The 94th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2017) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Kubota Masataka - Bokutachi ga yarimashita
3) Ishizaka Koji - Yasuragi no Sato

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Arioka Daiki - Koshoku Robot
3) Kubota Masataka - Bokutachi ga yarimashita
4) Nishikido Ryo - Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai
5) Nagase Tomoya - Gomen, Aishiteru

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Kubota Masataka - Bokutachi ga yarimashita
3) Eita - Hello Harinezumi
4) Nagase Tomoya - Gomen, Aishiteru / Fukushi Souta - Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru
6) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Blanket Cats

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Ishizaka Koji - Yasuragi no Sato
2) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
3) Kubota Masataka - Bokutachi ga yarimashita
4) Eita - Hello Harinezumi / Higashiyama Noriyuki - Keiji Shichinin / Arita Teppei - Wanitokagegisu

Source: The Televison

The 94th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2017) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Toda Erika - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
3) Kimura Yoshino - Hiyokko

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Toda Erika - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
3) Matsuoka Mayu - Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai
4) Higa Manami - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
5) Nagano Mei - Bokutachi ga yarimashita

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
2) Toda Erika - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON
3) Matsuoka Mayu - Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai
4) Kimura Yoshino - Hiyokko / Yoshioka Riho - Gomen, Aishiteru
6) Kawaei Rina - Bokutachi ga yarimashita

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Kimura Yoshino - Hiyokko
2) Wakui Emi - Hiyokko
3) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON / Nogiwa Yoko - Yasuragi no Sato / Naka Riisa - Kurokawa no Techou / Hashimoto Kanna - Keishicho Ikimonogakari

Source: The Televison

The 94th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2017) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Wakai Hiroba - Kuwata Keisuke (Hiyokko)
2) HANABI - Mr.Children (Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON)
3) Family Song - Hoshino Gen (Kahogo no Kahoko)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) HANABI - Mr.Children (Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON)
2) Are You There? - A.Y.T. (Koshoku Robot)
3) Family Song - Hoshino Gen (Kahogo no Kahoko)
4) Kiseki no Hito - Kanjani 8 (Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai)
5) Bokutachi ga yarimashita - DISH// (Bokutachi ga yarimashita)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Family Song - Hoshino Gen (Kahogo no Kahoko)
2) Wakai Hiroba - Kuwata Keisuke (Hiyokko)
3) Forevermore - Utada Hikaru (Gomen, Aishiteru)
4) HANABI - Mr.Children (Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON)
5) Yumemakase - "SOIL&""PIMP""SESSIONS feat. Yojiro Noda (Hello Harinezumi) / Bokutachi ga yarimashita - DISH// (Bokutachi ga yarimashita)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Wakai Hiroba - Kuwata Keisuke (Hiyokko)
2) Bojou - Nakajima Miyuki (Yasuragi no Sato)
3) Yumemakase - "SOIL&""PIMP""SESSIONS feat. Yojiro Noda (Hello Harinezumi)
4) Family Song - Hoshino Gen (Kahogo no Kahoko) / Forevermore - Utada Hikaru (Gomen, Aishiteru)
6) HANABI - Mr.Children (Code Blue THE THIRD SEASON) / Papa Mama Song - Yusuke Santa Maria, Hirao Nanaka, Kadowaki Mugi, Ishida Nicole, Ando Tamae & Okamoto Kenichi (Ecchan) / TAKE MY HAND - Yoru no honki dansu (Seshiru no Mokuromi)

Source: The Televison

Winners of Nikkansports Sports Drama Grand Prix (Summer 2017)

There were 1,846 valid responses for this voting and numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama or actor/actress:

Best Drama
1) Code Blue 3 (1,069)
2) Hiyokko (161)
3) Onna Joshu Naotora (92)
4) Gomen, Aishiteru (78)
5) Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai (69)

Best Leading Actor
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue 3 (1,086)
2) Nagase Tomoya - Gomen, Aishiteru (136)
3) Nishikido Ryo - Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai (90)
4) Kamikawa Takaya - Iryu Sousa 4 (68)
5) Higashiyama Noriyuki - Keiji Shichinin 3 (62)

