Dorama World

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Yakusho Koji - Rikuou
2) Sakurai Sho - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
3) Asano Tadanobu - Keiji Yugami

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Sakurai Sho - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
2) Ayano Go - Kounodori 2
3) Yakusho Koji - Rikuou
4) Takenouchi Yutaka - Kono koe wo kimi ni
5) Asano Tadanobu - Keiji Yugami

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Yakusho Koji - Rikuou
2) Ayano Go - Kounodori 2
3) Asano Tadanobu - Keiji Yugami
4) Miura Haruma - Otona Koukou
5) Takenouchi Yutaka - Kono koe wo kimi ni / Sakurai Sho - Saki ni umaretadake no boku

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Yakusho Koji - Rikuou
2) Asano Tadanobu - Keiji Yugami
3) Ayano Go - Kounodori 2
4) Sakurai Sho - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
5) Takenouchi Yutaka - Kono koe wo kimi ni

Source: The Televison

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
3) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
2) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5
3) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora
4) Kuroshima Yuina - Ashi Girl
5) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
2) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
3) Inoue Mao - Ashita no Yakusoku
4) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora
5) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
3) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora / Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
5) Inoue Mao - Ashita no Yakusoku

Source: The Television

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou
3) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Kazama Morio - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
2) Kentaro - Ashi Girl
3) Hoshino Gen - Kounodori 2
4) Seto Koji - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
5) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou
3) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami
4) Sato Jiro - Black Revenge
5) Terao Akira - Rikuou

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami
3) Shison Jun - Ueki Hitoshi to Nobosemon
4) Yagira Yuuya - Onna Joshu Naotora / Kobayashi Kaoru - Onna Joshu Naotora / Yamamoto Koji - Totto-chan! / Iseya Yuusuke - Kangoku no Ohimesama / Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou

Source: The Televison

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Mitsushima Hikari - Kangoku no Ohimesama
2) Aoi Yu - Saki ni umareta dake no boku
3) Yamamoto Mizuki - Keiji Yugami

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Aoi Yu - Saki ni umareta dake no boku
2) Tabe Mikako - Saki ni umareta dake no boku
3) Mitsushima Hikari - Kangoku no Ohimesama
4) Yoshida Yo - Kounodori 2
5) Tomosaka Rie - Ashi Girl

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Mitsushima Hikari - Kangoku no Ohimesama
2) Yamamoto Mizuki - Keiji Yugami
3) Kanno Miho - Kangoku no Ohimesama
4) Yoshida Yo - Kounodori 2
5) Hirosue Ryoko - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Mitsushima Hikari - Kangoku no Ohimesama
2) Yamamoto Mizuki - Keiji Yugami
3) Kaho - Kangoku no Ohimesama
4) Agawa Sachiko - Rikuou
5) Aoi Yu - Saki ni umareta dake no boku / Yoshida Yo - Kounodori 2 / Kanno Miho - Kangoku no Ohimesama / Sakai Maki - Kangoku no Ohimesama / Morishita Aiko - Kangoku no Ohimesama / Nakama Yukie - Ashita no Yakusoku / Tezuka Satomi - Ashita no Yakusoku / Matsushita Nao - Ima kara anata wo kyouhaku shimasu / Natsuki Mari - Shinjuku Seven / Katayama Yuki - Setoutsumi

Source: The Televison

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Doors ~ Yuuki no Kiseki ~ - Arashi (Saki ni umareta dake no boku)
2) Showtime - Amuro Namie (Kangoku no Ohimesama)
3) Jupiter - Little Glee Monster (Rikuou)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Doors ~ Yuuki no Kiseki ~ - Arashi (Saki ni umareta dake no boku)
2) Kiseki - Uru (Kounodori 2)
3) Iiwake - JUJU (Kono koe wo kimi ni)
4) Reboot - Tohoshinki (Ashita no Yakusoku)
5) Gyutto - Sexy Zone (Wagahai no heya de aru)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Showtime - Amuro Namie (Kangoku no Ohimesama)
2) Jupiter - Little Glee Monster (Rikuou)
3) Human - WANIMA (Keiji Yugami)
4) Tomoe Gakuen - Fukuyama Masaharu (Totto-chan!)
5) Iiwake - JUJU (Kono koe wo kimi ni)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Jupiter - Little Glee Monster (Rikuou)
2) Doors ~ Yuuki no Kiseki ~ - Arashi (Saki ni umareta dake no boku)
3) Showtime - Amuro Namie (Kangoku no Ohimesama)
4) Tomoe Gakuen - Fukuyama Masaharu (Totto-chan!)
5) Mikansei no Answer - Ueda Tatsuya (Shinjuku Seven)

