Masaki Okada Research 15: The Genealogy from Haruki Hanyu to Ayumu Nasuda

The protagonist of the currently airing drama "The Travel Nurse," Ayumu Nasuda, is a high-minded nurse who returned from America. At first glance, he seems like an unlikable person who speaks his mind bluntly, but he is also a beloved character teased by his fellow nurses as "Ayumu-chan." The coexistence of these contradictory qualities—being unlikable yet beloved—within a single role is the true essence of Masaki Okada. When it comes to Okada's unlikable elite characters, many may recall Haruki Hanyu from the 2013 hit drama "Legal High." We will trace the genealogy of this role transition, which can be described as inevitable, from Hanyu to Nasuda.

If one were to name a commonality between Hanyu and Nasuda, it is that they are elites who returned from abroad. Strictly speaking, Hanyu is a returnee (having spent his childhood abroad), while Nasuda worked in America (and likely studied there, as he holds an NP qualification). Hanyu brings up "Saudi Arabian proverbs" at every opportunity, while Nasuda starts criticizing Japan whenever he says, "In America..." Both are undeniably handsome, but they are what you might call annoying characters who blurt out logical arguments without reading the room. Both are insulted in the show as "Win-Win Prince!" or "Stupid Nurse!" However, there is a decisive difference between these two roles.

Hanyu is a lawyer who is handsome, brilliant, philanthropic, and a charmer who is kind to everyone. As Okada himself says in interviews, what Hanyu says is generally "correct." It is, in a sense, impressive that even though he says correct things, he makes them feel self-righteous and shallow, and despite being full of good-natured elements, he was genuinely disliked even by the viewers. Although what he says is absurd, he was perfect as a foil to the protagonist Komikado (Masato Sakai), who captures the hearts of viewers by hitting the truth at just the right moment. He is a rare character whose favorability only rose after the final episode, with the only lovable point being the twist that he "actually had feelings for Komikado" after being thoroughly crushed by him at the very end. It is astonishing that he was able to embody with his acting the stinging remark Komikado delivers at the end: "Aren't you just an idiot?"

On the other hand, Nasuda is an excellent nurse, but he is a "troublesome" guy who is short-tempered, has a strong sense of justice, and speaks his mind about what he thinks is right without considering the place or the person. However, at the same time, there is an opening that allows people to tease him as "Ayumu-chan." By allowing strength and kindness, coolness and cuteness, and stubbornness and honesty—contradictory things—to coexist in the role, he succeeds in creating a character who is loved while retaining an unpleasant side, giving him a depth as a multifaceted human being that is the exact opposite of the shallow Hanyu. Even though he seems unlikable at first glance, you can feel the warmth of a person. One reason for this is that the logical arguments Nasuda blurts out are often not for his own sake. For example, his complaints about sexual harassment in episode 3 were to protect female nurses, and his remarks regarding the treatment and working styles of nurses are more for the entire organization than for himself. That straightforwardness, which is not just annoying, leads to human immaturity, making one want to call him "Ayumu-chan," and the fact that he immediately follows the advice of Shizuka (Kiichi Nakai) even while appearing to rebel against him makes him seem twisted yet honest and "cute." I think it is actually very difficult to play this without a single millimeter of contradiction. He skillfully expresses the inner heart of Ayumu with rich, ever-changing facial expressions.

Between the Hanyu he played in 2013 and the Nasuda of 2022, there is another person Okada played that must not be forgotten: Haruhiko Yamada from the 2017 drama "Little Giant." It is a role that made the public say, "Okada is good at playing unpleasant roles." Coincidentally, this Yamada, whose name contains one character from each of the two aforementioned names, was also an unlikable elite assistant inspector. He was a twisted person who chose the path of a non-career track despite being an elite from the University of Tokyo. In the first half, he devoted himself to being just a nasty guy who gets in the way of the protagonist Kosaka (Hiroki Hasegawa), but in the second half, as his relationship with his father was brought up, a lovable side began to peek through. In a story that twists and turns, making you think he is an ally only to betray you, or making you think he betrayed you only to collude, he planted a tiny bit of charm inside the nasty guy, turning him into a character you cannot hate.

What is interesting here is the correlation with viewership ratings. The average viewership ratings for all episodes were 18.4% for "Legal High" and 13.5% for "Little Giant," which are the first and second highest among dramas in which Okada appeared as a main cast member. Naturally, viewership ratings are greatly influenced by the power of the work itself, but Okada's nasty character definitely worked positively for the works and is proof that they were accepted by viewers. He appeared as the third lead in "Legal High" and the second lead in "Little Giant." "The Travel Nurse," his long-awaited starring work, is in great shape with an average viewership rating of 11.8% as of the end of episode 5, even as people move away from television. The sometimes comical and sometimes serious exchanges between Ayumu and Shizuka (Nakai) have been well-received, and there are already high calls for a series.

Masaki Okada is an actor of accumulation. It was after "Little Giant" that Okada, who says he always wants change and evolution and wants to continue learning on many sets, began to say, "I want to act in a way that is loved by everyone." Also, the one thing he asked the screenwriter when playing Ayumu Nasuda was, "I want you to make him a person who is lacking in some way." The person Ayumu Nasuda shines vividly as a character that makes the most of Okada's charm, from the script, direction, and acting to the costumes and hairstyle. "The Travel Nurse" is the first work that Okada met and discussed with producers and screenwriters from the planning stage, and it can be seen as a work he staked his career on as a lead actor. The passionate, straightforward, and somewhat lacking beloved character of Ayumu has many parts that overlap with Okada as an actor, and I cannot take my eyes off the future of both the travel nurse Ayumu Nasuda and the actor Masaki Okada.