''Real Fake'' (stylized as ''REAL⇔FAKE'') is a Japanese television

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

that aired on MBS on the channel's programming block, . The series was written and directed by Nobuhiro Mouri, with production by Dub, Inc. The production stars Yoshihiko Aramaki, Keisuke Ueda,

Ren Ozawa is a Japanese actor and singer. After winning the Grand Prix prize at the Bacs Award 2013, he was signed to their agency and debuted with the boy band B2takes!, of which he was a member until leaving the group in 2018. His debut acting role i ...

, Masanari Wada, Ryuji Sato, Ryunosuke Matsumura, Toshiyuki Someya, and

Shouta Aoi , is a Japanese singer and actor. Under the stage name Showta (stylized as "SHOWTA."), he debuted as a singer with the song "Negaiboshi" in 2006 and released his first studio album, '' Eve'', in 2008. In 2009, he left his agency and briefly relea ...

, all of whom have been involved in 2.5D musicals. A second season titled ''Real Fake 2nd Stage'' is scheduled for broadcast on June 15, 2021.

Plot

Stellar Crowns is a project group made up of actors and singers, but one of the members, Akane, disappears before their debut. However, Stellar Crowns' agency gets a tip stating that he is still alive but has been kidnapped by a traitorous member in Stellar Crowns. The president of Queen Record, Sasakida, enlists Hidetoshi Moriya, an aspiring filmmaker and Akane's former classmate, to investigate under a pretense of filming a documentary about Stellar Crowns. Eventually, Moriya learns that Akane's brother, a songwriter, had committed suicide after being targeted by Sasakida, and in order to protect Akane, Stellar Crowns had staged his disappearance. After the truth is discovered, Sasakida is removed from his position from the agency while Akane is made its president.

Characters

; :Played by: Yoshihiko Aramaki :Nagisa is a member of Stella Crowns. He is a former idol singer struggling to break into acting. ; :Played by: Keisuke Ueda :Yusuke is a member of Stella Crowns. He is an actor and was a former classmate of Kakeru's. ; :Played by:

:Rin is a member of Stellar Crowns. He is an actor and has mostly appeared on variety shows. He and Reijiro were childhood friends. ; :Played by: Ryuji Sato :Kakeru is a member of Stellar Crowns. He is a singer from Akane's agency and was recruited as his replacement. ; :Played by: Ryunosuke Matsumura :Reijiro is a member of Stellar Crowns. He studied and worked abroad as a radio personality in Australia. He is the final person who joined the group. ; :Played by: Masanari Wada :Masayuki is a member of Stella Crowns. He is a friend of Nagisa and fan of Akane. ; :Played by: Toshiyuki Someya :Moriya is an aspiring filmmaker and Akane's classmate from high school. ; :Played by:

:Akane is popular singer known for his angelic singing voice. He was originally a member of Stella Crowns, but disappears before their debut.

Production

''Real Fake'' began airing on MBS as part of their programming block, , on September 2, 2019, and later aired on TBS on September 4, 2019. The series is written and directed by Nobuhiro Mouri and produced by Dub, Inc. The cast features actors who have previously acted in 2.5D musicals. The opening theme song is "Real Fake" by the main cast as their characters, credited as Stellar Crowns with Akane. The ending theme song is "Fake of Fake" by

, which was released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

on his single "Harmony." A second season titled ''Real Fake 2nd Stage'' was announced in December 2020 and scheduled for broadcast in 2021, with the original cast reprising their roles.

was removed from the cast following his domestic abuse allegations. On April 9, 2021,

Hiroki Ino is a Japanese actor associated with Stardust Promotion is a leading Japanese talent agency, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1979 and invests in entertainment forms including music, cinema, and modelling. The agency has a ...

and Hiroki Sasamori were added as regular cast members and ''2nd Stage'' was announced to be broadcast beginning June 15, 2021. The opening theme is "Rumor" by Stellar Crowns with Akane and the ending theme is "Glass no Kutsu" by Shouta Aoi. ''2nd Stage'' is directed by Tōru Yamashita, with Yō Kosaka in charge of script.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Soundtrack

''Cheers, Big Ears!'' is a studio album produced for ''Real Fake'' featuring songs performed by the main cast as their characters. The limited version of the album included an exclusive DVD and an alternate cover. The album charted at #18 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

Weekly Album Charts and sold 7,319 copies on its first week.

Notes

References

External links

* {{official, https://realfake-official.com
Official MBS TV website
2019 Japanese television series debuts 2019 Japanese television series endings Fictional musical groups Japanese drama television series Mainichi Broadcasting System original programming