Best Leading Actress
1) Arimura Kasumi - Hiyokko (426)
2) Takahata Mitsuki - Kahogo no Kahoko (355)
3) Takei Emi - Kurokawa no Techou (309)
4) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora (251)
5) Watanabe Naomi - Kanna-san! (152)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Asari Yousuke - Code Blue 3 (797)
2) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora (150)
3) Takeuchi Ryoma - Kahogo no Kahoko (101)
4) Sawamura Ikki - Hiyokko (84)
5) Shiina Kippei - Code Blue 3 (61)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue 3 (650)
2) Toda Erika - Code Blue 3 (303)
3) Higa Manami - Code Blue 3 (97)
4) Kimura Yoshino - Hiyokko (91)
5) Miyamoto Nobuko - Hiyokko (72)

Source: Nikkansports

Screening event & press conference of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru"

The first-episode-screening event and press conference of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" was held on 4 July which was attended by cast members Nagase Tomoya, Yoshioka Riho, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Ohnishi Ayaka, Ikewaki Chizuru and Ootake Shinobu. The drama begins its run from 9 July in the Sundays 9pm timeslot.

The drama which is a remake of the same-titled 2004 South Korean drama from KBS starring So Ji-sub, features Nagase as the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend.

This drama is Nagase's first in 18 months and his first love story in almost 20 years. With regard to this, Nagase described his character as a lonely man who isn't loved by anyone so as a single guy, he also does think about various things when he's alone and has changed his views towards love. As such, he hopes to be able to show the feelings experienced by Ritsu in this story and is confident that the drama will make viewers cry this summer. As for working with Ootake for the first time in 20 years, Nagase praised her for looking the same as before which led her to rebuke jokingly that she has changed after all this while. Nagase then explained that she has always been very loving and accommodating so in this sense, she has not changed. Ootake then remarked with a smile to say that although they are acting in a sad love story, Nagase has taken the lead to make the atmosphere fun and enjoyable.

Yoshioka who plays the heroine, joked that she must be the No.1 character in the story to have the most costume changes and she thanked her stylist for having to do this extra work. However, when Nagase saw that she was wearing wide pants quite often, he expressed amazement at these pants looking like pipes and even asked Yoshioka if that is the latest fashion trend.

As for Sakaguchi who plays an idol pianist, he revealed that he has been practising a lot in his free time. Yoshioka then pointed out that Sakaguchi only plays difficult pieces which led him to "protest" since that was what he was taught to memorise and play so he ends up being unable to play simple songs. On the other hand, Ootake who plays a former top-notch pianist, had a scene where she was playing with her left hand only which was said to be something that even professional pianists have difficulty doing. Upon hearing this, Nagase teased Ootake and Sakaguchi for being a pair of "genius mother-and-son pianists".

In line with the drama's title, the cast were asked about what they love now. Nagase said that he has fallen in love with doughnuts ever since they were provided as snacks on the set and he really enjoys tasting the different flavours.

Sources: My Navi News / Sponichi / Oricon / Nikkansports / Eiga.com

Oricon's most anticipated Summer 2017 dramas ranking

Oricon conducted a survey on 1,364 people from their teens to 50s where they chose which Summer 2017 they are looking forward to watch. Dramas which were not announced before the start of the survey i.e. 19 June were not included and only dramas from the private networks and NHK were considered in this list.

There are two rankings here i.e. the primetime (7pm to 10pm) and midnight categories (shown after 11pm). Numbers in brackets indicate the overall weighted score in terms of anticipated ratings, leading actor/actress, supporting cast and content which account for 20 marks each. As such, the maximum score a drama can get is 80. The asterisk indicates dramas which are based on novels/manga so those without have original scripts.

Primetime Category

1) Code Blue ~ Doctor Heli Kinkyuu Kyuumei ~ THE THIRD SEASON (77)

2) Iryu Sousa (67)

3) Hello Harinezumi (66)*

4) Bokutachi ga yarimashita (65)*

5) Gomen Aishiteru (61)*

6) Keiji Shichinin 3 (53)

7) Kurokawa no Techou (49)*

8) Aishitetatte, himitsu wa aru (48)

9) Kahogo no Kahoko / Seshiru no Mokuromi* (45)

11) Kanna-san!* / Keishicho Zerogakari ~ Seikatsu Anzenka Nandemo Soudanshitsu ~ SECOND SEASON* / Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai (44)

14) Keishicho Ikimonogakari* (29)

15) Ecchan* (16)

Midnight Category

1) Shimokitazawa Diehard (52)

2) Nou ni sumaho ga umerareta! (28)

3) Aino Kekkon Soudanjo* (27)

4) Izakaya Fuji* (24)

5) Wanitokagegisu* (20)

6) Maji de koukai shimasu / Saboriiman Kantarou* (12)

Source: Oricon

Kamiya Hiroshi to be voice actor for Lee Soo-hyuk & do supplementary sound channel commentary for TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru"

Voice actor Kamiya Hiroshi will be appearing in the supplementary sound channel commentary alongside Nagase Tomoya in the upcoming TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" which begins its run from 9 July in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. In addition, he will be doing the Japanese voice-over for Korean actor Lee Soo-hyuk who will be appearing in the drama as well while Nagase will be doing the same in Japanese for the lines he spoke in Korean. These will be featured in the supplementary sound channel when the drama is broadcast.

