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Actors who Achieved ‘Gekokujo’ through Acting and Baseball Practical Auditions
Not only the production team, but also the actors in the film have been selected in what can be called a “gekkokujo” style. The cast includes Ryohei Suzuki, Hana Kuroki, and Haruka Igawa, all of whom have appeared in numerous dramas and movies, making it seem like the quintessential Sunday theater. That is because these actors were selected through a six-month-long audition process called “Gekkokujo Selection,” in which they auditioned for both acting and baseball skills. The baseball auditions are unique to this film, and the members of the Koshiyama High School baseball team who were selected after winning the auditions – Shumpei Ikuta, who plays Shinjiro Nirei, is from Aomori Yamada High School, a prestigious high school baseball team, and has participated in the Koshien National High School Baseball Tournament, and Atsuya Suzuki, who plays Taiga Fujimoto, is from the prestigious Sakushin Gakuin baseball team. Atsuya Suzuki, who plays Taiga Fujimoto, is a member of the prestigious Sakushin Gakuin baseball team. The realistic game scenes in which these players play are one of the major highlights of the film.
The audition scene of the main characters is available on U-NEXT as “Gekokokujo Selection Complete Version”. Just as watching a practice session in a sporting event can make you feel more involved in the game, watching the members of the Zan High (Koshiyama High School) baseball team will surely make you feel more involved in their performances.
The lead actors, Ryohei Suzuki and Hana Kuroki, have not had smooth sailing careers. Ryohei Suzuki is a man who has had his resume turned down by more than 50 entertainment agencies and production companies. Since his acting debut in 2006 in the TV drama “Regatta: Kimi to ita Eien” (TV Asahi), he has continued to appear in movies and TV dramas, but it was seven years until “HK Henkyo Kamen” (2013), which expanded his recognition. It took her eight years to get her breakthrough in the TV series “Hanako to Anne” (2014 / NHK).
Kuroki Hana is also a member of the high school theater elite, having played the lead role in the drama club at Otemon Gakuin High School, a prestigious high school theater school, for three years from her freshman year, but when she entered Kyoto University of Art and Design, she was not offered a casting in the school production of a play. After attending a theater workshop and making his first stage appearance, he won the role of the heroine in an audition, and after appearing in a number of theatrical productions, he has been an actor who has advanced his career step by step since 2011 by entering the film industry (by the way, he and Ryohei Suzuki played a couple in the historical drama “Saigodon” (2018 / NHK)). (Incidentally, he and Ryohei Suzuki played a married couple in the historical drama “Saigo-don” (2018 / NHK), which was a great collaboration for Saigo-don fans. Even though Ryohei Suzuki has starred in Sunday dramas in the past with “TOKYO MER: Running Emergency Rescue Room,” no one could have predicted a Sunday drama with the two stars 10 years ago. In that respect, too, it could be called a “downright success”.
Finally, after the 9th inning (episode 9), “Gekkokujo Kyuuji” is going into extra innings (the final game). Because it is based on a true story, the outcome is predetermined and there may not be any big surprises like in the previous Sunday drama “VIVANT”. However, we will never forget them as they move step by step toward “undercutting” the competition. If they can burn it all out, they won’t regret a thing.
