It was revealed on April 23rd that the popular Korean suspense drama "Kaibutsu" will be remade with actors Ken Yasuda Ken and Koshi Mizukami in the lead roles, and will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW from July. Yasuda will play Togashi Hiroyuki, a police officer who was once a suspect in a disappearance case, while Mizukami will play Yashiro Masato, a career police bureaucrat who graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law. This will be the first time the two have acted together. This will be Mizukami's first time appearing in a WOWOW drama and his first leading role. A Teaser trailer was also released.
The original drama "Monster" was produced by SLL, a major Korean studio that has produced many works such as "Itaewon Class" and "The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family," and will be broadcast on JTBC in 2021. It won three awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards, Korea's most prestigious awards, including Best Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor that year. WOWOW directly approached SLL, becoming the first in the world to remake "Monster."
Yasuda commented on the script, saying, "It was breathtakingly fast-paced. The structure from the first half to the middle was excellent, and I was engrossed in reading it. I had many discussions with the producer and director about the behavior and settings of the character I play, which were revised for the WOWOW version, and I was only able to film it once I was satisfied."
Regarding his role, he said, "I rearranged the events that occur in the drama in chronological order and carefully unraveled Hiroyuki Togashi's feelings in each scene. There is no doubt that everyone was working with the desire to deliver a better work. Above all, I am grateful that I was able to take on the challenge of a "difficult" character. At the end of filming, I was able to think, "I've done everything I could." He then appealed to viewers, saying, "It should be interesting without any logic. Please watch it over and over again."
Mizukami commented, "The character I play, Yashiro Mahito, must be a young character in this work, both in terms of age and experience. How I could express the monstrosity that comes with his youth was important, and I couldn't help but feel anxious about how much of it I would be able to express with my skills, but I dove into this work in the hopes of meeting the expectations of the production team."
She then appealed, "I approached this work with a conscious effort to put a lot of effort into creating the character. It made me realize once again how difficult it is to play a human being. Facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, manners, clothing, aspirations. In the process of creating Yashiro Masato, it was extremely hard to maintain the decisions that I had made freely and on my own. I hope you will watch the film to get a feel for what kind of person he is."
◇Story
A case occurs in which a female college student, Kotone Togashi, who lives in Hatano Town, disappears, leaving only the first joint of her finger in the garden of her home. The case remains unsolved for 25 years. Kotone's twin brother, Hiroyuki Togashi (Yasuda), becomes a police officer and works in the Public Safety Division of Hatano Police Station. Career police officer Masato Yashiro (Mizukami) is transferred there. The two don't get along, but they decide to pair up. Meanwhile, a bizarre murder occurs for the first time in 25 years.
In fact, Togashi was also a man who became a suspect in the disappearance of his sister, which occurred 25 years ago. Masato also came to this town with a certain purpose. While suspicious of each other, Togashi and Masato investigate the case together. However, the investigation hits a snag. Previous investigation materials are lost, and Togashi begins to behave strangely. Furthermore, Masato's father, Deputy Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, Yashiro Masayoshi, pressures him to end the investigation.
Soon, a new incident occurs. Mio Yanagi, a female college student who is as dear to Togashi as a daughter, goes missing. Then the incident takes a sudden turn. Togashi is arrested as a suspect in the series. Is Togashi really the culprit? Who exactly is the "monster"? The intricately intertwined past and present, the darkness and wounds in the characters' hearts, the shocking truths that gradually come to light, and the shocking ending...
