Tomohisa Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido Return to Prime-Time Dramas on Commercial Networks, True Value to Be Tested Amidst Absence of Past Considerations

In the April schedule reshuffle, it has become evident that each TV station is refraining from using talents from the former Johnny & Associates agency (SMILE-UP.). However, on the other hand, at Fuji TV, former Johnny’s member Yamashita Tomohisa (38), also known as Yamapi, will take the lead role in “Blue Moment,” while Nishikido Ryo (39) will appear as the second lead in “Re: Revenge – Beyond Desire,” starring Akaso Eiji (30).

“Blue Moment” is a live-action adaptation of Kanako Ozawa’s comic. It depicts the struggles of the SDM Headquarters (Special Disaster Management Headquarters) who risk their lives on the front lines to protect lives threatened by extensive weather disasters, utilizing wisdom and knowledge. Yamashita plays Kanjiro Haruhara, a research officer at the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency, who also serves as the chief of the SDM Headquarters. The second lead role of the rookie research assistant at the Meteorological Research Institute is portrayed by the actress Natsuki Deguchi (22), who has been appearing in numerous notable works.

“Re: Revenge” follows the story of Kaito Tendo, a weekly magazine reporter with a strained relationship with his father, the chairman of a major hospital, as he confronts power struggles to save what his father has built from the hospital. Nishikido plays Ikuya Otomo, a cardiovascular surgeon recognized for his advanced surgical skills, who is assigned to the same hospital.

Yamashita has already starred in NHK’s “Honest Real Estate” series, but this marks his first lead role on a commercial terrestrial TV network since TBS’s “In Hand” in the April 2019 period. Similarly, Nishikido, despite appearing in the notable TBS drama “There is a Limit to Inappropriateness!” in the fifth episode, hasn’t been a regular cast member since Fuji TV’s Monday 9 p.m. drama “Trace: Kasouken no Otoko” in the January 2019 period.

“Fuji TV has announced the termination of the four flagship programs of former Johnny’s groups ‘KinKi Kids’ and ‘TOKIO’ in March. Against this backdrop, the casting of Yamashita and Nishikido is a remarkable ‘flip-flop.’ Given the consistently low ratings of the dramas, it seems they have high expectations for these two, who have already proven themselves in their own network’s dramas,” says a TV station insider.