<figure id="attachment_352052" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-352052" style="width: 1863px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c6e80968"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/cc1ca5d87daa4cbc0adaf405f7736276.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-352052" class="wp-caption-text">Coming out of a gym in Tokyo, he doesn&#8217;t look very aloof (August &#8217;22).</figcaption></figure>
<p> Actor Takashi Sorimachi (50) has been in the news for his starring role in the drama series &#8220;Great Gift,&#8221; which will start on January 18 on TV Asahi.</p>
<p> The drama is a completely original work, in which Sorimachi plays the role of Tatsuomi Fujimaki, an udatsu-inspired pathologist. The suspicious death of a patient leads to the discovery of an unknown coccus gift that makes murder a perfect crime, and he is quickly swept up in a &#8220;whirlpool of intrigue&#8221; in this nonstop survival medical mystery.</p>
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<p> The two were married in February 2001, but this is the first time they have appeared together in a commercial. In the commercial, which aired on the 22nd of the same month, &#8220;Good Marriage Day,&#8221; the couple looked at each other, and Matsushima looked on as Sorimachi groomed her skin, which made the commercial very funny.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> At first, it was decided that Takuya Kimura, 51, would be the sole actor in the commercial. However, due to the sexual assault scandal involving the late Johnny&#8217;s Kitagawa, the founder of SMILE-UP. (formerly Johnny&#8217;s Office), to which Mr. Kimura belongs, Shiseido has refrained from using any of his talents in the commercial.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Sorimachi and his wife, Matsushima, were chosen to replace him. The two are said to be paid about 100 million yen each, compared to Kimura&#8217;s 70 million yen,&#8221; said an advertising agency official.</span></p>
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<p> In addition, this spring, &#8220;GTO,&#8221; a drama series starring Sorimachi that aired in 1998, will be revived for the first time in 26 years as &#8220;GTO Revival,&#8221; a special drama series to mark the 65th anniversary of Kantele and Fuji Television. This is the work that led to his marriage to Matsushima.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Fans are anticipating another collaboration with Matsushima in &#8220;GTO Revival. At the time of their marriage, they were called the &#8220;big couple of the Heisei era,&#8221; but Matsushima was slightly better known as an actor than Matsushima, whose 2000 Fuji Television drama &#8220;Yamato Nadeshiko&#8221; was a big hit. As the years have passed and Matsushima has cut back on her work to raise her two children, Sorimachi has become the better actor. However, Sorimachi had to go through a period of hardship before he reached this point,&#8221; said an entertainment reporter.</span></p>

<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The reason why Sorimachi was able to make a comeback from his dark period"></div>
<p>After his marriage, Sorimachi starred in the drama series &#8220;Hot Man&#8221; (TBS) in 2003 and 2004, &#8220;Dream Again&#8221; (NTV) in 2007, and &#8220;The Man Who Won 320 Million Yen by Playing Lotto 6 (TV Asahi) in 2008, and he found himself starring in films for NHK and all the major commercial TV stations in Tokyo. However, it did not become as big a hit as &#8220;GTO. In 2007, he also starred in the film &#8220;Aoki Wolfe: Chihatsu Umi Jisshu Mukete (To the Ends of the Earth and Sea)&#8221; (2007), which was also a hit. The film was a big production, costing 3 billion yen and shot on location in Mongolia for three months, but it did not do well at the box office, grossing 1.39 billion yen.</p>
<p> Furthermore, in May 2011, it was reported that a real estate company was sued by a resident of the same apartment building who had been bitten by Sorimachi and his wife&#8217;s dog, Doberman, and had to move out, demanding compensation.</p>
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<p> However, Sorimachi made a successful comeback when he was cast as Wataru Kajo, the fourth partner of Ukyo Sugishita, played by Yutaka Mizutani (71), in TV Asahi&#8217;s &#8220;Partners&#8221; series starting in the October 2003 season.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Mizutani was on the same wavelength with him, and they became close as a family. Mr. Mizutani even said to those around him, &#8216;I want to end my career as a partner with Sori. In the end, he played the role of Kajo until March 2010, but when he turned 50 years old, he said, &#8220;I want to take on a new challenge,&#8221; and graduated from &#8220;Partners.</span></p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> He played a supporting role in &#8220;Old Rookie&#8221; (TBS, 2010) and &#8220;Stand Up Start&#8221; (Fuji, 2011). His role as a dull pathologist in &#8220;The Great Gift&#8221; is also something he has never done before. As he said, &#8220;I want to take on a new challenge,&#8221; he is still expanding his acting skills at the age of 50.</span></p>
<p> It is likely that he will make a &#8220;big push&#8221; for a new breakthrough in his 50th memorial year.</p>

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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Sorimachi in GTO"></div>

<figure id="attachment_352053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-352053" style="width: 1862px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5ffee2b3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/5cd6f16334d8871878dfe2f80a61dbb8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-352053" class="wp-caption-text"> Sorimachi poses for this magazine&#8217;s camera on the set of &#8220;GTO&#8221; (1998 &#8220;Friday Special&#8221; midsummer issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_352054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-352054" style="width: 2800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="13efea3a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/75a0541ae135495932457177c6247245.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-352054" class="wp-caption-text"> Sorimachi and Nanako Matsushima were friendly on the set of &#8220;GTO&#8221; (1998 &#8220;Friday Special&#8221; midsummer issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_352055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-352055" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="81f61f83"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/9f8a72cf5fb8ed4060e90d4d1d2cc206.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-352055" class="wp-caption-text"> The lovey-dovey couple is still the same today（April 24, &#8217;20 issue)</figcaption></figure>


 Masatoshi Okauchi (2nd and 3rd), Yuri Adachi (4th)

 Takashi Sorimachi's "big offensive" just won't stop. He has a lot to talk about, including a commercial in which he and his wife co-star, a new drama in January, and the revival of "GTO" in the spring after 26 years. But even he had his "dark days.

Commercials with husband and wife, revival of &#8220;GTO&#8221; after 26 years&#8230; Takashi Sorimachi goes from the &#8220;dark ages&#8221; to the &#8220;big offensive&#8221; at the age of 50.

Commercials with husband and wife, revival of “GTO” after 26 years… Takashi Sorimachi goes from the “dark ages” to the “big offensive” at the age of 50.

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