Winners of the 47th Hochi Movie Awards (2022)

Here are the winners of the 47th Hochi Movie Awards:

Best Japanese Movie: Aru otoko

Best Animation Movie: Yojouhan Time Machine Blues

Best Foreign Movie: Top Gun Maverick

Best Leading Actor: Fukuyama Masaharu (Chinmoku no Parade)

Best Leading Actress: Arimura Kasumi (Zenkamono)

Best Supporting Actor: Yokohama Ryuusei (Rurou no tsuki)

Best Supporting Actress: Ono Machiko (20-sai no soul / Senya, Ichiya / SABAKAN)

Best Newcomer: Arashi Rina (My Small Land) / Shiratori Haruto (Zenbu, boku no sei)

Source: Natalie

Behind-the-scenes of FujiTV Autumn 2022 drama "silent" - Interview with its scriptwriter Ubukata Miku and producer Murase Ken

Mantan Web did an interview with the scriptwriter Ubukata Miku and producer Murase Ken of FujiTV Autumn 2022 drama "silent" where they shared behind-the-scenes information about the production process. Instead of translating the entire article word-for-word, I have chosen the key points for the purpose of this post:

* Murase who had produced dramas such as "14-sai no haha" and "Itsuka kono koi wo omoidashite kitto naiteshimau" in his career, explained why they decided to make this drama. In the current world where diversity is the new buzzword, they wondered if it is really true that people have indeed embraced this concept and thought that it would be a good idea to do something on this theme. From then, he approached the scriptwriter Ubukata about making a love story between the hearing-impaired and those who can hear.

* When Ubukata got the proposal, she didn't want to write a story where the couple meets and falls in love when one of them is already deaf. As such, the setting became that of two people who were already in love from the beginning, later came to face a situation of hearing loss and then reunited after some time.

* The story was written specifically with Kawaguchi Haruna and Meguro Ren in mind. Kawaguchi was chosen because Ubukata felt that she enjoys the support of female viewers and comes across as unpretentious so would be able to convey Tsumugi's thoughts as it is. As for Meguro, the fact that he is from the popular group Snow Man and has shown a lot of potential as an actor was why Ubukata wanted to choose him. 

* As for Murase's impressions of the leads, Kawaguchi struck him as someone who stood out with grace and beauty even when she was surrounded by many stars during last year's NHK Kouhaku for which she was the host. Having made her debut in a FujiTV drama and coming full-circle to taking on the Kichou role in NHK's Taiga drama "Kirin ga kuru" and later becoming the Kouhaku host, he could see the progress she had made over the years and the aura that came with this built-up confidence in her achievements. As for Meguro, despite being from a popular group Snow Man, he found Meguro to have an unique charisma and is an actor who is not quite like the typical image of Johnny's artists especially after he saw Meguro in "Kyoujou II".

* When the announcement for the drama came out, it soon became much talked-about and the number of followers on its social media accounts passed the 200,000 mark even before the OA. Currently, the number of followers have exceeded 500,000. Murase commented that this amount of attention was rare for a drama which hadn't started its run and saw that as a reflection of the anticipation for the cast and the desire to see Kawaguchi and Meguro as the lead couple. This made the cast and staff members even more determined to make a drama that could meet these expectations.

* Ever since the first episode, the story has firmly captured the attention and interest of the viewers with its moving lines, the songs that appear in the drama and the relationships between the characters. Murase commented that the lines spoken in this drama are all very realistic and likely to be heard in real life so they don't come off as fake or staged. As such, he believed that this was why they resonated with the viewers. The cast had also praised the script for its excellent lines.

* One key theme that is depicted throughout the drama is how some things never change even when changes are taking place everywhere. As such, instead of focusing on the story developments, the script emphasizes the emotions and feelings of the characters and how they would react when things happen. This then makes the viewers interested and concerned about what would happen next which is very important to a drama series.

* Despite this drama being Ubukata's first work, Murase was full of praise for her and said that her script had both the quality of a veteran and the freshness of a newbie.

* Besides the amount of attention paid to the story, the beautiful visuals were also a key focus area for this drama. Instead of getting the drama's director Kazama Hiroki to take charge of the teasers, they got CM director Ota Ryo to handle these so as to get a fresh perspective on catching the viewers' attention in a very short time (CMs are usually less than a min long so you need to get the viewers' attention very quickly). The monologues spoken by the leads in these videos were written by Ubukata. In addition, many of the staff who work on this drama are those who typically work in the CM field rather than dramas. Fortunately, the end product turned out so well that everyone including the staff were full of praise for it.

