Nogizaka46 Nagi Inoue:First starring role in terrestrial TV drama: viewers say "No matter where you cut her, she has a strong face"; juniors criticize her behind her back

The TV Asahi Newcomer Scenario Award-winning drama "Spring!" was broadcast on the station on March 21st, drawing attention to its lead actor, Nagi Inoue , a member of the idol group Nogizaka46 .

The drama is a film adaptation of a work by Matsushita Saya, who was selected as the grand prize winner of the TV Asahi Newcomer Scenario Award in 2023. The story is a youthful love story that depicts the struggles and love of high school students in the exam period, with essays as the theme. Aoi (Inoue), a studious honor student who failed the first half of the university exams that he was sure to pass, is invited by his male classmate Murase Tasuku (Fujioka Maito), who also failed, to work on his essay together for the second half of the exams. This is Inoue's first lead role in a terrestrial TV drama.

Inoue, who is also an exclusive model for the women's fashion magazine "non-no" (Shueisha), has been met with comments from viewers on social media about her beauty, such as "Her visuals are too strong," "Her face is strong no matter where you cut her," and "This drama is just adorable with Kazu-chan." Aoi is set to be the captain of the calligraphy club, and she also showed off her hakama outfit, with comments such as "She's seriously too beautiful in kimono!", "She looks great in a hakama doing calligraphy," and "As a former member of the archery club herself, kimono suits her perfectly."

However, in the play, there is a scene where Aoi is talked about behind her back by Rin ( Reiyo Matsumoto), a student in the basketball club who is one year younger than her, saying, "I don't remember her, she's so plain," and viewers have responded with comments such as, "She's such a beautiful woman, she's a celebrity at school lol," "It's hard to believe she's plain with that face (lol)," "It's really hard to believe she's so plain that people wouldn't remember her with those looks," and "Kazuki, who is supposed to be so beautiful and cute, looks like a plain high school girl, which is impressive."