■ “Mizuki is a cool person who, in her own way, loved the people important to her during her short 27-year life.” (Kotone Furukawa)
Snow Man’s Meguro Ren will star in the Fuji TV Monday 9pm drama “The Beginning of the Sea,” which will begin airing in July. It has been decided that Furukawa Kotone will play the important role of Mizuki in the series.
“The Beginning of the Sea” is a completely original work with the theme of “parent-child love” written by Miku Ubukata, directed by Taiki Kazama, and produced by Ken Murase. It depicts the love that is born between people and the story of a family that we want to convey in this day and age.
The protagonist of this story is Tsukioka Natsu (Meguro Ren). During his university days, he was living happily with his classmate Nagumo Mizuki (Furukawa Kotone) whom he started dating by chance. However, one day when he was about to start job hunting, she suddenly broke up with him, and the two of them broke up. Seven years have passed since then, and now he is dating Momose Yayoi (Arimura Kasumi) and is starting a new life.
During this time, Natsu learns from a friend from her university days that Mizuki has passed away. Since she had not seen her friend since she was told that she was leaving, it was hard to accept the fact and she heads to the funeral. There, she meets a young girl named Umi (played by Izumiya Sena). Natsu is shocked to learn that the girl is Mizuki’s child.
Then, Mizuki’s mother Akane (played by Shinobu Otake) tells Natsu that he is Umi’s father. Natsu learns that Mizuki had a child with him without his knowledge and had raised the child without telling him anything. He reminisces about the seven years that Mizuki and Umi had spent together.
One of the major themes in this work is “parent-child love.” When and how does a person become a “father” and when and how does a person become a “mother”? The film realistically and carefully depicts the emotions that arise between “parents and children” among the characters, such as the relationship between Natsu, who had no idea that his child had been alive for seven years or how he had lived up to that point, and Umi, who suddenly appeared in his life, and the mother-child relationship between his deceased girlfriend and her daughter.
In this film, Furukawa plays Mizuki, Umi’s mother and the girlfriend of the protagonist Natsu during their university days. He meets Natsu at a recruiting event for new students when he has just entered university. Mizuki seems suspicious when Natsu happens to talk to her, but when she finds out that Natsu is also a first-year student, she suddenly smiles and starts talking to him in a friendly manner. Mizuki continues to talk at her own pace, and Natsu initially thinks Mizuki is strange, but gradually she becomes comfortable with her pace, and before they know it, they are smiling and talking to each other. The two start dating that summer, but one day when Natsu is in her second year and about to start job hunting, she hears something she never imagined Mizuki would say.
This will be Furukawa’s first appearance in a Fuji TV Monday 9pm drama in four years since Absolute Zero: Undercover Investigation of Unprevented Crimes (Fuji TV, January 2020). He commented on his appearance in this series, “Whether or not you become a family is a matter of small coincidences and choices, and I think this is a series that depicts a lot of the love that is put into those moments.”
■ Comment from Kotone Furukawa
Whether or not one becomes a family is a matter of small coincidences and choices, and I think this work depicts a lot of love in those moments. Mizuki is a cool person who loved the people she loved in her own way during her short 27-year life. While I admire her core strength as the actress, I was moved many times to see that her strength was also Mizuki’s clumsy and weak side, and that she lived her life to the fullest while wavering and shaking. I will play Mizuki’s way of life carefully and to the best of my ability. I am looking forward to working with the distinguished staff and cast members on the production through acting and dialogue, and I think this will be a work that will generate a lot of conversation among the viewers. Please look forward to it.■ Producer Ken Murase (Fuji Television Network, Drama and Film Production Department) Comment
I have been interested in Kotone Furukawa for many years. She has a special air about her that I cannot describe, and whenever she appears on screen, my eyes are always drawn to her, and before I know it, I can’t take my eyes off her. I have always thought that she is an actress with a mysterious charm that I cannot describe. Although she is somewhat unstable and elusive, I have had many experiences where I found myself empathizing with the characters she plays. This time, Mizuki, who will be played by Furukawa, is a woman with a mysterious charm. I don’t know what she is thinking, and she says out of the blue things that make it difficult for me to answer. Natsu is caught up in Mizuki’s pace and is confused at first, but before she knows it, she becomes comfortable with it. I thought that the mysterious atmosphere that Furukawa exudes was perfect for Mizuki. Then, Mizuki becomes pregnant with Natsu’s child while she is in college, and chooses to become a mother alone without telling Natsu. A woman who never imagined becoming a mother becomes a mother. I felt that Furukawa had a girl-like atmosphere. Mizuki also has a girlish aura about her, and while still exuding that aura, she is a woman who is trying to become a mother. I thought that the aura that Furukawa exudes would bring realism to the character of Mizuki, so I asked her to take on this important role. Filming has already started, and Furukawa’s Mizuki is even more wonderful than I imagined. It always makes me sad to think that Mizuki is no longer with us. Please look forward to Mizuki exuding the special aura that only Furukawa can bring out.
Information
Fuji Television Network, Inc“The Beginning of the Sea”
Starts Monday, July 1, 2024 *First episode extended by 30 minutes
Every Monday from 9:00pm to 9:54pm
Cast: Ren Meguro, Kasumi Arimura, Sena Izumiya, Kotone Furukawa, Sosuke Ikematsu, Shinobu Otake and others
Screenplay: Miku Ubukata
Music: Masahiro Tokuda
Produced by: Ken Murase
Directed by: Kazama Taiju, Takano Mai, Jeong Eun-hee
Produced and written by: Fuji Television
“The Beginning of the Sea” Official Website
https://www.fujitv.co.jp/uminohajimari/
Snow Man OFFICIAL SITE
https://starto.jp/s/p/artist/43
https://mentrecording.jp/snowman/
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