Young actress Yamashita Rio (16) will play the starring role in the BS-TBS horror-dorama "Kaidan Shin Mimi Bukuro Special" that is airing on July 2nd and 9th. It's based on a series of ghost-story novels and doramas of the same name and is known outside of Japan as "Tales of Terror from Tokyo and All Over Japan".

In a recent interview Yamashita revealed that she often has nightmares, the most recent one in the night of the 4th this month and also already experienced fear that would give her a temporary feeling of paralysis. The most scary things she experienced so far are, "Studying for high-school and tests."

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Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com
Source: Sanspo
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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

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
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Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari (25) and actress Inoue Mao (22) will co-star in a drama special on TBS. The story is based on two novels written by professional windsurfer Iijima Natsuki, who died of cancer in 2005.

During Iijima's battle with cancer, he wrote an essay titled "Gan ni Ikasarete," which formed part of the basis for the 2007 film "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara," a biography of Iijima that starred Osawaw Takao and Ito Misaki. Around the same time, Iijima penned a novel also titled "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara," as well as a sequel titled "Kamisama ga Kureta Namida." The drama special is based on those two books, which sold more than 450,000 copies combined.

The drama is also being called "Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara." Ninomiya plays the main character, a psychiatrist working in the counseling room of a cancer treatment center by the beach. While tending to the patients, part of his job involves taking dictation from them when they want to send a letter to a loved one.

Inoue plays the psychiatrist's wife and mother to the couple's twin daughters. Other cast members include Miyamoto Nobuko as a nurse, Santamaria Yusuke as a surgeon, and Ogata Naoto as the owner of a surf shop.

The broadcast date for the drama has not yet been determined.

Copy & Pasted from: TokyoGraph / Source: Sponichi

It was announced that Hello! Project member Mano Erina (17) will be going to play the starring role in the new web dorama of TBS named "Koisuru Seiza". She attended a PR event on Monday in order to announce the news.

The web dorama will contain cute high school love stories in 12 different constellations (seiza) with each episode being 5 minutes long. That means that Mano is going to play 12 different roles in this dorama. "Love exists in a lot of different kinds."

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sanspo
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Oshimi Shuzo's sci-fi manga series "Hyoryu Net Cafe" is being adapted into a television drama this spring. The show will star actor Ito Atsushi, who is well known for his starring role in "Densha Otoko."

Also known as "Drifting Net Cafe," the original manga revolves around salaryman Koichi Toki (Ito), who leads a trouble-free but unexciting life. One day he stops by an internet cafe, where he runs into his first love whom he never forgot (played by model KIKI). A sudden electrical failure traps him and the other customers in the cafe, which has become a strange universe of its own.

As the manga is still fairly new, the original story's ending has not yet been decided, so the drama will possibly depart from the comic's storyline.

The supporting cast also includes Asami Reina. TBS will air the drama on Wednesday nights at 12:29am (12:44am for the first episode). It premieres on April 15.

Source: Tokyograph

Singer and actress Suzuki Ami (27) is going to appear in a wedding dress for the last episode of her daytime dorama "Love Letter" on TBS. The final episode will air on the 20th at the usual time of 1pm. In the dorama she's playing a woman who has a problem with her sense of hearing, but judging by the wedding dress it seems like that there will be a happy end in the final episode. "It was a happy and embarrassing feeling, entirely different to my feelings when I was in love for the first time."

About marriage in her real life she had to say the following. "I feel like I joined the group of the 'around thirties' without realizing... Up to now I haven't been thinking about marriage, but now I've became a little aware of it and, of course, I want to marry a person I love someday, too. Nevertheless, I don't want to do it just yet."

On the 25th she will release her new single "Reincarnation", produced by Taku Takahashi of m-flo.

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Sanspo
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Actor Hiraoka Yuuta (24) has been given his first starring role in a dorama. He will play the doctor Mahigashi Teru in the TBS dorama "Godhand Teru" that is starting on April 11th.