The drama which is a remake of the same-titled 2004 South Korean drama from KBS starring So Ji-sub, features Nagase as the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake Shinobu) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend. Lee will be playing the role of Baek Ran who is the heir of a Korean mafia chief and admires Ritsu like an elder brother. Baek Ran was abandoned by his birth parents at an orphanage soon after he was born and became the adopted son of a couple who later went to South Korean. Later, Baek Ran left home to join the underworld and met Ritsu who works as a bouncer at the casino owned by his father. Baek Ran's presence becomes a trigger as to why Ritsu returns to Japan to look for his mother.

At the staff members' suggestion, Nagase and Kamiya did their recording not in the usual recording booth but while surrounded by the staff. Although Kamiya commented that he was not used to doing it this way with people around him, he managed to get through the recording very easily true to his reputation as a top voice actor and finished well ahead of schedule. Upon seeing this, Nagase expressed his admiration for Kamiya who became one with Lee's character even though they are clearly two different individuals and that Kamiya paid so much attention to detail while doing the voice-over. Kamiya also praised Nagase for doing a good job as his Japanese lines seemed to fit seamlessly with the Korean he was speaking in the drama and that the latter is such a versatile actor to be able to do this effortlessly.

Source: Oricon

Preview of "Gomen, Aishiteru" - Summer 2017

Title: Gomen, Aishiteru ごめん、愛してる (Sorry, I love you)
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official Line: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 9 July 2017
Timeslot: Sundays 9pm
Broadcast by: TBS
Original drama: KBS 2004 drama "Mianhada, Saranghanda" (미안하다 사랑한다) / I'm sorry, I love you
Theme Song: "Forevermore" by Utada Hikaru
Cast: Nagase Tomoya, Yoshioka Riho, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Ohnishi Ayaka, Daichi, Yamaji Kazuhiro, Kusamura Reiko, Rokkaku Seiji, Lee Soo-hyuk, Ikewaki Chizuru, Nakamura Baijaku, Ootake Shinobu

Utada Hikaru to sing the theme song for TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru"

Utada Hikaru will be singing the theme song for TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" starring TOKIO's Nagase Tomoya which will begin its run from 9 July in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. The song titled "Forevermore" will be Utada's second release since she joined Epic Record Japan in March this year and it will be released on the streaming portals from 28 July. The last time Utada wrote and sang a drama's theme song was "Hanataba wo kimi ni" for last year's NHK morning drama "Toto Nee-chan".

Nagase plays the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake Shinobu) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sponichi / Eiga.com

Cast members from TBS Summer 2017 dramas to appear in "Sekiguchi Hiroshi no Tokyo Friend Park July 2017 SP"

The cast members from the three TBS Summer 2017 dramas will be appearing as guests in the upcoming "Sekiguchi Hiroshi no Tokyo Friend Park July 2017 Drama Assembly SP" to be shown via TBS on 3 July. A total of 12 actors (4 from each drama) will be participating in the game show which will feature 7 games i.e. "Wall Crash", "Quiz! Body & Brain", "Flash Saurus", "Never Wipe Out", "Hyper Hockey", "Deli Soba" and "Fool On The Hill".

Here is the list of actors who will be appearing on the show:

From "Gomen, Aishiteru" - Nagase Tomoya, Yoshioka Riho, Sakaguchi Kentaro & Ootake Shinobu
From "Kanna-san!" - Watanabe Naomi, Kaname Jun, Kudo Asuka & Saito Yuki
From "Hello Harinezumi" - Eita, Fukada Kyoko, Morita Go & Nakaoka Souichi

Source: Oricon

Lee Soo Hyuk to appear in TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru"

Korean actor Lee Soo Hyuk will be appearing in the upcoming TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" starring Nagase Tomoya which begins its run from July in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. This will be Lee's first appearance in a Japanese drama.

