It’s a battlefield for Sunday idol dramas. FTV’s “Summer’s Desire” and CTV’s “Scent of Love” aired its first episodes. The four TV stations battled it out and the ratings were released yesterday. Blue Lan’s TTV/SETTV drama “PS Man” is still able to remain as the ratings champion. CTV, FTV, and CTS all received average ratings of only 0.8 to 0.95.

Audience Changes Their Heart, Drop of Ratings

Each of the four TV stations are singing their own tunes. “Summer’s Desire” is relying on Barbie Hsu and Huang Xiao Ming’s sensational kissing skills. With a Korean feel, “Scent of Love” revealed Viter Fan being dumped on a highway. According to AGB Nielsen ratings , “PS Man” clinched the champion title with a 4.24 rating. “Summer’s Desire” placed second with 0.95, “Scent of Love” with 0.86, and “Calling for Love” with 0.8. With a narrow difference of only 0.05 to 0.1, the ratings were generally low.

Source: The Liberty TImes
Translated by xbunnylicious @ asianfanatics.net

Actress Juri Ueno recently promoted a series of five TV dramas she stars in where the plotline in every case revolves around a bag. ‘‘I have great enthusiasm for these dramas as I became involved in this project at an early stage…even before shooting began,’’ Ueno told a recent promotional event in Tokyo for the drama series called ‘‘Ueno Juri to Itsutsu no Kaban’’ (Juri Ueno and Five Bags).

Ueno said the directors and scriptwriters gave free rein to their imagination in writing stories based on ‘‘Juri Ueno’’ and ‘‘bags.’’ She said the stories show just what a wide variety of different situations the directors could conjure up just from her name and bags. ‘‘That stimulated me very much,’’ she said.

Japan Today

Sol Kyung Gu, Ryoo Seung Bum, and Han Hye Jin have been cast in the thriller [There's] No Forgiveness (용서는 없다).

The film will feature the psychological showdown between a brutal murderer and Korea’s top professional autopsist. Sol has the role of National Institute of Scientific Investigation autopsist Kang Min Ho. Ryoo’s character is Lee Sung Ho, an environmental activist and killer. Han is playing Min Seo Young, a junior investigator who gets involved in the case because of her respect for Kang Min Ho.

In related news, newlyweds Sol Kyung Gu and Song Yoon Ah were able to leave for a brief and unexpected honeymoon due to No Forgiveness’s filming start date being pushed back.

Credit: KPculture

The popular Fuji TV drama series “LIAR GAME” is coming back with a second season and a theatrical film. Based on a manga by Shinobu Kaitani, the show originally aired in 2007 and drew very strong ratings for its late-night time slot.

The psychological thriller starred rising youngsters Erika Toda (20) and Shota Matsuda (23). They will of course reprise their roles in the new productions. So far, the expected dates for the second season and the movie have not yet been decided.

On Thursday, Fuji TV launched a mobile-only site called Liar Game Project (LGP) that deals with the manga, drama, and the movie. Those who register can receive more information, and they will also be able to participate in a new “game” related to the story.

Source: tokyograph

Arashi’s Kazunari Ninomiya (25) and actress Mao Inoue (22) will co-star in a drama special on TBS. The story is based on two novels written by professional windsurfer Natsuki Iijima, who died of cancer in 2005.

During Iijima’s battle with cancer, he wrote an essay titled “Gan ni Ikasarete,” which formed part of the basis for the 2007 film “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara,” a biography of Iijima that starred Takao Osawa and Misaki Ito. Around the same time, Iijima penned a novel also titled “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara,” as well as a sequel titled “Kamisama ga Kureta Namida.” The drama special is based on those two books, which sold more than 450,000 copies combined.

The drama is also being called “Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara.” Ninomiya plays the main character, a psychiatrist working in the counseling room of a cancer treatment center by the beach. While tending to the patients, part of his job involves taking dictation from them when they want to send a letter to a loved one.

Inoue plays the psychiatrist’s wife and mother to the couple’s twin daughters. Other cast members include Nobuko Miyamoto as a nurse, Yusuke Santamaria as a surgeon, and Naoto Ogata as the owner of a surf shop.

The broadcast date for the drama has not yet been determined.

