Takaishi Akari plays the heroine in the NHK morning drama "Bakeke" (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others). In the 85th episode, which aired on January 30th, a scene was depicted in which Sawa (Marui Wan) rejects Shoda's (Hama Shogo) confession. I'm sure there were many viewers who predicted the two would end up together, but what was the "intention" behind this turn of events? We asked Hashizume Kuniomi, the production manager.
In episode 85, Shoda was the first to tell Sawa that he would be working as an English teacher at Matsue Junior High School. Sawa congratulated him, saying, "You're so cool, Shoda. I love your teaching. Congratulations." Shoda then made up his mind and confessed, "Let's get married. Starting next month, I'll give you 25 yen a month. With that, I'll pay off your debts and move out of the tenement." However, Sawa refused to agree.
Hashizume says, "In a sense, Sawa is 'another Toki.' I think Toki (Takaishi) could have had the potential to live a life like Sawa's. I think these two are opposing figures."
"As Shoda said, Toki is a Cinderella. She married a good man, Heaven, and they live a good life together. If you ask me if she has accomplished anything on her own, I don't think that's the case. On the other hand, Sawa is not like that. It's because Toki is close by that she is under a ``spell'' that she will never become Cinderella. I think the thought of ``leaving the tenement on my own'' was also binding Sawa," he explained.
In the same episode, Toki comes to see Sawa after she rejects Shoda's confession. Sawa bursts into tears and tells him, "It's all your fault. I can't be you. I can't walk the same path as you. I can't be Cinderella." Toki gently embraces her best friend.
Hashizume said, "Of course, I think she could have married Shoda and had a happy future. I could have continued working as a teacher while he supported me. But that's just how life is sometimes. We end up binding ourselves because of the goals we set for ourselves. Sawa also knows that she is bound by her own goals, but she still cries and says, 'It's Toki's fault.' I thought that maybe that's just how life is, so I decided to end it this way."
He revealed that the story of Sawa and Shoda will "come up again," but it will be interesting to see how it will be portrayed, whether they will develop into a romantic relationship or whether they will start moving forward with a new relationship.