The drama which is a remake of the same-titled 2004 South Korean drama from KBS starring So Ji-sub, features Nagase as the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake Shinobu) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend.

Lee will be playing the role of Baek Ran who is the heir of a Korean mafia chief and admires Ritsu like an elder brother. Baek Ran was abandoned by his birth parents at an orphanage soon after he was born and became the adopted son of a couple who later went to South Korean. Later, Baek Ran left home to join the underworld and met Ritsu who works as a bouncer at the casino owned by his father. Baek Ran's presence becomes a trigger as to why Ritsu returns to Japan to look for his mother.

Lee commented that although he is appearing in a Japanese drama for the first time, he is lucky that he can speak Korean while acting so this allows him to focus on his acting. In addition, he is honoured to be able to participate in this remake of a very famous Korean drama and will try his best to do well. With regard to his character Baek Ran, Lee said that this is a manly character which he had not attempted before in Korea so he's grateful and very happy for this opportunity. He hopes to be able to show the bond and bromance between Baek Ran and Ritsu in this drama.

Source: Nikkansports

Supporting cast line-up of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" announced

The supporting cast line-up of TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" starring TOKIO's Nagase Tomoya has been announced. The drama which is a remake of the same-titled 2004 South Korean drama from KBS starring So Ji-sub, features Nagase as the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake Shinobu) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend.

Ikewaki Chizuru who has not acted in any drama series since 2003's "Ooku", will play Kawai Wakana who was raised in the same orphanage as Riku. Although she is an adult and has a 8-year-old son, she has the intellect of a 7-year-old child only due to an accident she met with during her childhood. In order to prepare for the filming, Ikewaki went to meet three people with similar high order brain dysfunctions to find out more about their lives.

Ohnishi Ayaka, will be playing a genius saxophone player Furusawa Touko who Satoru is in love with and showing off her own saxophone playing skills which she had learnt for 7 years since she was 13. Rokkaku Seiji will be playing a gossip tabloid reporter Kagami Shuhei who knows about Ritsu's birth secret and has an unknown reason for hating Reiko. Last but not least, Nakamura Baijaku will be playing Mita Tsuneo who is Rinka's father and Reiko's manager who used to adore her for her piano playing skills.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com

TOKIO's Nagase Tomoya to star in TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru"

TOKIO's Nagase Tomoya will be starring in the upcoming TBS Summer 2017 drama "Gomen, Aishiteru" (Sorry, I love you) beginning its run from July and is a remake of the same-titled 2004 South Korean drama from KBS starring So Ji-sub which achieved a high rating of 29.2%. This will be Nagase's first leading role in a TBS Sundays drama.

Nagase plays the lead character Okazaki Ritsu who was abandoned by his mother Reiko (Ootake Shinobu) when he was a child. One day, when Ritsu gets embroiled into an incident that causes him to suffer a life-threatening injury, he decides to meet Reiko for the last time and do something for her out of filial piety because he doesn't know when his life will end. However, when he sees how much she loves her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro) who is a idol pianist and the happy and rich life she has compared to him who is wallowing in the low rungs of society, Ritsu vows to take revenge on her. At the same time, he falls for a woman Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho) who helps him by chance but he is sad to find out that she is in love with his half-brother who is Rinka's childhood friend.

Nagase said that it has been a long time since he acted in a love story like this from the time he appeared in the TBS drama "Love to Eros" when he was 19 years old and his last love story drama was the 1999 FujiTV drama "Suna no ue no koibitotachi". Nagase admitted that he always had this belittling attitude towards love stories so this was the reason why it took him that long to attempt another drama in this genre. Now that he's already in his late 30s, he feels that it will be interesting to see how things become if he acts in a love story again since his attitude towards love has changed a lot from the time he was in his 20s.

Yoshioka who is playing the heroine in a drama series for the first time, commented that she feels nervous and a sense of responsibility about taking on such a significant role. As for Sakaguchi who is appearing in this timeslot for the first time, he described his character Satoru as someone who may seem perfect on the surface but has a tinge of sadness and loneliness in his character. In order to play a pianist convincingly, he has already begun piano lessons before the filming begins.

Ootake who last worked with Nagase in the 1997 drama "Dear Woman SP", expressed her excitement at being able to to play his mother this time and is eagerly anticipating the start of the filming. She also revealed that she had seen the original drama before and was so besotted with it so she is even more thrilled to act in this drama.

Filming of this drama will begin in May.

Sources: Nikkansports 1 / Nikkansports 2 / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com