Source: tokyograph

TOKYO —Atress Maki Horikita, 20, is challenging a role not many young actresses would be excited about. In Fuji TV’s new drama, “Atashinchi no Danshi,” Horikita will play Chisato, a girl who disguises herself as a homeless person to escape a 100 million yen debt after her father turned his back on her. With a dirty face and disheveled clothing, Horikita shows a side of herself audiences have yet to see.

“I’m really happy to play a variety of different roles. When on location, some staff did’t recognize me and wouldn’t come close because I looked smelly,” she said.

The drama centers around Chisato, who becomes a mother for the six sons (Jun Kaname, Osamu Mukai, Yoshinori Okada, Yusuke Yamamoto, Kohji Seto and Tomoki Okayama) of a toy company president in return for having her debt paid off. A smiling Horikita commented, “I was so happy to think that I’ve just turned 20 and I’m already playing the role of a mother.”

When asked the obligatory question about a potential future romance between her character and one of the six sons, she flatly denied the possibility, saying “Everyone [the characters] has a lot of problems to deal with, and it’s just not possible with any of them.”

The drama will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m., starting April 14.

Source: Japan Today

It has been decided that GIRL NEXT DOOR’s upcoming single “Infinity” will be used as the theme song of the Fuji TV drama series “Atashinchi no Danshi,” which stars actress Maki Horikita. The drama is a comedy about a homeless 20-year-old girl who suddenly marries a company president and becomes the “mother” of six handsome but unusual sons.

This is the second time that GIRL NEXT DOOR has done a theme song for a television drama. Last year, they sang “Jonetsu no Daisho” for the TV Asahi series “Giragira.” “Infinity” will be released on June 3.

Source: tokyograph

New actress Kim Min Ji as been selected to play the character known as Umi in the original version of ‘Boys Over Flowers.’

The BOF production company revealed to the Asian Economic Daily news over the phone that, “Kim Min Ji has been decided upon to play the character known as Umi in the Japanese version and she will make her appearance on the 30th in Episode 24 uptil the 25th episode.”

Kim Min Ji was recently in the KBS drama, Empress Cheon Chu and now in BOF she will aid Goo Jun Pyo who loses his memory and ultimately cause a rift between him and Geum Jandi acting as the part of Umi.

In the meantime, ‘Boys Over Flowers’ will end it’s run with the 25th episode to be broadcast on March 31st.

Source : Asia economic daily
translation : seoulfull.wordpress.com

Teen actress Shiori Kutsuna (16) will have her first starring role in a drama series this spring. The show, a suspense-comedy titled “7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe,” is the second original drama for the satellite channel BS Asahi.

Kutsuna plays the part of Tsugumi Nitobe, an ordinary college student who works at an apparel shop. She doesn’t spend much time with friends, but with the fastest mobile phone typing speed in Japan, she is active on a mobile site with 70,000 members. By chance, she comes across various murder scenes, and with the advice and encouragement of the site’s members, she solves the different cases.

Kutsuna has been the current Pocky Princess since last year. She was chosen as the heroine of Yuichi Sato’s film “Shugotenshi,” which opens in June, and she has also been cast in Fuji TV’s drama series “Majo Saiban,” which starts in April.

Seiji Rokkaku and Kotaro Tanaka have also been cast in “7 Mannin Tantei Nitobe.” Broadcast is scheduled for Thursdays at 11pm, beginning on April 23.

Source: tokyograph

Lee Min Jung who has been playing Goo Joon Pyo’s fiance, Ha Jae Kyung expressed in the early morning hours of 23rd March through her Cyworld about her feelings on leaving the production after completing her last scene together with photos for remembrance.

After completing her final scene, Lee Min Jung had took pictures with Goo Hye Sun, Jung Ki Sang (director), etc and uploaded them. She also wrote, “Goodbye does not mean leaving forever”. She added with regrets, “Lee Min Ho and Goo Hye Sun always showed a lot of vigor even if they had to film overnight usually. I have a lot of inadequacies in my acting and have many words yet to say but I am already done with my scenes. I will miss everyone very much. My beloved staff, cast members, directors, goodbye does not mean leaving forever.”

Lee Min Jung appears tonight for the last time in Boys Before Flowers.

source: coolsmurf