Top 10 dramas with the highest single episode rating in the first half of 2013

1) Galileo Ep 1 - 22.6%

2) Ama-chan Ep 65 - 22.2%

3) Yae no Sakura Ep 1 - 21.4%

4) Aibou season 11 Last Episode - 20.7%

5) Tonbi Last Episode - 20.3%

6) Jun to Ai Last Episode - 20.2%

7) Specialist (drama SP) - 19.4%

8) Last Cinderella Last Episode - 17.8%

9) Kazoku Game Last Episode - 16.7%

10) Taxi Driver no Suiri Nishi (drama SP) - 16.2%

Source: Oricon

Eita & Ono Machiko win the 39th Housou Bunka Foundation acting awards for their roles in "Saikou no Rikon"

Eita attended the prize presentation ceremony for the 39th Housou Bunka Foundation Award on 21 June where he received an acting award for his performance in "Saikou no Rikon". His co-star Ono Machiko who had played his wife in the same drama, also received the same award but was absent from the ceremony. Eita commented that it had been physically draining for him during the filming and by the time he was halfway through the season, he had even gone to a therapist for treatment of his hands and shoulders which were experiencing tightness due to the pressure.

Other prize awards (drama-related) are as follows:

Main Award (TV drama category): Legal High / FujiTV (prize money of JPY 800,000)
Excellence Award (TV drama category): Made in Japan / NHK (JPY 400,000)
TV Drama Award: Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV & Hitori Shizuka / WOWOW (JPY 200,000 each)
Individual Acting Award: Eita / Saikou no Rikon & Ono Machiko / Saikou no Rikon (JPY 100,000 each)
Best Script: Kosawa Ryota / Legal High (JPY 100,000)

Source: Sponichi / Housou Bunka Foundation

The 16th Nikkansports Grand Prix (Winter 2013)

This is a rather small-scale survey since there are less than 1,000 votes so the results tend to be heavily skewed and quite different from the general opinion or what you see in The Television Awards. Please don't be upset if your favourites or those who you think deserves an award doesn't appear here. ^__^

Numbers in brackets indicate number of votes.

Source: Nikkansports

Best Drama
1) Tonbi / TBS  (97)
2) Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (96)
3) Yae no Sakura / NHK (93)
4) Jun to Ai / NHK (59)
5) Nobunaga no Chef / TV Asahi (57)

Best Leading Actor
1) Uchino Masaaki / Tonbi / TBS (175)
2) Mizutani Yutaka / Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (163)
3) Kazama Shunsuke / Jun to Ai / NHK (75)
4) Eguchi Yosuke / dinner / FujiTV (70)
5) Eita / Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV (67)

Best Leading Actress
1) Ayase Haruka / Yae no Sakura / NHK (230)
2) Gouriki Ayame / Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Tecchou / FujiTV (101)
3) Sawaguchi Yasuko / Kasouken no Onna / TV Asahi (96)
4) Natsuna / Jun to Ai / NHK (94)
5) Nakama Yukie / Saki / FujiTV & Suzuki Kyoka / Yakou Kanransha / TBS (80)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Narimiya Hiroki / Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (98)
2) Nishijima Hidetoshi / Yae no Sakura / NHK (92)
3) Sato Takeru / Tonbi / TBS (85)
4) Oikawa Mitsuhiro / Nobunaga Chef / TV Asahi (74)
5) Oizumi Yo / Sharehouse no Koibito / NTV (55)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Ono Machiko / Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV (89)
2) Iijima Naoko / Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de / NHK (77)
3) Shida Mirai / Nobunaga no Chef / TV Asahi (74)
4) Morishita Aiko / Jun to Ai / NHK (64)
5) Aibu Saki / Otome-san / TV Asahi (63)

Romaji lyrics of "Calling" by Arashi (Theme song of "Last Hope")

Title: Calling
Artist: Arashi
Lyrics: s-Tnk eltvo
Melody: Andreas Johansson youwhich

One day...Now and forever..."This is a last hope"

For my life For your life ima wo tsukanda
In my world umareta Take your time
In my life ima wo susumunda koko de umareta

keshite kienai kokoro fukaku
shizuka ni furu ame no you na
sore ga boku wo kokomade
tsurete kitanda kono saki datte zutto sou darou?

So time to go kotae wa [ima] Now subete kakeru
One way, no doubt sono toki ni kibou wa umarete yuku

afuredasu mama kokoro de sakebe It's a moment of my life
owarasenain da shinjiteru We can believe
dare hitori So never end kawaranu inochi
tatoe kasukana hikari datte me wo sorasazu ima wo tsukame

tsuyoku omou kokoro hitotsu kimi no naka de moeteru kara
yamanu ame ni utarete kimatta unmei wo kowashiteku itsu datte sou darou?

