Takaishi Akari plays the heroine in the NHK morning drama "Bakeke" (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). In the 95th episode, which aired on February 13th, Nishikori (Yoshizawa Ryo) was absent to see off Heaven (Tommy Bastow) as he headed to Kumamoto. Nishikori, who was sitting at his desk in his room reading Heaven's "Japan Travel Journal," suddenly began coughing and coughing up blood. The episode ended with a shot of Nishikori's profile, eyes moist. We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, production supervisor, about Yoshizawa's performance in this scene.
◇The 95th episode ends with a scene filled with emotion
Although Nishikori is a main character, his background and inner thoughts have not been explored in depth until now. Hashizume explains, "In preparation for the 19th week, we have been gradually depicting his background, the position he is in, and the type of relationship he wants to have with Heaven."
"Nishida Sentaro, who was the model for Nishikori, was also extremely talented but suffered a series of misfortunes. I created the character of Nishikori by thinking about how one can live in such circumstances. I think the final scene of the 95th episode is filled with that feeling."
At the end of the episode, there was a silent scene of Nishikori coughing up blood that lasted for about 54 seconds.
"We filmed Yoshizawa's performance in a silent studio. The actual footage used in the drama was just over 50 seconds, but we filmed for two or three minutes, and some of the staff were moved by Yoshizawa's acting, and some had tears in their eyes."
Hashizume recalls, "I think there were many ways to portray it, but Yoshizawa's acting is so amazing that it really doesn't need to be explained in words, so in the end I came to the conclusion that I could convey everything through his acting alone."
"When I was writing the script, I didn't want Nishikori to talk about his situation, but rather to express through his acting what he was thinking and pondering, so I created a flow for the story and wrote it so that it would all come together in the 95th scene. There are many ways to interpret what Nishikori is thinking, and I don't think we know 100% at this point, but we will continue to depict why he didn't go to the dock and what he really wanted to become, so I hope that viewers will join me in thinking about these things."
◇Will Nishikori's thoughts become clear in the future?
The set of Nishikori's room also enhanced the charm of Yoshizawa's performance. Hashizume said, "Nishida Sentaro's house in Matsue remains as it was back then, and it seems that Nishida actually spent time in the attic. The room conveys the image of him studying in the dark, surrounded by books, with the light from the window, while he was really suffering, so we used that as a reference when creating the set."
"Although it's barely visible on the screen, various things, such as Nishikori's thoughts up to now, are written on the wall. Yoshizawa-san stepped inside that wall and, carrying Nishikori's past thoughts, expressed a variety of expressions and thoughts."
Yoshizawa visited Nishida Sentaro's home with Hashizume and other production staff, and read through his diary and letters. Hashizume said, "I was able to come into contact with Nishida Sentaro's thoughts, and I think that has helped me with my acting and character development."
When asked about future developments, Hashizume replied, "This is not the end of Nishikori's story."
"After this, Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven go to Kumamoto and are separated from Nishikori, but how will Nishikori, Heaven, and Toki finally convey their true feelings to each other? Editing of this scene has been completed and there is no sound yet, but it has turned out to be a very good scene at the editing stage. What feelings does Nishikori have, and how will he resolve them, or will he not? I hope you will look forward to future developments."
