Endo plays the role of Daidoji Tamotsu, a 51-year-old department manager in a mid-size trading company who is so immersed in work that he had no chance of getting married in the past. One day, he meets a 28-year-old woman and is so smitten by her that he finally makes up his mind to spend the rest of his life with her. On the other hand, Watabe plays Hanazawa Kiichiro, the 51-year-old father of Daidoji's girlfriend who works in a top-class trading company as the youngest director to date. He leads a happy life with his wife and 3 children and believes that he has the ideal family. Tamotsu aspires to form a happy family with his girlfriend especially after witnessing how the Hanazawa family gets along well with one another but faces strong opposition from Kiichiro who cannot tolerate the notion of his son-in-law being the same age as him and bans Tamotsu from calling him "Otousan".
Endo commented that at his age, it is more likely that he would play a father role but he is very happy to be able to land this character who looks scary on the surface but is actually a kind and honest boyfriend. As the story's premise is very interesting, he is looking forward to playing Tamotsu in his first primetime drama as the lead. In addition, as he has worked with Watabe many times in the past, he is confident that they will be able to produce an entertaining comedy together with their co-stars and staff. On the other hand, Watabe commented that in this age where a lot of the dramas tend to be adaptations, he is happy to see an original story this time and hopes to make a good drama for viewers to enjoy.
Source: Oricon
The story looks interesting! and So happy to see Endo Kenichi as one of the leads, another fun role from him to look at.
ReplyDeleteKinda surprised to know that the actors themselves wish for an original story and prefer it, so they are aware that currently too much adaptations being made.
Too much of everything is not good. In the past when there were not that many adaptations, many dramas based on original scripts did really well. Not to say that all adaptations are bad but you cannot deny that the creativity and ability to improvise on set will be restricted within the boundaries of the original work or author to some extent. On the other hand, you also have productions on the other extreme where they change too many things and end up destroying the original's appeal.
ReplyDeleteEndo and Watabe have been around for a long time to see and experience the changes in the drama scene over the last 20 years or so. That's probably why they feel that it's better to do original stories which can be more fulfilling for the cast and crew to a certain extent. I think it's good that they are candid about this rather than hide their true preferences.
Happy to see Endo Kenichi getting more leading roles recently - first Tamiou, and now this. I am very pleased that he and Watabe Atsuro will be in the same drama! It's true what Watabe said, that there are too many adaptations and it's like the creativity is going downhill. There won't be truly 100% original stories, so the trick lies in the storytelling and execution to keep things fresh. Fingers crossed for a good, solid drama that will make good use of the talents on offer!
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