Nao Omori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita: the cast of "The Great Chase" is back together. They felt "at home": "A place where you can feel completely at ease." Nao Omori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita: the cast of "The Great Chase" is back together. They felt "at home": "A place where you can feel completely at ease."
On July 22nd, TV Asahi premieres "The Big Chase—Tokyo Police Department SSBC Violent Crime Squad—Season 2" (every Wednesday at 21:00 P.M. Japanese Time and 14:00 P.M. on European Time), starring Nao Ōmori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita. The trio of leads, who continued their work from the first season, recently participated in a joint interview. They discussed the main advantages of the new season, which is even more gripping than the first, as well as the excellent teamwork on set.
Last year, the series returned for a second season, which aired in July of that year, retaining the same trio of leads. The action takes place in 2009 (Heisei 21) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's newly established special criminal analysis and detection unit, the Sousa Sien Bunseki Center (SSBC), specifically the "SSBC Major Crimes Unit," which specializes in supporting the First Investigation Division and handles serious crimes such as murder, robbery, and arson.
Omori plays Shuji Igaki, a down-on-his-luck civil servant with the "plain" personality typical of the Showa era; Aiba plays Rintaro Nanami, a career civil servant who passed the civil service examination and entered the service; and Matsushita plays Haru Aoyagi, Igaki's ex-wife and the head of the First Investigation Division.
The new season begins with Nanami, who returned from his studies in the United States, returning to the SSBC's Violent Crimes Unit. He unhesitatingly shares the cutting-edge digital investigation techniques he mastered in America with the team, raising the entire SSBC to an unprecedented level. The team members, having built trust in each other, unite, grow even stronger, and take on new, challenging cases. As with the previous season, the script is written by hitmaker Yasushi Fukuda.
――At what point did you feel like "The Great Chase" was "back"?
Omori: -"When we all met at the photo shoot, I thought, "Well, this year, it's all starting."
Aiba:-"I had the opportunity to work with you on the year-end special ("Noise! The Great Hunt: The Chisako Takashima Murder Case—The Night the Tengu Crows Dance"), so I was able to ease into the work."
Matsushita:-"When we met again at the poster shoot, it felt like the first day came so naturally. I even thought, "What was all that tension like in the first season?" (laughs)."
What did you talk about when you met after a long break?
Aiba:-"What were we talking about? (The three of them look at each other and laugh). I was the only one who didn't notice, but you two were discussing, "Filming will start with episodes 2-3, right?" "Eh! Really?! And i only studied the first episode thoroughly! (laughs)"—thanks to that, i managed to read episodes 2 and 3 before the day of filming, so you two saved me (laughs)."
Matsushita:-"I was a little shy when we met after a long break. Is it just me?" Aiba:-"I see it on TV quite often… (laughs)."
Matsushita:-"But i had the feeling i could come back here anytime."
How was the atmosphere on set after filming began?
Omori:-"When i see the crew members' faces, i feel like i've come home."
Aiba:-"Since the crew hasn't changed much from last year, even though this is only our second time, it feels like home, and i feel completely safe." Matsushita:-"I only felt a sense of confidence. Even though filming only lasted one day, I remembered what it was like, and we even talked about what everyone had been up to between seasons."
Please tell us about the joys of the second season and what makes your roles so special.
Omori:-"Since this is the second season, following the first, it will certainly be even more exciting. We ourselves are looking forward to further developments. Also, i'm curious to see what changes will occur in the relationships between the characters; I'd like to see the Igaki and Nanami duo become even closer, and I'm also looking forward to how things will develop with Haru—will it remain the same as before, or will it change… (Laughter)."
Aiba:-"Will they get back together!?"
Omori:-"Or maybe Haruka will get married a second time? (Laughter.) I'm also very interested in how this storyline will develop, so i ask you to definitely stay tuned."
