9 years after his acting debut, Shirota Yu lands his first leading role in a drama
It was announced on February 27th that actor Shirota Yu (25) would star in a new drama for Fuji TV, his very first since he launched his acting career nine years ago.
In the drama “Yotsuba Jinja Urakagyou – Shitsuren Hoken~Kokuraseya~“, Shirota plays an associate professor of animal ecology who also doubles as an investigator, secretly conducting personal investigations for customers who buy his expensive “Heartbreak Insurance” to make up for their lacking relationship skills.
What is this “Heartbreak Insurance” we speak of? Well, say if you want to confess your love to that special someone, but you can’t face the the thought of being rejected. With “Heartbreak Insurance”, your problems are solved! Shirota’s character provides that “safety” to his clients, who can make their payments in instalments of no less than 1 million yen (~$12,000 USD). After the purchase goes through, he investigates his customers’ lives, and using relationship psychology, suggests the perfect time for them to confess their love.
Introducing the concept of a “risk-free love”, the show exposes the fragility of the human soul through a combination of romance and mystery.
Shirota Yu revealed that in order for him to encourage himself, he would say, “Honestly, I feel a lot of pressure. But since I’m the “chairman” [the lead role], I will do my best to honor that title.”
Shirota Yu made his acting debut in 2003 through the musical “Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,” and gained the media’s attention in 2007 for his pretty-boy role in “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e~Ikemen Paradise~“. His big break came after he played a delinquent high school student in the 2008 TBS drama, “ROOKIES”.
Still, though he’s played several characters throughout his career, they were all secondary or supporting roles. Yu was finally able to land that long-awaited starring role through this upcoming Spring drama. “All my life, I never thought I would be playing the lead role in a serial drama,” he confessed.
Actress Fukuda Saki will play Shirota’s sidekick, a college student who works part-time at a shrine. The manager and creator of the “Heartbreak Insurance” plan is the shrine’s gay head priest, played by Furuta Arata.
The drama will become the first in a series of mysteries shows aired during Fuji TV’s new “Wednesday Mystery Theater” time slot, and the script will be written by Yamazaki Junya. Yamazaki has previously produced similar works which feature a main character that psychologically analyzes people, including “Oogon no Buta – Kaikei Kensachou Tokubetsu Chousaka” and “Kiina – Fukanou Hanzai Sousakan“.
With its fresh new set-up, the drama is sure to turn heads when it airs its pilot episode on April 7th.
I am SOOOOOO excited! biggrin