Source: Mantan Web

Romaji lyrics of "Subtitle" by Official Hige Dandism (Theme song of FujiTV Autumn 2022 drama "silent")

Title: Subtitle

Artist: Official Hige Dandism

Written by: Fujiwara Satoshi

Arranged by: Official Hige Dandism

Theme song of FujiTV Autumn 2022 drama "silent"

[kouritsuita kokoro niwa taiyou wo] 

soshite [boku ga kimi ni totte sono pojishon wo]

sonna daibu gouman na omoikomi wo kojirasetetan dayo

gomen ne waratte yatte

yakedo shisou na hodo no pojithibu no

tsumetasa to zankokusa ni kizuitan dayo

kitto kimi ni watashitai mono wa motto hinyari atsuimono

kireigoto janai kedo

kirei de yuruginai mono

uwabe yori mo mune no oku no oku wo atatameru mono

risou dake wa aru kedo

kokoro no doko sagashitemo

marude mitsukaranain dayo

tsutaetai tsutawaranai

sono fujouri ga ima

kitsuku shibaritsuken dayo

okubyou na boku no 

kono ikkyoshu ittousoku wo

kotoba wa marude yuki no kesshou 

kimi ni purezento shitakutemo

muchuu ni nareba naruhodo ni

katachi wa kuzureochite toketeitte

kiete shimau kedo

demo boku ga erabu kotoba ga

soko ni takusareta omoi ga

kimi no mune wo furuwasu no wo

akiramerarenai aishiteru yori mo ai ga todoku made

mou sukoshi dake mattete

usugi de tada soba ni tattetemo

fuhitsuyou ni ase wo kaiteshimau boku nanka mou

doushitatte namarukute kimi wo itametsukete shimau no darou

[te no hira ga atsui hodo kokoro wa tsumetain deshou?]

joudan demo sonna zankoku na koto iwanaideyo

betsuni ieba ii kedo zen jinsei wo kaketemo

chanto kutsugaesashite yo

sukuitai = sukuwaretai

kono ikouru ga ima yasashiku hagashiteikun dayo

katai ronri busou puraido no kajou housou wo

tadashisa yori mo yasashisa ga hoshii

soshite sore wo uketoreru no wa

ilumineeshon mitai na

futokutei tasuu janakute tada hitori

kimi de atte hoshii

kaketa kotoba de wareta hibi wo naosou toshite

tashisugita netsuryou de hikarete shimatta kaaten

sonna shippaisaku wo kasanete kasanete kasanete

mitsuketainda itsuka saikou no ichigon ikku wo

kotoba wa marude yuki no kesshou 

kimi ni purezento shita toshite

jikan ga tatteshimaeba taitei

kioku kara afuruochite toketeitte

kiete shimau demo

taezu bokura no sutoorii ni 

soerareta jimaku no you ni

omoigaeshita toki fui ni me wo yaru toki ni

kimi no mune wo furuwasu mono

sagashi tsuzuketai

aishiteru yori mo ai ga todoku made

mou sukoshi dake mattete

kotoba nado nanimo hoshikunai hodo

kanashimi ni itetsuku yoru demo

katte ni kimi no soba de

arekore to kangaeteru

yuki ga toketemo nokotteru

Preview of "Tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna" - Autumn 2022

Title: Tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna 作りたい女と食べたい女 

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 29 Nov 2022

Timeslot: Mondays to Thursdays at 10.45pm

Broadcast by: NHK

Total number of episodes: 10

Original manga by: Yuzaki Sakaomi

Cast: Higa Manami, Nishino Emi, Morita Misato, Nakano Shuhei & Nozoe Yoshihiro etc.

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
2) Hatsukoi no akuma
3) Roppongi Class

Voters Ranking Top 5

1) Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

2) Teppachi!

3) Shin Shinchoukouki

4) Kyousou no bannin

5) NICE FLIGHT!

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Hatsukoi no akuma
2) Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
3) Roppongi Class
4) Mahou no rinobe

5) Yukionna to kani wo kuu

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

2) Hatsukoi no akuna

3) Mahou no rinobe

4) Okutou ~ kanjou sousakan Shinno Akari ~

5) Roppongi Class

Source: The Television

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Nakamura Tomoya - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

2) Sakaguchi Kentaro - Kyousou no bannin
3) Takeuchi Ryoma - Roppongi Class

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Sakaguchi Kentaro - Kyousou no bannin
2) Machida Keita - Teppachi!
3) Nagase Ren - Shin Shinchoukouki
4) Nakamura Tomoya - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -
5) Tamamori Yuuta - NICE FLIGHT!

