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UPCOMING SATELLITE DORAMA
Shiori Kutsuna stars in drama series
Mon, March 23, 2009 (12:22am EDT)
Teen actress Shiori Kutsuna (16) will have her first starring role in a drama series this spring. The show, a suspense-comedy titled "7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe," is the second original drama for the satellite channel BS Asahi.
Kutsuna plays the part of Tsugumi Nitobe, an ordinary college student who works at an apparel shop. She doesn't spend much time with friends, but with the fastest mobile phone typing speed in Japan, she is active on a mobile site with 70,000 members. By chance, she comes across various murder scenes, and with the advice and encouragement of the site's members, she solves the different cases.
Kutsuna has been the current Pocky Princess since last year. She was chosen as the heroine of Yuichi Sato's film "Shugotenshi," which opens in June, and she has also been cast in Fuji TV's drama series "Majo Saiban," which starts in April.
 
Seiji Rokkaku and Kotaro Tanaka have also been cast in "7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe." Broadcast is scheduled for Thursdays at 11pm, beginning on April 23.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Fukuyama rocks for "Majo Saiban"
Fri, March 27, 2009 (9:41pm EDT)
Masaharu Fukuyama has been chosen to do the theme song of the upcoming Fuji TV drama series "Majo Saiban." It has been nearly 4 years since he sang "Tokyo" for the drama series "Slow Dance," which was the last time he handled a drama theme on his own. For "Majo Saiban," he will be providing a rock-flavored tune called "Keshin."
The drama, which stars Toma Ikuta as a juror in a murder trial, premieres on April 25. No release date has been announced yet for Fukuyama's single.
Fukuyama has also revealed that he will hold his first Nippon Budokan concert later this year, in celebration of his 20th anniversary as a singer.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING SPRING/SUMMER DORAMA
NHK producing "Twin Spica" drama adaptation
Mon, March 30, 2009 (3:00am EDT)
Actress Nanami Sakuraba (16) will be playing the lead in NHK's upcoming drama series "Futatsu no Spica." The show is based on Ko Yaginuma's manga of the same name, also known in English as "Twin Spica." The comic was previously turned into an anime series in 2003, but this will be its first live-action treatment.
The sci-fi series is set in the near future at a space academy, where a group of youngsters are training to become astronauts. Sakuraba plays Asumi Kamogawa, a student whose father is a rocket engineer (Masahiro Takashima). Her mother died due to a injury caused by a fallen rocket, but despite that and her father's objections, she chose to pursue the path of an astronaut.
   
The show is being produced with the help of JAXA, Japan's national aerospace agency. NHK will broadcast the series on Thursday nights at 8:00pm, starting on June 11. Sakuraba's supporting cast includes Yuichi Nakamura, Shunsuke Daito, Rika Adachi, and Yuko Takayama.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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GIRL NEXT DOOR ties in with "Atashinchi no Danshi"
Tue, March 31, 2009 (2:00am EDT)
 
It has been decided that GIRL NEXT DOOR's upcoming single "Infinity" will be used as the theme song of the Fuji TV drama series "Atashinchi no Danshi," which stars actress Maki Horikita. The drama is a comedy about a homeless 20-year-old girl who suddenly marries a company president and becomes the "mother" of six handsome but unusual sons.
This is the second time that GIRL NEXT DOOR has done a theme song for a television drama. Last year, they sang "Jonetsu no Daisho" for the TV Asahi series "Giragira." "Infinity" will be released on June 3.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA
Norika Fujiwara in first drama since divorce
Tue, March 31, 2009 (1:25am EDT)
Norika Fujiwara has been given her first TV drama role since her divorce last week with comedian Tomonori Jinnai. She will star in a three-part miniseries on NHK titled "Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite," based on a popular essay by manga artist and illustrator Tenten Hosokawa.
Fujiwara plays the wife of a man who suddenly falls into depression. The story follows their battle with his illness over the span of a year and a half. Taizo Harada (of Neptune) plays the husband. Other cast members include Jun Fubuki, Osamu Shitara (of Bananaman), and Taro Suruga. For Suruga, who is the son of Tsurube Shofukutei and the vocalist of the band sleepydog, this will be his TV drama debut.
NHK plans to film the drama from early April to early May. The three episodes will be aired on Friday nights at 10:00pm, starting on May 29.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING SPRING DORAMA
Takuya Kimura becomes "Mr. Brain"
Wed, April 1, 2009 (1:00am EDT)
SMAP member Takuya Kimura has picked up his next starring role in a television drama. He will play the lead in TBS's comedy/mystery series "MR.BRAIN," scheduled to start in mid-spring.
Kimura plays the part of Ryusuke Tsukumo, a neuroscience researcher affiliated with a National Police Agency laboratory. Although his skills help solve difficult cases, he has one flaw: he is generally "clueless to the situation" (better known by the slang term "KY," or "kuuki o yomenai"), leading to various comical interactions. In general, each episode will be a different case.
 
