Gen Hoshino to star in new WOWOW drama

Hoshino Gen will be starring in the new WOWOW drama "Plage" which will be shown this summer in the Saturdays 10pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 5 episodes, is the first drama in 10 years featuring Hoshino in the leading role and based on the same-titled novel by Honda Tetsuya.

Hoshino will be playing the 32-year-old lead character Yoshimura Takao, a sales department salaryman at a travel agency who dabbles in stimulants out of fun which then leads to his arrest and dismissal by his company. To make things worse, the apartment where he lives at goes up in flames by accident. Having lost his job and place to live, Takao goes to live in the sharehouse Plage which takes in people with various backgrounds who are striving to regain their former lives or content to stay in a corner of society. Although Takao resolves to restart his life, he gets embroiled into the controversies and troubles involving the tenants there.

Hoshino commented that this must be the most useless person he has played in his career so far and he revealed that he found Takao to be the type of people he can't handle. However, from episode 3 onwards, Hoshino finally saw the charming points in Takao's character so he unwittingly found himself liking Takao by the end.

Filming began from 8 March.

Sources: Sanspo / Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com

It must be a new rule in the J-Ent world that every drama has to have either Yutaka Matsushige or Kenichi Endo in the cast.

Kenichi Endo to star in FujiTV 2017 Spring special

Endo Kenichi will be starring in one of the segments within FujiTV's new "Yo ni mo Kimyou na Monogatari Spring 2017 SP" which will be shown at 9pm on 29 April. His segment titled "Tsuma no Kioku" (My wife's memories) is based on a mystery thriller web manga "Kiki Kaikai" currently serialised on the website XOY and is a somewhat strange love story.

Endo plays the role of Narita Yoichiro who is a salaryman obsessed with his work and would only return home near dawn due to entertainment and drinking sessions. One day, his wife Haruko (Harade Mieko) suddenly passes away due to a fire. Surprisingly, Haruko appears in front of Yoichiro at breakfast time on the following morning after her funeral and he turns out to be the only one who can see her while his daughter can't. While pondering over whether the Haruko he is seeing is a ghost or his hallucination, Yoichiro finds out that Haruko had dementia when she was still alive and her presence is the result of her strong desire of not wanting to be forgotten. As such, Yoichiro tries to live together with Haruko afresh based on the memories she had.

Endo commented that although the image of this series' stories tend to be of the shocking and scary type, there are some sad and strange stories as well. Although he was apprehensive as to whether he could show these elements in a 20-min segment, he found it a meaningful challenge to be able to attempt this story. Despite having difficulties with the CG filming, he had no problems working with Harada since they had played a married couple before.

Source: Oricon

Hikari Ishida and Tsubasa Imai to star in FujiTV Spring drama

Ishida Hikari will be appearing in a drama for the first time in 14 years when she takes on the leading role in the new FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "Yaneura no Koibito" (The Attic Lover) which will begin its run from 3 June in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, is the 8th production in the "Saturday dramas for adults" timeslot since April last year.

Ishida plays the lead character Saijo Kinuka who is a housewife and has a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son with her husband. Due to the death of her father-in-law, she moves to a Western-style house in Kamakura left behind by him together with her family. Kinuka finally realises her longtime dream of opening a flower arrangement school by doing it in the salon of her new house. Just when she thinks that her life is already perfect, she is aghast to find her ex-boyfriend Seno Itsuki (Imai Tsubasa) at her housewarming party even though they had parted ways 18 years ago. Although Kinuka manages to chase Seno away that day, strange things start happening in the Saijo household as food is found to be missing from the fridge and her husband's clothing disappear for no reason. It turns out that Seno has started living in the attic of the house and this gradually causes the revelation of secrets hidden by the people around Kinuka including her husband, children, mother-in-law and best friend and leads to her being forced into a corner mentally. When a murder takes place, this then causes her fate to be affected drastically. This will be the first time that Ishida and Imai are working together in a drama.

