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The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” chosen as theme song to Kimura Takuya’s new drama
The Rolling Stones‘ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” has been chosen as the theme song for Fuji TV’s upcoming drama series, ‘PRICELESS‘, starring Kimura Takuya.
This is the very first time “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” will be used in a drama since it was released back in 1968. Fuji TV was given the permission to use the song as the protagonist’s positive outlook on life met the band’s image and the song’s lyrics.
Kimura commented, “I never thought that The Rolling Stones would be used as the theme song in a drama I would star in… It’s certainly a ‘priceless’ happening for me. By receiving power from this song, I want to welcome a powerful crank in.”
The Rolling Stones’ “Angie” was previously used as the theme song for Fuji TV’s drama ‘Face‘ in 1997.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... -takuyas-new-drama/ |
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The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” chosen as theme song to Kimura Takuya’s new drama
The Rolling Stones‘ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” has been chosen as the theme song for Fuji TV’s upcoming drama series, ‘PRICELESS‘, starring Kimura Takuya.
This is the very first time “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” will be used in a drama since it was released back in 1968. Fuji TV was given the permission to use the song as the protagonist’s positive outlook on life met the band’s image and the song’s lyrics.
Kimura commented, “I never thought that The Rolling Stones would be used as the theme song in a drama I would star in… It’s certainly a ‘priceless’ happening for me. By receiving power from this song, I want to welcome a powerful crank in.”
The Rolling Stones’ “Angie” was previously used as the theme song for Fuji TV’s drama ‘Face‘ in 1997.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... -takuyas-new-drama/ |
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Matsushita Yuki to star in new special drama ‘Dolce’
On September 3rd, it was announced that another drama adaptation of one of Honda Tetsuya’s (‘Strawberry Night’) novels will be released. Fuji TV is set to air ‘Dolce‘ as a special drama starring actress Matsushita Yuki.
‘Dolce’ focuses on an unmarried female detective named ‘Uozumi Hisae’, who solves mysterious cases in her jurisdiction by getting close to the people involved in the incidents. It’s the first time Matsushita is starring in a ‘Friday Prestige’ (time slot from 9:00 to 11:00 pm) special drama. If it’s popular enough, she might even be in more episodes in the future.
Matsushita commented on her character, “She’s an experienced and hard working detective of the investigation unit at a local police station, who believes that it’s not just important to catch criminals but to prevent crimes from happening in her jurisdiction in the first place.”
She continued, “Just like the title ‘Dolce’ suggests, it’s a suspenseful drama wrapped in a sweet atmosphere.” Dolce is an Italian word for ’sweet’.
Her co-stars are made up of several veteran actors such as Tanabe Seiichi, Totsugi Shigeyuki, Bengal (Yanagihara Haruo), Sugata Shun, and Nishioka Tokuma. The young actor Baba Toru is going to play a rookie detective who is adoring ‘Uozumi’, while the two actresses Uchiyama Rina and Hoshi Yuriko are going to portray important guest roles as well.
‘Dolce’ is slated to air sometime in October, but the exact date has yet to be announced.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... pecial-drama-dolce/ |
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NEWS’ Shigeaki Kato Shows Culinary Skills in New Drama
On Sept 5th, it has been announced that NEWS‘ Shigeaki Kato will star in the new TBS/MBS late night drama titled “Hana no Zubora-meshi” (Hana’s sloppy meals) starting this Oct. 23rd.
Nominated from last year’s Manga Taisho Awards, this cooking manga follows the everyday life of a cute yet lonely housewife named Hana, who spends her time cooking sloppy meals while her husband is away on an assignment. Despite the food’s appearance, Hana loves to eat them and each episode will feature a “sloppy meal” cooked by Hana. The female lead will be played by Kurashina Kana.
Shigeaki Kato’s will play the head of the sloppiness research center named Osonoi. Kato will do commentaries, research, and explanations regarding Hana’s sloppiness. The said role wasn’t included in the manga, and Kato hopes that even though his character is not in the manga, he hopes that he can spice things in making the drama more interesting. “There will be a cooking corner at the end of the show and I hope that [viewers] will treat the drama as a midnight snack enough to satisfy them when they are hungry,” Kato added.