Source: The Televison

2018's Top 10 ranking of most desired male celebrities who you want as a boyfriend (Oricon)

Oricon conducted a survey on 1,000 female respondents in their teens to 50s where they selected the male celebrity who they wished to have as their boyfriend. It seems that women in different age groups have varying preferences as teenagers' No.1 is Aiba Masaki while those in their 20s and 30s chose Matsumoto Jun and Takahashi Issei respectively. Ladies in their 40s chose Ohno Satoshi and those in their 50s chose Yamashita Tomohisa. Do you agree with these choices for your age group?:

1) Aiba Masaki

2) Matsumoto Jun

3) Sakurai Sho

4) Takahashi Issei

5) Ninomiya Kazunari

6) Matsuzaka Toori

7) Ohno Satoshi

8) Yamashita Tomohisa

9) Takeuchi Ryoma

10) Hoshino Gen

Source: Oricon

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 10th & 11th February 2018

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

1) Konya, Romance Gekijou de (296)

2) Inori no maku ga oriru toki (334)

3) Funouhan (296)

4) Manhunt (251)

5) Hitsuji no Ki (213)

6) Geostorm (348)

7) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (377)

8) Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch II Handou (79)

9) Paddington 2 (317)

10) Uso wo aisuru onna (284)

Source: Eiga.com

Monday, February 12, 2018

Production press conference of TV Asahi Winter 2018 drama "Asu no kimi ga motto suki"

The production press conference of TV Asahi Winter 2018 drama "Asu no kimi ga motto suki" was held on 18 January which was attended by cast members Ichihara Hayato, Ito Ayumi, Yanagiba Toshiro, Morikawa Aoi, Shirasu Jin, Watanabe Dai, Shida Mirai and Mita Yoshiko. The drama begins its run from 20 January in the Saturdays 11.05pm timeslot.

The completion screening event of new movie "Sunny 32" was held on 18 January which was attended by the director Shiraishi Kazuya and cast members Kitahara Rie, Pierre Taki, Lily Franky and Kadowaki Mugi. The movie will be released in cinemas from 17 February after its pre-release in Nagaoka, Niigata from 9 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.

Maki Youko, Inoue Mao, Sakuraba Nanami and Ooizumi Yo will be starring in the new movie adaptation of the legendary stage play "Yakiniku Dragon" which was performed in 2008 and did a clean sweep of theatrical awards that year including the 42rd Kinokuniya Engeki Sho, the 16th Yomiuri Engeki Taisho's Grand Prix and Most Outstanding Work. The movie will be directed by Chong Wui Shin as his directorial debut after his successful career as a scriptwriter for many movies such as "Tsuki wa docchi ni deteiru", "Ai wo kou hito" and "Chi to Hone". The movie will be shown in cinemas from early summer 2018.

Nakayama Miho, Dan Rei, Tanihara Shosuke and Tsutsui Michitaka will be appearing in the new movie "Marmalade Boy" starring Sakurai Hinako and Yoshizawa Ryo. This will be the first time that the four of them are working together.

The movie which is based on the same-titled manga by Yoshizumi Wataru, features Sakurai as a senior high school student Koishikawa Mitsuki who is told by her parents that they are divorcing and planning to remarry by switching partners with the Matsuuras who they met during a trip in Hawaii. While still coping with the shock of this sudden development, Mitsuki finds that she has to live with the two newly-formed couples and the Matsuuras' only son Yuu (Yoshizawa) under the same roof. Although Yuu behaves coldly towards Mitsuki initially, the two of them gradually fall in love with each other.

First-day-screening event of new movie "Aku to kamen no ruuru"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Aku to kamen no ruuru" was held at Shinjuku Wald 9 on 13 January which was attended by the director Nakamura Teppei and cast members Tamaki Hiroshi, Araki Yuuko, Yoshizawa Ryo and Nakamura Tatsuya. The story is based on the same-titled novel by Akutagawa Award-winning writer Nakamura Fuminori and features Tamaki as the lead character Kuki Fumihiro who was born into a rich family. The movie begins at the time when Fumihiro was only 10 years old and came to know about the secret behind his birth and upbringing. His birth father who was the head of the household told him how he had raised his son with the aim of turning the latter into a personification of evil and "promised" to show him hell on his 14th birthday. However, one year before that, he was made to see hell first hand when Kaori, his father's adopted daughter and whom he liked, was raped in front of him. In order to protect his beloved, Fumihiro killed his father which meant that he was one step closer to the evil which his father wanted him to become. He then disappeared from Kaori's side and took on a new identity as Shintani Koichi who protects Kaori (Araki Yuuko) from the shadows over more than ten years. While doing so, he comes into contact again with the evil in the Kuki family which is now headed by Fumihiro's elder brother Mikihiko, a greater personification of evil.

