It has been announced that actor Makino Fujioka will be appearing in the TV Asahi special drama "Spring!" to be broadcast on March 21st. He will play a bright, popular, handsome high school boy who is the love interest of the heroine played by Nogizaka46 member Nagi Inoue.
The drama will be adapted from a work by Matsushita Saya, who won the grand prize out of 1,023 entries in the TV Asahi Newcomer Scenario Awards (2023), which has produced many screenwriters, and will star Inoue. The drama will be a youth love story about the conflicts and love of high school students, with essays as the theme.
Aoi (played by Inoue), an honor student, unexpectedly fails the first semester exams for the university he wanted to attend, even though he had always received A's. He is invited by Tasuku (played by Fujioka), a male classmate who also failed, to join him in preparing for the essay portion of the second semester exams. The two begin to bond as they work together to prepare for the essay portion of the second semester exams.
Fujioka commented with joy, "I've always wanted to appear in a youth drama, so I was very happy to be in a production that felt just right for me." He also revealed that he received encouragement from his family, including his father, Hiroshi Fujioka, who said, "My siblings and father were also looking forward to seeing a new side of me in my first love story!"
Looking back on the filming, he said, "It's a love story between two contrasting characters, Aoi, who has an introverted personality, and Yu, who is an extrovert and a member of the basketball club, so I always made sure to preserve Yu's natural honest cheerfulness and his straightforward feelings for Aoi. As the title suggests, it's a three-day love story that depicts the youthful days of two spring-like exam candidates. I hope that everyone can feel a little bit of youth along with us through the screen!"
It was also announced that Reiyo Matsumoto will play Hayase, a junior colleague who has feelings for Yu and is jealous of Aoi, Shiba Daisuke of the comedy duo "Mogura Rider" will play Yu's father Toshiki, and Suruga Taro will play Sayama, the basketball club advisor and Japanese teacher.
