Kimura Takuya plays around with announcer Tanaka Minami (TBS)

Here is the Friday and weekend edition of the the Drama Prime Time Report, with the much-anticipated first episode of “Nankyoku Tairiku” as one of the biggest highlights of the new fall season.

The first day of the report, Friday, didn’t really offer much for drama fans. Fukada Kyoko guested on “A-Studio” (TBS), Kimura Takuya promoted “Nankyoku Tairiku” on the “Pittanko Kan-Kan” special and TV Tokyo aired the second episode of their crazy midnight drama “Koko ga Uwasa no El Palacio“.

At least fans of actors Fujiwara Tatsuya, Ayase Haruka, Ishihara Satomi, Abe Tsuyoshi, and so on, were able to enjoy the TV premier of the movie “Incite Mill 7 kakan no Death Game” on NTV. Otherwise you either had to chose from watching gymnastics, the “Music Station” special, or spending your Friday evening/night without the TV.

Saturday already offered some more entertainment for drama fans. The biggest drama highlight of that day was the drama special of “Kaibutsu-kun” (NTV), starring Ohno Satoshi, and Becky as a special guest. The monsters recorded a rating of 14.3% and only were beat by TV Asahi’s two-hour-drama “100 Shikaku wo Matsu Onna 5“.

Meanwhile, NHK aired the third and final episode of the mini-drama special “Kamisama no Nyobo“. With a final rating of 9.8%, it managed to achieve an average rating of 9.97%. A bit more and it would have crossed the 10.0%. Next week we will be able to look forward to the first episode of Ishihara Satomi’s mystery/medical drama special “Shimei to Tamashii no Limit” (two episodes).

Fans of a mix of variety shows and dramas should also check out the third season of “Shukujo” that replaced the summer drama “Kingyo Club” on NHK. Aside from the well-known regular cast (Ichikawa Miwako, Iriyama Noriko, Usuda Asami, and many more), we got some charming new additions in the form of Kimura Fumino and Gouriki Ayame.

Several other actors and talentos made guest appearances throughout the first episode, including Ito Hideaki, Haruna Ai, Shinsan Nameko, Konishi Manami, and many more. We don’t have ratings for that show, but maybe you are now curious enough to check it out.

After trying to kill some time until Sunday, it finally was the day for the premier of “Nankyoku Tairiku” (TBS), starring Kimura Takuya and so many other splendid actors. You can always argue about Kimura’s acting, but he still is a viewer magnet and brought TBS a fantastic rating of 22.2% in Kanto and 20.1% in Kansai. The numbers are amazing, considering the runtime of 125 minutes and the tough competition in form of the “Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo” special on NTV. However, nobody expected less from this drama and it will be interesting to see whether the upcoming three-four episode, that will all be longer than your average drama episode, will be able to stay on the same level.

However, there are two ways to interpret this 22.2%; either as ‘wow, awesome ratings‘ or ‘wow, Kimutaku wasn’t able to beat JIN2‘. The first episode of “JIN 2“, the other big Sunday drama of TBS, was quite long with 108 minutes as well and it recorded a rating of 23.7%.

In other words this means that the intriguing story and setting of “JIN” universe attracted more viewers than the antarctic adventure of drama legend Kimura Takuya. “JIN 2″ didn’t only attract those viewers with the first episode, it actually managed to keep most of them entertained throughout the whole season. If Kimura won’t be able to do the same magic in the same time slot, then maybe more people are going to claim that the drama legend continues to fade, no matter how much budget they use to cover it up.

Anyway, let’s not forget that other drama that started that day. Based on a manga, “Ore no Sora: Keiji-Hen“, is an entertaining story about a young wealthy man who decided to become a police detective in order to fight against various villains. It stars Shonozaki Ken, who was chosen after a big public audition for the role, Nagai Masaru, and Kuninaka Ryoko.

The drama recorded a rating of 6.6%, which is far from a spectacular result, but at least it seems to be well-received by those who watched it.

You can check out the ratings and starting dates of all the fall dramas below the daily report.

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NHK, TBS and TV Tokyo usually don’t disclose the ratings for their shows on a regular basis, therefore they won’t be included in the list below. Certain dramas or drama specials that aired on those channels and might lack ratings are still included with a ??.?% rating. This doesn’t mean that the ratings were too low to recorded.

Improvements and declines will be illustrated with the use of several icons. The colors and the numbers indicate how much the ratings have changed.

An orange color means almost no change, while a red color means the ratings dropped, and a green color means the ratings improved.