Ishida who also has two daughters in their teens, said that she can identify with Kinuka's efforts in raising her children and pledged to do her best in this drama. As for being involved in a forbidden relationship with Imai's character, Ishida said that she felt bad about it as Imai is too young to play her love interest but she is still looking forward to working with him.

On the other hand, Imai who has not appeared in a drama in 14 years since 2003's NTV drama "Saigo no Bengonin", commented that he has never played such a character before but hopes to bring some excitement to the viewers on their Saturday nights by applying what he had learnt from doing stage plays all this while.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

gaijinmark wrote:

Perfume to star in their first drama as childhood friends TV Tokyo will air a special drama titled "Pensees" starring the members of Perfume from March 31 to April 1.

And in case you missed it, it's available on Netflix.

Perfume drama special "Pensees" to be shown on Netflix

TV Tokyo drama SP "Pensees" starring Perfume will be streamed exclusively within Japan via Netflix from 19 April. The drama SP was first shown via TV Tokyo on 31 March and 1 April and featured the three members Nishiwaki Ayaka (Acchan), Kashino Yuka (Kashiyuka) and Omoto Ayano (Nocchi) as the leads.

The story is based on an original script written by Kizara Izumi with the themes of what it means to have a dream, work and die. Nishiwaki plays a company employee nicknamed Don-chan while Kashino plays Okamido who works as in her family business and Omoto plays Noribuu who is a freeter. The three of them became close friends since primary school as they went home together. When the three of them decide to buy a European-style bungalow which they have been eyeing for a long time, the real estate company offers to sell it to them at a very low price on the condition that they look after someone named Rikimaru. Upon agreeing to this, the trio move into the bungalow where they start to ponder over their dreams, work and death through their chats with one another.

Source: Eiga.com

Yusuke Santa-Maria to star in NHK drama

Yusuke Santa-Maria will be starring in the new NHK drama "Ecchan" which will begin its run from 15 July in the Saturdays 6.05pm timeslot. The story which is based on the same-titled novel by Shishi Bunroku, will be set in Ginza, Tokyo in the 10th year of the Showa era.

Yanagi Etsuko (Hirao Nanaka) is a 10-year-old girl who loves to sing while her father Rokutaro (Santa-Maria) is a struggling lyricist who is still pining for his late wife. Seeing this and deciding that her father can't live like this anymore, Etsuko tries to help Rokutaro find his new life partner and her new stepmother. Etsuko's first target is her form teacher Muraoka but things do not progress as she expects. As such, she changes her target to Ikebe Kyoko (Kadowaki Mugi), a salesgirl who she happens to meet at a departmental store and grows to like. However, Rokutaro's elder sister Tsuruyo also introduces another woman Kaoru (Ishida Nicole) to her brother. Kaoru is the daughter of a director in the bank which is a shareholder of Tsuruyo's husband's company and it seems like she and Rokutaro are on course to get married even though Etsuko would rather have Kyoko become her stepmother.


The drama consists of 8 episodes and will be filmed between May 2017 and August 2017.

Sources: Oricon / NHK

Kento Nagayama and Nao Oomori to star in TV Tokyo Summer drama


Nagayama Kento and Oomori Nao will be joint leads in the new TV Tokyo Summer 2017 drama "Izakaya Fuji" (Bar Fuji) which will begin its run from July in the Saturdays 12.20am timeslot. Prior to this, Amazon Prime Video will be exclusively showing the drama one week before its OA start date.

The drama is set in an izakaya named Izakaya Fuji that exists in real-life at Naka Meguro and describes the life story of the owner of the place who was nicknamed Oyaji and passed away in 2014. Nagayama plays a struggling actor named Nishio Eiichi who keeps getting roles to play dead people. One day, in order to boost his spirits, he tries to find an izakaya which he saw on the Instagram account of a girl he likes and ends up at Izakaya Fuji which is filled with signature boards of the famous and has a strong Showa feel. What's more he finds actor Oomori Nao there (Oomori playing himself)! Through his interaction with the people there, Nishio gradually realises what is important to him in life. The dishes served at the bar will also be featured in the drama.

