Kaku Kento to lead "Clover"
19 Feb – Kaku Kento has been selected to star in TV Tokyo's drama adaptation of Hirakawa Tetsuhiro's coming-of-age manga, "Clover", according to Tokyo Hive.
Unlike his previous role as a martial artist in the television special live adaptation of Takahashi Rumiko's martial arts comedy "Ranma 1/2", his turn as the hard-punching Hayato would be in Kento's first television leading role.
"This is my first leading role, so I'm motivated in a different way. Since I'm in the spotlight, I'm trying my best not to show my exhaustion. It's a story that men and women of all ages can relate to, but overall, I want guys to think I'm cool,", said Kento on his upcoming role.
Coming from an all-boys school, Kento thinks that his experience there would help him to get into the role.
"I understand the feeling of always wanting to help out a friend when they're in a critical situation." he said.
Also making his television debut with this drama series is director Irie Yu, who previously directed the Japanese movie "SR: Saitama no Rapper".
"Clover" revolves around Hayato, who returns to his hometown after several years and reunites with his two friends, Tomoki, who will be played by Miura Takahiro; and Kenji, who will be played by Suzunosuke. The three high school delinquents find themselves getting into trouble and fights but the strong friendship between the trio helps them to overcome these obstacles.
Meanwhile Arimura Kasumi would be taking the role as Hayato's classmate, Akiyama Yui.
The manga is currently serialised in Weekly Shonen Champion since 2007 and has so far sold more than 4.5 million copies. The drama series is set to begin airing in Japan on April 13.