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Hayashi Kento - Hatsukoi no akuma
2) Nakamura Tomoya - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -
3) Takeuchi Ryoma - Roppongi Class
4) Nakano Taiga - Hatsukoi no akuma

5) Ayano Go - Old Rookie

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nakamura Tomoya - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -
2) Takeuchi Ryoma - Roppongi Class

3) Hayashi Kento - Hatsukoi no akuma

Nakano Taiga - Hatsukoi no akuma

Ayano Go - Old Rookie

Sakaguchi Kentaro - Kyousou no bannin

Source: The Television

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
2) An - Kyousou no bannin
3) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) An - Kyousou no bannin
2) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

3) Nagano Mei - Unicorn ni notte

4) Sugisaki Hana - Prism

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
2) Nagano Mei - Unicorn ni notte
3) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

4) An - Kyousou no bannin

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

Kuroki Haru - Boku no Neechan

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

2) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

3) Kuroki Haru - Boku no Neechan

4) Nimura Sawa - Anata no butsu ga, koko ni

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

Source: The Television

The background story behind the birth of Kansai TV Autumn 2022 drama "Elpis - Kibou, arui wa sawai -"

This article from FRIDAY gives a pretty detailed account on the background story leading to the birth of Kansai TV Autumn 2022 drama "Elpis - Kibou, arui wa sawai -" which has been attracting attention because of its daring take on taboos in TV stations and the head-on battle against the dark side of power. Although the story is set in a fictitious TV station, the drama incorporated elements like obvious references to those in power, past political scandals and claims which were later found to be untrue which was considered very surprising for a primetime drama shown on a private terrestrial TV network.

* It took a long 6 years before the drama could see the light of day because its production process from the planning stage was fraught with difficulties and setbacks.

* Everything started from the spring of 2016 when TV producer Sano Ayumi went to visit scriptwriter Watanabe Aya for a discussion on an upcoming project about a love comedy. However, the conversation was getting stale and heading nowhere until they suddenly talked about people falsely accused of crimes that they did not commit. It turned out that Sano who graduated from the law faculty, had developed the habit of going to trials opened to the public after she read the diary of a convict on death role while she was still in university. As they talked about how easy it was for people to be punished on false charges in Japan and that there were many people who still hadn't been released despite their cases having clear loopholes or there were some which had some degree of suspicion as to whether these people were indeed guilty, Watanabe was convinced that if they were to do something about a false charge case which was still unresolved, it would definitely be good material for a drama.

* However, such a project would mean making an enemy out of the police and the judiciary so it was deemed to be impossible for TBS where Sano was working at then. Unable to give up on the idea, she requested Watanabe to go ahead to create the script with her so they managed to produce up to 3 episodes' worth of content and offered the lead role of Ena to Nagasawa Masami who agreed to it readily after reading the script.

* At that time, Sano had a illustrious career and was also involved in the production of hit drama "Quartet". Despite so, being caught up in the office politics then and going against the tide caused Sano to be transferred to the overseas business department. As a result, Sano who insisted that she didn't want to leave the drama production department and wanted to press on with the production of "Elpis", decided to leave TBS.

* After going around to pitch the drama to various TV stations, it was Kansai TV which came to the rescue in the end and prevented the project from going down the drain. Sano herself also joined Kansai TV and managed to mark her revival in the drama production industry with "Oomameda Towako to sannin no motto otto" last year.

* The Mondays 10pm timeslot was newly-created in autumn 2021 with the intention of taking on challenging and controversial productions. Ayano Go's "Avalanche" got the ball rolling with its story about people who took on the evil who were unable to be punished by the law through publishing their crimes for all to see on the Internet. As such, "Elpis" was arranged to be shown during this timeslot in line and even had its world premiere in Cannes.