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10/14 – Friday

Other Highlights
?? – 21:00-23:22 – 16.1% ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WC TOKYO 2011
?? – 19:00-20:54 – 14.5% Pittanko Kan-Kan SP
?? – 19:00-21:48 – 14.0% Music Station 3h SP
?? – 21:00-22:54 – 13.2% Incite Mill 7 kakan no Death Game

midnight slot
?? – 24:12-24:53 – ??.?% Koko ga Uwasa no El Palacio (02)

Info:
>>> “Incite Mill 7 kakan no Death Game”
Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Ayase Haruka, Ishihara Satomi, Abe Tsuyoshi, and many more

> “Koko ga Uwasa no El Palacio”
Cast: Takeda Kohei, Sato Eriko, Takeda Rina, Aikawa Yuzuki, Sawayama Rina, Nakamura Shizuka, and Miura Rieko

Caps:
Incite Mill – Ayase Haruka

Incite Mill – Ishihara Satomi

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10/15 – Saturday

9:00 pm slot
01 – 21:00-22:51 – 14.4% 100 Shikaku wo Matsu Onna 5
02 – 21:00-22:24 – 14.3% Kaibutsu-kun Kanzen Shinsaku Special
03 – 21:00-23:10 – 13.4% Sanma & Cream Stew no Geinokai Kojinjoho GP
04 – 21:00-22:15 – 09.8% Kamisama no Nyobo (3) *FINAL*

Other Highlights
?? – 19:00-20:54 – 17.2% Tensai! Shimura Dobutsuen SP
?? – 22:24-23:18 – 13.9% Arashi ni Shiyagare

Info:
>>> “Kaibutsu-kun”
Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Matsuoka Masahiro, Kawashima Umika, Becky, and more

>>> “Kamisama no Nyobo”
Cast: Tokiwa Takako, Tsutsui Michitaka, Mitsumoto Toshio, Akino Yoko, and more

Caps:
Kaibutsu-kun – Various (with Becky standing out the most)

Shukujo – Konishi Manami & Gouriki Ayame

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10/16 – Sunday

8:00 pm slot
01 – 20:00-20:45 – 15.2% Gou – Himetachi no Sengoku (40)
02 – 19:00-22:24 – 13.6% Hoko x Tate 3h SP
03 – 18:56-20:54 – 12.9% Miru Miru Mishiru Sunday SP
04 – 19:00-20:54 – 12.2% The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!

9:00 pm slot
01 – 21:00-23:03 – 22.2% Nankyoku Tairiku (01) *START*
02 – 21:00-23:24 – 15.8% Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo SP
03 – 19:00-22:24 – 13.6% Hoko x Tate 3h SP
04 – 21:00-23:10 – 09.1% Die Hard 2: Die Harder

10:00 pm slot
01 – 21:00-23:03 – 22.2% Nankyoku Tairiku (01) *START*
02 – 21:00-23:24 – 15.8% Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo SP
03 – 21:00-23:10 – 09.1% Die Hard 2: Die Harder
04 – 22:30-23:45 – 07.1% Mr. Sunday

11 pm slot
01 – 23:26-23:56 – 10.5% Nakai Masahiro no Black Variety
02 – 22:30-23:45 – 07.1% Mr. Sunday
03 – 23:15-24:10 – 06.6% Ore no Sora: Keiji-Hen (01) *START*

Info:
> “Nankyoku Tairiku”
Cast: Kimura Takuya, Sakai Masato, Ayase Haruka, Yamamoto Yusuke, and more

> “Ore no Sora: Keiji-Hen”
Cast: Shonozaki Ken, Nagai Masaru, Kuninaka Ryoko, Natsuna, and more

Caps:
Gou – Various

Nankyoku Tairiku – Ayase Haruka

Nankyoku Tairiku – Ashida Mana

Ore no Sora – Kuninaka Ryoko

Ore no Sora – Natsuna

===

Drama Overview:

Previous: [Spring 2011] [Summer 2011]

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Jang Geun Suk made Takimoto Miori beam in "Ikemen desu ne" (TBS)

It was a sporty weekend with the continuation of the “Daegu Athletics World Championships 2011” and the two football (soccer) matches of both the national men and women teams.

Fortunately, “Ikemen desu ne” (TBS), the first drama on Friday, aired at it’s regular time of 9pm and therefore avoided all the sport events. Despite the guest appearance of Jang Geun Suk, it was only a small improvement for the drama this week, but still a big step as it actually crossed the 10% mark again. The following two dramas “Jiu” (TV Asahi) and “Ouran High School Host Club” (TBS) saw no big changes in their ratings either.

This time we got to see real fairies on “Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro“, turning it into yet another unique and hilarious episode. The guest appearances in this episode: Hashimoto Jun (Thief G), Inoue Hana (young fairy), Fukuda Narushi (young fairy), Hara Fumina (fairy queen), Okochi Hiroshi (butler), and more. Friends of Yamada Takayuki and other people involved, who just appeared for fun: Ayano Go (Centaur), Kato Haruhiko (guy with an ox horn), and Okada Yoshinori (guy with a cow udder).

