Additional cast members have been announced for the drama series "Itsuka, Hero" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sundays at 10:15 p.m.), which begins on April 6th. It has been revealed that Yuna Hoshino , who made waves in the special effects drama " Kamen Rider Geats " (2022-2023), and Komakine Akita, known for his work in the Super Sentai series "Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger" (2021-2022), will appear in the series.
The drama stars Kenta Kiritani as the lead, and follows Seiji Akayama (played by Kiritani), a child welfare facility employee who has been missing for 20 years due to certain circumstances, as he confronts powerful forces with his former students who have lost hope in the world. The original work is by screenwriter Koji Hayashi, who has produced many hits such as "Hagetaka" (NHK) and the "Code Blue: Doctor Heli Emergency Lifesaving" series (Fuji TV).
Hoshino plays Ibuki Kimihara, a single mother who earns a living by working part-time as a night cleaner and a delivery service. She married her coworker and had a daughter, but divorced her husband due to his domestic violence, and now she and her daughter are barely making ends meet.
Hoshino said, "Each episode is filled with words that truly stay in your mind. I think one of the joys of this series is that the way you feel changes when you watch it from each character's perspective. I hope this passionate drama filled with love and courage will be one of the things everyone looks forward to every week."
Komakine plays Shibuya Yuki, a leader among the children at the orphanage. He is quick to fight and has a rebellious attitude towards adults, but Akayama sees through him and realizes that he cares for his friends more than anyone else and has a strong sense of responsibility, so Akayama makes a promise to him before he disappears.
Komakine said, "I'll never forget the feeling I had when I finished reading the script for the first episode, grinning from ear to ear and wanting more. I'll do my best!"
The cast of Yuki Izumisawa, Ryosuke Sota, and Yuta Koseki was also announced. Izumisawa will play Nonomura Hikaru, who dreamed of becoming a soccer player in the future, but was bad at communicating with people, so he changed jobs frequently and ended up living on the streets as a young homeless person.
Sota plays Katano Rui, who has achieved her dream and gotten a job at a top company, but is pushed to her physical and mental limits by the brutal working environment, while Koseki plays Komatsuzaki Minoru, a key figure in the story who gets closer to a big mystery and is a reporter in the political department of a television station.