It be rainin’ lawyers and policemen in October, as Tamaki Hiroshi takes on not one, but two law enforcement roles. First up is the drama SP Kyoaku wa nemurasenai Tokusou Kenji no gyakushuu (Great evil does not go to sleep – The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor), which is an adaptation of the novel Baikoku (Treason) by Mayama Jin. Tamaki portrays public prosecutor Tominaga Shinichi, a newcomer at the special investigation unit, who investigates a case of illegal donations involving a big-name politician (Tachibana Yohei, played by Nakadai Tatsuya). Tominaga also gets embroiled in a scandal involving a space exploration project due to the disappearance of a childhood friend and realises the two cases are linked. The teaser looks awesome already and has that sort of intriguing battle of wits/strategy vibe that I’m generally a sucker for.
I’m so happy to see Tamaki once again lining up against a really solid veteran actor, and Nakadai-san is as big as they come – I still remember his imposing performance in Kurosawa’s Ran (highly recommended), and he also has a string of other illustrious works under his belt, so it’s fantastic for Tamaki to be able to learn from one of the greats in the industry. Tamaki commented that it is a very challenging drama as it’ll get viewers to reflect on what justice really means, and he’d been thinking of how to portray the confrontation scene between Tominaga and Tachibana, which is surely one to look out for. Nakadai-san was very modest and said he felt he couldn’t compete with the younger actors in terms of freshness and thus was nervous standing beside Tamaki, but I’m sure Tamaki himself felt nervous as well acting opposite Nakadai-san!
Hot on the heels of the SP is a new drama, titled Career ~ Okiteyaburi no Keisatsu Shochou ~. Tamaki will star as Toyama Kinshiro, the eccentric but compassionate chief of a police precinct who helps citizens without a voice, regardless of the type of case. He would investigate cases in plainclothes, but his methods aren’t always conventional and drive his colleagues up the wall. The teaser is more light-hearted as the genre is investigative comedy, and it reminds me of Tamaki’s offbeat detective role in Watashi no Kirai na Tantei, which was completely silly. I don’t expect Career (what a title) will be as screwball, but it sounds like a fun drama for the autumn season. Co-stars include Takashima Masahiro, who plays a detective at loggerheads with Toyama, and Takimoto Miori, whose character wants to be an independent detective but keeps making mistakes.
Kyoaku airs on Oct 5 at 9pm, while Career starts on Oct 9 at 9pm.
Away from dramas, Tamaki will be one of the guest stars in a new variety programme hosted by Amami Yuki and Ishida Yuriko, titled Amami Yuki Ishida Yuriko no Snack Akebono Hashi, which will air on Sept 29. The ladies will play the bosses of a fictitious snack bar and chat with guests on a variety of topics while also making food and drinks for them. It’s nice of Amami to invite Tamaki, I figure they must have gotten along well while filming Top Caster back in 2006 and Kekkon Shinai in 2012.
And finally, Tamaki won the Best Supporting Actor prize at the 88th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2016) for his role in Asa ga Kita! おめでとう！ I’m delighted for him since it’s been a while that he’s won something, even though he totally deserves more acting awards. Now that there’s additional motivation (haha), I promise to get to the rest of Asa ga Kita as soon as possible!
junny@1.14am
Yay, panda! 