NHK’s Big Hit Morning Comedy ‘Ama-chan’ to be Aired in Taiwan & Thailand!

| Others | Posted by TokyoGirls'Update on Nov.07.2013

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NHK’s super popular morning drama “Ama-chan” will be aired in Taiwan from November and in Thailand from next February!

“Ama-chan,” based on the story of northern Japan, has been a big domestic hit this year. A pet phrase of the heroine “JE JE JE“, used in northern dialects to show surprise, became a social phenomenon. The drama achieved average domestic viewing figures of 20.6%, it marked the highest average for a morning serial drama in a decade.

In Japan, “Ama-chan” started on April 1, 2013, and was broadcast until September 28, 2013. It was scripted by Kankuro Kudo and starred Rena Nōnen as Aki Amano, a high-school girl from Tokyo who moves to the Sanriku Coast in the Tohoku region to become a traditional female diver “ama.”
However, she takes part in a local idol group, then returns to Tokyo to try to become a real idol. After that, she finally returns to Tohoku to help revitalize the area after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

NHK Enterprises Inc, which distributes NHK programs overseas, concluded acquisition contracts with Videoland Television Network, the primary satellite television provider in Taiwan, and TrueVisions, cable satellite television operator in Thailand.
The broadcasts will be the first time that “Ama-chan” has been screened in Asia. The program has been available since June on a cable network television station in Hawaii, with English subtitles, and is targeted at local people of Japanese descent.
NHK said it will continue to promote “Ama-chan” to other foreign markets and the corporation hopes the series can be enjoyed by more foreign viewers.

In addition, an up-and-coming idol group Babyraids’ “Koyomi no Ue dewa December” also became a hot topic due to “Ama-chan.” The song was used as a hit tune of the fictional idol group “Ameyoko Jogakuen Geino Course” (in short “AmeJo”).
In the drama, “Koyomi no Ue dewa December” became a million seller. The heroine, “Aki”, also sings this song as a member of AmeJo’s sister group “GMT46″. The lyrics were written by scriptwriter Kudo Kankuro himself.

Everyone in Taiwan and Thailand, stay tuned to “Ama-chan” that so many of Japanese enjoyed this year! It’s worth checking out!

Ama-chan’s Cast

Rena Nonen as Aki Amano
Kyoko Koizumi as Haruko Amano, Aki’s mother
Nobuko Miyamoto as Natsu Amano, Aki’s grandmother
Toshinori Omi as Masamune Kurokawa, Aki’s father
Keizo Kanie as Chūbei Amano, Aki’s grandfather
Eri Watanabe as Yayoi Konno, an ama
Hana Kino as Katsue Osanai, an ama
Denden as Rokurō Osanai, her husband
Jun Miho as Misuzu Kumagai, an ama
Hairi Katagiri as Sayuri Anbe, an ama
Tetta Sugimoto as Daikichi Ōmukai, the station master
Yoshiyoshi Arakawa as Masayoshi Yoshida, Daikichi’s assistant
Mitsuru Fukikoshi as Tamotsu Sugawara, head of the tourism bureau
Teppei Koike as Hiroshi Adachi
Ai Hashimoto as Yui Adachi, his younger sister
Sei Hiraizumi as Isao Adachi, Hiroshi and Yui’s father
Akiko Yagi as Yoshie Adachi, Hiroshi and Yui’s mother
Sansei Shiomi as Ben Oda, an amber miner
Kasumi Arimura as Haruko Amano, age 18
Ryuhei Matsuda as Takuma Mizuguchi, a talent scout
Sota Fukushi as Kōichi Taneichi, Aki’s senior in high school
Arata Furuta as Taichi Aramaki, a talent company president
Hiroko Yakushimaru as Hiromi Suzuka, an actress
Pierre Taki as Umezu, a sushi chef
Suzuki Matsuo as Kai, a café owner

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