Kimura Takuya’s Wife Miscast? Yuki Amami’s TV Asahi Tribute: A Potential Career Misstep?

The TV Asahi 65th anniversary Thursday drama “Believe – The Bridge I Bet On You” starring Takuya Kimura is doing well.

“The main cast was not revealed until the last minute, and except for Kimura, the poster only showed the actors from behind. TV Asahi was desperate to create buzz. When it finally aired, it featured actors like Yuki Amami, Takuya Kamiya, and Ryoma Takeuchi, all of whom have starred in TV Asahi’s hit dramas. It’s no surprise that it’s getting good ratings,” said a drama production insider.

Kimura plays Riku Kariyama, an architect who is imprisoned after being found responsible for a bridge collapse accident. His fellow inmates include Wataru Ichinose, who gained attention in “Sanctuary” (Netflix), and Tatsumi Hamada, who played young Ryoma Sakamoto in the NHK Taiga drama “Ryomaden” during his child actor days. Additionally, Masashi Mochida from the world-renowned dance performance group “s**t kingz” and other young actors are present, each bringing their own unique performances, which, in a sense, revolve around Kimura.

Although there has been a slight decrease in ratings, the show continues to perform well amidst what is being called a poor spring season, thanks in part to the strong performances of the cast. However, despite being described as excited at the press conference about playing Kimura’s wife, Yuki Amami’s reception has been less than stellar.

On social media, fans expressed their dissatisfaction with comments like, “I want to see the cool Amami, but all the cool is being taken by Kimura, which feels off,” and “The couple just doesn’t look good together.”

“The biggest drawback is that Kimura and Amami don’t look like a married couple. She plays a nurse beloved by patients and subordinates at her workplace hospital, known for her ‘older sister’ demeanor. While she believes in her husband’s innocence, she develops cancer. This character differs slightly from the powerful roles Amami has previously played. Amami’s presence on the TV screen is indeed striking, but her strength overshadows everything else.

 

But that’s just it. Her moments to shine are far too few. Since Kimura is the main star, it’s inevitable that Amami plays a supporting role, but for fans, it seems like she’s completely unappealing,” says the aforementioned writer.

 

When it comes to Amami on TV Asahi, her image from the delayed release of the movie “Kinkyu Torishirabeshitsu THE FINAL” due to Ichikawa Sarunojo’s incident is overwhelmingly strong, and people can’t help but compare the two.

 

“From the start, this casting was framed as an invitation for leading actors like Amami, Kamiya, and Takeuchi, who have contributed to TV Asahi in the past, as part of gratitude for the TV Asahi’s 65th anniversary drama.

 

Especially for Amami, it was also meant to be a way to compensate for the setback of ‘Kinkyu Torishirabeshitsu THE FINAL’ having to be reshot, but the current situation has turned against that intention. We hope it won’t become a stain on her career,” says a TV Asahi production company insider.

 

It seems both TV Asahi and Amami’s plans have completely fallen apart. The first part has ended, and the second part has begun, but can they turn things around from here?

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