Short Program (TV series)

Short Program follows eleven members of boy band JO1 alternately playing the male protagonist in each episode, based on the short stories on youth and romance from Mitsuru Adachi's manga collection with the same name. Each story centers on different theme or activity, such as sports, music, or detective story. The series concluded with an original story written by Yusuke Moriguchi, featuring all male protagonists from the previous episodes. == Cast and characters==

Main JO1 • Takumi Kawanishi as Ichirō Imai • Shion Tsurubo as Kenji Uehara • Shosei Ohira as Kōhei Shinjō • Ren Kawashiri as Kazuhiko Sugii • Sho Yonashiro as Haruhiko Takechi • Sukai Kinjo as Misaki Tadokoro • Syoya Kimata as Keiichi Kataoka • Keigo Sato as Shōhei Tahara • Ruki Shiroiwa as Seiya Toda • Issei Mamehara as Hajime Toshino • Junki Kono as Wataru Matsumura Female protagonists • Natsumi Okamoto as Chisato Ichinose • as Tomomi Sakamoto • Honoka Yahagi as Nao Tanimura • Asuka Kijima as Asako Takazawa • Nashiko Momotsuki as Misato Yamane • as Wakaba Moriyama • Fumika Baba as Michiko • as Naomi Morimura • as Satomi Nishijima • Riko as Manami Nonomura • Sakurako Konishi as Keiko Komiya • Marika Itō as Miho • as Hinata, Kazuhiko's girlfriend • as Mr. Yamane, Misato's older brother • as Katsuaki Sugiyama • Ami Inoha as Akane • Mariko Tsutsui as Mayumi, Keiko's aunt and boss • as a police • as a beach house visitor • Zen Kajihara as the CEO of Project 101 ==Episodes==

Development On December 12, 2021, it was announced that the Japanese boy band JO1 would release their first drama Short Program. Takeshi Moriya, known for Midnight Swan and the 2020 remake of Tokyo Love Story, was announced as one of the producers. The production companies involved in the series were Atmovie Inc. and Lapone Entertainment, while Yoshimoto Kogyo acted as the distributor. Ryohei Watanabe, Takeo Kikuchi, Naho Kamimura, Tetsuhiko Tsuchiya, Takashi Masuyama, and Takeshi Moriya were appointed to direct the episodes. The principal photography took place from Summer to Fall 2021. Natsumi Okamoto, Honoka Yahagi, Sakurako Konishi and others were announced to play the female protagonists the next day. Itsuji Itao and other supporting casts were announced on February 22. Former member of Nogizaka46 Marika Itō was announced to play the female protagonist of the surprise last episode released on March 14, 2022. Its music video featuring scenes from the series was released the next day. ==Release==

The first three episodes of Short Program were released on Amazon Prime Video in Japan on March 1, 2022, at 5 p.m Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00). The premiere was accompanied by the release of Produce 101 Japan director's cut version. The subsequent episodes were released within 2–3 days interval with the final two episodes released on March 9, 2022. == Reception ==

Critical response Entertainment writers Akiko Shin, Ayaka Sakai, and Kana Yoshida wrote a series of reviews on the series for Quick Japan, and praised several members of JO1 for their first attempt at acting. Shin, in particular, was impressed by Shion Tsurubo's ability in "creating an atmosphere" in "Spring Passes", stating "although the slight intonation of the Kansai dialect remained in his voice, it did not bother him as his facial expressions spoke more than his words". Sakai called Ren Kawashiri's casting in "The Current State of Affairs" as "apt" since he was "able to transfer the sharpness he had acquired through dancing into his acting, and to carry Sugii's feelings in each of his move." Yoshida praised Keigo Sato's performance in "Blowing Any Which Way" and felt that "even though Sato is playing the opposite of himself, he is able to give a performance that will move the hearts of those who are watching". Meanwhile, Sakai applauded Syoya Kimata for using his personality in "What's Going On!?" by saying "while some actors tend to erase their own personalities and get into their roles, Kimata is the type of actor who does the opposite. In this episode, he used his own charm in his performance and 'possessed' the character even more". Shin later praised Mamehara's expressive eyes in "Memory Off", saying "his large eyes clearly reflect a wide range of emotions: dismay, interest, worry, relief, determination, hesitation, and so on". The writers also commented on the production side of the series. Yoshida praised "the bold rearrangement" the production team took with "At the Intersection" and wrote "the episode also shows the excitement, confusion, and fantasy of the person Haruhiko sees every day, as well as the feelings from the female protagonist's side, making us want to root for them even more. In such a short period of time, each character is portrayed well". Sakai praised the direction by Takashi Masuyama in "What's Going On!?" despite "the rapidly changing circumstances" in the episode. == References ==