Nagayama said that there will be big-name guests featured in each episode and it has been a stimulating experience to act in scenes which are usually seen during auditions or workshops. On the other hand, Oomori who is a regular at the real Izakaya Fuji, praised the staff for being to replicate the bar as it is which will give the impression that they filmed at the actual bar. As for playing himself again, Oomori joked that TV Tokyo seems to have a penchance for getting actors to take on their real identities in dramas since he also did the same in the drama "Byplayers".

The ending theme song titled "Yoru no Kumo" (Night Clouds) will be sung by the band Tsuki ni hoeru where Oomori is the vocalist and guitarist.

Sources: Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon / Eiga.com

Naomi Watanabe to star in TBS 2017 Summer drama

Watanabe Naomi will be starring in the new TBS Summer 2017 drama "Kanna-san!" which will begin its run from July in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. This is the first time she is taking on a leading role in a primetime slot drama.

The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Fukaya Kahoru serialised in manga magazine "YOU" between 2001 and 2007 and features Watanabe as a fashion designer Kanna. Although she has a handsome husband Rei, Kanna discovers that he is having an affair and she also has to cope with her difficult mother-in-law. At work, she is bullied by her unreasonable boss. Despite these daily challenges in life, Kanna tries her best to live positively for the sake of her beloved son Reon.

Watanabe commented that she was surprised to see how Kanna looked so much like herself when she read the manga especially how the latter does not let her physical appearance stand in the way of her desire to become fashionable and live her desired lifestyle. This made her wonder if the author created the story with her in mind. However, Watanabe said that Kanna probably packs 5 times more power than she actually has so she will try her best to play this character well.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com

Arata Iura to star in NHK Premium drama special

Iura Arata will be starring in the new NHK BS Premium Drama SP "Henkan Koushounin - Itsuka, Okinawa wo torimodosu -" (Restoration Negotiator - Someday, we will get back Okinawa) which will be shown in August. Filming begins in the middle of May and will be wrapped up in mid June.

The story is based on the novel "Boku wa Okinawa wo torimodoshitai Isshoku no Gaikoukan Chiba Kazuo" by Miyagawa Tetsushi which features Chiba Kazuo who was one of the key persons negotiating the return of Okinawa to Japan after World War II. Iura plays Chiba who used to be a communications solder in the navy during the war and could only listen to the wireless communications of the US army as they attacked Okinawa. After the war, he became a diplomat and made a pledge to his wife Keiko (Toda Naho) that he will get back Okinawa one day from the Americans who occupied it and used it as a base for the Vietnam war.

Co-stars include Omi Toshinori, Nakajima Ayumu, Sano Shiro, Oosugi Ren and Ishibashi Renji.

Source: Eiga.com

They must really be starved for new ideas if they're making a sequel of this.

Kotaro Koizumi and Yuki Matsushita return in "Keishicho Zerogakari - Seikatsu Anzenka Nandemo Soudanshitsu-"

Koizumi Kotaro and Matsushita Yuki will be reprising their roles in the sequel to their TV Tokyo Winter 2016 drama "Keishicho Zerogakari ~ Seikatsu Anzenka Nandemo Soudanshitsu~" (Metropolitan Police Department Section Zero ~ Community Safety Department's Office for consultation regarding anything) which will be shown from July this year. The new installment titled "Keishicho Zerogakari ~ Seikatsu Anzenka Nandemo Soudanshitsu~SECOND SEASON" features Koizumi as Kobayakawa Fumihiko, a naive superintendent who is oblivious to his surroundings and Matsushita as Terada Torami, a foul-mouthed veteran police detective. The two of them work with other detectives seen as worthless by the organisation (thus earning the name Zerogakari because anything multipled by zero is still zero) to solve various difficult cases. Regulars from the first season who will be returning in the sequel include Adachi Yumi who plays Honjo Yasuko, an admin officer who insists on working only between 9am and 5pm, emphasizes productivity and has a venomous tongue, TKO's Kinoshita Takayuki who plays Sakuraba Yusaku, a hardworking detective who cannot climb up the hierarchy despite his efforts and Oosugi Ren who plays the section chief Kameyama Yoshio tasked to spy on Kobayakawa secretly. Other co-stars include Rokkaku Shinji, Kishi Asuka, Ishimaru Kenjiro and Kato Cha.

