On September 30th, it was revealed that actors Tetsuji Tamayama, Katsuya Maikuma, Pistol Takehara, and Takenori Goto will appear in the drama series W-30 "Hustlin' Boy," which will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW from November 1st, starring actor Shotaro Mamiya.
"Hustlin' Boy" is a new type of crime suspense story that depicts, sometimes humorously and sometimes with a sense of tension, the story of a dull college student, Tamotsu Kubota, who enters the underworld of Ikebukuro as a "tool dealer" who deals in illegal tools, and survives among tricky villains such as yakuza, half-criminals, and the Chinese mafia. The original work is a manga of the same name that was serialized in "Weekly Big Comic Spirits" (Shogakukan) in 2018, by writers and authors Shinya Kusaka and Yuki Honda.
A "tool shop" is a professional in the underworld whose source of income is arranging and selling "illegal tools" such as tobashi (cell phones and SIM cards contracted under other people's or fictitious names), boards (bank accounts under other people's names), and forged documents, which are mainly used for fraud and other purposes, to those who live in the underworld.
Tamotsu, played by Mamiya, is a dull university student who is burdened with "debt" in the form of a scholarship and spends his days working part-time jobs. He is scammed in an attempt to get rich quickly and faces the biggest crisis of his life. At that time, he meets a "tool shop" that saves him from his predicament, and he sets foot into the underworld of Ikebukuro. In addition to Mamiya, it has been announced that Yokota Mayu will play Satonaka Yukako, a university classmate whom Tamotsu has a crush on, and Ichinose Hayate will play Utsuro, a mysterious young man who disrupts the balance of the Ikebukuro underworld.
Tamayama will play Kujo, Tamotsu's senior tool shop owner. Kujo is an excellent tool maker who is highly respected and valued by the villains in the underworld of Ikebukuro, where the three major powers are the two yakuza gangs, Jinbo-kai and Gozu-gumi, and the semi-criminal group, Taiga. He entered the underworld to earn money for the medical expenses of his sick daughter. When he rescued Tamotsu from a difficult situation, he was detained by the police, and he taught Tamotsu, who took his place, the basics of tool maker business from prison. This is the first time that Mamiya and Tamayama have acted together.
This is Maikuma's first appearance in a WOWOW drama in three years, and he plays Akihiro, the boss of the semi-criminal group, Taiga. Taiga grew rapidly through specialized fraud, and is the capable boss of Taiga, which quickly rose to become one of the three major powers in Ikebukuro. At first glance, he appears calm and gentlemanly, and is trusted by his members, but he is also ruthless and feared by those around him as he is impossible to control when angry. Yukako, a classmate whom Tamotsu has a crush on, seems to be interested in Wabiga, and there seems to be some kind of connection between them, so she becomes an important character who interacts with Tamotsu throughout the story.
Takehara, a musician and highly acclaimed actor, plays Murata, a counterfeiter who makes illegal "tools" for the tool shop to sell. Using a modified camper as his hideout, Murata is a talented engineer who creates various tools, from counterfeit license plates to handguns, day and night, and supports Tamotsu, who has become a tool shop owner in place of Kujo, as his partner. Although he is scared of Tamotsu's treading the line between the rules of the underworld, he is a kind-hearted person who ends up helping him.
Mera, the partner of the mysterious young man Utsuro, is played by Goto Takenori. Utsuro and Mera suddenly appear in the underworld of Ikebukuro. With Utsuro in charge of the brains and Mera taking on the dirty work as the brawn, they disrupt the activities of the numerous villains, intensifying the conflict and plunging the group into a whirlpool of chaos.
A teaser trailer featuring the main cast has also been released. "W-30 Hustle-in Boy" will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Prime, WOWOW4K, and WOWOW On Demand from 11pm on November 1st. There are 8 episodes in total. The first episode will be broadcast for free.
The full comments from the cast members whose appearances have been announced are below.
◇Comment from Tamayama Tetsuji, who plays Kujo
The role of Kujo was not portrayed much in the original work, but I heard from the producer that it is an important role that will influence the main character, so he explained it to me. Personally, I went from playing a strict banker in "Shylock's Children" (broadcast in 2022) to playing a tool maker living in the underworld, and I felt that WOWOW was aggressive in offering me this role...I felt that this was the source of my creativity and decided to participate. My role is to pass on all kinds of moves, ideas, and wisdom to Tamotsu, played by Mamiya. While watching various videos to create the reality of the "tool maker" of the underworld, I was moved by the fact that the world that we don't usually see is so interesting. "Hustlin' Boy" is an even more heart-shaking and interesting social drama. Please check it out.
◇Comment from Katsuya Maikuma, who plays Akihiro
I will play Akihiro, the leader of a semi-criminal group. This is my first co-starring role with Shotaro Mamiya since the movie "All of Us Dead" (2017). I want to go wild with him again in this work! But that was the main reason I decided to appear in the show. How will the semi-gangster Akihiro get involved with the ordinary college student Tamotsu? The drama unfolds at a fast pace with a college student who gets caught up in the underworld. Please look forward to it.
◇Comment from Goto Takenori, who plays Mera
It was my daily habit to watch Kusakabe Shinya's YouTube channel, so when I heard about the content of the drama adaptation of the original manga, I felt excited and responsible and went into the role. I played the role with the feeling that there is always a fundamental sadness behind why Mera has come to threaten the important things of the people around the protagonist, and why he acts with Utsuro, who he would never get along with. When I had dinner with Mamiya-kun and Maikuma-kun after filming, we mostly only talked about this drama, as they are all serious and sincere people, so I hope that their feelings reach the viewers.
