It's father's day in Japan and many other countries today and child actress Oohashi Nozomi (10) even has the luck of having 2 fathers in the dorama "Shiroi Haru" (Fuji TV). Of course she also had some presents for her dorama fathers and made them some cookies, not just some ordinary cookies, they are each around 20cm big!

The two lucky actors are Abe Hiroshi who plays her real father and Endo Kenichi who plays the man who brought her up. Oohashi wrote down their names on the cookies, "Abe-san" and "Endo-san" respectively, completed with a nice "Thank you" each. Endo was very touched by the present, "It's the first time she called me 'Endou'." Abe too, "It's too to get eaten!" However, Oohashi immediately responded, "It's best if eaten by today...!"

They'll continue to film the last episode of the dorama about "the love of parent and child" until the 23rd.

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Oricon
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

On Friday was the official PR/Interview-Event for Fuji TV's summer getsu9 dorama "Buzzer Beat" with Yamashita Tomohisa and Kitagawa Keiko (photo, right) in the starring roles. The special thing about the two is that they both graduated from the same university (The Meiji-Couple) and so the reporters would like to know their impressions of each other. "I met her at the university. She was very adult-like during her graduation," Yamashita revealed while Kitagawa shyly explained the big gap between the naturally stoic Yamashita and the pathetic young man he's playing in the dorama. "The biggest surprise is to see him playing such a pitiful kind of young man. He was so busy during his time in university, yet he was still so strict on himself and attended all the classes, he seemed like a person who could pull through anything."

The dorama is about the timid yet upright pro-basketball-player Kamiya Naoki (Yamashita) and the strong-willed and disobedient Shirakawa Riko (Kitagawa) who graduated from a college of music. What starts with a simple encounter, eventually ends up in a love square and a lot of hardships for everyone.

It's been about 1 year since Yamashita's last dorama and he shows some sympathy for his role. "Kamiya is 24 just like me. Some of my friends are also in their 2nd year of being a working adult and we often sit together and talk when things don't go that well. If I wasn't working in the world of entertainment, I think I would have a lot of worries, too." In the same breath he added, "You can achieve anything by joining forces with others."

Kitagawa also said that you should have some hopes, but it can be bad to expect too much. "People have dreams and ideals, but many suffer from the big gap between dream and reality and eventually loose all their courage." She also has a difficult task for the dorama, but she is able to courage herself. "I actually thought that I can play the violin..., but yesterday I realized that I won't be able to complete even 1 piece until the 24th, unless I'm going to train extra hard."

Just like the title of the dorama might give away, there is going to be a scene with Yamashita having to do a last-second score during a match (with the "buzzer" that signals the end of a match). Co-actor Itou Hideaki (photo, right) has been present during that scene and can assure us that they didn't edit that scene. "It was a beautiful long-distance shot and went right into the basket, it's not edited!"

Aibu Saki (photo, left & bottom), Kanjiya Shihori, Mizobata Junpei and Nagai Masaru also appeared at the PR-Event. The new "getsu9" dorama is going to start on July 13 and will air on Mondays at 9pm (hence the "getsu9"). The first episode will have a longer runtime as usual.

Note: Wow, Aibu Saki is going to play an office lady (general affairs department) and a cheerleader in one and the same dorama? That's hot! ^o^



---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Oricon, Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Actress Fukuda Saki (18) is going to make her comeback as a singer after concentrating on her acting career only for more than 2 years. Hew new song is called "Ashita He no Hikari" ("Light for Tomorrow" or something like that) and will go on sale on August 12. Further it's also going to be used as the background music for climax scenes in the TV Asahi dorama "Maid Deka" (Maid Detective; starting on the 26th this month) starring Fukuda herself.

In 2005 she started her singing career with the help of THE ALFEE's Takamizawa Toshihiko as her producer. On March the year before last, she released her last single and decided to put all her energy into her acting career. Along with her change to the record label EMI, she underwent a change of attitude. The song is going to have an 80's vibe to it, together with a more adult-like singing. "I'd like to do music that reflects my personality more than it did before and convey those feelings to a lot of people."

"Maid Deka" seems to be supported by some really great music. The theme song is going to be sung by the female college student and populer singer JYONGRI (20). It's the first time she's doing a theme for a dorama and wrote the song "Muteki na Ai" (Invincible Love) after reading the story. For Fukuda it also was her first time writing the lyrics herself, "Every single word of the lyrics is a peace of me."

