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Naomi Zaizen returns to drama with starring role
Sat, October 30, 2010 (11:56am EDT)
Actress Naomi Zaizen (44) has been given her first lead role in a television drama series in more than six years. In fact, she has not had a regular role in a series since NHK's 2005 taiga drama "Yoshitsune."
The drama is titled "Fake: Kyoto Bijutsu Jiken Emaki." Set in Kyoto, the story revolves around a single, 40-year-old part-time university lecturer named Yu Urasawa (Zaizen). Although she is awkward in normal social situations, she possesses extraordinary judgment when it comes to understanding people in art-related contexts and determining the authenticity of historical works of art. With those skills, she is able to determine the truth behind various incidents that happen around her. Although Urasawa once worked overseas as an art curator, personal circumstances have led her back to Japan.
NHK has scheduled the series for 6 episodes, airing on Tuesday nights at 10:00pm. The show will premiere on January 4.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Naomi Zaizen returns to drama with starring role
Sat, October 30, 2010 (11:56am EDT)
Actress Naomi Zaizen (44) has been given her first lead role in a television drama series in more than six years. In fact, she has not had a regular role in a series since NHK's 2005 taiga drama "Yoshitsune."
The drama is titled "Fake: Kyoto Bijutsu Jiken Emaki." Set in Kyoto, the story revolves around a single, 40-year-old part-time university lecturer named Yu Urasawa (Zaizen). Although she is awkward in normal social situations, she possesses extraordinary judgment when it comes to understanding people in art-related contexts and determining the authenticity of historical works of art. With those skills, she is able to determine the truth behind various incidents that happen around her. Although Urasawa once worked overseas as an art curator, personal circumstances have led her back to Japan.
NHK has scheduled the series for 6 episodes, airing on Tuesday nights at 10:00pm. The show will premiere on January 4.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Kana Kurashina plays against type in a new miniseries
By Sarah Cortina
TOKYO —
When we arrive for our interview with actress Kana Kurashina early on a Monday morning, we’re ushered up to the second floor of a cute, cluttered Hawaiian cafe—a refreshing change from the usual bare-walled conference rooms. The restaurant, tucked away in the backstreets of Sumida-ku, serves as one of the locations for the drama-comedy “Ojiichan wa 25-sai” (“My Grandfather Is 25 Years Old”). Peeking over the director’s shoulder, we look on as Kurashina, 22, films a scene downstairs before popping up to join us for the interview.
The rising star is just one of the big names in the eight-part original miniseries, a Rip Van Winkle tale about a young man named Minoru (Tatsuya Fujiwara of “Battle Royale” fame) who goes missing in the mountains of Iwate in 1964. Forty-six years later, his body is discovered encased in a block of ice—yet he’s not only miraculously alive, he’s still just 25 years old. Newly resurrected, Minoru goes to live with his son (Katsumi Takahashi)—now a middle-aged salaryman—and must deal with a whole host of surprising sociological and technological developments, from hikikomori to keitai. Kurashina plays his granddaughter, Mai, a gyaru who doesn’t have much use for her father except to make fun of him and hit him up for cash.
“The show has a very comedic touch, but it’s also about how the family begins to grow closer together when the grandfather returns,” Kurashina explains. “These days, the world is a brutal place, you know? I see so many frightening things on the news. In this story, you have the grandfather and grandkids, father and daughter, all clashing with each other and saying what’s on their minds. And that brings them closer as a family. This story makes you realize how much that’s lacking today.”
Kurashina says she’s personally “very close” with her own family. In fact, her childhood in Kumamoto with four younger siblings was not so different from the Showa-era ideal presented in “Ojiichan.”