Kimura's assistant will be played by Haruka Ayase, while Hiro Mizushima will take on the role of a young cop. Other characters include the head of the lab (Mao Daichi), another detective (Teruyuki Kagawa), and a couple of researchers (Yuji Tanaka of Bakusho Mondai and Tortoise Matsumoto of Ulfuls).
   
TBS plans to broadcast the drama in its Saturday 7:56pm time slot, which will be occupied by "God Hand Teru" starting April 11. "MR.BRAIN" will begin on May 23.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING ASADORA (MORNING DORAMA)
"Werukame" star is Kana Kurashina
Fri, April 3, 2009 (8:07pm EDT)
NHK has revealed the lead actress for its 81st morning drama series, "Werukame." Gravure idol Kana Kurashina (21) was chosen from an audition of 1,775 actresses to take on the role. She is said to be only the second Asadora heroine to come from a gravure background, after Mao Miyaji in the 2002 series "Manten."
"Werukame" was first announced in January. The comical story revolves around a young woman named Nami (played by Kurashina) who gets laid off from her job at a Tokyo publisher. She reluctantly returns to her home in Tokushima where she finds a job at another publisher, but she is forced to deal with her family and former acquaintances.
Kurashina first gained major attention in 2006 when she won the grand prize in the Miss Magazine contest. Although she is mainly a gravure idol, she has also appeared in several films and dramas, including the "Elite Yankee Saburo" television series.
"Werukame" begins on September 28.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA SP
Kazunari Ninomiya, Mao Inoue play couple in drama special
Sat, April 11, 2009 (12:12am EDT)
 
Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya (25) and actress Mao Inoue (22) will co-star in a drama special on TBS. The story is based on two novels written by professional windsurfer Natsuki Iijima, who died of cancer in 2005.
During Iijima's battle with cancer, he wrote an essay titled "Gan ni Ikasarete," which formed part of the basis for the 2007 film "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara," a biography of Iijima that starred Takao Osawa and Misaki Ito. Around the same time, Iijima penned a novel also titled "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara," as well as a sequel titled "Kamisama ga Kureta Namida." The drama special is based on those two books, which sold more than 450,000 copies combined.
The drama is also being called "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara." Ninomiya plays the main character, a psychiatrist working in the counseling room of a cancer treatment center by the beach. While tending to the patients, part of his job involves taking dictation from them when they want to send a letter to a loved one.
Inoue plays the psychiatrist's wife and mother to the couple's twin daughters. Other cast members include Nobuko Miyamoto as a nurse, Yusuke Santamaria as a surgeon, and Naoto Ogata as the owner of a surf shop.
The broadcast date for the drama has not yet been determined.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA SP
"Iryou Sousakan Zouou" being made into drama
Sat, April 11, 2009 (2:27pm EDT)
The medical mystery manga "Iryou Sousakan Zouou," written by Naoyuki Sakai and illustrated by Fumiko Nagao, is being adapted as a live-action television drama. The manga is currently being serialized in Akita Shoten's Play Comic.
The drama version will be a 2-hour special aired in Fuji TV's "Kinyo Prestige" time slot. The cast and the broadcast date have not yet been determined, but details will be announced in the future on the network's website and in Play Comic.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA
"Jin" manga gets drama series
Sat, April 11, 2009 (2:43pm EDT)
Shueisha's Super Jump magazine has announced that the manga "Jin" by Motoka Murakami is being adapted as a live-action series. The comic revolves around a brain surgeon who travels back in time to the Bakumatsu period of the 1800s.
The cast and broadcast dates of the drama are still undecided.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Televiews - Top picks for Golden Week
April 11, 2009 by J!-ENT
Here are my predictions. By Golden Week, the ratings will reveal how close I came to a winning ticket.
No. 1: Boss (Fuji, 10 p.m., April 16). Always capable former Takarazuka star Yuki Amami should pull in viewers with this fashionable detective series. Just back from three years training with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, she leads a team that includes Yutaka Takenouchi, Erika Toda and Tetsuji Tamayama.
No. 2: Smile (Fridays, 10 p.m., TBS, from April 17). Jun Matsumoto of Arashi, Yui Aragaki and Kiichi Nakai interact and reveal what is hidden behind their smiles. Matsumoto?s appearance alone guarantees a few weeks in the Top 10 ratings.
No. 3: Kyoto Chiken no Onna (8 p.m., TVAsahi, April 23). There?s a reason this one is back for Season 5. Veteran actress Yuko Natori is convincing as a prosecutor with excellent women?s intuition in this low-key but reliable ratings draw.
No. 4: Boku no Imoto (starting April 19, 9 p.m., TBS) Jo Odagiri plays a shy, brilliant doctor. Masami Nagasawa plays his brilliantly silly sister, who gets involved with all the wrong men. Rie Tomosaka chases the doctor.
No. 5: Maki Horikita is a homeless 20-year-old seeking shelter from a 100-million yen debt in Atashinchi no Danshi (Fuji, 9 p.m., April 14). Corporate bigwig Shinzo Okura asks for her hand in marriage and offers to cover the debt. She says ?I do,? but he dies a month later, leaving her to play mother to his six adopted sons.
 