The drama's producer Matsumoto Taku said that when they finished filming the first series, the cast were eager to get together again for a sequel so they are all very happy that this has finally materialised. Koizumi also commented that he's happy to play Kobayakawa again and meet up with the members of Zerogakari in the sequel. Matsushita said that with new members added to the lineup, the Zerogakari will be back with a boost to its strength and hopes that the viewers will enjoy watching it.

Source: Sponichi

Souta Fukushi starring in NTV 2017 Summer drama

Fukushi Souta will be starring in the upcoming NTV Summer 2017 drama "Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru" (I used to love, there is a secret) which will begin its run from July on Sundays. The original concept of this drama is by music producer Akimoto Yasushi who last produced the 2005 TV Asahi drama "Chakushin Ari" starring Kikukawa Rei that is unrelated to his AKB girl groups.

Fukushi plays the lead character Okumori Rei who killed his father (Horibe Keisuke) in the summer of when he was in the third year of junior high school so as to protect his mother Akiko (Suzuki Honami) who suffered from domestic violence inflicted by her husband. In order to hide his crime, Rei and Akiko decided to bury the corpse in the back garden of their house, report him as missing and share this dark secret between themselves. Rei strives hard to become a lawyer without making friends or falling in love. 11 years later, the 26-year-old Rei meets Tachibana Sawa (Kawaguchi Haruna) in graduate law school and the two of them fall in love with each other. Although Rei has made up his mind to get married to Sawa with his mother's blessings, someone who seemingly knows about his secret sends an alarming message to him. Co-stars include Endo Kenichi who plays Sawa's father and is the chief prosecutor, Koide Keisuke who plays Sawa's elder brother at odds with his father, Okae Kumiko who plays Sawa's mother and tries to keep her family together, Suzuki Kosuke who plays a doctor in love with Akiko, Shirasu Jin who is a mutual friend of Rei and Sawa, Yamamoto Mirai who plays a teacher of Rei and Sawa, Emoto Tokio who is a paralegal assisting Sawa during her internship and Yashiba Toshihiro who plays a police detective investigating the disappearance of Rei's father 11 years ago.

Fukushi commented that this drama contains various elements such as romance and mystery and this is his first time acting in a mystery story so he hopes that viewers will look forward to watching this. As for working with Kawaguchi, he said that she is a perfect fit to play the cheerful Sawa and feels secure about working with her again. On the other hand, Kawaguchi expressed her anticipation at participating in this drama especially how her character develops in the story. As for Suzuki, she is eagerly anticipating working with her cute "son" and "daughter-in-law" in this drama.

Akimoto said that the key concept of the drama is how much you know about your lover. Everyone will have their own secrets but the extent of how much you can tolerate your own lover keeping secrets from you is something he would like the viewers to think about even if they have no romantic partner in their lives now.

Filming begins in early June.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

Matsuya Onoe to star in TV Tokyo 2017 Summer drama

Onoe Matsuya will be taking on his first leading role in a drama series when he appears as the lead of TV Tokyo Summer 2017 drama "Saboriiman Kantarou" (The playing truant salaryman Kantarou) which begins its run from July in the Thursdays 1am timeslot.

The drama is based on the popular manga "Saboriiman Ametani Kantarou" by Hagiwara Tenten and features Onoe as Ametani Kantarou, a single and bespectacled salaryman working in a publishing company's sales department who is known by the people around him to be a capable worker and looks very cool on the surface. However, he is actually a desserts lover and he tries to hide this and satisfy his craving by playing truant during work at times in search of nice desserts on his own. Besides showing the delicious desserts which Kantarou will savour, VFX technology will also be in use to show the images in his brain when he gets high on his beloved desserts.

