Takaya Kamikawa to star in TV Asahi 2017 Summer drama "Iryu Sousa 4"

Kamikawa Takaya will be starring in TV Asahi Summer 2017 drama "Iryu Sousa 4" which will begin its run from July in the Thursdays 8pm timeslot. The drama first began in 2011 and subsequently had two other series in 2012 and 2013 and 4 SPs.

Kamikawa plays the lead character Itomura Satoshi who is a police officer using leads from things left behind at crime scenes to solve cases. In this latest installment set in Kyoto, he will be joined by new colleagues played by Kuriyama Chiaki, Danta Yasunori, Toda Keiko, Nagai Masaru and Komoto Masahiro.

Source: Sanspo

Marie Iitoyo and Rena Takeda to star in MBS/TBS 2017 Summer drama

Iitoyo Marie and Takeda Rena will be joint leads in the upcoming MBS / TBS Summer 2017 drama "Maji de koukai shimasu" (I am serious about sailing) which marks their first leading role in a drama series. The drama is an original story featuring first-year university students Sakamoto Marin (Iitoyo) and Ishikawa Tsubame (Takeda) who aspire to become ship navigation officers and undergo an one-month training. Besides having to cope with the tough training and sea-sickness, the girls are also caught in a reverse harlem situation where 80 percent of the students in the course are men. Marin is oblivious to her surroundings but has a strong passion for boats and refuses to give up while Tsubame repeated a year to get into the maritime systems engineering course which she still regrets to this day. However, as a result of her interaction with Marin, she slowly undergoes a change in her mentality.

Iitoyo commented that although she is happy about taking on the leading role this time, she is also filled with a great sense of responsibility. As such, she will try to learn more about the world of maritime navigation in order to play her character well and work hard with and learn from Takeda to produce a good drama. As for Takeda, she also echoed Iitoyo's views and hopes that viewers will come to know the charms behind this industry through the drama.

The drama will begin its run on MBS and TBS respectively from 2 July and 4 July at 12.50am on Sundays and 1.28am on Tuesdays.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon

Ikusaburo Yamazaki and Rin Takanashi to star in TV Asahi 2017 Summer drama

Yamazaki Ikusaburo will be starring in the new TV Asahi Summer 2017 drama "Aino Kekkon Soudanjo" (Aino's matchmaking agency) which will begin its run from July in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot. This will be his first leading role in a drama and he will be joined by Takanashi Rin who plays the heroine.

The drama which is based on the same-titled manga by Katou Yagi and Yagi Jun which was serialised between 2010 and 2016, is set in a legendary matchmaking agency where you have to pay 2 million yen to become a member but will be guaranteed a 100% success rate in finding your ideal marriage partner. Yamazaki plays the role of the agency's manager Aino Shingo who is cold, pretentious and speaks harshly to his clients at times. Being a former assistant professor specialising in ethology, Aino is very well-versed in the behaviour of animals and insects and has a hobby of collecting such figures. He will stop at nothing to ensure that his clients find their perfect match by using his knowledge in his counselling sessions. On the other hand, Takanashi plays his assistant named Sister Elisabeth who wears a nun's outfit and has the tendency of falling in love with handsome clients. She is constantly mocked by Aino for having the brains of an insect but she always manages to help him cover up for his blunders at work.

With regard to taking on his first leading role, Yamazaki commented that he does feel the pressure but he will try his best to play Aino by challenging himself and putting in his best. When asked about what he feels would be a condition for him when seeking a marriage partner, Yamazaki who is married to former Morning Musume member Abe Natsumi and has a 10-month-old son, commented that the ideal marriage partner should be someone who you feel like you are willing to do things for. As for Takanashi, she joked about how her character is so unlike a nun with no "sister-like qualities" but she is eager to try this out as a challenge in her acting career.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

"Jimi ni sugoi! Kouetsu Girl Kouno Etsuko" to return as a drama Special this Fall

NTV Autumn 2016 drama "Jimi ni sugoi! Kouetsu Girl Kouno Etsuko" will return as a SP this autumn featuring its original cast such as Ishihara Satomi, Suda Masaki, Honda Tsubasa and Kishitani Goro and new members Kimura Yoshino and Sano Hinako. The drama SP will be titled "Jimi ni sugoi! DX Kouetsu Girl Kouno Etsuko" and describes what happens one year after Kouno Etsuko (Ishihara) transfers from the proofreading department to the editorial department of fashion magazine "Lassy".

Although Etsuko is getting along fine with novelist Yukito (Suda), things at work change with the arrival of a new chief editor Nikaidou Rin (Kimura) who doesn't hesistate to fire veteran staff who had been with the magazine since its establishment. Etsuko is unable to accept Nikaidou's way of doing things and clashes with her which leads to her being chased out of the editorial department. Meanwhile, the appearance of Yukito's new editor-in-charge Tachibana Ren (Sano) causes trouble in Etsuko's relationship.

Upon hearing that a sequel SP was to be made, Ishihara commented that she was very happy and that viewers who felt that the drama's ending was not clear enough will have their doubts cleared by the end of this SP. As for Suda, he expressed his joy at being able to meet the original cast members again and viewers should find it interesting to see how the characters have developed since the end of the drama.

Sources: Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

Mitsuki Takahata to star in NTV 2017 Summer drama

Takahata Mitsuki will be starring in the upcoming NTV Summer 2017 drama "Kahogo no Kahoko" (The overly-protected Kahoko) which will begin its run from July in the Wednesdays 10pm timeslot.

The drama which is written by Yukawa Kazuhiko, features Takahata as the 21-year-old university student Nemoto Kahoko who is overly protected by the people around her that she has never spent the night outside her house, driven a car, done any housework nor even left alone at home before. She doesn't even have a wallet since everything will be paid for by her father. Every day, she is woken up by her mother Izumi (Kuroki Hitomi) and wears the clothes the latter chooses. Even though her father Masataka (Tokito Saburo) is concerned about Kahoko's future, he can't bring himself to discipline his daughter and allows his wife to intervene too much into Kahoko's life. When Kahoko meets a young man who comes from an entirely different background from hers, she gradually undergoes changes in her personality and life.

Takahata who is taking on her first leading role in a private network drama this time, expressed her excitement about the filming and hopes to be able to cope with the pressure and enjoy the process. As for playing someone who is very unlike her, Takahata commented that there should be a lot of new things she will discover in the process of playing Kahoko who behaves like an angel but actually needs the help of the people around her in order to survive. As for working with Kuroki and Tokito, Takahata said that she is on close terms with Kuroki since they had worked together before while it will be the first time collaborating with Tokito.

Sources: Sponichi / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

"99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi" to return in TBS winter 2018

TBS Spring 2016 drama "99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi" will be making a comeback in winter next year as the second season will be shown from January 2018 in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. The original drama featured Matsumoto Jun as the lead character Miyama Hiroto, a lawyer who worked with his colleagues Sada Hatsuhiro (Kagawa Teruyuki) and Tachibana Ayano (Eikura Nana) to take on cases involving defendants who were deemed to be as good as convicted and that there was a very slim chance of turning the tables.

Matsumoto and Kagawa will return in Season II to reprise their roles while Eikura who is currently pregnant, will not be appearing in the sequel. In her place is the new heroine Ozaki Maiko played by Kimura Fumino who used to be a judge but quit due to a case. Maiko had passed the bar exam while she was still an undergraduate student at University of Tokyo and became a judge at a very young age but after she resigned, she tried to stay away from the legal world. One day, she accompanies her friend to Madarame Law Firm for a case which marks the beginning of her clashes with Miyama. On the other hand, Sada who knows how good Maiko is, invites her to join their law firm even though she is clearly reluctant at first to have anything to do with the legal circle again. She then decides to return to becoming a lawyer and joins Madarame Law Firm where she faces off with her ex-boss who has something to do with why she had to quit. The reason why Miyama wanted to become a criminal lawyer and the truth behind a case which happened 26 years ago will also come to light in the sequel.

Matsumoto commented that he is very excited about being able to work with the same team again on the sequel and thinks that they will have fun during the filming. Although this is the first time he is working with Kimura, he hopes that she will also enjoy working with them and called upon viewers to support them when it's time for the drama's broadcast.

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

Nijirou Murakami to star in TV Tokyo 2017 Summer drama

Murakami Nijirou will be taking on his first leading role in a drama when he appears in the upcoming TV Tokyo Summer 2017 drama "Dead Stock Michi e no Chousen" (Dead Stock The challenge towards the unknown) which will begin its run from 21 July 2017 in the Fridays 12.52am timeslot.

The drama is an original horror story set at the new HQ building of TV Tokyo in Roppongi after it moved from Kamiya-cho in 2016. As a result of the move, Tsuneda Riku (Murakami), a newbie assistant director, gets assigned to work at the unconfirmed materials centre which stores a huge volume of footage yet to be organised and disposed of. While feeling disappointed at the gap between his ideals and reality, Riku accidentally finds an old video tape containing footage of supernatural phenomena. At the instigation of his senior Saori who is a director, Riku is forced to continue filming the supernatural happenings in order to make it into a complete programme but this causes him to go through a frightening and unbelievable experience.

Murakami commented that although he is always scared out of his wits while filming the drama, he is also excited and happy about taking on this daring project of TV Tokyo since this is the first time that he is acting in a horror and suspense story. Besides the standard theme about ghosts, there are some taboo topics also featured in the story which make it very interesting. As Riku grows to become a different person while the story progresses, his interaction with the other characters who had gone through various things in the past will be worth looking out for.

Sources: Yomiuri Hochi / Sanspo / Oricon / Eiga.com

"Kounodori" to return with a new season in October

TBS drama "Kounodori" will be back with a new season in October.

Based on a manga being serialized in the manga magazine 'Morning', "Kounodori" is set in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Its first season aired from October to December of 2015 starring Go Ayano, Gen Hoshino, Mayu Matsuoka, Yo Yoshida, Kentaro Sakaguchi, and Nao Omori. The cast will reprise their roles in a story that takes place two years later.

Source: natalie

Toshiyuki Nishida and Akira Terao to star in NTV drama Special "Kohaku"

Nishida Toshiyuki and Terao Akira will be starring in the new TV Tokyo drama SP "Kohaku" (Amber) which will be their first collaboration since the 2012 "Shoe Shine Boy".

The drama SP which is based on the same-titled novel by Asada Jiro, features Nishida as Yoneda Katsumi, a police detective who is about to retire and Terao as Arai Toshio, a fugitive and an unresolved case which happened 25 years ago. One day, Yoneda happens to come across a booklet about a cafe by the name "Kohaku" which reminds him of an arson-cum-murder case that happened in Kichijoji 25 years ago. Yoneda then travels to Kohaku which is at Uozu in Toyama Prefecture, where he meets the master of the cafe Arai and his regular customer Hirai Sachiko. Coincidentally, the three of them have huge secrets to hide which are about to be revealed as they come to know one another better.

Nishida commented that the script written by Okada Yoshikazu was very good and he was glad to have acted to his heart's content. Although he had appeared in works with Terao before, this was the first time when their characters interact directly so it was like a dream come true for them to act together. In particular, he was glad to be able to work with a good actor like Terao which made him very satisfied. On the other hand, Terao said that he had always wanted to act together with Nishida who is of the same age as him as they had never acted opposite each other before so he was interested to find out how it would be like. As such, when this SP gave him the chance to realise his wish, he was very happy about the experience during the filming.

"Kohaku" will be shown this autumn.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon

Kanata Hongo to star in FujiTV 2017 Fall drama

Hongo Kanata will be returning as the lead in the upcoming FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama "Rabuho no Ueno-san season 2" (The love hotel's Ueno-san) which will be shown via FujiTV-on-demand (FOD) first before its TV broadcast.

The drama is based on the same-titled manga that is currently serialised in "Gekkan Comic Flapper" and features Hongo as the lead character Ueno who works in a love hotel and gives advice to people who are troubled by love and having issues in their relationships. The character Ueno-san is said to be based on the author Ueno's own experience who also worked at a love hotel before.

In the sequel, it continues showcasing how Ueno-san gives sadistic advice to men and women who are troubled in love and what happens to Ichijo (Masaki Reiya) after he confesses his feelings to the woman he loves. Co-stars from the previous season including Osawa Hikaru, Imoarau Kakaricho, Soutaro and Asaoka Megumi will also make their return in the sequel.

With regard to the sequel, Hongo said that he never expected that this would come so soon and he's very happy about it especially since this is the first work he had participated in which got good reviews thus leading to the sequel. As such, he's very excited about the filming and hopes to take his portrayal of Ueno-san to new heights.

Source: Eiga.com

Taiga to star in "Yamagishi desu ga nani ka" spin-off drama of "Yutori desu ga nani ka Junmai Kinjo junjo hen"

Taiga will be starring in the 4-episode spin-off drama from the SP sequel "Yutori desu ga nani ka Junmai kinjo junjo hen" written by Kudo Kankuro which will be shown via Hulu after the SP is shown via NTV on 2nd and 9th July. The spin-off drama titled "Yamagishi desu ga nani ka" features Taiga as the yutori monster Yamagishi Hiromu and his love story with a new heroine Sudou Fuyumi (Satsukawa Aimi). The three lead actors from the SP i.e. Okada Masaki, Matsuzaka Toori and Yagira Yuuya will also appear in the spin-off drama.

In the spin-off drama, Yamagishi is invited to the TV station as a representative of the yutori generation to assist in the creation of the script for the drama "Yutori desu ga nani ka". While going through an intensive interview into his life, he and the drama's assistant producer Fuyumi begin an unexpected romance.

Taiga commented that he never expected that Yamagishi would be thrust into the spotlight like this as the lead and hoped that the viewers can check out the spin-off drama to see a different side of Yamagishi which was never featured in the main drama. On the other hand, Kudo who has never written a script for an Internet drama prior to this, said that Yamagishi may be seen as a baddie in the main story but is actually a lovable and silly guy who gets to show off his charms in the spin-off drama. As such, he hoped that viewers will watch it after viewing the SP on TV.

Source: Eiga.com

gaijinmark wrote:

"Kounodori" to return with a new season in October TBS drama "Kounodori" will be back with a new season in October. Based on a manga being serialized in the manga magazine 'Morning', "Kounodori" is set in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Its first season aired from October to December of 2015 starring Go Ayano, Gen Hoshino, Mayu Matsuoka, Yo Yoshida, Kentaro Sakaguchi, and Nao Omori. The cast will reprise their roles in a story that takes place two years later. Source: natalie

This is some of the best pop culture news I have seen ever. Seriously. Thank you for making my week.

Drama version of "Itou-kun A to E" to be shown this summer


The drama version of new movie "Itou-kun A to E" comprising of 8 episodes will be shown via TBS and MBS from 15 Aug and 20 Aug respectively in the Tuesdays 1.28am and Sundays 12.50am timeslot. In contrast with the movie version starring Okada Masaki and Kimura Fumino as double leads, the drama version will feature Kimura Fumino as its sole lead. The movie will be shown in cinemas in 2018.

The film is based on the same-titled romance novel by Yuzuki Asako which was published in 2013. Okada plays Itou Seijirou, a self-centred man who thinks very highly of his appearance and is insensitive to others' feelings. As a result, he always causes the women he meets to suffer due to his character flaws. On the other hand, Kimura plays Yazaki Rio who is a scriptwriter and keeps her true thoughts about other people hidden within. While trying to create a drama script about people's romance woes, she begins interviewing four women who she nicknames as A, B, C and D. Coincidentally, the four of them are all in love with Itou who is a student at the scenario writing school where Rio works as a lecturer. As Rio continues to observe what happens between the four women and Itou, she finds herself embroiled in this romance whirlpool and becomes the 5th women E. The drama version will describe events which happen before the movie version and will describe Itou-kun from the perspectives of the women A, B, C and D.

