If it works for The Simpsons…popular young stars Hayami Mokomichi (21) and Aibu Saki (21) are to be the first actors to appear as themselves on the long-running TV Asahi anime series Doraemon. Yesterday the pair were in the studio to record their parts for the June 30 one-hour special episode, a tie-up with their upcoming drama series “Regatta”, also on TV Asahi from July 14. During its 27-year run, Doraemon has become a TV institution that handles moral issues with a light touch but rarely brings in the real world. Singer Watanabe Misato (39), who once sang the show’s theme song, is the only star to have made an appearance. In the upcoming episode, self-centered main character Nobita and his friend Doraemon, a robot cat from the future, happen across the riverside location shoot of a drama series. The tall Mokomichi, who looks like he stepped from the pages of a manga, is hugely popular these days with girls of all ages. In Regatta he plays a university rowing team star who gives up the sport after the death of his friend. But love develops between him and the team manager, played by Aibu, who persuades him to aim again for his dream of rowing in the Olympics.
• Up-and-coming Fuji TV announcer Hirai Rio (23) is romantically involved with a director from the same network. According to the weekly magazine Friday, the “Suporuto” presenter was spotted on a trip to the mountain resort of Karuizawa with the handsome 27-year old, like Hirai a Keio University graduate. The couple met last year while working on a late-night show, and started dating in May. Hirai was a model and “idol talento” before joining Fuji TV in April 2005.
• Morning Musume member Takahashi Ai (19) is to have her first dramatic leading role. She will star in a new drama series on the GyaO network, Usen’s Internet TV channel, that has global warming as its main theme. Takahashi also sings the theme song for the series.