<figure id="attachment_423981" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-423981" style="width: 3648px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8b14dce6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/05/e3747cf948cc443f7dd4d538ebd0c698.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-423981" class="wp-caption-text">Kusanagi Tsuyoshi receives high praise for his performance in &#8220;Shinkansen Dai Bakaku</figcaption></figure>
<h2> No Hazure in Kusanagi&#8217;s Works&#8221; Highly praised</h2>
<p> Netflix&#8217;s film &#8220;Shinkansen Dai Baku&#8221; starring former &#8220;SMAP&#8221; member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (50) became available on April 23. The film is a reboot of the movie of the same name released in 1975 starring Ken Takakura (83 years old), and is directed by Shinji Higuchi, 59, the director of &#8220;Shin Godzilla&#8221; (&#8217;16) and &#8220;Shin Ultraman&#8221; (&#8217;22). For some time now, netizens have been saying that &#8220;Kusanagi&#8217;s films never fail to deliver,&#8221; and it seems that this film has been well-received as well.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kusanagi and director Higuchi teamed up for the first time in 20 years, since the 2006 film &#8220;The Sinking of Japan. The story unfolds after a call comes in that a bomb has been planted on a bullet train, and Kusanagi plays the role of Kazuya Takaichi, the conductor of the bullet train &#8220;Hayabusa No. 60. The story itself is somewhat different from the original version from 1975, and one of the highlights is the way it is portrayed in a reboot.</span></p>
<p> What do viewers think of the new &#8220;Shinkansen Daihakaku&#8221;?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Netflix&#8217;s &#8220;Shinkansen Dai Bakaku&#8221; is unimaginably interesting and addictive. I was again impressed by the way Mr. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi acted, which seemed to be the &#8220;truth itself&#8221; rather than acting. What a rare actor!</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kusanagi is still a tremendous actor. The nobility and gentleness of the conductor, Takaichi, could only have been played by Kusanagi. Every moment of his face was wonderful.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Kusanagi is a truly great actor. He had the solemnity of a man in charge, but it was a completely different impression from his role as Yoshinobu Tokugawa in &#8220;Ao Tengo wo Sukeruke.</span></p>
<p> and a number of high praise has been given to Kusanagi&#8217;s performance and other aspects of his work.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Acting activities that have been recognized since his SMAP days"></div>
<h2>He never turns down a job.&#8221;</h2>
<p> Meanwhile, Kusanagi&#8217;s starring role in the movie &#8220;Goban Zari,&#8221; which was released in May &#8217;24, is said to be a hit in France. Although the film did not win the Best Picture Award or the Best Actor Award at the 48th Japan Academy Prize in Japan, it is said to be attracting a lot of attention after its release in France at the end of March this year.</p>
<p> According to an article on the news site Real Sound (distributed on April 9), the film opened in 220 screens throughout France on March 26 and &#8220;got off to a hit start with a five-day attendance of 42,062 and box-office revenue of $370,960 (€339,239).</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Speaking of Kusanagi, he has been recognized as an actor since his SMAP days.&#8217; In a drama that came out after the group&#8217;s breakup in 2004, he gave a good performance as Tokugawa Yoshinobu, another main character alongside Shibusawa Eiichi, the main character played by Yoshizawa Ryo (31) in NHK Taiga&#8217;s &#8220;Seiten wo Sukuke&#8221; (&#8217;21 broadcast). His plays in the serial TV novels &#8220;Boogie Woogie&#8221; (NHK, broadcast in the second half of &#8217;23) and &#8220;Trap&#8217;s War&#8221; (Fuji TV, broadcast in the January 2011 season) were also praised one after another. In addition, &#8220;Midnight Swan&#8221; (released in &#8217;20), a film in which he starred, had an unusually long run. Not only his own acting, but also the works themselves are often favorably received, and after the start of a drama or movie, comments are regularly made that &#8220;anything with Kusanagi-kun in it never fails to deliver.</span></p>
<p> In a long interview at the end of his essay &#8220;Okiraku 3&#8221; (KADOKAWA), released in March of this year, Kusanagi says, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;My own stance is that I never turn down any work.</span> I <span class="strongInContent">do what comes to me.</span></p>
<p> He joined former SMAP chief manager Michi Iijima, along with Goro Inagaki (51) and Shingo Katori (48), after leaving the former Johnny&#8217;s office.&#8217; On September 22, 2005, the three of them launched a joint official fan site, New Map, to make a fresh start, but they have left all work to the judgment of the staff since their SMAP days.</p>
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<p> As to the reason for this, he <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;Because it must be hard. It must be hard to read proposals and make decisions. I always tell them that I can do whatever I want, but they are always thinking about me.&#8221; &#8220;I am lucky to get a lot of work now because of the super management,&#8221;</span> he said, emphasizing that it is the support of the staff that has allowed him to see good works. In the interview, he <span class="strongInContent">even said, &#8220;If it weren&#8217;t for her, I probably wouldn&#8217;t be here</span>.&#8221; Kusanagi must have full confidence in Iijima&#8217;s work ethic.</p>
<p> We will keep an eye on Kusanagi to see what he will be working on next.</p>


 Kazuhiko NAKAMURA

 Netflix's film "Shinkansen Dai Baku" starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi seems to be getting good reviews. Viewers have been giving high marks to the film, including Kusanagi's performance. Amidst the outcry of "anything with Kusanagi-kun in it is a no-brainer," the selection of the film has been ......

Kusanagi’s “Shinkansen Daihakaku” is doing well; his stance in selecting works and trust with the staff

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