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Itou-kun A to E" was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on 13 January which was attended by the director Hiroki Ryuichi and cast members Okada Masaki, Kimura Fumino, Sasaki Nozomi, Shida Mirai, Ikeda Elaiza, Kaho, Nakamura Tomoya and Tanaka Kei. As Okada happened to have a sore throat on that day, Kimura called upon everyone to be gentle and understanding towards him.

The completion screening event of new movie "Midnight Bus" was held at Nissho Hall on 18 January which was attended by the director Takeshita Masao and cast members Harada Taizo, Yamamoto Mirai and Nanase Kou. The movie which is based on the same-titled novel by Ibuki Yuki, describes the story of Takamiya Toshikazu (Harada) who quit his job in Tokyo and goes back to his hometown in Niigata to be a midnight bus driver. One night, he happens to bump into his ex-wife Kaga Miyuki (Yamamoto) who he had parted ways with 16 years ago when she boards his bus. This marks the start of a journey to restore family ties which had been broken and his interaction with the passengers he meets during his work. Konishi Manami plays Furui Shiho who is Toshikazu's current girlfriend while Aoi Wakana and Nanase play his daughter Ayana and son Reiji respectively. Nagatsuka Kyozo will be playing Miyuki's father Yamabe Keizo.

The supporting cast of new WOWOW drama "Innocent Days" starring Tsumabuki Satoshi had been announced. The drama is based on the same-titled novel by Hayami Kazumasa which consists of 6 episodes and will begin its run from 18 March in the Sundays 10pm timeslot.

Tsumabuki plays the lead character Sasaki Shinichi who works as a cleaner and believes wholeheartedly in the innocence of a woman on death row despite what the world thinks of her. The woman in question i.e. Tanaka Yukino is a childhood friend of Shinichi and is given the death sentence for setting fire to the apartment of her ex-boyfriend and killing his wife and children in the process. As Shinichi knows Yukino since they were young and has been indebted to her due to some reason, his instinct tells him that she can't be the killer and goes searching for people who feels the same way. However, as he digs deeper into Yukino's past, he finds out a totally unexpected story and truth behind the case.

Hasegawa Hiroki was revealed to be playing the heroine's husband in the upcoming NHK morning drama "Manpuku" starring Ando Sakura during a press conference at NHK Osaka on 6 February. The drama which will begin its run from 1 October 2018, is set from the days before WWII to the period of high economic growth in Osaka and will feature a heroine modelled after Ando Masako and her husband Ando Momofuku who created the instant ramen. Ando Sakura will play the heroine named Tachibana Fukuko from the age of 18 to her 60s who tries to survive the tough times in Osaka with her husband Manpei (Hasegawa) from before WWII to the rapid economic development era as they overcome various setbacks before they succeed in creating instant noodles. Manpei lost his parents at a young age and had lived with his relatives during his childhood. With his vivid imagination and enthusiasm, he set up his own company at 25 and later met Fukuko. After they got married, Manpei was involved in many different businesses which all flopped. Having lost his entire fortune at the age of 47, Manpei was encouraged by Fukuko to start anew and later brought about an invention which revolutionised the world's eating culture. Hasegawa is expected to play Manpei from the age of 28 to his 60s.

The Japan premiere event of new movie "Konya, Romance Gekijou de" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 18 January which was attended by the director Takeuchi Hideki and cast members Ayase Haruka, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Honda Tsubasa, Ishibashi Anna and Nakao Akiyoshi. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 10 February.

The fantasy love story features Sakaguchi as a young man named Kenji who dreams of becoming a movie director and Ayase as Miyuki, a "princess" who appears in monochrome movies and is the woman of Kenji's dreams. Although the two of them have no likelihood of meeting, Miyuki suddenly comes out from her monochrome world into the colourful current era i.e. the 1960s and appears in front of Kenji which subsequently leads to them falling in love with each other.

Premiere screening event of new movie "Kenen"

The premiere screening event of new movie "Kenen" was held at Shibuya TOEI on 16 January which was attended by the director Yoshida Keisuke and cast members Kubota Masataka, Arai Hirofumi, Enoue Keiko and Kakei Miwako. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 10 February.

