Issei Takahashi, Takumi Saito, and Kenichi Takito to co-star in TV Tokyo drama

Issei Takahashi, Takumi Saito and Kenichi Takito will co-star in the TV Tokyo drama "Tokyo Dokushin".

Taro Ishibashi (Issei Takahashi) is 38-years-old, single and works for a big bank. Reiya Miyoshi (Takumi Saito) is 37 years old, divorced and is a dentist. Kazuhiko Iwakura (Kenichi Takito) is 45-years-old, single and is a lawyer. These three men are close friends and they enjoy their lives as single men, but they begin to think about marriage.

The script is by Arisa Kaneko who did the 2016 Miki Nakatani drama "Watashi Kekkondekinaijankute, Shinain Desu", which was also about getting married or not getting married only from women's point of view.

The drama airs in April.

Source: natalie

Yo Oizumi to star in TBS drama "No Side"

Yo Oizumi will star in the TBS 2019 Summer drama "No Side".

Hayato Kimijima (Yo Oizumi) works for a big manufacturing company. He is in line for a promotion, but he opposes the company undertaking a project led by his boss. This leads to him being demoted to a chief of general affairs position at a factory. He is also ordered to work as the general manager of the company's rugby team named Astros. The Astros were once a powerful team, but they have been losers in their recent past. Hayato Kimijima hopes to regain his standing at the company by rebuilding the Astros into a powerhouse, but he doesn't have any knowledge about rugby.

The drama will air beginning in July.

Source: natalie

Geez, he's ugly enough as a guy!

Arata Furuta to star in NTV Spring 2019 drama

Arata Furuta will star in the NTV 2019 Spring drama "Ore no Sukato Doko Itta?" (Where Did My Skirt Go?). Furuta plays the character Nobuo Harada, a cross dressing teacher.

The series begins April 20th in Japan.

Source: natalie

Junpei Mizobata to star in Fuji TV 2019 Summer drama

Junpei Mizobata will star in the Fuji TV 2019 Summer drama "Kamen Dokosai" (Mask Reunion).

Yosuke Shintani ( Mizobata) left his hometown right after his high school graduation. He wanted to leave behind memories of his older brother who died in an accident and a teacher who was bad to the students.

Now, Yosuke Shintani is back in his hometown due to a personnel transfer at his work. He decides to attend a school reunion and meets 3 friends from his high school days. Yosuke and the 3 friends kidnap their ex-teacher who punished the students with physical force. They beat him up and leave him there. He was alive when they left him, but the teacher is found dead the next day.

The series begins on June 1st, 2019.

Source: natalie

YAY!! Anne is back!! Guess she found somebody to take care of the kids.

Anne to star in NTV 2019 Summer drama

Anne will star in the NTV 2019 Summer drama "Gisou Furin".

Shoko Hama (Anne) is a 32-year-old single woman and a contract worker. She is not good at romance and does not have a boyfriend, but she wants to get married, and has been looking for someone for the past two years. Still unable to find the right guy, she decides to take a vacation. While on the airplane, she meets a handsome younger man. During her vacation, she happens to meet the younger man again. She lies to him and tells him that she is married. The man tells her "let's have an affair."

"Gisou Furin" begins in July.

Source: natalie

Haru Kuroki to star in TBS 2019 Summer drama

Haru Kuroki will star in the TBS 2019 Summer drama "Nagi no Oitoma" (Nagi's Vacation).

Nagi Oshima (Kuroki) is a single, 28-year-old woman and she works for an electrical product manufacturer. She has very curly hair. She spends about an hour a day to make it straight.

One day, her boyfriend Shinji Gamon says something to her. This makes her look back at her life. She decides to reset her life. She quits her job, cuts off everybody she knows (including her boyfriend), quits social media and cancels her cellphone. She moves to an old apartment in the suburbs of Tokyo. She wants to have a pleasant and free life, not caring about other people. She also decides to leave her hair curly. Her new life begins, with her ex-boyfriend Shinji Gamon following her and the new people in her life.