Squirrel!!! ("Yuusha Yoshihiko" - TV Tokyo)

On Saturday, it was an unfair battle for NTV’s drama “Don Quixote“. It always was strong enough to counter a good movie or a good variety special, but that day it was four against one. Okay, the drama special on TV Asahi was weak, but Fuji TV’s “True Horror Stories” was really nice. TBS once again aired the “IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011″, but the biggest winner was NHK. They aired the qualifier of Japan’s women football team, aka “Nadeshiko“, for the London 2012 Olympic against South Korea. NHK had the perfect package for a heated evening – football, the ever-so-popular Nadeshiko, and everyone’s favorite arch-rival South Korea. Japan won the match, so viewers came out happy.

NHK also can be happy that their Sunday taiga drama “Gou” gained some viewers again. At 9 pm, everyone was curious to see “Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo” without Shimada Shinsuke, making it reach a fantastic rating of 19.4%. Meanwhile, the awful American “Taxi” remake was still watched by way too many people, “Hanawake no Yon Shimai” couldn’t keep its rating from last week, and “Hana Kimi 2011” is still playing around with 6%.

Hopefully you haven’t already forgotten about the drama “Barairo no Seisen” (TV Asahi), because it finally aired its first episode on Sunday. The drama stars actress Fukiishi Kazue and is based on a popular manga of the same name. 6.8% is not the best rating for the first episode (“Asuko March” achieved 7.5%), but everything will be fine as long as it doesn’t lose too many viewers from now on.

The final moments of Hosokawa Garasha (Gracia), played by Mimura ("Gou" - NHK)

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NHK, TBS and TV Tokyo usually don’t disclose the ratings for their shows on a regular basis, therefore they won’t be included in the list below. Certain dramas or drama specials that aired on those channels and might lack ratings are still included with a ??.?% rating. This doesn’t mean that the ratings were too low to recorded.

Improvements and declines will be illustrated with the use of several icons. The colors and the numbers indicate how much the ratings have changed.

An orange color means almost no change, while a red color means the ratings dropped, and a green color means the ratings improved.

===

09/02 – Friday

<10 pm slot
?? – 19:20-21:24 – 24.3% Football – Japan vs. North Korea (1:0)
?? – 18:30-21:54 – ??.?% IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011

10 pm slot
01 – 21:54-23:10 – 16.2% Hodo Station
02 – 21:00-22:52 – 14.5% Crime/Woman/Mystery – Kenji Kasumi Yuko
03 – 21:30-23:24 – 12.7% The Mystery of Mamo (Lupin III) (anime)
04 – 22:00-22:54 – 10.1% Ikemen desu ne (08)

11 pm slot
01 – 23:00-23:30 – 08.9% Hitoshi Matsumoto no OO na Hanashi
02 – 23:15-24:15 – 08.6% Jiu (06)
03 – 23:30-24:00 – 07.8% Another Sky

midnight slot
?? – 24:20-24:50 – 03.4% Ouran High School Host Club (07)
?? – 24:12-24:53 – ??.?% Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro (09)

Info:
> “Ikemen desu ne”
Cast: Takimoto Miori, Tamamori Yuta (Kis-My-Ft.2), Fujigaya Taisuke (Kis-My-Ft.2), Yaotome Hikaru (Hey! Say! JUMP) and more

> “Jiu”
Cast: Kuroki Meisa, Tabe Mikako, Kitamura Yukiya, Shirota Yu, L (INFINITE) and more

> “Ouran High School Host Club”
Cast: Kawaguchi Haruna, Yamamoto Yusuke, Ryusei Ryo, Nakamura Masaya and more

> “Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro”
Cast: Yamada Takayuki, Kinami Haruka, Takuma Shin, Muro Tsuyoshi and more
Ratings (irregular updates): 2.3% – 3.5% – 2.5% – 3.5% – 2.5% – 2.5% – ?? – ?? – ?? – …

Caps:
Ikemen desu ne – Takimoto Miori

Ikemen desu ne – Kojima Haruna

Ikemen desu ne – Jang Geun Suk

Yuusha Yoshihiko – Random Madness

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09/03 – Saturday

< 9 pm slot
?? – 19:45-20:48 – 24.6% Football (Women) – Japan vs. South Korea (2:1)

9 pm slot
01 – 20:59-22:00 – 29.0% Football (Women) – Japan vs. South Korea (2:1)
02 – 21:00-23:10 – 14.5% True Horror Stories (Honkowa) Summer 2011 SP
03 – 21:00-22:51 – 12.4% Shiho Kyokan Hotaka Yoshiko
04 – 19:10-21:54 – 11.2% IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011
05 – 21:00-21:54 – 08.7% Don Quixote (08)

11:30 pm slot
01 – 23:10-23:55 – 09.2% Pikaru no Teiri
02 – 23:00-23:54 – 07.8% SmaSTATION!!