The story which is based on the themes of envy, jealousy and hatred between family members, features two pairs of siblings who are on bad terms with each other. Kubota plays the role of Kanayama Kazunari who is a good-looking, honest and serious salesman of a publishing company but his elder brother Takuji (Arai) is the exact opposite i.e. a troublemaker who doesn't give a damn about anything and is just out of prison. On the other hand, Enoue plays the elder sister Ikuno Yuria who takes care of the family printing factory business and is secretly in love with Kazunari while her sister Mako (Kakei) is pretty and works as a gravure idol while helping out at home but is not very smart.

The completion press conference and praying event of new movie "KU-KAI Utsukushiki Ouhi no Nazo" was held at the Tokyo branch of Koyasan which was attended by the director Chen Kaige, the original novel's author Yumemakura Baku and cast members Sometani Shota, Zhang Rongrong, Hino Shohei, Matsuzaka Keiko and Abe Hiroshi. The story features Sometani as the younger version of monk Kukai who was sent from Japan to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy and how he and poet Bai Letian (Huang) try to solve a huge mystery affecting the Tang Dynasty's capital at Chang-an. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 24 February.

Nakatani Miki & Tamaki Hiroshi to play a married couple in new TBS Spring 2018 drama "Anata niwa kaeru ie ga aru"

Nakatani Miki will be starring in the new TBS Spring 2018 drama "Anata niwa kaeru ie ga aru" (You have a home to return to) which will begin its run from April 2018 in the Fridays 10pm timeslot. The drama is based on the 1994 same-titled novel by Yamamoto Fumio which talks about the frustrations and unhappiness brewing in the daily lives of two married couples which is said to resonate with many people for its reality check on the issues in married life. In addition, the staff had also conducted interviews with more than 100 women to find out their true thoughts about their husbands, child rearing, work and juggling household chores so as to feature these elements in the drama.

The supporting cast of new movie "Nijiiro Days" starring Sano Reo, Nakagawa Taishi, Takasugi Mahiro and Yokohama Ryuusei had been announced. The movie which is based on the same-titled manga by Mizuno Minami and had an anime version in 2016, will be directed by Iizuka Ken and written by Nezu Rika. The story features the friendships and love of four senior high school boys. Hashiba Natsuki (nickname Nacchan) who is pure, energetic and well-liked, will be played by Sano while Matsunaga Tomoya (nickname Mattsun) who is a playboy popular with girls, will be played by Nakagawa. Naoe Tsuyoshi (nickname Tsuyopon) who is a nerdy scholar and does things at his own pace, will be played by Takasugi while Katakura Keiichi (nickname Kei-chan) who is always smiling to conceal his sadistic nature, will be played by Yokohama.

The production press conference of TV Tokyo Winter 2018 drama "Byplayers 2 ~ Moshimo meiwakiyaku ga Teleto asadora de mujintou seikatsu shitara ~" was held on 5 February which was attended by cast members Endo Kenichi, Oosugi Ren, Matsushige Yutaka and Mitsuishi Ken. Taguchi Tomorowo was absent from the event due to scheduling conflicts. The drama which consists of 5 episodes, will begin its run from 7 February at 9.54pm on Wednesdays and describes how the five actors are supposed to act in a fictitious TV Tokyo morning drama titled "Shimakko-san" but ends up going to the wrong filming location thus leading to them drifting to an uninhabited island. The five of them have to survive on a southern island together while their disappearances cause a huge panic in the industry due to a shortage of supporting actors. Kita Kana who plays their manager Jasmine will also appear in the sequel.

Taira Airi and Nagatomo Yuto welcomed the arrival of their first child on 5 February as announced by the latter on his Instagram and Twitter where he posted a photo of himself with the baby in his arms. The baby boy weighed 2,600 grams at birth. According to Taira's agency, she was accompanied by her mother and sister-in-law (Nagatomo's elder sister) before Nagatomo reached the hospital. In his statement, Nagatomo expressed his thanks to his wife and his mother who gave birth to him and commented that he would never forget the feeling of being touched by his child's birth. He pledged to work hard in future as a father with new responsibilities.

Source: Oricon

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

First-day-screening event of new movie "Uso Happyaku"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Uso Happyaku" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 6 January which was attended by the director Take Masaharu and cast members Nakai Kiichi, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Tomochika and Morikawa Aoi. In line with the theme of "makka na uso", the cast were asked to wear red which led to Nakai and Sasaki wearing red turtleneck shirts coincidentally. After the cast greeted the audience with "happy new year", Nakai started joking that they never meant to make the movie into a comedy while Sasaki joined in to say that they intended to make a serious suspense story but was glad that their movie made the audience laugh.

