I know I'm more than a week late in posting something about this upcoming drama. The explanation that I can only give you is that I had to wait until I am calmer and more composed before writing. I hope this is acceptable. LOL
I was out of town when the news was announced but I was ecstatic thanks to the text updates given to me by
nishoken and
sophiapiaya. I wanted to get in front of a computer or at least get a signal so that I can log in through my phone but alas, I was out in the mountains. A week after, I'm still in euphoria.
Since I'm a big Kamiki Ryunosuke fan (as you all know :P), I have been looking out for updates on his next projects while, of course, waiting for the Rurouni Kenshin sequels to be released and while waiting for Kamisama no Iu Toori to start filming in July. So I have actually been updated that he has been filming this WOWOW drama with Nikaido Fumi based on twitter sightings, 2ch comments and Director Nagata Koto's instagram.
Still, I was overjoyed when it was finally confirmed because I have been wanting Ryuu to work on a WOWOW drama and to eventually co-star with Fumi-chan. I never thought that this project would hit two birds with one stone. Not only that, it's a complex story written by Higashino Keigo and that he and Fumi will be playing a couple with a good supporting cast.
I have yet to see the
movie version of the novel which stars Tamaki Hiroshi and Aoi Yu but I have read not-so-good reviews about it so it got me a bit worried. Then again, this time it will be in a drama so the characters will get fleshed out and the script will have a chance to be improved. I was able to get to read the manga thanks to Mr. Jed Medina and his blog post at
pscyho-drama and
cie_chan's investigative skills. You can read the manga version of the novel →
HERE←.
I think the material had a lot more in common to Bunshin than I initially thought. Although I would say that Henshin is more interesting and complicated as it happens to one person's life instead of two like in Bunshin. Henshin is still a bit predictable though I guess, based on Higashino Keigo's works that I've been acquainted with, it is more on answering the question “why” than “who”.
Still, I'm very excited to see Ryuu in this role because of the complexities that it offers. It's actually right up in his alley but he just needs to portray Junichi in a more mature and adult approach. Something that I have been waiting for since “11nin mo iru!” has ended. The role he needed to portray reminded me of Tama Eiga Award's description of him: "Naive and comical, dangerous and friendly, innocent and twisted, There's a superb balance and extensive reach in between his performances, there is a high potential and a wide range to portray separate/different characters". (
X) I'm extremely happy that he got this role.
As for Fumi-chan, I believe she will nail this. Her character, Megumi, is actually closer to Keiko in Himizu only a bit more older. Also, she got accepted in Keio University! Congratulations! \(^o^)/ I tried to tweet her but I backed out at the last moment. lol (>///<)
Anyway, I really think that this is a very good and interesting combination and I'm looking forward to what kind of chemistry these two will show and hopefully it's the good kind that will make casting directors want to cast them together again. *fingers and toes crossed*
Interestingly, the movie (based on the review that I read) and the manga had different endings. I do think that the manga adaptation is a lot closer to the novel than in the movie but we'll see how the drama will adapt this.