The dorama is based on the popular manga by the same name that had been published in the "Weekly Shonen Magazine" in 2001. Mahigashi Teru is a surgeon just out of medical school who's starting to work in Yasuda Memorial Hospital that is full of excellent physicians. Most of the time Teru is your usual clumsy newbie doctor and people even start to wonder why he decided to become a doctor in the first place. However, when put into a critical situation where one mistake can make the difference between life and death, he never fails to save his patients. All his operations miraculously end in success and there never was a patient who died in his care. Is he really such a prodigy and what has his past have to do with it...?

Also appearing in the dorama are Mizukawa Asami (23), Murakawa Eri (21) and Kaname Jun (27).

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Nikkan Sports
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On Monday it was announced that the new midnight dorama on TBS would go by the title "Ochaberry" (Start: 3/2 - Mondays and Fridays at 1:30am). The story will contain one-shot comedies, set in a cafe where 3 full-time housewives keep on discussing the problems of the customers every day.

The leading role will be played by Hoshino Mari (27). "It's a drama all about conversations, so there are really a lot of lines." Moreover it will be the last noon dorama of TBS, a talk show will take the timeslot once this dorama is over. "I think of it as the last big present to the viewers and will do my best."

Written by: jyoyu.blogspot.com / Source: Nikkan Sports
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Matsumoto Jun is going to play the leading role in the upcoming TBS dorama called "Smile" that is going to start in April (Fridays, 10pm). He is going to play a young man who is half Japanese and half Philippine in a story all about 'humanity'. Aragaki Yui and Nakai Kiichi are going to costar in this dorama. The series will be written by scriptwriter and actor Takuma Takayuki who already wrote for and played a role in "Hana Yori Dango".

Matsumoto will have the challenge to play a young man whose father is a Filipino and mother a Japanese. He's a person who always has a smile on his face and faces forwards, even though his father died and mother gone missing.

It's the first time that he is going to play a halfie. His character was born and raised in Japan, so Japanese is his mother tongue, but his outward appearance will be more exotic. "It's a character that has to overcome a lot of tough hurdles, but in reality he's the most kind person you can get."

As mentioned above, the dorama will be written by Takuma Takayuki who is using his pen name Satake Mikio. The title "Smile" is said to describe all the three characters played by Matsumoto, Aragaki and Nakai, each of the three being different to the other two. All of them are usually smiling a lot in their lifes, but at the same time they all have their big secrets deep inside themselves. Those three will be the key roles that are going to portray humanity and human warmth in the story in one way or another.

Aragaki's role is that of the young woman Hana who lost her speech due to a certain incident and yet manages to cheerfully live through her life. "I was a bit bewildered, because it's different to any other role I have done so far, but I'll put in all my effort to fit into the world of 'Smile'". Hana is also said to be a model who was in the supervision of the Takuma theatre group.

Nakai will play a lawyer who is watching over those people. It's been 12 years since he acted in a TBS dorama.

Credits to: jyoyu.blogspot.com
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While still in 2nd year of junior high school, it's already been about 6 years since Koike Ayame's (13) debut in the world of show business. Now she has the tough job of playing the role of the eldest daughter of Shimazaki Wakako (35) in the TBS daytime dorama called "Over 30".

In 2007 she already showed her acting skills in "Always - Zoku 3chome no Yuhi" alongside fellow actresses like Horikita Maki. Unlike her prideful character in that movie, she's now playing a cool junior high school student. "In reality I have a really calm character, so the scene where I had to preach caution to my younger brother was quite difficult for me."

Koike's favorite food is natto. "Definitely natto! I even put curry in it." Her 14th birthday is on the 13th and she's going to release her first photobook called "Ayamelody". On the 15th will be a handshake event at the Shosen book mart in Tokyo to promote the release.

Credits to: jyoyu.blogspot.com
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