"Drama 1 Week" brings you the latest drama news from the past week. This week (August 30th to September 5th) we're covering the news that Koki Mitani will be directing his first prime-time drama in 25 years, starring Masaki Suda, and that Yasuko Sawaguchi will be appearing in a Fuji TV Getsuku drama for the first time. We'll cover these topics in two parts.
On August 30th, it was revealed that new member Hashimoto Masaki, who joined "timelesz" in February of this year, will be starring in the drama series "Drama 24: One Summer's Accomplice" (TV Tokyo, Friday midnight 12:12), which begins on October 3rd. This will be Hashimoto's first leading role and his first appearance in a drama series. He will play the protagonist, Iwai Takumi, a university student. By chance, Takumi meets his favorite idol, Katagiri Mio, and they live a dreamlike life together. Eventually, he realizes that she has another personality, "Maki." Takumi becomes attracted to Maki's hidden side, and transforms into someone who is willing to commit crimes to protect his "beloved idol."
On the same day, it was announced that the drama series "24 Hours of Love Guard Season 2," starring Snow Man's Hikaru Iwamoto and co-starring Mai Shiraishi, will air in October on TV Asahi's "Friday Night Drama" slot (Fridays at 11:15 PM, excluding some regions). The drama is a sequel to "24 Hours of Love Guard," which aired in January 2024. In the previous series, the rugged and stoic bodyguard Tatsunosuke Kitazawa (Iwamoto) guarded lawyer Rika Kishimura (Shiraishi) 24 hours a day, and managed to arrest the real culprit behind her father's murder, leading to a happy relationship between the two. In the sequel, Tatsunosuke's company, RACCO Security, merges with Co-Ara Security to expand its business. He and his new partner clash at every opportunity and are embroiled in a major incident.
On the 31st, it was announced that Yasuko Sawaguchi will be starring in the drama series "Absolute Zero: Emergency Investigation of Information Crimes," which will air in October on Fuji TV's "Getsuku 9 PM" slot. This will be Sawaguchi's first lead role in a Fuji TV drama series since "Oedo Detective Diary: Teruhime Shichihenge" (1990), 35 years ago, and her first appearance in a Getsuku drama in her 41-year career. A new look with short hair was also revealed. This marks the fifth season of the "Absolute Zero" series, counting from Season 1 (2010) starring Aya Ueto. The story is set in the "Information Crime Special Task Force" (DICT), an investigative agency that pursues perpetrators of "information crimes" that exploit advanced information technology. Sawaguchi will play Ninomiya Nami, a detective investigating DICT.
On the same day, it was announced that Fuku Suzuki will be starring in "Power Pro Drama 2025: The Story of My Success as an Ordinary New Worker" (ABC TV), a drama adaptation of the popular baseball game "Powerful Pro Baseball" (hereafter "Power Pro") (Konami Digital Entertainment). Fuku, a huge baseball fan who started playing baseball in elementary school and joined the baseball club in junior high, will play the protagonist, a Power Pro fan and first-year working adult. Suzuki will play the protagonist, Nishino, a Power Pro fan and first-year working adult. He devoted himself to baseball in high school, but a failure in an important game left him traumatized, and from then on, he suffered a series of losses in life. On his first day at work, when he was feeling resigned to his upcoming life as a working adult, he unexpectedly discovers the mysterious game "Powerful Working Adult."
On September 1st, it was revealed that Momoko Tanabe, Mayu Yokota, and Meari Hayashi will be triple-starring in the October drama series "Murder of My Favorite" (Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV, Thursdays 11:59 PM). The suspense drama is about a trio of idols who commit murder, and marks Tanabe's second consecutive lead role, following her currently airing "Even Ebi Datte Tai Wo Tsuritai" (Nippon TV). Baby★Starlight, a troubled trio of idols based in Osaka, commits the crime of "murder." They vow to cover it up and continue performing on stage, but soon find themselves embroiled in an unsolved serial murder case... a thrilling suspense story.
On the 2nd, it was announced that Aoi Miyazaki will be appearing in the October TV Asahi drama series "A Little Esper" (Tuesdays at 9 PM, starting October 21st). This will be Miyazaki's first appearance in a commercial TV drama series in approximately 13 years, since "Going My Home" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV) in 2012. Miyazaki will be playing the mysterious woman Shiki. Perhaps due to memory loss, Shiki believes Bunta (Yo Oizumi) is her real husband, and although confused, Bunta follows the company president's instructions to live as a married couple. She and Oizumi previously played siblings in the 2018 drama special "Big Brother and Little Sister" (TBS).
On the 2nd, it was announced that Koki Mitani's first prime-time drama in 25 years, "If This World Were a Stage, Where Would the Dressing Room Be?" (Fuji TV, Wednesdays at 10pm), will begin airing on October 1st. Masaki Suda will play the lead role. The youth ensemble drama is set in Shibuya in 1984, and co-stars include Nikaido Fumi, Ryunosuke Kamiki, and Hamabe Minami. This will be the second time Suda and Mitani have teamed up, three years after the 2022 NHK Taiga drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun." Suda will play Kube Mitsunari, a young theatrical actor with dreams of success.