Tsuchiya Tao to star in TBS Summer 2018 drama "Chia Dan"

Tsuchiya Tao will be starring in the TBS Summer 2018 drama "Chia Dan" which will begin its run from July in the Fridays 10pm timeslot and is the drama version of the same-titled movie starring Hirose Suzu. This will be Tsuchiya's first leading role in a primetime drama series. The movie describes the true story of how Fukui Commerical High School's cheerleading dance team "JETS" won the NDA National Championship in March 2009 in just three years since it was set up but the drama version will feature an original story with the same theme of chasing after a seemingly-impossible dream.

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Ai no Yamai" was held at Cinema Shinjuku on 6 January which was attended by the director Yoshida Kota and cast members Seto Saori, Okayama Amane and Sasaki Kokone. The story is based on the true story of a murder-cum-assault case which took place at Wakayama in 2002 and led to the death of one person and another to be seriously injured. A woman who was living in Wakayama and worked in a company, had collaborated with an unemployed man she met on an online dating site to kill a woman living in Osaka for the sake of money. The corpse was then burnt and dumped in the mountains of Wakayama. It was later found out that the woman had dated the victim's younger brother prior to the crime. Both the woman and man were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005.

The completion screening event of new movie "Kita no Sakuramori" was held at Tokyo International Forum on 4 January which was attended by the director Takita Yojiro and cast members Yoshinaga Sayuri, Sakai Masato, Shinohara Ryoko and Kishibe Ittoku. The movie is the last of the Kita trilogy series set in Hokkaido after "Kita no Zero Nen" and "Kita and Kanariyatachi" and Yoshinaga's 120th movie to date.

Title: Kettendarake no Keiji 欠点だれけの刑事 (The flawed police detective)
Official website: here
O.A. Date: 4 February 2018
Broadcast by: TV Asahi
Cast: Kohinata Fumiyo, Moriguchi Yoko, Nishio Mari, Konno Hiroki, Otani Ryosuke, Hayashiya Shozo and Takahashi Keiko

Kohinata Fumiyo to star in new TV Asahi drama SP "Kettendarake no Keiji"

Kohinata Fumiyo will be starring in the new TV Asahi drama SP "Kettendarake no Keiji" (The flawed police detective) which will be shown on 4 February at 10pm. This will be his first leading role in a TV Asahi drama. He plays the lead character Hyakuno Fumio, a police detective who can't bend the rules and is clumsy. Despite his flaws, he has managed to solve many cases with his unique perspective. Then again, because of his weird character, he is allowed to work on his own rather than be paired with a fellow detective. One day, he is told to work with Manjoume Chizuru (Moriguchi Yoko), a detective known for her rough mannerisms, on a murder case happening around a famous dessert producer despite their inability to get along.

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 3rd & 4th February 2018

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

1) Inori no maku ga oriru toki (334)

2) Hitsuji no Ki (213)

3) Funouhan (296)

4) Geostorm (348)

5) Paddington 2 (317)

6) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (377)

7) Uso wo aisuru onna (284)

8) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (127)

9) Kingsman: The Golden Circle (369)

10) Hachinengoshi no Hanayome Kiseki no Jitsuwa (320)

Source: Eiga.com

Top 10 variety shows which viewers would want them to return to TV (Oricon)

Oricon conducted a survey on 1,000 people to find out which variety show that had ceased to exist they would want to have back on TV. Figures in brackets indicate the percentage of votes received for the programme and the date represents when the programme ended:

1) Waratte iitomo! (12.0%) - March 2014

2) SMAPxSMAP (7.4%) - December 2016

3) Himitsu no Arashi-chan (6.1%) - March 2013

4) Utaban (4.7%) - March 2010

5) Gakkou e ikou (4.6%) - September 2008

6) The Best Ten (4.5%) - September 1989

7) SmaSTATION!! (4.2%) - September 2017

8) Arashi no Shukudai-kun (3.8%) - March 2010

9) Oretachi Hyoukinzoku (3.2%) - October 1989

10) Trivia no Izumi (3.0%) - September 2006

Source: Oricon

Sunday, February 04, 2018

Koura Kengo & Kurashina Kana to star in new drama SP "Tomo ni susumu Kumamoto"

Koura Kengo and Kurashina Kana will be starring in the new drama SP "Tomo ni susumu Kumamoto" (Moving ahead, Kumamoto) which is the second project aimed to help in restoration and revitalisation efforts for Kumamoto Prefecture which was hit with a major earthquake in 2016. As such, actors and actresses from the prefecture including Koura, Kurashina, Nakahara Takeo and Matsuoka Misa will be appearing in this drama along with extras played by the locals. WANIMA whose members are also from Kumamoto, will be singing the theme song "Tomo ni" which happened to be recorded just the day before the earthquake. The drama is an original story based on interviews with those affected by the earthquake and depicts how they continue to live on positively without being pessimistic about their future despite the effects of the earthquake.