The actresses playing A to D were also announced to be: A - Shimabara Tomomi (Sasaki Nozomi), B - Noze Shuuko (Shida Mirai), C - Aida Satoko (Ikeda Elaiza) and D - Jinbo Miki (Kaho). Other members in the cast include Tanaka Kei who plays Tamura Shinya, a producer and used to be Rio's partner, Nakamura Tomoya who plays Kusumi Kentaro, a popular and young scriptwriter threatening Rio's career prospects and Yamada Yuki who plays Okita, an original character in the drama version.

Kimura described the story as a gathering of flawed people who have their own faults. With regard to her character Rio, she is a person who ends up getting hurt as well when she hurts others and doesn't chase after people but also doesn't reject those who come to her. Many women may find themselves agreeing and identifying with the behavioural traits of these sorry women which will serve as a good reflection of themselves. As for Sasaki, she described her character Tomomi as a pitiful woman who tries hard to be liked by Itou-kun but gets treated like trash while Shida said that Shuko is probably an even worse person compared to Itou-kun as she is reluctant to come out from her shell and change herself. As for Ikeda, she commented that Satoko knows what is love and hankers for it so much but just cannot find the right way to get it while Kaho said that her character Miki who boasts of high qualifications, contains a mix of traits from the other women and is so serious about everything that she even wants to offer her virginity to him even though he has other women in the sidelines.

Sources: Eiga.com / Nikkansports / Sanspo

gaijinmark wrote:

Drama version of "Itou-kun A to E" to be shown this summer The drama version of new movie "Itou-kun A to E" comprising of 8 episodes will be shown via TBS and MBS from 15 Aug and 20 Aug respectively in the Tuesdays 1.28am and Sundays 12.50am timeslot. In contrast with the movie version starring Okada Masaki and Kimura Fumino as double leads, the drama version will feature Kimura Fumino as its sole lead. The movie will be shown in cinemas in 2018. The drama version will describe events which happen before the movie version and will describe Itou-kun from the perspectives of the women A, B, C and D.

Thanks for posting this, Mark! When I saw there was a drama version of this movie with much of the same cast I was curious how it is that they would tell the same story across big and small screens. Glad to hear it is in fact a prequel.

What does confuse me is seeing the 1.28am and 12.50am timeslot. Is that a normal timeslot for dramas? It seems like a time nobody would be watching....

Kaho, Shota Sometani, & Masahiro Higashide to star in spin-off drama from movie "Sanposuru Shinryakusha"

Kaho, Sometani Shota and Higashide Masahiro will be starring in the spin-off drama from new movie "Sanposuru Shinryakusha" starring Nagasawa Masami and Matsuda Ryuhei which is due to be shown in cinemas from 9 September. The spin-off drama titled "Yochou Sanposuru Shinryakusa" (Omen The strolling invader) consists of 4 episodes and will be shown on WOWOW from 18 September at 12 midnight on Mondays after it gets released on WOWOW members on demand first from 7 September at midnight. It will be directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi who also directed the movie version.

The story describes how Yamagiwa Etsuko (Kaho) brings her colleague Asai Miyuki (Kishii Yukino) to the hospital where her husband Tatsuo (Sometani) works at after Miyuki tells her that there is a ghost in her house. However, when Etsuko pays a visit to Miyuki's place, she finds his father to be the only person with her. Miyuki is then diagnosed with a psychological deficiency in her mental concept of a family. Just then, Etsuko also meets a new surgeon Makabe Shiro (Higashide) at the hospital and finds him strange for some reason. When explainable things start happening around Etsuko and Tatsuo is stressed psychologically for some reason, she starts to suspect Makabe for having a part to play in this especially after he tells her that he is here to invade Earth. Co-stars also include Nakamura Eriko, Yasui Junpei, Ishibashi Kei, Yoshioka Mutsuo, Otsuka Hirota, Chiba Tetsuya, Suwa Taro, Watanabe Makiko, Nakamura Makoto and Oosugi Ren.

Kaho commented that she was troubled over how to play Etsuko who has a strong faith but with the help of everyone around her, she was able to enjoy the filming to the fullest. Sometani revealed that he had not seen the final product yet but hopes that this drama will be an evergreen work which can be watched for a long time and repeatedly. As for Higashide, he expressed his joy at being able to work under director Kurosawa in this drama.

The movie version features Matsuda as Kase Shinji who has the habit of going on daily walks every evening but disappears without a trace for a few days. When he returns home, it is as if he has become an entirely different person which makes his wife Narumi (Nagasawa) shocked at his changes especially when he becomes very gentle and nice to her. Suddenly, Shinji tells Narumi that there will be an attack on Earth which is then followed by a series of strange happenings such as the mass killing of a family in the town they live in and the happening of weird events that disrupts the peaceful life they once had. Hasegawa Hiroki plays the role of a journalist Sakurai who follows the "invader" around as part of his job. Higashide also appears in the movie version.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon

Taizo Harada to star in NHK drama

Harada Taizo will be starring in the new NHK drama "Zenryoku Shissou" (Disappearing with all my might) which will begin its run from 3 September in the Sundays 10pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, will be Harada's first leading role in a NHK drama.

The drama features Harada as the lead character Isoyama Takeshi, who is a contractual employee at a company and gets informed by his employer that he will be on a perpetual contract i.e. he has no hope of being converted to a permanent employee. At home, he is belittled by his wife Seiko (Ogawa Tamaki) and his 12-year-old daughter Nanami (Suzuki Rio). To make things worse, the secret real estate investment he made without the knowledge of his wife turns out to go against his expectations thus causing him to be stuck with increasing interest payments which he can't make. When he meets a mysterious old woman (Enami Kyoko), he gets the idea to make himself "disappear" for 7 years so that he can be declared legally dead and restart his life.

Harada described Isoyama as a man who just wants to restart his life by staging a complete disappearance and leave behind his unloving family and the creditors who are hot on his heels. Through his escape journey nationwide, he meets various people which brings about changes in his life and mindset. As such, he called upon viewers to check out this drama which will definitely entertain them as they see how Isoyama runs away from reality with his "complete disappearance".


Source: Oricon

Takumi Saito to be back in TV Tokyo drama Special

Saito Takumi will be back in the TV Tokyo drama SP "Saijou no Meii" this August which continues from the drama series in 2011 and drama SP in February last year. This time, Kusakari Masao will be joining the SP to play the mentor of the lead character Saijou Mikoto (Saito).

The drama which is based on the same-titled manga by Irie Kenzo and Hashiguchi Takashi, describes how the pediatrician Saijou Mikoto believes in saving children which will lead to saving their futures and tries his best to realise this vision of his. Kusakari plays a renowned pediatric surgeon Tezuka Yoshitomi who used to coach Saijou in the US but they will face off in a clash over their differing views in the SP which depicts the reality in the world of pediatric medicine now.

Saito commented that he had been eagerly anticipating the continuation of this series especially when he received comments through the drama's website and letters addressed to him from doctors and those aspiring to enter this field talking about how the pediatric medicine scene has improved or changed since the drama was aired. As for Kusakari, he praised the script of this drama which allowed him to enjoy the filming a lot.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Koji Yamamoto to star in NHK drama

Yamamoto Koji will be starring in the new NHK drama series "Ueki Hitoshi to Nobosemon" which consists of 8 episodes and will begin its run from 2 September in the Saturdays 8.15pm timeslot. The story is based on the book "Nobosemon yaken" written by Komatsu Masao about the late Ueki Hitoshi who was a big star during the Showa era. Komatsu was Ueki's assistant and driver for 4 years before he himself became an actor and comedian. The word "nobosemon" is a Hakata dialect word which refers to people who are easily passionate about and absorbed in the things they love.

Yamamoto will be playing Ueki while Komatsu (Matsuzaki Masaomi) will be played by Shison Jun. Yamauchi Takaya will be playing Hana Hajime who was the leader of jazz band The Crazy Cats and Tani Kei will be played by Hamano Kenta. Yuka will be acting as Ueki's wife Tomiko and Ito Shiro will be acting as Ueki's father Tetsujou. Other co-stars include Takeda Reina, Nakajima Ayumu, Denden, Sakai Maki, Tomita Yasuko and Katsumura Masanobu.

Back in 1962, Ueki's song "Sudarabushi" became a smashing hit which led to himself and The Crazy Cats to become very much sought-after performers on TV and in movies. Due to his increasingly busy schedule, Ueki hired Matsuzaki, a young man who came from Hakata to Tokyo, to be his driver and assistant. While following Ueki around, Matsuzaki observed up close how the big stars of that era were passionate about their work where they gave their all and were not afraid to look stupid as comedians and created cool music when they were musicians. However, Ueki himself was having doubts about doing such work which required him to fool around and wondered if there was any value in doing this. At the same time, Matsuzaki was treated very nicely by Ueki's family and even called Ueki "Otousan" as his own father had passed away when he was young. Matsuzaki then aspired to become a performer himself as he worked with his teacher Ueki over the years.

Sources: Oricon / Sanspo

Rio Uchida to star in FujiTV 2017 Summer drama

Uchida Rio will be starring in the upcoming FujiTV Summer 2017 drama "Shougi Meshi" (Shougi Food) which will begin its run from 2 August in the Wednesdays 2.40am timeslot. The 8-episode drama is based on the same-titled manga by Matsumoto Nagisa which is being serialised in "Gekkan Comic Flapper". This will be streamed via the FujiTV On Demand (FOD) portal first from 31 July before its TV broadcast.

Uchida plays the role of Touge Nayuta who is the first female professional player in history and the story talks about how she picks and eats delicious food which gives her the energy to win her shougi matches against the male players while aiming to earn the rank of Meijin.

Uchida who has experience playing shougi with her grandfather since she was in primary school, caught the eye of the staff for her eating scenes in the 2016 TV Tokyo drama "Otokomeshi". The staff felt that she looked like she was enjoying everything she was eating in the drama so decided to offer the role to her. Amid the shougi boom these days, Uchida expressed her joy at being able to act in such a drama which combines food and shougi especially since she's someone who derives great pleasure in eating delicious food that will give her added power and motivation especially when she's working.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Kyoko Koizumi, Mitsushima Hikari and others to star in Prison Drama

Plot:

Kayo Baba (Kyoko Koizumi) is imprisoned on attempted murder charges. She stabbed her husband who had an affair. In the prison, Kayo Baba meets Akemi Adachi (Aiko Morishita), who is in prison for illegal drug possession, Chinatsu Katsuda (Miho Kanno), who is in prison for for tax evasion, Yoko Daimon (Maki Sakai), who is in prison for fraud & embezzlement, and Shinobu Edogawa (Kaho), who is in prison for murder. Chinatsu Katsuda is the leader among the prisoners. Meanwhile, Futaba Wakai (Hikari Mitsushima) is a strict prison officer. She observes the prisoners and tries to help them with education.

At first, Kayo Baba finds it difficult to adapt to life prison. She forms a bond with the 4 prisoners. She also learns Shinobu Edogawa is imprisoned due to a miscarriage of justice

Six years later, Kayo Baba is released from prison. She meets with Akemi Adachi, Chinatsu Katsuda and Yoko Daimon. They make a plan to take revenge for Shinobu Edogawa. Futaba Wakai also joins their plan.

Source: http://asianwiki.com/Prison%27s_Princess