Onoe admitted that as he is also a desserts lover and would go to look for nice desserts on his own at times, being able to take on this role is like a dream come true for him. He is especially excited about being able to visit some of the famous Japanese and Western-style desserts in Tokyo which will be featured in the drama. As for taking on the leading role in a drama series, he is happy and thankful to be given the chance and hopes to show the gap between his character's serious image and his unconventional love for desserts through his acting. Ideally, he wishes that this drama will in turn increase the number of guys who love desserts.

Besides being shown on TV, the drama will be streamed via Netflix one week before each episode's scheduled broadcast on TV Tokyo.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon / Eiga.com

Atsushi Ito star in NTV 2017 Summer drama

Ito Atsushi will be starring in the new NTV Summer 2017 drama "Nou ni sumaho ga umerareta" (There is a smartphone buried inside my brain) which will begin its run in the Thursdays 11.59pm timeslot from 6 July. The science-fiction drama is based on the book "Shin Kikaku Konshin no kikaku to hassou no te no uchi subete misemasu" by Suzuki Osamu which talks about the secrets behind the planning of hit TV programmes.

Ito plays the lead character Orimo Keita who is a 34-year-old salaryman placed on the retrenchment list by his employer which is an apparel company. He is divorced and raising his 9-year-old daughter on his own. Having the power to see the messages sent and received by other people in his brain, he makes use of this to solve various problems, help others and become a better person while being embroiled in these troublesome issues at the same time. Shinkawa Yua will play the heroine Ryuuko who teaches him how to use the smartphone in his brain.

Ito commented that although the story has a rather far-fetched setting, he hopes to convey the interesting side of it which viewers will probably enjoy. As he has no example to learn from when playing such a character, he will try to figure things out on his own. On the other hand, Shinkawa said that the story may seem unlikely but could happen in real-life so she hopes that viewers will feel engaged and continue watching the drama.

Sources: Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi

Yuina Kuroshima and Kentaro to star in NHK drama "Ashi Girl"

Kuroshima Yuina and Kentaro will be starring in the new NHK real-life adaptation drama "Ashi Girl" which will begin its run from 23 September in the Saturdays 6.05pm timeslot. The drama consists of 12 episodes and is based on the same-titled manga by Morimoto Kozueko.

Kuroshima plays the 16-year-old lead character Hayakawa Yui whose only strong point is her ability to run fast. She accidentally goes back into time to the Warring States era where she makes use of her ability on the battlefield to protect her beloved young prince. Through finding a goal to work towards to, Yui finds a new world waiting for her as she uses her power to change the person she loves and move the people she meets.

Source: Oricon

Teppei Arita and Tsubasa Honda to star in TBS 2017 Summer drama

Comedic duo Cream Stew's Arita Teppei will be taking on his first leading role in a drama series when he appears in the upcoming TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu" which begins its run from July in the Wednesdays 11.56pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Furuya Minoru which was serialised in "Young Magazine" between 2006 and 2007. The heroine Hada Azusa who aspires to be a novelist, will be played by Honda Tsubasa.

Arita plays the lead character Tomioka Yuuji who works as a security guard and has never dated before or had any experience in sex. In order to bid farewell to his life so far, he sets out to make new friends. However, his meeting with a homeless middle-aged guy who calls himself a nomad in life (Mitsuishi Ken) marks the beginning of a series of accidents which change his life drastically such as receiving threatening letters predicting his death in a year's time. At the same time, Tomioka gets embroiled in another case due to the arrival of two new colleagues i.e. Hanabayashi Yuudai (Kaku Kento) and Amekawa Isamu (Yoshimura Kaito). Other co-stars include Fuchikami Yasushi and Murakami Jun.