“In the past, I think people were much closer. If you did something bad, your parents would give you a smack and a scolding—but nowadays that’s considered abuse. Back then, neighbors would greet each other. Now, most of us don’t even know what our neighbors look like.”
Fans of Kurashina’s previous buttoned-down roles will have a tough time recognizing her as the gaudy Mai. Off-camera, she speaks in a soft voice, her words slow and thoughtful. “It was never about ‘I want to be a star!’” she says. “I was living a normal life in Kumamoto, but I realized I wanted to have an adventure.” So in 2005, Kurashina entered the SMA Teen’s Audition, an annual talent search sponsored by Sony Music. She took top honors and debuted the following year.
One of Kurashina’s first jobs after moving to Tokyo in 2006 was in “Erin ga Chosen,” an NHK World educational program aimed at helping foreigners learn Japanese. But she admits that her Kyushu roots—namely the accent she hadn’t yet learned to mask—posed some difficulties. “I was supposed to be helping foreigners learn Japanese, but I felt like I was the one being taught all the time,” she says with a laugh. “We were trying to teach people Japanese, yet a native speaker would probably think, ‘That’s not natural at all.’ It was sort of a struggle.”
Kurashina’s big break came with the NHK morning drama “Welkame” in 2009. A leading role in the annual “asadora” (morning drama) is one of the juiciest gigs for young actors—yet also one of the roughest. The show runs for half a year, meaning that the cast and crew are on location for months on end. “I was cooped up in a hotel the whole time, so that was pretty hard,” Kurashina admits. “Also, the directors were constantly changing. Each director has his own personality, and each of them had his own vision of [the heroine], Nami-chan. It was hard to put all that together.”
Now that she’s coming into her own as an actress, Kurashina says she’s simply enjoying the ride. When we ask about her dreams for the future, she lets on that she doesn’t really have any. “I can say something like, ‘I want to be in a jidaigeki [period drama], but the kind of dream where you stand proudly and say, ‘This is my dream!’… I haven’t been able to find that yet. And maybe that’s a little bit sad.”
She pauses, then flashes a smile. “There are just too many different things I want to try.”
“Ojiichan wa 25-sai” airs on TBS from 11:50 p.m.-12:20 a.m., Nov 15-18 and Nov 22-25.
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Masahiro Nakai returns as chef in "Aji Ichimonme" special
Thu, November 4, 2010 (7:38pm EDT)
The popular drama series "Aji Ichimonme" is returning to television for another special episode, 12 years after the last one. SMAP's Masahiro Nakai (38) will reprise his role as a chef striving to become a master.
Based on an award-winning manga by Zenta Abe and Yoshimi Kurata, the drama was Nakai's first lead role in a television series. It aired on TV Asahi in 1995, then was followed by a second series in 1996. Two special episodes were broadcast in 1997 and 1998.
Several cast members are returning with Nakai, including Nenji Kobayashi, Kirin Kiki, Takashi Naito, Kumiko Okae, Yoko Nogiwa, and Shingo Yanagisawa. In addition, new faces such as Yusuke Yamamoto and Shihori Kanjiya will be making guest appearances.
The special is expected to air next spring on TV Asahi.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Keiko Kitagawa stars as criminal profiler in "LADY"
Fri, November 5, 2010 (7:56pm EDT)
Keiko Kitagawa (24) is set to star in a new drama series on TBS, which will be her first time as the sole lead in a prime time show. The drama is tentatively titled "LADY ~Saigo no Profiling~" and will feature Kitagawa as a former FBI agent.
"LADY" focuses on a team of profilers in the CPS, a fictional police division that deals with analyzing criminal behavior. Kitagawa plays the part of Shoko, a gifted profiler who returns to Japan after working with the FBI in the United States. Her character is described as a "crime maniac," as she is overly knowledgeable about past crimes, while also being unskilled in matters of romance.
   
Tae Kimura (39) will play the chief profiler in the CPS, and other profilers will be played by Yuta Hiraoka (26), Jun Kaname (29), and Risa Sudo (34). Yusuke Santamaria (39) has been cast as a police detective, while Yukiyoshi Ozawa (36) plays another detective who is always at odds with the CPS.
 
As this is a new kind of role for Kitagawa, she has reportedly been preparing by watching the American drama "Criminal Minds" and reading books on profiling.
Each episode is said to be one complete case. The show will air on Fridays at 10:00pm, starting in January 2011.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Nao Matsushita stars in Fuji TV detective drama
Sun, November 7, 2010 (5:28pm EST)
Nao Matsushita (25) will star in a new drama series on Fuji TV this winter, which will be her first lead role on one of the commercial networks. The series is not yet titled, but it will have her playing the part of a police detective.
Matsushita has had a few starring roles in dramas on the public network NHK, including the recent "Gegege no Nyoubou." That series tremendously boosted her popularity, to the point that she was chosen as one of the hosts for this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen.
 
In her new drama, she will play a quick-acting detective, who forms a strange combination with a level-headed but eccentric psychology professor, played by Naohito Fujiki (38). His skills at behavioral analysis are the key to successfully solving the cases and tracking down the criminals. Kanjani8's Yu Yokoyama (29) will play another detective who helps Matsushita, though he also has feelings for her that he is unable to confess.
Fuji TV will air the series on Tuesdays at 10:00pm, starting in January.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Ozora Takami to make drama debut in "Onmitsu Happyakuyacho"
Mon, November 8, 2010 (8:03am EST)
A few more cast members have been announced for NHK's upcoming jidaigeki drama series "Onmitsu Happyakuyacho," which starts on January 8. One of the additions is 15-year-old Ozora Takami, making his television drama debut.
"Onmitsu Happyakuyacho" was first announced in September. Hiroshi Tachi (60) stars as a samurai who forms a group called the "Onmitsu-gumi" to fight against the evils of the government during the time of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Takami has been chosen to play one of the members of the Onmitsu-gumi. Although he is only 15, he has been performing in theater since he was 1 and a half years old. He has already made a name for himself as a skilled onnagata (a male who plays female roles), with many calling him the next Taichi Saotome (another well-known onnagata, 19). In "Onmitsu Happyakuyacho," Takami will show off those skills, as one scene will require him to dress up as a woman in order to infiltrate a household.
Another newly revealed cast member is Yumiko Shaku (32), who will play Takami's sister Otoki, the only female in the Onmitsu-gumi. Although she has appeared in a jidaigeki drama special before, this will be her first jidaigeki series. Her role will also call for plenty of action scenes.
 
Akiko Nishina (57) is set to play Tachi's sister, while Rika Adachi (18) has been cast as his adopted daughter.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Kenichi Matsuyama to star in 2012 taiga drama?
Mon, November 8, 2010 (6:34pm EST)
Nikkan Sports is reporting that Kenichi Matsuyama (25) has been chosen to star in NHK's 2012 taiga drama, "Taira no Kiyomori." No official announcement has been made yet, but if the report is true, it will be Matsuyama's first time appearing in one of the taiga dramas.
NHK revealed in August that the 2012 series would be about Taira no Kiyomori, a general during the 12th century who led the Taira clan to power. As previously mentioned, the show's producer is aiming to undo the villainous image that Taira no Kiyomori has had up until now.
"Taira no Kiyomori" will begin airing in January.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Korean girl group KARA stars in TV Tokyo drama
Mon, November 8, 2010 (7:58pm EST)
The promotional push for popular Korean girl group KARA continues with the news that they will be the stars of their own television drama, scheduled to begin airing on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on January 14 (Fridays 12:12am). Titled "URAKARA," the show will feature the members of KARA as themselves, taking on a series of missions related to love.
The premise of the show has KARA working for an underworld service as for-hires, but instead of killing their targets, their missions require them to make those men fall in love with them. Each week, a mysterious boss will give them their new target - from powerful politicians to kabuki actors to ordinary salarymen - and they will use any technique they can to accomplish their goal. But due to their inexperience with love, various problems come up during their missions.
Producer Kaori Hashimoto said, "There's no doubt that you'll be able to see another face of KARA that has never been seen before." The show will freely blend reality and fiction, with the members using their own names to give it a greater feeling of authenticity.
KARA made their Japanese debut in August with the song "Mister," which received a lot of attention for its famous "butt dance." Their second single "Jumping" is being released this week, and their first original Japanese album "Girl's Talk" will quickly follow on November 24.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Tsuyoshi Kusanagi stars in "Fuyu no Sakura"
Wed, November 10, 2010 (6:11pm EST)
 
SMAP's Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (36) is set to star in a new TBS drama series this winter, titled "Fuyu no Sakura." The heroine role will be played by Miki Imai (47), who has not appeared in a drama series since she starred in "Brand" in 2000.
"Fuyu no Sakura" is described as a pure love story with similarities to the popular Korean drama "Winter Sonata" (titled "Fuyu no Sonata" in Japan). Kusanagi plays a gentle glass craftsman in Yamagata who has no experience in love. Imai plays an older housewife with a husband and daughter who goes on a trip alone to Yamagata, hoping to see sakura trees blooming in winter. She gets into an accident, but is saved by Kusanagi. He ends up tending to her, and the two are soon drawn to each other.
  
Takeru Sato (21) will play Kusanagi's brother, who left Yamagata and coincidentally worked as a trainee doctor at the hospital run by Imai's husband, played by Masanobu Takashima (44). Rosa Kato (25) will play Sato's girlfriend.
"Fuyu no Sakura" will start in January, airing on Sunday nights at 9:00pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Eiichiro Funakoshi stars in mystery series "Honboshi"
Thu, November 11, 2010 (10:40am EST)
Eiichiro Funakoshi (50) has landed the lead part in a TV Asahi mystery drama series next season, titled "Honboshi ~Shinri Tokusou Jikenbo~." The show will air in the network's Thursday 8:00pm time slot, starting sometime in January.
Funakoshi plays a former psychologist and doctor who now works as an investigator. With his ability to see through lies based on a person's mannerisms and facial expressions, he uses psychological experiments to unravel criminal cases and determine the true culprits.
Psychology has become a very popular theme in Japan lately, thanks in part to successful American dramas such as "Lie to Me" and "The Mentalist." "Honboshi" is at least the third Japanese drama with a psychology theme to be announced for the winter 2011 season - Keiko Kitagawa (24) is starring in a series about criminal profiling, while Nao Matsushita (25) is playing a detective who pairs up with a psychology professor.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Saki Fukuda, Yuya Matsushita co-star in "Quartet"
Thu, November 11, 2010 (8:01pm EST)
Actress Saki Fukuda (20) has been chosen to lead a drama series on TBS and MBS titled "Quartet." The drama is based on a hardboiled crime/action story by author Arimasa Osawa, who wrote the popular "Shinjuku Shark" novel series.
Fukuda will be taking on a role unlike her previous characters. She plays the part of Shun, a descendant of a "zanryu-koji" (a Japanese orphan left behind in China at the end of World War II). Now living as an illegal resident in the fictional city of Midori, she is one of three young people helping police in undercover investigations. Fukuda will be wearing a full-body tattoo for this serious action drama, which includes heavy topics such as bootlegs drugs being tested on people, and people treating others as slaves. Fukuda is also learning some Chinese for the part.
Fukuda's co-star is singer and actor Yuya Matsushita (20), who will play the rough and reckless Takeru. Although he has acted in a few films and stage productions, this is his first appearance in a television drama. He has also been tapped to provide the show's theme song "paradise," which involves producer Kiyoshi Matsuo and songwriter Jin Nakamura.
TBS and MBS will broadcast "Quartet" in a late-night time slot, starting in January.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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nak tgk citer saki ngan yuya nih camner... sbnrnyer, asalnyer nk kengo kora ngan saki dlm citer nih... tp yuya pun ok gak... |
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Third "Sazae-san" drama features Toshi, Aya Hirano, Nozomi Sasaki
Sun, November 14, 2010 (7:51pm EST)
Fuji TV is on a roll with its recent live-action "Sazae-san" drama specials. After the first one got 20.9% ratings last year and the second one got 16.5% ratings this past summer, a third one is now in the works. Fuji TV will ring in the new year with the special episode, airing it on January 2.
  
Naturally, Alisa Mizuki (33) will return in the starring role of Sazae, along with several other supporting cast members including Michitaka Tsutsui (39) as Sazae's husband Masuo, and Tsurutaro Kataoka (55) and Keiko Takeshita (57) as Sazae's parents.
The new cast additions this time include former kickboxer Musashi (38) as Masuo's co-worker Anago and former pro wrestler Akira Hokuto (43) as Anago's wife.
   
There will also be a scene in which Sazae's little brother Katsuo (Kentaro Arai, 14) imagines his future, and that scene will feature several guests playing the future versions of various characters. Comedian Toshi (of Taka and Toshi, 34) plays Katsuo, voice actress Aya Hirano (23) plays Katsuo's classmate Kaori, and comedienne Haruna Kondo (of Harisenbon, 27) plays another classmate named Hanazawa-san. However, Hanazawa-san's own imagination envisions model Nozomi Sasaki (22) as her future self.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Karina turns from hostess to teacher in "Misaki No. 1!!" drama
Tue, November 16, 2010 (7:25pm EST)
Actress Karina (26) will star in the NTV drama series "Misaki No. 1!!," adapted from Masato Fujisaki's manga of the same name. The show is being produced by the same team behind the hit series "Gokusen."
"Misaki No. 1!!" tells the story of Misaki Tennoji (Karina), the number-one hostess of a club in Roppongi. The "mama" of the club suddenly asks her to become a teacher for "only three months" at an elite high school, but her class consists only of troublemakers and problematic students.
The drama will air on Wednesdays at 10:00pm, beginning this January.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Yuko Fueki, Hidenori Tokuyama in Fuji TV's next daytime drama
Tue, November 16, 2010 (7:45pm EST)
 
Actress Yuko Fueki (31) has been given the lead in Fuji TV's new daytime drama series "Sakura Shinjuu." Her co-star is actor Hidenori Tokuyama (28), best known for his roles in "Kamen Rider Kabuto" and "Engine Sentai Go-onger."
Fueki is active in both Japan and Korea, where she made her television debut in 2001 under the name Yoo Min. Before this, Fueki has never had a starring role in a television drama in Japan.
"Sakura Shinjuu" is penned by screenwriter Takehiro Nakajima, who also handled the popular "Shinju Fujin" series in 2002 that aired in the same time slot. The story depicts the tragic romance between the adopted daughter of a sake brewer (Kunio Murai) and a brewery worker (Tokuyama).
The series starts on January 5, airing every weekday at 1:30pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Katsunori Takahashi stars as villainous cop in "Akutou"
Tue, November 16, 2010 (8:08pm EST)
TV Asahi has announced that Katsunori Takahashi (45) will star in a new drama series titled "Akutou: Juuhanzai Sousahan," scheduled for Friday nights at 9:00pm. Takahashi plays a police detective who is described as the "most powerful antihero ever."
The "akutou" ("villain") in the show's title refers to a fictional group of detectives on the Yokohama police force who will stop at nothing to close a case, even if it means committing blackmail, using violence, and deceiving their superiors. Takahashi plays Togashi, the leader of that group.
  
Togashi's associates include Kosuke Suzuki (35), Hiroyuki Hirayama (33), and Rina Uchiyama (29) as the sole female of the team. Kotaro Koizumi (32), Tomio Umezawa (60), and Hiroaki Murakami (53) have also been cast on the show.
  
"Akutou" premieres in January. S.R.S performs the show's ending theme song "Real Lie," while Korean girl group 4minute is providing a currently untitled tune for the show's opening theme. This is 4minute's first song for a Japanese drama.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Ayako Kawahara stars in Japan's first 3D drama series
Wed, November 17, 2010 (9:17am EST)
 
Fuji TV is producing Japan's first ever 3D television drama series, titled "TOKYO CONTROL." The show will star actress Ayako Kawahara (39) along with Saburo Tokito (52).
The drama's setting is the Tokyo Area Control Center (nicknamed "Tokyo Control"), which serves as the air traffic control center for Tokyo and surrounding regions. Kawahara plays one of the cool-headed controllers at the center. Although her job focuses on resolving various situations encountered by the aircraft, the show will explore the lives of the people at Tokyo Control.
The drama will be broadcast on one of Fuji TV's channels on SKY PerfecTV! 10 episodes are planned, with the first one set to air on January 19.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Post time 4-11-2010 02:52 PM
Author
