Actor Nao Omori appeared at the production announcement for the Fuji TV drama series "Ramune Monkey" (Wednesdays at 10pm, starting on the 14th), in which he co-stars with Takashi Sorimachi and Kenjiro Tsuda, held at Nihon University College of Art (Nerima Ward, Tokyo) on January 13th. He said of Sorimachi, "He's younger than me, but he's always a very reliable presence on set."
Omori revealed the differences between him and Sorimachi at the time, saying, "The three of us were talking about what we were doing when we were 25, and I remember Sorimachi saying that he was doing 'GTO' at 25, and when I was 25, I probably worked part-time and then came home and watched 'GTO' at home."
Tsuda also said, "Sorimachi-kun is a reliable guy who is always there for me. But he goes at his own pace." He added, "He's often whistling on set. He's also humming a lot. That's how relaxed he is. I think it's unconscious." Omori then revealed, "I can hear him humming quite well. Apparently he was singing Naga-chan's (Eikichi Yazawa's) song today."
The drama is based on an original story and script by Furusawa Ryota, known for works such as "The Confidence Man JP." The drama is a "youth-recovering human comedy" that depicts the reunion and rebirth of three middle-aged men with different appearances and personalities: Yoshii Yuta, also known as "Yun," played by Sorimachi; Fujimaki Hajime, also known as "Chen," played by Omori; and Kikuhara Kisuke, also known as "Kinpo," played by Tsuda. In 1988, they were all passionate about making kung fu movies during their junior high school days, but now feel stuck in life, thinking "this isn't how it was supposed to be." This is Tsuda's first lead role in a terrestrial TV drama series. The first episode will be extended by 15 minutes.
Kiryu Aso will play Miyashita Misa, the advisor teacher the three of them admired when they were in the film club together in junior high, and Fukumoto Riko will play Nishino Hakuba, a waiter at Gandhara Coffee, where the three of them frequent.
