Actress Rino Katase attended a press conference in Tokyo on June 30 for the upcoming drama series "The Couple and the 16-Year-Old ~The Mad Neighbor~" (TV Tokyo, Thursdays at 12:30 AM), which starts on July 2. Katase, who plays the lead role of Shiraishi Yoshiko, a self-proclaimed 16-year-old beauty, appeared in a pure white wedding dress, the same as the drama's main visual.
Katase said, "Do I look 16? I've been an actress for 50 years, but this is the first time I've played such a dynamic role. I feel like I've been given a very challenging role. Falling in love is fun," and smiled as she called her co-star, Issei Mamehara of the global boy group "JO1," by his character's name, saying, "Going to the set is fun, Hiro-kun."
Katase recalls that when she appeared in the movie "Yakuza Wives" at the age of 29, she thought, "I can continue being an actress for the rest of my life now." Furthermore, at the age of 49, she produced a swimwear brand called "Pretty Pikapika." Each of these was a major turning point for her, but she said, "I'm 69 this year, so it's been 20 years (29 and 49). I feel like, 'This is it.' I'm excited because I think meeting this character, Miko-chan, will be a milestone for me."
The original work is a manga of the same name by Pumpkin, which is currently being serialized independently on the manga app "Shonen Jump+". Shiraishi Miko, a 61-year-old woman who considers herself a 16-year-old beautiful girl, falls in love at first sight with Nomura Hiro (Mamehara), the handsome husband of a newlywed couple who live next door after she moves to a new place. Even though she knows he is married, Miko attacks the Nomura couple with all sorts of romantic tactics, thinking "If I love him, I'll just take him," and her innocence begins to run wild...
In addition to Katase and Mamehara, Yui Okada and Hayashi Meari also attended the press conference. TV Tokyo announcer Shigeta Miki served as the moderator.
