Amazon Announces Big Investment in Japanese Originals

Published

2 years ago

March 30, 2022

Prime Video announced the greenlighting of six Japanese Original programmes, unveiled release dates, show titles, trailers, and first looks, and confirmed additional live sports rights for Japan during its Prime Video Presents Japan showcase event in Tokyo today.

Takashi Kodama, Prime Video Japan’s country director, and Takayuki Hayakawa, Prime Video’s head of Japanese Originals, spoke at the press event about the company’s business and content strategy, and welcomed several high-profile guests on stage, including Takeshi Kitano, Asami Mizukawa, Sôsuke Ikematsu, Naoya Inoue, and Shinya Ueda.

A reboot of iconic game show Takeshi’s Castle, a local adaptation of hit romantic anthology series Modern Love, YA romantic horror adventure-comedy series My Undead Yokai Girlfriend, a movie adaptation of Ryota Kosawa’s bestseller Angel Flight, and second seasons of hit shows The Masked Singer and The Bachelorette Japan, as well as additional live boxing rights, were among the announcements.

“We’re very much focused on investing in the best Japanese talent to deliver the highest quality content for our Prime Video customers in Japan,”

– said Erika North, head of Originals, Asia Pacific, at Amazon Studios.

“We believe that putting the spotlight on the very best stories from Japanese creators will not only excite our Japanese viewers, but also audiences around the world.”

“We’re committed to producing varied Japanese programming for Prime members locally and globally,”

said Takayuki Hayakawa, head of Japanese Originals at Prime Video.

“Japan has incredible storytellers and we are delighted to be working with some of the best filmmakers, writers, directors, producers and actors in the business.

We have something for everyone: from big shows, to drama, to comedy, to live sports. We’re excited to be announcing these incredibly varied new Japanese Amazon Originals.”

At the event, Takayuki Hayakawa, head of Japanese Originals at Prime Video, made a series of announcements, including:

Reboot of Takeshi’s Castle (TBD, Premiere Date: 2023) – Prime Video Japan announced the greenlighting of a reboot of Takeshi’s Castle (Working title: Takeshi’s Castle Project), the iconic Japanese smash hit game show of the 80s. The All-New Japanese Amazon Original will premiere in 2023 exclusively for Prime members in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Starring legendary comedian Takeshi Kitano, the original Takeshi’s Castle was an unscripted adventure-variety show that aired on terrestrial network TBS from 1986-1989. As one of the biggest global hits from Japan, Takeshi’s Castle traveled to more than 150 countries and regions transcending language and cultural barriers, including the U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other Western countries, as well as Asian, South American, and Arabic countries.
Modern Love Tokyo (Premiere Date: Fall in 2022) – Modern Love Tokyo is the Japanese adaptation of Prime Video’s Original romantic anthology series Modern Love. Modern Love portrays diverse stories of the universal emotion of love in its many forms, and each episode is based on a beloved column in The New York Times. With the Japanese adaptation, five leading Japanese film directors will bring to life a collection of stories about various forms of love taking place in Tokyo. Modern Love Tokyo stars Asami Mizukawa, Hiromi Nagasaku, Yûsuke Santamaria, Sôsuke Ikematsu, and Naomi Scott, with episodes directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Wife of a Spy), Naoko Ogigami (Close-Knit), Ryuichi Hiroki (Ride or Die), Nobuhiro Yamashita (Matsugane ransha jiken), and Atsuko Hirayanagi (Oh Lucy!), who also serves as showrunner. Modern Love Tokyo will premiere this autumn exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
My Yokai Yokai Girlfriend (Premiere Date: 2023) – My Lovely Yokai Girlfriend is a half-hour, YA romantic horror adventure-comedy series about a lonely college student who wants nothing more than to find a girlfriend, and a yōkai who accidentally becomes bonded to him through a magical hex. As this quirky love story quickly morphs into an epic adventure saga following a mysterious set of murders, we follow our two outcasts who must reconcile their complicated love for each other with a yokai’s mission of reckless vengeance. My Lovely Yokai Girlfriend is directed by Takahiro Miki (Love Me, Love Me Not). It is created by Yalun Tu (NCIS: Hawaii, Grace) and Zach Hines (Grace). My Lovely Yokai Girlfriend will premiere in 2023 exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Angel Flight (Premiere Date: In 2023) – Angel Flight is a drama about the professionals who work as international hearse repatriation experts, a job that involves sending people who have died abroad back to their homeland. The main character, Nami Izawa, overcomes a difficult situation with her extraordinary strong conviction and energy in order to give the bereaved body and the bereaved family a final farewell. She is joined by new employee Rinkoko Takagi and other team members, who are involved in numerous stories of “life and death” as they deal with the secrets behind the death of the deceased and the grief of the bereaved. Scriptwriters are Ryota Kosawasawa (Aibo, Confidenceman JP) and Takafumi Kosaka (Doctor X).
The Masked Singer Season Two (Premiere Date: Summer in 2022) – The Masked Singer, the Japanese edition of the internationally acclaimed hit celebrity competition series, is returning for Season Two this summer exclusively for Prime members. In The Masked Singer, a selection of celebrities dressed head-to-toe in flamboyant character costumes, are singing live for a panel of star judges who have the unenviable task of guessing: “Who is behind the mask”. Along with the studio audience, the panel will try to guess the singers’ identities through a series of cryptic clues. Season Two will be back with just as much excitement, including even bigger performances, more shocking celebrity reveals, and the return of host Yô Ôizumi. The panel of star judges will be announced soon.
The Bachelorette Japan Season 2 (Premiere Date: Summer in 2022) – Prime Video also announced the return of dating show The Bachelorette Japan. The Bachelorette Japan is the gender-reversed version of hit how The Bachelor Japan. Season One premiered in 2020, and became one of the most talked-about instalments of the series. The first season garnered sympathy for the bachelorette, as she earnestly dealt with the unique male participants and the tactics, emotional conflicts, and friendships that unfolded during her journey. Season Two has been announced with a brand new trailer at the Prime Video Presents Japan showcase event. Through highlighted scenes from the past five years, the series’ “journey to find true love” is brought back to life with emotion. The new season will launch this summer exclusively on Prime Video.

Additional announcements:

Live Boxing: Naoya Inoue vs Nonito Donaire (Premiere Date: June 7, 2022) – Prime Video announced that it will livestream the WBA, IBF, and WBC World Bantamweight title fight between WBA World Bantamweight Super Champion and IBF Bantamweight World Champion Naoya Inoue, and WBC World Bantamweight Champion Nonito Donaire on June 7 from the Saitama Super Arena. Prime members in Japan will have access to Prime Video Presents Live Boxing at no additional cost to their membership. The first instalment of Prime Video Presents Live Boxing will take place on April 9 with the WBA and IBF World Middleweight title unification fight between Ryōta Murata from Japan and Gennadiy Golovkin from Kazakhstan.
Bake Off Japan Season 1 (Premiere Date: April 22, 2022) – Prime Video revealed the trailer for Season One of Amazon Original Bake Off Japan, which will premieres on Friday, April 22. Bake Off Japan will see 10 amateur bakers compete by baking sweets and breads in a series of challenges. The bakers’ skills will be judged by Toshihiko Yoroizuka, one of Japan’s top pastry chefs and owner of Toshi Yoroizuka patisserie, and Yoshimi Ishikawa, an entrepreneur who trained in baking in France and runs 29 boulangerie/patisserie cafés across France and Japan. The series hosts are actress Maki Sakai and actor Asuka Kudo.