The Fuji TV drama series "Ramune Monkey" (Wednesdays at 10pm) stars Takashi Sorimachi, Nao Omori, and Kenjiro Tsuda. The synopsis and stills from the third episode, which will be broadcast on January 28th, have been released.
Yuta Yoshii (Sorimachi), Hajime Fujimaki (Omori), and Kikuhara Kisuke (Tsuda) receive important testimony from their middle school classmate, Akari Ohba (Arino Izumi). When they were in middle school, they were walking home when they heard a woman's scream. When they turned around, they saw Matilda, also known as Misa Miyashita (Asao Kiryu), crouched down. A man standing near Matilda noticed Akari and quickly left. The three tell the story to Officer Tsurumi (Noritaka Hamao), but the officer is simply perplexed.
Meanwhile, film director Hajime is out of work and in debt. He tries to turn to his old connections, but they ignore him. He desperately tries to land a job by writing a proposal that incorporates trendy elements.
At the cafe where Nishino Hakuba (Fukumoto Riko) works, the three reminisce about how they made the film. Hajime, who got hold of a video camera, started a film club and wrote the script for the kung fu film "Drunken Master." Matilda, the club advisor, instructs them to make a film and to call each other by their characters' names: "Yung," "Chen," and "King-Bo." From that day on, the three devoted themselves to making kung fu films.
One day, Hajime recalls a terrifying memory of his physical education teacher, Eto (Kunihiro Suda). Eto, who values discipline and is not afraid to use corporal punishment, is nicknamed "Jason" and has a particular grudge against Hajime, who is known for his eloquent manners. The image of Eto killing Matilda with a chainsaw comes back to Hajime's mind...
The original story and screenplay was written by Ryota Furusawa. The film 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 and realize that "this isn't how it was supposed to be."
