The first episode of the TV drama series "Private Banker" (TV Asahi, Thursdays 9pm), starring actor Toshiaki Karasawa, was broadcast on January 9th, and viewers were surprised to see the face of a "big-name voice actor" appearing.
The drama is an original story that focuses on a private banker, a "money professional" who advises the wealthy on how to manage and build their assets. This is a "delightful money suspense" drama in which Anno (played by Karasawa), a highly skilled private banker with overwhelming financial knowledge and a wide network of contacts, brilliantly solves various financial problems.
In the first episode, Anno becomes a private banker at the request of Tenmuji Takehiro (Hashizume Isao), the president of the Tenmuji Aina Group, which has assets of over 700 billion yen. At his first request, he acts to help Takehiro save his beloved dango shop from financial difficulties.
In the first episode, the role of Usami Ken, the sickly president of the large company Usami Shokuken, was played by veteran voice actor Ogata Kenichi (82), known for his roles as Analyzer in the anime series Space Battleship Yamato, Shishimaru in Ninja Hattori-kun, and Professor Agasa in Detective Conan.
In recent years, Ogata has also appeared in NHK's historical dramas "Saigo Don" (2018), "Kirin ga Kuru" (2020), and "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (2022), but it is rare for him to appear in a commercial drama, and viewers on social media expressed surprise. "I hear the voice of Professor Agasa... Is it Ogata Kenichi?!" "Wow, wait! It's Ogata Kenichi! I can't believe he's appearing in a drama," "Wow, I'm surprised," "I thought it sounded familiar, and it's Ogata Kenichi! I didn't recognize him right away because I always had a strong image of him wearing glasses," were the comments that followed.
