"Anpan" new cast member Gordon Maeda is trending on social media

On July 11th, it was revealed that actor Gordon Maeda will be appearing in the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan" (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 am and others), starring Osamu Tezuka , in the role of Mio Imada , a genius manga artist modeled after Osamu Tezuka, and this became a hot topic on social media.

Maeda, who will be making his first appearance in a Asadora, will play Takashi Yanase Osamu, a genius manga artist who meets Takashi Yanase (played by Takumi Kitamura), a model of Takashi Yanase, after moving to Tokyo. Later, he will ask Takashi to do the character design and art for the animated film "Tales of the Thousand and One Nights." A visual of Teshima Osamu wearing a beret and black-rimmed glasses has also been released.

Since his debut as an actor in 2019, Maeda has appeared in many popular works, including the "Tokyo Revengers" series (directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa). In the 2022 drama series "Elpis - Hope, or Disaster" (Kantele/Fuji TV), he played a rookie director who challenges the corruption of a television station, attracting attention. In the 2023 taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" he played the young and fierce general Takeda Katsuyori, and in the 2024 film "Blue Period" (directed by Kentaro Hagiwara), he played a young man obsessed with painting, leaving a strong impression.

With Maeda now selected to play Teshima Osamu, comments on social media included "What a perfect casting," "It's unexpected, but I'm happy," "I can't forget his performance in 'Elpis', so I'm really looking forward to it," "Takeda Katsuyori was really cool in 'What Will Ieyasu Do?' I can't wait to see how he plays the god of manga," and "I have high hopes to see what kind of genius he will show."