The drama begins in July, 2019.

Source: natalie

Still lacking any original ideas, another remake of a K-drama.

Nao Omori to star in TV Asahi 2019 Summer drama

Nao Omori will star in the TV Asahi 2019 Summer drama "Sign".

This is a remake of the SBS 2011 drama of the same name which starred Park Shin-Yang and Kim A-Joong. Also in the cast of “Sign” are Marie Iitoyo, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Mahiro Takasugi and Toru Nakamura.

A forensic science laboratory has had hard times due to shortage of manpower. They also face criticism for an increase in unnecessary autopsies and resisting to spend tax money on autopsies. Takashi Yuzuki (Nao Omori) is a pathologist at the forensic science laboratory. He has a sharp tongue, but possesses excellent skills as a forensic pathologist.

One day, a popular singer dies. An autopsy is requested for the dead singer. Influential people are behind the singer's death. Yuzuki tries to reveal the truth.

The series begins in July, 2019.

Source: natalie

Aya Asahina to star in TV Asahi Summer 2019 drama

Aya Asahina will star in the TV Asahi Summer 2019 drama "Runway 24".

Asahina will play Momoko Inoue. She tries to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a pilot. Her employer is Peach Airlines, a real Japanese low cost airline.*

Inoue admires her late father, who was also a pilot. She begins work as a co-pilot at Peach. Under Captain Kohei Shinkai’s (Tomoharu Hasegawa) instructions, who knew her father, Inoue works hard to become a captain and her boyfriend Daisuke Umino (Atsuhiro Inukai) supports her dream too.

The series begins in July, 2019.

Source: natalie

* Remember "Good Luck!" and all the free advertising ANA got.

gaijinmark wrote:

Her employer is Peach Airlines, a real Japanese low cost airline.

At first I didn't believe that, but there really is a "Peach Airlines": https://www.flypeach.com/pc/en
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"They're real and they're spectacular"

Ryosuke Yamada to star in TV Asahi 2019 Summer drama

Ryosuke Yamada will star in the TV Asahi 2019 Summer drama "Semiotoko".

Yamada plays a character "Semi". Semi is really a cicada insect, but he turns into a human to live with a woman who almost crushed him for 7 days.

The series begins in July, 2019.

Source: natalie

Eiko Koike and Ryo together in the same drama.

Eiko Koike, Ryo, and Rei Okamoto star in NTV Summer 2019 drama

Eiko Koike, Ryo, and Rei Okamoto star together in the NTV Summer 2019 drama "Watashi Danna o Shea Shiteta" (I Shared My Husband).

Harumi Morishita ( Koike) lives with her husband Kyohei Amaya, but they have not officially registered their marriage. One day, she receives a phone call from the police that her husband has died. She goes to the hospital where he was sent. There, Morishita meets Kanako Ogura (Ryo) and Akane Fujimiya ( Okamoto), who both insist that Amaya is their husband. Both Ogura and Fujimiya have not registered their marriage just like Morishita. A will was left behind by Amaya. His will leads Morishita, Ogura and Fujimiya to a single mother share house and states that he will leave 300 million yen to the only wife that he loved.

The drama airs in July, 2019.

Source: natalie

Now they hardly wait at all before doing a remake. A little over a year ago Yuko Takeuchi and Shihori Kanjiya were in "Miss Sherlock". Now there doing a men's version:

Dean Fujioka and Takanori Iwata to co-star in Fuji TV drama "Sherlock"

Set in present day Tokyo, Sherlock ( Fujioka) works as a freelance crime consultant. From an early age, he has been fascinated with how people become criminals. He works on cases which interest him among police or customer requests.

Meanwhile, Watson ( Iwata) is a psychiatrist. He is smart and cool-headed. Due to a case, Watson gets involved with Sherlock. At first, he thinks Sherlock is ignorant and arrogant, but, as they work together, they start to get along.