Source: Oricon

Tanaka Rena & Wang Po-Chieh to star in new Japanese-Taiwanese movie "Ometanashi"

Tanaka Rena and Taiwanese actor Wang Po-Chieh will be joint leads in the new Japanese-Taiwanese movie "Ometanashi" (Hospitality) which will be released in Japan from 3 March. The movie is an original story based on the plan by the late Sato Shigetaka who was the former chief of Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and intended to boost tourism to the Kansai region and revitalise the area. The movie was directed by Jay Chern and shot at various locations in the Kansai region and Hualien in Taiwan.

The completion screening event of new WOWOW drama "Kansayaku Nozaki Shuuhei" was held on 12 January which was attended by cast members Oda Yuji, Matsushima Nanako, Kishitani Goro, Furuya Ikkou and the director Gonno Hajime. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, begins its run from 14 January in the Sundays 10pm timeslot.

Ikematsu Sousuke will be starring in the new movie "Kimi ga kimi de kimi da" (You are you by you) directed by Matsui Daigo which will be shown in cinemas this year. Co-stars include South Korean actress Kim Kkot-bi, Mitsushima Shinnosuke and Ookura Koji. The story describes how three men played by Ikematsu, Mitsushima and Ookura are in love with the heroine played by Kim who adores the late legendary singer-songwriter Ozaki Yutaka, Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and the historical hero Sakamoto Ryoma and how the trio ditch their names and identities to transform into the men who she loves. After staying by her side for as long as 10 years, the situation involving the four of them begins to change. Filming for this movie had been completed.

Title: Wagaya no Mondai 我が家の問題 (My Family's Problem)
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 4 February 2018
Timeslot: Sundays 10pm
Total number of episodes: 4
Broadcast by: NHK
Original novel by: Okuda Hideo
Cast: Mizukawa Asami, Koizumi Kotaro, Otani Ryohei, Katsuji Ryo & Koike Teppei

Screening event of new NHK drama "Wagaya no Mondai"

The screening event of new NHK drama "Wagaya no Mondai" was held at its HQ on 26 January which was attended by the director Hagiuda Koji and cast members Mizukawa Asami, Koizumi Kotaro and Koike Teppei. The drama which consists of 4 episodes and begins its run from 4 February at 10pm, is based on the compilation of short stories by Okuda Hideo and will feature Mizukawa playing four different young wives who have various issues in their marriages. The husbands in each story will be played by Koizumi, Otani Ryohei, Katsuji Ryo and Koike.

Nakashima Mika announced through her official fan site on 3 February that she had divorced her husband Shimizu Kunihiro, a professional volleyball player from Panasonic Panthers, a day earlier when their representative filed the papers on their behalf. There are no alimony payments involved and they do not have any children.

The couple met in 2011 when Nakashima went to watch a volleyball match which he played in and they started dating in summer of the same year before getting married in on Christmas Day 2014 However, as Shimizu is based in Osaka while Nakashima is based in Tokyo, the couple found it increasingly difficult to spend time together even though they tried to travel between both cities to meet and gradually drifted apart. According to insiders, they started to talk about divorce since summer last year and only finalised the paperwork in Feb thus ending their marriage which lasted for three years and one month.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

First-day-screening event of new movie "Revenge Girl"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Revenge Girl" was held at Marunochi Picadilly on 23 December which was attended by the director Miki Koichiro and cast members Kiritani Mirei, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Baba Fumika, Kiyohara Sho, Takeuchi Aisa and Saito Yuki. The movie is based on the novel written by Kiyo Tomohide and Yoshida Erika and features Kiritani as the lead character Takaraishi Miki who is a 24-year-old OL. She graduated as the top student from University of Tokyo and had also won the Miss Campus title thus making her appear as the "perfect" girl with brains and looks. However, her biggest flaw is her ugly personality which she doesn't realise. One day, her boyfriend who aspires to become a politician dumps her thus leading to Miki resolve to become a politician and the Prime Minister one day so as to get back at him.

Asami Reina announced through her Instagram on 3 February that she has gotten married. In her statement, Asami revealed that she had married her boyfriend. Although the realisation of her marriage hadn't quite sunk in on the day of their marriage registration, she is gradually able to feel the happiness of being able to spend each day together as the days go by. Since she began working in this industry as a teenager, she had been supported and helped by many people thus allowing her to make it to this far. She pledged to keep working hard and continue improving in future and asked for everyone's kind support. With regard to her husband, Asami described him as someone who has always supported and protected her and expressed her respect for him.

