<figure id="attachment_417118" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417118" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1330f7ac"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/25cba86a7607be8210a0ac1ab0392867.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417118" class="wp-caption-text">NON makes her return to drama productions on commercial key stations after an 11-year absence (from the November 22, &#8217;19 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> A grand return to that &#8220;Sunday Gekijo&#8221;!</span></h3>
<p> Actor Hiroshi Abe (60) will star in the TBS Sunday drama &#8220;Caster&#8221; in the April season. This will be the sixth time in three years since &#8220;DCU &#8211; Diver with Handcuffs&#8221; (2010) that he will be starring in the same TV drama series.</p>
<p> The drama has an original script. Abe, a former reporter in the society department of a public broadcasting company, plays the role of an unconventional news anchor who is selected to revamp a news program. With a mission to correct the lukewarm news reporting system, she exposes the truth that has been buried in the shadows.</p>
<p> In addition to Abe, Mei Nagano (25) will play the role of the general director who has been selected to clean up the program, and Naniwa Boys Shunsuke Michieda (22) will play the role of an AD in his second year with the company. Takuma Oto (48), Takashi Okabe (52), Emma Miyazawa (36), and former top Takarazuka star Kanaka Tsukishiro (34) have all been announced to appear.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Speaking of Mr. Abe, he has starred in the &#8220;Downtown Rocket&#8221; series (&#8217;15, &#8217;18, etc.), the second series of &#8220;Dragon Zakura&#8221; (&#8217;21), &#8220;DCU,&#8221; and &#8220;VIVAN&#8221; (&#8217;23), in which he played one of the main cast members. (&#8217;23), in which I played one of the main cast members, all achieved high ratings. With Fuji TV in the midst of the turmoil, a new drama set at a TV station that is likely to be quite aggressive in its content can be expected to have high viewer ratings,&#8221; said a reporter in charge of broadcasting.</span></p>
<p> The fact that actor Non (31) will appear in the drama has been reported by several media outlets and has become a hot topic of conversation. According to some reports, she will play the role of a female researcher who discovers a &#8220;new pluripotent cell&#8221; in a university laboratory and is thrust into the limelight. If she does appear, it will be the first time in 11 years since she starred in a drama series on a commercial key station, and it will be the first time in even longer if it is a serial drama.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Speaking of NON, she first came to prominence in NHK&#8217;s television series &#8220;Amachan,&#8221; in which she played the heroine as &#8220;Reina Noh. However, she was later forced to change her stage name due to a contract dispute with her former agency.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Since then, however, offers have been pouring in, mainly for movies and commercials, and the fact that Jun Fukuda (59), currently CEO of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (Starto), was acting as his agent behind the scenes has become a hot topic. The fact that Mr. Michieda, who belongs to STARTO, is appearing in the new drama may be a result of that relationship.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" But on the other hand, there are those who take a harsher view..."></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">I get the impression that she is good at playing quirky roles, but&#8230;</span></h3>
<p> NON won the Best Actress Award at the 30th Japan Film Critics Awards for her role in the movie &#8220;Watashi wo Kuiteimete&#8221; released in 2008. She also won the Best Leading Actress Award at the 46th Japan Academy Prize for the movie &#8220;Sakananoko&#8221; released in 2010. However, there are those who have a harsh view of her acting.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, there are those who have a harsh view of her acting. NON is good at playing peculiar roles such as in the movie &#8220;The Hotel That Suits Me,&#8221; which was released last year, but other than that, there are many unknowns in her acting.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The role she plays this time is reminiscent of Haruko Obokata (41), a scientist who became famous for her work on STAP cells, and she is expected to play a difficult role that will bring her into the media limelight but then lead to severe bashing. If she gets into the role, I think she will be able to show her true potential. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221; (a source in the movie industry)</span></p>
<p> However, Takahiko Kageyama, a professor at Doshisha Women&#8217;s University and media critic, responded to this by saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s <span class="strongInContent">a Sunday theater, and the role she is playing this time is more than enough for her to have her own quirks</span>.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> She also has her own quirks, but there is a part of her that still has a smile on her face, and that is where her depth or presence comes from. She is often said to have a sense of transparency, but on the other hand, she also has a thick trunk or a thick-skinned side. She is an attractive actress for creators because of her &#8220;unfinished look&#8221; that seems to grow and develop in any way in the future. I believe that Mei Nagano, who co-stars in this drama, is very similar. I am looking forward to seeing the synergy they will create.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The entertainment industry is becoming more open these days, and I think that Non-san&#8217;s resurgence is part of that trend. It is only a rumor, but I have heard that Kudo-kan also wants to use Ms. Non. So, if there is a sequel to &#8220;Amachan&#8221; or if she is a special guest in the sequel to &#8220;Inappropriate! as a special guest (laughs). I hear that NON-san is also loved by Kyoko Koizumi, so there may be a possibility that she will be a guest in &#8220;Soku Soku Soku Ichigo-Kara Niban no Koi,&#8221; which will start in April. I suspect we will be seeing more and more of her in the future.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> After many years, NON is coming back to commercial serial dramas. We can&#8217;t wait to see her fully recovered on the TV screen.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" NON has been steadily active in movies and on stage"></div>
<figure id="attachment_417114" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417114" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2ea7b527"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/29873c13380aca0a4cb5baa7117b0752.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417114" class="wp-caption-text">NON on the red carpet at the &#8220;Tokyo International Film Festival&#8221; in October &#8217;19. On the right is Sunao Katabuchi, director of the film &#8220;In This Corner of the World,&#8221; and on the left is producer Taro Maki (from the November 22, &#8217;19 issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_417119" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417119" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d4c1ccd2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/3f1cf4bede0b5ca362a6c1ed5e7263c8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417119" class="wp-caption-text"> In September &#8217;19, she was returning home from a drinking party in Shimokitazawa where the &#8220;Amachan&#8221; family, including Kyoko Koizumi and Eri Watanabe, gathered. She was skipping (from the September 27, &#8217;19 issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_417120" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417120" style="width: 4252px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2ff13ddd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/67a803a996f6d2678081550be40add2b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417120" class="wp-caption-text"> Non visited her former office to discuss a settlement. Mr. Fukuda was next to her. I thought she was nervous, but she looked like this (from the November 2, &#8217;18 issue)</figcaption></figure>


 Takao Kawakami (1st and 2nd), Shu Nishihara (3rd), Takahiro Kagawa

 It was reported that NON will appear in the TBS Sunday drama "Caster" starring Hiroshi Abe, which will start in April. Since this will be her first appearance in a drama series on a commercial key station in 11 years, some have voiced their concerns. ......

Nonon is set to appear in a drama series on a commercial key station for the first time in eleven years.

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