© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Following up with our previous report on the live-action TV drama adaptation for “Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju”, fans will be thrilled to finally see key visuals of the main casts in full make-up and costume for the drama series scheduled to go on air next month in October. Let’s take a look!

Masaki Okada as the 8th Generation ‘Yurakutei Yakumo’ – younger picture (left) is when he was still known as ‘Kikuhiko’; elderly picture (right) is him in his elderly years and taken on the hereditary Yakumo name:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Ryo Ryusei as ‘Yotaro Yurakutei’ – the student that Yakumo took on in his senior years:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Riko Narumi as ‘Konatsu’ – Yakumo’s adoptive daughter:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Aya Ohmasa as ‘Miyokichi’ – a geisha that the young Kikuhiko knew in his younger days; also Konatsu’s birth mother:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Ikusaburo Yamazaki as ‘Sukeroku’ – Yakumo’s fellow student when they were studying the art of rakugo story-telling under the same master, and his eternal rival. He was also Konatsu’s birth father; Yakumo adopted the orphaned girl after Sukeroku’s death because he felt personally responsible for the latter’s demise:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Yamazaki also posted via his personal/official twitter account of the full-costumed visual reveal and asked fans to support him and the series:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

A separate Comic Natalie source also showed the full group shot of the cast in kimono as they were presented during the media conference last week:

© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
© Haruko Kumota / Kodansha © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Other than the main cast’s visuals, the series’ production committee also announced that the theme-song for the TV drama to be using the new song “Maboroshi” by Yuzu – as they have unveiled via their official twitter post as well.

“Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju” TV drama series premieres on 12 October 2018 via NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) channel. Fans may like to follow its official website for detailed updates from hereon.