No. 6: It?s a toss-up. Will viewers tune in to the romantic comedy Konkatsu (Mondays, Fuji, 9 p.m., April 20), starring Masahiro Nakai and Aya Ueto, to see if Nakai ever takes off his hat? Or will the winner be Godhand-Teru (TBS, 7:56 p.m., April 11), in which Yuta Hiraoka plays a young surgeon who channels the skills of his late father? For these times, when the likelihood of getting an appointment with a real super-specialist is about equal to one?s Loto6 chances, Godhand-Teru probably has the edge in a nation hungry for a reassuring medical fairy tale.
There?s a long shot in the race too. For my alternate pick, I?ll choose NTV?s Ai$hiteru: Kaiyo (April 15, 10 p.m.), a revealing look at the parents of both the victim and perpetrator in a juvenile crime and how they deal with the aftermath of their losses.
Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT |
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MAX sings for TV Tokyo drama
Sun, April 26, 2009 (9:03pm EDT)
Pop group MAX has been chosen to provide the theme song for a TV Tokyo daytime drama series called "Kariyushi-sensei Chibaru!" This is their first theme song for a TV series since "Ride on time" was used in TV Asahi's 1998 drama "Sweet Devil," which starred the members of MAX.
"Kariyushi-sensei Chibaru!" is set in the group's native Okinawa. Actress Sachiko Kokubu stars as a former politician ousted after a corruption scandal, winding up on the island as an elementary school teacher. TV Tokyo plans to air the show on weekdays starting June 29, though the exact time slot has not been determined yet.
MAX's song is called "Rough Cut Diamond" and will go on sale in July. This is the group's first single since MINA's return, making it MAX's first one in about seven years with the original members.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA SP
Fuji TV plans "Saga no Gabai-baachan" sequel
Tue, April 28, 2009 (2:58am EDT)
Actress Pinko Izumi (61) is excited about a sequel to the Fuji TV drama special "Saga no Gabai-baachan." The original drama was based on a bestselling novel by talento Yoshichi Shimada, which told the story of his childhood living with his grandmother in the Saga prefecture. Aside from the drama, the novel has also been adapted to film and manga.
The first drama special aired in 2007 and was focused on an eight-year span of Shimada's life with his grandmother, up until his middle school graduation. It was a success, with an average rating of 19.2%.
The sequel will again star Izumi as the grandmother. This time, the drama will revolve around the young Akihiro (Shimada's real first name) in his early elementary school years. Yuki Imai (10) plays the part of Akihiro.
Fuji TV has announced that the drama will be broadcast in 2010.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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DORAMA AWARDS
"Maou" wins annual Drama Grand Prix
Fri, May 1, 2009 (12:37am EDT)
Nikkan Sports has finished announcing the winners of its 12th annual reader-chosen Drama Grand Prix. The awards cover the period from April 2008 to March 2009, with the final nominees consisting of the top five from each season.
The TBS thriller "Maou" was voted Best Drama. Arashi leader Satoshi Ohno picked up the title of Best Actor, impressing fans with his acting in that series. Meanwhile, Best Actress was won by a wide margin by Aoi Miyazaki, who starred in the hit taiga drama "Atsuhime."
NEWS and Kanjani8 member Ryo Nishikido was the top choice for Best Supporting Actor, having played the violent and possessive boyfriend in Fuji TV's "Last Friends." Juri Ueno also picked up Best Supporting Actress for the same drama series.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING DORAMA
Hiroki Narimiya transforms into an "owlman"
Tue, May 5, 2009 (1:20am EDT)
Actor Hiroki Narimiya (26) will star in an omnibus drama titled "Toshi Densetsu Sepia: Fukurou Otoko." The show is based on a novel by author Minato Shukawa, who earned the Naoki Prize in 2005 for "Hana Manma."
In "Toshi Densetsu Sepia: Fukurou Otoko," Narimiya plays a worthless guy named Takehiko Saeki. He decides to fabricate a legend of an "owlman" in his town, so he starts spreading rumors on internet bulletin boards. As the legend grows, Saeki takes it one step further and begins playing the role of the "owlman."
The drama will be broadcast by WOWOW on July 26 at 10:00pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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UPCOMING SUMMER DORAMA
Another starring role for Johnny's Jr. Nakayama
Tue, May 5, 2009 (12:32am EDT)
Yuma Nakayama (15), a member of Kansai Johnny's Jr., will star in a drama series on Fuji TV this summer. Nakayama previously starred in the NHK series "Battery" last spring, which also marked his acting debut.
Details about the drama's story or characters are still unknown. However, it is has been revealed that Johnny's veteran Masahiko Kondo (44) will also appear in the drama. Although he has been in a string of annual 2-hour drama specials since 2006, this is Kondo's first real role in a series since "Don't Worry!" in 1998.
The new drama series is scheduled to start in July, airing in Fuji TV's Tuesday 10:00pm time slot.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Oricon: drama sequels you would like to see
Wed, May 6, 2009 (4:29am EDT)
In March, Oricon polled a group of 900 men and women ages 20-49, asking them which television dramas they would like to see return for another series. Mystery and police shows dominated the list, with #1 being taken by Fuji TV's "Furuhata Ninzaburo," which starred Masakazu Tamura. The show ran for three seasons during the 1990s, but due to its popularity, it was revived for three specials in 2006 and one last year.
At #2 was "Odoru Daisousasen," also known by the English title "Bayside Shakedown." Starring Yuji Oda, the franchise spawned multiple specials and movies. In fact, the second film, released in 2003, currently holds the record for the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film at over 17.3 billion yen.
Ryoko Shinohara's "Haken no Hinkaku" stood out at #3, being one of the few comedies in the top ten and the only one in an office setting. It was also the only representative for NTV. Aside from two TV Asahi dramas, the rest of the top ten were all broadcast by Fuji TV.
1. Furuhata Ninzaburo
2. Odoru Daisousasen
3. Haken no Hinkaku
4. Galileo
5. SP
6. TRICK
7. Nodame Cantabile
8. Dr. Koto Shinryojo
9. Jikou Keisatsu
10. Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Post time 26-3-2009 06:30 PM
