Beautiful Man Update
Acting in their first lead roles, EXILE’s Shokichi and Naoto will star in this tale of friendship and betrayal. Accordingly, Shokichi has been cast as Natsu, an orphan who strives to live the good life despite his difficult upbringing, and Naoto will play his childhood best friend, Wataru. The two reunite upon unexpected circumstances and are fated to experience the shift from best friends to enemies; thus becoming Frenemies. (In most cases, a 'frenemy' is a person who pretends to be your friend, but is actually your enemy.)
The drama airs Wednesday, July 3rd on NTV
KinKi Kids’ member Domoto Tsuyoshi is set to star in the 10-episode horror comedy alongside Kawaguchi Haruna and Minagwa Sarutoki. This is Domoto Tsuyoshi's first drama in five years!
Domoto Tsuyoshi plays a cowardly man who becomes the president of an exorcism company due to certain circumstances. He travels with his subordinate, played by Minagawa Sarutoki, to free spirits into heaven. Kawaguchi Haruna will play one of those spirits, specifically a demon who tries to prevent people from doing good things.
The drama will air in July, scheduled for Mondays, on TBS
In his first co-starring role with Mitsushima Hikari, Oguri Shun will play the role of Koharu Aoyagi’s late husband, Shin. He was once a daring mountain climber, but upon meeting his wife and starting a family, he gave up mountain climbing and focused on being a good husband that can support his family with a stable job. Despite his intentions to avoid the dangerous life, ironically, Shin is killed in a freak accident, leaving his wife to care for their two children alone.
Woman is an endearing drama primarily about Koharu Aoyagi, played by Mitsushima Hikari, who despite being poor, tries to live bravely for her two children.
Woman will air on JTV every Wednesday beginning July 5th
Koizumi Kotaro returns to doramaland in his second leading role since the drama Korusenta no Koibito, which aired four years ago.
The drama is based the novel series by award winning author, aka Japan’s queen of suspense, Miyuki Miyabe. There are three works of the series, all of which boast a total sale of over 2 million copies. Part one of the series, Nameless Poison, which won the Eiji Yoshikawa award in 2007, and part two of the series, Somebody Someone, will collectively be adapted into this live-action suspense drama.
As requested by Miyuki Miyabe herself, Koizumi Kotaro is set to play Sugimura Saburo, a once low-level employee, now elevated by his powerful father-in-law. He works in the company’s PR department, and while investigating a problem employee, Sugimura unwittingly became a target of a crime that poisoned many people. Determined to uncover the truth, Namonaki Doku will follow the suspenseful investigation on which Sugimura embarks.
The drama is set to premiere July 8th on TBS, airing every Monday
Yamashita Tomohisa has been yet again paired up with Karina and Toda Erika. This drama will actually be the third time he acts opposite Karina and the fourth with Erika. And wouldn't you know it, it's a love triangle~
Yamashita takes on the role of Mikuri Asahi, a cameraman for a small studio near the beach that barely managing to get by. As he struggles to forget his former girlfriend, who suddenly left him, he comes across Chiyohara Natsuki (Karina). One day, he unexpectedly captures the moment of Natsuki's fiance fleeing before their wedding. The two eventually start to get closer due to their similar problems in their love lives and life in general. All is well until Hanae (Erika) comes into the picture. She's the manager of a beach hut that Natsuki works at and is a former junior of Asahi. She still holds onto her unrequited love for him, and needless to say, things get complicated between the three.
Summer Nude premieres July on FujiTV
Based on the original comic book by Koshino Ryou, EXILE's Makidai will act the role of a doctor who returns to his hometown after being away for 12 years, and takes over the hospital in order to pay off a debt he owes to a former director. His character eventually clashes with one of the hospitals rookie nurses, Asuka Baba (Kutsuna Shiori). Not only is she a nurse in his hospital, but she is also the daughter of the director he owes money to.
The drama airs Thursday July 4, on NTV
Kaho, best know for her role in Otomen, will be starring in this upcoming horror-thriller drama, playing the role of a nurse named Runa. She works in a hospital on the outskirts of the city and has the ability to see the spirits of the dead. Strange phenomena begin to occur in the hospital, leading Runa's colleagues to assume she is responsible since she sort of has a supernatural ability. In the midst of all their allegations, a former classmate, Manami Sakai, who helped Runa in the past, appears. The only question is if she'll help as she did during their junior high days, or if she'll make Runa's situation worse.
This drama airs Thursday, July 18th
From the award winning novel, "Oretachi Bubble Nyuukougumi," by renowned author Ikeido Jun, comes a story about a bank clerk who must defend himself against accusations that he is responsible for the bank crashing.
Masato Sakai will be a bank clerk named Naoki Hanzawa who is not afraid to fight for his rights, especially when his boss tries to put the bank's failure on him. Despite his strong character, Hanzawa is a man who treats his subordinates and his family with kindness. Ueto Aya will play his wife.
Hanazawa Naoki premieres July 7th, airing every Sunday
From the mangaka who brought you GTO, Kamen Teacher is the latest manga being adapted into a drama. It is set to star Taisuke Fujigaya as the lead character, Gouta.
Set in a society where the government has banned any sort of physical punishment by teachers, schools are wildly overrun by the students who take advantage of their 'freedom' to act out aggressively. In order to better control the students, the government then created a special program that sent specially trained teachers across the country to instill the authority of teachers onto students by using fear. These special teachers are tasked with maintaining order through physical punishment, and gain their godly strength/power from government issued masks. Gouta is one of these special teachers, but after a certain incident, he steps down and begins teaching at a high school. After being pummeled by the students, will he continue to try and change them through words, or will he turn to his mask to make a difference?
Other cast members include Oomasa Aya (English teacher of the school), Kikuchi Fuuma, Kishi Yuuta, Lewis Jesse, Kyoumoto Taiga, Tsukada Ryouichi, and etc.
Kamen Teacher airs July 6th, on NTV every Saturday
Saito returns for the first time in 5 years! In this sequel, Arisa Mizuki reprises her role as the righteous, dignified mother who fights to protect her only son Junichi's future. Set five years after Saito-san, Junichi is now in the fourth grade. Saito and her son move into a new town, and are faced with many problems from not only the teachers of Junichi's new school, but also the parents of his classmates. Will Saito be able to influence the school and neighborhood as she has previously done?
Other cast members include Seto Koji, Kiritani Mirei, Tanabe Seiichi, Katsumura Masanobu, and etc.
The drama premieres Saturday, July 13th
