"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (May 16-22), the hot topics were Mio Imada taking on her first role as a doctor in a drama series, her first since the NHK Asadora"Anpan," and GACKT starring in his first drama on Fuji TV's "Getsuku" slot. We will cover these in two parts.
On May 16th, it was revealed that Mirai Moriyama will star in the NHK special drama "Sasamakura" (BS, BSP4K). Based on the novel of the same name by Saiichi Maruya, Moriyama will play the protagonist who evaded conscription and experienced the end of the war. In wartime Japan, evading conscription was considered a betrayal of the nation. One young man takes on this act of rebellion. He faces unimaginable loneliness and danger. He lies in hiding just to survive, and eventually the day the war ends arrives... The character Moriyama plays is Shoji Hamada, who evaded conscription out of anger after a friend who was bullied and committed suicide after enlisting. After the war, evading conscription was hailed as a heroic act, but soon its meaning began to reverse.
On the 17th, the 19th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring Taiga Nakano, aired, and Yuta Koseki made his first appearance as Oda Nobutada. Koseki has been cast in many dramas and films as an actor, but he previously appeared on NHK's children's program "Tensai Terebi-kun MAX" as a "TV warrior." On social media, fans who knew him back then commented, "Lord Nobutada has finally made his first appearance! He was in the center (how wonderful). His name was in the opening credits. Congratulations on your Taiga drama debut!" and "Yuta Koseki has grown up so much... I've been watching him as a TV warrior all this time. I feel like a proud mother now."
On the 18th, it was revealed that Mio Imada will star in the July drama series "Crossroad ~A Promise in Emergency Medicine~" on TV Asahi. This will be Imada's first drama series since the NHK morning drama "Anpan," and her first leading role in a drama on this network. Furthermore, it will be her first time playing a doctor, making it a drama full of firsts for her. The setting is the front lines of emergency medicine where every second counts. In "Doctor X ~Surgeon Michiko Daimon~," which she appeared in from 2019, Imada played a nurse and participated in surgery scenes, but this time she will play Haruka Haruki, a young emergency physician who faces patients' lives 24 hours a day, performing surgeries and procedures. She works in the emergency medicine department of Yokohama Bay Area Hospital, vowing to "never give up on saving any life."
On the 18th, it was revealed that GACKT will star in the Fuji TV July "Getsuku" drama "Black Trick ~The Lawyer Who Manipulates Judgment~" (Mondays at 9pm). This will be GACKT's first time starring in a drama, and he will play a "genius of fabrication" who works as both a brilliant lawyer and a first-class architect. Ura Masaki, played by GACKT, is a brilliant lawyer with an unusual background, also working as a first-class architect. Ura Masaki will stop at nothing to win, using his architectural firm team as his own hands and feet to dig up new evidence and corner his enemies with meticulously planned strategies. He will fight back against a powerful force that will fabricate anything to escape punishment with his own clever fabrications. It is a new dark hero story in which he recovers the truth that has been distorted by lies with lies.
On the 19th, it was revealed that Sairi Ito , a cool center director in charge of the live broadcast of the Hakone Ekiden. Her character is one who, in her eagerness to live up to the expectations of being the center director of the nationally broadcast live race, sometimes clashes with those around her. In preparation for the role, she observed this year's Hakone Ekiden live broadcast from the sub-control room, where the center directors work. She commented, "I was able to see a really great set, so I hope to show that coolness through the drama." "Our Hakone Ekiden" will be broadcast as a drama series on NTV in the October season. The broadcast slot is yet to be determined.
On the 19th, it was announced that a photobook featuring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , who co-star in the Asadora"Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), titled " Ai Mikami& Juri Kosaka meets NHK Serial TV Novel Kaze,Kaoru" (Takarajimasha), will be released on May 26th. The book is full of gravure photos taken in Tochigi Prefecture, a place closely associated with the drama. The opening gravure features Mikami and Uesaka in matching suits. The solo gravure photos were taken at Daioji Temple in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, which was also a filming location for the drama, and at the Oyama Memorial Hall (Nasu-Shiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture), the former residence of Iwao Oyama, who also appears in the drama. At the Oyama Memorial Hall, Mikami was photographed in the Western-style building and Uesaka in the Japanese-style building. The photobook is A4 size and priced at 2500 yen.
