"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (April 18-24), the highlights included Nogizaka46's Miku Ichinose making her first appearance in a terrestrial television drama in "Tsukiyo Koro - The Answer is in Masterpieces -" and Kenichi Matsuyama dancing to Ken Matsudaira's signature song "Matsuken Samba II" in "Toki Sude ni Osushi!?". We will cover these in two parts.
On April 18th, it was revealed that Miku Ichinose of Nogizaka46 will be making a guest appearance in the drama series "Tsukiyo Koro - The Answer Lies in Masterpieces -" (NTV, Wednesdays at 10 PM), starring Haru and Kumiko Aso. This will be Ichinose's first appearance in a terrestrial television drama. Her role and the number of episodes in which she will appear have not yet been revealed. Ichinose commented, "I love mystery works, so I'm really happy to be involved in such a wonderful production. I hope you will enjoy this work along with the masterpieces of literature!"
On the 18th, Takumi Kitamura made a surprise appearance at the fashion and music event "GirlsAward" held at the National Yoyogi Gymnasium First Gymnasium (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo). Kitamura appeared on a special stage for the Fuji TV Getsuku drama "Saba-kan, Uchuu e Iku" (Canned Mackerel Goes to Space). Kitamura, who plays a teacher, appeared in his character's jacket costume, and students Natsuki Deguchi and Kodai Kurosaki also walked the runway in their character's jersey costumes. Regarding the "students" who walked the runway before him, Kitamura said, "I was watching nervously, wondering how they would walk in jerseys. I was watching them on the monitor (backstage) with my arms crossed. They were all wonderful," and smiled like a real homeroom teacher.
On the 19th, the 15th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring Taiga Nakano, titled "The Great Battle of Anegawa," aired, and So Kaku made his first appearance as Todo Takatora. Todo, who was on the Asakura side, charged towards Fujikichiro and others, swinging his spear wildly in an attempt to achieve military glory. Since Kakyu played Benkei in the 2022 Taiga drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun," there were comments on social media such as "He's totally Benkei!!!!!!" Also, for Sentai fans, Kakyu is familiar as "Black," Hachi-Oger/Kaguragi Dibowski, in the Super Sentai series "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger, " so there were also comments such as "Lord Kaguragi! (Wrong)" and "The King is here."
On the 20th, it was revealed that " Bakebake ," the NHK Asadora drama series starring Akari Takaishi , had won the Galaxy Award for March 2026, an award that recognizes programs, individuals, and organizations that have contributed to the improvement of broadcasting culture. The Galaxy Award was established in 1963 by the Broadcast Critics Association with the hope of improving the quality of Japanese broadcasting culture. The association commented, "The final episode, in which we realized that the entire story was about the 'insignificant and wonderful days' that Toki spoke of, was outstanding. After the ending, where we couldn't watch the numerous photographs shown along with the impressive theme song without shedding tears, the final scene that connected to the first episode was magnificent. The entire work was wonderful, woven together by the witty dialogue, the beautifully nuanced visuals, and the background music that quietly colored the story."
On the 21st, Kento Nakajima attended a preview screening of the NHK drama series "Convenience Store Brothers: Tenderness Mojiko Kogane Village Branch" held at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo. In this series, Nakajima plays Mitsuhiko Shiwa, a super-handsome convenience store manager who exudes "pheromones" like a spring. Nakajima said with confidence, "When I received the offer for this project, I actually read the book (the original work). It said 'super-handsome store manager,' so I thought, 'This is me.'" He added, "For a long time in my life, I've used the word 'sexy' as my catchphrase, but after sexy comes 'pheromones.' I realized that I can't escape the fate of those words."
On the 21st, the third episode of the drama series "Toki Sude ni Osushi!?" (TBS, Tuesdays at 10 PM), starring Hiromi Nagasaku, aired. A scene in which Oedo Kaimiya, a sushi academy instructor played by Kenichi Matsuyama, dances to Matsudaira Ken's hit song "Matsuken Samba II" caused viewers to erupt in laughter. At a get-together for Oedo's class held at a karaoke bar, Kurumi (First Summer Uika) asks, "Can I dance a song?" and enthusiastically performs "Matsuken Samba II." Encouraged by Tateishi (Shiro Sano) to say, "Come on, Sensei, you should dance too," Oedo imitates the dance and at the end strikes a pose with Kurumi, shouting "Ore!" On social media, comments such as "That's awesome, making Matsuken dance Matsuken Samba lol" were posted.
