It was announced that AKB48 teams A, K, and B will each have their own respective dramas for their upcoming single. Each of the teams will be featured for 3 nights in a drama special titled "So long!" and it will air through Nihon TV.

The overall theme of the drama is "tears", and out of the 3 dramas, the viewers will be able to vote for the drama that�made them cry the most.



The drama starring team A will be a story about love and friendship that will center around a high school girl named "Kawakami Futaba" (played by Watanabe Mayu) who is into ballet, and her coach "Hara Jurie" (played by Shinoda Mariko), a ballerina who has a sad past.

Watanabe commented, "I am looking forward to co-starring with the team A members as I may be able to find a new side of them with this�opportunity." Regarding the ballet scenes, she said, "I am currently learning the basics. It is difficult because this is my first time dancing to ballet, and it's different from AKB48's dance." According to Shinoda, she actually cried reading the script. She said, "Since I'm not good at acting, I feel uneasy, but I want to find something in common between me and Jurie-san, and to sympathize with her feelings when playing the role."



Team K's drama will be a story about two sisters who have opposite personalities. The older sister "Miho" (played by Oshima Yuko) who is shy and quiet, is always pushed around by her bright and spontaneous�little sister "Tsubasa" (played by Matsui Jurina). Oshima commented, "I feel nervous acting in front of members, but I am actually enjoying the process to create something together with the members." Matsui also stated about Oshima, "Since she is�experienced in acting, I need to do my best playing her sister."



Lastly, team B's drama will be a story about a teacher and her students. A student at a girls' high school "Hashimoto Asuka" (played by Shimazaki Haruka) makes every effort to connect the classmates' hearts for their teacher "Komiyama Kaoru" (played by Kojima Haruna), whose days are numbered. Kojima commented, "Since it's a touching drama that takes place in a school, I felt a little nervous if I would be able to perform properly, but I was told that I could act as my usual self. So I am not acting too much like a teacher, and it made it easier for me to act." Shimazaki said, "I want �to make it a better drama than the other teams'. Even though I have no confidence in my acting, the story itself is demanding, so I'm trying my best to make this drama a success. I hope everybody watches it with warm eyes."

Reportedly, the original stories for all the dramas were written by Akimoto Yasushi, and Kuwamura Sayaka was in charge of the scripts.

The theme song will be AKB48's upcoming 30th single "So long!" that is set for release on February 20th, and the dramas will be aired on February 11th (at 12:18 am), 12th and 13th (at 11:58 pm) on Nihon TV.

Source & Image: MANTAN WEB

Thanks to mochi for the tip!