"Drama 1 Week" brings you a roundup of major drama news from the past week. This week (January 24-30) featured news such as the film adaptation of "Tora ni Tsubasa," the NHK morning drama series that will air in the first half of 2024, and the announcement of new cast members for "Kaze, Kaoru," the morning drama series that will air in the first half of 2026. This article covers these topics in two parts.
On January 28th, it was announced that "Tora ni Wings," the NHK morning drama starring Ito Sari, which will air in the first half of 2024, will be adapted into a film. This marks the first time an morning drama has been adapted into a film in 27 years, since "Suzuran" (1999), which featured a side story about Tora-chan's childhood, and the first time in the history of morning dramas that the lead cast will reprise their roles. "Tora ni Wings" is an original story based on the life of Mibuchi Yoshiko (1914-1984), Japan's first female lawyer and later judge. The film version is a completely original story, featuring new episodes not fully depicted in the drama and a sequel on a grand scale spanning time. Ito expressed her joy, saying, "I'm so happy to be able to live as Tora-chan again."
On the 28th, it was revealed that Tokui's partner, Fukuda Mitsunori, will be appearing in the drama series "Reiwa ni Erotic Novel Tsukutemasu" (TV Osaka, Wednesday midnight), co-starring Tokui Yoshimi and Momotsuki Nashiko from "Tutorial." He will play a cafe owner in the fourth episode, which aired late that night, and will also appear in future episodes. This will be the first time the two members of Tutorial have appeared together in a drama in about 17 years, since the 2009 special drama "Reset" (Nippon TV). Despite the short filming time, Fukuda, who showed off his ad-libbed banter with Tokui, commented, "We started filming and wrapped up in 30 minutes, thank you very much."
On the 29th, it was announced that "The Great Marriage War of Shallow Cinderellas," an original short drama for the BUMP app starring Yuka Ogura, surpassed 30 million total views on social media in the week since its release on January 21st. It also ranked first on BUMP's weekly rankings. This announcement was made by emole, the company that manages BUMP. Regarding the social media reaction, emole explained, "The drama gained popularity immediately after its release, primarily on social media. Videos of memorable lines and character battle scenes went viral, rapidly increasing viewership." The drama consists of 21 episodes, each about three minutes long. It also attracted attention as Ogura's first work in acting in about five years.
On the 29th, it was announced that the Japanese-Finland co-production drama W: Blood & Sweat, starring Anne alongside popular Finnish actor Jasper Pääkönen, will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand from April 5th (Sundays at 10 PM, 8 episodes total). Anne plays Aki Suzumiya, a detective with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division. Aki has an exceptional sense of smell and tenacity at crime scenes, and has solved many difficult cases to date. However, her uncompromising investigative style makes her a troublesome character for her superiors. Pääkönen plays Jon Laine, a detective with the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (FNBI).
On the 29th, it was announced that Kubo Shiori, who graduated from Nogizaka46 last November, will be appearing in the NTV drama series "Winter Something, Spring Something" (Wednesdays at 10pm). This will be her first drama appearance since graduating. Kubo will play the role of "Sae" and will appear in the second half of the story, with details of her role to be announced at a later date. Regarding her appearance, she commented, "While reading the script, I felt a gentle warmth in the conversations. The delicate words that Director Imaishi gave me were like a sea of white space, and filming while thinking about how to swim as Sae was an extremely luxurious experience."
On the 30th, new cast members were announced for the NHK morning drama "Kaze, Kaoru," starring Mikami Ai and Uesaka Juri, set to air in the first half of 2026. The seven new cast members announced this time are Rin (Mikami) and Naomi (Uesaka), who are classmates and teachers studying together in the nascent world of nursing. They include Erika Ikuta, Akiko Kikuchi, Tomomi Nakai, Akira Kigoshi, Rin Harashima, Genri, and Shima Ise. This will be Ikuta, Kikuchi, Nakai, Kigoshi, and Harashima's first appearance in a morning drama. Tamada Tae, played by Ikuta, was born into a family of house doctors, and is a highly motivated and honor student. She inherits the teachings of Florence Nightingale and aspires to become a nurse. Kikuchi will play Izumi Kiyo, the oldest alumna of the training school.
It was also announced that Naoko Ken will be narrating "Kaze, Kaoru." Ken was announced to play the mysterious and elusive fortune teller Maji on October 2nd last year, and was delighted to be making her first appearance in an Asadora. Regarding her role as narrator, Ken commented, "I was surprised just to be appearing as Maji, but now I've been given the important role of narrator. It's been 55 years since my debut, and I feel very honored to have been given the opportunity to try something new." She continued, "It's my first time, so there are things I'm not used to, but I'm really looking forward to it, so I'll do my best, being myself."
