In the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake " (NHK General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring Akari Akari Takaishi as the heroine, Shogo Hama Hama plays Takichi Shoda, an English teacher at Matsue Junior High School. We spoke to Chief Producer Kuniomi Hashizume, who is in charge of production, about the appeal of Hama's acting and the reasons for casting him.
◇Shoda is "almost an original character"
Shoda, played by Hama, is a talented young man from Matsue and a long-time friend of Nishikori (played by Ryo Yoshizawa). While Nishikori is known as a "master of the game," Shoda calls himself "a little less than half of him." In episode 85 (broadcast on January 30), he finally made up his mind to propose to Sawa (Wan Marui), but his feelings were not fulfilled.
Regarding Shoda's character setting, Hashizume revealed, "He's a mostly original character, but I used a person named Taichiro Honjo as inspiration."
"We're both from Saikacho, Matsue, the same town as Nishida Sentaro, the model for Nishikori, and are roughly the same age. We went to elementary school in Saikacho and Matsue Junior High School, and worked together at Matsue Junior High School at the same time. We see in the play how they move to Tokyo to become teachers and take exams together. In the future, Shoda will become a great educator, but the character of Shoda is completely original, and I only used his way of life as inspiration."
Hashizume explains Shoda as "a slightly shy man with little experience with women, who appears to be extremely talented from the outside, but has an even more talented friend named Nishikori, and feels inferior because he himself is not at the top. He shines brightly despite his struggles, and he comes across as a genuine young man with no bad points."
"Depending on how he plays the role, he can also be portrayed as a man with something ulterior motive, but if such a man gets close to Sawa or Nishikori, a whole new drama will begin. I wanted to make it seem like the situation around him becomes more pronounced with the appearance of an innocent man," he revealed, and added, "I think I've cast someone who can embody that perfectly," revealing his confidence in casting Hama.
◇ Shogo Hama, who plays Shoda, is a "good-looking man." What is his appeal?
Hama's appearance was decided by an offer, not an audition. Regarding Hama's charm, Hashizume said, "He's a great guy. He's a very good-looking young man, and you can really tell, 'This guy must be a good person.' I think that personality shines through in his acting."
"Hama-san is very well-organized, calm, and has a neutral acting style, so I was wondering what would happen when he joined the ' Bakebake' team. When I saw him actually act, he was very honest and straightforward, and was perfect for the role of Shoda. It seems that all the staff in the studio had the same impression as me."
In the 17th week, Shoda's feelings of being attracted to Sawa were depicted, but Hashizume reflected, "In the scenes where he is walking with Sawa or eating with her, there is no sense of ulterior motive. I thought it was wonderful that there was no unpleasantness."
"Shoda doesn't appear in many scenes, and his background is barely described. He's a character with a lot of room for improvement, so at first Hama seemed unsure about playing him, and he was unsure which direction to take the performance. So when I first met Hama, we had a thorough discussion about the Shoda character we had in mind."
Hama himself said that it was almost his first time playing a straightforward character like Shoda.
"It seems that Hama-san has often played slightly bad characters, so he said, 'It's a new experience for me to play such an innocent person.' He also said, 'I was very worried about playing that kind of role,' but from his acting I felt that it was precisely this innocent man that resonated with what Hama-san himself is. He really is perfect for the role of Shoda," he said, expressing his immense trust in Hama-san.