Furthermore, viewers are invited to send their own “sloppy” recipes that Osonoi (Kato’s character) will cooked for the cooking corner.
Aside from being an author with his “Pink to Gray” novel, Kato will now show his versatility in the cooking field.
Hana no Zubora-meshi will air on TBS this Oct. 23rd at 12:05am (JST) and on MBS this Oct 25th, 12:05am (JST).
Source: http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4237802.html |
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Takei Emi to star in new drama on NTV “Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo”
It’s been announced that actress Takei Emi (18) will be starring in NTV’s upcoming drama “Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo“, which will start airing in October. This will be the third consecutive starring drama series for Takei after “W no Higeki” (TV Asahi, aired during April ~ June 2012), and “Iki mo Dekinai Natsu” (Fuji TV, currently airing). Reportedly, it will be a heartwarming comedy between father and daughter.
Takei commented, “Though I had played many characters who were burdened with some kind of destiny, this time, I will be playing a role that I have never done before, and that could help me pull out my new self. I hope it will be a drama that cheers up the people who watch it. I can’t wait to play the role!”
As Takei said, her role named ‘Saeki Rei’ is a 19-year-old girl who just moved to Tokyo. She is a cheerful girl, and has a unique positiveness, but anything she does is unprecedented as it goes round and round and gets nowhere. In Tokyo, ‘Rei’ meets her father who left her and her mother 15 years ago. Though she’s repulsed by him at first, looking at her father living a loose life makes her rouse herself. Setting her father’s remarriage as her goal, she makes strenuous efforts in the city of Tokyo.
Other cast members will include, Miura Shohei as ‘Tamagawa Daisuke’ who crushes on ‘Rei’, Higa Manami as unpopular 26-year-old model ‘Serizawa Hanako’, Tsukamoto Takashi as ‘Sakurai Koichi’ who is a single father with a 4-year-old daughter, and Watabe Atsuro as ‘Suzuki Takuya’, the father of ‘Rei.’
It was also revealed that Ban Kazuhiko (“Deka Wanko”, “Kuitan”) will be in charge of the script.
“Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo” is scheduled to begin broadcasting on October 10th (every Wednesday at 10:00 pm).
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... yo-zenryoku-shoujo/ |
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Takahashi Katsunori to return to Friday nights with new drama ‘Tokumei Tantei’
On September 5th, it was announced that actor Takahashi Katsunori is going to portray a hard-boiled anonymous detective in TV Asahi’s upcoming Friday night drama ‘Tokumei Tantei‘ (lit. ‘Anonymous Detective’).
Takahashi is already very familiar with the Friday, 11:15 pm drama time slot. He has previously played the protagonist in the popular drama ‘Tokumei Kakarichou – Tadano Hitoshi‘ (“tokumei” as in “mission”, not “anonymous”), which released four seasons and a final two-part special. The highest rating it recorded on Friday nights was 17.0%, which earned it a top 3 spot in the time slot.
He expressed, “There just aren’t that many restrictions when doing a night drama, which makes it more likely to create something new. I hope we’ll be able to create another exciting drama in that typical Friday night fashion (laughs).”
The signs are pointing at another successful series, since it will be the exact same staff from ‘Tokumei Kakarichou’ that will work on ‘Tokumei Tantei’ together with Takahashi.
Takahashi will portray a private detective, who’s working from a shabby rented room in a multi-tenant building. Nobody knows his name, and he only accepts requests from women. His office is also his home, and he does various odd jobs for a “certain establishment” that’s being operated in the same multi-tenant building. He loves bourbon, and his favorite music is jazz. Moreover, he only uses foul language and seems like a truly hard-boiled detective, but he’s extremely weak and kind in front of women. It has almost become second nature to him to get into trouble because of a woman without even getting paid a lot in the end.
The drama is set along the Chuo Line in Tokyo, a place known for its secondhand clothing and record shops, and countless enticing “massage parlors”. Thanks to the recommendations by the beautiful lawyer ‘Saejima Kyoko’ (Katase Nana), he’s never running out of requests by woman who cannot rely on the police. He resorts to all kind of methods to help his clients and knows some unique individuals who can help him out at times. Of course, he always tries to score with his female clients, but his remarkable efforts almost always end up in vain.
