The press conference for NHK BS drama SP "Rugged!" was held on 5 Dec which was attended by the cast members Ashida Mana, Iwaki Koichi, Ishida Ayumi, Kurosawa Toshio, Ono Takehiko and Maeda Gin. The drama SP which will be shown on 21st and 28th February at 7.30pm, features Ashida as a 10-year-old girl Noa who has to take over her father's company after he passed away while trying to get back JPY 300m from a fraud group which had cheated him. Thanks to the help of a group of elderly men, Noa manages to tap into their skills and experience to fight against the bad people around her.
This is Ashida's first leading role in a NHK role and she commented that it is a very interesting experience to play the president of a factory but it's something unlikely to happen in reality. However, she is very happy about taking on this challenging role and hoped that she won't be a burden to her co-stars who are more than 50 years older than her.
Source:
Sponichi