"Sherlock" airs beginning in October

Source: natalie

Takuya Kimura and Kyoka Suzuki to star in TBS 2019 Fall drama

Takuya Kimura and Kyoka Suzuki will star in the TBS 2019 Fall drama "Grand Maison Tokyo".

Natsuki Obana ( Kimura) is a chef, specializing in French cuisine. He runs a restaurant in Paris that has earned 2 stars from Michelin Guide. Obana is confident, but he suffers from pressure trying to attain 3 stars. An unexpected incident takes place. Due to that, he loses his restaurant and colleagues. Then he meets female chef Rinko Hayami (Suzuki). They decide to start a restaurant together and struggle to make the restaurant 3 stars.

Also in the cast is Ikki Sawamura.

The drama begins in October 2019.

Source: natalie

Masahiro Matsuoka to star in TV Tokyo 2019 Fall drama

Masahiro Matsuoka will star in the TV Tokyo 2019 Fall drama "Shiyakusho" ("Death Office").

The drama is a fantasy in which people who just died visit the death office. There, the final destinations of the deceased, who died for various reasons including suicide, murder and disease, are decided. Matusoka plays Shimura who works at the office.

The drama begins in October, 2019.

Source: natalie

Interesting article from Japan Times on this years taiga which starts on Sunday.

NHK taiga drama hopes to shake off its curse

Rumor has it that NHK’s taiga drama series — year-long Sunday night staples — may be cursed. Taiga (literally “big river,” but here refers to a historical saga) has been an institution since the first installment launched in 1963. As one of NHK’s best-known shows, taiga has traced epic moments in Japanese history, often in impressive depth and detail. Generations of Japanese students (including this writer) plowed through their history exams with knowledge garnered from the shows.

But trouble seems to be brewing. Last year’s iteration, “Idaten,” which was the first to draw on more modern times by looking at Japanese Olympians, was plagued by two things: the arrest of actor Pierre Taki midway into the series, and ratings hitting an all-time low. Taki was a principal cast member, and NHK reshot his scenes with another actor. The ratings, however, were beyond the broadcaster’s control.

Unfortunately, history seemed to repeat itself ahead of this year’s series, “Kirin ga Kuru” (“Awaiting Kirin”), when actress Erika Sawajiri was arrested in November for drugs offences. NHK producers announced a fortnight’s delay to the start date and reshot all of Sawajiri’s scenes, along with advertising and promo footage. NHK had already finished taping the first 10 episodes and, as with “Idaten,” it had to scrap everything and start over. Haruna Kawaguchi, a 24-year-old film and television actress, took over Sawajiri’s role as Kicho, the wife of the warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).

In a complete about-face from its predecessor, “Kirin ga Kuru” takes audiences to 16th-century Japan, when the nation was fractured from a century of clan wars. The titular kirin is a mythical creature that heralds the arrival of a benevolent ruler, and the drama implies that this ruler is the protagonist, Akechi Mitsuhide, a mild-mannered, bookish colonel who abhorred the ruthless tactics of his boss, Oda Nobunaga.

Mitsuhide rose to prominence under Nobunaga’s command, but later betrayed him in the attack on Honnoji temple, one of the most dramatic (and dramatized) incidents in Japan’s history. Up to now, any taiga set in this period came from Nobunaga’s perspective. “Kirin ga Kuru” marks the first time NHK has put Mitsuhide in the spotlight.

So far, so good … or perhaps not. Sawajiri’s absence has left a gaping hole, and critics who have seen Kawaguchi act on set are saying that her performance is too flimsy. Though NHK is surrounding the series with positive hype (the first taiga in the Reiwa Era, the first to be shot in 4K, and the return of star scribe Shunsaku Ikehata, penning his first taiga in 30 years), NHK watchers say that a cloud of anxiety has descended on the set, mainly over Kawaguchi’s perceived inadequacy.

On a positive note, the role of Mitsuhide has gone to Hiroki Hasegawa, a skilled actor who has worked on a taiga series before. Despite that, if rumors are to be believed, Ikehata has requested the presence of an older, star actress to ramp up the atmosphere on set. Word is it could be veteran Takako Matsu, but how she will appear and whether she can break the curse remains to be seen.

