AbemaTV Inc. Producer Kai Kashio

"The job of a producer is interesting precisely because things don't always go as planned"

Producer, AbemaTV Inc.　Kai Kashio(Kashio Kai)

■ Profile
Graduated from Meiji University's School of Commerce in 2013. After joining the SoftBank Group, he moved to a television production company. In 2018, he moved to AbemaTV, Inc., where he worked as a producer in the variety genre. He is currently a producer for the romance reality show series "Don't Fall in Love with the Wolves."

Kashio Kai is the producer behind the series "Don't Fall in Love with the Wolves," an ever-popular original romance show on "ABEMA," which is watched by roughly one in three teenage girls in Japan. We spoke to him about the work of a producer, which many people are curious about, as well as the unique appeal of "ABEMA," and the production of the "Don't Fall in Love with the Wolves" series.

■ The path to becoming a producer that continued to take action

During my student days, I was involved in many student organizations. I belonged to over 10 organizations, and I was light on my feet and active while gaining a wide range of knowledge. When I graduated, I had a strong desire to grow, so I joined SoftBank. However, I was a TV fanatic who had been watching TV since I was little, so I wanted to work with celebrities, and so I entered this industry. After gaining experience as an AD (assistant director) and D (director) at a production company, an employee at CyberAgent contacted me, and I decided to change jobs, wanting to try my hand at being a producer in a challenging environment like ABEMA.

After joining the company, I started out as an assistant. I was around 28 years old when I joined "ABEMA," so I worked like crazy with the thought, "I'm going to graduate from assistant work as soon as possible" (laughs). The people around me were busy and couldn't teach me step-by-step how to do my job, so I thought about how I could steal their skills. I would watch the conversations between my respected seniors on the messaging tools they used, and then I would take about 15 minutes to ask them to explain things to me. After doing this over and over, I was able to become my long-awaited producer within a few months.

■ The unexpected is what makes the job of a producer so interesting

The producer's duties mainly involve creating plans, building teams, progressing production, and managing budgets. The producer does not come up with all of the ideas for the plans; rather, they work together with production companies and build a team of around 15 to 20 people within ABEMA, including those in charge of programming, operations, advertising, and public relations, to come up with various ideas and create the plans. The producer's job also involves figuring out how to make what they want to do happen within a set budget. To use a restaurant analogy, the job of a restaurant owner, who decides on the theme and worldview to go with while looking at the budget, is similar to the job of a producer.
ABEMA offers linear broadcasts, but most of the content is also available for on-demand viewing. For this reason, we spend a lot of time planning how to present content so that viewers will be interested, not only beforehand but also during and after the broadcast. There are times when we get unexpected reactions and things don't always go as planned, but I think that's what makes it fun. I feel like I expand my repertoire by coming into contact with values ​​that are completely different from my own, and these unpredictable responses from viewers are what make my job as a producer so rewarding.

■ "ABEMA" for its comprehensiveness

The most important thing when planning a program is to convey what's interesting in one sentence. We also value the idea of ​​ABEMA programs being talked about on social media. We believe that being able to sum up what makes a program interesting in one sentence will naturally increase its reach. While many people watch terrestrial TV by flipping through channels and watching the one that catches their eye and looks interesting, ABEMA programs are often based on intentional viewing, where viewers are intent on watching. Therefore, it's important to clearly communicate the show's appeal to viewers with a logline that asks, "What's it about, in simple terms?" While ABEMA offers linear broadcasts with channel lineups like live broadcasts on TV, it also offers a unique service that allows viewers to watch catch-up episodes on demand. There's a correlation between real-time viewing and on-demand viewing and comment volume, so we place importance on how we can create excitement through real-time streaming, increasing comment volume and the total number of content views. Additionally, ABEMA has over 25 channels, and we believe its strength lies in its comprehensiveness across all genres and targets, including news, original dramas, romance reality shows, sports, and anime.

■Challenges as a producer of a romance reality show

I'm currently in charge of the original romance reality show series "Don't Fall for the Wolves," but I previously oversaw comedian-led variety shows like "Chance Time" and "New York Romance Market." So when I was asked to become a producer for a romance reality show, I was like, "What does it mean to make someone's heart flutter?" (laughs) Since it was uncharted territory, I first watched and studied many romance reality shows. However, since the audience was completely different from variety shows—teenagers and people in their twenties—there were many things I didn't understand on my own, and it was extremely difficult at first to align my perceptions and values ​​with those of the target audience. Since imagining it on my own didn't work, I repeatedly interviewed accepted candidates and young people around me to gather input, such as, "What are young people watching these days, why are they watching it, and what apps are they using?"

■I want to continue pursuing interesting things in the future.

I'm interested in anything that I find interesting. I want to continue to be in an environment where I can continue to pursue what is "interesting." To do that, I think it's important to take action and keep coming up with ideas myself. Some ideas come to me when I talk with the writers and team members around me, and sometimes when I meet and talk with someone, they say, "I've come up with a great idea, let's hear it." At those times, I sometimes brush up on the ideas and seeds I receive within my own values, thinking, "Maybe it would be interesting if we did it this way," or "This method might work for ABEMA," and then put them together into a plan. In the future, whenever I come up with something new, I would love to take on the challenge.

■Message to university students

I want you to gain as much experience as possible. There's a line in a manga that I hold dear in my life: "It's not about whether you can do it or not, it's about whether you try it or not." It's easy to decide whether you can do it or not and not take on a challenge, but I want you to value the challenge of "let's just give it a try." It's okay to try something and fail, and if you decide it's not for you, you can quit after a few hours or a day, but I think there are many people who don't even try for a minute. I joined various student organizations during my student days, which broadened my life experience and helped me understand what makes me feel negative or positive. I encourage you to immerse yourself in a variety of environments.

Student Newspaper Online December 26, 2024 Interview by Toyo University sophomore Rinno Koshiyama