"Drama Week" brings you the latest drama news from the past week. This week (October 25th-31st) featured the announcement of the full cast of the omnibus drama "Serial Drama W: Jun Ikeido Special 'The Bag Shop Inheritance,'" based on the novel by Jun Ikeido, and the announcement that Akari Takaishi and Tommy Bastow , who star in the NHK drama series " Bakebake ," will appear on NHK's music program "25th Osaka Melody of My Heart." This article covers these topics in two parts.
On October 29th, the third episode of the popular detective drama "AIBO Season 24" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9 PM), titled "Police Officer B," aired, generating buzz about a new "partner." In the third episode, Takada Hajime (Kato Seishiro), an "unregistered child" once saved by the Special Task Force, appears as a detective at Kojimachi Central Police Station. Takada and Tsurugi Hajime (Hosogai Kei) of the Metropolitan Police Department's General Affairs Division team up to help, and Tsurugi is transferred to the same Kojimachi Central Police Station's Criminal Investigation Division as Takada. At the end of the episode, Koide Mari (Moriguchi Yoko), the proprietress of the small restaurant "Kotemari," asks, "Do you think they could become the next Sugishita-san and Kameyama-san?" Kaoru confirms, "Don't you think they'd make good partners, Ukyo-san?" Ukyo nods with a smile and says, "I think they could." This development led to a flood of comments on social media, such as "Is this the birth of a new partner in AIBOU!!"
On the 30th, it was announced that Sakura Kiryu will be appearing in the drama series "W-30 Strobe Edge Season 2" (WOWOW). She will play Mao Sugimoto, a pivotal character who significantly impacts the story. The original work is the manga of the same name by Io Sakisaka, which has a total of 10 volumes and has sold over 8 million copies (including digital versions). The lead roles are played by actress Riko Fukumoto and Kyohei Takahashi of the popular group " Naniwa Danshi ." Mao, played by Yoshiyanagi, is a junior high school student of Ren (Takahashi) and Ando ( Koki Yamashita). Yoshiyanagi won the grand prize at the 41st Horipro Talent Scout Caravan "PURE GIRL 2016" at the age of 12, making her the youngest winner ever. She has appeared in popular works such as the NHK morning drama "Boogie Woogie" (scheduled for the latter half of 2023) and the Sunday Theater drama "Mikami Sensei" (starting January of this year).
On the 30th, the full cast of the omnibus drama "Serial Drama W Ikeido Jun Special 'The Bag Shop Inheritance,'" based on the novel by Jun Ikeido, was announced, revealing the participation of Takaya Kamikawa, Hitomi Kuroki, Ken Ishiguro, and Kanji Ishimaru Ishimaru. The four-episode series stars Kamikawa as Hikoichi Kamuro, president of Kamuro Electric, whose company is denied a loan from the bank and then goes bankrupt due to a certain incident; Kuroki as Toshiko Tsuchiya, the female president of Tsuchiya Ironworks, struggling with cash flow; Ishiguro as Morio Kojima, president of a printing company whose bank has also told them that their loan application has been declined; and Ishimaru as a mysterious man disguised as Santa Claus who distributes flyers to Nagashima (played by Keita Machida ). The series will air and stream two consecutive nights on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand from 10 PM on December 27th and 28th.
On the 30th, it was announced that Akari Takaishi , who plays the heroine Toki Matsuno in the NHK Asadora"Bakebake " (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), will appear on the Osaka-based music program "The 25th Osaka Melody of My Heart," which will be broadcast on NHK General TV from 7:30 PM on November 4th. Tommy Bastow, who plays Lefkada Heaven, and the comedy duo Asagaya Sisters, who play the snake and frog, will also appear. From Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, where "Bakebake" is set, the duo Humbert Humbert will perform the drama's theme song, "Waratari Korondari." In addition, Myaku Myaku, the official mascot of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, will perform a "Special Expo Performance" with idol group NMB48 and Kocchi no Kento.
On the same day, it was announced that the latest film adaptation of the popular detective drama series starring Yuji Oda, "Bayside Shakedown NEW" (directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro, scheduled for release in Fall 2026), had begun filming. The first day of shooting began early in the morning in Shinjuku, Tokyo, amid pouring rain. Miraculously, the rain stopped the moment Oda appeared, wearing his trademark Aoshima coat, among approximately 400 waiting extras. Filming then began with a scene in which Oda, dressed as Shunsaku Aoshima, sprints through the streets of Shinjuku, pursued by a horde of extras. "Bayside Shakedown" is a popular series that began airing as a serial drama on Fuji TV in January 1997. The second film, "Bayside Shakedown 2: Shut Down the Rainbow Bridge," released in 2003, grossed ¥17.35 billion, and remains the highest grossing Japanese live-action film of all time, more than 20 years later.