According to insiders, Asami's husband is older than her and they met through work and became friends. The couple had dated for about six months before registering their marriage at the end of last month and there are no plans for a wedding yet. Asami is said to be not pregnant at the moment.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Sponichi

Friday, February 02, 2018

First-day-screening event of new movie "Miseinen dakedo kodomo janai"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Miseinen dakedo kodomo janai" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 23 December which was attended by the director Hanabusa Tsutomu and cast members Nakajima Kento and Taira Yuna. The film which is based on the same-titled manga by Minami Kanan, features Taira in the role of Oriyama Karin who is an innocent girl from a rich family and in the first year of senior high school. On her 16th birthday, the birthday present given by her parents is a marriage partner Tsurugi Nao (Nakajima), a third-year student in the same school who also happens to be her first love and the most popular guy in school. However, Nao's motive to proceed with the marriage is for the Oriyama family's fortune thus Karin is stuck in a one-sided-love marriage. Just then, Ebina Izuzu (Chinen Yuri), a first-year student who is a rich guy and in love with Karin, comes to know about her secret marriage to Nao and presses the latter to divorce Karin. Yamamoto Maika plays the role of Matsui Saya who is Tsurugi's ex-girlfriend and will become Karin's strongest rival in love.

The cast line-up for the fictitious asadora (morning drama) "Shimakko-san" featured in the upcoming TV Tokyo Winter 2018 drama "Byplayers 2" had been announced. The new series titled "Byplayers Moshimo meiwakiyaku ga Teleto asadora de mujintou seikatsu shitara" (Byplayers What if the famous supporting actors film a TV Tokyo morning drama and live on an uninhabited island) will be shown in the Wednesdays 9.54pm timeslot from 7 February and describes how the five actors i.e. Endo Kenichi, Oosugi Ren, Taguchi Tomorowo, Matsushige Yutaka and Mitsuishi Ken are supposed to act in a fictitious TV Tokyo morning drama titled "Shimakko-san" but ends up going to the wrong filming location thus leading to them drifting to an uninhabited island. The five of them have to survive on a southern island together while their disappearances cause a huge panic in the industry due to a shortage of supporting actors. Kita Kana who plays their manager Jasmine will also appear in the sequel. In order to make "Shimakko-san" appear as a "real" asadora, an official website for it was also created.

The last episode (Ep 7) of Amazon Prime Video drama "Chase Daiisshou" starring Otani Ryohei and Honda Tsubasa which was supposed to be streamed via the portal from 26 January, has been postponed indefinitely without any prior notice. The media sent a query to Amazon Japan which replied that they were unable to confirm at the moment when Ep 7 will be streamed and that this was going to be the situation for the time being. The drama which began its run from 22 December last year, currently has its 6 episodes already available for viewing on the portal. It is believed that this decision was with regard to the plagiarism scandal which arose at the end of last year.

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Katte ni furuetero" was held at United Cinema Toyosu on 23 December which was attended by the director Ohku Akiko and cast members Matsuoka Mayu, Watanabe Daichi, Ishibashi Anna and Kitamura Takumi. The film which is based on the same-titled novel by Watanuki Risa, describes how the lead character Yoshika (Matsuoka Mayu), a 24-year-old single OL, has never had a boyfriend and imagines her first love from junior high to be her imaginary boyfriend "Ichi" (One) for as long as 10 years. However, when she receives her first love confession from her colleague "Ni" (Two), this marks the beginning of her agony over whether she should choose to stick with her imaginary boyfriend or date someone for real. Watanabe plays Ni while Kitamura plays Ichi.

Koizumi Kyoko announces her departure from her agency & admits to being in a relationship with the still-married Toyohara Kousuke

Koizumi Kyoko announced on 1 February that she has left her agency Burning Production which she had been with for the past 36 years and that the establishment of her production company's website Asatte (meaning day after tomorrow) which was set up in 2015. In addition, she dropped a bombshell by admitting that she is in a relationship with Toyohara Kousuke who is still married although he has been living separately from his family for the past 3 years. The two of them had been rumoured to be dating in recent years but Toyohara was said to be divorced in various media reports even though the truth is the exact opposite.