Don't give it up! kimi ga kitto Go! omou yori mo
Believe in yourself hito wa motto tsuyoi mono dakara

dakara tada ikite yuku dake darou It's a moment of my life
detarame to hito ga waratte mo We can believe
doushitemo So never end taisetsu na kimi wo
nakusenai kara tashikana sono inochi no koudou daite

afuredasu mama kokoro de sakebe It's a moment of my life
owarasenain da shinjiteru We can believe
dare hitori So never end kawaranu inochi
tatoe kasukana hikari datte me wo sorasazu ima wo tsukame

"Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou" scores 8.1% for finale

"Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou" earned itself the dubious honour of the No.1 Gekku drama with the lowest single episode rating as its last episode shown on 25 March scored a low of 8.1%. The previous title holder was spring 2009 drama "Konkatsu!" starring Nakai Masahiro which got 8.8% for its last episode. "Biblia" started with a rating of 14.3% for its first episode and was in the 10% to 12% range from the second episode onwards. However, due to the last episode's low rating, the average rating of the drama became 11.3% by the end of the season.

Source: Sponichi Annex

Romaji lyrics of "Yin Yang" by Kuwata Keisuke (Theme song of "Saikou no Rikon")

Title: Yin Yang
Artist: Kuwata Keisuke
Lyrics and Melody by: Kuwata Keisuke

otoko no jinsei wa
yume miru ibara michi
ano koro wa seventeen
onna nyaubu na ore
are kara ikudo mo shuuraba wo mita yo

hitome de hore nuite
inochi wo kaketa koi
akogare no daiyamondo ringu
muri shite kacchatte
ikashita kuruma de mukae ni itta yo

Everyday, I'm so lonely
kanashiki yo no sadame
Don't you know 'bout my story?
namida nijinmu sake to me baby
mitsuida ageku ni suterareta no sa

doshaburi ame no naka
kaminarisama ga naku
okiniiri no Old blue jeans
zubunure otoko naki
karada no shin made chijikomacchau
Oh...

Yin Yang...

Everynight, I'm so lonely
"kirei na bara nya toge" da
Don't you go. Please don't leave me.
amai wana ni hamacchai Love you baby
kawai oshiri ni moteasobarete

tadareta ai no kizu
taiyo wa moetsukita
mayonaka no rhythm and blues
kodoku na mune ni hibiku yo
tooku de kiteki ga wakare wo tsugeta
Oh....

"Nakuna, Hara-chan" manga artist to appear in last episode of the drama

Bibuo, the manga artist responsible for all the drawings in NTV Winter 2013 drama "Nakuna, Hara-chan" will be appearing in the last episode of the drama on 23 March. He will play the role of Ohashi's son who always gets talked about by the part-timers working in Funamaru Suisan. Bibuo revealed that he didn't tell anyone about his drama appearance and joked that nobody would notice it if he does not say a thing.

As this is his first drama appearance, Bibuo was understandably nervous but he was encouraged by Nagase Tomoya's comment that he did well. Bibuo also said that it was great that his work became well-known through this drama as he wasn't doing very well in the past with few job offers coming his way. As a result of the drama's fame, he started to get illustration jobs and hopes to be able to launch his own manga series soon.

At the same time, the scenario book which contains all the manga drawings and is titled "Nakuna, Hara-chan Scenario BOOK" will be released on 21 March which is rare because such books don't get published until the drama is over. The scriptwriter Okada Yoshikazu said that viewers will be able to relive the moments of the drama and find new ways to enjoy the story through this scenario book. He also called upon viewers not to forget Hara-chan even after the drama ends.

Source: Oricon

AI to make her acting debut in "Yakou Kanransha"

Singer AI will be making her acting debut in the TBS Winter 2013 drama "Yakou Kanransha" as a special guest. She sings the theme song "VOICE" of the drama and had asked for an opportunity to take part in the drama's filming. AI will play the role of Uemura, a colleage of Endo Mayumi (Suzuki Kyoka), who calls out to the latter when she is talking to a police detective. AI revealed that she was very nervous about that scene even though she only had one line and she took care to rehearse it in order to prevent her Kagoshima dialect accent from appearing.