Aside from Katase, the supporting cast will be made up of Miura Rieko and Tayama Ryosei, who should also be familiar to fans of ‘Tokumei Kakarichou’. Miura is playing a moneylender, while Tayama is playing a veteran police officer. Two more important roles will be portrayed by Moritsugu Kouji (a bartender) and Yamaguchi Daichi (a college student who invents handy tools for the detective). Additional eye-candy will be provided by fashion model Sakai Ayumi and AV actresses Otowa Reon and Ogawa Asami, who will all three be playing strippers at a local strip club.
TV Asahi will start airing this action and suspense drama sometime in October.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... ama-tokumei-tantei/ |
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Toda Erika to star in new NHK drama ‘Shotenin Michiru no Minoue Banashi’
It was recently announced that actress Toda Erika is going to star in her first NHK drama titled ‘Shotenin Michiru no Minoue Banashi‘ (lit. ‘The life story of bookstore clerk Michiru’). This drama is scheduled to begin airing in January 2013.
The story of ‘Shotenin Michiru no Minoue Banashi’ is based on a novel by Sato Shogo called ‘Minoue Banashi‘, which was published in 2009. It revolves around a woman named ‘Michiru’ (Toda) whose ordinary life suddenly gets turned upside down after winning 200,000,000 Yen (2.5 million USD) in a lottery with a ticket that isn’t hers. Suddenly she’s experiencing betrayal, murder, and a life on the run…
Toda’s supporting cast will be made up of Kora Kengo, Emoto Tasuku, Arai Hirofumi, and Omori Nao.
The whole story is being told from the perspective of a man who calls himself ‘Michiru’s husband’ (Omori).
‘Michiru’ is living an ordinary life in a provincial city and is working at a bookstore. She has a boyfriend, ‘Kyutarou’ (Emoto), and they’ve been together for almost one year now. However, her feelings don’t seem to be that strong, since she is also having an affair with the Tokyo businessman ‘Toyomasu’ (Arai), who came to the provincial city in the name of a major publisher. To make things worse, she decides on the spur of the moment to go to Tokyo with him, although she was only supposed to see him off on his last day in the city.
Before that, a colleague of hers gave her money to buy a lottery ticket in his/her stead, which she did, but she forgot to return it before leaving for Tokyo. Later, when she realizes that she still has the ticket and that it actually was the winning ticket for 200,000,000 Yen (2.5 million USD), she doesn’t tell anybody about it and transfers the sum to her own bankbook as soon as possible. That’s when her life suddenly takes a turn for the worse.
In Tokyo she only knows one person, her childhood friend ‘Takei’ (Kora), but his true colors turn out to be much different from what she expected. Her ‘Toyomasu’ also suddenly disappears off the face of the earth. Meanwhile, ‘Kyutarou’ is trying to find his girlfriend, who suddenly went to Tokyo without telling him why; and then there’s even a murder…
NHK is going to air ‘Shotenin Michiru no Minoue Banashi’ in their ‘Yoru Dora’ (‘Night Drama’) time slot every Tuesday at 10:55 pm. There will be a total of 10 episodes and the first one is slated to air on January 8th, 2013.
The theme song will be provided by the South Korean group U-KISS.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... -no-minoue-banashi/ |
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Watabe Atsuro to play a man without scruples in the drama special ‘Kiken na Shamen’
On September 7th, it was announced that actor Watabe Atsuro will star in the upcoming Fuji TV drama special ‘Kiken na Shamen‘.
‘Kiken na Shamen’ is the second drama special by Fuji TV to commemorate the 20th anniversary after writer Matsumoto Seicho’s passing, this year. The story is about a man without scruples who even kills his lover in order to climb up the corporate ladder. The original novel was first published in 1959 and has since then already been adapted into numerous dramas.
Watabe commented, “I want to portray this evil man, the grief he’s holding and so on, as detailed as possible.” His two main co-stars are Hasegawa Kyoko and Mizobata Junpei.
He will play a man named ‘Akiba Bunsaku’ who happens to find out that the current lover of his company’s president is his ex-girlfriend, ‘Nozeki Toshie’ (Hasegawa). She turns out to be a great tool for him to earn the president’s trust. Moreover ‘Nozeki’ confesses to him that he’s the only one she truly loves and that she wants to be together with him. Soon after, she suddenly disappears and a corpse of a woman, reduced to nothing but bones, is discovered by the police.
It’s already Watabe’s second time to play in an adaptation of one of Matsumoto’s works and he will once again play a criminal. “Maybe I just have the face of a criminal,” he joked. “This work is stripping down a character to its roots in a really skillful way.”
He continued, “I think that those people who love to guess the trick behind a mysterious crime and those who just love repulsive characters, who have one or more skeletons in their closets will be able to enjoy this drama.”
Hasegawa commented delightedly, “There’s just something about Matsumoto and how he’s able to portray women in such a unique and sensual way. It has always been a wish of mine to play in one of his works.”
It will also be the first time for Mizobata to appear in a Matsumoto drama. He’ll play an ex-boyfriend of ‘Nozeki’, who devotes all his energy to expose the seemingly perfect crime of ‘Akiba’. He expressed his thoughts on co-starring alongside Watabe stating, “I’m playing a role that is supposed to drive Watabe’s character into a corner, which is obviously a huge hurdle for someone like me, but I’ll try my best.”
The production side explained that the most important criterion for casting was to find the most colorful characters, and that they are more than satisfied with their three main actors. The additional supporting cast also includes Nakamura Atsuo and Akai Hidekazu.
Fuji TV will air ‘Kiken na Shamen’ at 9:00 pm on September 30th.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... al-kiken-na-shamen/ |
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NYC’s Nakayama Yuma to star in the upcoming late-night drama ‘Piece’
On September 9th, NTV announced that NYC’s Nakayama Yuma is going to star in their upcoming late-night drama ‘Piece‘.
The drama is based on a manga of the same name by Ashihara Hinako, which has been serialized in the shojo manga magazine ‘Betsucomi‘ since 2008. Nakayama will be playing a cool college student who has to face his shadowy past after meeting a classmate from his high school days, with whom he has been going out at the time. Additional to the love story between those two, the story also contains elements of suspense as the two of them approach their past together.
Nakayama’s last lead role in a drama dates back to ‘Koishite Akuma‘ (Fuji TV) three years ago. He commented, “I’d like to create a character that all viewers will be able to connect with.”
The said ex-girlfriend will be played by actress Honda Tsubasa. Moreover you can look forward to the appearance of Johnny Jr.’s Matsumura Hokuto.
NTV is going to air ‘Piece’ every night from Saturday to Sunday at 0:55 am, with the first episode airing on October 6th.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... -night-drama-piece/ |
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flumpool’s new single chosen as theme song for Naka Riisa’s upcoming drama
Rock band flumpool will be releasing their new single, “Answer“, on November 7th. This single has been chosen as the theme song for TBS‘ upcoming drama, ‘Resident ~5-nin no Kenshui‘, starring actress Naka Riisa.
It’s been about 2 years since flumpool was in charge of a theme song for a tv drama, with their last being ‘Bloody Monday Season 2‘ back in January of 2010. The single will be released in 3 different types: Limited Edition A, Limited Edition B, and Regular Edition. Limited Edition A will come with a special DVD containing a 60-minute footage titled ‘Furayon ~Kiseki no Shinkyoku Tanjou-hen‘. Meanwhile, Limited Edition B will include 5 live audio tracks from “5th tour 2012 ‘Because… I am’“.
For its coupling track, the single will include “Kimi wo Tsurete“, which is currently the theme song for Fuji TV’s ‘Mezamashi Doyoubi‘. This song will not be included in flumpool’s upcoming album that’s due out this fall.
‘Resident ~5-nin no Kenshui’ will begin its broadcast in October. The story takes place at a critical care center of a university hospital and it portrays the growth of 5 young medical interns. Aside from Naka, the cast includes Hayashi Kento, Masuda Takahisa (NEWS), Omasa Aya, and Ishibashi Anna.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... sas-upcoming-drama/ |
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Shibasaki Kou chosen to sing the theme song for Takimoto Miori’s upcoming drama
It’s been revealed that Shibasaki Kou will be singing the theme song for Takimoto Miori’s upcoming drama series, ‘Perfect Blue‘!
The theme song will be titled “My Perfect Blue“, and Shibasaki wrote the song while referring to the drama’s title and theme. She explained, “The beautiful and soft color of the sky is the perfect shade to me. Those are the kinds of feelings I put into this song’s lyrics and title.”
‘Perfect Blue’ is based on Miyabe Miyuki’s debut novel that was released in 1989. It was previously adapted into a tv drama by WOWOW, and was also released in theaters. For the upcoming drama, they will be changing parts of the story by adding characters from Miyabe’s other novel, ‘Kokoro Torokasu Youna: Masa no Jikenbo‘.
Aside from Takimoto, the drama will star Zaizen Naomi, Terawaki Yasufumi, Hirayama Aya, and Funakoshi Eiichiro. It will air on TBS every Mondays at 8:00 starting October 8th.
The theme song will be released as Shibasaki’s new double A-side single, “My Perfect Blue / Yuku Yuku wa“, on October 31st. “Yuku Yuku wa” is provided by Okuda Tamio, and it’s the CM song for Kao Asience.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... ris-upcoming-drama/ |
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Superfly to sing for Yonekura Ryoko’s upcoming drama
Superfly’s new song “Force” has been chosen as the theme song for TV Asahi’s upcoming drama series, ‘Doctor X ~Gekai Daimon Michiko~‘, starring actress Yonekura Ryoko.
This will be Superfly’s 2nd consecutive season to sing a theme song for a drama. She previously sang the theme song for TBS‘ summer drama series, ‘Summer Rescue ~Tenku no Shinryojo~‘.
Superfly commented on “Force” saying, “The power that reveals your true self, the power of love, the power of belief, the power to show your weaknesses… Like the various powers that overflow from the bottom of our hearts, it’s a powerful song. I’m really looking forward to how the drama’s visuals and song will synchronize.“
As her first time teaming up with Superfly, Yonekura seemed very pleased with the theme song. “As the song’s title suggests, the song is filled with powerful meaning, and I believe it’s a song that will give you motivation. Like the song’s image, I would like to do my best to become a strong doctor,” she expressed.
‘Doctor X ~Gekai Daimon Michiko~’ will air every Thursdays at 9:00 pm starting sometime in October.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... kos-upcoming-drama/ |
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‘GTO’ to air two-hour special episode in October
On September 11th, it was announced that the remake of ‘GTO‘ (Fuji TV) is going to return with a two-hour special episode in October.
The ‘GTO’ remake stars EXILE’s AKIRA as ‘Onizuka Eikichi’ and just aired its final episode on the 11th. In the upcoming special, he will have to face corrupt politicians and use all of his energy in order to protect the children of an orphanage that’s on the verge of getting closed.
AKIRA expressed, “I kind of knew that it wouldn’t end after just 11 episodes. I feel like I’m not done yet with this character and that there’s still much room for development for Onizuka Eikichi. You can expect GTO to become even more exciting after this!”
The special will be set several months after the events in the drama. ‘Onizuka’ gets wind of the imminent closure of the ‘Smile Duck’ (‘White Swan’ in the original manga) orphanage due to a certain town development plan and some conflicts of interest for the politicians involved. Of course, he can’t just let that happen, and together with his students from class 2-4, he’s going all out in order to protect the orphanage.
Most of the actors from the drama will reprise their roles in the special, including Takimoto Miori, Kuroki Hitomi, Shirota Yu, Yamamoto Yusuke, Kawaguchi Haruna, and so on.
Some new characters from the manga are also going to appear in the special, albeit with small changes as is common for a remake. ‘Fujisaki Shinomi’ is a woman working at the orphanage who is secretly in love with Onizuka. ‘Wakui Mayu’ is a very handsome student who excels in studies and sports. ‘Mayu’ recently became a member of class 2-4, but he used to live in the said orphanage until he was adopted by a man who is now a candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming elections. There will also be a character named ‘Ageha’ who grew up in the same orphanage as ‘Mayu’ and will do anything to protect him. The cast members for these new characters have yet to be announced.
Fuji TV will air the special episode at 9:00pm on October 2nd.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... episode-in-october/ |
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Katori Shingo & Yamashita Tomohisa form unit ‘The MONSTERS’ for their upcoming drama
It’s been revealed that Katori Shingo and Yamashita Tomohisa has formed a new unit called ‘THE MONSTERS‘, and will be singing the theme song for their upcoming drama series, ‘MONSTERS‘ (begins airing in October).
The theme song, ‘MONSTER‘, was written and composed by Katori and Yamashita themselves. Katori expressed, “We started making this song hoping that it could become the theme song. Our dream really came true!” He made a self-praise comment, “It’s catchy and you can dance to it. Anyway, it turned out to be a cool song,” and talked about Yamashita saying, ”Yamapi is the owner of a wonderful talent of music. I’ve written lyrics to my solo song for an album for SMAP, but this is my first time composing. This song was made because of Yamapi.”
Meanwhile, Yamashita said, “There were many ideas that I couldn’t come up with myself, so it became a learning experience. It made me realize the joy of making music, and I was also happy to sing with him.”
TBS producer Ishimaru Akihiko revealed, “It was unexpected that they were creating the theme song themselves. Without reading the script, their song was perfectly suitable for the image we had in mind.” He added, “I thought that this is exactly what a theme song is. I’m grateful that they’ve introduced me to such a song.”
Yamashita previously formed ‘Shuji to Akira‘ with KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya and sang the theme song “Seishun Amigo” for ‘Nobuta wo Produce‘. Although this song became a million-seller, the unit was only active for a limited time. “Even when the drama ends, I want to continue being active with this unit. Although it sounds like I’m begging for more work than I have now (lol),” stated Katori.
“MONSTER” is included in SMAP’s latest album, ‘GIFT of SMAP‘, which was released back in August. It will also be released as a single on November 14th. Aside a different version of the song, the single will include a cover of Pink Lady’s “Monster“.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... eir-upcoming-drama/ |
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Eita to star in NHK’s special drama “Kyokuhoku Rhapsody”
On September 15, it was announced that actor Eita (29) will star in his first NHK special drama “Kyokuhoku Rhapsody” (to air next March, 2 episodes) as a surgeon. The drama is based on a novel of the same name, written by Kaidou Takeru who is known as the author of “Team Batista no Eiko.”
He first appeared in role of a medical student in 2009 on Fuji TV’s serial drama “Voice~Inochi Nakimono no Koe~,” and in the same, year he appeared in the film “Dear Doctor” as a doctor-in-training from the city who struggles in the countryside. Eita, who has an affinity towards medical roles, will star in his first NHK drama as a surgeon.
“Kyokuhoku Rhapsody” is set in a public hospital in Hokkaido facing an economic crisis and tells the story of a surgeon who moves between his deep sense of responsibility and his true love.
It will be the first time in 5 years for Eita to appear in a NHK drama since he last appeared in Taiga drama “Atsuhime” in 2008. “Kyokuhoku” producer Sano Motohiko was also the executive producer for “Atsuhime,” and showed his anticipation for Eita’s detailed depictions of his character’s inner psyche, with “The protagonist moves towards the future by swaying between reality and desire and I cannot think of anyone other than Eita-san who can depict this.”
Other cast will include Kobayashi Kaoru (61) and Kato Ai (29). Kobayashi will play the director of the hospital where Eita works, while Kato will play Eita’s girl friend who is a hairdresser.
Starting on September 16, the cast and crew will film on location in Hokkaido for about 20 days, and including winter, there are plans to film at the location for about 1.5 months in total.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... kyokuhoku-rhapsody/ |
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Kiritani Mirei and others join the cast of the upcoming ‘GTO’ special
On September 18th, it was announced that actress Kiritani Mirei will be appearring in the upcoming two-hour drama special of ‘GTO‘ (Fuji TV).
Kiritani is going to portray a young woman named ‘Fujisaki Shinomi’, who is a caretaker at the ‘Smile Duck’ orphanage and a possible former girlfriend of ‘Onizuka Eikichi’. She commented, “I’m happy to be able to participate in the hottest drama of this hot summer!!”
‘GTO’ is based on a popular manga of the same name by Fujisawa Toru and already the second drama live-action adaptation after the classic that aired in 1998. The remake starring EXILE’s AKIRA recorded an average rating of 13.2% over a total of 11 episodes.
As reported, the special will revolve around the impending closure of the ‘Smile Duck’ orphanage and the fight against the corrupt politicians involved in this case. With the addition of a new love interest, we can expect a love fight between ‘Shinomi’ and ‘Fuyutsuki Azusa’ (Takimoto Miori) over ‘Onizuka’.
Other new additions to the cast include Masu Takashi as a member of the National Diet who is striving to get children out of the orphanage and back to their parents, Hayama Shono as the handsome student ‘Wakui Mayu’, and Kurokawa Mei as ‘Ageha’. More details about their characters can be found in the previous article.
Fuji TV is going to air the ‘GTO’ special at 9:00 pm on October 2nd.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... coming-gto-special/ |
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Makihara Noriyuki to provide the theme song for ‘Going My Home’
On September 20, it was announced that singer-songwriter Makihara Noriyuki is going to provide the theme song for the upcoming Fuji TV drama ‘Going My Home‘, starring Abe Hiroshi.
The track is titled “Yotsuba no Clover” (‘Four-Leaf Clover’) and will be Makihara’s first drama tie-in since “GREEN DAYS” became the theme song for ‘Ushi ni Negai wo Love & Farm‘ (Fuji TV) in 2007.
‘Going My Home’ is a family drama written and directed by movie director Koreeda Hirokazu. Abe is playing a 45-year-old employee at a CM company named ‘Tsuboi Ryota’, who is suddenly facing a family crisis.
Makihara received a personal love call from Director Koreeda just before his trip to Ireland, which actually turned out to be great timing. Ireland is known as a spiritual country and as it happens, the protagonist ‘Ryota’ also strongly believes in the existence of ‘things invisible to the naked eye’ such as ghosts and fairies.
He commented, “It felt like a perfect match between my trip to Ireland and the offer. There was no way I could refuse it. In fact, it made me even more excited to go to Ireland and research about those things.” He also explained that many parts of the lyrics perfectly match with the script, although he didn’t read it beforehand. “I got goosebumps when I saw this. It’s like some invisible force guided me through the process.”
“Yotsuba no Clover” is a soothing ballad accompanied by tin whistles, a fiddle, an accordion, and other folk instruments.
Makihara added, “In order for this song to become the song it is, I didn’t include anything unnecessary. I tried to free myself from all obligations and simply let the inspiration take over when creating this song.”
Abe himself already praised the song and said that it perfectly matches and expresses the tone of the drama.
Source: www.tokyohive.com |
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Yanagihara Kanako to play Yamapi’s girlfriend in upcoming drama ‘MONSTER’
It was revealed that comedic talent Yanagihara Kanako will play her first heroine role in TBS’ drama series “MONSTERS” (9PM on Sundays), which will begin airing on October 21. The series, a detective drama, has already become a hot topic as it stars SMAP’s Katori Shingo and Yamashita Tomohisa together for the first time ever.
Yanagihara plays Takano Emi, the girlfriend of rookie detective Saionji Kosuke who is the son of a noble family, played by Yamashita. In the drama, the pair was introduced by a family member and has been dating for 4 years with plans to marry. Emi loves Kosuke from bottom of her heart, and Kosuke’s happiest time is also when he’s with Emi.
According to Yanagihara, she thought, “It must be some kind of prank,” when she heard that she would be playing Yamashita’s girlfriend. When asked why Yanagihara was chosen, producer Ishimaru Akihiko explained, “When I saw Yanagihara doing comedy, I saw the radiance of a heroine. I thought her acting was good, and when I imagined the heroine in this series as somebody beautiful and round-shaped, the first face that appeared [in my mind] was Yanagihara.” In this series, Yamashita’s character Kosuke has a strange love of round objects.
Yamashita made an extremely welcoming comment, saying, “Since we are the same age, I’m sure we will get on very well together, and can become good friends. Yanagihara is bright and lovely, and although I have met her for the first time, she is very cute! I want her to enjoy filming for the drama.” When Yamashita was told there might be a kissing scene between him and Yanagihara, he said with an Ero P-filled comment, “I am looking forward to feel her lips!”
The first episode of “MONSTERS” will air as a 2-hour special on October 21 (Sunday).
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... ming-drama-monster/ |
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Additional cast members for Kimura Takuya’s upcoming drama revealed
Additional cast members for the upcoming “Getsu 9″ drama “PRICELESS ~Aru Wake Needaro, Nnamon~” starring SMAP’s Kimura Takuya , have been revealed.
As previously reported, it revolves around the protagonist named ‘Kindaichi Fumio’ (Kimura) who is living a satisfying life as a bachelor and working in middle management at a major company. He’s also on good terms with his co-workers, but one day he gets wrapped up in an intrigue and ends up getting fired for something he hasn’t done. Before he even realized, he becomes a penniless man without a phone and no place to stay. By chance he happens to get acquainted to other poor children at a park and gradually begins to realize that there are many important “priceless” things in life. It was already announced that Nakai Kiichi will play ‘Kindaichi’s boss while Karina will play an employee of the accounting department.
Now, additional cast members have been announced. The cast includes Kis-My-Ft2 member, Fujigaya Taisuke (as ‘Enomoto Kotaro’ who adores Kindaichi as his junior at the company), Fujiki Naohito (as the vice-president of the company, ‘Oyashiki Toichiro’ who will drive Kindaichi into a corner in an exhaustive manner), Issey Ogata (as Toichiro’s close aides ‘Zaizen Osamu’), Nakamura Atsuo (as ‘Oyashiki Iwao’, the president and the father of Toichiro), Masu Takeshi (as a barkeeper of Kindaichi’s favorite bar), Maeda Oshiro of ‘Maeda Maeda’ (as one of the brothers ‘Marioka Kanta’ who Kindaichi encounters), Tanaka Kanau (as ‘Marioka Ryota’, the younger brother of Kanta), and Natsuki Mari (as the Marioka brothers’ grandmother).
The producer Makino Tadashi commented, “As the appearances of cast members who we were hoping to cast while working on the script have been set, I feel lucky as the producer. Please look forward to the drama.”
“PRICELESS ~Aru Wake Needaro, Nnamon~” will be aired starting in October on Fuji TV.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... ing-drama-revealed/ |
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Kobukuro’s new single chosen as theme song for upcoming drama, ‘Kekkon Shinai’
Kobukuro will release their new single, “Kami Hikouki” (“Paper Airplane”), on November 28. This marks the duo’s first single in a year and a half and their first since returning from their short hiatus.
The lyrics and melody to “Kami Hikouki” have been kept under wraps so far, but they’ll be revealed on Kanno Miho and Amami Yuki’s upcoming drama, ‘Kekkon Shinai‘.
The drama will be produced by Nakano Toshiyuki, who has teamed up with Kobukuro twice in the past. Kobukuro has provided “Tsubomi” for ‘Tokyo Tower ~Okan to Boku to, Tokidoki, Oton~‘ in 2007, and “Ryusei” for ‘Nagareboshi‘ in 2010.
Regarding the concept of the song, Kobukuro commented, “It’s a drama that realistically portrays the protagonists’ philosophy of love, so we paid attention to the women’s viewpoint, and made a song with the images that came into mind.”
They continued,”What we arranged with the twinkling melody is the image of ‘Kami Hikouki’ itself, and our wish for people not to forget about laughter and find the ‘wind of palpitation’.”
Since the song will not be unveiled until the drama’s first episode, the actresses expressed their excitement. Kanno said, “I’m looking forward to how their voices and the drama will be put together,” while Amami commented, “I can’t help but to look forward to how they will express the drama’s worldview. While receiving power from Kobukuro-san’s song, we will do our best.”
‘Kami Hikouki’ will air on Fuji TV every Thursday at 10:00 pm starting October 11th.
Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/09 ... rama-kekkon-shinai/ |
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Post time 30-9-2012 01:14 AM
