The first episode of the Fuji TV drama series "If This World Were a Stage, Where Would the Dressing Room Be?" (Wednesdays at 10pm), written by Koki Mitani and starring actor Masaki Suda, was extended by 30 minutes and aired on October 1st, and it was revealed that the average viewership rating (according to Video Research, Kanto region, same below) was 5.4% for households and 3.1% for individuals.
The drama is a youth ensemble drama set in Shibuya in 1984, and is an original story based on Mitani's memories of his youth. In a corner of Shibuya, a bustling center of youth culture, the drama depicts the struggles, setbacks, and sometimes love affairs of young people who are still unknown, in the full "Mitani world." This is Mitani's first prime-time drama series in 25 years, and it will be directed by Nishiura Masaki, known for "Code Blue."
Suda plays the main character, Kube Mitsunari, a theater troupe director who dreams of success, while Nikaido Fumi plays the mysterious dancer Koda Rika, Kamiki Ryunosuke plays Ryunosuke Kamiki Shogo, a new broadcast writer based on the "young Mitani" man, and Hamabe Minami plays Egashira Juri, a shrine maiden at Happun Shrine, a quiet shrine located in Shibuya.
In the first episode, in the fall of 1984, Kubo (played by Suda), an aspiring director who admires Yukio Ninagawa, finds himself at a loss. He has been expelled from his theater company for being too tyrannical.
Wandering aimlessly, Kube stumbles into a suspicious shopping arcade. The shopping street, lit by the neon lights of strip clubs, is called "Hachibunzaka." It's called Hachibunzaka because it's eight minutes from Shibuya Station, and the following sign is engraved on the arcade: "Pray speak what has happened." Kube is then invited by an old lady (Rinko Kikuchi) at the free information desk to open the door to the WS Theater... and so the story unfolds.