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Kyoko Fukada has been announced as a cast member in NTV's upcoming drama series that stars Tomoya Nagase as a swindler recruited as a government spy. The show was first revealed last month, but it still does not have an official title.

Previous reports said that the show would include a "Bond girl"-type character named Dorothy. It was recently confirmed that fashion model Anne has been cast as the "Bond girl," but it appears that Dorothy is actually a different character that will be played by Fukada.

The character of Dorothy, also a member of Nagase's team, has been established as an elite spy with previous experience as part of the UK's intelligence agency MI6. Like Nagase, Fukada's role will require her to dress up in various disguises, such as a nurse, a bus guide, and a nun.

Nagase and Fukada's last drama series together was "Kanojo ga Shinjatta" in 2004. This new one will start next month on Saturday nights.

Copied from Tokyograph.

Actress Kuroki Meisa (21) has been chosen as the heroine for the Fuji TV summer dorama "Ninkyo Helper" with the much talked-about Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34) in the leading role. Heroine might be the wrong word, because she's actually going to play a female yakuza boss. With the "yakuza-style" clothes, it will be yet another role of a mannish woman after her current stage play "Onna Nobunaga".

Kuroki is playing a "man", again!? She's going to play a person that easily gets into fights and who has to take the place as a yakuza boss for her dead older brother. There are a lot of similarites to the character she's currently playing in the stage play called "Onna Nobunaga".

"I want to show a cold and cool Kuroki", the producer of the dorama commented. He also explained that "there is another face she had to conceal" and if you follow her character closely, you'll notice a lot of different expressions on her face.

Kusanagi, Kuroki and others work as bosses for different branches of the "Ninkyo" yakuza and one day they get the order from one of the big leaders played by Matsudaira Ken (55) to work as helpers as part of a training. Everyone sees it as a test from the leaders and seriously begin to work as helpers in order to raise their status. Overall it's actually more of a nursing comedy dorama than a yakuza dorama like you may have thought up to now.

Actress Natsukawa Yui (41) has been selected as the female company president of the nursing company the yakuzas are going to join. Her son will be played by child actor Kato Seishiro (7) who gained a lot of popularity through the current taiga dorama "Tenchijin".

Kusanagi and Kuroki will be working as colleagues in that nursing company with the same goal of raising their status while Natsukawa won't be that fond of those two. The relationships between those 3 people will see some big changes during the progress of the story.

It's actually Kusanagi's first role as a yakuza, but he gave a very strong comment about this new dorama. "I'd like it to be a straightforward dorama that will give people courage, hope and strength. I'm going to attack it with everything I've got."

"Ninkyo Helper" is going to start sometime in July and will air on Thursdays at 10pm.

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Young actress Takei Emi (15) will make her dorama debut this summer in the Fuji TV dorama called "Otomen". So far she has been a very popular model for the fashion magazine "SEVENTEEN".

In November last year, Takei already had a small role in the movie "The Cherry Orchard" (starring Fukuda Saki) which eventually let to her decision to completely switch to acting instead of modeling. "I'd like to become a great actress with all of my colors." She said with sparkling eyes. "I currently have acting lessons and put a lot of effort into it."

In 2006 she won the "11th All-Japan National Beautiful Girl Contest" in the model category and started working as a model. "She'll bloom like a flower and become a woman that will never loose her vigorous smile." That's at least what the proud parents of her have to say about their daughter. Let's hope that she will become a flower with large blossoms now that she decided to start acting.

The dorama will start on Saturday, August 01st at 11:10pm.




---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo, big pictures from Sankei MSN
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Another new dorama in the summer season will be Fuji TV's "Koishite Akuma" (Devil in Love) with young actor Nakayama Yûma (15) playing a vampire named Ruka (or Luka).

In order to become an adult vampire, he has to find the right girl for him and suck her blood. He joins the world of humans and becomes a senior high school student to go on the search. Eventually it will turn into a "forbidden love" as the title already gives away.

The heroine, a teacher at that senior high school will be played by actress Kato Rosa (23, picture). Also appearing will be veteran actor Kondo Masahiko (44), Nakajima Kento of the same idol group as Nakayama and Morimoto Shintaro (11) from Johnny's Jr. Kyou Nobuo (30), Sakuraba Nanami (16) and Itou Shirou (71) will also make some appearances.

The dorama will go on-air on July 7th.

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Model and actress Anne (23) will be taking on her first heroine role in a television series this summer. She has been cast as the female lead in NTV's spy comedy that stars Tomoya Nagase.

