Actor Yui Narumi, who also garnered attention for her role as a lawyer in NHK's "Drama 10 'Themis's Uncertain Courtroom'," will play a supporting role as a young director at a video production company in the new drama series "100 Days Until We Part" (MBS, TBS, etc.), which starts on May 26th. With expectations rising after her excellent performance in "Themis's Uncertain Courtroom," what kind of work is "100 Days Until We Part"? We spoke with Narumi, who revealed, "I want to continue growing not only as an actor, but also as a person."
◇Shiho, the character I play, is "the character that is closest to the viewer's perspective."
"My Boyfriend and I Will Break Up in 100 Days" is based on the novel of the same name by Naoto Asahara, known for his novel "What She Likes Is a Homosexual, Not Me," which has been adapted into a TV drama and a film. The lead roles are played by Kentaro Ito and Kanichiro. The two play Yuma Kasuga and Itsuki Hasegawa, who, despite having already broken up, are forced to play the role of the "ideal same-sex couple."
Yuma (played by Ito) and Itsuki (played by Kanichiro) gain public attention when an interview they gave about a partnership oath system for sexual minorities goes viral on social media for being "cute." They then receive a request to be featured in a documentary about their 100 days of living together. Driven by a desire to spread understanding of homosexuality, Yuma accepts the offer...
Narumi plays Shiho Kayano, a young director who takes over a project from her senior colleague who is on maternity leave and is tasked with interviewing Yuma and Itsuki. Unaware that Yuma and Itsuki, who pretend to be a loving couple in front of the camera, have already broken up, Shiho is determined to document them as they truly are.
While Shiho is ambitious when it comes to her work, Narumi believes she is "the character who is closest to the viewer's perspective."
"The story is often told from Shiho's perspective, and I think she also plays a role similar to that of a storyteller. In the process, as Shiho works on the project, she realizes that she has been treating Yuma and Itsuki not as people, but as tools to improve the work. She must have thought, 'I would never do something like that,' and 'I will face them without prejudice.' But when she looks at the truth, she realizes that she had been prejudiced against many things, and she is greatly shocked. I think viewers will feel the same way at that moment, and I think she is a character that they can empathize with."
◇Insights and lessons learned from the work: "It has a complexity that cannot be easily understood."
Narumi reflects that she gained a great deal of insight and learning through the work and the role. "As I was reading the script, I thought I didn't have any prejudices against Yuma and Itsuki, but the moment I realized, 'Wait, I do have prejudices,' was at the same time as Shiho," she says.
"I realized that the idea of 'trying not to be prejudiced' might be a little off. Not being prejudiced is absolutely impossible, but it's probably difficult for me. So, first, I need to know that there are people who have different values than my own. I learned from this work that this 'knowing' is important."
Narumi sees the drama as a work with "a complexity that cannot be easily understood," including these realizations and lessons learned.
"At first glance, it might seem like a work that raises issues about LGBTQ+ issues, but it's not just about the same-sex couple Yuma and Itsuki. It also carefully depicts Shiho's own worries and struggles as a woman, as well as the worries and struggles of Shiho's senior colleague returning to work after maternity leave, all over the course of the six episodes. It has an appeal that defies categorization and a complexity that can't be easily understood, so I hope you'll watch the first episode, which unfolds in a documentary style, all the way to the end."
In recent years, Narumi has been taking on more important roles, but she frankly reveals, "People sometimes say that I'm completely different depending on the role, like a different person, but I still think that I can't do something that isn't inside me." We then asked her about her aspirations for the future as an actress.
"At this point, I believe that I cannot play a character unless I can empathize with them to some extent. So, it's a prerequisite that I can think, 'If I were this character,' within myself. In addition to that, I also have a curiosity to go into the unknown, so I hope to encounter new professions through my roles. That was the case with the lawyer role in 'Themis's...' and with my previous roles as well. This time, playing the director role has given me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge, and I feel like I'm growing as a person, which is incredibly rewarding as an actor. So, I want to continue growing not only as an actor, but also as a person."
"My Boyfriend and I Will Break Up in 100 Days" airs on MBS every Tuesday at 12:59 AM and on TBS every Tuesday at 1:26 AM. It also airs on CBC, RKB, and HBC. (Rokuto Kishibe/MANTANWEB)