Arita said that he had always tried to avoid acting in dramas all this while but this time, he found himself accepting the offer without thinking too much about questions like why he was selected to be the lead. In addition, he could see that some parts in the drama resonated with his own situation so he hoped that the viewers will see him for who he is through the story. However, he felt a lot of pain in his body just after one day of filming which he attributed it to his heavy sense of responsibility as the lead even though the drama has a lot of comedic developments. Despite so, he is still enjoying the filming as the days go by. As for Honda, when she first heard that the lead actor is Arita, she was surprised but also thought that it would be interesting to work with him. Even for viewers who don't know the original manga, she feels that Tomioka's efforts in trying to change his lonely life and the struggles he face will make them empathise with and support him

Filming is already in progress.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon

Arata Furuta and Eiko Koike to star in TV Tokyo 2017 Summer drama

Furuta Arata and Koike Eiko will be starring in the upcoming TV Tokyo Summer 2017 drama "Shimokitazawa Diehard" which will begin its run from July in the Fridays 12.12am timeslot via TV Tokyo, TV Hokkaido, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi and TVQ Kyushu. As for TV Osaka, it will be showing the drama one week after the first O.A at 12.12am on Mondays. The comedic drama features the two of them as navigators for 11 stories written by 11 different scriptwriters with a common theme of someone's worst day in his/her life happening in Shimokitazawa. Furuta will play a regular customer of a bar managed by Koike's character where the two of them talk about the stories. The 11 scriptwriters who will be participating in this drama include Ueda Makoto, Enomoto Gurimu, Kiyasu Kohei, Saijo Mitsutoshi, Shiba Yukio, Nemoto Shuko, Hosokawa Toru, Fukuhara Mitsunori, Matsui Shu, Maruo Maruichiro and Miura Naoyuki.

Furuta commented that he was impressed with how TV Tokyo managed to come up with such a project involving 11 scriptwriters. As Shimokitazawa is a place known for its many small-sized theatres, Furuta who is actively involved in stage plays, revealed that he's in the area almost every day so he is so familiar with the shooting locations. Nonetheless, he would still like to be able to uncover new places in the area which can become hot spots after the drama is aired. In addition, he is looking forward to be able to go for drinks after the end of each filming day and called upon viewers to check out this drama as he has confidence in the quality of the stories.

As for Koike, she expressed her excitement at being offered the chance to take part in this challenging project and hope to be a nice spice to the vastly different 11 stories. Her impression of Shimokitazawa is that it is a place with a nice blend of old and new elements so she hopes that the drama will convey the unique atmosphere of the area and make more people interested in checking out the place. She is also looking forward to be able to work with Furuta in this drama.

Sources: Eiga.com / TV Tokyo

Masataka Kubota and Hana Sugisaki to reprise their roles from "N no Tame ni" and "Yakou Kanransha" in TBS 2017 Spring drama

Kubota Masataka and Sugisaki Hana will be reprising their roles from previous TBS dramas based on Minato Kanae's novels in the ongoing TBS Spring 2017 drama "Reverse". Kubota will be playing Naruse Shinji again from the Autumn 2014 drama "N no Tame Ni" while Sugisaki will be playing Endo Ayaka from the Winter 2013 drama "Yakou Kanransha" where their characters' will appear alongside the characters in "Reverse". In the case of Naruse Shinji, he will be a regular customer at the bakery where Ochi Mihoko (Toda Erika) works at and he will be speaking the Sanuki dialect for the first time in a long while. On the other hand, Sugisaki will meet Fukase Kazuhisa (Fujiwara Tatsuya) at the company where he pays a visit to.

When Kubota got the offer, he was very excited about meeting the staff who also worked on "N no tame ni" with him. However, when he started acting, he got really nervous especially when it came to speaking in the Sanuki dialect. As for Sugisaki who played a teenager suffering from a huge change in temperament due to bullying at school in "Yakou Kanransha", she was eager to see how her role Ayaka would become now that she is an adult but she wasn't sure how she should act. When she started filming, the feeling came back naturally to her and she enjoyed the experience very much.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Oricon / Nikkansports

gaijinmark wrote:

Masataka Kubota and Hana Sugisaki to reprise their roles from "N no Tame ni" and "Yakou Kanransha" in TBS 2017 Spring drama Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Oricon / Nikkansports

I read the description but...that is really odd. So it's a sequel to N no Tame ni, Yakou Kanransha and Reverse? They're all based on Minato books. But is Minato involved in the writing of this new drama?

