is a
Japanese television drama
, also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...
series from
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network ...
, first shown in Japan from 18 April to 27 June 2005.
Plot
Kanzaki Jiro (
Takuya Kimura
is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia.
A 1996 television drama series, ''Long ...
) (who used to be a star driver back in Japan) is a backup
F3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
driver in Europe. During a practice run, he accidentally crashes into his first driver and loses his job. No other club in Europe would hire him as he is deemed too old for the sports. He has no choice but to return to Japan to his previous racing team. Unfortunately, the team now has a better and younger driver, and feels Jiro has nothing more to contribute to the team, and do not want him back.
He goes back to stay with his foster father and sister, and finds out his foster father has converted their home into an orphanage for unfortunate children whose parents are unable to take care of them. Tomomi Sensei (
Koyuki
, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese model and actress. She rose to fame in the drama '' Kimi wa Petto'' with Jun Matsumoto and gained huge popularity, as well as the hit film ''The Last Samurai''.
Career Actor career
Koyuki appeared ...
), is a newly hired caregiver at the orphanage. She is not popular with the children as she does not seem to understand their feelings and makes misguided attempts to help them. Jiro, on the other hand, was an orphan himself, and being a big kid at heart is able to click with the children.
Despite the fact that Jiro hates children and is more interested in getting back into racing than helping out at the orphanage, he nonetheless agrees to be the orphanage's driver in exchange for being allowed to live there.
Cast
*
Takuya Kimura
is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia.
A 1996 television drama series, ''Long ...
as Jiro Kanzaki (神崎 次郎)
*
Koyuki
, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese model and actress. She rose to fame in the drama '' Kimi wa Petto'' with Jun Matsumoto and gained huge popularity, as well as the hit film ''The Last Samurai''.
Career Actor career
Koyuki appeared ...
as Tomomi Mizukoshi (水越朋美)
*
Masato Sakai
is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best actor at the 31st Yokohama Film Festival for '' The Wonderful World of Captain Kuhio'' and ''The Chef of South Polar'' and the award for best supporting actor at the 2008 Nikkan Sports Film Award, a ...
as Genichiro Torii (鳥居元一郎)
*
Yuki Matsushita as Chihiro Kanzaki (神崎ちひろ)
*
Yoshio Harada
was a Japanese actor best known for playing rebels in a career that spanned six decades.
Career
Born in Tokyo, Harada joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1966 and made his television debut in 1967 with "Tenka no seinen" and his film debut i ...
as Takeshi Kanzaki (神崎猛)
*
Shigeru Izumiya
Shigeru Izumiya (泉谷 しげる ''Izumiya Shigeru'', born May 11, 1948 in Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a populat ...
as Chinsaku Ichinose (一之瀬新作)
*
Aya Okamoto as Tamaki Suenaga (末永たまき)
*
Shinsuke Aoki as Hiroto Sugawara (菅原比呂人)
The Children of Kaze no Oka Home
*
Ueno Juri as Hoshino Misae (星野美冴)
*
Erika Toda as Hida Harumi
*
Indou Kaho as Ninomiya Yukie (二宮ユキエ)
*
Houshi Ishida as Shioya Daisuke
*
Natsumi Ohira as Taguchi Nao
*
Daiki Arioka
is a Japanese singer, actor, tarento, and model as well as member of Hey! Say! JUMP. He is under the management of Johnny & Associates.
Career
On June 2, 2003, he joined Johnny & Associates as a trainee. As a Johnny's Jr., he was a member of ...
as Sonobe Toru
*
Yuto Nakajima
is a Japanese singer, actor and model. He is a member of Hey! Say! JUMP. He played Koji Kiritani in the 2005 Japanese television drama, '' Nobuta wo Produce''.
Career
2004: Becoming an artist for Johnny's Entertainment
Nakajima joined Johnn ...
as Kusama Shuhei
* Kosugi Moichiro as Hirayama Morio
* Sato Miku as Sonobe Aoi
* Hirota Ryohei as Tone Akira
* Komuro Yuta as Kanemura Shunta
* Kitagawa Ayumi as Komori Nanae
Ratings
In the tables below,
the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and
the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
External links
JDorama entry*
{{Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix Best Drama
2005 Japanese television series debuts
2005 Japanese television series endings
Japanese drama television series
Fuji TV dramas
Television shows written by Yumiko Inoue