Production press conference of Tokai TV & FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "Yaneura no Koibito"

The production press conference of Tokai TV & FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "Yaneura no Koibito" was held on 29 May which was attended by cast members Ishida Hikari and Imai Tsubasa. The drama will begin its run from 3 June in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot and marks Ishida's first appearance in a drama series in 14 years.

Ishida plays the lead character Saijo Kinuka who is a housewife and has a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son with her husband. Due to the death of her father-in-law, she moves to a Western-style house in Kamakura left behind by him together with her family. Kinuka finally realises her longtime dream of opening a flower arrangement school by doing it in the salon of her new house. Just when she thinks that her life is already perfect, she is aghast to find her ex-boyfriend Seno Itsuki (Imai Tsubasa) at her housewarming party even though they had parted ways 18 years ago. Although Kinuka manages to chase Seno away that day, strange things start happening in the Saijo household as food is found to be missing from the fridge and her husband's clothing disappear for no reason. It turns out that Seno has started living in the attic of the house and this gradually causes the revelation of secrets hidden by the people around Kinuka including her husband Makoto (Katsumura Masanobu), children, mother-in-law Chizuko (Takahata Atsuko) and best friend Kyoko (Miura Rieko) and leads to her being forced into a corner mentally. When a murder takes place, this then causes her fate to undergo a drastic change.

Ishida commented that as the story is something hardly likely to happen in real life, this makes it more difficult to act and she has been struggling every day. However, thanks to the help of the staff and her co-stars, she has been able to cope with the filming. As for working with Imai, she said that he is like a cute young man who would be serious one moment and get all hyped up talking about baseball suddenly.

On the other hand, Imai said that as his character can be said to be a nuisance, there was nobody he could look to as a reference when acting so he was quite surprised when he saw the script. He joked that as he appears in many heart-stopping scenes, he hopes to gain the title of No.1 Attic Actor after appearing in this drama. It was also revealed that he will be appearing in a belly dance scene with Takahata Atsuko in the drama.

As 25 May was Ishida's birthday, Katsumura who plays her husband in the drama, made a surprise appearance and presented a cake and bouquet of flowers to her together with Imai. When both Imai and Katsumura tried to feed her a bite of the cake, Ishida chose Imai without hesitation which made Katsumura "flare up" at the host who suggested them to do this. Katsumura commented during the event that he had some complicated feelings about Imai being his rival in love this time because they had appeared as a teacher and student in the FujiTV drama "Mokuyou no Kaidan" many years ago. He joked that the student he "nurtured" with care grew up to snatch his wife from him which led Imai to respond that he has no choice because the script dictates that he becomes the third party in their marriage.

Sources: Sponichi / My Navi News / Oricon

Takahata Atsuko becomes a belly dance teacher in the new Tokai TV / FujiTV drama "Yaneura no Koibito"

Takahata Atsuko will become a sexy belly dance teacher in the upcoming Tokai TV / FujiTV drama "Yaneura no Koibito" starring Ishida Hikari and Imai Tsubasa. The drama which begins its run from 3 June in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot, features Ishida as the lead character Saijo Kinuka who is a housewife and has a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son with her husband. Due to the death of her father-in-law, she moves to a Western-style house in Kamakura left behind by him together with her family. Kinuka finally realises her longtime dream of opening a flower arrangement school by doing it in the salon of her new house. Just when she thinks that her life is already perfect, she is aghast to find her ex-boyfriend Seno Itsuki (Imai Tsubasa) at her housewarming party even though they had parted ways 18 years ago. Although Kinuka manages to chase Seno away that day, strange things start happening in the Saijo household as food is found to be missing from the fridge and her husband's clothing disappear for no reason. It turns out that Seno has started living in the attic of the house and this gradually causes the revelation of secrets hidden by the people around Kinuka including her husband Makoto (Katsumura Masanobu), children, mother-in-law Chizuko (Takahata) and best friend Kyoko (Miura Rieko) and leads to her being forced into a corner mentally. When a murder takes place, this then causes her fate to be affected drastically.

