The complex intertwining character relationships of the drama “Warau Matryoshka” starring Asami Mizukawa, Tetsuji Tamayama, and Sho Sakurai have been revealed

■Aoki Yuzu, Nishiyama Jun, and Hamao Noritaka have been selected to play the student versions of Sakurai Sho, Tamayama Tetsuji, and Watanabe Dai!

Starting June 28th, TBS will be broadcasting the Friday drama “Laughing Matryoshka,” starring Mizukawa Asami and featuring Tamayama Tetsuji and Sakurai Sho.

The drama “Laughing Matryoshka” is a human political suspense drama that explores the “strange relationship” between an extremely popular young politician and his capable secretary, and the dark darkness that surrounds them.

The main character, Michigami Kanae, a newspaper reporter played by Mizukawa, pursues the dark darkness surrounding Seike Ichiro, a popular young politician played by Sakurai, and his capable secretary Suzuki Toshiya, played by Tamayama.

A complex intertwining character relationship chart was also released on the program’s official website.

It has now been decided that Aoki Yuzu, Nishiyama Jun, and Hamao Noritaka will play the popular politician Seike Ichiro, played by Sakurai, his secretary Suzuki Toshiya, played by Tamayama, and the chairman of Seike’s supporters’ club Sasaki Koichi, played by Watanabe Dai, from high school to college.

The three appear in flashback scenes, which are an important part of the story and connect to the mysterious pasts and roots of Kiyoie and Suzuki.

Yuzu Aoki will play Seike as a student. This will be her first appearance in a TBS drama since her guest role in the Friday drama “1,000,000 Times I Should Have Said It” in 2023.

During his high school days, Seike was a rather obscure student, far from the charismatic person he is today. Nevertheless, he rose to become student council president at his prestigious school and brought everyone together.

How will Aoki, who has often played mysterious characters in recent years, portray the mysterious personality of Seike? Aoki has visited Sakurai’s filming and is studying his acting, so expectations are high for the “other Seike” he will play.

Also worth watching are the two actors playing Suzuki and Sasaki as students, key figures who shaped the Seike of today.

Nishiyama Jun will play Suzuki as a student. Nishiyama made an impact in the 2021 Sunday Theatre drama “Dragon Zakura” as a delinquent student with a shaved head. This will be his first appearance in a TBS drama since appearing as a member of a separate class in the 2023 Sunday Theatre drama “VIVANT.”

Suzuki was the most intelligent and mature student in his high school years, and his homeroom teacher at the time said that he was “more suited to be student council president than Seike.” What is the true reason why Suzuki has continued to be Seike’s brain without stepping forward himself?

And Noritaka Hamao will play Sasaki, who together with Suzuki helped Kiyoie become student council president and is now the president of the supporters’ club. He is still fresh in our memory as the protagonist’s cheerful and bossy roommate in the 2023 Tuesday drama “My Second Aoharu.”

Sasaki, who served as vice president of the student council under Seike, also appears in Seike’s autobiography and seems to have been someone he could talk to about anything. However, like Suzuki, he also seems to be up to something.

In the flashback scenes of the three characters that appear throughout the story, the secret of the suspicious relationship between Seike and Suzuki is gradually unraveled. Don’t miss the flashback scenes in which the three up-and-coming actors, who met for the first time during the filming of an important scene that appears early in the story, already work in perfect chemistry with each other, in which the mystery leads to more mysteries.

■ Comment from Yuzu Aoki
Where were you born, who did you meet, and what did you feel that changed you? And what does it mean to be yourself? Through the character of Ichiro Seike, I felt a sense of resonation and a startled feeling for the first time.
I would like to work carefully to ensure that the time I spend as Seike flows authentically, capturing the space within Seike that only Sakurai can express.

