Keisuke Kuwata, the leader of the Southern All Stars, who called it quits last summer after 30 years as Japan's most popular rock band, revives his old TV series. "Kuwata Keisuke Ongaku Tora-san" ("Keisuke Kuwata, Music's Tora-san") (Fuji, Mon., 11:15 p.m.) was first broadcast for six months in 2000 and has popped up on occasion as a special program.
For this run, which is also set to last six months, he'll be joined by comedian and actor Yusuke Santamaria in a variety-show format centered on music, though the guests will not be limited to musicians. The "Tora-san" in the title refers to the late Kiyoshi Atsumi's traveling salesman in the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" ("It's Tough Being a Man") movie series, and is meant to suggest that Kuwata's musical interests are both wide-ranging and down-to-earth.
Chisato (Maki Horikita), the protagonist of the new drama series "Atashinchi no Danshi" ("The Boys in My Family") (Fuji, Tues., 9 p.m.), is a fugitive from debt. In the first episode, broadcast last week, we learned that her mother died when she was young and that her father was a gambler. After he ran away, his debts, which amounted to ¥100 million, fell on her, so she also ran away, and ended up on the streets.