Screening event and press conference of TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori"

The screening event and press conference of TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori" was held at the TV station's Roppongi HQ on 21 March which was attended by cast members Higashiyama Noriyuki and Nakayama Miho. The drama SP will be shown at 9pm on 29 March.

The two of them both made their debut in 1985 but this is the first time that they are acting in the same drama. Filming was done under a tight schedule in December last year. Despite so, Higashiyama joked that he enjoyed the tough filming since he got rewards such as doing a kissing scene with Nakayama on 12 December which was his debut anniversary and a bed scene on Christmas Eve.

Higashiyama plays the role of Umeki Ryusuke, a creative planner working in a IT company who happens to meet a mysterious beautiful woman Eto Miyuki (Nakayama) and her male companion while returning from a drive as they try to hitch a ride from him. However, he finds out that the man died suddenly in a strange way while getting increasingly obsessed with Miyuki. When he realises later that the men around her die one after another under mysterious conditions, Umeki sets out to find the truth out of fear for his own safety.

Sources: Eiga.com / Nikkansports / Sanspo / Sponichi

Preview of "Kajitsu no nai mori" (Drama SP)

Title: Kajitsu no nai mori 花実のない森 (The forest without flowers and fruits)
Official website: here
O.A. Date: 29 March 2017, 9pm
Broadcast by: TV Tokyo
Original novel by: Matsumoto Seicho
Cast: Higashiyama Noriyuki, Nakayama Miho, Ozawa Yukiyoshi, Aibu Saki, Ohwada Baku, Watanabe Ikkei, Washio Machiko, Nakahara Takeo, Kimoto Takehiro, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Terajima Susumu

Supporting cast lineup for TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori" announced

The supporting cast lineup for TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori" starring Higashiyama Noriyuki and Nakayama Miho has been announced. The drama is based on the same-titled novel by Matsumoto Seicho and will be shown at 9pm on 29 March.

Higashiyama plays the role of Umeki Ryusuke, a creative planner working in an advertising company who happens to meet a mysterious beautiful woman Eto Miyuki (Nakayama) and her male companion while returning from a drive as they try to hitch a ride from him. However, he finds out that the man died suddenly in a strange way while getting increasingly obsessed with Miyuki. When he realises later that the men around her die one after another under mysterious conditions, Umeki sets out to find the truth out of fear for his own safety.

Ozawa Yukiyoshi will be playing Kusuo Hidemichi, the president of a company which has dealings with Umeki's advertising company while Aibu Saki will play Fujimura Mayumi, Umeki's girlfriend. Owada Baku will be playing Hamada Hiroshi who was with Miyuki when she met Umeki and Watanabe Ikkei will play Watabe Shinji who is Umeki's boss. Fukikoshi Mitsuru will be playing Inoue Kotaro who is Umeki's ex-classmate and works as a journalist. Last but not least, Terajima Susumu will be playing Shimazaki Yoshiki, the police detective who is investigating the cases happening around Miyuki.

Source: Oricon

Nakayama Miho to appear in new TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori"

Nakayama Miho will be appearing in the new TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori" featuring Higashiyama Noriyuki as the lead which will be shown at 9pm on 29 March. This will be the first time that the two of them are acting together even though they both made their debut in 1985 and had met during music TV programmes in the past as singers. At that time, Nakayama was nicknamed as one of the top 4 female singers in the late 1980s along with Kudo Shizuka, Minamino Yoko and Asaka Yui while Higashiyama was part of the popular idol group Shonentai.

Higashiyama plays the role of Umeki Ryusuke, a creative planner working in a IT company who happens to meet a mysterious beautiful woman Eto Miyuki (Nakayama) and her male companion while returning from a drive as they try to hitch a ride from him. However, he finds out that the man died suddenly in a strange way while getting increasingly obsessed with Miyuki. When he realises later that the men around her die one after another under mysterious conditions, Umeki sets out to find the truth out of fear for his own safety.

Nakayama joked that Higashiyama still looks the same as before so she was worried at first about acting with him. On the other hand, Higashiyama said that he was deeply moved to be able to act with Nakayama after a gap of 30 years but it was a pity that they couldn't chat to their hearts' content due to the nature of their characters' relationship in the drama which meant that they had to keep a slight distance from each other.

Sources: Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Eiga.com / Oricon

Higashiyama Noriyuki to star in TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori"

Higashiyama Noriyuki will be starring in the TV Tokyo drama SP "Kajitsu no nai mori" (The forest without flowers and fruits) which is based on the same-titled novel by Matsumoto Seicho and will be shown within 2017. Although this was made into a movie in 1965, this is the first time that the novel is adapted in a drama and the time setting will be changed to the current era.

Higashiyama plays the role of Umeki Ryusuke, a creative planner working in a IT company who happens to meet a mysterious beautiful woman Eto Miyuki and her male companion while returning from a drive as they try to hitch a ride from him. However, he finds out that the man died suddenly in a strange way while getting increasingly obsessed with Miyuki. When he realises later that the men around her die one after another under mysterious conditions, Umeki sets out to find the truth out of fear for his own safety.

As this will be the third time that Higashiyama is appearing in a Seicho work (the previous works were 1995's "Yakou no Kaidan" and 2004's "Shougen"), he felt that this drama had come at the right time given his current age. In the story, although Umeki and Miyuki aren't young people, their intense relationship is like a first love for both of them so Higashiyama described this as similar to "Romeo and Juliet".

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon / Eiga.com