NEWS Keiichiro Koyama：First lead role in a serial drama: "Takasugi-san's Bento" (October 2019) in which he plays a "man who goes full throttle" and a junior high school girl living with him.

It was revealed on September 10th that Keiichiro Koyama of the popular group "NEWS" will star in the drama series "Takasugi-san's Bento," which will be broadcast on Chukyo TV/Nippon TV's "Wednesday Platinum Night" (Wednesdays at 12:29am) starting on October 2nd. This will be Koyama's first lead role in a drama series.

"Takasugi-san's Bento" is based on the manga of the same name by Nozomi Yanagihara, which was serialized in the manga magazine "Comic Flapper" from 2009 to 2015 and won the Japan Geography Prize (Social Contribution Category) in 2014, with a total circulation of over 1.56 million copies.

Koyama plays Takasugi Atsumi, also known as Haru, a single man with no girlfriend who is struggling to make a living by studying geography. Haru is a hard-working but often spins his wheels man, and one day he suddenly becomes the guardian of a junior high school girl who is his relative and has lost her parents. Although she is confused by the unexpected life that suddenly came upon her, as a guardian she tries to behave like an adult by making lunches and giving career advice, which she is not used to, but she fails repeatedly.

The role of Kururi, a reliable and silent junior high school girl who suddenly loses her parents and starts living with Haru, is played by 16-year-old Hiroko Hirazawa, who has appeared in many films and dramas, including the voice of the main character Aya in Studio Ghibli's anime "Earwig and the Witch" (2020) and the drama "A House Without a Kotatsu" (Nippon TV). Kururi, played by Hirazawa, has a side to her that is frugal. This is Hirazawa's first time playing the heroine of a drama series.

The story follows the uneven life of a "man who is doing his best" and a reliable junior high school girl, and the various lunches and dishes that appear in every episode. The story depicts the growth of the two characters, brought about by the "family taste" that they make with all their might, in a comedic style.

The director is Takashi Ninomiya, and the script is written by Yuko Kawabe. Other cast members will be announced in the future. After the broadcast, it will be available for free streaming on TVer and Locipo.

Comments from the cast and the original author are as follows.

◇Comment from Koyama Keiichiro

This is NEWS' Koyama Keiichiro. After 24 years in the entertainment industry, this will be my first time starring in a drama series. I'm happy to have found this first job, and I feel the pressure of starring in a drama series, which I've never experienced before, but I'll enjoy it and do my best.

Just like making lunch, the cast and staff are all united in filming, thinking about the future. I was exhausted from the first day of filming, but I want to run at full speed until the end so that I don't waste my time.

It's fun to watch! It's delicious to make! It's a drama that will make you feel warm and fuzzy, so please look forward to it! I hope that the kindness and warmth of this drama will reach as many people as possible.

◇Comment from Hirasawa Hiroko

I'm Hirasawa Hiroko, who plays Takasugi Kururi! This is my first time playing the heroine in a terrestrial TV drama series, and when I was confirmed to be starring, I was a little worried about whether I would be able to express the heartwarming atmosphere of the original work, but I'm having fun and feeling warm and relaxed while filming with everyone on set!

Kururi, the character I play, is quiet and shy, loves saving money, and is a reliable person. She's a slightly mysterious junior high school student. Kururi and Atsumi weave a new daily life together through "bento".

I hope you will watch over the two of them working hard and the "bento" they make with care for each other in front of the TV! I hope this drama will gently accompany you in your daily lives and become a wonderful "everyday".

◇Comment from Nozomi Yanagihara, the original author

I feel like it's fate that Takasugi-san, who was born in Nagoya, has been made into a live-action drama by a local TV station. I can't believe I'll be able to meet Atsumi and Kururi again, making and eating bento, with the help of so many professionals. As a viewer, I'll be waiting with my eyes closed.

◇Comment from Producer Ikeda Kyohei (CTV MID ENJIN)

After reading the original story, which is set in Nagoya, I wanted people all over the country to know about Nagoya people's "sense of value" and the prefecture's character of valuing "mawashi"! I decided to make a live-action version.

As for the casting, Koyama-san expressed his love for Nagoya with his whole body when he was doing a regular program in Nagoya, and he looks just like Haru! Not only that, he has both an intellectual side and a full-powered but naive side, so I thought he was the perfect fit for Haru's character of "a man who goes full-power and goes full-speed."

This drama is about re-examining the "shape of family" through "bento" and reaffirming "why you are living in that place now."

In Chukyo TV's first attempt at a nationwide drama series, I hope to convey a "heartwarming" feeling of happiness to all of Japan together with Koyama Keiichiro, who is taking on his first leading role, and Hirasawa Kokoro, who is playing the heroine of a drama series for the first time.