Monday, July 17, 2017

Production press conference of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Kanna-san!"

The production press conference of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Kanna-san!" was held on 13 July which was attended by cast members Watanabe Naomi, Kaname Jun, Kudo Asuka, Triendl Reina, Kawahara Eito and Saito Yuki. The drama begins its run from 18 July in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot.

The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Fukaya Kahoru serialised in manga magazine "YOU" between 2001 and 2007 and features Watanabe as a fashion designer Kanna. Although she has a handsome husband Rei (Kaname), Kanna discovers that he is having an affair and she also has to cope with her difficult mother-in-law (Saito). At work, she is bullied by her unreasonable boss. Despite these daily challenges in life, Kanna tries her best to live positively for the sake of her beloved son Reon (Kawahara).

Watanabe commented even though her onscreen husband Rei is a scumbag for cheating on her, Kanna can't bring herself to hate him. In response, Kaname said that he is prepared to be disliked by the female viewers when he took on this role because Rei has three very much-hated traits in men i.e. having an affair, having a mother complex and being indecisive. As such, he joked that he has to watch his back when he goes out in case people take out their dislike for Rei on him.

As for landing her first leading role in a drama, Watanabe said that to be able to stand in the middle of the stage with her co-stars makes her very happy although she is well aware of the pressure and responsibility that comes with it. As such, she hopes to be able to do her best with everyone in Team Kanna even as she may be lacking in some areas.

With regard to child actor Kawahara who plays her son, Watanabe said that he may look like a pampered child at times but when it's time for the filming, she is impressed by how well and professionally he acts and feels like she can't match up to him even though he's just three years old. Saito also revealed that Kawahara would keep looking for Watanabe whenever she's not around as if they are really mother-and-son. Kawahara was visibly nervous on stage and gave short answers most of the time until he was asked about what he liked about Kanna-san i.e. Watanabe. He then answered that he likes her big size and how she eats a lot which made Watanabe exclaim that he must have been taught to say those answers.

As for Saito who plays a grandmother for the first time, she said that she is enjoying the filming with her daughter-in-law who looks like a cute walking doll, a handsome son and a cute grandson. Although the story is supposed to be a comedy, her character says a lot of lines with malice even though she herself may not be doing it on purpose.

Kudo who plays a kindergarten teacher, was praised by Watanabe for being very attentive to the children while filming in this hot weather and getting along well with them like a real teacher. Kudo explained that as he is the eldest in the family with 1 younger brother and 3 younger sisters, he is used to interacting with children as he sees them like his siblings when they were much younger. However, kids at the age of three or four tend to be quite a handful so it's also tough at times to deal with them.

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