"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (March 14-20), the highlights included the revival of the classic historical drama "Zenigata Heiji" starring Kazuya Kamenashi, and Ukon Onoe, who plays Ashikaga Yoshiaki in the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), visiting places associated with Yoshiaki in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. This will be covered in two parts.
On March 14th, it was announced that the classic period drama "Zenigata Heiji" will be revived, starring Kazuya Kamenashi, in a collaboration between NHK and Toei. Kamenashi said, "I would be happy if we could deliver a new Zenigata Heiji that is unique to the Reiwa era, while cherishing and carrying on the long-loved tradition." "Zenigata Heiji" is based on the period novel "Zenigata Heiji Torimonocho" by Kodo Nomura. It has been dramatized many times, starring actors such as Tomisaburo Wakayama, Hashizo Okawa, and Kinya Kitaoji. This time, it will be an 89-minute special period drama titled "Zenigata Heiji." It will depict a major incident that made Heiji's name famous throughout Edo. It will be broadcast on BS8K from 5pm on March 23rd. It will also be broadcast on NHK General this summer.
On the 15th, it was announced that Ichikawa Danjuro will appear in the TBS Sunday drama "Reboot" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring Suzuki Ryohei. This will be Danjuro's first appearance in a Sunday drama, and he will play Makita Yaichi, a powerful politician aiming for the prime ministership as the "last great man." In episode 7 (airing March 8th), "Kujira," a powerful politician pursued by inspector Makita Masachika (Ito Hideaki) and also his own brother, will appear. However, his face was not shown in episode 7, so it was a hot topic on social media as to who was playing him. This will be his first drama appearance since succeeding to the name of the 13th Ichikawa Danjuro in 2022.
On the 15th, the cast of 11 actors for "Draft King -BORDER LINE-", the sequel to "Draft King" (WOWOW), which starred Tsuyoshi Muro and aired in 2023, was announced all at once. Miura Takahiro, Kataoka Tsurutaro, and Fujita Tomohiro will appear in the "Men with Three-Digit Numbers" segment. Takeda Kohei and Hitomi Miyauchi Taisei Kido appear in the "Genius Who Dropped Out" segment. Sato Kanta, Ukaji Takeshi, Tanaka Yoji, and Kimura Tatsuya will appear in the "Abandoned Genius" segment. The series will air and stream every Friday at 11 PM starting May 15th. There will be 10 episodes in total.
On the 16th, Akari Takaishi and Tommy Bastow attended the "Special Talk Event in Asadora" for the serial television drama "Bakebake" (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8am and other times) held at NHK Osaka Hall (Chuo-ku, Osaka). Takaishi said, "' Bakebake' is a story about everyday life until the very end, so I would be happy if ' Bakebake' could become even a little bit familiar to everyone's daily lives and become a part of them." Bastow commented, "After filming finished, I left Japan for a while and came back last week. It feels like I've come home. I don't feel like it's the end yet, but I might feel very depressed in two weeks after the broadcast ends."
On the 17th, it was announced that Akari Nibu, a former member of Hinatazaka46, will be making a guest appearance in season 2 of the Fuji TV drama series "Tokyo PD: Metropolitan Police Department Public Relations Section 2". She will play a key character who holds the key to the case. "Tokyo PD: Metropolitan Police Department Public Relations Section 2" depicts the pride, reputation, conflict, and struggles between the public relations department of the Metropolitan Police Department and the detectives on the scene of investigations. Currently, season 1, starring Sota Fukushi, is airing in the Tuesday 9pm drama slot. After season 1 finishes airing, season 2 will be exclusively streamed on the network's video service "FOD". Nibu will play Mikie Minowa, a member of the "Shinsei Jison no Kai," an organization that conducts self-improvement seminars. She will be an "eerie presence" to Rintaro Imaizumi, played by Fukushi, and others.
On the 17th, an event called "Traitor Summit" for the TBS Sunday drama "Reboot" (Sundays at 9pm), starring Ryohei Suzuki, was held in Tokyo, with lead actor Suzuki, Erika Toda (who plays Ichika), and Ren Nagase (who plays Fuyuhashi) in attendance. In the 8th episode, which aired on the 15th, it was revealed that Ichika, played by Toda, is a reboot of Natsumi. Suzuki, who was amazed by Toda's acting, confessed, "When I told the scriptwriter, Tsutomu Kuroiwa, that playing two roles (Gido and Hayase) was complicated and overwhelming, he said, 'It's easier than Ichika, isn't it?' and that motivated me to keep going." Nagase spoke about his role as Fuyuhashi, saying, "People I haven't seen in a while get scared of me. They ask things like, 'You're not going to hit me today, are you?' It's the first time I've played a character with a violent side."
On the 17th, Onoe Ukon, who plays Ashikaga Yoshiaki in the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), visited places associated with Yoshiaki in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. At Jokokuji Temple, where Yoshiaki lived as his residence after being exiled by Oda Nobunaga and seeking refuge with the Mori clan, he stood before Yoshiaki's memorial tablet and participated in a tea ceremony. Ukon said, "' BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）' is a realistic coming-of-age drama. Lord Yoshiaki was a very human character who took part in politics and had a strong sense of responsibility as a shogun," and appealed to viewers, saying, "I tried to portray Yoshiaki in a way that would make viewers feel attached to him."
