NHK's Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , will begin airing on March 30th. With two main characters, the series is expected to feature many other cast members playing characters connected to them. More than 50 people have already been announced, but who among them will bring a "fresh breeze" to the cast alongside Mikami and Uesaka? Let's take a look at some of the notable newcomers to the Asadora drama series.
◇The actress making her Asadora debut in " Kaze,Kaoru " is...
" Kaze,Kaoru" is the 114th Asadora. It is based on two trained nurses, Chika Ozeki and Masa Suzuki, who graduated from the same nursing school. The drama depicts how the two struggle with how to interact with patients and doctors, clash with each other, grow as individuals, and eventually become the "ultimate buddy" team.
The lead roles will be played by Mikami, who, as mentioned earlier, was highly praised for her role as Fujiwara Akiko in the historical drama "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" (2024), and Uesaka, who was selected from an audition with 2,410 applicants. Mikami, 25, and Uesaka, 20, are a fresh pair appearing in a Asadora for the first time, playing Ichinose Rin and Oya Naomi, respectively.
Besides Mikami and Uesaka, the other people making their Asadora debut are Hayasaka Miharu, Kobayashi Toranosuke, Oshima Miyuki, Takuya and Kazuya from "The Touch", Sano Masaya from "AAe! group", Fujiwara Kisetsu, Bando Yajuro, Nita Ayano, Maruyama Rei, Ken Naoko, Ikuta Erika, Kikuchi Akiko, Nakai Tomomi, Kigoshi Akira, Harashima Rin, Wakabayashi Tokie, and Murakami Honoka.
Among them, the one who stands out is perhaps Kabuki actor Yajuro. His excellent portrayal of Hojo Tokimasa in the 2022 Taiga drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" is still fresh in our memories, and in "Kaze,Kaoru," he plays Shimizu Usaburo, who runs "Mizuho-ya," a shop in Nihonbashi that deals extensively in imported goods, and who becomes deeply involved with Rin and Naomi. Ken also plays the role of Maji, a mysterious and elusive fortune teller, and also serves as the narrator of the drama, so he is likely to make his presence felt in various places, but we'll see...
◇The role of the "heroine's younger sister," Hayasaka Miharu, will be played by the "talented young actor" Kobayashi Toranosuke.
Taking their roles into consideration, Hayasaka and Kobayashi are the ones who seem poised to bring a breath of fresh air to the show. Both Hayasaka and Kobayashi fit the roles of the heroine's younger sister and childhood friend (or, in the case of a male, her lover), which are generally considered breakout roles in Asadora. Hayasaka plays Ichinose Yasu, Rin's younger sister who is two years younger and calmly observes the family's actions, while Kobayashi plays Takeuchi Kotaro, who was born in the same village as Rin and has been close to her since childhood.
Hayasaka, currently 19 years old, appeared in two consecutive terrestrial television dramas last year: "The Taigan no Kaji ~Kore ga, Watashi no Ikiru Michi~" (TBS) in April and "School of love. " (Fuji TV) in July. However, her name recognition as an actress is still developing, which means she has plenty of room to grow.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi is a talented young actor known for his collaboration with Motoki Nakazawa , who played Chihiro in last year's Asadora"Anpan, " in the TBS Sunday drama "Gekokujo Kyuji" (2023). He later co-starred with Nakazawa in the TV Tokyo drama series "Hidamari ga Kikoeru" (2024). For fans of NHK dramas, his role as Gakuto Yanagida in "Sora Wataru Kyoshitsu" (2024) is also memorable. When he made a guest appearance in the first episode of "Themis no Fukatachi na Hotei" (2026), which aired its final episode on the 10th of this month, his tearful performance resonated deeply with viewers and added momentum to the series. Having steadily built a solid foundation, his debut in a Asadora will likely be an opportunity to make his presence known to a wider audience.
In addition, based on the character descriptions, Fujiwara, who plays Eisuke Kohinata, "a young man who has a 'fateful' encounter with Naomi in a certain place," and Sano, who plays Kenjiro Shimada, "a man who is well-versed in newly coined words and foreign languages and becomes a good confidant for Rin," are also worth watching. Furthermore, it wouldn't be surprising if Ikuta, who has been active in musicals since her time in the idol group Nogizaka46 and has steadily built her career since graduating from the group, brings a fresh perspective to the Asadora.
In any case, I'm looking forward to the drama starting in about a week.
