"Drama Week" brings you a roundup of major drama news from the past week. This week (September 20th-26th) featured news such as the rock band Porno Graffitti's hit song "Agehachou" being chosen as the theme song for the Nippon Television drama series "Good Things and Bad Things," and the fact that a "viewing party for the final episode" of the TV drama series "Anpan" was held in Kochi City. This article covers these topics in two parts.
On September 24, it was announced that the rock band Porno Graffitti's classic song "Agehachou," released in 2001, will be used as the theme song for the NTV drama series "Good Things and Bad Things" (Saturdays at 9:00 PM), starring Shotaro Mamiya and Yuko Araki. Akihito Okano commented, "I was honestly very surprised," while Haruichi Shindo commented, "It's an honor, as I never expected it." The drama is a controversial mystery surrounding the suspicious death of a former elementary school classmate. The mysterious deaths occur after a yearbook with the faces of six classmates blacked out is discovered in a time capsule at a class reunion. Masaru Takagi (Mamiya), a leader of his class known as "King" in elementary school, and Sonoko Saruhashi (Araki), a classmate known as "Do-ko," join forces to uncover the truth and mystery surrounding their classmate's death. The drama begins airing on October 11.
On the 24th, a special promotional video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular detective drama "Aibou" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9 PM), starring actors Yutaka Mizutani and Yasufumi Terawaki, was released on the TV Asahi Drama official YouTube channel. The commemorative video, released for "Season 24," which begins airing on October 15th, features appearances by Ukyo Sugishita (Mizutani) and his "former partners" Kaoru Kameyama (Yasufumi Terawaki), Takeru Kobe (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Toru Kai (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), and Wataru Kanjo (Hiroki Narimiya), as well as the famous scene in which Ukyo shouts, "Chief Cabinet Secretary, oh my God!" The video will be available for a limited time until the 15th. It has also been announced that the latest episode of the popular special "Yutaka-san and Noritake-chan! Traveling Partners," in which Mizutani and Noritake Kinashi of the comedy duo "Tunnels," who are close friends in real life, go on a spontaneous trip together, will air. It will be broadcast from 3:20 pm on October 5th (TV Asahi network *excluding some areas).
On the 25th, it was revealed that Atsuhiro Tsuda of the comedy duo "Diane" will be appearing in the TBS drama series "Fake Kummy" (Fridays at 10 PM), which begins on October 10th. Haru and Rina Kawaei co-star. Tsuda, appearing in his first Friday drama, humorously commented, "I was filmed from all angles (laughs)." The series is based on the winning work by Sonomura Mitsu, who won the grand prize in the first TBS NEXT WRITERS CHALLENGE screenplay competition. After suddenly quitting her job and struggling to find a new one, Hanamura Kaoru (Haru) interviews with the venture company "RAINBOWLAB," where she meets the company president and single mother, Hidaka Mamie (Kawaei), who asks her to act as a substitute for her daughter, who is applying to a prestigious private elementary school.
On the 26th, it was announced that Japan Racing Association (JRA) jockey Yutaka Take will appear as himself in the first episode of the TBS Sunday Theater series "The Royal Family" (Sundays at 9:00 PM), which begins on October 12th. Take won the G1 Takarazuka Kinen in June of this year, extending his record for consecutive major race wins to 39 years. Last year, he achieved his 4,500th JRA win at Tokyo Racecourse, becoming the second JRA jockey to receive the Yellow Ribbon Medal. He continues to break records, currently at 4,607 wins (as of September 26th). The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuma Hayami. Eiji Kurisu (Satoshi Tsumabuki Tsumabuki), who has always admired his father, who runs a tax accounting firm, experiences setbacks as a tax accountant and loses hope. Meanwhile, his life, which had come to a sudden halt, begins to move forward dramatically after meeting horse owner Kozo Sanno (Koichi Sato).
On the 26th, actress Yuki Amami appeared at a fan appreciation event for her starring drama "Emergency Interrogation Room" (TV Asahi) held in Tokyo. Her co-stars, Tetsushi Tanaka, Denden, and Fumiyo Kohinata, revealed behind-the-scenes details that were "scary." "Emergency Interrogation Room" is a popular series featuring the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division's "Emergency Case Response Investigation Team (commonly known as Kintori)," led by interrogator Yukiko Makabe, engaged in a back-and-forth psychological battle with violent criminals. The fifth season will air on Thursdays from October 16th at 9 PM, and the final film of the series, "Emergency Interrogation Room : The Final Movie," will be released on December 26th. Looking out over the venue, Amami said, "I've been working hard for 12 years with all of you here. This will be the last season, but I'm working hard on filming so that everyone can enjoy it."
On the 26th, a viewing party for the final episode of the Asadora drama "Anpan" was held at the Kochi Prefectural Cultural Hall in Kochi City, with screenwriter Miho Nakazono in attendance. Nakazono revealed that the final episode, which aired that day, "was filled with many of Takashi Yanase's words." Nakazono said, "The final episode was filled with many of the words written in Takashi Yanase Yanase's essays, and the scene where Nobu (played by Mio Imada) answers an interview with a newspaper reporter was a direct reflection of Nobu's words. I think the Yanase couple were truly the couple portrayed in the drama." "Anpan" is based on the couple Takashi Yanase Yanase (1919-2013) and Nobu (1918-1993), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman." The story depicts how two people who were once nobody overcome all sorts of obstacles and arrive at "Anpanman," the embodiment of "unreversible justice."
