Production press conference of FujiTV Summer 2017 drama "Seshiru no Mokuromi"

The production press conference of FujiTV Summer 2017 drama "Seshiru no Mokuromi" (Cecile's Plot) was held on 2 July which was attended by cast members Maki Youko, Ito Ayumi, Kichise Michiko, Itaya Yuka and Hasegawa Kyoko. The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by Yuikawa Kei, marks Maki's first leading role in a drama in 2 years. The name Cecile in the title comes from the French novel Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan where a young girl with good looks plots something sinister as she grapples with the struggles and troubles of being a woman.

The story features Maki as the lead character Nao who is a housewife and has not been paying much attention to her appearance for a long time as she is caught up with taking care of her husband and son who is in the first year of junior high school. By chance, she is scouted to become a readers' model by a fashion magazine Vanity where she comes face to face with jealousy, the need to keep up appearances and rivalry in this industry. Through her interaction with various women in different life situations, she undergoes a transformation both externally and psychologically. Co-stars include Kichise Michiko who plays Hamaguchi Yukako, the No.1 charismatic model grappling with loneliness, Ito Ayumi who is Okita Eri, a single freelance writer worried about her future and is the one who scouted Nao as well as Itaya Yuka who plays the chief editor of Vanity named Kurosawa Junko and Hasegawa Kyoko as Yasunaga Maiko who used to be the No.2 model at Vanity and is a commentator appearing on TV programmes now.

When asked about her thoughts about her character Nao, Maki revealed that she could identify with the views of Nao who is portrayed as someone who loves her family very much. In response to the question on when she feels happy in her private life, Maki said that upon seeing the family members she loves being happy, she will also feel the same. As such, she suggested changing one of the lines Nao said in the first episode to reflect this view in a clearer way.

In response to the drama's title, the cast were also asked about their "plots" for this summer. Kichise said that she would like to work on building her ab muscles especially after seeing Maki's abs during the poster shooting. Even though they both are mothers, Kichise was so impressed by Maki's abs that she wants to examine how to go about achieving the same effect. However, Maki said that she hasn't done anything special and attributed this to her being in the athletics team when she was in junior high so she has had well-defined ab muscles since then.

Itaya then said that she would like to devote her full effort to this drama after Maki told them during the script-reading session to follow her lead this summer. Although Itaya was impressed with Maki's words and how she behaved like a manly woman, Maki herself seemed to have forgotten what she said then. On the other hand, Hasegawa said that she would like to become a yoga instructor and aim to achieve the headstand pose in a beautiful manner.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Oricon