I read about it too. NTV is not backing down, asking viewers to judge after watching the whole series. Ratings for the first episode is 14%, and it will only go up with this controversy/publicity.

xploring wrote:

I read about it too. NTV is not backing down, asking viewers to judge after watching the whole series. Ratings for the first episode is 14%, and it will only go up with this controversy/publicity.

NTV is probably loving it. Now a lot of people are going to watch just to see what the fuss is all about. If that hospital had been smart they would have waited until the drama had finished and then complained.

Whether the complains are right or not, it's nice to hear that there's a j-drama which stirs controversy. Too many drama series nowadays are just for pure entertainment and nothing more.

Yonekura Ryoko will have a new tv special drama this march its called KASEIFU WA MITA under TV ASAHI , here is the symptoms

Nobuko Sawaguchi is sent to work for the Uehara family as a housekeeper. Hidemitsu Uehara runs a plastic surgery clinic. For working as housekeeper at the Uehara family, Nobuko gets paid 2 billion yen ($20,000 USD) a month. Besides Hidemitsu Uehara, there's his two sons and their wives, plus Akemi Nakamura. Akemi Nakamura was born out of wedlock. It was actually Akemi that requested a housekeeper. Nobuko Sawaguchi becomes involved in an inheritance fight among the Uehara family.

An to play the heroine in NTV Spring 2014 drama "Hanasaki Mai ga damatte inai"

An will be playing the role of the heroine in the upcoming NTV Spring 2014 drama "Hanasaki Mai ga damatte inai" (Hanasaki Mai does not keep quiet) which begins its run from April 2014 in the Wednesdays 10pm timeslot. The drama is based on the novel by Ikeido Jun who is famous for his novels such as the Hanzawa Naoki series which made it big last year. The role of Hanasaki Mai is the only heroine among his many novels where she works as a bank employee who cannot keep quiet about the bad things happening in the bank she works for and doesn't care for power nor status. She works with a long-forgotten veteran employee Soma Ken to get justice for those being bullied and set the wrong things right.

An commented that this is not merely a drama about the banking industry but hopes that it can be an encouragement to the working class who may have many things they want to say but cannot do so at work. Through Hanasaki Mai's sense of justice, she hopes that it will give the viewers some inspiration and boost to strive on despite the daily challenges.

Source: Sponichi






Ninomiya Kazunari to star in NTV's Spring 2014 drama "Yowakutemo Katemasu ~ Seishi-sensei to Heppoko Koukou Kyuuji no Yabou"

Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari will be the lead in the new NTV Spring 2014 drama "Yowakuttemo Katemasu ~ Seishi-sensei to Heppoko Koukou Kyuuji no Yabou" (Even if we are weak, we will win ~ the aspirations of Teacher Seishi and the lousy senior high school baseball players) which begins its run from April in the Saturdays 9pm timeslot. This will be Ninomiya's first role as a teacher as he plays the character Tamo Seishi, a biology researcher at University of Tokyo who is asked to become a temporary biology teacher by his alma mater and due to his status as an OB, Tamo has to take on the position of the school baseball team's coach. However, his alma mater being a school focused on increasing the percentage of students making it to university, gives little attention to the baseball team where students are only required to practise once a week since their attention should be focused more on their studies. As such, the team has never won a single match to date. To change the situation, Tamo decides to make use of his clever students and pit their wits together to find a way for the team to win against a strong team despite the challenging conditions facing them.

Ninomiya who had experience playing baseball since primary school and even won the MVP in the 2003 "Johnny's FAN Kanshasai" at Tokyo Dome, said that playing a teacher itself is tough for him and hopes that his performance will be well-received by the viewers. Last year, when he was watching the summer national high school championships (Koshien), he was surprised to see one of the coaches being at the same age as him. All along, he had been playing baseball but never considered the viewpoint of a coach so he will try to play his character just like a coach aiming to bring his team to Koshien.

The drama is said to be an original story based loosely on "Yowakutemo Katemasu - Kaisei Academy Yakyuubu no Theory" by non-fiction writer Takahashi Hidemine which talks about how Kaisei Academy (one of the top private boys' school in Japan) managed to transform its baseball team. As part of the preparations for his role, senior high schools nationwide can apply through NTV's website to get Ninomiya to visit their school so that he can learn more about their baseball team.

Source: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2

http://doramaworld.blogspot.com.au/

Sato Takeru to be a detective in new Fuji TV drama

Sato Takeru will star in the new Fuji TV drama "Bitter Blood" as a detective.

