Three Reasons Why Hayato Isomura’s First Golden-Time Drama Became a Hit

He won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Japan Academy Prize for his role in the controversial film

“Controversial” and award-winning — Isomura Hayato (33), who captured the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actor, has now taken on his first starring role in a prime-time network drama with Bokutachi wa Mada Sono Hoshi no Kousoku wo Shiranai (Bokuhoshi), which aired its finale on September 22 on Fuji TV (produced by Kansai TV). Viewers and critics alike have hailed the series as a triumph of “Kantele storytelling power.”

The drama follows Kenji Shiratori (Isomura), a lawyer whose unique sensitivity has made him hesitant in both life and work. He becomes a school lawyer — an attorney dispatched to a private high school struggling with coeducation amid declining birth rates — where he faces complex youth issues that cannot be solved by laws or rules alone. As he confronts problems like data privacy breaches and educational abuse, Shiratori — once bullied and truant himself — strives awkwardly yet earnestly to be a guiding light for his students.

“They could have made it a simple, cathartic drama about a lawyer solving school problems through the law. But the reality of education is far messier,” says one producer. “Isomura’s delicate performance — showing a man who dares to take a step forward for his students — gave the story a powerful human core.”

One major reason for the show’s success was casting Isomura as the lead.
After his haunting turn as Satokun in Tsuki (2023) — a role inspired by a real-life mass killing incident — Isomura won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actor. His emotionally fearless performances in What Did You Eat Yesterday? (TV Tokyo) and Just the Two of Us (Seiyoku), where he portrayed complex characters with unique desires, have cemented his reputation as one of Japan’s most distinctive young actors. In Bokuhoshi, that very intensity and depth fit perfectly.

“Minami Kotona, whose appearances in numerous productions include the Netflix drama Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san; Nakano Arisa, who walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the film PERFECT DAYS; Kondo Hana, who played the heroine in the movie Sayuri; and Koshiyama Keitatsu, who won the Japan Academy Award for Newcomer of the Year for his first leading role in My Sunshine and also appeared in the hit film National Treasure—these young actors, all active in the world of cinema, brought a unique depth and authenticity to the series that sets it apart from previous school dramas,” said the production company’s director.

Another key factor in the show’s success—one that must not be overlooked—is the underlying presence of the world of Kenji Miyazawa that flows throughout the story.

The reason behind the so-called Kantele domination

As the scriptwriting progressed, the story evolved—infused not only with the personality of its protagonist but also with elements of the school’s astronomy club and the spirit of Kenji Miyazawa, who was both an educator and a poet. This addition brought a powerful sense of catharsis to the narrative from episode nine through the finale.

“In episode 10, shocking news breaks that Mizuho Saito (played by Minami Kotona), the vice president of the student council who had just secured a university recommendation, has been arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana. To prove her innocence, Kenji gives up his job as a school lawyer and becomes her defense attorney, ultimately winning her case. He also defends Ms. Misato Yamada (Kaji Hiraiwa), the teacher in charge of student guidance and the drama club, after she is dismissed and threatens to sue the school. His quiet determination to set things right evokes Giovanni, the boy in Night on the Galactic Railroadwho searches for ‘true happiness.’ It was truly moving,” said the director.

Next year marks the 130th anniversary of Kenji Miyazawa’s birth. In an age rife with division, exclusion, and senseless violence, his teaching of true happiness as the spirit of selflessness feels more relevant than ever. The drama’s decision to weave this philosophy into a modern school story may well have been the key to its success.

Indeed, Kansai TV (Kantele) has built a remarkable track record in recent years:

Elpis: Hope or Disaster (2022), starring Masami Nagasawa, which caused a sensation.

When Spring Comes (2024), the tearful dual-lead drama starring Nao and Noritake Kinashi.

Unmet: A Neurosurgeon’s Diary (2024), featuring Hana Sugisaki as a doctor struggling with memory loss.

All three won the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Award for Best Drama three years in a row—a feat that has set new milestones in Japanese television.

It seems that Kantele’s domination is far from over.