Ando Sakura was announced to be the lead of NHK's 99th morning drama "Manpuku" during a press conference held at its HQ in Tokyo on 31 January. The drama which consists of 151 episodes, will begin its run from 1 October 2018 to 30 March 2019. Filming is expected to begin in the middle of May 2018. This will make Ando as the first "mother-heroine" in NHK's morning drama history to date. She had appeared in a supporting role in 2011's morning drama "Ohisama" before.

The story will be written by Fukuda Yasushi who is known for his works such as "HERO", "Galileo" and "Ryomaden" and this will be his attempt at writing a morning drama. The story set from the days before WWII to the period of high economic growth in Osaka will feature a heroine modelled after Ando Masako and her husband Ando Momofuku who created the instant ramen. "Manpuku" will be the 99th morning drama in the history of NHK's morning dramas and the 42nd production by NHK Osaka. Usually, the morning dramas produced by NHK Osaka will choose their heroines during an audition. However, Ando was selected without an audition thus making her the second to be picked in this way since 2013's "Gochisousan" when An also became the heroine in this manner.

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Nijuurokuya Machi" was held at Theatre Shinjuku on 23 December which was attended by the director Koshikawa Michio and joint leads Iura Arata and Kurokawa Mei. The story which is based on the same-titled novel by Saeki Kazumi, features Kurokawa as the main character Yumi who lost everything due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and is now living with her aunt in Iwaki, Fukushima, where the latter has a construction company. When she goes to work at a small restaurant owned by Sugitani (Iura), she finds that he has lost his memory for some reason and can't even remember who he is. However, he can still remember how to cook and tries to cope with his fear and loneliness with the help of the people around him. Yumi and Sugitani get increasingly drawn to each other and gradually begin an intimate relationship. As the 2 hour and 2 minute movie contains about 20 minutes worth of intimate scenes, it has been given the classification of R-18 i.e. only those above 18 years old are allowed to watch this.

Individual Awards
Best Leading Actor: Suda Masaki (Hibana / Aa, Kouya / Teiichi no Kuni) / Kiritani Kenta (Hibana / Vigilante)

Best Leading Actress: Aoi Yu (Kanojo ga sono na wo shiranai toritachi)

Best Supporting Actor: Yusuke Santa Maria (Aa, Kouya)

Best Supporting Actress: Tanaka Rena (Osanako warera ni umare)

Best Male Newcomer: Kitamura Takumi (Kimi no suizou wo tabetai)

Best Female Newcomer: Ishibashi Shizuka (Yozora wa itsudemo saikou mitsudo no aoiro da)

Fukushi Souta rumoured to be dating Instagram celebrity MISATO

According to the 1st Feb issue of "Josei Seven", Fukushi Souta is said to be dating Instagram celebrity MISATO who is 3 years older than him. Her Instagram account which focuses on fashion, is said to have been deleted following the revelation. According to the magazine who took photos of the two of them while they were out on dates on 26th and 27th January, the couple went for dinner at a yakitori restaurant in Roppongi before heading to a karaoke. By the time they came out, it was already past 3am and Fukushi was holding on to the drunk MISATO as they made their way back to his apartment. The following day, the two of them went to a kappo restaurant and left at 11am when they were caught hugging each other on the streets. Fukushi and MISATO were said to have known each other through mutual friends at the beginning of this year and started dating soon after.

Source: News Post Seven

Johnny's Jimusho's statement regarding the removal of its ban on photos of its artistes appearing on online news articles

As you would have already read from my posts on Twitter and Facebook, today marks the day when Johnny's Jimusho finally removed the ban on photos of its artistes appearing on online news articles. This has been a huge issue for both fans and the media because fans can never see photos of their idols in the news articles and it's especially annoying and silly when the artiste who is the lead of a drama or movie "disappears" from the group photo of the cast. For the media, it's very troublesome for them to take "web-approved" versions of the group photos without the Johnny's artist. Considering the proliferation of social media and the Internet, Johnny's approach aimed to protect the copyright of its artistes' photos and prevent the misuse has long been criticised for falling behind the times. Although there has been a slight relaxation in recent years where you can see photos of their artistes on official websites of dramas and movies, the ban about online news articles was something which didn't seem to be making any headway. Even the photos of their artistes couldn't be posted on official social media channels of the dramas and movies. Although there are rumours speculating that this move was somewhat in retaliation against the former SMAP members who left the company and managed to make a mark for themselves through online portals and social media, I think it is still well-received by everyone because it means the removal of an archaic rule which is clearly out of tune with the times and less trouble especially for the media outlets.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Monday, February 12, 2018

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Friday, February 09, 2018

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Monday, February 05, 2018

Sunday, February 04, 2018

Friday, February 02, 2018

Thursday, February 01, 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018