Comment from Jun Nishiyama
After reading the original work, I believe it is a work that is filled with important background from the past, so I would like to respect its roots and incorporate elements of Suzuki, played by Tamayama Tetsuji, to create a story about the school days.
I am also very happy to be working with Aoki Yuzu-san and Hamao Noritaka-san for the first time. I hope to have fun and do the filming carefully so that I don’t lose to the summer heat.

■ Comment from Noritaka Hamao
When I was decided to appear in this work, I immediately opened the original novel and read it all in one go.
What remains in my mind after reading it is the difficulty, fear, and weight of true “trust”. I will do my best to portray Sasaki, who is an indispensable presence for Seike and Suzuki, as honestly as possible, and the days the three spent together at the school. I hope you will enjoy each episode carefully!

■ Episode 1 Synopsis
April 2022.
The newly formed cabinet includes young politician Ichiro Seike (Sho Sakurai), who has just joined the cabinet for the first time as Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. Seike’s liberal words and actions have garnered public support, and he is seen as a future candidate for prime minister, attracting much attention as the centerpiece of the new cabinet, which is aiming to rejuvenate the nation.

At the same time, Michigami Kanae (Mizukawa Asami), a reporter for the Touto Newspaper Literature Club, visits Seike’s alma mater in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, to cover an article introducing his recently published autobiography. However, his homeroom teacher reveals that Seike is a man far removed from his current reliable image, and that he has a brain behind him named Suzuki Toshiya (Tamayama Tetsuji), who does not appear in the autobiography. In high school, Suzuki mentored Seike, helping him rise to student council president, and even now that he has become a politician, Suzuki still supports him as his secretary.

“Why did Seike not include such an important person in his autobiography?”

Feeling something was off, Michigami is determined to interview people involved at the time to find out the reason.

In the midst of all this, Michigami receives a phone call from his father, Kanetaka (Watanabe Ikkei / the official spelling of “Taka” is “Hashigo-daka”). He says he’s been looking into something, and at the moment he asks Michigami for advice, Kanetaka dies in a sudden traffic accident.

Michigami begins to investigate the strange relationship between a popular politician and his secretary. Then, Kanetaka suddenly dies… What shocking developments and truths await him?

Ambition and downfall, conspiracy and betrayal… a thrilling story intertwining human desires and mysteries begins.

(C)TBS

Program Information

TBS Friday Drama “Laughing Matryoshka”
Starts June 28, 2024 (Friday) Every Friday 22:00-22:54

Produced by Kyodo Television TBS
Original story: “Laughing Matryoshka” by Kazuma Hayami (Bungeishunju)
Screenplay: Yoshihiro Izumi and Yu Kanda
Producer: Fumi Hashimoto
Directed by: Kazuyuki Iwata
Orchestration: Ayaka Sugita

Performer:
Kanae Michigami: Asami Mizukawa
Toshiya Suzuki: Tetsuji Tamayama

Takashi Yamanaka: Tomoki Maruyama
Kentaro Hatate: Masato Wada
Koichi Sasaki: Dai Watanabe
Naoki Aoyama: Ryosuke Sota

Ichiro Seike (high school days): Yuzu Aoki
Toshiya Suzuki (high school days): Jun Nishiyama
Koichi Sasaki (high school days): Noritaka Hamao
Kazunori Sakamoto: Masatoshi Nakayama
Rinrin: Sakuya

Kanetaka Michigami: Ikkei Watanabe
Masafumi Hanyu: Akira Otaka
Ikuo Morohashi: Kenichi Yajima

Noriaki Fujita: Tomiyuki Kunihiro
Kiyoshi Isshiki: Toshihide Higashinesaku
Kazuhiro Takechi: Shigemitsu Ogi

Yoshitaka Wadashima: Masaya Kato
Kaori Michigami: Mariko Tsutsui
Mysterious Woman: Saki Takaoka

Ichiro Seike: Sho Sakurai

“Laughing Matryoshka” program site
https://www.tbs.co.jp/waraumatryoshka_tbs/