Idaten (TV series)


Idaten: Tokyo Orinpikku-banashi is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 58th NHK taiga drama. It stars Nakamura Kankurō VI and Sadao Abe as marathon runner Shiso Kanakuri and swimming coach Masaji Tabata respectively. It began broadcasting in 2019 as part of the lead up to the 2020 Summer Olympics in which NHK is, under the Japan Consortium, principal co-host broadcaster. This drama is the 2nd ever post-war taiga drama in NHK history since Inochi: Life in 1986 and marks the 55th anniversary of the 1964 Summer Olympics, which the NHK broadcast; this is also the last series to premiere in the Heisei era and the first series to air during the Reiwa era. The series received an average rating of 8.2%, the lowest in history for a taiga drama.

Plot

The drama focuses on the stories of two Japanese Olympians from different times of the 20th century: marathon runner Shiso Kanakuri, who took part in the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympics and one of the first Japanese athletes to compete in the Games, and swimming coach Masaji Tabata, known as a founding father of Japanese swimming and was part of the successful efforts to bring the Olympics to Japan.

Cast

Starring

On November 16, 2016, NHK announced that its 58th taiga drama will be about Japan's participation in the Olympic Games from 1912 up to 1964, with Kankurō Kudō as writer and Tsuyoshi Inoue as chief director. The drama series' title, Idaten: Tokyo Orinpikku-banashi, was revealed on April 4, 2017.

Casting

The main cast of the series was announced on November 1, 2017, which included Nakamura Kankurō VI, Sadao Abe, Haruka Ayase, Toma Ikuta, Hana Sugisaki, Kento Nagayama, and Ryo Katsuji among others. The second cast announcement on November 29, 2017 included Takeshi Kitano as Kokontei Shinshō V. The third cast announcement on March 30, 2018 included Tomorowo Taguchi, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Kenta Satoi, and Yō Takahashi. The fourth cast announcement on December 14, 2018 included Gen Hoshino, Tori Matsuzaka, and Yutaka Matsushige. The fifth cast announcement on March 5, 2019 included Shinobu Terajima, Yuina Kuroshima, Koharu Sugawara, and Itsuji Itao. Two more cast announcements were done on April 24 and May 17, 2019.
On March 12, 2019, actor-musician Masanori "Pierre" Taki, who portrayed the role of tabi craftsman Shinsaku Kurosaka, was arrested in Tokyo due to his admission of drug use. This came after authorities searched his home in Setagaya Ward and tested him positive for cocaine use from a urine sample. He was eventually replaced by Hiroki Miyake in the series.

TV schedule

Highlight

Home media

The first 13 episodes and 11 succeeding episodes of Idaten will be released in separate Blu-ray box sets in Japan on April 24, 2020; DVD edition box sets will also released on the same day. Episodes 25 to 36 and 37 to 47 will later be released in separate Blu-ray box sets as well on May 22, 2020, along with their respective DVD versions.

Soundtracks