Sorimachi stars in Masafumi Akikawa drama project

[Tokyograph News]

Last month, it was announced that tenor Masafumi Akikawa's hit song "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" is being used as the theme for a special Fuji TV drama project. The project consists of four episodes across four nights, with each story dealing with grief. Two nights (August 10-11) have already been set aside for the "Hadashi no Gen" drama adaptation announced last week, and the first night (August 3) will be based on a publicly submitted story.

The remaining episode (August 4), titled "Zou no Hanako," is based on the nonfiction children's book "Kawaisou na Zou" (roughly, "Those Poor Elephants"). In 1943, due to bombings during the war, animals from Tokyo's Ueno Zoo broke free and were ordered to be killed. While the original book focused on the plight of three elephants, the drama centers on the worker in charge of the elephants, who desperately tries to save them. The role will be played by actor Takashi Sorimachi.

Scenes involving the elephants will be filmed in Thailand, where an open set will be constructed to resemble the zoo.

Other cast members include Masaaki Sakai and Kazuki Kitamura.

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