Kimura Takuya’s Post-Scandal Drama Performs Well, but Industry Warns Against Over-Expectations

Following the old Johnny’s scandal, Takuya Kimura’s first leading drama since then ended with stable high ratings. The TV Asahi drama “Believe – The Bridge to You,” starring Kimura (51), which started on April 25, concluded on the 20th of this month.

 

“The drama, which depicts Kimura’s character, a civil engineering department manager named Riku Kariyama, who escapes from prison and struggles to clear his name after being wrongfully convicted, had a strong start with an average household rating of 11.7% for its first episode, making it the top-rated drama of the season among commercial networks. It maintained a solid second place in ratings throughout the season, proving Kimura’s enduring popularity and acting prowess” (TV magazine writer).

During the previous Johnny’s scandal, Kimura faced backlash for posting “show must go on!” on his SNS after the agency’s press conference, leading to a significant drop in followers. Whether the success of this drama signifies a resurgence of his star status remains to be seen. A drama production producer from a major network reveals:

“The story structure matched recent trends and was ‘more interesting than expected.’ Kimura has often played roles of ‘dependable, cool men,’ but in this drama, with Yuki Amami playing his older wife, he needed to portray a somewhat unreliable husband. Although this was a new type of character for him, he performed it carefully and naturally, and it seemed that his acting depth and range had increased with age.”

Despite the drama’s success, there are still some voices within the industry questioning if it is too early to judge Kimura’s full comeback.