Actor Keita Machida recently appeared in costume with co-star Miki Fujimoto and others at a press conference held at Nippon Television's Ikuta Studio (Tama Ward, Kawasaki City) for the NTV Saturday drama "Tatsuki-sensei is Too Sweet!" (Saturdays at 9 PM), in which he stars and which starts on April 11th. Machida, who plays Tatsuki Ukita, the overly sweet head of a free school, explained about filming, "There have been so many discoveries and surprises. The children's energy is incredible, so I have to put out even more energy." He also revealed an anecdote about consulting with Fujimoto, who is actually a parent and interacts with children, which enlivened the event.
Machida confessed, "We only did the filming in the morning, but normally when we're filming, I'm already at the same energy level from the afternoon until late at night. There's no on or off time at all. I thought, 'This is bad.'" He continued, "There are a lot of things I don't know, so I consulted with Fujimoto-san, who is a senior actor, asking, 'What should I do in situations like this?' If I do everything the kids ask me to do, I won't have any time for myself, so I asked, 'What should I do in situations like that?'" Fujimoto replied with a laugh, "I told him, 'Just do it casually, in a good way.' If you go all out, you'll get exhausted, so if the kids do something, just say 'Okay' for now..." Machida laughed and said, "That made things a little easier, really."
At the end of the press conference, Machida commented, "I truly believe that this energy will be conveyed to everyone through the screen, and I hope that children who are troubled about something or who are working hard, and adults who were once children, will watch it and be energized by it." He added, "That's how much energy we all put into the filming. Normally I would say, 'Please watch it,' but this time, you absolutely must watch it," and concluded.
The drama tells the story of Tatsuki, the overly sweet head of the free school "Yukanai," who connects with children through art and play, helping them discover the feelings they have kept hidden deep inside. The script is written by Koji Tokuo, known for "Ossan's Love," and directed by Yuma Suzuki, known for "After School Doctor."
The press conference that day was held in the drama's set, in the space in front of where the children appearing in the show were playing. Honoka Matsumoto and Yosuke Eguchi were also in attendance. Kokoro Terada was absent due to illness.
