Kawaii Joyuu

The two amazing actresses Nakama Yukie (30) and Dan Rei (39) are going to work together for the first time for a new Fuji TV drama that is going to air in the upcoming winter season of 2011 that will start in January.

A title has yet to be announced for the drama, but it's supposed to be all about the complex and exciting world of women. A mysterious and wicked woman (Nakama) happens to encounter a normal housewife living a happy life (Dan). It's an encounter not without consequences as the housewife's ordinary and peaceful life slowly starts to crumble in front of her eyes. Jealousy, friendship and compassion are the 3 big themes for the suspense adult drama.

Filming already started not too long ago and the two actresses already hit it off with each other. Nakama talked a bit about her first impression of Dan. "After reading the script I wanted to meet up with Dan as soon as possible. She gives you such a kind and warm impression that it almost feels like being at home and she has no problems portraying that nice atmosphere of motherliness," she said. "I'm playing a suspicious woman with a lot of different faces. It's a role different to any other kind of role I've played in the past and I enjoy it a lot," she continued.

Dan was delighted to finally be able to work together with Nakama as well. "I never would have imagined to be able to work together with her someday. We are having a lot of conversations and it's just pure fun working for this drama. I'm enjoying work so much that I have to be careful not to suffer from a heatstroke," she said with a bitter smile. Temperatures are currently very high in Japan, so she definitely wasn't joking about the latter part.

Can there be any better way to start off a new year of dramas with two such big actresses starring together in one drama?

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
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Fuji TV is going to introduce a new drama time slot on Sundays at 9pm with the start of this year's fall season and today they've announced who are going to be the pioneers for that time slot.

The drama is called "Perfect Report" and features actress Matsuyuki Yasuko (37) in the leading role as a top class reporter working for a TV station. Her name is Souzan and she might be one of the best reporters out there, but she's such a stubborn woman that she has to face a lot of other problems in her life. About the drama Matsuyuki said, "I'd like to make a drama that is going to refresh your energy for the next day," and added, "It's a real honor to have the first starring role in the new time slot."

Koide Keisuke (26) and Aibu Saki (25) will co-star alongside Matsuyuki. Koide will play a former politics reporter who is now the right arm of Souzan. "I'm very happy to be a part of the newly created drama time slot. I will work hard to the best of my abilities," he said. Aibu will play a former weathergirl who ended up having to work under Souzan due to some huge debacle she caused in the past. "It will be very exciting for me, because it's been over 1 year since I've last acted in a drama serial," she expressed her anticipation.

Others like Kohinata Fumiyo (56) and Kaname Jun (29) will complete the cast.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
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It's Monday and another rumored fall drama has finally been confirmed, but they are still deciding on suitable a title.

Actor Takenouchi Yutaka (39) will return to Fuji TV's prestigious Monday 9pm timeslot after more than 9 years since "Dekichatta Kekkon" in 2001. He is going to play a desperate man who ends up in a contract marriage with a woman working in the sex industry who seems to be just as desperate as him played by Ueto Aya (24). What starts out as a mere contract marriage eventually turns into a true and pure love.

Takenouchi plays Kengo, a man who enjoys spending his time at the aquarium. He seems to be a pretty ordinary person, but he actually has a huge secret that he would protect even if it means to sacrifice everything else in his life. Out of interest he ends up in a contract marriage with a prostitute called Risa who tried to commit suicide. Soon they develop real feelings for each other, but harsh reality turns out to be a rather high obstacle for the couple.

The producers are confident that they've found the perfect actor for this difficult role. "We wanted to portray a story about deep and genuine love and Takenouchi was the best choice that came to mind for such a difficult role. He will be great playing that man troubled by false love that suddenly turns into true love," the producer said with high expectations.

Ueto is going to play the female lead and it will be her first time working together with Takenouchi. In the past she already played a woman who would act as the lover of man in return for money, but it's the first time she's actually portraying the role of a prostitute. Her role, Risa, ends up selling her body in order to repay a huge debt of her older brother. Her only way out seems to be death as displayed via various remarks such as, "I just want to dissolve like a jellyfish."

In September they will start the filming and Takenouchi can't wait to meet the team. "I'm looking forward to meet Ueto as well as the rest of the cast and the whole staff. I'd like to work hard with everyone in the team in order to create something that will stay in your memories forever," Takenouchi made clear that he is aiming for one of those masterpiece dramas that have become rare in Fuji TV's main drama slot.

Ueto promised to work hard as well, "Risa is a young woman hungry for love who ends up rediscovering the importance of being alive thanks to a relationship that started out as a mere contract marriage. I'd like to try my best conveying the development of that love."

Young actor Matsuda Shota (24) will also appear as a doctor while actress Kitano Kie (19) will play the protagonist's younger sister who is suffering from a serious disease.

An official title has yet to be announced. Filming will start in September while the first episode is planned to air in October.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
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It's been rumored for a while now that we would see a third season of the popular medical drama "Iryu" and now Fuji TV finally made it official.

The third season of "Iryu Team Medical Dragon" starring Sakaguchi Kenji (34) is finally going to happen this fall and air every Thursday at 10pm just like the previous seasons. In 2006 the first season achieved an average rating of 14.8% (highest episode 17.2%) while, only one year later, the second season achieved an average of 17.2% (highest episode 21.0%). It will be interesting to see whether the brilliant surgeon Asada Ryuutarou (Sakaguchi) and his team are going to attract even more viewers this year.

The theme of the new season will be the "internationalization of medical care" and how surgeons have to deal with the rapid development of robots for surgical operations.