This marks Sato's first ever detective role, and also his first starring drama on Fuji TV.

A rookie detective "Sahara Natsuki" (Sato) is assigned to the Investigation division of Ginza police station, and there, he has a reunion with his father and veteran detective, "Shimao Akimura" (played by Watabe Atsuro), who he has become estranged from after his parents' divorce. They happen to become partners with each other, and while opposing his father, Natsuki begins to learns more about how to be a detective from his father.

More cast members will be announced later date.

"Bitter Blood", which is originally Shizukui Shusuke's novel of the same name, will begin airing in April on Fuji TV (every Tuesday at 9:00 pm).


Source: Sanspo

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Ichihara Hayato to play the role of Fighting Harada in FujiTV drama SP "Ougon no Bantam wo yabutta otoko ~ Fighting Harada Monogatari"

Ichihara Hayato will play the role of legendary boxer Fighting Harada who was the first Japanese to win in two boxing classes in the upcoming FujiTV drama SP "Ougon no Bantam wo yabutta otoko ~ Fighting Harada Monogatari" (The Man who broke the golden bantam ~ the story of Fighting Harada) which is due to be shown on 22 February. The drama SP is based on a non-fiction book by Hyakuta Naoki which talks about how Harada became a double champion in the fly and bantam classes during the 1960s.

This is the second time that Ichihara is playing a boxer and he was personally coached by Harada when preparing for the filming. He commented that after seeing Harada's life story, many people should be inspired to do more for themselves.

In addition, Murata Ryota, the gold medalist for the boxing middle class during the London Olympics, will be making his acting debut as a practice student at the gym which Harada went to. Murata jokingly said that this should be his first and last appearance as an actor and hopes to work on his acting skills if there are such opportunities in future.

Source: Sanspo

Takito Kenichi to star in his first leading role through TV Tokyo Spring 2014 drama "Ore no Dandy-ism"

Takito Kenichi whose popularity was boosted by his character Kondo in last year's hit drama "Hanzawa Naoki", will be taking on his first leading role in the TV Tokyo Spring 2014 drama "Ore no Dandy-ism" due to be shown from April on Wednesdays. He will play the role of a section chief in a company who aspires to be a dandy man after hearing a newbie female employee declare that she likes such men. During his transformation process, the character will explore trends in fashion like what clothes and watch to wear and what accessories to carry which will offer insight to viewers who also aspire to learn more about what makes a man dandy.

When asked about his thoughts about getting his first leading role, Takito said that he thought it was a prank and didn't really believe it. However, he is now eagerly awaiting the start of the filming from mid March and feels that he can also benefit personally by learning new things through acting in this drama.

Source: Sponichi


Sato Takeru & Watabe Atsuro to play father-and-son in FujiTV Spring 2014 drama "Bitter Blood"

Sato Takeru and Watabe Atsuro will be playing father-and-son detectives in the upcoming FujiTV Spring 2014 drama "Bitter Blood" which begins its run from April in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot. This will be Sato's first role as a police detective and his first leading role in a FujiTV drama.

The drama which is based on the novel by Shizukui Shusuke, describes how newbie police detective Sahara Natsuki (Sato) who was separated from his father Shimao Akimura (Watabe) when he was a child and the two of them haven't been on good terms since then. However, as fate would have it, Natsuki is sent to the first criminal investigation division of the Ginza Police Station where Akimura works at and they are even forced to become buddies at work. Natsuki is a warm-hearted guy who will try to help everyone in need and very serious about work but his father gives off the opposite vibe with his flashy appearance and playboy mannerisms who seems more concerned about looking fashionable than his detective work.

Sato revealed that when he first read the script, he was very excited at the setting of a set of opposites being father and son and yet having to work together. He said that he had always admired the police officers in "Odoru Daisousasen" when he watched it as a child so he is very excited about playing a police detective in this drama. As for working with Watabe, Sato said that Watabe appeared really fashionable and good-looking just like his character and their comical interactions as father-and-son are bound to be good entertainment for the viewers.