Source: Oricon

Past scenes of "Last Hope" to be shown online before the finale

FujiTV will show the 100 most important scenes from their Winter 2013 drama "Last Hope" via their website between 22 March 5pm and 26 March 8pm with the intention of helping viewers to catch up on the story before they view the last episode on 26 March at 9pm. The 100 videos will be uploaded to the site on an hourly basis for viewers to access.

The website to access the videos is here.

Source: Sanspo

Hana Arashi Campaign kicks off on FujiTV

Arashi attended the announcement press conference of the "Hana Arashi Campaign" on 18 March which is aimed at promoting FujiTV's upcoming programmes in spring. The promotional campaign will run from 26 March which is the day when Aiba Masaki's winter 2013 drama "Last Hope" airs its last episode until 17 April which is when Sakurai Sho's new spring drama "Kazoku Game" will begin its run. In conjunction with the campaign, there is a sakura tree outside FujiTV which is decorated with pink LED lights. The public will be able to activate the lighting on the tree through a designated smartphone app. Matsumoto Jun who tried the application, commented that the lighting turned out to be more beautiful than he had expected.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Preview of "Nakuna, Hara-chan"

 Title: Nakuna, Hara-chan
Official site: here
Broadcast by: NTV
O.A. Start Date: 19 January 2013
Timeslot: Saturdays 9pm
Scriptwriter: Okada Yoshikazu
Theme song: Lyric by TOKIO (written entirely by Nagase Tomoya)
Cast: Nagase Tomoya, Asou Kumiko, Maruyama Ryuhei, Kutsuna Shiori, Kaku Kento, Okunuki Kaoru, Shimizu Yutaka, Komoto Masahiro, Mitsuishi Ken, Inagawa Miyoko, Yakushimaru Hiroko, Suda Masaki, Shiraishi Kayoko, Komatsu Kazushige, Yasuda Ken, Sasahara Naoki

Screening event of "Last Hope" Episode 8

A special screening of the 8th episode of FujiTV Winter 2013 drama "Last Hope" was held on 2 March at FujiTV which was attended by 75 doctors and nurses from Yokohama City University Hospital and lead cast members such as Aiba Masaki and Tabe Mikako. The episode will be shown on 5 March. Aiba admitted that he was nervous about meeting real doctors  and even joked that Tabe was very cool and had no interest in him even though they had been filming together for about 3 months. The actors also revealed that the atmosphere on set is very good and the cast had even gone drinking together. Tabe revealed that she gets into a good mood when she's drunk. When asked about who his last hope is, Aiba said that his manager deserves all the credit for making sure he wakes up in time every day to get to the set without being late.

Source: Sanspo

"Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi" hits the cinema screen

The winter 2013 drama "Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi" which is still in its run will be shown in cinemas between 6 April and 19 April, which is rare for an entire drama to be screened there. The drama which stars Eita and Matsuda Ryuhei, consists of 12 episodes will be shown in four batches of three episodes at Shibuya's Euro Space, following the requests from TV viewers sent to TV Tokyo.

Source: Sponichi

Kuwata Keisuke appears in ending credits of "Saikou no Rikon"

Kuwata Keisuke made a surprise appearance in the ending credits of winter 2013 drama "Saikou no Rikon" where his song "Yin Yang" was used as the ending theme. The song is set to be released as a single on 13 March. In the ending credits which differ in each episode, Eita and Ayano Go appear in tuxedos while Ono Machiko and Maki Youko wear blue dresses and the four of them will perform a different dance each time. Kuwata joined the filming of the ending credits on 8 February and was featured in a "fight" with the guys and "seductive" scenes with the ladies. FujiTV had asked Kuwata to appear in the credits since late last year but it was only until the drama started and he himself became a fan of it before he decided to accept the offer. As for when the clip featuring Kuwata will be shown, FujiTV declined comment on this since it has not been decided.

Source: Sponichi

Winter 2013 dramas with the highest satisfaction index (Oricon)

Here are the results of the top 16 dramas with the highest satisfaction index according to a poll by Oricon. Note that they broke up the table into two parts i.e. one for the dramas shown between 8pm to 10pm while the other is for dramas after 11pm. Numbers in brackets indicate the satisfaction rating:

8pm to 10pm timeslots
1) Itsuka hi no ataru basho de / NHK (67.5%)
2) Yakou Kanransha / TBS (62.7%)
3) LAST HOPE / FujiTV (55.4%)
4) Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV (55.2%)
5) Nakuna, Hara-chan / NTV (52.2%)
6) Tonbi / TBS (51.7%)
7) Saki / FujiTV (45.0%)
8) dinner / FujiTV (41.4%)
9) Otome-san / NTV (41.0%)
10) Apoyan / TBS (38.4%)
11) Sharehouse no Koibito / NTV (36.1%)
12) Biblia Koshodo no Jiken Tecchou / FujiTV (32.3%)

