Kamishiraishi Mone to star in TBS/MBS Winter 2017 drama "Hokusai to meshi sae areba"

Kamishiraishi Mone will be starring in the upcoming TBS/MBS Winter 2017 drama "Hokusai to meshi sae areba" (As long as I have my food and Hokusai) which will be beginning its run from January next year. The drama will begin its run via MBS from 22 January in the Sundays 12.50am timeslot while it will start via TBS from 24 January in the Tuesdays 1.28am timeslot. Before the drama series begins, a SP titled "Hokusai to meshi sae areba Joukyou Shinkyo meshi keikakuhen" will be shown via MBS and TBS respectively at 12.50am on 15 January and at 1.28am on 17 January. This will be Kamishiraishi's first leading role in a drama after she just made her debut as a singer in October and she was the voice actor playing the heroine in this year's hit anime movie "Kimi no na wa".

The drama is bsaed on the same-titled manga by Suzuki Sanami which is unique in that there will be no eating scenes even though this is a gourmet drama. Kamishiraishi will be playing the lead character Yamada Ayako who is a poor arts student nicknamed Bun. She moves to Tokyo for her university students and makes creative dishes at her new home in Kita Senju. Bun has a soft toy which she nicknames as Hokusai because it resembles a rabbit. Being shy and having a vivid imagination, Bun goes to great effort to cook her meals which are delicious and healthy despite her being tight on finances and busy with her studies.

The producer Moriya Takeshi revealed that he was attracted to Kamishiraishi's acting after watching "Chihayafuru" and decided to offer her the role of Bun after they spent two years planning for this drama. Kamishiraishi commented that she is happy to be able to play such a lovely and frank girl and hopes that the drama will warm everyone's hearts and make them hungry at the same time. In order to prepare for the filming, Kamishiraishi went through training under a Japanese cuisine chef and learnt a lot of things such as how to hold the knife and use it. As for the biggest selling point of this drama, Kamishiraishi who also likes to cook, cited the part when Bun explains her recipe while cooking which will provide ideas to the viewers on how to make delicious meals quickly.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Oricon / Eiga.com