Saki Aibu in NTV drama Rebound

Saki Aibu (25) has the lead role in an NTV drama series called "Rebound," airing this spring on Wednesday nights at 10:00pm. The show will use special makeup to make Aibu's character appear to be as heavy as 85 kilograms in weight.

"Rebound" is an original script by screenwriter Kazuhiko Yukawa, whose past dramas include "Magerarenai Onna" and "Joou no Kyoushitsu."

Aibu plays Nobuko, the daughter of a tonkatsu shop owner who grew up on tonkatsu and cake. As a result, she weighed 60 kilograms by the time she graduated from elementary school, and at age 20 she weighed 85 kilograms. In order to turn her life around, she quits eating cake and sheds 37 kilograms, leading to her current career as the editor of a fashion magazine.

When she goes to interview the "sweet prince," a fashionable pastry chef played by Mocomichi Hayami (26), she winds up breaking her ban on cake and begins "rebounding" from her diet. She soon finds herself having to decide between her currently slim lifestyle and a delicious romance with the handsome patissier. The show also features Chiaki Kuriyama (26) playing Nobuko's good friend Hitomi.

Aibu and Hayami last co-starred together in the drama series "Zettai Kareshi."

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Saki Aibu love triangle in drama Sayonara no Koi

Saki Aibu (25) is set to star in a new mobile phone drama on BeeTV, titled "Sayonara no Koi." The story is described as the "ultimate love triangle," in which she plays opposite Kei Tanaka (26) and Takaya Kamikawa (45).

Aibu plays an agency employee named Sena, who was raised by a single mother. She is engaged to a fellow employee who is the son of a politician (Tanaka), but her heart is also pulled by a former genius composer who currently works as part of the cleaning staff for her building (Kamikawa).

The drama is scheduled to last 12 episodes, coming out every Thursday after its premiere on October 1. Other cast members include Ritsuko Tanaka, Maju Ozawa, and Emiri Nakayama. The theme song "Tsuki to Taiyou ni Yureru Sora" is being sung by miray, who will also appear in the drama as herself.

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Saki Aibu and Manami Higa in drama Ashita mo Mata Ikite Ikou

Saki Aibu (25) and Manami Higa (24) will co-star in a TBS drama special titled "Ashita mo Mata Ikite Ikou." The drama will depict the friendship between volleyball players Saori Kimura (24) and Yumika Yokoyama. In April 2008, Yokoyama passed away at the age of 21 due to a rare form of cancer.

Kimura and Yokoyama will be played by Aibu and Higa, respectively. The two athletes were one year apart at the same high school, and they were said to have been as close as sisters. Yokoyama's death occurred just one month before Kimura and the rest of Japan's national team competed in the preliminaries for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The drama is based on Yokoyama's writings, which were later published as a book by the title "Ashita mo Mata Ikite Ikou." The story begins during their time in high school, when the highly talented Kimura was selected for the national team and the promising Yokoyama was diagnosed with cancer.

To play the parts, Aibu and Higa received volleyball training under the guidance of former national team member Mari Ochiai (28).

"Ashita mo Mata Ikite Ikou" will air on October 25, just a few days before Japan's national women's tournament begins.

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