How a Popular Smartphone Game Turned into a Drama Starring Katagiri Hairi
“This year’s autumn dramas are said to be a bumper crop. Among these dramas, there is one that has been slowly gaining popularity since it started airing and has become a secret boom. This is ” Tokyo Negan Shokudo,” which airs every Wednesday at 1:00 a.m. on TV Tokyo.
It is set on Izu Oshima Island, an hour and 45 minute boat ride from Takeshiba, Tokyo. The story is about a former judge, Hinaiko Mano, played by Katagiri, who retired from judging people and came to this island to live quietly and interact with the islanders.
During her short stay, she comes into contact with the people of the island and reflects on her way of life, returning to her daily life with a look on her face as if she had unloaded a heavy burden. The story is full of humanity, and the “gourmet food unique to Oshima” served at Fudaiya heals the viewers.
The original idea was “Kusaya Shokudo”.
The words “izakaya” and “gourmet” may ring a bell for some people in TV Tokyo. Yes, one of the producers of this drama is Mr. Kenji Yoshimi, who has worked on such popular works as “Gourmet of Solitude” and “Meshina Keiji Tachibana. I asked Mr. Yoshimi about the appeal of “Tokyo Negan Shokudo”.
“Whenever I receive such comments from people who have watched the drama, I feel really happy.
Kusaya was the first thing that inspired the concept of this drama. It is a specialty of the Izu Islands, and it is that dried fish that gives off a strong smell.
If you have seen the film, you will know that it plays an important role in the drama. Kusaya is a really strange food, and many people have never eaten it because they dislike its smell. However, once you try it, you will be fascinated by the flavor that lies behind the strong smell.
I was like that myself. It’s like being hit on the head, or to put it bluntly, it’s a shock that changes the way you think about food. I’ve always wondered if I could make a film in which a person who is troubled or tired of something eats a cassia and the shock changes his life. That’s why I started out thinking of a drama called “Kusaya Shokudo” (laughs).
(laughs) It was while I was thinking about this that the idea of making a drama set on an island came up. There were several candidates, but Oshima is famous for its kusaya. I thought that if we set the story on Oshima, we could make an interesting drama using the pods as a hook.
I thought that if we set the story in Oshima, we could create an interesting drama with Kusaya as the hook. The story is set in a tavern that is far from the bustle of the city, and from the city’s point of view, it looks abandoned, and people from outside the island visit the tavern. People from outside the island would visit the tavern, and while eating the delicious food of the island, such as kusaya, and interacting with the islanders, they would gain a new sense of values and return to the place where they used to be.
In the midst of the prolonged corona that prevents travel, you can feel like you are on a short trip to a remote island. That may be the reason why this drama is so popular.
The director of this film, Mr. Hidenobu Abella, explains the appeal of Oshima, the setting of the film, saying , “The greatest fortune for me was that I came across the island of Oshima.
“Oshima is an island with a mysterious charm. It is surrounded by nature and all kinds of delicious food, but unlike Ishigaki Island or Sado Island, there are no major tourist attractions. Even though it takes less than two hours from Tokyo by boat, the address is Tokyo, so it is not a place where dialects are prominent. Of course, the islanders are kind to me, but they don’t give me a big welcome like they do on remote islands, saying, “Thank you for coming! But it’s not like the remote islands where they welcome you with a big “welcome! When I go to Oshima, I feel a bit neglected even though I’m here on vacation. But that sense of distance is comfortable.
The protagonist, Hinako, came to the island after retiring as a judge, but the islanders do not force her to find out about her past and treat her with a moderate distance. That’s just right for Hinako. I would be happy if you could feel the atmosphere of the island through this drama.
The underlying theme is “paid vacation terrorism,” not “food terrorism. People who watch this drama will want to take a paid vacation tomorrow and go somewhere to get away from the busyness and worries of everyday life.
Katagiri Hairi’s first starring role. The story is set in Oshima. A new concept of “paid vacation terrorism”… This drama has many advantages, but there is one more thing that should be mentioned. It is the presence of a sponsor.
It would be easy to understand if it were sponsored by the Izu Oshima Tourist Association, but it is fully supported by a smartphone game called “Abandoned Girl” run by a company called C4 Connect. A mismatch between a smartphone game and a pub on Oshima would be hard to find in the average mind. However, there was a surprising purpose behind it.