Source: Sponichi


http://doramaworld.blogspot.com.au/

Sakai Masato to star in WOWOW's new drama SP "Pandora ~ Eien no Inochi"

Sakai Masato will make his return to the drama scene with his leading role in WOWOW's new drama SP "Pandora ~ Eien no Inochi" which will be shown on 27 April at 10pm. This is the fourth installment in the Pandora series following the first drama in 2008 starring Mikami Hiroshi, the second in 2010 starring Sato Koichi and the third in 2011 starring Eguchi Yosuke. Sakai will be playing the role of a doctor who comes up with a revolutionary human cloning technique which leads to a series of happenings as if the forbidden Pandora box is opened. Co-stars include Ono Machiko, Ishiguro Ken, Suzuki Kosuke, Ito Ayumi, Ibu Masato and Takahashi Katsumi and the scriptwriter will be Inoue Yumiko as per past installments under the Pandora series.

Source: Cinema Today

Oguri Shun to star in TV Asahi Spring 2014 drama "BORDER"

Oguri Shun will be taking on the lead role in TV Asahi's upcoming Spring 2014 drama "BORDER" due to start from April in the Thursdays 9pm timeslot. The drama's script is specially written with Oguri in mind by Naoki Award winner Kaneshiro Kazuki who is known for his works such as "GO". This will also be Oguri's first leading role in a TV Asahi drama.

Oguri plays the character Ishikawa, a police detective in the first division of the Metropolitan Police Department who has the unique power of communicating with the dead which helps him to solve difficult cases. Kaneshiro explained that he needed to find an actor who could show Ishikawa's multi-faceted character of being an ambitious hardworker who has a keen eye for observing things around him and a strong sense in picking up the things which did not seem right so he wrote this character with Oguri in mind. Oguri took on the role immediately when the offer came as he could identify with the character's desire to climb up the ranks and his change after experiencing death before was an interesting character setting. In addition, he hopes that this drama will become one of his signature works in his 30s.

Co-stars include Aoki Munetaka who plays Tachibana, the rival of Ishikawa, Mika, a coroner played by Haru, as well as Endo Kenichi, Furuta Arata and Takito Kenichi.

Source: Sanspo

Satoshi Ohno to star in drama adaptation of 'Shinigami-kun'

Arashi's Ohno Satoshi will star as a rookie reaper in TV Asahi's new drama "Shinigami-kun."

"Shinigami-kun" is a live-action drama adaptation of Endo Koichi's (best known as the author of "Tsuide ni Tonchinkan") manga which began its serialization in 1983 on Fresh Jump.

Though the protagonist is a reaper whose role is to send the dead soul to the spiritual world, it is a heartwarming fantasy that refers to parental love, friendship and even delves into social problems like bullying, therefore, the manga is known as Endo's "visionary masterpiece" among his fans.

Ohno's role is "Shinigami-kun" (aka "Reaper No.413") whose job is to pronounce death to expected people, and to take their souls to the spiritual world. His real name or other detailed profiles are not revealed. Dressed in a back suit with a bow tie,he appears in front of the expected person with his signature phrase "Congratulations! I'm here to call on you." As he is a rookie reaper, he tends to make a biased decision toward the human side, and break the rule of his world which always causes him to get reprehended by his boss called "Chief."

For the drama, filmmaker Nakata Hideo ("Ring", "Kuroyuri Danchi") is in charge of its direction while Hashimoto Hiroshi ("Jukunen Rikon", "Unmei no Hito") writes the script.

"Shinigami-kun" will begin airing in April on TV Asahi's "Friday Night Drama" tile slot (every Friday at 11:15pm).

Source: MANTAN WEB

Ueno Juri to star in TBS Spring 2014 drama "Arisu no Toge"

Ueno Juri will be making her return to dramas since 2011's Taiga "Gou" through the upcoming TBS Spring 2014 drama "Arisu no Toge" (Alice's Thorns) which will begin its run from April in the Fridays 10pm timeslot. Ueno will take on the role of a newbie doctor at an university-affiliated hospital whose father died due to a surgical mistake when she was 14 years old. As the mistake was kept under wraps by the hospital's personnel in order to evade responsibility, she vows to take revenge on all those involved by using her new identity.

Ueno has largely been known for her cheerful and bubbly roles in the past but this time, her character is so serious that there will be minimal scenes showing her smiling. The producer Takahashi Masanao said that Ueno was picked for the role to show the contrast between her image and the character and he feels quite excited to be able to see Ueno's cold expressions in the drama. Ueno also commented that she is thrilled to be able to try a new genre and promised to deliver her best.

Co-stars in this drama include Odagiri Jo, Kuriyama Chiaki and Nakamura Baijaku.

Source: http://doramaworld.blogspot.com/2014/02/ueno-juri-to-star-in-tbs-spring-2014.html

Is it true that itazura na kiss has season 2 and it will be air this may ?

junny wrote:

Never thought I'd see the day where a dorama is made about whisky! Okay, whiskey... but still, one of my favourite drinks in the world! I hope the cast is good! Abe Hiroshi, maybe?

