Masaki Suda plays Takenaka Hanbei in the taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General TV, Sundays at 8pm and other times), starring Masaki Suda. He will make his official appearance in the ninth episode, "The Man Called Takenaka Hanbei," which will air on March 8th. This will be their eighth time acting together, and Suda spoke about the character, who he describes as "quite a geeky and interesting guy," thanks in part to suggestions from his "sworn friend" Nakano.
"BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" is the 65th taiga drama. It depicts the miracle of the Toyotomi brothers, Hidenaga (Koichiro) and his older brother Hideyoshi (Tōkichirō), who achieve the great feat of unifying the country through their strong bond. Nakano plays Koichiro, and Ikematsu Sosuke plays his older brother Tōkichirō.
Takenaka Hanbei, played by Sugata, is a famous military strategist representing the Sengoku period. He is said to have been a handsome man with a good knowledge of science and a keen wit. He served Saito Tatsuoki (played by Hamada Tatsuomi) of Mino Province, but later became Hideyoshi's chief strategist.
Regarding Takenaka Hanbei, written by screenwriter Yatsushi Hiroyuki in "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", Suda says, "He's pretty uncool."
"He shows off his dull, uncool side. That can be funny, or it can be sad. There are a lot of ways to portray him like that. There are quite a few times when I find myself thinking, 'Which is this?' If I say this line straight out, it sounds really lonely, but if I add a bit of nihilism, it sounds like he's trying to make fun of me. I often feel like I'm being tested."
Although he says he hasn't confirmed this interpretation with Yatsu, Suda feels that "he's trying to make him a humorous character." Nakano, who plays Koichiro, was also involved in creating Hanbei's character this time. "It was Nakano Taiga's suggestion, but wouldn't it be good to have someone who's quite geeky and funny?" Suda himself said, "I see," which made sense to him.
"There probably wasn't an expression like 'geek' in this era (the Warring States period), but I thought it would be good to portray the slightly creepy fun of an otaku who likes to tinker with models as humor. I think he'll have good chemistry with Hachisuka Masakatsu, played by Tsutomu Takahashi, and will also create a nice contrast with the lively Toyotomi brothers, which will make the flow of the conversation even more enjoyable."
For this reason, there will be scenes in the future that will make him think, "It's okay for me to be this stupid." He also hopes that these scenes will convey "not just the weight of life and death as a drama, but also the human charm of the character."
"In period dramas like this, the life-or-death battle scenes and final scenes are often dramatic, but when it comes to scenes of everyday life, I think it's up to us (Suda, Nakano, Ikematsu, Takahashi) to figure out how to communicate using the unfamiliar language (of period dramas). We do this by having a session with everyone, getting a laugh out of it, and realizing that while there was a bit of distance between us recently, we're now close enough to joke around and tease each other. It feels like we're creating these kinds of things in detail, little by little."