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

2) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

3) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -
2) Sano Hayato - Teppachi!
3) Nishihata Daigo - Shin Shinchoukouki
4) Nishigaki Sho - Minato Shoji Coin Laundry
5) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class
2) Emoto Akira - Shin Shinchoukouki
3) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma
4) Mamiya Shotaro - Mahou no rinobe
5) Bandou Ryota - Unicorn ni notte

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Unicorn ni notte
2) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

3) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

4) Kagawa Teruyuki - Roppongi Class

5) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma

Source: The Television

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Matsuoka Mayu - Hatsukoi no akuma

2) Hirate Yurina - Roppongi Class
3) Koike Eiko - Kyousou no bannin

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Koike Eiko - Kyousou no bannin
2) Shiraishi Mai - Teppachi!
3) Yamada Anna - Shin Shinchoukouki
4) Hirate Yurina - Roppongi Class
5) MEGUMI - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Matsuoka Mayu - Hatsukoi no akuma
2) Hirate Yurina - Roppongi Class
3) Higa Manami - Junai Dissonance
4) Eikura Nana - Old Rookie
5) Yoshikawa Ai - Junai Dissonance

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Matsuoka Mayu - Hatsukoi no akuma
2) Hirate Yurina - Roppongi Class

3) Koike Eiko - Kyousou no bannin

4) Asada Miyoko - Akai Nurse Call

5) Iriyama Noriko - Yukionna to kani wo kuu

Source: The Television

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Sansan by Miura Daichi (Chimudondon)

2) Start Over by THE BEAT GARDEN (Roppongi Class)

3) Hatsukoi no akuma by "SOIL& ""PIMP""SESSIONS (Hatsukoi no akuma)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Chikara no kagiri by GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE (Teppachi!)
2) GLOW by idom (Kyousou no bannin)
3) Ningen gokko by RADWIMPS (Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -)
4) TraceTrace by King & Prince (Shin Shinchoukouki)
5) Two as One by Kis-My-Ft2 (NICE FLIGHT!)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Sansan by Miura Daichi (Chimudondon)

2) Ame sansan by King Gnu (Old Rookie)

3) Start Over by THE BEAT GARDEN (Roppongi Class)
4) Bakasabaibaa by Ul-fuls (Anata no butsu ga, koko ni)
5) Hoshi no ame by Johnny's WEST (Yukionna to kani wo kuu)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Hatsukoi no akuma by "SOIL& ""PIMP""SESSIONS (Hatsukoi no akuma)

2) Start Over by THE BEAT GARDEN (Roppongi Class)

3) Hoshi no ame by Johnny's WEST (Yukionna to kani wo kuu)

4) Chinokate by Yorushika (Mahou no rinobe)

5) Ningen gokko by RADWIMPS (Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -)

Source: The Television

Preview of "Ryojin no ono" - Autumn 2022

Title: Ryojin no ono 両刃の斧

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 13 Nov 2022

Timeslot: Sundays at 10pm

Broadcast by: WOWOW

Total number of episodes: 6

Original novel by: Daimon Takeaki

Cast: Iura Arata, Shibata Kyohei, Fubuki Jun, Takaoka Saki, Nao, Bandou Ryota, Namioka Kazuki, Takahashi Maryjun, Mikami Ai & Nagasawa Itsuki

About "Minato" by Spitz ~ as featured in Ep 5 of FujiTV Autumn 2022 drama "silent"

If you have watched ep 5 of "silent", you may remember coming across this scene when Tsumugi (Kawaguchi Haruna) was listening to songs on her mobile phone while having breakfast. Suddenly, she pressed the stop button when this song "Minato" by Spitz came up in her playlist which suggested that listening to the song at that moment was too much for her to bear. Nonetheless, she plucked up the courage to call Minato after this in a bid to find a chance to salvage things between them.

The more obvious interpretations as to why this song was featured in the story could be:

1) The title is the same as Minato's. And the word "harbour" mentioned repeatedly in this song is pronounced as minato in Japanese.

2) The lyrics of this song seem to echo Minato's situation since the subject in the song stands alone at a rusted harbour to reminisce about the happy days which had passed after his love left. Minato's intention to breakup was due to his wish to see Tsumugi get back with Sou. However, this song is also applicable to Tsumugi because she was the one left behind after Minato initiated the breakup.

3) In the lyrics, there is this line which says "weaving words together to form a song". This seems to suggest that the scriptwriter is referring to Tsumugi by choosing this song. In Japanese, Tsumugi refers to the soft silk cloth that is created by weaving silk threads together and the word for weaving in Japanese sounds similar to her name i.e. tsumugu 紡ぐ.

Of course, the scriptwriter could have other meanings attached to the song choice which may not be so apparent. I also wonder if the character names were chosen as such because of this song.

So far in the story, we've seen a number of references to Spitz's songs which are also featured prominently in "Hachimitsu to Clover", a popular manga which had been made into anime, drama and movie versions. There was an article before which suggested that the scriptwriter of "silent" is a big fan of both Spitz and "Hachikuro" so that was why these elements have been included in this drama. In fact, there was even a famous line from "Hachikuro" which made it into an earlier episode when Minato commented that he "witnessed the moment of when Tsumugi fell in love with Sou".

