Main theme: Shizuoka, the center-place of Hobbies

On this episode of imagine-nation, we'll be leaving our studio to deliver you public recording onsite from Shizuoka Prefecture! Starting with the Shizuoka born regional drama "Plastic Smile," we'll be exploring the appeal of Shizuoka that's come to be known as the "kingdom of models." The drama "Plastic Smile" is an adolescent story of its heroine Tsumugi Hayashida who works for a plastic model maker in Shizuoka City. The drama is packed with all the appeal of Shizuoka's local industry of the "plastic model" and the "models." Shizuoka is in fact the number one nationwide in terms of the shipment value of the plastic model, and it accounts for more than 90% share of the industry. There are companies which have set up observation spaces for tourists, and some even have the employees wear the military uniforms that appear in the anime. It's especially popular among foreign tourists. We'll explore the appeal of Shizuoka by focusing on Shizuoka's plastic model industry which also attracts plastic model fans from all over the world, pay a visit to a popular local plastic model workshop, and will also do a studio interview with manga artist Masakazu Katsura, an avid plastic figurine lover who worked on the design of the manga characters that appear in the drama.