Akiko Higashimura Takes the Director's Chair: Kanna Hashimoto and Choi Jong-hyeop to Star!
Akiko Higashimura, one of the most prolific and beloved names in the manga world, is opening a brand new chapter in her career. The creator of hit works such as Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) and Tokyo Tarareba Girls will take on the roles of director, screenwriter, and original creator simultaneously for the first time in the original drama series Vacation no Housoku (Vacation Rules), prepared for the ABEMA platform. This exciting project draws attention not only by bringing a mangaka's vision to the screen but also with its star-studded cast.
The series stars one of Japan's most popular actresses, Kanna Hashimoto, and South Korean actor Choi Jong-hyeop, who has recently become a phenomenon in Japan. While Kanna Hashimoto brings the character Midori Hoshino, who escapes the chaos of daily life to go on vacation, to life, Choi Jong-hyeop will appear as Nishigami, the mysterious attendant at the vacation spot where Midori stays. The series, which will consist of a total of 18 episodes, will be broadcast for free on the ABEMA SPECIAL channel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting July 27, in short and fluid 15-minute segments.
Akiko Higashimura is a name known in the manga world for blending realistic women's stories with humor. The artist, who won the Manga Taisho award in 2015 for her autobiographical work Kakukaku Shikajika (Blank Canvas), was awarded the prestigious Eisner Award in 2019 for Tokyo Tarareba Girls. Although Higashimura's works have been adapted into anime and live-action projects many times before, her sitting in the director's chair herself means she will have full control over the tone and visual language of the story. Fans are eagerly waiting to see how her unique sense of humor and emotional depth will be reflected on the screen.
The cast is another strong point of the series. While Kanna Hashimoto is known for her success in big-budget manga adaptations such as Gintama and Kingdom, Choi Jong-hyeop gained such a large fan base in Japan with his role in the 2024 series Eye Love You that he earned the nickname "Hyeop-sama." This collaboration between Japanese and Korean talents is seen as one of the freshest examples of the increasing cultural interaction in the Asian drama sector in recent years. Vacation no Housoku is a candidate to be one of the most ambitious productions of the summer season for both those looking for a romantic story and those who want to witness Higashimura's creative world.