Still lacking an official title, the show was first revealed last week. Nagase plays a convicted swindler who is recruited by the government to serve as a spy against terrorists. His role is being loosely labeled as a James Bond-type character, which means Anne will play the equivalent of a Bond girl.

Anne's character is a reporter for an evening newspaper, who is also the daughter of a family that runs a restaurant in Nagase's neighborhood. She becomes part of the spy team under the name Dorothy. Because Anne has an international modeling career, the show's producer felt that she would be a good choice for the "Bond girl" role.

The drama series is scheduled to start in July.

---
Copied from Tokyograph~
All credits to them!

The shojo manga "Otomen" by Aya Kanno is being turned into a live-action drama series this summer. The show, starring Masaki Okada (19), will occupy Fuji TV's Saturday night time slot.

Okada is having a big year in terms of movies, with major roles in "Harufuwei," "Honokaa Boy," "Juryoku Pierrot," and "Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu." However, "Otomen" will be his first starring role in a TV series.

The original manga started in 2006 and is still being serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume. The tankoubon editions have sold more than 2.50 million copies total. Classified as a romantic comedy, "Otomen" centers around the popular high school boy Asuka Masamune (Okada), the top kendo fighter in the nation. However, beneath his cool exterior, he is actually fond of sweets and shojo manga, and is skilled in sewing and cooking. When he instantly falls for the transfer student Ryo Miyakozuka, his secret is in danger of being exposed.

The female lead of Ryo will be played by Kaho (17), who previously worked with Okada in the 2007 movie "Tennen Kokekko" ("A Gentle Breeze in the Village").

The "Otomen" drama will start on August 1, airing every Saturday at 11:10pm.

Copied from Tokyograph.
All credits to them!

Yamashita Tomohisa (24) of NEWS, short "Yamapi" and actress Kitagawa Keiko (22) are going to have the starring roles in the next getsu9 dorama of the summer season that's starting in July. The dorama will be called "Buzzer Beat - Hero on the Edge -". Yamapi is going to be a player of a company's basketball team whose performances at work and love are actually quite weak, a unique role for the usual cool and good-looking Yamapi. Both Yamapi and Kitagawa graduated from the Meiji University and are already very nice ingredients for a bright summer love story.

Yamapi already appeared in a getsu9 dorama on Fuji TV back then in 2007 with "Proposal Daisakusen" and he's looking forward to act in this new bright dorama and to play as this person who is living for the tomorrow.

Last year he played a doctor with excellent skills in "Code Blue", but now he's going to play someone who really lacks skills, both at work and love. "He's a man who is weak when it's important." An unusual role for the cool person he always tries to look like.

The producer describes it as a "beyond cute romantic love story" and the girl he's going to fall in love with will be the fashion model and actress Kitagawa Keiko who had her first starring role in TV Asahi's "Mop Girl".

She also already has experience as heroine in a getsu9 dorama. Last year she did a great performance as teacher and in "Taiyou to Umi no Kyoshitsu"and now she's going to play a strong-willed, cheerful and positive woman that simply won't be obedient at all.

Both of them have in common that they both graduated from the Meiji University. Yamapi matriculated in 2004 and graduated in 2008. Kitagawa matriculated with 1 year delay in 2005 and just graduated in March this year. It's that relationship of a senior and a junior why people expect that there will be a fantastic mood between them to make it a great a love story.

Also appearing as current girlfriend of Yamapi's role will be actress Aibu Saki (23). Kanjiya Shihori (23) as a close friend of Kitagawa's role is making the young cast perfect. Summer can't arrive soon enough for the delighted producer. "We have some of the most shining young stars at the moment and we would like to simply blow away all the depressions with the help of them in this cheerful dorama."

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Actress Tanimura Mitsuki (18) will make a guest appearance on the daily dorama "Kosodate Play" and went to the studio on the 21st to film her part. I was her first role as a mother and also her first role where she had to appear in a wedding dress. "It was a nice rehearsal and practice for when I'm really going to marry someday." The DVD-Box of the series will go on sale on August 5.

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Hayami Yuji's light novel series "Maid Deka" is being adapted into a television drama next season. The show will star teen actress Fukuda Saki (18) in her first detective role.

The novels, which have also been adapted to manga, center around Wakatsuki Aoi, a "moe"-type maid working on a wealthy Osaka estate. In reality, though, she is an undercover detective sent by the police on a special mission to investigate a suspect.

The show is said to be somewhat of an homage to the "Sukeban Deka" movie from the '80s. Fukuda commented that while she has not seen it before, her mother apparently named Saki after that story's main character because she wanted a child with a strong sense of justice.

Fukuda's colleagues will be played by Harada Ryuji and Matoba Koji. The show will air on TV Asahi starting in July, occupying the Friday 11:15pm time slot.

Copied from Tokyograph
All credits to them!

Actress Tabe Mikako (20) is currently playing the heroine in the NHK morning dorama "Tsubasa". At one of the dorama's sets, a wine cellar in Kawagoe city, Saitama she introduced her new photo book called "NHK Serial TV Novel - Tsubasa - Photobook - Tabe Mikako". It's the first photo book for a morning dorama and all pictures in it have been taken at the dorama's setting in Kawagoe in November last year. "I want you to be able to feel Kawagoe and my natural self as Tsubasa."

---
Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.

Nikkan Sports has finished announcing the winners of its 12th annual reader-chosen Drama Grand Prix. The awards cover the period from April 2008 to March 2009, with the final nominees consisting of the top five from each season.

The TBS thriller "Maou" was voted Best Drama. Arashi leader Ohno Satoshi picked up the title of Best Actor, impressing fans with his acting in that series. Meanwhile, Best Actress was won by a wide margin by Miyazaki Aoi, who starred in the hit taiga drama "Atsuhime."

NEWS and Kanjani8 member Nishikido Ryo was the top choice for Best Supporting Actor, having played the violent and possessive boyfriend in Fuji TV's "Last Friends." Ueno Juri also picked up Best Supporting Actress for the same drama series.

Copied from Tokyograph

Singer-songwriter JYONGRI (20) is making her true acting debut next month. She has been cast in the two-part TBS drama "Kimi no Sei," based on a mobile phone romance novel published last year.

The drama stars Tanaka Kei and Ishibashi Natsumi. The supporting cast includes Kudo Risa, JYONGRI, and Keisuke Ulful, who is also making his first appearance in a television drama.

In addition to her acting role, JYONGRI is providing an insert song for the drama, titled "Maybe Someday." The single goes on sale April 29.

"Kimi no Sei" will air late at night (12:29am) on May 4-5.

Copied from Tokyograph

As a personal fan of the "Liar Game" dorama it makes me really happy to tell you that Fuji TV today announced a movie and a 2nd season!!

On the 23rd, Fuji TV is going to open the mobile site "Liar Game Project" (LGP) that offers an email magazine and an original game that you can play for free.

The original comic of "Liar Game" was created by mangaka Kaitani Shinobu. In 2007 Fuji TV then turned it into a unique dorama in their 11pm "Saturday Dorama" timeslot. It was about a large sum of money, packed with all kind of games and incredible psychological warfare. Now they are going to continue this thrilling story on a large scale, including a movie, a 2nd season and that mobile site mentioned above. There is still no date for either the movie or the dorama, but Fuji TV plans to announce it sometime this summer.

What's more important is that the two main characters will continue to be played by actress Toda Erika (20) and Matsuda Shota (23). Toda plays a soft-hearted female college student that originally got involved into the whole game mechanism without any reason and Matsuda a very talented swindler who somehow started to help her through the game. The games themselves won't be a copy from the first season, of course. They say that there will be much more powerful games and completely new rivals.

Toda was very excited about the announcement. "I'm really looking forward to what kind of story it will be this time." Matsuda is all fired up as well. "I'm already preparing all the lies."

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else

[2009-04-18]
Announcement of NHK's "Saka no Ue no Kumo"

On the 15th was a press event for NHK's special dorama "Saka no Ue no Kumo".
It was the first announcement of Ishihara Satomi playing the wife Sueko of Akiyama Saneyuki played by Motoki Masahiro.

Clip:

At the day of the press event they were filming the marriage ceremony.
Satomi was very nervous during the whole time due to the unfamiliar clothes and all her great seniors around her. Sueko will only make her appearance during the 2nd part (fall 2010), but the dorama itself already starts on November 27, 2009.
Please try to watch it by all means!!!

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Please don't post this translation anywhere else!

On the 20th was the promotion event for the Fuji TV dorama "Majo Saiban" with actor Ikuta Toma (24) in the leading role. The itself dorama will start on the 25th.

It's a suspense dorama with the "quasi-jury system" that is officially going to be implemented in Japan on May 21 as the general theme. Ikuta plays a young man who subsists on part-time work and gets appointed as one of the jurors. "This dorama is more fascinating than just nice. The quasi-jury system is going to start in Japan without considering objections to it any longer, so what now is still fiction won't be fiction anymore very soon." Ikuta commented with a tense expression. Two months before the start of the filming, they also went to actual trials in order to practice what it really feels like. "We attend 4-5 trials about accidents, fraud, drugs, etc. and I really wasn't able to decide who's guilty and who's innocent." He revealed.

Actress Kato Ai (26) also has a regular role in the dorama and cut her hair short to almost 30cm in order to match her role. However, she was a bit disappointed by the lack of response from the people around here. "Ikuta-san didn't notice it at all. Isn't the hair of a woman like her life? Every day feels so lonely now." She said with a bitter smile. Without understanding the female psychology, Ikuta just highly praised her. "Kato-san is a caring and wonderful woman." Also appearing are Higa Manami (22), Ishida Yuriko (39) and others.

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else

On Sunday, Actress Ueto Aya (23) attended an event for her Fuji TV dorama "Konkatsu!" in front of SEIBU Movida in Shibuya, Tokyo.

It's a romantic comedy about married life with a lot of humanity and the leading actor Nakai Masahiro (37). Ueto Aya's appearance was a surprise "advent" and all the people at the event got very excited. The event was done on Koen-dori in Shibuya and quickly exceeded over 3000 attenders with a line almost 100 meters long.

Ueto was wearing a sparkling golden dress from her own "U" collection. The models that came with her also were wearing her dresses. "I hope we can help you having a beautiful married life", she called out to the audience, promising that we will be able to see some smooth married life in the dorama itself.

Of course she also talked a bit about her co-actors. "Nakai-san is extremely kind and Sato Ryuuta is always a cheerful mood maker. On the set we talk about love all the time and it's too bad you can't hear that on TV," Ueto revealed with a smile.

Ueto also excitingly had the chance to reveal the theme song for the dorama. "Nobody knows this yet!" The theme song is called "Wedding Bell" and will be provided by PUFFY , it's a cover of Sugar's huge hit in 1981. PUFFY member Onuki Ami about that opportunity, "It's like being able to add a pretty flower to an already beautiful dorama."




Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sanspo..
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else

Musical queen Sasamoto Rena (23) will finally make her debut in a real dorama for TBS' "Boku no Imouto" that starts on April 19. Sasamoto is currently performing in the musical "Kaitenmokuba" (Japanese version of the Broadway Musical "Carousel"), but despite that she found the time to film for the dorama. So far she never did anything else than musicals, but she has the desire to change something in her life. "I wanted to try myself at something new."

In 1998, when she was 13 years and 2 months old, she made the youngest musical debut ever with her role in the 5th generation of Peter Pan. In 2007 she was the youngest to ever win the Kikuta Kazuo Play Award and now Sasamoto is ready to enter the TV world without giving up her work as a musical heroine.

1999 she already appeared in a number of scenes of the NHK morning dorama "Suzuran", but now it's her first time in a real dorama.

"Boku no Imouto" is a human drama with Odagiri Joe (33) and Nagasawa Masami (21) in the starring roles. Sasamoto plays the only daughter of an hospital board chairman and holds some feelings for the elite surgeon played by Odagiri who doesn't care about promotions.

Right now Sasamoto is in the middle of performing her musical and there actually was supposed to be an audition for that role in the dorama, but TBS producer Yagi Yasuo wanted to cast her ever since he saw her in the 2003 musical "Le Miserable" and so he tried everything to change the schedule of the dorama filming to match with Sasamoto's own schedule. "She's fascinating in the roles of dignified characters. She has that certain ability that appeals to the viewers."

Sasamoto started filming on the 6th. Of course she was nervous, since she isn't used to doramas, but it soon turned into enjoyment. "It's very new to me that the camera angles change so often and that you stop filming after almost every line."

Until the 19th you will be able to see her in "Boku no Imouto" and from June on in the new musical "Me & My Girl". All the extra work thanks to the dorama requires a lot of strength. "Because of 2 projects at the same time, 1 day starts to feel like 2. This morning I was at the set, but for me it still was like yesterday... . Before the curtain rises, even if it's only a little time, I try to sleep a bit and prepare my voice." She had the desire to performe in a dorama for a while now and maybe this 'trial' will convince her even more to become a TV and/or dorama actress, too.

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sports Hochi
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.