Nope, not Abe, Tetsuji Tamayama.

Lead actor and actress announced for 'Massan'

NHK announced that they have appointed American actress Charlotte Kate Fox as the heroine for their upcoming morning drama "Massan".

She is the very first non-Japanese female lead in the history of their morning drama's, and it was also announced that the male lead will be played by actor Tamayama Tetsuji.

"Massan" is modeled after the founder of Nikka Whiskey, Taketsuru Masataka who is known as the "father of Japanese whiskey", and his wife Rita.

In the drama, Tamayama plays as "Kameyama Masaharu" who devotes himself to distilling whiskey during the Taisho era, while Fox plays as his Scottish wife "Ellie."

Reportedly, this is Fox' second time visiting Japan, as her first time was when she participated in the audition, and she will take intensive training in Japanese by the time they begin filming in May.

For the female lead audition, they received over 500 applications (232 people from Japan, and 289 people from overseas).

Regarding the reason of this appointment, NHK's producer Sakurai explained that she's very friendly and has a bright smile. Sakurai also stated that Fox had by far the best acting skills. According to the producer, she also has a great sense of humor.

NHK morning drama "Massan" will begin airing on September 29.

Source: Chunichi Sports & Oricon

Tsumabuki Satoshi, Eita, Mitsushima Hikari, Emoto Tasuku & Nomura Shuhei to play siblings in FujiTV summer 2014 drama "Wakamonotachi"

Tsumabuki Satoshi, Eita, Mitsushima Hikari, Emoto Tasuku and Nomura Shuhei will be playing siblings living under the same roof in the upcoming FujiTV 55th anniversary commemorative summer 2014 drama "Wakamonotachi" (The Youngsters) which begins its run from July. The drama will be directed by Sugita Shigemichi who is known for his work in the "Kita no Kuni kara" series.

"Wakamonotachi" was first made in 1966 which featured Tanaka Kunie, Hashimoto Isao, Sato Orie, Yamamoto Kei and Matsuyama Seiji as five siblings who lost their parents at a young age and how they struggled to live in the midst of various social problems such as poverty. The 2014 version will feature the 5 actors facing loneliness, employment woes and discrimination as they try to deal with the gap between their ideals and reality. Co-stars also include Aoi Yu, Hashimoto Ai and Yoshioka Hidetaka.

As for the theme song "Kimi no yuku michi wa hateshinaku tooi" which was sung by Broad Side Four, the new version will be sung by Moriyama Naotaro.

Source: Sponichi / Sanspo

Miho Nakayama and Dohmoto Tsuyoshi to star in NHK drama 'Platonic'

Nakayama Miho will be making her return to dramaland when she takes on the lead role of a single mother in the upcoming NHK BS Premium drama "Platonic" which will be written by Nojima Shinji. Her co-star will be KinKi Kids' Dohmoto Tsuyoshi. The drama will begin its run from 25 May in the Sundays 10pm timeslot.

Nakayama plays the role of Sara, a single mother with a daughter suffering from a heart ailment. However, she then meets a mysterious man played by Domoto who she falls for thus making her struggle between her responsibilities as a mother and her feelings as a woman in love. Although Nakayama and Dohmoto have never worked together before, they have both acted in Nojima's dramas i.e. 1990's "Sutekina Kataomoi" and 1994's "Ningen Shikaku" respectively.

Filming will begin in the middle of this month.

Source: Sanspo

Nao Matsushita and Ryuta Sato to star in NHK drama

Matsushita Nao and Sato Ryuta will be starring in the new NHK drama "Fuyou no Hito ~ Fujisanchou no Tsuma" (The Hibiscus Person ~ The wife on top of Mt. Fuji) which will begin its run from 26 July in the Saturdays 9pm timeslot. The drama which consists of six episodes, features Matsushita as Chiyoko, the wife of Meiji-era meteorologist Nonaka Itaru (Sato) who set up the first private meteorological station on Mount Fuji in 1895. Despite temperatures being around minus 30 degrees Celsius on top of the mountain, Nonaka still wanted to spend a winter there for the set-up of the station so Chiyoko even lied to her mother-in-law just to accompany her husband there despite the threat of the cold and altitude sickness.

