Short Program (TV series)
Premise. "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 Female protagonists Production. 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. Each director and scriptwriter decided which episode they would take based on what they had discussed together. The principal photography took place from Summer to Fall 2021. Casting. With nearly all members of JO1 being inexperienced  in acting, the production was preceded by a series of acting workshops before the directors decided roles for each member. On February 14, 2022, the list of leading roles and titles of each episode was announced. 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. Music. The opening theme song is composed by Yoshitaka Fujimoto. The ending  theme song for the series titled "Dreamer" by JO1 was released digitally on February 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 (). 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. A surprise 12th episode was later announced on March 14, 2022  and released on the same date at 5 p.m JST. Reception. Critical response. Entertainment writers Akino Shin, Ayaka Sakai, and Kana Yoshida wrote a series of reviews on the series for , and praised several members of JO1 for their first attempt in 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 Issei'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. She also praised "the nostalgic and dramatic feel" created by the combination of images and the music score by Yoshitaka Fujimoto in "A Stop on the Way".