On the whole, the level of summer Japanese dramas in 2022 seems to be unsatisfactory. But in this way, "The Man Who Was Picked Up", which was broadcast on NHK at 10 o'clock on Sunday night, was quite eye-catching. On the Douban score, the show currently has a score of 8.4, which is rare in the current season of Japanese dramas. 
"The Man Who Was Picked Up" poster
This is not to say that "The Man Who Was Picked Up" is purely "there are no tigers in the mountains, and the monkey is the king". There's something about this show that appeals to audiences. As far as the subject matter is concerned, this is a drama with a documentary nature. As the narration on TV said, "The Man Who Was Picked Up" is about "the life story of an actor who moves forward under the guidance of luck and chance". . The so-called "found man" refers to the protagonist of the TV series, Yu Matsudo. The prototype of the story is the actor Yu Yu Matsuo, who also "appeared in real people" in the TV series. It is worth mentioning that in order to be closer to Matsuo Yu in appearance, Nakano Taga, who played Matsudo Yu, deliberately increased his weight by 10 kilograms, which can be said to be a huge sacrifice.
Interestingly, judging from the cast of the show, there are actually quite a few big names. Ben Ming, Arimura Kasumi and Igawa Haruka, who made guest appearances under their real names, are all well-known Japanese actors. Xia Fan and Yakushi Maru Hiroko, who play supporting roles, are also familiar faces in Japanese dramas. In contrast, Matsuo Yu, the prototype of the story of "The Man Who Was Picked Up", is not so well-known. Although he has filmed TV dramas for more than 20 years, he usually plays some supporting roles. For example, he has appeared in many episodes in "Late Night Cafeteria" (season 2). Perhaps the audience of the TV series will ask the same question as the editor (Xia Fan) in the TV series: Is this kind of unpretentious supporting role really interesting? For example, isn't the life of a well-known actor such as Yumura Kasun even more curious than Yukio Matsuo? 
DoubtfulEdit
The reason why "The Man Who Was Picked Up" will feature Yumatsu Matsudo as the protagonist is actually very simple. The original novel of the same name of the TV series is an autobiographical novel written by Yu Yu Matsuo. Being able to put it on the TV screen can be said to be a continuation of the tradition of Japanese film and television dramas focusing on small people, but more importantly, Matsuo Yu's life experience is indeed dramatic, and it is not without reason that he is called "the man who was picked up".
Yuu Matsudo in the TV series didn't have ambitions to become an actor from the beginning - his teenage dream was actually to become a taxi driver. But after watching a stage play, Matsudo Yu was shocked by the smiles of the actors bathed in applause, and the idea of becoming an actor was born. He left his hometown of Hyogo West Palace, went to Sugita (played by Shunsuke Daito), his childhood sweetheart, and moved into an apartment in Omotesando, Tokyo, and began to pursue his dreams.
However, Yuu Matsudo has not received formal performance training, and has no way or money, and the audition opportunity that he finally obtained was also brushed off in the first round. It is not difficult for the audience to see the cruelty of competition in the entertainment industry. The selection rate of Matsudo's role in the selection of dragon roles is only one-thirtieth, but it is extremely lucky compared to the selection of the protagonist - for example, there are nearly 2,000 actresses competing for the protagonist of "Ama" Amano Akira. .
As Matsuo Yu said himself, his career in acting can be said to be "climbed up with the help of others", which is exactly what "the man who was picked up" means. One day, Yumatsu Matsudo picked up a ticket under a vending machine and found that the owner of the ticket was Hiroko Yamamura (played by Hiroko Maru, a pharmacist), a director of a modeling agency. At first, he thought of refunding the ticket for money, but finally returned the ticket to the owner out of conscience. The grateful Yamamura Hiroko asked Matsudo to meet and promised to give him a gift of thanks. Yamamura Hiroko was the first "noble" of Matsudo Yu, she took a fancy to Matsudo Yu's cheeky and Showa-style appearance, and brought him into her office to receive performance training. 
Matsuo Yu's autobiography
Even so, Matsudo Yu still suffered repeated defeats in the audition interview. To pay rent in expensive parts of Tokyo, he took a part-time job at a video rental shop. This part-time job leads to the second story line, which is Matsudo Yu's emotional line. His unremarkable appearance and unremarkable background made Yumatsu Matsudo frequently confessed his failures to girls since he was a student, and only exchanged a sentence of "let's be friends", but he was in a video rental shop with a part-time fellow who also came here. Several women have sparked one after another... 
The male protagonist failed again
The so-called hard work pays off. Matsudo Yu finally landed a role in a low-budget movie. Unexpectedly, his only line was cut off during the test screening of the film. Even so, he was already much luckier than his comrades who couldn't get a shot at all. Many things happened again later. In the scene of playing the prisoner and training the prisoner, the prisoner originally played by Yuu Matsudo was just a background board. Unexpectedly, during the rehearsal, Yuu Matsudo got to know the actor who was also a fellow prisoner in Hyogo Prefecture. During the official shooting, the head of the cell slapped the unprepared Yuu Matsudo in the face, telling him to Got a close-up. The actor who should have been beaten was indignant, because after passing the audition, he was practicing the most suitable expression after being beaten, but it turned out to be empty...I have to admit that on the road of acting, Yumatsu Matsudo's luck and chance Surprisingly good indeed. 
unhappy companion
But then again, the "picked man" himself can seize the opportunity that falls from the sky. The TV series doesn't pay much attention to this (probably to highlight that he is the "chosen son"), but there are still clues. For example, after realizing that his expression in that close-up shot was not ideal, Yuu Matsudo practiced repeatedly slapping himself in front of the bathroom mirror and then falling to the ground. In the play, one of the main reasons why he met another "noble person", the popular actor Igawa Haruka in the same office, is that Igawa Haruka is busy with his business and needs a full-time driver, and Matsudo Yu is the only one who has a driver's license in the office. To use some bad sayings, fate only favors those who are prepared. 
Yuu Matsudo becomes Haruka Igawa's driver
In fact, due to the heavy weight of the supporting actors in the play, Yumatsu Matsudo in "The Man Who Was Picked Up" achieved his own life while passing through their glittering lives. And the whole drama is also "healing" because it describes the struggle of the little people. This may be another intriguing aspect of the show. Haruka Igawa in the play has repeatedly expressed his rejection of the "healing department", "How can so many people be cured, I don't want to be cured"...
