Mayu Hotta Takes on First Teacher Role in 10th Anniversary Drama – Filming Spotted!

Fully determined for a project marking her 10th debut anniversary

Mid-June, somewhere in Yokohama City. A woman in a suit was walking through a dark, shuttered shopping street with no one around. It was actress Mayu Hotta (27). Her expression was tense, filled with nervous energy.

This scene was actually a location shoot for the July-season Kansai TV/Fuji TV drama “We Still Don’t Know the Rules of That Star” (Bokutachi wa Mada Sono Hoshi no Kousoku wo Shiranai). Behind Hotta walked Hayato Isomura (32), also wearing a tense expression.

The story is a human drama about Kenji Shiratori, played by Isomura, who is dispatched as a school lawyer to a private high school that became coeducational due to the declining birthrate. Though clumsy, he desperately tries to connect with the students. Hotta plays Suzu Koda, the heroine who supports Shiratori.

“Hotta joined the entertainment industry in 2014 after participating in a nationwide audition held by her current agency, Amuse. Selected from over 30,000 applicants, she won the ‘WOWOW Drama Award.’

She rose to fame playing the main character’s younger sister, Rin, in the latter half of NHK’s 2017 serial TV novel Warotenka.

Recently, she portrayed Hina, the lawful wife of Yoshitoki Hojo—called a peerless beauty—in NHK’s Taiga drama The 13 Lords of the Shogun.

In this January’s TBS Sunday drama Oue-sensei, she played Yuzuru Mayama, a woman who committed murder at a civil service exam venue and gradually began to open up emotionally through multiple meetings.

As one of the top young talented actresses, projects she stars in always draw attention,” says a TV magazine writer.

During filming, both Hotta and Isomura kept serious expressions, and a tense atmosphere hung over the large production crew. Just before the cameras started rolling, Hotta briefly relaxed and smiled—perhaps as a momentary release of tension.

On the drama’s official website, Hotta spoke about playing a high school teacher for the first time:

“This is my first time playing a high school teacher. Until now, I’ve mostly played students, so being old enough to portray a teacher feels deeply moving.”

This drama marks a major milestone in her career—her 10th anniversary since debut. We hope to see her charm shine through to the fullest.

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