Filming will begin from the end of April to the beginning of August and the crew will film on Mt. Fuji for a few days at the end of May. Despite being early summer, temperatures are still in the negative zone on the peak. Matsushita said that she has been trying to walk 10,000 steps per day since February in order to prepare for the climb up to Mt.Fuji.

Source: Sanspo

Looks like that "maru maru mori mori" song will be running thru my head again.


Marumo no Okite to return with a special

The hit Fuji TV drama "Marumo no Okite" will return as a special drama after 3 years.

The drama tells a story of a single office worker (played by Abe Sadawo) who raises the twin children (played by Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku) left behind by his best friend's death.

The drama series aired back in 2011, and there was also a special drama that aired in the same year. Not only the drama itself, but its theme song, sung by Ashida and Suzuki (under the name "Kaoru to Tomoki, Tamani Mook"), also became a big hit.

The upcoming special drama will depict their subsequent life. As it's been 3 years since the drama was last aired, the viewers can see the twins become 4th graders, and one of the highlights is said to be the twins' relationship with their mother (played by Tsuruta Mayu) who lives separately with them. Of course, their talking dog Mook will also appear in the special drama.

Special drama "Marumo no Okite" will air on Fuji TV sometime this fall.

Source: Sanspo

gaijinmark wrote:

Looks like that "maru maru mori mori" song will be running thru my head again. Marumo no Okite to return with a special The hit Fuji TV drama "Marumo no Okite" will return as a special drama after 3 years. The drama tells a story of a single office worker (played by Abe Sadawo) who raises the twin children (played by Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku) left behind by his best friend's death. The drama series aired back in 2011, and there was also a special drama that aired in the same year. Not only the drama itself, but its theme song, sung by Ashida and Suzuki (under the name "Kaoru to Tomoki, Tamani Mook"), also became a big hit. The upcoming special drama will depict their subsequent life. As it's been 3 years since the drama was last aired, the viewers can see the twins become 4th graders, and one of the highlights is said to be the twins' relationship with their mother (played by Tsuruta Mayu) who lives separately with them. Of course, their talking dog Mook will also appear in the special drama. Special drama "Marumo no Okite" will air on Fuji TV sometime this fall. Source: Sanspo

I wish they will make another series instead of only a SP though.
3 years already. Time flies.


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Ueto Aya to play a straying wife in the FujiTV summer 2014 drama "Hirugao ~ Heijitsu Gogo Sanji no Koibito"

Ueto Aya will take on the role of a straying wife in the new FujiTV summer 2014 drama "Hirugao ~ Heijitsu Gogo Sanji no Koibitotachi" (Afternoon Face ~ The Weekday 3pm Lovers) which begins its run from July in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot. The script will be written by Inoue Yumiko and the producer will be Nishitani Hiroshi who are working together for the first time since their last collaboration in "Shiroi Kyoto". The term "hirugao" is a term coined to describe married women who have affairs after sending their husbands off to work in the morning.

Ueto plays the role of Sasamoto Sawa, who has a part-time job at a supermarket but has the habit of shoplifting from her employer. Unfortunately, she is caught in the act by a rich man's wife Takigawa Rikako (Kichise Michiko) who is having an affair with an artist Kato Osamu (Kitamura Kazuki) behind her husband's back. Due to her interaction with Rikako, Sawa later develops a forbidden affair with senior high school teacher Kitano Yuichiro played by Saito Takumi. Co-stars also include Ito Ayumi, Kinami Haruka, Kinoshita Houka, Suzuki Kosuke and Takahata Atsuko.

Source: Sponichi / Chunichi

http://doramaworld.blogspot.com.au/

Toshiro Yanagiba to star in Fuji TV drama

Yanagiba Toshiro will be starring in the FujiTV summer 2014 drama "Asunaro Sansannanabyoushi" which will begin its run from 15 July in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot. This is his first leading role in 15 years in a network drama since 1999's "Ring ~ Saishusho".

The drama is based on the same-titled novel by Shigematsu Kiyoshi about Fujimaki, a salaryman who is 50 years old and gets retrenched suddenly. He is then told to join an university's cheering team at the orders of his company's president where he has to save the team from being disbanded. As preparations for the role. Yanagiba had to undergo intense training from the OBs of University of Tokyo's cheering team.

Co-stars include Gouriki Ayame, a 3rd year student who hates the cheering team for being a place where men are seen as superior to women and wants to destroy it, Kazama Shunsuke, a cheering team member with blonde hair and earrings as well as Sorimachi Takashi, the OB of the cheering team who coaches Fujimaki on the art of cheering.

Source: Sanspo