Inamori Izumi (38), Koike Teppei (24) and other cast members from the previous seasons are going to return, but there will also be some new additions like Endo Kenichi (49) as an internist and Tanimura Mitsuki (20) as a new medical assistant. The highlight will be constant conflicts between Sakaguchi's and Endo's characters.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sponichi
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Miho Kanno (32) is set to star in a new drama series this fall on Fuji TV. The currently untitled show will have Kanno playing her first "wicked woman" role since "Koi no Kiseki" in 1999. It is being described as a mystery with some element of romance, and Hiroshi Tamaki (30) has been cast as the male lead.

Kanno plays the part of Meiko Nogami, a woman with a beautiful and kind heart. But 13 years ago, when she was 19 years old, her older sister's husband and son were killed, and Meiko was falsely charged with the crime. She is released from prison 12 years later, and she resumes life as a pet groomer, but inside she is burning for revenge. As she searches out the truth behind the original murders, she leads the men around her to their destruction and death.

Tamaki is taking on the role of a police detective who becomes attracted to Meiko even as he is investigating her as a suspect. Michiko Kichise (35) plays another detective who is Tamaki's ex-girlfriend, and Toshiaki Karasawa (47) plays a writer who originally reported on the murders. Kensei Mikami (26) and Kotaro Yoshida (51) have also been cast.

The series will premiere on October 12 in Fuji TV's Tuesday 10:00pm time slot.

cr: Tokyograph

Today was the press conference for Fuji TV's upcoming summer drama series "Tobo Bengoshi" starring Kamiji Yusuke (31) and co-starring Ishihara Satomi (23) as well as Kitamura Kazuki (40) and others.

Just before the press conference Ishihara appeared on "Waratte Iitomo!" during the "Telephone Shocking" corner and at the press conference she enjoyed telling the reporters and the fans that, "I know this has nothing to do with the drama, but I won a Tamo-Strap at Hyakubun no Ichi Anketto!" This certain game translates into "1 out of 100 Survey" and the guest has to come up with a statement/question that only one out of the 100 randomly selected studio guests can answer with a yes. Ishihara did well in following the drama's theme and came up with the statement: "My father is a lawyer." Only one person in the audience has a lawyer as her father and so Ishihara was able to win one of the highly coveted Tamo-Straps (a Tamori figure). Thanks to that victory she is now absolutely positive that the drama will be a success. "I think Tobo Bengoshi will turn into an absolutely amazing drama," she said.

The drama is based on a manga by the same name and tells the story of a young lawyer (Kamiji) living a flawless life until one day he suddenly gets accused of murder and arson. The accusations seem to be false, but he can't prove his innocence and has to escape from the authorities. While hiding from the police and dedicating all his energy to find the real criminal, he often comes across people with troubles or gets involved into situations that he has to solve with his great knowledge of the law. The cast is very solid and also features Yada Akiko (31) and Toyohara Kosuke (44) alongside those that have been mentioned above.

Newcomer Kazusa (20) will sing the theme song "Stand Up For Love". The drama will air on Tuesdays at 10pm and the first episode will air on July 06.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Oricon
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This January actress Eikura Nana (22) starred in "Naka nai to Kimeta Hi", Fuji TV's drama series centered around bullying among office workers, and today it was announced that the story will continue in a special called "Zettai Naka nai to Kimeta Hi ~Kinkyuu Special~" this summer.

Eikura plays a new employee who tries her best not to lose against all the bullying she experiences at the office. Apparently the reaction from the viewers was so amazing that they decided to continue the series with a drama special. This time Sato Eriko's (28) play as the leader and bully at the office is supposedly going to be even more powerful. Viewers can look forward to an intense and sexy showdown thanks to the beautiful office uniforms.

Eikura about the special, "I'm getting bullied again? I kinda feel that way too, but of course I'm happy that we are going to film a special."

Sato, "You can look forward to more teasing remarks!"

Fuji TV has yet to announce a date for the special.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
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Many people are looking forward to Amami Yuuki's (42) new drama series this summer called "GOLD". So far we only heard a little bit about the story, but Fuji TV now finally revealed the additional main cast consisting of actor Sorimachi Takashi (36) and actress Nagasawa Masami (23).

Amami will play the role of Saotome Yuri, a charismatic beautician and manager of a major sports gym and aesthetic salon. She marries a wrestling gold medalists and gives birth to four children. Unfortunately she breaks off the marriage and ends up raising the four children all by herself. Basically her role is going to be something like "Sparta Mom", as they describe it in the Sanspo article, raising her four children that are gifted with excellent genes to become possible swimming gold medalists at the next Olympic games. There will be a lot of family and sports themes to look forward to.

Sorimachi will join the show as the typical childhood friend who ends up having more than just friendly feelings for the main character. His addition should not be that much of a surprise for you, since it had been rumored for a long time that he is going to star alongside Amami this summer. Next to being a childhood friend of Yuri, he will also act as the swimming coach and former starter at the Olympic games. "I will be training possible gold medalists," he described his role. Of course he has to be in nice shape as a coach and former athlete. He revealed that he constantly went to the gym in preparation for his role and even studied a lot of swimming theory. His trained body is expected to attract a lot of female viewers this summer.

Of course male viewers will have something to look forward to as well next to the Sparta Mom. Nagasawa Masami will have a bigger role in this drama, but (unfortunately?) not as one of the four children. She will play Yuri's secretary at the sports gym and will have her hands full dealing with her requests. "The heated discussions between them is definitely something thing to look forward to in this series," Nagasawa commented on the role.

Fuji TV will air "GOLD" every Thursday at 10pm.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
Please link back when posting those news anywhere else.