The first episode of the Fuji TV Getsuku drama "Saba-can, Uchuu e Iku" (Canned Mackerel Goes to Space), starring actor Takumi Kitamura , aired on April 13th. Kitamura's performance as the protagonist, rookie high school teacher Shunichi Asano, in his first role as a teacher, left a strong impression on viewers.
◇The following contains spoilers.
The drama is an original coming-of-age story based on the true story of students at a fisheries high school in Fukui Prefecture who challenged themselves to achieve their big dream of "developing space food."
Asano, who has been assigned to Wakasa Fisheries High School, learns that a large number of large jellyfish have appeared in the harbor, causing problems. He asks the students to "think about it together," and Nami ( Natsuki Deguchi) comes up with the idea that collagen and bittern can be extracted by removing the water from the jellyfish.
Nami and her friends attempted to make tofu using jellyfish and finally succeeded. Inspired by their success, Asano suggested they enter the "Hokuriku Regional Fisheries High School Student Research Presentation Competition." He encouraged them, saying, "If you're going to enter, you should aim to win. You won't know unless you try."
Asano had drastically rewritten the materials that Nami and the others had created for the competition, leading them to victory. However, he realized that by focusing too much on showing achievements such as data and numbers, he had crushed Nami and the others' genuine feelings. "What good does it do to crush the feelings of the students?" Asano reflected.
On social media, comments included: "The plot is moving fast and I'm looking forward to what happens next. Takumi Kitamura's portrayal of a rookie teacher suits him perfectly," "It was fun! Takumi's teacher is great," "Not only the students, but Mr. Asano is also still a nobody, and he's trying his best while feeling his way around, but he makes mistakes, and it's refreshing to see him realize that and move forward," and "I was energized by Mr. Asano's struggles."
