Friday, July 07, 2017

Completion screening event of new WOWOW drama "Akira to Akira"

The completion screening event of new WOWOW drama "Akira to Akira" was held on 26 June which was attended by cast members Mukai Osamu, Saito Takumi, Ishimaru Kanji, Tanaka Rena and Kaku Kento. The drama which consists of 9 episodes, begins its run from 9 July in the Sundays 10pm timeslot.

The drama is based on the same-titled novel by Ikeido Jun which was first serialised between 2006 and 2009 in the monthly novel magazine "Mondai Shosetsu" before Ikeido gave it an overhaul and will be releasing it in the novel book format for the first time on 31 May. The story which is set during the days of the bubble economy, begins in April 1986 where Kaidou Akira (Mukai) who is an elite born as the heir of a large company Tokai Yuusen. On the other hand, his genius classmate from University of Tokyo, Yamazaki Akira (Saito) had a tough life due the bankruptcy of his father's company and having to run away from creditors but overcomes the odds to graduate from the top-notch school. The two of them enter the same bank and gets caught in a battle lasting over 10 years which causes upheavals in their lives.

Mukai and Saito revealed that they were surprised by the number of lines they had to memorise in the script which were peppered with banking jargon but were glad to be able to act in such a drama which reflects the little-known facts in the Japanese banking industry and how the industry affected the times. As this was the 4th time that the actors had worked together and they are close friends, Saito described his co-star as a smart guy who is full of warmth and manly charm. In response, Mukai said that Saito is someone who people can get close to and he's so comfortable with having Saito around that he doesn't mind the latter swinging by his place without prior notice.

Source: Nikkansports / Oricon / Sanspo / Eiga.com

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