It has been revealed that actor Kaya Kiyohara will star in the TBS "Tuesday 10pm" drama "Hatsukoi DOGs" (Tuesdays at 10pm). The love story begins when Kiyohara plays a cool lawyer who doesn't believe in love, and Ryo Narita plays a complicated veterinarian who can only love animals, and the two of them fall in love with each other's "pet dogs".
This work is a joint production between the TBS drama team and Korean production company STUDIO DRAGON, which has worked on hits such as "Crash Landing on You" and "Marry My Husband," with the script written by Arisa Kaneko and directed by Shingo Okamoto, Noh Young-seop, and Yoshihiro Ito. Korean actor Na In-woo, who appeared in "Marry My Husband," will make his debut in a Japanese drama as a Korean heir who appears before the couple with a secret.
Kiyohara, who will be starring in a "Tuesday 10" drama for the first time in about three and a half years since "Fight Song" (January 2022), plays Hanamura Aiko, a skilled lawyer who specializes in divorce lawsuits. Having grown up watching her parents' discord, she is a so-called "complicated woman" who no longer believes in love or romance, but in her private life, she dotes on her pet dog Sakura, which she recently started keeping, and is enjoying her single life.
Narita plays Kai Shirasaki, the young director of a veterinary clinic. He seems like a "sunny guy" at first glance, but he doesn't talk much about himself, is somewhat elusive, and actually keeps people away from him. He meets Aiko through his beloved dog, "Shogun," which he rescued after being brought to the clinic as a stray dog.
Na In-woo plays Woo So-ha, an heir from Korea. So-ha is the third generation of a wealthy family, the heir to one of Korea's largest companies. Despite being 189cm tall and with outstanding looks, his friendly personality makes him popular wherever he goes. He has no interest in the career struggle between his brothers, and pretends to be bad at his job. However, So-ha actually came to Japan with a mission and tries to get closer to Kai. So-ha also happens to meet Aiko by chance. The three gradually develop a strange love triangle with a strange connection.
◇Comment from Kaya Kiyohara
The Tuesday Drama Time slot is a memorable time slot for me, as it was the first time I starred in a commercial TV drama series. I'm happy to be back there, and I hope to give something back in my current role. This is my first time acting with Narita-san in about four years, and my first time meeting Na In-woo-san. Na In-woo-san is fluent in Japanese, but I also want to learn Korean quickly, which is necessary on set, so that I can communicate with him.
During filming, my dog Sakura and Shogun also helped me out a lot, and I feel a strong desire to make this a great drama. This is my first time playing a lawyer, and I'm already struggling with the industry jargon, but I'm learning a lot and filming is fun. I hope that viewers will watch over Aiko, who doesn't believe in love and romance and keeps her distance from others, with warm eyes as she meets Kai and Soha, coloring her days and growing up.
◇Comment from Ryo Narita
I never thought I'd be offered a romantic drama on Tuesdays at 10pm, so I'm really looking forward to it and want to do my best. I've worked with Kiyohara since she was still in her teens, and now that we've both grown up, I'm happy to be able to work with her again. I've only just met Na In Woo, but I feel like she's a big person both inside and out. I can't wait until we start filming together.
This is my first time playing a veterinarian, but the dogs Shogun and Sakura are so cute and heal me every day, so I will do my best to make them love me too. Kai is a person who can no longer trust people for a certain reason. I hope you will look forward to seeing Kai come into contact with various people and become more gentle. And above all, the biggest appeal of this series is how cute the dogs are. I think it will be a gentle, summery, refreshing drama, so please watch it.
◇Comment from Na In Woo
I read the script and thought the story, which mixed dog and human emotions well, was very interesting. Since this was my first time acting in a drama in Japan, I was very worried at first, but after meeting Kiyohara-san, Narita-san, and the staff, my expectations are now higher.
Kiyohara-san is a reliable and beautiful person with a lovely smile. And Narita-san was very welcoming from the first time we met, which I was very grateful for. I call him "Aniki" and I hope to rely on him a lot from now on. Soha is a confident character, but at the same time, he is also lonely. I think that he will meet these two and search for friendship and love. This is my first work in Japan, so I will do my best. Please support me.
◇Comment from producer Masako Miyazaki
Dogs fall in love before people do. And owners can't communicate well with each other! When I read the original story about an encounter between a human and a dog, I felt it was very "modern," and that if people could be as honest as dogs, life would be just a little easier. I thought I could create an interesting story, so I planned it.
The main character, Aiko, a divorce lawyer who doesn't believe in love, will be played by Kiyohara Kaya. With her solid acting skills, Kiyohara is able to breathe life into any role as if it really exists there. In this film, she plays a modern woman who is a hard-working career woman, but doesn't believe in love and only shows affection for her pet dog, Sakura. Aiko's character, who can't be honest and shows a "tsundere" side in a sense, has been created so realistically that I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of Aiko she will be.
Ryo Narita will play Kai, a veterinarian who only loves animals and meets Aiko. I'm excited to be able to show you a refreshing, slightly naive, yet cool Narita that we haven't seen much of before.
And then there's Na In Woo, who made the big decision to leave Korea and appear in a Japanese drama. She's a very cheerful, playful, and cute person, and she projects that personality right into her role. I hope you'll look forward to seeing what kind of love triangle will unfold with these three people coming together.
This time, the director and producer from STUDIO DRAGON have joined the staff. We will bring together ideas from both Japan and Korea and work together to create a film that will resonate with as many people as possible. Please look forward to "First Love Dogs," a gentle and refreshing love story that will heal you with cute dogs this summer!