Etsushi Toyokawa as Lt. Gerard and Ken Watanabe as Dr. Richard Kimble.

Ken Watanabe and Etsushi Toyokawa co-star in TV Asahi Special "Tobosha"

Ken Watanabe and Etsushi Toyokawa will co-star in TV Asahi Special "Tobosha" (The Fugitive).

Kazuki Kakurai ( Watanabe) is an elite doctor at a university hospital. One evening, Kazuki Kakurai and his wife Yoko attend a party. During the party, Kakurai receives an emergency call from the hospital. Yoko returns home and Kakurai goes to the hospital. After he performs surgery at the hospital, he goes back home. There, he finds Yoko and their housekeeper stabbed to death. He also sees a man fleeing from the scene and chases after him. They get into a fight, but Kakurai is beaten and falls unconscious. Later, he maintains his innocence at his trial, but he is given the death sentence for the murders of his wife and his housekeeper. While being transported to prison, he manages to escape from the convoy bus and he becomes a fugitive. He is chased by Detective Masami Hosaka ( Toyokawa).

The 2 part special will air later this year.

^ The American version had the one-armed man, maybe the Japanese version will have the one-armed samurai.
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Speaking of remakes of American shows:

TV Asahi to do remake of American series "24"

TV Asahi will be doing a remake of the American series "24" with Toshiaki Karasawa and Yukie Nakama.

Genba Shido (Karasawa) is the director of Team A in the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). He is excellent at his job. He is a reasonable person, but he often has to make drastic decisions to save lives. He is separated from his wife but he does have a daughter from the marriage.

Meanwhile, Urara Asakura (Nakama) is the leader of the Minsei Party. She has strong support from the people. She is married and has a son and daughter. Asakura is expected by many to become Japan's first female prime minster. On the day of the election for the Prime Minister office, an assassination plot on Asakura's life is revealed. Shido must stop the assassination attempt, but his daughter is also kidnapped at the same time

The drama will air in October, 2020.

Source: natalie

Kaya Kiyohara to be the heroine of 2021 asadora

Actress Kaya Kiyohara will be playing the heroine in NHK's 2021 asadora 'Okaeri Mone.'

Kiyohara made her acting debut in the morning drama 'Asa ga Kita' in 2015. Then in 2018, she got the lead role in the drama 'Toumei na Yurikago.' She has also appeared in 'Natsuzora,' 'Hotarugusa Nana No Ken,' and 'Mango no Ki no Shita de.'

Kiyohara will play the role of 'Nagaura Momone' who was born and raised on an island in Kesennuma Bay of Miyagi Prefecture. She wants to become a weather forecaster to deliver a happy 'future' to people. This will be an original work by Adachi Naoko, who wrote the scripts for 'Toumei na Yurikago,' 'Sagideka,' and 'Kinou Nani Tabeta?'

'Okaeri Mone' will air in Spring, 2021.

Source: Oricon

Ryosuke Yamada and Kei Tanaka to co-star in TBS 2020 Summer drama

Ryosuke Yamada and Kei Tanaka are cast in TBS drama series “Kiwadoi Futari” (2 Risky People). The drama series is based 2014 novel “K2: Ikebukurosho Keijika Kanzaki Kuroki” by Dai Yokozeki. The screenplay is set in Ikebukuro and follows two detectives played by Ryosuke Yamada and Kei Tanaka.

The drama is about two detectives as they investigate and solve together brutal crimes that take place in Ikebukuro.

Ryuichi Kanzaki (Yamada) is a detective. He is assigned to work in the criminal investigation division at the Ikebukuro Police Station. During his first day of work there, he is unable to find his assigned partner, veteran detective Kenji Kuroki ( Tanaka). Kuroki actually took leave from the station without giving them notice. The chief of the criminal investigation division orders Kanzaki to find Kuroki.

But there is also a secret about Kanzaki and Kuroki. They are actually step brothers.

The drama airs this Summer, 2020.