This song from Spitz was the band's 41st single and first released as a pre-single on 27 April 2016 before it was included in their 15th album "Samenai" released in the same year on 27 July. The CD jacket's photo was taken from the 1933 movie "Ongaku Kigeki Horoyohi Jinsei" which was one of Japan's earliest musical comedies before WWII. The music video was entirely in monochrome and included scenes of the band playing the song and animation.

In order for you to understand the song better and see how it corresponds to the situation in the drama, I have translated the lyrics to English. If you would like to listen to the song, here is the music video.

It's not as if I am getting onto a boat

However, I am at the harbour

I stop in my tracks in a gap while surrounded by strangers all around

Collecting words which I want to send to you who had travelled to somewhere far away

Carrying one song which was made by weaving these words together

An universe which will someday be kind even to dirty stray cats

I recall the mysterious light we saw together on that day at dusk

This is a song I made in order to meet you again

I sing again today at the rusted harbour

Sometimes, I don't have the courage

And then I'm at the harbour

Thinking about the meaning of the cotton clouds which seem like they are disappearing

The evidence of you having gone far away has also started to become hazy

I close my eyes and restart from zero to hundred

The smiles passing each other

I believed that I could be like that too

The sunrise's morning glow painted us who were young 

We started running while yawning

An important song for meeting you again

I sing again alone at the harbour

An universe which will someday be kind even to the dirty stray cats

I recall the mysterious light we saw together on that day at dusk

This is a song I made in order to meet you again

I sing again today at the rusted harbour

At the harbour

At the harbour

Preview of "Souchou shihatsu no sappukei" - Autumn 2022

Title: Souchou shihatsu no sappukei 早朝始発の殺風景

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 4 November 2022

Timeslot: Fridays at 11.30pm

Broadcast by: WOWOW

Total number of episodes: 6

Original novel by: Aosaki Yugo

Theme song: "Moratorium" by yutori

Cast: Yamada Anna, Okudaira Daiken, Yoshikawa Ai, Nakata Seina, Osaki Ichika, Ito Asahi, Mochizuki Ayumu, Takahashi Hikaru, Hagiwara Riku, Fujino Ryoko, Kayashima Mizuki & Taki Nanami

Inohara Yoshihiko's interview by Chunichi Sports in response to his appointment as the president of Johnny's Island

Following the announcement of Takizawa Hideaki leaving his management positions in Johnny's Jimusho, it was revealed that Inohara Yoshihiko had taken over his position as the president of Johnny's Island from 26 Sep 2022. In this interview by Chunichi Sports, Inohara revealed the events that led to this decision and what he intends to do from now on.

* Takizawa had quit as an artiste in Sep 2018 when the duo "Takki & Tsubasa" disbanded and became the No.2 in command in Johnny's Jimusho. He later took on the position of president in Johnny's Island in Jan 2019 which focuses on the management of Johnny's Jrs. In mid Sep this year, he suddenly expressed his intention to resign but the reason for doing so was not revealed to the public. Despite attempts to change his mind, the agency respected his wishes in the end.

* Inohara was approached by the president Fujishima Julie Keiko to take on the president position in Johnny's Island. Although he usually doesn't get surprised easily, he was quite shocked when he first heard about the offer. As such, he didn't accept the offer on the spot but discussed this with his family members including his wife Seto Asaka. They were supportive of this idea so he took on the offer within the same day.

* Inohara had also met Takizawa directly for the handover but did not ask the latter about the reason of his resignation. He expressed his admiration for what Takizawa had been doing all these years. Although it seemed like Takizawa had some unfinished business by leaving now despite declaring that he was continuing the late Johnny-san's legacy, he assured Takizawa that they will continue his good work which Takizawa said that he felt confident that they will be able to do well going forward. Inohara also said that there are many talented staff members and artistes in the agency so he will tap on their strengths to help him manage the company.

* Unlike Takizawa who was a full-time manager, Inohara will still be continuing his activities as an artiste together with his management duties. He said that he is aware of how tough this may be but he is prepared for the challenge and plans to learn everything from scratch. He joked that he might even go to visit ARASHI members with cookies as a gift to ask for their help.

* Coincidentally, the announcement date of his appointment i.e. 1 Nov is also the debut & disband date of V6 thus marking a fresh start for Inohara.

Source: Chunichi Sports