Seino Nana Dares to Bare: Her Bold Love Scene and First Lead Role in a Monday 9 p.m. Drama

Her first lead role in a golden prime-time drama is a remarkable achievement with Monday 9 p.m..

It was revealed on November 19 that actress Nana Seino (30) will star in Fuji TV’s Monday 9 p.m. drama 119 Emergency Call for the January 2024 season. This marks her first lead role in a golden prime-time drama (7–10 p.m.) and also her debut appearance in the coveted Monday 9 p.m. time slot.

The drama is an original story that follows the struggles of command and control operators who dispatch ambulances and fire trucks in response to emergency calls. Seino will play a rookie control operator who, after starting her career at a bank, takes a firefighter recruitment exam inspired by a certain incident and passes. Following two years of field experience, she requests a transfer to the command department, taking on the critical role of saving lives over the phone.

Regarding her starring role in a Monday 9 p.m. drama, Seino revealed that she auditioned for such roles multiple times in her 20s but had been unsuccessful. “A dream that seemed out of reach has finally come true, and I’m deeply honored,” she commented.

“She began her career as a model and gravure idol during middle school. Known for her exceptional athleticism, she even had the option of advancing to high school on a track-and-field scholarship. However, driven by her admiration for the entertainment industry, she moved to Tokyo alone.

She was profoundly inspired by Milla Jovovich’s action scenes in the movie Resident Evil. In her second year of high school, she enrolled in an action training school for a year, receiving comprehensive training in boxing, fight choreography, and acrobatics. Her instructor was Taku Sakaguchi (49), an actor and YouTuber renowned for teaching sword-fighting techniques to Kento Yamazaki (30) for the Kingdom series,” said a film industry insider.

Amid the discouraging days of repeated audition failures and lack of work, director Sion Sono (62) noticed her action performance during auditions for the movie TOKYO TRIBE (2014) and cast her as the lead heroine.

 

“The film is a violent action piece in which Ryohei Suzuki (41), who would later star in NHK’s Taiga drama Segodon (2018), played one of the leads. Seino showcased stunning action scenes in the movie. Additionally, she took on the challenge of a daring performance, including a love scene where she revealed her bust, earning her widespread attention.

‘The requirement for the heroine was to reveal her bust, which deterred many actresses from taking on the role. However, at just 19 years old, Seino approached the project with remarkable determination,’ said a film writer.”

 

After marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth, she made a big decision.

Following her breakthrough in the film, Seino went on to appear in various works, including Ouroboros: This Love Is Justice (2015, TBS) and the movies Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: End of the World. In the October 2017 season, she landed her first lead role in a nationally broadcast drama, portraying Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (91) in Totto-chan! (TV Asahi), which depicted Kuroyanagi’s life story. Furthermore, in the first half of 2018, she fulfilled her dream of appearing in NHK’s morning drama series, playing the heroine’s best friend in Half, Blue, alongside Mei Nagano (25).

In June 2020, Seino married actor Toma Ikuta (40), whom she had been dating since co-starring in Ouroboros. In March 2022, they announced the birth of their first child. Just two months later, she revealed her move from her agency of 11 years to Top Coat. What prompted this sudden shift?

“Her decision to switch agencies was reportedly influenced by her pregnancy and childbirth. She sought representation with stronger casting capabilities and was drawn to Top Coat’s roster, which includes many ‘mom talents’ such as Yoshino Kimura (48), Anne (38), and Nozomi Sasaki (36). Particularly, she had close ties with Kimura and her husband Noriyuki Higashiyama (58) through her husband, Ikuta,” explained a TV industry insider.

Since joining Top Coat, one notable project was her lead role in the April 2023 series At Least on Sunday Night (TV Asahi). She delivered a memorable performance as a young caregiver balancing part-time work at a family restaurant with caring for her wheelchair-bound mother. It left a lasting impression on viewers. Currently, Seino seems to be successfully balancing her career and child-rearing, indicating her decision to switch agencies was a wise one.

With both her professional and personal life thriving, expectations are high for her performance in her upcoming Monday 9 p.m. drama.

 

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