Aiba:-"As for the main strengths of the series, just like in the first season, viewers will be introduced to cutting-edge digital investigation techniques. The second season also repeatedly has moments where viewers will say to themselves, "Oh, i can do that too!" Furthermore, the drama has become more intense, and i think the feelings of the criminals and victims are explored even more deeply. My character, Nanami, eventually travels to the United States to learn cutting-edge digital investigation techniques and bring them back, so his skills in this regard have greatly improved. His relationship with his "uncle" (Koichi Sato as Shunsuke Kuze) is also worth paying attention to. How high will he rise? After all, the only position left is the prime minister. He currently holds the position of head of the prime minister's office… I'm very interested in how this will develop.
Matsushita:-"Of course, the nature of the cases gradually changes over the course of a year: with the development of the internet and artificial intelligence, the depth of investigations also becomes increasingly complex. Of course, i really hope that the depth of each character will become greater compared to the first season. But, I guess, for Haru, nothing has changed. She will look down on SSBC slightly, and with Igaki-san—like Tom and Jerry—she will quarrel and then make up, and it's unclear whether they will eventually get back together or not (laughs). And she will bow slightly to Nanami-san. I think the ability to maintain this atmosphere is one of the reasons this series will continue for so long. I intend to continue playing this role without changing." ――By the way, if you have anything you're currently passionate about, please tell us about it.
Omori:-"My daughter is still very little… she's always running around, so I'm constantly chasing after her."
Aiba:-"I'm in the middle of basketball season right now: the B-League is over, and it's an exciting time in the NBA, so I'm constantly following the games. I enjoy watching basketball."
Matsushita:-"Natto. I hardly ever ate it before, but when i was thinking about something healthy, i remembered how you two talked about taking care of your gut, and I decided, "I'll try natto!" I added kimchi to it, and it turned out really delicious…"
Aiba:-"It's really delicious." Next time, i'll bring amazake."
Omori:-"We had a good chat about natto."
Matsushita:-"I absolutely adore it now. I'm so into it that i even regret not buying some natto when i was filming in Mito. I'll be paying special attention to my intestinal health this summer (laughs)."
There's a very friendly atmosphere. After the first and second seasons, are there any typical scenes or episodes from "The Grand Pursuit Team" that were common on set?
Omori:-"There's a hallway next to the studio where everyone waits their turn during the hot summer filming." There's a pipe there that carries air from the studio's large air conditioner, and Mitsuishi-san (Ken) is often caught in that air flow (laughs)."
Aiba:-"That's true (laughs)."
Omori:-"That's probably his regular spot (laughs)."
Aiba:-"Also, a lot of names appear in each episode—of criminals and other characters. Remembering them can be really difficult."
Matsushita:-"Exactly!" (laughs)."
Aiba:-"Anything can happen with those names… Even the staff gets confused sometimes (laughs)."
Omori:-"If they get it wrong, it rubs off on us (laughs)."
Matsushita:-"I have a lot of scenes with Section 1 Chief, played by Kenichi Endo. When he mumbles his lines alone, everyone else joins in, and we start rehearsing the scene. As soon as someone starts talking, the others join in, and a small rehearsal naturally begins. This often keeps the tempo quite good, so Endo-san is a great help."
Were there any moments when you felt like you were working together so well?
Omori:-"Of course, as we film and spend time on set, we understand each other better, which gradually improves the atmosphere and builds morale. I don't think there was such a phase in the second season, since we were already in tune with each other from the start, and I'm looking forward to what happens next."
Aiba:-"We went out to dinner after filming, right?" Perhaps it's because we dine together that we have such good teamwork."
――By the way, who paid the bill?
Aiba:-"How was that…?"
Matsushita:-"The older brothers (Omori and Aiba)… (laughs)."
Aiba:-"We broke it! It was with Nami-so, right? (laughs)."
Omori:-"It was us! Make sure you write that down."
Aiba:-"How ridiculous (laughs)."
Matsushita:-"You all have wonderful personalities, and there was a good atmosphere from the start, so thanks to everyone caring so much about each other, teamwork developed naturally."
