Smiling Under a Giant Umbrella! Mana Ashida’s Remarkable Politeness on the Set of Her First TV Drama Lead Role in 10 Years

A current law student takes on the role of a genius lawyer

The person holding a large black umbrella that completely covers her body and wearing a refreshing smile is actress Mana Ashida (22).

In early August, filming for a drama starring Ashida was taking place at an office building in Otemachi, Tokyo (Chiyoda Ward).

“This is filming for the October-season Kantele/Fuji TV network drama ‘Minami Minamida, Attorney at Law Is a Genius,’ which will begin airing on October 19. The drama is the Japanese adaptation of the Korean Netflix drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo,’ which became a worldwide hit in 2022. It depicts a rookie lawyer with a genius-level intellect and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as she grows into a true attorney.

Ashida plays the protagonist, Minami Minamida, a genius who graduated top of her class from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law and also passed the bar examination with the highest score. Despite facing prejudice against ASD and difficulties communicating at a major law firm, she takes on various challenging cases with her natural optimism and the support of her colleagues. It is a heartwarming courtroom drama.” (TV magazine writer)

For Ashida, this is her first starring role in a serial TV drama in a full 10 years, since “OUR HOUSE” (Fuji TV). Ashida, who is currently a student studying law and politics at Keio University’s Faculty of Law, thoroughly prepared herself to take on the challenging role of a genius lawyer with ASD.

“I deepened my understanding by reading books about autism spectrum disorder, speaking with the supervising specialists, and attending a tutoring school for people with developmental disabilities, where I met and spoke with various individuals.” (from the Kantele website)

Filming was taking place inside the building. Afterward, Ashida emerged with a female staff member, dressed in a white shirt and gray skirt, giving her the unmistakable look of a rookie lawyer, as described above.

However, the temperature in Tokyo that day reached 36.5°C, making it an exceptionally hot day that recorded the highest temperature of the summer. Perhaps because of the intense sunlight, a staff member held an unusually large parasol over Ashida. She reached out and took it herself, seemingly insisting, “I’ll hold it myself.”

Wearing sandals and completely relaxed, Ashida chatted and laughed with the staff. When she left the location, she repeatedly bowed deeply to the staff members who had come to see her off.

Ashida’s humble attitude toward filming staff at television studios and on-location shoots is already well known, and she once again demonstrated an extraordinary level of politeness that lived up to her reputation.

As a current law student, Ashida is taking on the role of a lawyer. With the atmosphere on set also apparently excellent, there is every reason to anticipate that this could become her finest work yet.

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