Preview of "Wanitokagegisu" - Summer 2017

Title: Wanitokagegisu わにとかげぎす
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 19 July 2017
Timeslot: Wednesdays 11.56pm
Broadcast by: TBS
Original manga by: Furuya Minoru
Theme song: "Kumo" by TOKIO
Cast: Arita Teppei, Honda Tsubasa, Kaku Kento, Yoshimura Kaito, Komuai (Suiyoobi no Campanella), DOTAMA, Fukuyama Shoudai, ACE, Fuchikami Yasushi, Murakami Jun, Mitsuishi Ken

TOKIO to sing the theme song for TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu"

TOKIO will be singing the theme song for new TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu" starring Arita Teppei and Honda Tsubasa which will begin its run from 19 July in the Wednesdays 11.56pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Furuya Minoru which was serialised in "Young Magazine" between 2006 and 2007.

Arita plays the lead character Tomioka Yuuji who works as a security guard and has never dated before or had any experience in sex. In order to bid farewell to his life so far, he sets out to make new friends. However, his meeting with a homeless middle-aged guy who calls himself a nomad in life (Mitsuishi Ken) marks the beginning of a series of accidents which change his life drastically such as receiving threatening letters predicting his death in a year's time. At the same time, Tomioka gets embroiled in another case due to the arrival of two new colleagues i.e. Hanabayashi Yuudai (Kaku Kento) and Amekawa Isamu (Yoshimura Kaito). Other co-stars include Fuchikami Yasushi and Murakami Jun while the heroine Hada Azusa who aspires to be a novelist, will be played by Honda Tsubasa.

The theme song titled "Kumo" will be TOKIO's 53rd single and is a rock number written by Nagase after they received the offer to sing the theme song and he read the original manga. The producer Tawada Yutaka said that the pure love story between Tomioka and Hada brings to mind TOKIO's debut single "LOVE YOU ONLY" so he decided to approach the band to write and sing the theme song for the drama. Nagase commented that he was moved by how the lead character Tomioka tries to change himself although in a clumsy way so he wanted to make sure that Tomioka will look cool whenever the song is played in the drama and show his beautiful feelings in the most dramatic way.

Source: Sponichi

Kaku Kento & Eikura Nana welcome the arrival of their first child

Kaku Kento and Eikura Nana welcomed the arrival of their first child on 12 June at a hospital in Tokyo as announced in their statements released by their agencies on 14 June. Both mother and child are doing well but there is no mention of the baby's gender.

In Eikura's statement she revealed that her baby weighed 2,700 grams at birth and thanked everyone for their support and advice from her pregnancy all the way till she gave birth. She also expressed her thanks to her husband for being always by her side and was grateful that the baby was born healthy. She ended her statement by pledging to support their child through life's many steps and encounters to come. As for Kaku, he expressed his joy at the arrival of a new family member and his increased responsibility in protecting his family. He also asked for the support of their fans and everyone around them.

The timing of Eikura's return to work will depend on her family situation and her health condition. On the other hand, Kaku is set to be very busy this summer with three dramas starting in July i.e. "Wanitokagegisu" from TBS, "Akira to Akira" from WOWOW and "Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru" from NTV as well as a musical which begins in August.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

Kaku Kento to take over Koide Keisuke's role in NTV Summer 2017 drama "Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru"

Kaku Kento will be taking over Koide Keisuke's role in the upcoming NTV Summer 2017 drama "Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru" starring Fukushi Souta which will be shown from 16 July in the Sundays 10.30pm timeslot. Koide was exposed for having alcohol and sex with a 17-year-old girl which led to his indefinite suspension of his acting career and being taken off the cast of this drama.

Fukushi plays the lead character Okumori Rei who killed his father (Horibe Keisuke) in the summer of when he was in the third year of junior high school so as to protect his mother Akiko (Suzuki Honami) who suffered from domestic violence inflicted by her husband. In order to hide his crime, Rei and Akiko decided to bury the corpse in the back garden of their house, report him as missing and share this dark secret between themselves. Rei strives hard to become a lawyer without making friends or falling in love. 11 years later, the 26-year-old Rei meets Tachibana Sawa (Kawaguchi Haruna) in graduate law school and the two of them fall in love with each other. Although Rei has made up his mind to get married to Sawa with his mother's blessings, someone who seemingly knows about his secret sends an alarming message to him. Co-stars include Endo Kenichi who plays Sawa's father and is the chief prosecutor, Koide Keisuke who plays Sawa's elder brother at odds with his father, Okae Kumiko who plays Sawa's mother and tries to keep her family together, Suzuki Kosuke who plays a doctor in love with Akiko, Shirasu Jin who is a mutual friend of Rei and Sawa, Yamamoto Mirai who plays a teacher of Rei and Sawa, Emoto Tokio who is a paralegal assisting Sawa during her internship and Yashiba Toshihiro who plays a police detective investigating the disappearance of Rei's father 11 years ago.

Kaku will be taking on the role of Sawa's elder brother who is a journalist. However, as he is also involved in the TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu" which begins its run from 19 July, adjustments need to be made to his schedule before he can join the filming for this drama. In addition, Kaku will also be appearing in the WOWOW drama "Akira to Akira" which starts from 9 July (filming had been completed) and the musical "Young Frankenstein" which will begin its run from 11 August.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Cream Stew's Arita Teppei & Honda Tsubasa to star in TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu"

Comedic duo Cream Stew's Arita Teppei will be taking on his first leading role in a drama series when he appears in the upcoming TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu" which begins its run from July in the Wednesdays 11.56pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Furuya Minoru which was serialised in "Young Magazine" between 2006 and 2007. The heroine Hada Azusa who aspires to be a novelist, will be played by Honda Tsubasa.

Arita plays the lead character Tomioka Yuuji who works as a security guard and has never dated before or had any experience in sex. In order to bid farewell to his life so far, he sets out to make new friends. However, his meeting with a homeless middle-aged guy who calls himself a nomad in life (Mitsuishi Ken) marks the beginning of a series of accidents which change his life drastically such as receiving threatening letters predicting his death in a year's time. At the same time, Tomioka gets embroiled in another case due to the arrival of two new colleagues i.e. Hanabayashi Yuudai (Kaku Kento) and Amekawa Isamu (Yoshimura Kaito). Other co-stars include Fuchikami Yasushi and Murakami Jun.

Arita revealed that he had always tried to avoid acting in dramas all this while but this time, he found himself accepting the offer without thinking too much about questions like why he was selected to be the lead. In addition, he could see that some parts in the drama resonated with his own situation so he hoped that the viewers will see him for who he is through the story. However, he felt a lot of pain in his body just after one day of filming which he attributed it to his heavy sense of responsibility as the lead even though the drama has a lot of comedic developments. Despite so, he is still enjoying the filming as the days go by. As for Honda, when she first heard that the lead actor is Arita, she was surprised but also thought that it would be interesting to work with him. Even for viewers who don't know the original manga, she feels that Tomioka's efforts in trying to change his lonely life and the struggles he face will make them empathise with and support him

Filming is already in progress.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon