xploring wrote:

Yui Ichikawa stars in drama "Muscle Girl!" with FTIsland vocalist Lee Hong Ki Sun, February 13, 2011 (7:04pm EST) Actress Yui Ichikawa (25) has been chosen to star in the TBS drama series "Muscle Girl!" this spring. Her co-star will be FTIsland vocalist Lee Hong Ki (20), making his first appearance in a Japanese drama. Ichikawa plays the part of Azusa, the only child of the owner of a small female pro wrestling organization. After her father dies of illness, she has to take over the business, which is already losing money and is on the verge of shutting down. To make things worse, their referee suddenly disappears on the day of one of their shows, leaving behind only a resignation letter. The desperate Azusa then runs into a young Korean man (Lee). She persuades him to serve as a referee just for that day, though she doesn't realize he is actually a popular star in Korea. While the show will be about Azusa's struggle to turn the organization around, it is said that there will also be an element of romance between the two leads. The wrestling scenes will be done with the help of two female pro wrestling groups, JWP and Ice Ribbon. FTIsland will be providing the show's theme song, though the title is currently unknown. The show will run for 10 episodes in a late-night time slot, starting in April. Source: Mantan Web

Whoa, this seems interesting. Won't care for the romance subplot, but wrestling!? I'm there! *Misawa's Spartan X theme plays*

xploring wrote:

"Gene Waltz" sequel "Madonna Verde" gets drama adaptation Sat, February 12, 2011 (11:58pm EST) Takeru Kaido's novel "Madonna Verde" is being turned into a drama series this spring on NHK, starring Keiko Matsuzaka (58) and Ryoko Kuninaka (31). Kaido is well known for several other medical-themed novels that have received live-action adaptations, including "Team Batista no Eikou" and "Gene Waltz." Kaido published "Madonna Verde" in 2008 as a sequel to "Gene Waltz," continuing the story around the controversial issue of surrogate pregnancy in Japan. Kuninaka plays the doctor Rie Sonezaki, known as the "Cool Witch" by her colleagues in the obstetrics department. The character was previously played by Miho Kanno (33) in the movie version of "Gene Waltz." In "Madonna Verde," Rie and her husband (played by comedian Jin Katagiri) want to have a child, but Rie lost her uterus due to an earlier illness. She decides to ask her own mother Midori (Matsuzaka) to be the surrogate mother, and the three of them proceed with their plan in secret. However, a man named Maruyama (Kyozo Nagatsuka), who is in love with Midori, finds out about their plan. Later, a professor at Rie's university hospital (Hirotaro Honda) receives an accusatory letter, and Midori and Rie are desperately forced to pretend that the child in Midori's womb is her own. NHK plans to premiere the drama this April. Source: Mantan Web

Sounds interesting. Good cast too!
_________________

Kanjani8's 18th single, "365 Nichi Kazoku" out June 8th, 2011!

colorbar credits to nannandesuka@LJ

Takaya Kamikawa stars as detective in "Iryuu Sousa"
Mon, February 14, 2011 (7:14pm EST)
Actor Takaya Kamikawa (45) will star in a new TV Asahi drama series titled "Iryuu Sousa" this spring. He has been cast as police detective Itomura, a unique forensic investigator with a boyish personality.

While typical forensic detectives study the items left behind at the scene of the crime for conclusive physical evidence, Itomura instead looks at the objects from the perspective of the victim, trying to find the "last message" that he or she has left behind. With his gentleness and carefree smile, he wins over the trust of the victims' families and friends, and his usual method of obtaining information is to bring along a present, such as sweets. As a result, he is always running out of money, to the point that he uses a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation.

Kamikawa's supporting cast includes Shihori Kanjiya (25), Shiro Sano (55), and Ren Osugi (59). Singer MISIA is in charge of the theme song, a ballad titled "Kioku."

"Iryuu Sousa" will air on Wednesday nights at 9:00pm, starting in April. That time slot has long been known for TV Asahi's detective dramas, such as "Aibou," "Hagure Keiji Junjoha," and "Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Gakari."
Source: Oricon

"Zettai Kareshi" co-stars Saki Aibu, Mokomichi Hayami reunite in "Rebound"
Mon, February 14, 2011
Saki Aibu has the lead role in an NTV drama series called "Rebound," airing this spring on Wednesday nights at 10:00pm. The show will use special makeup to make Aibu's character appear to be as heavy as 85 kilograms in weight.

"Rebound" is an original script by screenwriter Kazuhiko Yukawa, whose past dramas include "Magerarenai Onna" and "Joou no Kyoushitsu."

Aibu plays Nobuko, the daughter of a tonkatsu shop owner who grew up on tonkatsu and cake. As a result, she weighed 60 kilograms by the time she graduated from elementary school, and at age 20 she weighed 85 kilograms. In order to turn her life around, she quits eating cake and sheds 37 kilograms, leading to her current career as the editor of a fashion magazine.

When she goes to interview the "sweet prince," a fashionable pastry chef played by Mokomichi Hayami, she winds up breaking her ban on cake and begins "rebounding" from her diet. She soon finds herself having to decide between her currently slim lifestyle and a delicious romance with the handsome patissier. The show also features Chiaki Kuriyama playing Nobuko's good friend Hitomi.

Aibu and Hayami last co-starred together in the drama series "Zettai Kareshi."

Anne gets first starring role as mother in Fuji TV drama
Posted on February 21, 2011 by tokyograph


Model and actress Anne (24) has landed her first starring role in a television series, leading the cast of Fuji TV�fs �gNamae wo Nakushita Onnatachi�h (tentative title). The show will also be the first time that Anne plays a mother.

The story focuses on a group of mothers who all have children around the same age. These women form a bond through sharing their anxieties about raising their children, each coming from a different background. However, the friendship between the five women also turns to jealousy and betrayal, due to the fact that their children are all taking similar entrance exams for elementary school.

Anne plays the protagonist Yuko, whose set of values as a woman, wife, and mother have been overturned, and she struggles to climb back from her fallen state.

Meanwhile, her four fellow mothers are hiding serious problems at home, despite their appearances. Ono Machiko (29) plays a woman receiving verbal abuse from her husband on a daily basis, Kurashina Kana (23) plays a �gyankee mama�h who got pregnant as a teenager by a truck driver, Ryo (33) plays a capable woman running her own online shop, and Kimura Yoshino (34) plays a popular reader model for a women�fs magazine.

Fuji TV will broadcast the show on Tuesdays at 9:00pm, starting in April.

Source:
Oricon





Nishikido Ryo stars as father in drama series �gInu wo Kau to Iu Koto�h
Posted on February 21, 2011 by tokyograph

NEWS and Kanjani8 member Nishikido Ryo (26) will be taking on the role of a father in a new TV Asahi drama series this spring. The show, titled �gInu wo Kau to Iu Koto ~Sky to Wagaya no 180 Nichi~,�h marks Nishikido�fs first solo starring role in a series.

Nishikido plays the 30-year-old salaryman Hongo Yuji, whose job in human resources had him laying off employees until he himself was laid off. With his family of four on the verge of collapse, he ends up taking in a Pomeranian puppy, which gets named Sky Tree due to the family living in a downtown area near the Tokyo Sky Tree tower. Raising the dog helps bring the family back together, resulting in a home drama full of laughter and tears.

Mizukawa Asami (27) will play Nishikido�fs wife. The actors playing their two children, ages 7 and 9, have not been revealed yet.

�gInu wo Kau to Iu Koto�h will air on Fridays at 11:15pm, starting in April.

Source:
Sankei Sports

TOKIO�fs Matsuoka Masahiro stars in drama �gKoukousei Restaurant�h
February 22, 2011

TOKIO member Matsuoka Masahiro is set to star in the newly announced NTV drama series �gKoukousei Restaurant.�h This will be his 7th time starring in the network�fs Saturday 9:00pm time slot, setting a new record.

Matsuoka plays a former chef who gets appointed as a temporary teacher for an unambitious high school class in a rural town. The story is based on an actual teacher in the Mie prefecture who became the talk of the town after opening a restaurant with his students.

Matsuoka�fs previous dramas in NTV�fs Saturday night time slot include the �gPsychometrer Eiji�h series. Before this new series, Matsuoka was the lead actor in that slot six times, tying him with Nishida Toshiyuki and Mizutani Yutaka.

�gKoukousei Restaurant�h will premiere in April.

