will his relationship with Kotani be portrayed? Also, when will his love with Heaven progress? I'm looking forward to future developments.
