Filming for the TV Asahi drama "Reborn ~The Last Hero~" (Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actor Issei Takahashi, which will begin airing on April 14th, took place in Tokyo, and we had exclusive access to the set for interviews.
The drama tells the story of a man's "rebirth," who is reincarnated as someone else and given a second chance at life. Mitsumasa Neo, the president of the IT company "NEOXIS," who had achieved immense wealth and fame, was pushed down the stairs by someone and supposedly died...but he time-slips 14 years into the past, to 2012. He is "reincarnated" as Hideto Nomoto, the heir to a dry cleaning shop in a dilapidated shopping street. Hideto (with Mitsumasa's mind) searches for the person who killed him and confronts the upper class from the perspective of an ordinary person. Takahashi plays both Mitsumasa and Hideto in the drama.
The scene filmed that day featured the heroine Anne Nakamura, along with the other "shopping street members" including Fumiyo Kohinata, Kayoko Kishimoto, Shingo Yanagisawa, Hisato Kokubo, Takafumi Imai, Ryota Murai, and Kai Yamano. The atmosphere on set was friendly and cheerful throughout, centered around Yanagisawa, and even with repeated retakes, the atmosphere never became tense, and laughter was constant.
When Yanagisawa exclaimed, "I'm tired!", those around him immediately retorted, "So you do get tired sometimes (laughs)." Just before filming began, Yanagisawa suddenly said, "There was a fire safety inspection today," which caused laughter, and the leader, Takahashi, watched the lighthearted exchange with a smile.
When asked about the atmosphere on set, Nakamura smiled and said, "Issei is playing two roles, but I think he's enjoying the filming of the shopping street scenes, which have a different atmosphere from NEOXIS. I feel like we're all coming together as one." He continued, "Shingo is really amazing (laughs). He creates the atmosphere on set and leads the way. It's hard to create this kind of atmosphere with just the younger people, so he's very considerate and creates a comfortable space for everyone," he said gratefully.
