Happy birthday, Tamaki Hiroshi!

The cast of Aku to Kamen no Ruru celebrating Tamaki’s birthday with a “肉ケーキ” (niku keki) during a press conference. From left: director Nakamura Teppei, Araki Yuuko, Tamaki Hiroshi, Yoshizawa Ryo and Nakamura Tatsuya.

Tamaki turns 38 this year and here’s wishing him many happy returns and all the best for the year! 2017 was a pretty decent year for Tamaki – even though he didn’t feature much on TV except for a few SPs, he made a successful return to the stage. One SP, Kichiku, aired really late in December last year and was about Tamaki’s character Takenaka Soukichi having to deal with the consequences of his affair when his lover dumps their three children on him and his family before disappearing. The SP was based on the novel of the same name by Matsumoto Seicho, and I think this is Tamaki’s second time doing an SP based on Matsumoto’s work (the other being 2011’s Suna no Utsuwa).

This year, he will have three films (and counting?) coming out. The first is Aku to Kamen no Ruru (Evil and the Mask), where he plays the lead character of Kuki Fumihiro. There is also Love x Doc, where he plays a gym trainer called Nomura Shunsuke, who is in a relationship with Goda Asuka, played by Yoshida Yo. Tamaki will also feature in Laplace’s Witch, playing Nakaoka Yuji, a police detective. It doesn’t seem like a big role, but at least it’s something to look forward to.

I read Aku to Kamen no Ruru and found it quite interesting, in the sense that it isn’t your traditional crime thriller, but is quite philosophical and psychological in a way as the characters talk about evil, criminal intents and various other ideas and their impact on society. I hope this has translated well to screen, as novels like that can sometimes be washed down to one main idea to make it more palatable. Aku to Kamen no Ruru is already out in the cinemas, so go watch it! 🙂 Here’s the trailer to whet your appetite:

junny@1.14am

• Aku to Kamen no Ruru