Kazuya Ohashi (Naniwa Danshi) and Soma Santoki have been added to the cast of the drama “Tami Ou R” starring Kenichi Endo

■ “When I heard about the role, I was surprised and thought, ‘That’s Tamiou!?’ But I was also really happy and thought, ‘Yesssss!'” (Kazuya Ohashi)

Starting in October, TV Asahi will broadcast the drama “Tamiou R” starring Endo Kenichi.

This drama is inspired by “Tami Ou” by author Jun Ikeido, who is known for the “Naoki Hanzawa” series, “Downtown Rocket” series, and “Hayabusa Fire Brigade.” “Tami Ou,” which was broadcast in 2015, will be “renewed” and “rebooted” for the first time in nine years.

The previous work depicted an unprecedented and unusual incident in which the minds and bodies of the current Prime Minister, Taizan Muto, played by Endo, and his foolish son, Sho, were swapped, sometimes cynically and sometimes heartwarmingly. In this work, “Minoru R,” Taizan, who has once again become Prime Minister, is once again faced with a body-swap situation.

Moreover, this time the “subject to be swapped” is the “entire nation”! In “Minoou R”, the Prime Minister is randomly swapped with a citizen in each episode, and a fantastic story unfolds.

Who is Taizan’s body swap partner? And who started this commotion, and for what purpose? What will become of Taizan, who is once again caught up in an unprecedented situation?

The long-awaited “Return” of the latest work, “Tami Ouji R.” When the information ban was lifted the other day and the teaser was released, many people posted on social media, saying things like, “I’m so happy about Tami Ouji R. I really love Enken from Tami Ouji,” “That was so funny! It’s been nine years already!” and “The crocodile-faced prime minister! I’ll definitely watch it!”

Furthermore, the new cast members, who were hidden behind masks of Endo Kenichi’s face in the teaser, also sparked a lot of mystery, with people speculating, with comments such as “The way the masks are hidden is so exquisite it’s difficult to tell,” “Maybe my favorite person’s face is on the other side of the mask,” and “I wonder who it is? I can’t wait to find out who the new cast members are.”

And now, the fresh and unique new cast members have finally been announced.

■Naniwa Danshi’s Ohashi Kazuya plays an innocent and ignorant student with connections!
Kazuya Ohashi has been cast as Ichirota Tanakamaru, the “student” of Taizan Muto, played by Endo. Ohashi is the leader of Naniwa Danshi and leads the group with his outstanding singing ability. He has not only shown his talent in variety shows, but also in numerous dramas, and has recently been cast in his first movie since the group was formed, widening the scope of his activities.

Ohashi plays the role of Tanakamaru Ichirota, a student who was completely defeated in his job hunt and became a student through his father’s connections as the chairman of Taizan’s supporters. He was well-bred and innocent and ignorant of politics… he is a pure-hearted person.

When it was decided that he would be appearing in the film, Ohashi shouted with joy, “Yessssss!” The staff members said that Ichirota’s character was “just like him” and “perfect fit!” He expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “I’m happy to have been given a role that suits me so well that people who I’ve never met before would say that, and I’d like to do even more with the help of everyone!”

■Anoko has been appointed as Taizan’s first public secretary! Is this talented woman recommended by Kaihara a sharp-tongued person with a secret?
Ano plays Yuka Saejima, Taizan’s first public secretary. Ano, who has many different roles as a musician and model, will finally make a regular appearance in a TV Asahi drama.

Yuka, played by Ano, is a talented woman and a rather sharp-tongued person from the Narita Educational Foundation, which provides special education to a handful of geniuses. She was recommended by Kaibara Mohei (Takahashi Issei), who was previously Taizan’s first public secretary, but it seems that she has some ulterior motives for becoming his secretary…

“Yuka is a very smart, confident, and strong-willed woman, so I’d like to practice my pronunciation and tongue twisters before the shoot!” it seems that Yuka herself is also looking forward to the shoot.

■ His real age is 19. Soma Santoki plays a detective in the Public Security Bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department who has a fragile mentality and cries easily!
And Soma Santoki will play the role of Nekoda Mamoru, a detective in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau. Santoki has attracted attention for his roles in films such as “How Do You Live?”, “Mars: Zero’s Revolution”, and “The Best Teacher: One Year Later, I Was Killed by My Student”, and has expanded his field of activity to include commercials. Santoki, who is also rapidly gaining attention, will bring a breath of fresh air to “Tami Ouji R”.

