On September 7th, it was announced that actor Watabe Atsuro will star in the upcoming Fuji TV drama special 'Kiken na Shamen'.

'Kiken na Shamen' is the second drama special by Fuji TV�to commemorate the 20th anniversary after writer Matsumoto Seicho's passing, this year. The story is about a man without scruples who even kills his lover in order to climb up the corporate ladder. The original novel was first published in 1959 and has since then already been adapted into numerous dramas.

Watabe commented, "I want to portray this evil man, the grief he's holding and so on, as detailed as possible." His two main co-stars are Hasegawa Kyoko and Mizobata Junpei.

He will play a man named 'Akiba Bunsaku' who happens to find out that the current lover of his company's president is his ex-girlfriend, 'Nozeki Toshie' (Hasegawa). She turns out to be a great tool for him to earn the president's trust. Moreover 'Nozeki' confesses to him that he's the only one she truly loves and that she wants to be together with him. Soon after, she suddenly disappears and a corpse of a woman, reduced to nothing but bones, is discovered by the police.

It's already Watabe's second time to play in an adaptation of one of Matsumoto's works and he will once again play a criminal. "Maybe I just have the face of a criminal," he joked. "This work is stripping down a character to its roots in a really skillful way."

He continued, "I think that those people who love to guess the trick behind a mysterious crime and those who just love repulsive characters, who have one or more skeletons in their closets will be able to enjoy this drama."

Hasegawa commented delightedly, "There's just something about Matsumoto and how he's able to portray women in such a unique and sensual way. It has always been a wish of mine to play in one of his works."

It will also be the first time for Mizobata to appear in a Matsumoto drama. He'll play an ex-boyfriend of 'Nozeki', who devotes all his energy to expose the seemingly perfect crime of 'Akiba'. He expressed his thoughts on co-starring alongside Watabe stating, "I'm playing a role that is supposed to drive Watabe's character into a corner, which is obviously a huge hurdle for someone like me, but I'll try my best."

The production side explained that the most important criterion for casting was to find the most colorful characters, and that they are more than satisfied with their three main actors. The additional supporting cast also includes Nakamura Atsuo and Akai Hidekazu.

Fuji TV will air 'Kiken na Shamen' at 9:00 pm on September 30th.

[gallery link="file" columns="2"]

Source: Sanspo