■“No, it was truly an honor to meet you.” (Mr. Akira Hayakawa, the youngest person in history to pass the bar exam)
The monthly drama “Monster” starring Shuri and Jesse is aired every Monday from 10pm on Kantele/Fuji TV.
The main character, Ryoko Kannaba, played by Shuri, is a person who “passed the bar exam in her third year of high school” and is a “monster lawyer” with vast knowledge and unique qualities as a lawyer, but the drama is set in 2024. A “real monster” was born who passed the bar exam in his second year of high school (*Jesse plays the role of Yoshihiro Sugiura, a young lawyer who graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law).
The “bar exam” is said to be the most difficult exam in Japan. In order to take the bar exam, a person must either complete law school or pass a “preliminary exam,” which has a passing rate of 3 to 4 percent. There is no age limit for taking the preliminary exam.
Under the current exam system, the youngest person in history to pass the bar exam is Sho Hayakawa (17 years old), a second-year student at Komaba High School attached to the University of Tsukuba. He passed the “preliminary exam” in 2023 as a first-year high school student, and passed the “bar exam” in 2024.
Mr. Hayakawa recently visited the filming site of “Monster”. We met Shuri and Jesse and took a three-shot photo of them smiling.
In addition, Hayakawa spoke with Haruka Kato (28 years old, seventh year with Kantere), the producer of “Monster” and the youngest drama producer in the history of Kantere. We will introduce some of his comments, focusing on his comments regarding the drama “Monster.”
–Did you know about the drama “Monster”?
Hayakawa:yes. Of course I knew. Even before I was asked to do this interview, my mother told me that there was an interesting drama, and I watched it all from the first episode to the latest episode. After that, I was surprised when I received this story (lol). I’m enjoying watching it.
Kato P:thank you. What do you think from Hayakawa-san’s perspective? It’s rare to hear people’s impressions directly…
Hayakawa:I think the character of Mr. Kamba played by Shuri is very attractive. I feel like Dr. Kamba sees things from a very broad perspective, not just the trial, but also the problems lurking there and things that haven’t happened yet, and his mysterious gaze captures things that are far in the future. I guess it’s there. That’s really cool.
Kato P:thank you. I am grateful that you are able to see through the core of the drama. You can tell that they are not just casually watching, but are really watching. I’m really happy to hear that Ryoko is a deep character who sees things that ordinary people don’t see or see. I made this with one thing in mind (lol). When I talked to them today, I felt that Ms. Hayakawa is similar to Ryoko, even though they both passed the bar exam in high school. Of course, Ryoko is immersed in the law, but she is also someone who continues to push forward with the things she is interested in. We are similar in that way, or maybe Ryoko grew up this way (lol).–Ryoko “passed the bar exam in her third year of high school,” so it feels like Hayakawa-san is more than a monster, but a real monster.
Hayakawa:I passed the bar exam one year earlier than Professor Kamba, but I feel like I just passed the bar exam, and I still have a long way to go, so I feel like I haven’t improved in all aspects, including my insight and interpersonal skills. I hope that by gaining more experience, I can become a lawyer who can compete with Dr. Kamba when I reach the same age as him.
――I would like to ask Producer Kato, how did you come up with the idea of “the main character passing the bar exam in his third year of high school”?
Kato P:In the process of creating her character, I could have made her the youngest person to pass, such as passing the exam at 15, but I didn’t have any intention of making her the youngest. The way she and her father communicate is by going to court, or she just enjoys studying law and gets hooked on it, or it just happened to be around this time that she took it. I don’t have it. This can be said to be the case with everything in this drama, but I often have conversations with Mr. Hashibe, the scriptwriter, about the fact that not all human actions have meaning or intention. There aren’t that many people who have clear reasons for their actions. The reason Ryoko decided to try her hand at becoming a lawyer, which will be revealed in the future, is the same, but she suddenly acts out of a momentary impulse or something. The big theme of Monster is that humans are like that, and I’m trying to depict the dangers and ambiguity of humans that the monsters that appear in each episode have. The fact that she took the exam in her third year of high school didn’t mean she was determined to pass the exam at a young age, but rather that it was just the right timing for her.
Hayakawa:I think I have something like that too. The fact that I decided to study law was a coincidence and something of a miracle. I didn’t plan my life and aim to be the youngest.
Kato P:That’s right. I’ll take the youngest! I felt that they were acting with such thoughts in mind.–Do you have a favorite lawyer drama?
Hayakawa:I loved “Legal High.” I also have the DVD. When it comes to dramas, I also like “We Are Made of Miracles” by Atsuko Hashibe, who wrote the script for “Monster.” I often sympathized with the words of the main character, played by Issei Takahashi, who is obsessed with the wonders of living things.–Finally, please give each other a message.
Kato P:I was able to talk to her today, and I felt that she is a “monster” who naturally pursues what she likes, and I feel that this is very similar to Ryoko, and I am very happy to see that such a person exists in real life. It seems like Ryoko had a friend (lol). I wanted to teach Ryoko.
Hayakawa:Thank you very much for today. I was also able to tour the filming site of the drama and talk with the producers, and I thought that I would like to use this experience as inspiration for my future. I am grateful for this opportunity, which is an important step towards becoming a person with a broader perspective.
Kato P:What was it like actually meeting Shuri-san and Jesse-san?
Hayakawa:Well, it was truly an honor to meet you. thank you very much!
Program information
Kantele Fuji TVMonthly 10th drama “Monster”
Every Monday from 22:00
Cast: Shuri Jesse (SixTONES) Shohei Uno Katsura Otsuki Tsubasa Nakagawa YOU Arata Furuta
Screenplay: Atsuko Hashibe
Theme song: Chanmina “FOREVER”
Opening song: I Don’t Like Mondays. “Shadow”
Drama “Monster” program site
https://www.ktv.jp/monster/
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