Source:
Sports Hochi

gaijinmark wrote:

a temporary teacher for an unambitious high school class

Hmm, the plot sounds rather familiar.... LIKE ALL HIGH SCHOOL DRAMAS.

gaijinmark wrote:

TOKIO�fs Matsuoka Masahiro stars in drama �gKoukousei Restaurant�h February 22, 2011

I'll stick with King's Restaurant. Thank you very much.

bmwracer wrote:

Hmm, the plot sounds rather familiar.... LIKE ALL HIGH SCHOOL DRAMAS.

It's based on true story though. *hoping for something more there than the usual HS dramas*
_________________

Kanjani8's 18th single, "365 Nichi Kazoku" out June 8th, 2011!

colorbar credits to nannandesuka@LJ

WD wrote:

It's based on true story though.

Okay, but still, the premise is a tired as a marathon runner crossing the finish line...

The restaurant part is new, for a High School drama. Sounds a bit like one of Jamie Oliver's shows. Not sure if the students intend to be chefs though.

bmwracer wrote:

Okay, but still, the premise is a tired as a marathon runner crossing the finish line...

Yeah, if the execution is lame and boring, it will end up like that.
_________________

Kanjani8's 18th single, "365 Nichi Kazoku" out June 8th, 2011!

colorbar credits to nannandesuka@LJ

xploring wrote:

Hiroshi Tamaki stars in new adaptation of Seicho Matsumoto's "Suna no Utsuwa" Mon, December 20, 2010 (8:11pm EST) Seicho Matsumoto's suspenseful masterpiece "Suna no Utsuwa" ("Castle of Sand") is being adapted as a television drama again, this time starring actor Hiroshi Tamaki (30). The novel was adapted to film in 1974 (starring Tetsuro Tamba) and has been dramatized for television four times already, but this will be the first one told from the perspective of the character Hiroshi Yoshimura. "Suna no Utsuwa" is the story of a veteran detective named Eitaro Imanishi and a tenacious young detective named Hiroshi Yoshimura, who are assigned to solve a murder case. While the previous adaptations have primarily focused on Imanishi, this new version will have Yoshimura as the central character, played by Tamaki. The drama is planned to be broadcast on TV Asahi as a two-episode mini-series, airing on consecutive nights next spring. Source: Sports Hochi

looking forward for this drama!

WD wrote:

Yeah, if the execution is lame and boring, it will end up like that.

Well, the "unambitious high school class" sounds awfully familiar...

If there were actually that many in Japan, they wouldn't be the economic power that they currently are.

Ashida Mana, Abe Sadao co-star in �gMarumo no Okite�h
Posted on February 24, 2011 by tokyograph


Child actress Ashida Mana (6) will co-star with Abe Sadao (40) in a Fuji TV drama series titled �gMarumo no Okite.�h Ashida recently made headlines for becoming the youngest in history to play the lead in a Japanese drama with the upcoming NTV special �gSayonara Bokutachi no Youchien.�h

Abe plays the single Takagi Mamoru, an employee at a stationery maker. He ends up becoming the guardian of his deceased friend�fs twin children, played by Ashida and actor Suzuki Fuku (6). The show is primarily a home drama about the three of them gradually becoming a family, but it also contains an element of fantasy, as the two kids find a dog that can speak (played by a male Miniature Schnauzer).

The �gMarumo�h in the title refers to the children�fs mispronunciation of Mamoru�fs name.

�gMarumo no Okite�h will share the same main staff as last year�fs drama �gFreeter, Ie wo Kau.�h Fuji TV will broadcast the series on Sundays at 9:00pm, beginning in April.

Sources:
Mantan Web
Sankei Sports

Shirota Yu lands starring role in �gShitsuren Hoken�h drama series
Posted on February 27, 2011 by tokyograph


Actor Shirota Yu (25) will be starring in a new drama series this spring, titled �gShitsuren Hoken ~Kokuraseya~.�h This will be his first lead role in a television series.

�gShitsuren Hoken�h will air in NTV�fs Thursday 11:58 time slot, which is being re-branded from �gThursday Night Drama�h to �gThursday Mystery Theater.�h

In �gShitsuren Hoken,�h Furuta Arata (45) plays a gay Shinto priest nicknamed Torako, whose side business is selling �gheartbreak insurance.�h Approved customers can pay 100 million yen for insurance against their love lives, receiving 10 times that amount in the event that they get rejected by the person they confess their love to. He and his team work to make the customers�f love lives succeed, as long as they confess at the specified time.

Shirota plays a young man named Ayumu, also nicknamed Luke. By day, he works as an associate ecology professor, but by night he works as one of the �ginsurance investigators,�h using psychological techniques to uncover the customers�f feelings. Fukuda Saki (20) plays the college student Maruyama (nicknamed Maru), who works part-time as a shrine maiden at Torako�fs shrine, and also as an �ginsurance investigator�h with Luke.

�gShitsuren Hoken�h premieres on April 7.

Nagatsuka Kyozo, Mimura star in �gcourtroom home drama�h
Posted on March 6, 2011 by tokyograph

BS Asahi will broadcast a new drama series this spring called �gKazoku Houtei,�h starring Nagatsuka Kyozo (65) as a judge and Mimura (26) as a housekeeper. Although they have each played many different characters up until now, this will be the first time that they have been cast in such roles.

Nagatsuka plays a 62-year-old judge named Onodera who has been married for close to 40 years. Even at home, he has spent every day looking over case documents, and as a result his wife has always been in charge of the housework. But after his wife passes away, he is now forced to deal with various things at home that he has never faced before. Naively, he believes that resolving domestic issues must be simple compared to the cases he deals with in the courtroom, but he soon realizes that he is mistaken and finds help in the form of a housekeeper named Saeko.

The supporting cast features Rokkaku Seiji, TETSUYA (EXILE), Iwasaki Hiromi, Matsunaga Reiko, and Miyazaki Karen. The staff includes screenwriter Ozaki Masaya and director Ueda Hisashi, who have worked together on several dramas, such as �gKekkon Dekinai Otoko�h and �gShiroi Haru.�h

�gKazoku Houtei�h is scheduled for Wednesdays at 10:00pm, premiering on April 27.

----

Really like the main cast, hopefully the series itself won't be silly.

^ Two good leads and some good writers, looking forward to that one!

Ono Machiko chosen to star in NHK morning drama �gCarnation�h
Posted on March 7, 2011 by tokyograph


NHK has decided on the star of its 85th Asadora series, �gCarnation.�h 29-year-old Ono Machiko was selected out of 1,850 actresses who auditioned for the lead part in December.

Ono received the news of her selection on March 3, while she was shopping at a supermarket. Her agency called her to inform her of the good news, and she immediately began crying in the store. Ono previously auditioned for several Asadoras in the past, including �gHonmamon�h back in 2001.

The subject of �gCarnation�h was announced about two months ago. The story is based on the life of fashion designer Koshino Ayako, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 92. Although she was a successful designer in Japan, she also single-handedly raised three daughters who followed in her footsteps to become internationally known designers, named Hiroko, Junko, and Michiko.

Ono�fs character in the drama, modeled after Koshino, is named Ohara Itoko. She will play the character from her teenage years to her fifties. The story is set in the Kansai region, but Ono will have no problem with the dialect since she is originally from Nara.

�gCarnation�h is scheduled for broadcast from September 26, 2011, to March 31, 2012.

Source:
Eiga.com

Yada Akiko surrounded by young men in �gShima Shima�h drama
March 9, 2011

Yamazaki Sayaka�fs manga �gShima Shima�h is being turned into a live-action drama series, starring actress Yada Akiko. Yada�fs last lead role in a television drama was in the 2005 series �gYume de Aimashou.�h

�gShima Shima�h ran in Kodansha�fs magazine Morning between 2008 and 2010 and was collected into a total of 12 tankoubon volumes. The story revolves around a woman named Shio who runs an aromatherapy salon. After her husband�fs affair leads to their divorce, she finds herself unable to sleep well. This leads her to start a service called �gStriped Sheep�h for women like herself, hiring a group of handsome young men to serve as �gsleep companions�h for those who have trouble falling asleep alone.

One of the �gStriped Sheep�h workers is Gai, the younger brother of her ex-husband, being played by Miura Shohei. Kikuta Daisuke, Suzuki Katsuhiro, and Fukushi Sota have also been cast.

The drama will air in TBS�f Friday Break time slot (Friday nights, 12:20am-12:50am). The first episode is scheduled for April 22.

Source:
Oricon