Sato plays the lead character Origuchi Yaichi who is a father raising his daughter Natsuna (Nemoto Maharu) singlehandedly. One day, Mike Flanagan (Baruto), a Canadian who married Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryouji, comes to visit Yaichi with the news that Ryouji had passed away recently. Although Yaichi does not look upon Mike favourably at first due to his homosexuality and nationality and doesn't know how to interact with him, Yaichi gradually changes his mindset and attitude after interacting with the latter who stays with them. Yaichi's ex-wife Natsuki will be played by Nakamura.
Sato commented at the beginning of the event that he was put at ease when he saw the final version of episode 1 which was full of warm exchanges between the characters and offered food for thought to the viewers. Although it was hard for him to express it in words, he hoped that the drama would leave an impression on viewers and get them thinking about the issues featured. Baruto who is making his debut in a drama series, said that when he was reading the original manga, he felt that Mike was just like him but admitted that he was deliberating a lot on whether to take up this drama. In the end, he joked that he decided to go ahead since filming of dramas allow NGs unlike stage plays where you can't afford to fumble.
When asked to reflect on the filming, Sato said that Baruto was very good at conveying his feelings through his eyes even if there were scenes without lines. Nakamura then chipped in to say that the only worry she had for Baruto was whether he would be satisfied with the portion size of their bento. In response, Baruto said that it was enough but Sato added on that Baruto's meaning of the bento being enough actually included the bentos his wife made for him which made the latter slightly embarrassed.
The producer said that the biggest problem in casting was choosing who to play Mike. At the suggestion of staff members, they chose Baruto but there was still a bit of concern whether he could manage the acting although he looked similar to Mike. However, after watching a stage play which Baruto appeared in, he was convinced that the latter would be able to play Mike well.
As the drama's theme touches on LGBT, Sato said that after acting in this drama, he started to wonder how he would react if his child was to admit that he or she liked people of the same gender. Although he would want to support his child, he also came to realise that his words and actions in the past might have unwittingly hurt those in the LGBT community before. However, as Tagame put it, the most important thing is to build awareness first so they would be happy if the drama becomes the catalyst to get people aware of this issue. Baruto then answered that his thinking was simple and similar to Tagame's i.e. people are all human beings and the only difference is just that we have varying preferences.
Source: Natalie
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