Info: !! No “Kingyo Club” because of the irregular programming due to the football match !!

> “Don Quixote”
Cast: Matsuda Shota, Takahashi Katsumi, Narumi Riko, Matsushige Yutaka and more

> “Kingyo Club”
Cast: Irie Jingi, Kariya Yuiko, Mizuno Erina, Yoshizawa Ryo, Kurihara Goro and more

Caps:
Don Quixote – Random

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09/04 – Sunday

8 pm slot
01 – 20:00-20:45 – 17.8% Gou – Himetachi no Sengoku (34)
02 – 19:58-20:54 – 15.4% Sekai no Hate made Itte Q!
03 – 19:00-21:24 – 14.1% IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011
04 – 19:58-20:54 – 09.3% Bakusho! Dainippon Akan Keisatsu
05 – 19:58-20:54 – 09.3% Daikaizo!! Gekiteki Before-After Season II

9 pm slot
01 – 21:00-21:54 – 19.4% Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Sodanjo
02 – 21:00-22:54 – 12.1% Taxi (the American remake)
03 – 21:30-22:24 – 11.3% Hanawake no Yon Shimai (09)
04 – 21:00-21:54 – 06.4% Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (09)

11 pm slot
01 – 22:56-23:26 – 09.3% Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!
02 – 23:15-23:45 – 08.1% Shin Domoto Kyodai
03 – 23:00-23:55 – 06.8% Barairo no Seisen (01) *START*

Info:
> “Hanawake no Yon Shimai”
Cast: Mizuki Alisa, Kanjiya Shihori, Kawashima Umika, Kichise Michiko and more

> “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e”
Cast: Maeda Atsuko (AKB48), Nakamura Aoi, Miura Shohei and many more

> “Barairo no Seisen”
Cast: Fukiishi Kazue, Ashina Sei, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Kaname Jun and many more

Caps:
Gou – Random

Hana Kimi – Maeda Atsuko

Barairo no Seisen – Random

===

Drama Overview:

[Spring 2011]

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On August 23rd, popular MC Shimada Shinsuke suddenly announced that he will be retiring from the entertainment industry. An urgent press conference was held in Tokyo, where Shimada (along with his agency president Mizutani Nobuhiro) personally made the surprising announcement.

According to Yoshimoto Creative Agency, an email exchange between Shimada and a gang member had been uncovered. When the agency questioned Shimada about it, he admitted it to be a true fact. It appears that Shimada’s friend of ten years or so became part of a gang. Still, Shimada continued to keep in contact with his friend through emails and telephone calls. On top of that, it seems that this friend also came as customer to Shimada’s restaurant.

Shimada commented, “I didn’t think that I was doing anything wrong. Personally I thought it was ’safe’, but I found out the day before yesterday that it was considered ‘out‘.” Shimada’s agency remarked, “As a person starring in many influential programs in the industry, this act cannot be tolerated.”

It was also revealed that Shimada himself brought up the idea of retiring from the industry. President Mizutani Nobuhiro of his agency  stated, “I deeply apologize to the fans and members of the media for betraying everyone’s trust and causing trouble.”

This is not the first time that Shimada has caused a big issue in the media. Back in 2004, Shimada was prosecuted for inflicting injury on one of Yoshimoto’s female managers. At the time, he was charged a fine of 300,000 yen and was put on a 2-month probation, causing him to be absent from many of his TV programs. Being such a major figure in the entertainment industry, this sudden retirement announcement has surprised many media personnel.

Shimada joined Shimada Younosuke Imaki Tayo in 1974. In 1977, he linked up with the late Matsumoto Ryusuke to become a comedy duo, who became very popular with younger generations because of their articulate style. Later on in life, he tried his hands at being a movie director and has even produced music.

Currently, Shimada is involved with several variety programs on different TV networks: ‘Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo‘ (NihonTV), ‘Quiz Hexagon II‘ (FujiTV), ‘Kaiun! Nandemo Kantei-dan‘ (TV Tokyo), ‘Shinsuke Shachou no Produce Daisakusen‘ (TBS), and ‘Quiz! Shinsuke-kun‘ (ABC TV). It is unknown how each network will handle this dramatic piece of news.

In the meantime, check out the photos from this urgent press conference:

Source & Photo: SANSPO , sponichi