The first episode of the Fuji TV drama series "Ramune Monkey" (Wednesdays at 10pm), starring Takashi Sorimachi, Nao Omori, and Kenjiro Tsuda, aired on January 14th. This is Tsuda's first lead role in a terrestrial TV drama series, and he has received positive reviews on social media, with comments such as "Tsudaken is in high demand as a voice actor and narrator, but he's also an actor...that's amazing" and "Kenjiro Tsuda is just too cute."
◇The following contains spoilers
The original story and screenplay for the drama was written by Ryota Furusawa. It is a youth-recovering human comedy that depicts the reunion and rebirth of two middle-aged men who were passionate about making kung fu movies together in their junior high school days in 1988, but now feel stuck in life, thinking, "This isn't how it was supposed to be." The story is about a trio of very different characters, with different looks and personalities: Yuta Yoshii, also known as "Yun," played by Sorimachi; Hajime Fujimaki, also known as "Chen," played by Omori; and Kikuhara Kisuke, also known as "Kinpo," played by Tsuda.
Kisuke, played by Tsuda, is the timid of the three and a philanthropist. He once aspired to be a manga artist, but took over his mother Shoko's (Takahashi Keiko) salon and became a barber. He currently runs the barbershop while also caring for Shoko, who suffers from dementia.
Tsuda's first scene begins with him drawing an illustration on the store's small blackboard. Kisuke, wearing glasses, draws an illustration underneath the store's discount campaign information, and shows a gentle smile, satisfied with the result. However, he is soon called by Shoko, and sighs.
On social media, comments such as "All three of them are so wonderful, but Tsudaken's smile is what made me so happy," "Is it okay to consume such a cute Tsudaken?", "I was so touched when Tsudaken appeared with his smile," "Tsudaken is so cute with his bangs down," "Tsudaken's smile is so cute," and "It's amazing that Tsudaken is in this group. He must have made quite a name for himself as an actor." became a hot topic.
