"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (June 27th to July 3rd), the hot topics included Nanako Matsushima 's appearance in "GTO," which starts on July 20th, and the summer special episode of " Shiawase wa tabete nete mate, " starring Yuki Sakurai , which will air on August 18th. This will be covered in two parts.
On June 27th, it was revealed that the comedy duo "Evers" will star in the TV Asahi drama series "Natsu no Manzai" (Saturdays at 12:30 AM), which will begin airing on July 4th. This will be Evers' first time starring in a drama. "Natsu no Manzai" is a drama series that follows "Yoru no Manzai," which aired last December. This time, the setting shifts from Christmas Eve to "a certain summer day," where popular manzai comedians become inhabitants of a "world where they didn't become comedians," and perform "talkative manzai" in the midst of casual everyday conversations. In the first episode, last year's M-1 champion "Takuro" will also appear, resulting in a collaboration between Evers and other M-1 finalists.
On the 29th, it was revealed that Nanako Matsushima will appear in the drama series "GTO" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10 PM), starring Takashi Sorimachi, which will begin airing on July 20th. She will play Azusa Fuyutsuki, the same role she played in the 1998 series "GTO" and the 2024 one-off special "GTO Revival." This will be her first collaboration with Sorimachi in a drama series in 28 years, and it is said that a shocking development awaits in the first four minutes of the first episode airing on July 20th. Matsushima commented, "The passionate feelings of Onizuka-sensei, which I want to convey again in this day and age, will be revived in this drama series. Please enjoy the exploits of Onizuka, who has matured into an adult while still retaining traces of his former self."
On the 29th, the 14th week, "Lies and Truth," of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , began, and Daisuke Honda made his debut as Tatsuji Yamamoto. Tatsuji Yamamoto is a patient who has been hospitalized at Teito Medical University Hospital due to chronic gastroenteritis. This marks Honda's first appearance in a Asadora since "Scarlet" (second half of 2019). Also appearing is Kayo Ise as Tei, Tatsuji's wife. She frequently visits Tatsuji at Teito Medical University Hospital while he is hospitalized, and the couple are close and always joke around with each other. This is Ise's second appearance in a Asadora, following "The Tiger and Her Wings " (first half of 2024).
On the 29th, Mariko Shinoda appeared at a press conference in Tokyo for the upcoming drama series "Ochitara Owari" (Chukyo TV/Nippon TV, Wednesdays at 12:24 AM). This was Shinoda's first public appearance since announcing her remarriage on March 29th. Shinoda, who usually describes herself as "impatient," reflected on the filming, saying, "The character I played is someone who can naturally control people. She lives in an elegant and relaxed world, so I tried to breathe slowly to project an aura. Even so, my impatience sometimes showed in my movements, so I made sure to be careful to be graceful." The first episode of the drama will air on July 1st at 12:34 AM.
On the 30th, Rino Katase attended a press conference in Tokyo for the upcoming drama series "Husband and Wife and 16-Year-Old ~The Mad Neighbor~" (TV Tokyo, Thursdays at 12:30 AM), which starts on July 2nd. Katase, who plays the lead role of Shiraishi Yoshiko, a self-proclaimed 16-year-old beauty, appeared in a pure white wedding dress, the same as the drama's main visual. Katase's eyes lit up as she said, "I've been an actress for 50 years, but this is the first time I've had such a dynamic role. Falling in love is so much fun." Furthermore, Katase, who turned 69 this year, smiled and said, "I'm really excited because I think meeting this character, Yoshiko, will be a turning point in my life."
On July 1st, it was announced that a special summer drama based on the NHK Drama 10 series " Shiawase wa tabete nete mate, " which starred Yuki Sakurai and aired from April to May last year, will be broadcast on NHK General on August 18th at 10pm, titled " Shiawase wa tabete nete mate, and Waiting ~Early Spring Wellness Edition~". The "Early Spring Wellness Edition" will feature an episode that was not told in the main series, depicting what happened after the 6th episode of the 9-episode drama. One winter day, Satoko Mugimaki (Sakurai) hears about moving to the countryside from her boss, Mr. Kara (Seiji Fukushi), at her part-time job, and dreams of a life there where she can improve her health with the power of hot springs and abundant nature, but gives up on the idea. However, the thought that "I wanted to be someone who could challenge myself to something" occasionally resurfaces in her mind...
