Riho Takada：In this "adult quagmire romantic comedy," she has an affair with "Kamen Rider OOO" star Watanabe Hide; her goal was to star in a TV drama series in October's "Batsukoi"!

It has been announced that the drama series "Batsukoi" (BS TV Tokyo), starring actress Takada Riho, will be broadcast every Sunday from midnight to 12:30am starting October 19th. This is Takada's first lead role in a drama series, and she plays the main character, Mirumachi Kahori, a beautiful carnivorous lawyer. Her co-star is Watanabe Hide, who co-starred with Takada in "Kamen Rider OOO" (2010-2011). Watanabe plays Sunagoya Teruyoshi, a high school teacher who is a "natural womanizer."

The drama is a live-action adaptation of Tsukiko's manga of the same name (Kodansha). Kahori is a woman with many love affairs who chooses free love over dating a specific man, and has lived her life by the motto of "not having affairs," but one day, she gets into an affair with Sunagoya, a high school teacher, unaware that he is married and in divorce negotiations, and for the first time in her thirties, she falls in love for the first time... This is an "adult love comedy about the messiness of love."

Takada commented, "My goal of starring in a drama series came true right after I turned 30! With gratitude and love, I will devote myself to the script, the director, and the day-to-day life, and cherish the scenes with all the wonderful cast members. In terms of the aggressive side, Kahori and I are similar. I've known Hide-kun, who plays Sugotani, for a long time, and he's like a brother to me, so I want to play these two characters in a way that will be loved by the viewers."

Watanabe introduced the drama, saying, "The story begins when Sugotani, a married man with children, falls in love with the main character, lawyer Birumo Kahori. I intend to enjoy and seriously play the role of a scumbag who, in the eyes of the world, expresses his love for Kahori one-sidedly with a pure heart. I hope you'll ponder what the title "Batsukoi" means as you watch."

He continued, "I've known Takada for a really long time. She has a strong core, is always dedicated to her work, and I have the impression that she is a tough actress who does not compromise. After more than a decade since we met, I am honored to be able to work with her as a supporter, as she has grown not only as an actress but also as a person, Takada Riho."

The original author Tsukiko commented, "Batsukoi was serialized from 2015 to 2019, and I was very surprised to hear that it would be made into a drama. When I read the drama plot that was sent to me, I remembered the meetings with my editor at the time, when we were desperately trying to come up with an unruly and unpredictable story, and it brought back nostalgic memories. Birucho and all the other characters live so honestly with their own feelings that they sometimes waver, make mistakes, and encounter unexpected happenings, but the way they always walk on their own two feet is reliable even now, and makes me think that they will surely be able to live well after the story ends. I am very excited to see how they will be portrayed in live action."

TV Tokyo producer Tanaka Tomoko appealed, "We are challenging ourselves to see how close we can get to the straightforward worldview of Tsukiko-sensei's bright and positive characters in a drama. What kind of 'unconventional' role will the beautiful and charming Takada Riho, who plays the carnivorous protagonist, play? And what kind of 'broken' womanizer will her co-star, the handsome Watanabe Hide, show us? Both of them are in their broken character mode and are currently filming with rave reviews. So far the set is full of laughter... but what will the result be? Please look forward to it."

The drama will also be streamed on "Net mo TV Tokyo", "TVer" and "Lemino".