Because it’s Teletubbies
Abandoned Girl” is a popular game that has been downloaded over 8 million times since its release in March 2017. The game is popular for its worldview, in which warlords and heroes from various eras become beautiful girl characters and fight fiercely in a turbulent world, but it has also attracted attention for its unique system that goes against conventional games, in which the more you “leave” your characters without playing the game, the more experience you gain and the stronger your equipment becomes. The more you leave your character unattended, the more experience you gain and the more powerful your equipment becomes.
…Although the word “neglect” is in the title, why did “Tokyo Neglected Restaurant”, which has nothing to do with “smartphone games” or “beautiful girls”, emerge from “Neglected Girl”?
Yohei Terahara, the producer of the drama and a member of TV Tokyo’s Distribution Business Department, explains this mystery.
It is natural for people to wonder what the connection is between this drama and “Abandoned Girl. Needless to say, there is no relationship between the two when it comes to the story and the worldview (laughs).
(laughs) So far, TV Tokyo has produced “Loneliness Gourmet,” “Saudo,” which is set in saunas all over Japan, and “A Night in August at the Batting Center,” which portrays human relationships at a batting center. which depicts human relationships at a batting center.
The aim of these dramas was to encourage people who were tired of their work and daily lives to take a break after working hard, and to give them a kind of healing. I felt that I was able to provide viewers with a new sense of values and lifestyle other than that of working hard, by showing them the concept of “solitary eating” in “Gourmet of Solitude” and the sense of “togetherness” in “Sado.
While working on such unique dramas, I was talking with Mr. Yoshimi about the possibility of creating a work set on an island. As Mr. Yoshimi mentioned earlier about “Kusaya,” we thought that we could create a new world view, different from “Gourmet of Solitude” and “Sado,” by featuring foods that we don’t usually eat and by creating a drama set on an island that we don’t often have a chance to visit. I thought about it.
I thought it would be interesting to create such a work, and then C4 Connect, the company behind “Abandoned Girl,” suggested that we create a drama based on the theme of “abandonment.
With “Gourmet of Solitude” and “Sado” becoming big hits, TV Tokyo is receiving an increasing number of proposals to “convey the appeal of new services and products through collaboration with lifestyle dramas. “Abandoned Girl” was one of them.
A representative from C4 Connect reveals the story behind the collaboration with TV Tokyo.
Abandoned Girl” is a game that can be enjoyed by people who lead busy lives and have limited time to spend on fun. The main feature of the game is the system that allows the characters to become stronger without spending too much time on battles or training. In conventional games, the fun of the game was in the battles and leveling up, but it was difficult for people who didn’t have time to spend on leveling up.
Abandoned Girl” was developed with the idea of reversing the rules of gaming and making it accessible to people who didn’t have time to play games before. It’s a game born from a change in thinking.
Fortunately, the game has been well received by many users, but in order to make the game more widely known, I was wondering if we could collaborate on something that would have an impact on terrestrial broadcasting. One of the ideas that came to mind was to make a drama for TV Tokyo.
It goes without saying that TV Tokyo has been producing high quality programs, but among them, there are many that became hits by thinking in the opposite direction. I thought that would be a good match for [Abandoned Girl].
When TV Tokyo’s Mr. Terahara asked what kind of work they were looking for in the “Neglected Girl” side of things, he was told
Mr. Terahara of TV Tokyo said, “The word ‘neglect’ tends to have a negative connotation, but ‘Neglected Girl’ is a game that reinterprets the concept of neglect as something positive, where the more you neglect the characters, the stronger they become. I would like to share the appeal of this game with more people, so I would like you to create a drama that redefines the concept of neglect.
This was the request that was conveyed to us. It sounded like an extremely difficult order, but whether by coincidence or fate, they already had a “core” idea for a positive take on abandonment.
“We thought that the concept of ‘abandonment’ and the ‘story of an island’ we had in mind fit together. In a sense, an island is a place left alone from the hustle and bustle of the city, but the people who live there and the people who visit there gain a strength that cannot be found in the city by leaving themselves in a place away from the bustle. I think this is in line with the concept of “Abandoned Girl,” where the more you leave, the stronger you become.