Takahata's character Chizuko is a belly dance teacher so as preparation for the role, she lost 5kg in three weeks before the filming. As Takahata used to be from the swimming team back in school, she isn't that concerned about baring her skin nor her belly and has a nice figure despite being 62. Initially, the costumes designed for Chizuko did not show her belly but Takahata felt that it seemed odd because of her character's occupation. When it came to the costume fitting, it was then decided that instead of trying to cover up her body in an awkward manner, it would be better to be natural about revealing her body. However, in order to ensure that she won't look like an eyesore to the viewers, Takahata went jogging with a rubber belt around her tummy in the evenings as part of her diet routine.

On the other hand, Takahata rated herself a low 27 points for her belly dance performance because she couldn't get used to the music and rhythm. Although she had learnt it in the past, she couldn't continue with it as it was too difficult for her. After just one day of training, it made her back hurt so much that she couldn't walk but it was a good way of losing fat in her belly area. When asked to described her character, Takahata said that Chizuko is a rather detestable person who speaks harsh things to others and dotes on her stepson excessively.

Source: Oricon

Supporting cast line-up of new FujiTV drama "Yaneura no Koibito" announced

The supporting cast line-up of new FujiTV drama "Yaneura no Koibito" starring Ishida Hikari has been announced. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, begins its run from 3 June in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot.

Ishida plays the lead character Saijo Kinuka who is a housewife and has a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son with her husband. Due to the death of her father-in-law, she moves to a Western-style house in Kamakura left behind by him together with her family. Kinuka finally realises her longtime dream of opening a flower arrangement school by doing it in the salon of her new house. Just when she thinks that her life is already perfect, she is aghast to find her ex-boyfriend Seno Itsuki (Imai Tsubasa) at her housewarming party even though they had parted ways 18 years ago. Although Kinuka manages to chase Seno away that day, strange things start happening in the Saijo household as food is found to be missing from the fridge and her husband's clothing disappear for no reason. It turns out that Seno has started living in the attic of the house and this gradually causes the revelation of secrets hidden by the people around Kinuka including her husband, children, mother-in-law and best friend and leads to her being forced into a corner mentally. When a murder takes place, this then causes her fate to be affected drastically.

Takahata Atsuko will be playing Chizuko, a belly dance teacher and the mother-in-law of Kinuka. Although she has no blood ties with her stepson Makoto played by Katsumura Masanobu who is obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder, she dotes on him excessively and will stop at nothing to keep up appearances and uphold her reputation. Kinuka's best friend Suganuma Kyoko will be played by Miura Rieko while Kinuka's daughter Honoka will be played by Ootomo Karen.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Ishida Hikari & Imai Tsubasa to star in new FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "Yaneura no Koibito" as ex-lovers

Ishida Hikari will be appearing in a drama for the first time in 14 years when she takes on the leading role in the new FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "Yaneura no Koibito" (The Attic Lover) which will begin its run from 3 June in the Saturdays 11.40pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, is the 8th production in the "Saturday dramas for adults" timeslot since April last year.

Ishida plays the lead character Saijo Kinuka who is a housewife and has a 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son with her husband. Due to the death of her father-in-law, she moves to a Western-style house in Kamakura left behind by him together with her family. Kinuka finally realises her longtime dream of opening a flower arrangement school by doing it in the salon of her new house. Just when she thinks that her life is already perfect, she is aghast to find her ex-boyfriend Seno Itsuki (Imai Tsubasa) at her housewarming party even though they had parted ways 18 years ago. Although Kinuka manages to chase Seno away that day, strange things start happening in the Saijo household as food is found to be missing from the fridge and her husband's clothing disappear for no reason. It turns out that Seno has started living in the attic of the house and this gradually causes the revelation of secrets hidden by the people around Kinuka including her husband, children, mother-in-law and best friend and leads to her being forced into a corner mentally. When a murder takes place, this then causes her fate to be affected drastically. This will be the first time that Ishida and Imai are working together in a drama.

Ishida who also has two daughters in their teens, said that she can identify with Kinuka's efforts in raising her children and pledged to do her best in this drama. As for being involved in a forbidden relationship with Imai's character, Ishida said that she felt bad about it as Imai is too young to play her love interest but she is still looking forward to working with him.

On the other hand, Imai who has not appeared in a drama in 14 years since 2003's NTV drama "Saigo no Bengonin", commented that he has never played such a character before but hopes to bring some excitement to the viewers on their Saturday nights by applying what he had learnt from doing stage plays all this while.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon