Fujiwara Tatsuya to appear in new FujiTV drama SP "Yo ni mo kimyou na monogatari Autumn 2017 SP"

Fujiwara Tatsuya will be appearing in the new FujiTV drama SP "Yo ni mo kimyou na monogatari Autumn 2017 SP" which will be shown at 9pm on 14 October. This will be his first appearance in this series.

In the story titled "Yoru no koe" (The voice of the night) based on the manga by Tezuka Osamu, Fujiwara plays the role of Wagahori Eiichi who is the CEO of a big IT company and known for his ruthless ways and tendency to fire people without a care. In order to relieve stress, he adopts an unusual method of impersonating as a homeless man and stays overnight outdoors in a "house" made from cardboxes. One day, a woman named Yuri (Iitoyo Marie) takes refuge in his cardbox house when she is chased by a group of men and ends up staying there for good. However, Wagahori hides his identity as a CEO while taking care of Yuri and feelings develop between them. He then suggests that she apply for a job at his company so that he can propose to her when she enters his company but things do not turn out as planned...

Fujiwara said that this story does not talk about the struggles of a successful man but rather describes his desires to experience a world different from his usual environment by shutting out his normal life. Through this unusual experience, Wagahori then realises the issues he has deep within himself and tries to pursue a different life which unwittingly leads to his own destruction. Fujiwara commented that he had a lot of fun acting in this drama adapted from an old manga of Tezuka and hoped that viewers will enjoy watching this story.

Source: Oricon

Press conference of new NHK drama "Machikouba no Onna"

The press conference of new NHK drama "Machikouba no Onna" was held at NHK Nagoya on 27 Sep which was attended by staff members Uchiyama Rina, Tachi Hiroshi and Nagai Masaru. The drama which consists of 7 episodes, will begin its run from 17 Nov.

The story is based on the book "Machikouba no Musume" by Suwa Takako and set in a small town factory in Aichi Prefecture. Uchiyama plays the lead character Arimoto Hikari who is a 32-year-old housewife and lives with her husband (Nagai) and their son. When she was a child, her father Taizo (Tachi) tried to groom her to become his successor and manage the family business i.e. a small factory but Hikari resisted the idea. One day, when Taizo collapses due to exhaustion, Hikari is shocked to find out that her father has cancer and only has 4 days to live. In order to protect his factory, she decides to take on the role of company president. However, her husband who she is thinking of relying on to help her with the business, is sent to the US for an overseas posting. To make things worse, Hikari is seen as a president in name only and is belittled by the factory's executives, employees and their main bank. Co-stars include Yanagisawa Shingo, Murakami Jun, Oshinari Shugo, Kariya Shunsuke, Ichige Yoshie and Takenaka Naoto.

Uchiyama revealed that it has been a very enjoyable filming experience working with her co-stars and hopes to be able to continue this good momentum right to the end. As for Tachi whose hometown is in Nagoya, he commented that he always felt that he was doing something good for his parents whenever he appears in a NHK Nagoya work although it is a pity that his character will die in the first episode. Last but not least, Nagai said that as his character has the same name as him (reading is different even though the Kanji character is the same), he could ease into the role more easily. In addition, as this is his first role since becoming a father, he could tap on his personal experience to immerse himself into the story from the perspective of a parent.

Source: Oricon

NGT48's Kitahara Rie to star in new movie "Sunny / 32"

NGT48's member Kitahara Rie who will be leaving the group next spring, will be starring in the new movie "Sunny / 32" directed by Shiraishi Kazuya which will be shown in cinemas next February. The original story features Kitahara as the lead character Fujii Akari, a junior high school teacher who gets kidnapped on her 24th birthday by two men who call themselves Kashiwabara (Pierre Taki and Lily Franky). Being staunch fans of the legendary most cute murderer in history Sunny who was a young girl, the two men confine Akari to a house and call her Sunny as they torture her in various ways. Co-stars include Kadowaki Mugi, Otoo Takuma and Suruga Taro while Akimoto Yasushi is listed as the supervisor of this suspense movie.

Kitahara said that she was very happy to be able to mark the new start of her career in this movie and excited to be working with Taki and Lily who she described as very interesting and cute offscreen. On the other hand, Taki described this story reflective of Shiraishi's usual unpredictable style and praised Kitahara for going all out in her acting and having no complaints despite being made to stand for a long time in the snow during the filming. Lily also echoed the same view of Kitahara while joking that Taki and Shiraishi are still cute and detestable respectively.

The movie was shot in Niigata from 2 February to 19 February this year.

Sources: Eiga.com / Sanspo

Shison Jun to star in late-night prelude series to FujiTV drama SP "Yo ni mo kimyou na monogatari Autumn 2017 SP"

Shison Jun will be appearing in the late-night prelude series to the upcoming FujiTV drama SP "Yo ni mo kimyou na monogatari Autumn 2017 SP" which will be shown at 9pm on 14 October. The series titled "Yo ni mo kimyou na monogatari Shinya 2017 SP" will be shown over 5 nights from 9 October to 13 October at different times - 12.25am on 9th and 10th, 12.35am on 11th, 12.40am on 12th and 1.25am on 13th. This will mark Shison's first appearance in this series.

Shison will be the lead character Tomita Keisuke in this story titled "SON-TAKU" which means conjecture. Tomita works as a newbie employee in a beverage manufacturing company and is told to take part in the presentation for a new beverage to be launched for the company's 25th anniversary along with his senior Yamaguchi Maki (Yamazaki Hirona). During the meeting, it is then revealed that Tomita is actually an alien named Tommy R2X who has been sent to Earth to investigate the communication methods used by human beings. As Maki is gradually forced into a corner, thanks to the meeting which has headed into an unimaginable state due to a series of unpredictable happenings, Tommy R2X can't help but lend a helping hand to her which also helps him to develop his own conjectures towards the end of the story.

As this is the first time that Shison is playing an alien, he revealed that he tried to keep himself as emotionless and expressionless as possible while different thoughts were supposed to be going on in his mind. As such, he hopes to be able to show the gap between these two aspects through his acting. Especially since he had been a fan of the series since he was a child, he was very happy to be able to act in this and even more thrilled to be taking on the leading role.

Sources: Nikkansports / Oricon

Iitoyo Marie to be the heroine in new WOWOW drama "Ishitsubute Gaimushou kimitsuhi wo abaita sousa nika no otokotachi"

Iitoyo Marie will be the heroine in new WOWOW drama "Ishitsubute Gaimushou kimitsuhi wo abaita sousa nika no otokotachi" starring Sato Koichi and Eguchi Yosuke which will begin its run from 5 November in the Sundays 10pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 8 episodes,  is based on a true case which was uncovered in 2001 and involved the defrauding of secret funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The investigation officers faced an uphill task of venturing into the sacred territory of the country and had to fight the forces within the organisation to uncover the truth in this case caused by the "three evil men" i.e. high-ranking officers in the ministry. Sato will be playing Kizaki Mutsuhito who is involved in the investigation while his superior Saimi Teruaki will be played by Eguchi.

Iitoyo will be playing Yakura Kasumi who is a corporal working in the second investigation section which is taking up the case. Being freshly transferred from a local police station, Yakura knows practically nothing and ends up being dismissed by her colleagues due to her lack of knowledge. However, Kizaki helps her to get better at her work and be accepted by her colleagues as the investigation progresses.

With regard to her character, Iitoyo said that Yakura is a very strong-minded woman who believes in working hard. As such, she will try her best to show Yakura's traits with her acting although she admitted that she was not used to the fashion style of Yakura that required her to leave the top two buttons on her blouse undone which resembled Buruzon Chiemi's mature woman style. She then negotiated with the staff to have only the first button undone. As she was born just one year before the case happened in 1989 and got exposed in 2001, she was shocked when she heard about this case after she took on this role and hoped that more people in her generation would come to understand what happened through this drama.

Sources: Eiga.com / Sponichi / Oricon

Tanabe Seiichi to be the guest star in Ep 1 of TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Aibou season 16"

Tanabe Seiichi will be the guest in the first episode of TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Aibou season 16" which begins its run from 18 October in the Wednesdays 9pm timeslot. He will play the role of Tabuse Junji who is a prosecutor tasked to investigate an intimidation complaint made against Sugishita Ukyo (Mizutani Yutaka) and Kaburagi Wataru (Sorimachi Takashi). The case begins as a result of a serial murder case where a tycoon is accused of being the culprit. Sugishita, Kaburagi as well as Itami Kenichi (Kawahara Kazuhisa) and Serizawa Keiji (Yamanaka Takashi) are accused of forcing a confession out of this tycoon but the police refuse to admit that there was any wrongdoing and ignores the complaint. However, Kusakabe Yahiko (Enoki Takaaki), the administrative vice-minister from the Ministry of Law, gets wind of this case and orders Tabuse to conduct a secret investigation. Kusakabe used to be Kaburagi's superior at the ministry and were very close but their relationship had changed for the worst after the latter becomes a police officer and forced a favourite female prosecutor of Kusakabe to quit in the 8th episode of season 15. The suspect Hirai Akira will be played by Nakamura Shunsuke.

Source: Oricon

Top 10 celebrities who you would like to go for a drive with in 2017 (Park2 4)

This ranking was conducted by Park 24 on its Time Club members who chose which celebrity they would like to go for a drive with. Numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received:

1) Arashi (360) - No.1 for 4 consecutive years

2) TOKIO (122)

3) Ishihara Satomi (110)

4) Aragaki Yui (108)

5) Akashiya Sanma (96)

6) SMAP (88)

7) AKB48 (65)

8) Tokoro George (61)

9) Ayase Haruka / Nogizaka 46 (51)

Source: Oricon

Preview of "Shinjuku Seven" - Autumn 2017

Title: Shinjuku Seven 新宿セブン
Official website: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 13 October 2017
Timeslot: Fridays 12.12am
Broadcast: TV Tokyo
Original manga by: Mizuki Subaru & Oku Michinori
Opening theme song: "Shiro to kuro no Montuno feat. Saito Kousuke (UNISON SQUARE GARDEN)" by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Theme song: "Mikansei no Answer" by Ueda Tatsuya
Cast: Ueda Tatsuya, Nakamura Tomoya, Ohno Ito, Ieiri Leo, Kudo Ayano, Yano Koji, Nonami Maho, Shimada Kyusaku, Tanaka Tetsushi, Natsuki Mari

Ieiri Leo to make her acting debut in TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Shinjuku Seven"

Ieiri Leo will be making her acting debut in upcoming TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Shinjuku Seven" starring KAT-TUN's Ueda Tatsuya which will begin its run from 13 October in the Fridays 12.12am timeslot. The drama which is based on the same-titled manga currently serialised in "Manga Goraku Special", is set at Kabukicho in Shinjuku where the lead character Nanase (Ueda) owns a pawnshop and is known for having a keen eye to determine whether an item is the real thing or a fake and its value. While appraising these items, he also gets involved in various incidents and trouble due to his clients.

Ieiri will play Shiori who works part-time at the gyoza restaurant in Shinjuku where Nanase frequently goes to. Ieiri revealed that although she has been a singer for 5 years since she made her debut at 17, she had always been interested in acting and attended the same acting class with Sugisaki Hana who belongs to the same agency as her. As she didn't think that she could concentrate fully on acting, she had rejected all offers to appear in dramas to date. However, having celebrated her 5th anniversary in February this year, she thought of wanting to express herself through another medium other than singing. In addition, having seen how her good friends Oohara Sakurako and Fujiwara Sakura juggle acting and singing, she was inspired to try the same thus leading to her accepting the offer for this drama. She admitted that it felt strange and she was also touched when she saw her name not as the singer for the theme song but as a member of the cast in the script.

In order to prepare for the filming which started at the end of August, Ieiri went to Kabukicho for the first time in her life alone 4 times i.e. in the early morning, afternoon, evening and late night to get a feel of the area. She recounted that there was once when she bumped into a group of men who looked very frightening in the early morning so she was so scared that she quickly called her agency's staff to come and pick her up.

Sources: Eiga.com / Yomiuri Hochi / Sanspo

DAIGO to appear in NTV Autumn 2017 drama "Black Revenge"

DAIGO will be appearing in NTV & Yomiuri TV Autumn 2017 drama "Black Revenge" starring Kimura Tae which begins its run from 5 October in the Thursdays 11.59pm timeslot. Kimura will be playing a capable report writer Saori who works for a weekly magazine on a contract basis. Her husband Terada Keigo is driven to commit suicide due to a baseless scandal so Saori tries to find the culprits who are responsible for this and take revenge for her late husband. While investigating the truth behind her husband's death, Saori also has to come to terms with the secrets Keigo had been hiding from her. Co-stars include Sato Jiro, Horii Arata, Okano Maya, Nakamura Eriko and Suzuki Sawa.

DAIGO plays the role of Shirota who is hired by Saori's boss and the chief editor of the tabloid Tenma (Hirayama Hiroyuki) to investigate Saori and threaten her. DAIGO commented that this might be his last drama in his 30s so he's very excited about being able to play this role which allows him to use something that he doesn't use normally. As such, he called upon the viewers to check out this drama. With regard to working with Kimura, he said that he is honoured and very happy to be able to join her again this time because they had no scenes together when they worked on a drama in the past.

Source: Oricon

Sakuma Yui to appear in FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Ashita no Yakusoku"

Sakuma Yui will be appearing in the upcoming FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Ashita no Yakusoku" starring Inoue Mao which begins its run from 17 October in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot. This original story features Inoue as the 29-year-old lead character Aizawa Hinata who works as a counsellor at Tsubakigaoka Senior High School and aims to be the last adult who the students can depend on other than their parents and teachers. However, while devoting herself to the pyschological care of her students who are struggling with problems in school or at home, she is troubled by her own relationship with her hysterical and emotional mother who intervenes too much into her life. Just then, Hinata gets a confession of love from a male student named Yoshioka Keigo who had been skipping school and was being counselled by her but is shocked to find out on the following day that he died under mysterious circumstances. While trying to find out the truth behind this case, she comes face-to-face with the darkness of human beings and discovers what is most important about living and how a parent-and-child relationship should really be like.

Sakuma plays the childhood friend of Keigo named Shirai Kasumi who quit the school he attended 2 years ago and is going to a dance school while working part-time at a supermarket. Even after quitting from high school, Kasumi has been in contact with Keigo and knows a secret of his that nobody else is aware of. As such, Kasumi is believed to have a clue as to why Keigo suddenly committed suicide. With regard to her character, Sakuma described Kasumi as someone who does not show her feelings easily and is very sensitive about various things. As such, she will try her best to play Kasumi with the advice of the staff members and hopes that everyone will support this drama.

Source: Oricon

Preview of "Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~" - Autumn 2017

Title: Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~ / フリンジマン ~ 愛人の作り方教えます (Fringeman ~ I will teach you how to get a lover)
Official website: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 7 October 2017
Timeslot: Saturdays 12.20am
Broadcast by: TV Tokyo
Also streaming via: Amazon Prime Video
Theme Song: "bite the bullet" by PassCode
Cast: Itao Itsuji, Daitou Shunsuke, Fuchikami Yasushi, Morita Kanro, Azuma Mikihisa, Muramatsu Toshifumi, Kakei Miwako, Satsukawa Aimi, Kishi Asuka, Ogura Yuka, MEGUMI, Itano Tomomi, Dan Mitsu, Adachi Yumi

Female supporting cast line-up of TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~" announced

The female supporting cast line-up of TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~" had been announced.  The drama is based on the same-titled manga "Fringeman" by Aoki U-hei and features Itao Itsuji as the lead character Ibuse Masumi who is nicknamed as the lover professor and teaches hopeless married men how to get a lover and have an affair. At a mahjong parlour located at the fringe of the city, three men Tasai, Mitsushima and Ango want to seek a breakthrough in their dry and boring marriage lives and desire to have a forbidden affair. They meet Ibuse who started having lovers at the age of 22 and boasts of the record of having as many as 11 lovers at one time where the latter starts to coach them on the techniques of having extramarital affairs and find lovers. He makes the trio stick to his four rules and gives them various tough missions to clear in order to achieve their goals.

The five actresses who will play the "potential lovers" for Tasai, Mitsushima and Ango are Kakei Miwako, Satsukawa Aimi, Kishi Asuka, Ogura Yuka, Itano Tomomi. Kakei plays the role of Yamaguchi Emi who is Tasai's junior at the same company and his love interest. Having just entered the company two years ago, Emi is widely popular among the single male employees. As for Satsukawa, she will play Kawakami Emi who works at the information counter of a departmental store and is Mitsushima's love interest who he got to know through mutual friends at a drinking party. Kishi will play Eguchi Kaori who is a cabaret hostess and also Mitsushima's love interest. He goes to patronise her regularly thus leading to them becoming close enough to keep in contact outside of her workplace. Ogura will play Watanuki Risa, an university student who aspires to become a TV announcer and is Ango's love interest who he met at a video rental shop. However, she already has a handsome boyfriend. Itano will play Agawa Kurisu who is a rich man's daughter attending the same cooking class as Tasai, Mitsushima and Ango. Last but not least, MEGUMI will be playing Kirino Natsumi who is a mysterious woman and a frequent customer at the mahjong parlour where Ibuse and his "students" gather.

Source: Oricon

Dan Mitsu & Adachi Yumi to appear in TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~"

Dan Mitsu and Adachi Yumi will be appearing in the upcoming TV Tokyo Autumn 2017 drama "Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukurikata oshiemasu ~" starring Itao Itsuji which will begin its run from 7 October in the Saturdays 12.20am timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga "Fringeman" by Aoki U-hei and features Itao Itsuji as the lead character Ibuse Masumi who is nicknamed as the lover professor and teaches hopeless married men how to get a lover and have an affair. At a mahjong parlour located at the fringe of the city, three men Tasai, Mitsushima and Ango want to seek a breakthrough in their dry and boring marriage lives and desire to have a forbidden affair. They meet Ibuse who started having lovers at the age of 22 and boasts of the record of having as many as 11 lovers at one time where the latter starts to coach them on the techniques of having extramarital affairs and find lovers. He makes the trio stick to his four rules and gives them various tough missions to clear in order to achieve their goals.

Dan and Adachi will both play the lovers of Ibuse i.e. Miyabe Yuki and Yamura Misa respectively. Dan commented that in this era, there are many people who imagine themselves to be able to have extramarital affairs. While it may be fun to play such people and experience something which not everyone goes through in real life, she suggested that people should not try it easily. As such, she hoped that this drama will help people fulfill their wildest imaginations. On the other hand, Adachi revealed that she was struck by how interesting the script was when she read it and was excited about being able to play such a role. As such, she would try her best to play this character while ensuring that she does not go overboard with her acting and hopes that people will come to associate her with sexiness after watching this.

Source: Oricon

Yamamoto Mizuki to appear in FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Keiji Yugami" as a hacker

Yamamoto Mizuki will be appearing in the upcoming FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Keiji Yugami" starring Asano Tadanobu and Kamiki Ryuunosuke which begins its run from 12 October in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Iura Hideo and features Asano as Yugami Yukimasa who is a talented police detective but will stop at nothing to solve his cases even if the methods may be somewhat illegal. He has a keen eye for details which allows him to see through the suspects. Kamiki plays the newbie detective Hanyu Torao who has a strong sense of justice, has a no-nonsense character and graduated with top grades in school. The two of them who are extreme opposites, form an unlikely alliance to solve various cases where each episode will feature a different case.

Yamamoto who has been playing mainly feminine roles so far, will be playing the boyish hacker Hikawa Kazumi who is nicknamed Hizumi. She uses her wealth of knowledge about the cyber world and her research abilities to help Yugami in his investigations and is regarded as his hidden buddy. Having been embroiled in a past incident, Hizumi lost her voice and actually has an unknown link to Yugami.

Yamamoto said that this is the first time she is playing such a character so she is looking forward to the filming. Especially since she usually wears casual clothes and pants in private unlike her usual image where she wears skirts, she finds the costumes in this drama easier to move around in. However, she is very poor at dealing with mechanical and computer-related gadgets so she had to ask her younger sister to teach her some stuff in preparation for the filming. Last but not least, since Hizumi cannot speak, Yamamoto commented that she will have to rely on her body language and facial expressions to convey the character's feelings. This will be the first time she is working with Asano and her first collaboration in 5 years with Kamiki since they last worked in the 2012 movie "Kirishima, Bukatsu yamerutte yo".

Sources: Sanspo / Nikkansports / Oricon

Production press conference & special screening event of TBS Autumn 2017 drama "Kounodori 2"

The production press conference and special screening event of TBS Autumn 2017 drama "Kounodori 2" was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on 7 October which was attended by cast members Ayano Go, Matsuoka Mayu, Yoshida Yo, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Hoshino Gen and Oomori Nao. The drama based on the manga by Suzunoki Yuu is set in the gynecology department of a hospital and features Ayano as the lead character Kounotori Sakura, a gynecologist who goes about his work in a cool manner but cares for his patients as well. He also has a hidden side to him as a talented pianist by the name of BABY.

Ayano revealed that the sequel this time will not only focus on the issues around the birth of babies but also the reality facing the families with the newborns and the personal parts of the main characters working in the gynecology department. As such, he hopes that the story will resonate with as many viewers as possible especially how tough the situation is with a lack of doctors and tough working conditions. He was also very glad to reunite with his co-stars who have been in contact with one another even after the first series ended in 2015. Hoshino revealed that as there are many babies on the set, it is natural for them to be smiling but his character is supposed to be a straight-faced guy so he has to stop himself from doing that while filming. As for Sakaguchi, although it had been 2 years since he last did a surgical scene, he was able to bridge the gap quickly with the help of everyone around him.

Matsuoka spoke about the guest star in the first episode i.e. Shida Mirai and said that she was very happy to be able to work with the latter who she saw as an actress she wanted to become in future. Yoshida then commented that when they were doing the first series, it was natural that they were somewhat excited while trying to feel their way around. However, with experience this time, they were able to begin filming smoothly without any hitches. Last but not least, Oomori said that although there are fictional elements in the story, the feelings of the characters are as true as they can get since the actors will have to immerse themselves fully into the story so as to convey this.

The cast also spoke about how they watched one another's works. At the mention of Hoshino's signature work "Nigeru wa haji daga yaku ni tatsu", Hoshino smiled and said that he won't be dancing nor smiling in this new drama though. Yoshida then followed up with a joke targeted at Ayano and asked if he had become a human being from Frankenstein with reference to his drama "Frankenstein no Koi" which led Ayano to "surrender" and asked someone to stop this topic from going on further.

The drama begins its run from 13 October in the Fridays 10pm timeslot.

Sources: Natalie / Crank-In

Preview of "Otona Koukou" - Autumn 2017

Title: Otona Koukou オトナ高校 (Adult Senior High School)
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 14 October 2017
Timeslot: Saturdays 11.05pm
Broadcast by: TV Asahi
Also available for streaming via: Abema TV & Video Pass
Theme Song: "Reportage" by Takahashi Yu
Cast: Miura Haruma, Takahashi Katsumi, Ryuusei Ryo, Matsui Airi, Yamada Maho, Yuuki Jutta, Sugimoto Tetta, Masana Bokuzo, Kuroki Meisa

Kuroki Meisa to be the heroine in TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Otona Koukou"

Kuroki Meisa will be the heroine in upcoming TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Otona Koukou" starring Miura Haruma as her comeback drama after giving birth to her second child in June this year.  The original story is partly inspired by statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2015 where more than 25 percent of single men in their 30s and more than 30 percent of single women are said to have no sexual experience. Miura plays a 30-year-old elite salaryman Arakawa Hideto who works at a top bank after graduating from University of Tokyo. On the surface, he has everything in life but nobody knows that he is still a virgin and has zero dating experience even though he actually craves for love and sex. As the government wants to deal with the problem of low birth rates, a new law mandates that anyone who is above the age of 30 but has no sexual experience i.e. a group of people nicknamed "Yaramiso" which literally means reaching 30 without having done it, will be sent to an adults' senior high school. The sole condition to graduate from this school is that the person must have lost his or her virginity. Hideto is aghast to get sent to this high school against his will and does not even know how the government found out about his virgin status. In order to get out of this fix, Hideto has to learn about romance in this school and aim to graduate as soon as possible. However, his arrogance and pride gets in the way as he loves to look down on people, analyse people too much, show his boredom blatantly during a date which makes it look virtually impossible for him to graduate. While learning from his fellow classmates in their 30s to 50s who are equally clumsy in love like him, Hideto experiences a renewal of his teenage years and becomes a better person as time goes by.

Kuroki plays the role of Sonobe Maki who is a 32-year-old career woman declaring that work is the love in her life. However, it turns out that she is clumsy in love and always unwittingly becomes "the second woman". At present, she is having an affair with her superior at work but due to her serious character, he wouldn't sleep with her thus resulting in her still being a virgin despite being someone's lover.


Kuroki described her character as a very unusual character especially the setting about her being someone's lover and yet still being a virgin which would be unthinkable in real life. Nonetheless, Maki is a very serious person who tries her best in everything she does although it backfires most of the time. As for wearing a school uniform in this drama for the first time in 12 years, she said that she didn't feel so uncomfortable about it since Takahashi Katsumi is also doing the same. However, she revealed that during the poster shooting session, she realised that people who walked past her seemed to be giggling so she realised that she must have looked odd in the uniform.

The drama begins its run from 14 October in the Saturdays 11.05pm timeslot.

Sources: Sanspo / My Navi News / Natalie

Supporting cast line-up of TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Otona Koukou" announced

The supporting cast line-up of TV Asahi Autumn 2017 drama "Otona Koukou" starring Miura Haruma had been announced. The original story is partly inspired by statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2015 where more than 25 percent of single men in their 30s and more than 30 percent of single women are said to have no sexual experience. Miura plays a 30-year-old elite salaryman Arakawa Hideto who works at a top bank after graduating from University of Tokyo. On the surface, he has everything in life but nobody knows that he is still a virgin and has zero dating experience even though he actually craves for love and sex. As the government wants to deal with the problem of low birth rates, a new law mandates that anyone who is above the age of 30 but has no sexual experience i.e. a group of people nicknamed "Yaramiso" which literally means reaching 30 without having done it, will be sent to an adults' senior high school. The sole condition to graduate from this school is that the person must have lost his or her virginity. Hideto is aghast to get sent to this high school against his will and does not even know how the government found out about his virgin status. In order to get out of this fix, Hideto has to learn about romance in this school and aim to graduate as soon as possible. However, his arrogance and pride gets in the way as he loves to look down on people, analyse people too much, show his boredom blatantly during a date which makes it look virtually impossible for him to graduate. While learning from his fellow classmates in their 30s to 50s who are equally clumsy in love like him, Hideto experiences a renewal of his teenage years and becomes a better person as time goes by.

Takahashi Katsumi will play Hideto's boss Gonda Kansuke who is a director in the same bank and relishes in being surrounded by young women. Despite being a virgin, he keeps saying things like he's sick of women so as to hide his inferiority complex. When he gets forced to attend Otona Koukou with his subordinate who becomes his classmate, Gonda will have to strive to graduate by losing his virginity. Takahashi who last played Miura's father in the NTV drama SP "Satsujin Hensachi 70" three years ago, praised the latter for being such a nice guy to listen to his boring talk during their breaks while Miura said that he sought a lot of advice from Takahashi as if he was his real father. As for playing a 55-year-old virgin, Takahashi said that this is the first time that he is attempting such a role and wondered if the lines in the drama will get them into trouble with the censors as they are quite provocative and sensational. Nonetheless, he will try his best to play this character and enjoy this unusual experience.

Ryuusei Ryo will play Yamada Pegasasu, the form teacher of Hideto's class and is well-known for his spartan teaching methods and venomous tongue who is not intimidated by having to teach students who are even older than him. Ryuusei commented that he has played many student roles to date so having to play a teacher this time is a new challenge for him. He also called upon the viewers to check out this unique late-night drama with an interesting theme.

As for Matsui Airi, she will play the sexy assistant form teacher Himetani Sakura who boasts of a wealth of sexual experience despite her young age. With respect to this role, Matsui said that she went to consult friends who are just like Sakura and hopes to use that as the basis of her acting in this drama. Having to say quite a lot of provocative and suggestive lines in this drama, Matsui would sometimes wonder if it's OK for her to say such things even though it is for the sake of acting.

Other co-stars include Yamada Maho who plays Hideto's classmate Madara Masumi, a hikkikomori confining herself to her apartment, Jutta Yuki who plays Kawamoto Carlos, a manager of a bento shop, Masana Bokuzo who plays Mochida Mamoru, the assistant form teacher who doesn't have good looks but is married to a very beautiful woman and has 5 lovers and Sugimoto Tetta who plays the school's principal Kakazu Kiichiro and delivers the invitations to enter his school personally to the students.

Source: Oricon

Oricon's most anticipated Autumn 2017 dramas ranking

Oricon conducted a survey on 1,364 people from their teens to 50s between 11 September and 19 September whereby they chose which Autumn 2017 they are looking forward to watch. Dramas which were not announced by the TV stations before 5 September were not included in this survey and only dramas from the private networks and NHK were considered as candidates 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.

Surprisingly, this is the first time that two dramas tied for the top spot with the maximum score of 80 marks. Although they are both medical-themed dramas, they have very different storylines. "Doctor X" features many difficult surgery scenes amid the underlying storyline of the internal power and money struggles within the university hospital while "Kounodori" focuses on the gynecology department where the doctors strive to provide the best obstetric care to their patients amid various challenges. Also worth noting is that TV Asahi and TBS hogged the top 5 spots in this ranking while NTV, FujiTV and TV Tokyo accounted for the rest of the slots.

Primetime Category
1) Doctor X 5 ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko ~ / Kounodori 2 * (80)
3) Aibou season 16 (75)
4) Kangoku no Ohimesama (70)
5) Rikuou * (67)
6) Minshuu no Teki ~ Yo no naka, okashikunai desuka!? ~ (66)
7) Kasouken no Onna SEASON 17 (65)
8) Keiji Yugami * (60)
9) Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui (58)
10) Saki ni umaretadake no boku (50)
11) Ashita no Yakusoku (49)
12) Ima kara anata wo kyohaku shimasu * (39)
13) Universal Koukokusha ~ Anata no jinsei, urikomimasu * (34)

Midnight Category
1) Black Revenge (56)
2) Re:Mind * (39)
3) Wakakozake Season 3 * / Juuyou Sankounin Tantei * (37)
5) Otona Koukou (29)
6) Rabuho no Ueno-san Season 2 * (28)
7) Shinjuku Seven * (27)
8) Setoutsumi * (25)
9) Fringeman ~ Aijin no tsukirikata wo oshiemasu ~ * (23)
10) Boku wa Mari no naka * (22)
11) Sakura no oyakodon * (18)

Source: Oricon

Preview of "Doctor X 5 ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko ~" - Autumn 2017

Title: Doctor X 5 ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko ~ ドクターX 5 ～外科医・大門未知子～ (Doctor X 5 ~ Surgeon Daimon Michiko ~)
Official website: here
Official blog: here
Official Instagram: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 12 October 2017
Timeslot: Thursdays 9pm
Broadcast by: TV Asahi
Theme Song: "Force - Orchestra Ver. -" & "Unison" by Superfly
Cast: Yonekura Ryoko, Nagayama Kento, Uchida Yuki, Endo Kenichi, Suzuki Kosuke, Tanaka Kei, Nomura Shuhei, Nakabayashi Taiki, Uesugi Shuhei, Daichi Mao, Jinnai Takanori, Kishibe Ittoku, Danta Yasunori, Kusakari Masao, Nishida Toshiyuki 

Takenouchi Yutaka to play a gangster for the first time in new movie "Korou no Chi"

Takenouchi Yutaka will be playing a gangster for the first time in the new movie "Korou no Chi" starring Yakusho Koji which will be shown in cinemas from 12 May 2018. The movie is based on the same-titled novel by Yuzuki Yuko that had won the 69th Nihon Suiri Sakka Kyoukai Sho and is set during the Showa era before the anti-gang laws were enacted. Yakusho plays a police detective Ogami Shogo who is rumoured to be on good terms with gangsters while Matsuzaka Toori plays a newbie detective Hioka Shuichi who is assigned to work with him on a case about the disappearance of an employee in a finance company rumoured to be a gang affiliate. While having reservations about Ogami's way of investigation which is bordering on being illegal, Hioka learns many things from Ogami. As the investigation develops, it results in a battle between gang members which causes Ogami to take drastic measures to resolve the situation. Maki Youko will play Takagi, the mamasan of a club named Riko while Ishibashi Renji plays Isogo Shohei, the leader of Isogo-kai and Eguchi Yosuke plays Ichinose, the young leader of Otani-gumi. Other co-stars include Takito Kenichi, Suruga Taro and Yajima Kenichi, Taguchi Tomorowo, Nakamura Shido, Pierre Taki, Otoo Takuma and Nakamura Tomoya.

Takenouchi plays the role Nozaki Kousuke who is the young leader of Kakomura-gumi, the rival group of Otani-gumi. He is known for his flashy outfits, permed hair and speaking in the Kure dialect which makes him a presence hard to ignore. Takenouchi revealed that soon after he finished the movie "Kanojo ga sono na wo shiranai toritachi" which was also directed by Shiraishi Kazuya, he was approached to take part in this movie. Without reading the script, Takenouchi agreed to the offer. He was surprised by how good the story was after reading the script and became convinced that the movie will be a good one. Especially since he had been playing mostly good people or elites in his career, he is glad to be given a new challenge in this movie. As for speaking in dialects, Takenouchi revealed that he had roles which needed him to speak in dialects before but the Kure dialect is known for being extremely difficult due to its intonation which if not spoken properly, would sound like the Kansai dialect. As such, he had fun checking with the staff members who are natives of Kure on how he should speak the lines. With regard to his clothing in the movie, he admitted that it was beyond his imagination and extremely flashy. Initially, there was an idea of shaving his head for the role but to fit his character's flashy clothes, it was decided that permed hair would be more suitable.

Sources: Eiga.com / Sanspo / Nikkansports / Oricon

New batch of supporting cast line-up announcements for TBS Autumn 2017 drama "Rikuou"

A new batch of supporting cast line-up announcements for TBS Autumn 2017 drama "Rikuou" had been released. The drama which stars Yakusho Koji as the lead, already features Yamazaki Kento, Takeuchi Ryoma, Terao Akira, Otoo Takuma, Shiga Kotaro, Mitsuishi Ken and Kimura Midoriko, Kazama Shunsuke, Baba Tooru and Katsura Jakujaku in its cast.

Agawa Sachiko will play Masaoka Akemi, the leader of the sewing team in Kobaseya where the average age of the members are 60 years old. Agawa commented that she was very surprised to be offered the role to act in a Ikeido Jun drama but she is gradually enjoying the filming process as she gets a clear picture of her character.

Pierre Taki and Koyabu Kazutoyo will play employees of Atlantis, the rival of Kobaseya and a major sports equipment maker. Taki's character Kohara Kenji is the sales department chief who values profits above everything while his subordinate Sayama Atsushi will be played by Koyabu. Taki commented that he thinks he and Koyabu will become "disliked" by everyone in Japan for what they will do in the drama while Koyabu expressed his hope to be able to contribute to the drama which he stressed is very interesting and worth watching.

Ichikawa Udanji plays Murano Takehiko who is a professional shoes fitter while Uchimura Haruka will play Yasuda Toshimitsu who is a section chief in Kobaseya and Amano Yoshihisa will play Ebata Kouhei who used to be a famous long-distance runner in senior high school and an employee of Mukuhato Tsuun. last but not least, Dan Fumi will play Miyazawa's wife Mieko who worries about and supports her husband and son Daichi (Yamazaki).

Sources: Eiga.com / Sanspo / Oricon

Preview of "Honoo no Tenkousei REBORN" - Autumn 2017

Title: Honoo no Tenkousei REBORN 炎の転校生 REBORN (Blazing Transfer Student REBORN)
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 10 November 2017
Broadcast by: Netflix
Total number of episodes: 8
Original manga by: Shimamoto Kazuhiko
Theme Song: "Kangaeruna, moero!!" by Johnny's WEST
Cast: Johnny's WEST (Shigeoka Daiki, Kiriyama Akito, Nakama Junta, Kamiyama Tomohiro, Fujii Ryuusei, Hamada Takahiro, Kotaki Nozomu), Kawashima Umika, Kaga Takeshi

Kawashima Umika to be the heroine in new Netflix drama "Honoo no Tenkousei REBORN"

Kawashima Umika will be the heroine in the upcoming Netflix drama "Honoo no Tenkousei REBORN" starring the members of Johnny's WEST which will be streamed from 10 November. The drama series which consists of 8 episodes, is based on the same-titled manga by Shimamoto Kazuhiko that was serialised in Shuukan Shonen Sunday between 1983 and 1985 and also marks the first drama featuring a Johnny's Jimusho group which will be shown to an international audience. However, the story will be amended to feature the seven members as new transfer students to a mysterious elite school named Tanebi Gakuen set up by Takizawa Noboru (Kaga Takeshi - voice acting only) and they all happen to have the same first name Kakeru. They are then sent to various schools nationwide to pose as transfer students where they will work on secret missions to solve the problems facing the schools while vying with one another.

Kawashima plays the role of Hikari who attends Tanebi and is tasked with conveying the missions to the 7 Kakerus who infiltrate the problematic schools with them. Kawashima described her character as someone who tries hard to prevent the 7 Kakerus from fumbling in their missions and hopes that the viewers will enjoy watching the drama as much as they enjoyed filming it.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon

Preview screening event of new FujiTV Noitamina anime series "Inuyashiki"

The preview screening event of new FujiTV Noitamina anime series "Inuyashiki" was held at the TV station's Multi Theatre on 5 October which was attended by the voice actors Kohinata Fumio, Murakami Nijirou, Hongo Kanata, the director Yabuta Shuhei, producer Matsuo Taku and the members of band Qaijff who is singing the ending theme "Ai wo oshitetekureta kimi e" for the anime. The anime will begin its run from 12 October in the Noitamina timeslot and there will be another real-life movie starring Tunnels' Kinashi Noritaka and Sato Takeru which will be shown next year.

The anime which is based on the same-titled manga by Oku Hiroya, features Kohinata as the lead character Inuyashiki Ichiro, an elderly salaryman who has no friends and a poor relationship with his family. One day, he gets struck by a mysterious explosion in a park which leads to him acquiring a cyborg-like body and superhuman powers which he resolves to use in helping others and find the meaning of his existence. On the other hand, a young man named Shishigami Hiro (Murakami) was also affected by the explosion and decides to use his powers to kill mercilessly in a bid to bring about the extinction of human beings. As the paths of Inuyashiki and Shishigami cross, they are destined to fight each other as nobody but Inuyashiki can stop the latter. Hongo's character Ando is a senior high school student and the childhood friend of Shishigami who vows to exterminate humans. Despite his cruelty, Ando is one of the few people who Shishigami still opens his heart to but he will join forces with Inuyashiki to stop his buddy.

Kohinata commented that he's very excited to find out how people will think of this anime after they watch this and revealed that he's especially eager to know Oku's views since he's the manga's author. He also expressed his wish that the original manga's fans will like his performance which will hopefully be similar to the image they have of Inuyashiki. However, he did reveal that he was wondering why he was approached to play Inuyashiki who seemed quite meekly and miserable and joked that it must have to do with his own weak image and his thinning hair. As for Murakami who is making his debut as a voice actor through this anime, he said that this should be considered his debut work in the world of anime which he hardly knows and he has enjoyed the recording process so far. At the moment, they have already finished 8 episodes' worth of recording and he pledged to continue working hard for the rest of the episodes.

As for Hongo who will appear both in the anime and real-life movie, he commented that both versions are very interesting so he's eager to see them as a viewer and fan of the original manga. He also revealed that the filming of the real-life movie was actually done in autumn last year before the recording for the anime. When he heard rumours about the anime version, Hongo had deliberately let out his wish in front of someone who looked like a person of a high rank that he wanted to be a part of the anime too. To his surprise, he got the offer to play Ando in the anime. Hongo also commented about how he wanted to have more scenes together with Kohinata and Murakami in this anime even though he had the company of other people most of the time while Murakami "complained" that he was mostly on his own and wished to join the others during the recording sessions.

Sources: Eiga.com / Natalie

UPDATE: Stealing of my posts - latest status on the situation (7 Oct 2017)

First of all, thank you to everyone who have expressed their support in this issue where my posts are popping up everywhere else without my permission. Some of you who have shared my information elsewhere have taken the initiative to inform me about this and I have given you the permission to continue with this as long as you credit me and my blog. I truly appreciate your honesty and sincerity in dealing with this situation. Meanwhile, some of you have provided information to me when you see my posts appearing elsewhere without due credit to me.

As such, I think it is right for me to update you on what has happened since my last post:

- The user who had been reproducing my posts without permission from me nor due credit to me on Jdorama.com has yet to respond with regard to what he/she did. One of the readers here had kindly sent a message to this user asking for him/her to contact me on this issue. Unfortunately, I still have yet to hear from this person. As I am not a member of that forum, I can't tell if this user is still continuing with this behaviour or has stopped. I did a quick search on my blog's history and saw that I had interacted with someone with the same nickname back in 2014. It seems like this person has been a reader of my blog for some time. I just find it unbelievable that this person has yet to see what I wrote about he/she did so my assumption that he/she has decided to ignore me, perhaps hoping that the issue will die down.
If you are a member of Jdorama.com and continue to see my posts popping up there without my permission or due credits to my blog, please kindly inform me. I don't know if this person may change his/her username to do the same thing again though but if there's anything suspicious, please help me by reporting it to me or the administrator of that forum.

- At the same time, I also found out about another blog (thanks to one of my readers) which has been stealing my posts, passing them as his/her own without due credit and permission. I have left comments twice on the blog to date but they aren't showing on the posts concerned because they need to be approved by the blog owner. As you can probably imagine, the demands I've made to the blog owner to withdraw the offending posts were ignored. I have since contacted Blogger to check on what I can do.
I hate to have to spend time and energy going through this process of chasing after such content thieves but this blog owner's attitude towards this issue really angers me especially after I had posted a warning previously about the theft of my content in this manner. You can't say that you haven't seen that when you had visited my blog and wasted no time stealing my post about the Nikkansports Drama Grand Prix results which were just uploaded last night. And by ignoring me, that just shows how self-entitled you feel about this behaviour. What's probably more ironic is, my post about the recent BORDER screening event is this blog's No.3 most popular post while the rest seemed to be download links to videos. For heaven's sake, can't you just write your own stuff if you want to have your own blog?

I don't know how much I have to do to stop this kind of stealing and if the measures I take will be truly effective. However, I will do my best to protect my work and kindly ask you, my readers to support me through this journey, be it by alerting me about the offenders or suggesting ways that I can deal with such people. And for those who are still stealing my work and thinking that you can get away with it, you are just lying to yourself by passing off content from other people as yours. If your conscience doesn't prick you or you don't feel ashamed about this act, I guess whatever I say will affect you or make you change your ways. 

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

Preview of "Ima kara anata wo kyouhaku shimasu" - Autumn 2017

Title: Ima kara anata wo kyouhaku shimasu 今からあなたを脅迫します (I will threaten you from now on)
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official LINE: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 15 October 2017
Timeslot: Sundays 10.30pm
Broadcast by: NTV
Original manga by: Fujiishi Namiya
Theme song: "Let it snow!" by Dean Fujioka
Cast: Dean Fujioka, Takei Emi, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Shimazaki Haruka, Yamaga Kotoko, Sato Ryo, Naitou Risa, Ebisu Yoshikazu, Miyake Hiroki, Kondo Masaomi

Takahashi Mitsuomi to play Kimura Tae's late husband in NTV Autumn 2017 drama "Black Revenge"

Takahashi Mitsuomi will be playing Kimura Tae's late husband in the upcoming NTV Autumn 2017 drama "Black Revenge" which will begin its run from 5 October in the Thursdays 11.59pm timeslot. Kimura will be playing a capable report writer Saori who works for a weekly magazine on a contract basis. Her husband Terada Keigo is driven to commit suicide due to a baseless scandal so Saori tries to find the culprits who are responsible for this and take revenge for her late husband. While investigating the truth behind her husband's death, Saori also has to come to terms with the secrets Keigo had been hiding from her. Co-stars include Sato Jiro, Horii Arata, Okano Maya, Nakamura Eriko and Suzuki Sawa.

Takahashi commented that in this era where the political world is filled with news about in-fighting among politicians, money, extramarital affairs, his character Keigo had tried his best to stay out of trouble but still got framed for something he didn't do, betrayed by people he trusted and pushed into hell. While breathing his last, he entrusted his wish to seek vengeance and vindication with his wife so Takahashi hoped to show the twisted love between them in this whirlpool of strong hatred. As for working with Kimura, he praised her as a very charming and beautiful actress who he could speak to easily so it has been very enjoyable to work with her. Although the content of this drama is heavy and somewhat painful to watch at times, he hopes to be able to enjoy each scene to the fullest.

Source: Oricon

Completion press conference of new movie "Last Recipe Kirin no shita no kioku"

The completion press conference of new movie "Last Recipe Kirin no shita no kioku" was held at Tokyo International Forum on 25 September which was attended by the director Takita Yojiro and cast members Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishijima Hidetoshi, Ayano Go, Miyazaki Aoi and Nishihata Daigo. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 3 November.

The movie is based on the novel "Kirin no shita wo motsu otoko" (The man who has the kirin's tongue) by Tanaka Keiichi who is the director of FujiTV's cooking variety show "Ryori no Tetsujin". The story is set in Manchuria during the 1930s and Japan during the 2000s where there are two men reputed to have the kirin's tongue i.e. someone with the perfect sense of taste who can recreate dishes by tasting them just once. Ninomiya plays the role of Sasaki Mitsuru who lives in the current era where he charges an exorbitant amount to recreate dishes for people who wants to eat something for the last time in their lives. In the Manchuria part of the story, Nishijima takes on the role of Yamagata Naotaro who also has the kirin's tongue while his wife Chizuru is played by Miyazaki. Takenouchi Yutaka plays Miyake Taizo, an army colonel who orders Naotaro to create the best full course meal for him which consists of 112 dishes. During the war, the recipes go missing. To recreate these legendary dishes, Mitsuru is engaged for the task so the movie will shuttle between the past and present repeatedly. In the current era, Mitsuru's buddy Yanagisawa Ken will be played by Ayano.

As this is the first collaboration between Ninomiya and Takita whose film "Okuribito" won an Oscar in the 81st Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film category, Ninomiya was asked if he had any ambition about winning a foreign movie award through this movie. He commented that he would like as many people to watch this movie but expressed his wish to win a Michelin star rather than an Oscar. Upon hearing this, Ayano replied excitedly that this was a good idea since no movie had won a Michelin star before. Ninomiya then explained that the food in this movie were filmed in such a beautiful and charming way so it would be good to aim for something which nobody has achieved before. He also revealed that Ayano and he could get off work early every day during the filming which allowed them to prepare for the next day and he learned a lot from the director in terms of filming techniques and time management.

When asked to reflect on the filming, Ninomiya revealed that the scenes he had with Ayano will make the viewers relax since they were behaving as what they usually do in private i.e. they are close friends who meet up for drinks at times. Ayano echoed his view that his time spent with Ninomiya so far will show up very clearly through these scenes which didn't require them to pretend to be close. The director Takita said that the two actors managed to show the close ties between their characters which goes beyond brotherhood.

As for Nishijima, he revealed that in order to prepare for the filming, he was practising how to make fried rice but in the end, he didn't get to show off the results of his training. Instead, it was Ayano who got to cook fried rice many times on screen. With regard to his character in the 1930s, he commented that the story of how like-minded people clashed while trying to head towards the same goal reminded him of his youthful days but the realisation of having to make sacrifices in order to achieve something would usually mean the end of youth as people grow up and find out about this the hard way.

