<figure id="attachment_449383" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-449383" style="width: 1898px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="166aafac"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/12/d00beace72ec2fa970e1c094ca1478bf.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-449383" class="wp-caption-text">With only two episodes left in the drama &#8220;If this world were a stage, where would the dressing room be?&#8221; starring Masaki Suda (from Fuji Television Network&#8217;s official website)</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Expected surprise appearance by Yo Oizumi</span></h2>
<p> The drama series &#8220;If this world were a stage, where would the dressing room be?</p>
<p> This work is an original story based on Mitani&#8217;s own experiences, depicting the anguish and frustration of young people who are still nobody in the world in Shibuya in 1984.</p>
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<p> Masaki Suda (32) plays director Sansei Kube, who launches a theater company to revive a strip joint that has been deserted due to a revision of the Entertainment Establishments Control Law. He puts on Shakespeare&#8217;s &#8220;A Midsummer Night&#8217;s Dream&#8221; and &#8220;The Winter&#8217;s Tale,&#8221; but the number of customers is not growing at all. The owner (Sylvia Grubb, 51) is pressuring them to make sales of 1.2 million yen every week, and the characters struggle to make ends meet in this thrilling coming-of-age ensemble drama.</p>
<p> The drama was spurred on by the last 15 seconds of episode 9. The last 15 seconds of the ninth episode saw the appearance of Shun Oguri (42) as the legendary director Yukio Ninagawa, and social networking sites were filled with joy.</p>
<p> It has been three years since Oguri appeared in a Mitani production since the drama &#8220;Kamakuradono no 13-nin&#8221; (NHK), which aired in 1922. This is the 15th &#8220;Kamakura-dono&#8221; cast member to appear in &#8220;Moshigaku&#8221;. Toward the final episode, there are growing expectations for a surprise appearance by Hiroshi Oizumi, 52, who played Minamoto no Yoritomo,&#8221; said a producer from a production company.</p>
<p> In the midst of all this, power is in full force. Leading the star-studded cast is Masaki Suda, who plays the lead role.</p>
<p> Sugata also appeared in the historical drama &#8220;Kamakuradono no 13-nin&#8221; as Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He left a strong impact by playing a psychopathic character that combines innocence and brutality.</p>
<p> Mitani said of Sugata&#8217;s performance as Yoshitsune, &#8220;Yoshitsune has many sides to him,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I saw Yoshitsune with his multifaceted character, I thought, &#8220;This is someone who can play a more multifaceted and complex role. I wanted him to play this kind of role this time, and I wanted him to write it, and this role was born.</span></p>
<p> I wanted him to play this kind of role this time, and I wanted him to write it. Sugata responded with the following words.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the stories that Mitani-san writes, people are always moving from multiple perspectives. So the story touches on comedy and seriousness. It&#8217;s a lot of work for me as an actor because there are so many scenes like that, but I was really excited to be able to do it again.</span></p>
<p> It is now a one-on-one battle between the &#8220;guess-writing&#8221; scriptwriter and the lead actor. This dynamic is what gives birth to the dynamism of &#8220;Moshigaku.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" A tribute to Shakespeare..."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_449391" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-449391" style="width: 1627px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7498c007"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/12/4dd6c0c639bcd15bee4ad36460d88468.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-449391" class="wp-caption-text">Masaki Suda plays the lead role in the drama &#8220;Moshigaku</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Mitani launched &#8220;Tokyo Sunshine Boys&#8221; in 1983.</span></h2>
<p> The scene where their battle explodes comes in episode 8.</p>
<p> In a thrilling scene, Kubu (played by Sugata), enraged after hearing that Rika&#8217;s ex-husband Toro (Toma Ikuta, 41) is selling Rika (Fumi Nikaido, 31) for 1.2 million yen in Kabukicho, pulls a &#8220;toy gun&#8221; on him.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Tears well up in his wide-open, bloodshot eyes, and his face is flushed so red that it looks as if it might burst at any moment as he trembles with fear that he might kill someone for the first time. Scooped up by this Kubu&#8217;s impassioned performance, Toro became scared and let go of the knife. Toro&#8217;s demonic performance, in which he removes his emotional limiter, was one of the best parts of the film,&#8221; said the director of the production company.</span></p>
<p> Toro, knowing that it was a toy gun</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He knows it&#8217;s a toy gun, but he still shouts at Toro, &#8220;What the hell is this?</span></p>
<p> and approaches Toro. What was in Kubu&#8217;s mind at this moment? It was a lesson that Shakespearean actor Reizaburo Koreo (Kazuyuki Asano, 71) had taught him as &#8220;the most important thing in acting.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> What is important in acting is to have faith in yourself.</span></p>
<p> This is the thought that all aspiring actors and actresses, and by extension, all young people living in this era, must have held in their hearts and minds as they studied day and night.</p>
<p> It was 1983 when Mitani launched &#8220;Tokyo Sunshine Boys&#8221; as part of the &#8220;fourth generation of small theater. Looking back on that time, a producer well acquainted with Mitani&#8217;s thoughts said, &#8220;Shibuya in the &#8217;80s was the place to be.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Shibuya in the &#8217;80s was full of enthusiasm, with everyone trying to realize their eternal dreams. In the &#8217;80s, Shibuya was full of enthusiasm as everyone tried to realize their eternal dreams, and there was no doubt in their minds that this brilliance would continue for eternity. In contrast, today, what we thought would last forever has collapsed, and everyone is living with a sense of anxiety. I would like to send a message to these young people. By depicting the youth of the 1980s who had &#8220;faith in themselves,&#8221; I wondered if I could send a message of encouragement to today&#8217;s youth who live with anxiety. That was the impetus for working on this film.</span></p>
<p> Set in a small theater in Shibuya in 1984, &#8220;Moshigaku&#8221; pays homage to Shakespeare in abundance and portrays struggling young people. Will the last two weeks bring further catharsis? You can&#8217;t afford to miss it.</p>


 Ukon Shima (Broadcaster/Video Producer)

 Takayuki Ogawauchi (Sugata)

 The last two episodes of "Moshigaku" starring Masaki Suda, the first drama script written by Mitani Koki for a commercial TV drama in 25 years. ......

Koki Mitani’s message to the “youth of today” in “Moshigaku” starring Masaki Suda.

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