[caption id="attachment_123243" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Kichise Michiko as Haga "Hagane" Ineko"][/caption]

Actress Kichise Michiko landed her first starring role in the drama, "Hagane no Onna", which began broadcasting in May of 2010, and it looks like Kichise will get to reprise her role for a second season!

It was revealed on January 30th that the producers have decided to answer the fans' overwhelming response for a sequel with a second season, which will begin broadcasting in April, every Thursday at 9:00 PM JST. �The first season, which originally aired from May to July, earned a rating of 12.7% despite its broadcast time of 11:00 PM JST - the highest in its time slot. This time, the drama will air during "golden time," the three-hour slot between 7:00 and 10:00 PM where it is easier to obtain high viewership.

The drama is based on manga artist Fukaya Kahoru's work of the same name, which is currently being published in the Shueisha magazine,�"YOU." The story follows 35-year-old elementary school teacher Haga Ineko, or "Hagane," as she deals with overbearing parents and classroom disruptions. Child actress Ohashi Nozomi will be recast as Hagane's adorable student, while Takahashi Katsumi, Saitou Takumi, and Kataoka Ainosuke will join the cast as new characters.

"I want to deal with increasingly tough children, and their parents who stand in the way, more than we did last time. The conflicts of the 36-year-old teacher will become more and more difficult," said Kichise of the drama, which will begin filming in mid-February.

The theme song will be sung by hip-hop group Ketsumeishi, who sang the theme song for the first season. The still untitled theme song will be written by the group, and will feature support from Hagane and her students.

Stay tuned for more on this upcoming drama!

Source + Photo: Sanspo 1 & 2