I thought it might be a bit forced, but when I told the client about my idea to connect the concept I had been working on with “Neglected”, they agreed with it so easily that I was surprised. This is how we completed the concept of “Tokyo Abandoned Restaurant,” a story about people who visit an izakaya on Oshima and become a little stronger as people through interaction with the islanders.
Choosing to Leave Yourself Alone
At first glance, the concept of creating a film that puts a positive spin on the word “neglect” seems absurd. What did director Abella think when he first heard about this concept? We asked him what he really thought.
“I was a little worried at first (laughs). (laughs) When you use the words “abandoned play” and “abandoned building,” there’s a negative connotation to it. I wondered if it would be possible to reinterpret it in a positive way. However, when I thought through whether it really has only a negative meaning, I realized that the word has a completely different aspect.
With the development of the Internet, human relationships are becoming more and more intimate. In today’s age, we are bombarded with work-related messages at all hours of the day. While I enjoy being in constant contact with others and the efficiency of work is improving, it is also true that I am getting tired of the speed of work. In the midst of all this, the desire to “just leave me alone” suddenly arises from the bottom of my heart.
I felt that I needed to create an environment where I could temporarily shut myself off from the daily grind and regain the time to reflect on myself… If you call it “neglect,” then neglect has a very positive connotation. When I realized that, I thought that “Tokyo Neglected Restaurant” would be a drama that would help me rethink the meaning of neglect.
In retrospect, the word “loneliness” has been perceived in a completely different way before and after “Gourmet of Solitude. In the past, the word “loneliness” was used to describe being alone, loneliness, and the sadness of not being taken care of by anyone. Now, however, the meaning of “loneliness” has changed to the point where it has become commonplace to be “alone,” and people even long for the sight of someone eating alone at the counter with a drink. Producer Yoshimi looks back.
I may be rude, but I think “Loneliness Gourmet” has changed the concept of loneliness. It’s about an office worker who is finally alone after a long day of work, savoring what he considers to be good food and sake. This is a moment of bliss for him, a time to face himself. If you think about it that way, loneliness becomes a very luxurious concept.
I think it’s the same with “neglect. You don’t have to take it so negatively. In our hearts, we all want to take some time away from people and think things over. Put yourself in an environment where it’s quiet and no one disturbs you for a little while. That’s what “leaving” is all about. Tokyo Abandoned Diner” is a work that fully depicts this appeal.
Mr. Terahara says that he hopes this drama will help the concept of “leaving yourself alone” to take root, following the concepts of “solitude” and “togetherness. So, what is the quickest way to leave yourself alone? The answer is really simple.
“The answer is really simple, just go to Oshima once (laughs). Just go to Oshima once. (laughs) Savor the great nature and the gourmet food of the island, and enjoy the space that is different from the city. You will remember something that you have forgotten in your busy life, and you will be able to return to your daily life with renewed strength.
Nowadays, Wi-Fi is available even when you are on an airplane. There are places on Oshima where the cell phone signal is “out of range” while there are almost no spaces where you can escape from communication and information. You can leave yourself physically as well as emotionally. Being cut off from information may make you feel uneasy for a moment, but you will come to find that feeling of not being connected to anyone a bit comforting. This may be a feeling similar to that of “Totonou” (laughs).
(laughs) Some of the film crew said, “I want to go back to Oshima after this job is over. Even if it’s just for a day…! Just for one day…! Oshima is a really wonderful place that is only 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Tokyo.
I had no idea that such a grand attempt to rethink the concept of the word “neglect” was involved in this healing drama. ……
Tokyo Neglected Restaurant” is the result of a combination of TV Tokyo’s attempts to present new values through its numerous productions and the flexible attitude of C4 Connect, the company behind “Neglected Girl. Seemingly unconnected things come together based on certain keywords. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of this drama is that it shows the form of such “collaboration for a new era.
Now, the story finally reaches its climax. What will the protagonist Hinako and the other people involved in “Fuwaiteya” find beyond “neglect”?
Click here for the official website of “Abandoned Girl
Click here for the official Twitter page of “Abandoned Girl
