“I’m going to hit you guys from now on!” The legendary scene was brought back to life at Miyata Sushi (located in Setagaya Ward), run by none other than Mitsuo Morita himself. In 1984, when delinquency and school violence were becoming societal issues, the drama School☆Wars (TBS) aired, depicting the story of a passionate teacher, Kenji Takizawa, played by Shinji Yamashita (72), who saved a deteriorating school and led a struggling rugby team to win the national championship. The drama was based on a true story. With peak viewership ratings exceeding 20%, its dynamic storytelling created a massive boom, leading to a significant increase in rugby teams across Japan. One of the biggest jokes by Zabungle Kato’s (50), “I’m frustrated!” originated from the famous line by one of the main characters, Mitsuo Morita. On the occasion of FRIDAY magazine’s 40th anniversary, coinciding with the same year School☆Wars debuted, Mitsuo Morita actor Yasuo Miyata (60) and Shinji Yamashita reunited as their teacher-student duo to reminisce about the past. Yamashita: You’re looking well. I heard you and Yuki Matsumura (61, who played Daisuke Ohki) were reminiscing about School☆Wars without me, and it got 3 million views on YouTube? My channel hasn’t even hit 1 million views. Miyata: The customers at the sushi restaurant I run often bring up *School☆Wars* too. Yamashita: They probably want to hear behind-the-scenes stories. Like how I wore long johns under my suit—those kinds of stories ruin the image, though (laughs). Miyata: The viewers often know the lines and narrations better than us. Yamashita: We were desperately trying to get through filming every day, so we didn’t have the luxury of watching the broadcast. For the longest time, I misunderstood Mitsuo Morita as being Akiko Wada’s (74, who played Yuko Shimoda) son, but he’s her brother, right? Miyata: At the time, I was 20, and Akiko Wada’s husband Daizaburo Shimoda was played by Tatsuo Umemiya, who was 45, so it’s easy to see how you’d mix that up (laughs). Yamashita: I think I was 32 then. I remember when I was offered the role, they told me to get the same crew cut as Ryoji Yamaguchi, the real-life coach of the Fushimi Industrial High School rugby team, who inspired Takizawa. I managed to negotiate keeping just the bangs (laughs). Miyata: The rugby scenes were authentic, and we practiced intensely. At first, even passing the ball was hard, but as we got better, it became more fun. The cast trained together like a real sports team every day. Yamashita: We started filming in February, so we were shooting spring scenes in the middle of winter. It was freezing. The students were running around and staying warm, but as the coach, I had to give instructions while standing still. Miyata: That’s why you were wearing those fancy cashmere long johns (laughs). There was also the riverside duel scene with Hitoshi Ozawa (62), who played Ryo Mizuhara, the reformed juvenile delinquent leader. That was filmed in freezing conditions too. Yamashita: Ozawa still holds a grudge about that scene. In the end, I was supposed to dunk Mizuhara’s head into the river, and we agreed he’d tap my leg three times when he wanted to be pulled out. I got so caught up in the performance that I completely forgot (laughs). Well, that shows how seriously we took it. Afterward, Takizawa gives Mizuhara some brandy to drink—but nowadays, that’d be a huge problem.