When asked by the reporters what kind of special power they would like to have, Ninomiya said that he wanted the power to fly since it would be cool to do so when he is singing and dancing on stage. At present, he has to rely on the staff members and wires to fly so he hopes to do it himself. As for Ayano, he hopes to learn all the languages in the world so that he can communicate with everyone. Upon hearing this, Ninomiya immediately changed his answer to say that he wants the same. When it was Nishijima's turn, he wants to be able to see the future but is also worried about being demoralised by this since his character in the movie had a very tragic fate ahead of him. As for Miyazaki, she hopes to be able to dance since she can't do it while Nishihata said that he wants to become muscular and be able to move around in a flash since it took him 2.5 hours to get from Osaka to Tokyo via the Shinkansen.

Sources: Natalie / Modelpress / Eiga.com

First-day-screening event of new movie "Okuda Tamio ni naritai Boy to Deau otoko subete kuruwaseru Girl"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Okuda Tamio ni naritai Boy to Deau otoko subete kuruwaseru Girl" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 16 September which was attended by the director Ohne Hitoshi and cast members Tsumabuki Satoshi and Mizuhara Kiko. The film is based on the same-titled manga by Shibuya Chokkaku which was serialised in "Shukan SPA!". Tsumabuki plays the role of a magazine Kooroki Yuuji who aspires to live like singer-songwriter Okuda Tamio while Mizuhara plays Amami Akari who works at an apparel maker's promotions department. After Kooroki falls in love with Akari at first sight and they start dating, she starts to show the bewitching side of her and messes up the lives of the men around her.

Tsumabuki commented that it is rare to see such a straightforward love comedy like their movie so he was confident that viewers will be entertained by this film. He went on to praise Mizuhara for being a positive-minded girl who is able to make people around her happy even if they may be feeling down. Mizuhara then complimented her co-star for being a sweet boy as he was always very considerate towards her like an elder brother and had a cute appearance like a puppy.

In line with the movie's theme and to reward Tsumabuki for spending a lot of effort on this movie from the planning stage, there were a number of surprises lined up for him so as to "drive him crazy". First of all, Mizuhara presented a bouquet of flowers to Tsumabuki which was designed to fit his clean and gentle image and thank him for doing a lot for this movie that she believed the movie will do well in the box office. Ohne then suggested that a handshake from Mizuhara was not enough so the two actors hugged on stage with a big smile. It was then revealed that there was a present from Okuda Tamio himself where Tsumabuki was presented with a guitar signed by the singer which made him so excited and confused as to whether it was true. When he held the guitar, Tsumabuki said that he was so surprised and happy about this gift and will display it at home because he thinks that it will be a pity to play it. The director then suggested jokingly that he should sign on the guitar as well which led Tsumabuki to protest and said that he didn't need Ohne's signature on it.

Source: Eiga.com

Inamori Izumi, Nishina Takashi & Hashimoto Atsushi to appear in FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Keiji Yugami"

The supporting cast line-up of new FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Keiji Yugami" starring Asano Tadanobu and Kamiki Ryuunosuke had been announced. The drama which begins its run from 12 October in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot, is based on the same-titled manga by Iura Hideo and features Asano as Yugami Yukimasa who is a talented police detective but will stop at nothing to solve his cases even if the methods may be somewhat illegal. He has a keen eye for details which allows him to see through the suspects. Kamiki plays the newbie detective Hanyu Torao who has a strong sense of justice, has a no-nonsense character and graduated with top grades in school. The two of them who are extreme opposites, form an unlikely alliance to solve various cases where each episode will feature a different case.

Inamori Izumi will be playing the role of Kanno Rika who is the section chief of the team which Yugami and Hanyu are in and has managed to become successful in her career despite being a woman as compared to Yugami who entered the police force at the same time as her. Kanno gets irritated at Yugami who keeps doing things his way but will always protect her subordinates from her superiors when the need arises. Inamori commented that this is the first time she is playing a police detective and has to talk like a man so she finds it very interesting and meaningful to take on this challenge. She also joked that she is looking forward to kicking Asano from behind with her high heels as Kanno always does this when Yugami gets on her nerves.

Other co-stars also include Nishina Takashi who plays Tataki Ageo, the oldest member in the team and has been a sergeant for years and Hashimoto Atsushi who plays Machio Mamoru, another member in the team.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2

Aibu Saki announces the arrival of her first baby

Aibu Saki announced the arrival of her first baby through her official Instagram account shortly after her agency issued an official statement to the media about this. In the statement, although there were no details on the day when she gave birth or the gender of the baby, it was said that Aibu and the baby are doing well and thanked everyone for their concern and apologised for causing them worry. In Aibu's comments on Instagram, she revealed that giving birth was much tougher than she thought but she was relieved that both the baby and her are doing well.

Aibu announced her marriage on 3 May last year to her husband who is 5 years older than her and announced her pregnancy in May this year. She made her debut as an actress in the 2003 FujiTV drama "WATER BOYS" and was crowned the CM queen for her 10 CM deals in the first half of 2008. Her works to date include dramas like "Buzzer Beat", "Kaseifu no Mita" and "Massan".

Sources: Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Oricon

Preview of "Saki ni umaretadake no boku" - Autumn 2017

Title: Saki ni umaretadake no boku 先に生まれただけの僕 (I was only born earlier than you)
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official LINE: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 14 October 2017
Timeslot: Saturdays 10pm
Broadcast by: NTV
Theme Song: "Doors ~ Yuuki no Kiseki ~" by Arashi
Cast: Sakurai Sho, Aoi Yu, Seto Koji, Kinami Haruka, Morikawa Aoi, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Ikeda Tetsuhiro, Kinoshita Houka, Tabe Mikako, Igawa Haruka, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi, Akiyama Natsuko, Takashima Masanobu, Kazama Morio

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 30 Sep & 1 Oct 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Ajin (316)

2) A Dog's Purpose (240)

3) Namiya Zakkaten no Kiseki (341)

4) Dunkirk (346)

5) Sandome no satsujin (313)

6) Asahinagu (148)

7) Hidden Figures (63)

8) Alien: Covenant (369)

9) Sekigahara (338)

10) Despicable Me 3 (359)

Source: Eiga.com

Broadcast of "BORDER 2 Shokuzai" to be postponed due to upcoming election

TV Asahi announced on 1 October that it will be pushing back the impending broadcast of new drama SP "BORDER 2 Shokuzai" starring Oguri Shun due to the upcoming House of Representatives election taking place on 22nd Oct. The drama SP which was scheduled to be shown on the same day of the election, will be postponed to a week later on 29 October while the broadcast time remains at 9pm. However, the broadcast dates for the spin-off drama SP "BORDER Shoudou ~ Kenshikan Higa Mika ~" starring Haru will not be affected.

The drama SP continues from the end of the drama series in 2014 where Ishikawa Ango (Oguri) gets too caught up in his pursuit of justice that he pushes a criminal Ando Chikao (Omori Nao) over from the rooftop of a building. Although Ando is supposedly dead due to the fall, he appears suddenly behind Ishikawa and grabs his shoulder to welcome him to the other side of the world i.e. evil.

Source: Oricon