After 11pm timeslots
1) Karamazov no Kyoudai / FujiTV (54.4%)
2) Nobunaga no Chef / NTV (50.6%)
3) Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi / TV Asahi (44.8%)
4) Shotenin Michiru no Minouebanashi / NHK (40.7%)

Source: Oricon

FujiTV axes its Sunday 9pm drama timeslot from spring onwards

FujiTV announced that it is going to cancel its Sunday 9pm timeslot meant for dramas and replacing it with a new variety programme "Terebi Shakai Jikken Variety Asunaro Labo" hosted by comedian Kato Koji and announcer Takashima Aya. As a result of this move, "dinner" will be its last drama shown in this timeslot. FujiTV had started airing dramas in this timeslot renamed as Dramatic Sunday since autumn 2010 with "Perfect Report"  which was seen as a challenge to TBS which had a longstanding stellar reputation in the same drama for its prime dramas. However, things didn't work out as planned with most of the offerings in this timeslot doing badly except for the spring 2011 drama "Marumo no Okite" which made the child actors Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku extremely well-known and popular.

Source: Sanspo

"Saikou no Rikon" ending credits videos uploaded to YouTube

FujiTV uploaded a video clip of the ending credits of "Saikou no Rikon" which featured the four key cast members Eita, Maki Youko, Ono Machiko and Ayano Go dance to the tune of Kuwata Keisuke's song "Yin Yang". The video of Ep 1's ending credits which was uploaded to YouTube, achieved hits of more than 180,000 in less than two weeks. The videos for episodes 2 to 5 were also uploaded on 13th February on FujiTV's official YouTube channel. The subsequent episodes' videos will feature the cast in this order: ep 2 - Ono, ep 3 - Maki, ep 4 - Ayano and ep 5 - Eita.

In case you want to check this out, here is FujiTV's YouTube channel. However, unless you reside in Japan, chances are that you can't view this video. This totally defeats the purpose of placing the video onto the Internet if you are going to restrict viewers based on their geographical locations. They might as well not do it since it's such a half-hearted effort at promoting this drama.

Source: Sanspo

Miyane Seiji to make a guest appearance in "Saikou no Rikon"

Miyane Seiji will be making a guest appearance in the FujiTV Winter 2013 drama "Saikou no Rikon" shown on 14 February as reported on 6 February. Miyane had previous guest appearances in dramas and movies such as 2007 movie "HERO" as a reporter, 2007 drama "Dare ga Papa yanen" as a useless father and a voice acting role as himself in the anime movie "Meitantei Conan 11nin me no Striker" last year. This time, Miyane will play the role of the owner of a ramen restaurant where Eita's character constantly goes to for work-related matters. Actually, Miyane has been a big fan of the series and asked Shimizu Kazuyuki, the drama's producer who was his junior when they both worked in Asahi Housou at Osaka, for the favour thus resulting in him landing a guest role.

Source: Sanspo

Screening event of "Made In Japan"

The screening event of NHK drama "Made In Japan" was held at the TV station's HQ in Shibuya on 17 January which was attended by key cast members Karasawa Toshiaki, Takahashi Katsumi, Yoshioka Hidetaka and Kunimura Jun. The drama is scheduled to begin its run from 26 January and based on an original script by Inoue Yumiko who is well-known for her work in dramas such as "Shiroi Kyoto".

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Production press conference of "Nakuna, Hara-chan"

The production press conference of NTV Winter 2013 drama "Nakuna, Hara-chan" (Don't cry, Hara-chan) was held on 14 January which was attended by key cast members TOKIO's Nagase Tomoya, Kutsuna Shiori, Asou Kumiko and Kanjani 8's Maruyama Ryuhei. The drama is scheduled to begin its run from 19 January at 9pm on Saturdays and features Nagase as Hara-chan, a fictitious manga character drawn by Asou Kumiko's character who comes to life and gradually falls for her. During the event, there were 80 people who became adults this year during the Coming-of-Age ceremony. Nagase commented that he made his debut when he was 14 and he's already an actor for 20 years. He gave advice to the audience that although being an adult comes with certain restrictions and expectations on behaviour, the only thing which should be unrestricted in adulthood is romance so he encouraged them to go out and seek the love of their lives.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi