"Yamikin Ushijima-kun" to be back as drama series and movie in 2014

"Yamikin Ushijima-kun" starring Yamada Takayuki as Ushijima, the president of an illegal moneylending company, will be back as a drama in the Winter 2014 season and a drama in May 2014. The drama will begin its run on TBS from 16 January at 12.58am on Thursdays with new cast members Ayano Go, Irie Jingi and Takeda Kohei along with existing cast members Sakimoto Hiromi and Yabe Kyosuke.

"Yamikin Ushijima-kun" which is based on the same-titled manga by Manabe Shohei, was first made into a midnight drama in the autumn 2010 season and a movie sequel was released in August last year. It talks about the reality in the illegal moneylending world as it focuses on how Ushijima (Yamada) operates his business and makes his clients pay up, sometimes using the most extreme measures. In the new drama series and movie, there will also be some focus on the cracks appearing in Ushijima's friend network which leads to a crisis for his company. Ayano's role will be Inui, an information provider who is also a childhood friend of Ushijima.

Ayano admitted that he didn't want to take part in the "Ushijima" series at first since it was already so successful prior to his involvement in it and it would be difficult for him to fit in. However, the fact that his buddy Yamada is the lead (they became close friends after working on the 2009 movie "Crows ZERO II") made him reconsider his decision in the end.

Source: Sanspo