Santoki plays Nekoda, a smart career officer at the Metropolitan Police Department. However, because he is too serious, he has a weak mentality and tends to cry easily when something happens.

Santoki, who is only 19 years old in real life, revealed his enthusiasm, saying, “I’ll do my best to look mature and act with confidence!”

How will the three unique new cast members perform in the world of “Tami Ouji R”? Lead actor Endo also expressed his expectations, saying, “I’m looking forward to the energy of these three people, all of whom are different and have their own personalities, bringing a breath of fresh air to the show.”

■The official TikTok account for “Tami Ouji R” has also been opened!
Along with the release of this information, it was also announced that an official TikTok account for “Tamiou R” (@tamioudrama) will be opened. In addition to videos of comments from the cast, special videos such as SNS exclusive videos will be posted here.

■Comment from Kenichi Endo (role of Taizan Muto)
Idol Kazuya Ohashi, the unique character Ano-chan, and the fresh Soma Santoki — I actually worked with Santoki two years ago, and he played the role of my son, but now he’s a completely grown young man… I’m looking forward to seeing the energy of these three different, unique characters bring a breath of fresh air to the show.
“Tamiou” was broadcast 9 years ago and was very well received, and now it’s back as “Tamiou R”. While I’m happy to be doing this fun drama again, I also feel some pressure after hearing that many characters will be replaced. I’ll work with these three new cast members to make this the best drama ever, so please watch it and laugh your head off!

■ Comment from Kazuya Ohashi (role of Ichirota Tanaka)
When I was asked to appear in the show, I was surprised and thought, “That ‘Tami Ouji’!?” But I was also really happy and thought, “Yessssss!” The lines in the show have difficult vocabulary, so I was a bit worried if I could do it, but Kenichi Endo, the rest of the cast, and the staff are all so kind, so I hope to be surrounded by that kindness while I study.
It may seem odd for me to say this as a younger person, but Endo-san is really cute (laughs). I had heard from many people that Endo-san was a cute person, but when I actually met her, she was really cute, and she was also very kind to everyone, so the three of us had a lot of fun filming the teaser. I’m really looking forward to the start of filming the drama!
The staff members who I play as Ichirota have said, “That’s just like him!” and “He’s perfect for the role!” (laughs) I’m happy to have been given such a perfect role that even people I’ve met for the first time have said that about me, and I’d like to do even more with the help of everyone.

■Ano (Yuka Saejima)’s comment
First of all, I was surprised that “Minna-Ou” was coming back, and I’m also very happy that I was invited to be there. It was my first time meeting Kenichi Endo, but he is a very playful person and it’s a lot of fun to be with him.
Yuka, the character I play, is a smart, confident, and strong-willed woman, so I’m going to practice my pronunciation and tongue twisters before filming!

■ Comment from Soma Santoki (role of Mamoru Nekoda)
I’m very happy to be able to enter the world of “Tami Ouji” and to be able to work with such a wonderful cast. Kenichi Endo made the set very bright and lively, and there were times when we all couldn’t stop laughing, so we had a lot of fun shooting the teaser.
The character I play, Nekoda, is an elite and smart, but mentally weak, mysterious character. I’m 19 years old now, so I’ll do my best to look mature and act confidently.

Comment from Jun Ikeido
“Tami Ouji” is newly opened. (R) is not based on my original work. Although I gave some suggestions about the concept, I was surprised when I saw the plot because it was completely different. You could say that this drama is an original story by the production team. I would like to fully support the bold challenge of the video creators involved in the drama production. Please go wild to your heart’s content in the world of “Tami Ouji”. As a viewer, I can’t wait.

Program Information

TV Asahi“Minna-ou R”
Starting October 2024 Every Tuesday from 9:00pm to 9:54pm

Inspired by Jun Ikeido’s “Tamiou” (Bunshun Bunko/Kadokawa Bunko)
Screenplay: Yoichi Kato, Kento Goto, and others
Directed by: Shogo Kusano, Daisuke Yamamoto, Eriko Sato
Music: Akio Izutsu
Executive Producer: Yumiko Miwa (TV Asahi)
Producers: Sayaka Iida (TV Asahi), Mayuko Tanaka (TV Asahi), Makoto Kikuchi (Azbarz)
Production cooperation: Azbars
Produced by: TV Asahi

Starring: Kenji Endo
Cast: Kazuya Ohashi and Soma Santoki

“Tami Ou R” program site
https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/tamiou/