Edit: wait, I misunderstood. They're cameoing in Reverse. I wonder if they cameod in the book version also. Strange.

^ Yeah, it is kind of confusing. But at least Kubota's keeping busy:

Masataka Kubota to star in KansaiTV/FujiTV 2017 Summer drama

Kubota Masataka will star in the new Kansai TV / FujiTV Summer 2017 drama "Bokutachi ga yarimashita" (We did it) which will be shown at 9pm on Tuesdays. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Kaneshiro Muneyuki and Araki Hikaru serialised in "Young Magazine" which had recently ended its run in April this year. However, the drama will have a different ending from the manga. This will be Kubota's first leading role in a FujiTV primetime drama.

Kubota plays the lead character Tobio who is a second year student at Boke Senior High School and does things with minimal effort only. One day, he happens to see his friends being beaten to a pulp by students from the high school opposite Boke which is known for being a hotspot for delinquents. With the intention of playing a trick on those students, Tobio plots a small prank. However, on the day he and his friends are supposed to take action, a large scale explosion takes place which causes Tobio and his friends to become suspects for this crime. Faced with a situation which has gone out of hand, the group makes their escape as they struggle to come to terms with the reality facing them.

Kubota commented that in the manga, there is a lot of emphasis of the internal struggles and pain faced by the characters which made him wonder if he was offered the role because people want to see him become "unhappy". As such, he "lamented' that nobody seems to want to see him happy or thinks that he is unsuitable for happy roles. Nonetheless, Kubota said that adults do have various thoughts which they may not all voice out so as to continue living in society and put on appearances in front of others. That's what makes people beautiful and ugly at the same time. As such, the charm of this story lies in highlighting this trait of humans from the perspective of high school students in a straightforward manner.

Despite being already 28 years old and his character Tobio being 11 years younger than him, Kubota said that this is a character which he can play now that he has some years of experience under his belt. Although he had some initial reservations about playing such a young character, his experience in acting "THE LAST COP" last year allowed him to give up his reservations and take on the role.

Nagano Mei plays Renko, the childhood friend of Tobio while Arata Mackenyu plays Ichihashi, a student from Yaba High School which is at odds with Tobio. Tobio's classmates include Isami (Mamiya Shotaro), Maru (Hayama Shono) and Koyoi (Kawaei Rina) who is Isami's girlfriend. Other characters include Baisen (Konno Hiroki), a OB of Boke, Iimuro (Miura Shohei), a cool and harsh police detective, Natsumi (Mizukawa Asami), Tobio's form teacher and an original character in the drama version, Nishizuka (Itao Itsuji), a lawyer working for the underworld and Wajima (Furuta Arata), an underworld chief who bosses Nishizuka around.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

gaijinmark wrote:

Arata Furuta and Eiko Koike to star in TV Tokyo 2017 Summer drama

Yay! I really like Koike. I thought she was great in "Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi".
_________________

"They're real and they're spectacular"

Taiga to star in NHK drama Special

Taiga will be starring in the new NHK drama SP "1942 nen no Play Ball" (The Play Ball of the year 1942) which will be shown in mid August. This will be his first leading role in a NHK drama.

The story is about the legendary baseball player Noguchi Jiro (1919 - 2007) who was regarded as the pioneer Nitouryuu (a baseball player who could play as both pitcher and fielder) in Japanese baseball history. His excellent pitching skills placed him as one of the best pitchers before WWII and his strong stamina gave him the nickname of "Tetsuwan" (Iron Arm). He had 237 wins and earned 830 base hits in his entire career. Together with his elder brother Akira and two younger brothers Noboru and Wataru, the Noguchi siblings who were all professional baseball players, had a deep bond between themselves as they lived through the turbulent times before and after the war.

Co-stars include Katsuji Ryo who plays Akira, Saito Yoshiki who plays Noboru, Fukuyama Kohei who plays Wataru and Kutsuna Shiori who plays Kimiko, Akira's fiancee. The script will be written by Yatsu Hiroyuki who has worked on dramas such as "Hanzawa Naoki" and "Shitamachi Rocket".

Source: Sanspo