"Drama 1 Week" brings you a roundup of major drama news from the past week. This time (February 28th to March 6th), the hot topics include "danger zone journalist" Maruyama Gonzales' guest appearance in episode 7 of the TBS Sunday Theatre "Reboot," and Daiken Okudaira's starring role in the NHK evening drama "Books Bought with Taxes," which will begin airing this summer. The two-part series will cover these topics.
On February 28th, it was announced that the drama "The Revenge of the Saretas - The Wives Who Formed an Alliance," starring Ayame Mizusaki, Mariko Shinoda, and Nako Yabuki, will begin airing late at night on April 1st on TV Tokyo's "Suidora 25" (Wednesdays at 1am). The drama is a scathing yet refreshing "mudgy infidelity revenge drama" about three "cuckolded" wives who plot revenge against their cheating husbands. Mizusaki plays Natsuko Kishimoto, who witnesses her abusive husband cheating and decides to take revenge; Shinoda plays Yoshino Endo, who is so enraged by her husband's infidelity that she comes up with the idea of a "revenge alliance"; and Yabuki plays Reina Saotome, who has achieved her dream of marrying a wealthy man, only to find that her husband is having affairs with multiple women.
On the 28th, it was announced that the drama "Shitsuren Karuta," starring Nogizaka46 member Umezawa Minami, actor Nishigaki Takumi, and Konatsu Kato, will begin airing on MBS and TBS's "Dramaism" slot (Tuesdays at 12:59 AM and Tuesdays at 1:26 AM) from late March 31st. Based on "Shitsuren Karuta," a book written by comedian Matayoshi Naoki of the comedy duo Peace, who is also an active writer, as a text to read at his own reading sessions, the story depicts a love story between three 27-year-olds all struggling with complicated romantic relationships. Umezawa plays Natsuno Chinami, a career-oriented office lady with a strong sense of justice who puts her all into everything she does. Umezawa has announced her graduation from Nogizaka46, and this will be her final drama appearance as an idol.
On the 28th, it was announced that Dean Fujioka will be starring in the Fuji TV drama series "LOVED ONE," which will begin airing on April 8th (Wednesdays at 10 PM). Dean Fujioka will play the eccentric genius forensic scientist Mizusawa Masumi. Kumi Takiuchi will play the role of Kiryu Maho, a bureaucrat who teams up with Masumi. This will be Dean Fujioka's first starring role in a Fuji TV drama series in about six and a half years, since "Sherlock: Untold Stories" (2019). This will be his first time acting alongside Takiuchi. Members of the forensic medicine specialist team "MEJ (Medical Examiner Japan)" tackle a number of difficult cases while tracing the last, voiceless traces left behind by people who were supposed to be family, lovers, and friends.
On the 28th, it was revealed that Daiken Okudaira will be starring in the NHK evening drama "Books Bought with Tax Money" (General TV, Monday-Thursday, 10:45 PM), which will begin airing this summer. This will be Okudaira's first lead role in a drama series, in which he will play Ishidaira Kiichi, a delinquent high school student who works part-time at a library. The drama is a human comedy based on the "Library Work Manga" by Zuino and illustrated by Keiyama Tsuyoshi, currently serialized in "Young Magazine" (Kodansha). The story begins when the protagonist, Ishidaira, visits the library for the first time in 10 years. After starting his part-time job at the library, Ishidaira learns that there are various rules and tasks in place to allow everyone to encounter books and experience the "joy of learning." His many encounters at the library gradually change Ishidaira, who had previously felt somewhat unfulfilled.
On March 1st, it was announced that "danger zone journalist" Maruyama Gonzales will be making a guest appearance in episode 7 (airing March 8th) of the TBS Sunday Theatre "Reboot" (Sunday 9pm), starring Suzuki Ryohei. Maruyama, who knows the underworld inside and out and is serving as the "underworld supervisor" for this production, will play drug dealer Igari Shusuke. His character makes a killing selling drugs to runaway boys and girls. Looking back on the filming, Maruyama said, "What I really felt on set was the passion of the production team. I felt that everyone was a professional. However, when I thought that all of it was being done so that I could "die," I felt a bit complicated."
On the 2nd, it was announced that the drama series "Reborn: The Last Hero," starring Issei Takahashi, will begin airing on TV Asahi in the Tuesday 9 PM slot starting in April. This marks Takahashi's first starring role in a prime-time drama series on the network. He will take on two roles with completely opposite lives and personalities. One day, Mitsumasa Neo (Takahashi), an IT company president who was hailed as the "charismatic leader of the era" and achieved great wealth and fame, is pushed down the stairs by someone and supposedly dies from the fall. However, when he wakes up, he finds himself in 2012, 14 years earlier. Furthermore, he has been reincarnated as Hideto Nomoto (Takahashi), a completely different man who looks exactly like Mitsumasa. As the heir to a dry cleaning shop in a shuttered downtown shopping district, he leads a completely different life, but in 2026, he resolves to track down the culprit who pushed him down the stairs.
On the 3rd, it was announced that Kohei Matsushita will be appearing in the April Kansai TV/Fuji TV "Monday 10pm" drama "Galaxy's Vote." Matsushita will play Hiyama Ryusei, a trusted childhood friend of the protagonist Mari (Kuraki Haru) and a young lawmaker in the ruling Democratic Party. Hiyama is a rising star in the faction led by Mari's father, the Democratic Party Secretary-General, and has known Mari since she was a child, like an older brother. After the current governor of Tokyo suddenly resigned due to a scandal, amidst the party's panic over the nomination of a successor, Hiyama helps Mari, who is busy trying to uncover allegations of corruption against her father. How will the relationship between these two, who are like brother and sister and share a strong bond, develop through the Tokyo gubernatorial election?
On the 3rd, it was revealed that Kanna Mori will be starring in her first solo drama series, "Too Much Love and Murder" (NTV, Mondays at 12:24 AM), which will begin airing in April. This will be the first drama to be aired on NTV's late-night drama slot "Drama DEEP" after it moved to Mondays, replacing the Tuesday night slot. Mori plays Manami Tanizaki, a detective in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division who simultaneously dates nearly 50 men, calling them her "my loves." She enjoys life with a variety of "my loves," ranging from tsundere to muscular to worn-out older men to serious, junior, and sadistic characters. However, one day, a series of men who had relationships with her suddenly begin to be murdered. She teams up with Souma, a junior detective who has a crush on Manami, to investigate the truth behind the strange series of murders.
