The cast of 28 students for the July drama series "GTO" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10 PM, starting July 20th), starring actor Takashi Sorimachi, has been revealed. The cast includes a diverse range of rising stars, from established actors who have appeared in Asadora and historical dramas to members of boy groups and popular models.
"GTO" is based on the manga of the same name by Tohru Fujisawa and is a school drama about Eikichi Onizuka, a former biker gang member turned teacher who tackles student and school problems head-on with his unconventional actions. The TV series, which aired in 1998 starring Takashi Sorimachi, recorded high ratings, with an average household viewership of 28.5% in the Kanto region for all 12 episodes and 35.7% for the final episode (according to Video Research), becoming a landmark school drama of the Heisei era. In April 2024, it made a one-night-only comeback with the special drama "GTO Revival".
For this new "GTO," the staff who worked on the 1998 version, including lead actor Takashi Sorimachi, screenwriter Kazuhiko Yukawa, director Satoru Nakajima, and producer Kazuhisa Ando, have reunited. While carefully preserving the worldview and character of Eikichi Onizuka from that time, the new series will be produced as an updated drama that also incorporates elements of the Reiwa era.
The students of Class 1B, the homeroom teacher of Onizuka (played by Sorimachi) at the private Seishin Academy, were selected from a large-scale audition with over 400 participants. The audition for student roles, which began accepting applications at the end of October last year, was unusual for recent school dramas in that it restricted applicants to "real high school students" aged 15 to 17. After a document screening, the students had to go through up to four rounds of selection auditions and were chosen after a rigorous selection process that lasted about three months.
The cast includes several talented young actors, such as Kurumi Inagaki, who gained attention for her role as a daughter with leukemia in "TWO WEEKS" (Asadora TV) and has appeared in three NHK morning dramas including "Chimudondon," and who cut her hair by 33cm for this role; Miyu Oshima, who gave a great performance as the protagonist's daughter in the Sunday drama "My Family" (TBS); Kazuki Kawaguchi, who played the young Ieyasu in the NHK Taiga drama "What to Do Ieyasu"; Ryu Kitazato, whose excellent performance in "We Still Don't Know the School Rules of That Planet " (Kansai TV) touched the hearts of viewers; and Fuga Shibasaki, whose remarkable performance in the Sunday drama "Theseus' Ship" (TBS) became a hot topic.
Furthermore, it was announced that the cast will include Kajiwara Kana, the eldest daughter of Kajiwara Yuta, also known as "Kajisac" from the comedy duo "King Kong," and an exclusive model for "Seventeen" magazine; Nanba Aoi from the six-member group "LIL LEAGUE"; Nishiura Kokorosuke from the boy group "The Right Light"; and Maho Horiguchi, who plays the heroine in " Kamen Rider Zeztz " (TV Asahi).
◇Students of Class 1-B (Listed by character name, in order of cast, titles omitted)
Yu Ito... Kurumi Inagaki; Wataru Tanaka... Tori Oikawa; Momoka Suzuki... Miyu Oshima; Kotone Wakatsuki... Kana Kajiwara; Ayumu Yoshida... Kazuki Kawaguchi; Cocoa Ishibashi... Ryu Kitazato; Itsuki Fukuda... Fuga Shibasaki; Soma Sato... Aoi Nanba; Hiroto Hosokawa... Kokonosuke Nishiura; Ayano Ashida... Maho Horiguchi; Kenta Katayama... Rikuto Morimoto
Luna Ohira (played by Sonoma Matsuo) and Miu Hiranuma (played by Aiyo Oishi)
Itta Mori... Ryunosuke Takagi; Reiya Uno... Haruka Kaneko; Hayato Tojo... Shunta Ito; Haruto Hirota... Itsuki Tsunoda; Erina Ikeda... Kohaku Nagai; Rin Okada... Mika Nishikawa; Kanon Kiyoura... Yukina Yamamoto; Yuzuki Kaifu )...Karina Uemura▽Riko Terauchi...Rei Tomii▽Mio Saito...Noa Arai▽Nene Hashimoto...Keino Kawabe▽Ryusei Noda...Hayate Kanazawa▽Iori Kato...Yutaro Takahashi▽Takumi Miki...Toranosuke Saito▽Seitaro Hayashi...Joe Kamie
◇Comments from Director Satoru Nakajima
Rather than focusing on acting skill, I was looking for the unique personality and "flavor" each of them possessed. Instead of trying to perfectly embody the role they were given, I believe that their charm comes from fully engaging with the character, drawing on their own strengths and weaknesses. It was impressive to see how their expressions changed from the auditions to filming, and I could feel their growing determination. I consciously tried to create a tense atmosphere on set, as if asking, "Now, how are you going to act?" I hope that this "GTO" project will serve as a stepping stone for them, allowing them to soar to new heights. Since we are entrusted with these three precious months, we feel a responsibility to live up to their expectations, and we are approaching this with the same determination. I hope that one day we will be able to bow our heads and ask them to appear in the show.
