Pack Your Pocket With Adventure - New live action drama series about a adult woman rediscovering Pokémon to air on TV Tokyo from October 20th

TV Tokyo and The Pokémon Company have announced that they will be producing a new live-action drama entitled Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde (Pack Your Pocket With Adventure - ポケットに冒険をつめこんで), a story about a young woman rediscovering her love for Pokémon which will air on Japanese television from October this year.

This new show stars Nanase Nishino as Madoka Akagi, a young woman who grew up in Mashiro, a port town in the Kantō region. After graduating from a local university, Madoka worked for a kamaboko maker, but changed jobs to work for ADventure, a small advertising agency in Tokyo, in order to become a creator, which she had longed to be since her school days. Despite having moved to Tokyo to pursue her dream, reality was not so sweet, and the glittering world she had imagined was not what she had in mind. In addition, Madoka ends up taking on a presentation that holds the fate of the company in its hands, leading her to be under a great degree of stress. Then suddenly, Madoka receives a care package from her mother, which includes among other items her childhood Game Boy, and the Pokémon Red cartridge that she used to play as a child. She starts playing Pokemon Red for the first time in 20 years, leading to a variety of changes in her daily life, as she takes inspiration from her experiences with the game.

全世界で人気の『ポケットモンスター』。
色々なコンテンツとのオリジナルドラマの企画を行ってきましたが、
まさかポケモンのドラマが実現するとは思っていませんでした！感謝です！
"Pokémon" is popular all over the world.
I've been involved in planning original dramas with a variety of different contents, but I never thought a Pokémon drama could be realized. Thank you!

今回のドラマは27年前に発売された、ゲーム『ポケットモンスター 赤・緑』が題材になっています。
西野七瀬さん演じる主人公赤城まどかが、久々にポケモンに触れることで、
ちょっとずつ仕事や自分の周りが変わっていくというヒューマンストーリーです。
私自身、子供の時に団地の階段で同級生とゲームをした経験もありますが、
そこにはゲームを中心としたコミュニケーションがありました。
ドラマでもそんな人と人のコミュニケーションを大事にして、
主人公のまどかが仲間と共に日々を冒険するというストーリーになっております。
This drama is based on the Pocket Monsters Red and Green games which were released 27 years ago.
This is a human story in which the work and surroundings of the main character Madoka Akagi, played by Nanase Nishino, change step by step after she encounters Pokémon for the first time in a long while.
When I was a child, I had the experience of playing games with my classmates on the stairs of a housing complex, and games played a central part in our communication there.
In this drama as well, communication between people is important, and this is a story about the everyday adventures of the main character Madoka together with her friends.

いざポケモンのドラマというと認知度が高い分、皆さんにお届けするのに緊張する部分もありますが、脚本作りの時にチームでポケモンあるあるを話して楽しんだことや、西野さんに初めてお会いした時にポケモンの話で盛り上がった！など、まさにドラマのように、ポケモンを介して世代を超えて仲間になっていけることを実感しております。
Pokémon has a high degree of recognition, so when it comes to a Pokémon drama I'm nervous about presenting parts of this to everyone, but while working on the script I was able to enjoy talking to the team about how we could all relate to Pokémon, and when I met Nishino-san for the first time we got really excited talking about Pokémon! Just like in the drama, I feel that Pokémon can be the bridge to build friendships that surpasses generations.

赤・緑に触れてなくても、他シリーズを経験していると分かる内容ですし、
もちろんゲームをしたことない方にも、ヒューマンドラマとして楽しんでもらえる内容を目指しております！
Even if you haven't touched Red and Green, you can understand this content if you've experienced other series, and of course even for those who've never played a game before, we're tried for content that everyone can enjoy as a human drama!

仲間と冒険と成長の物語を楽しんでいただけると嬉しいです！！
I'll be delighted if you enjoy this story of friends, adventure, and growth!!

Nanase Nishino is an actress and television host, who first rose to celebrity in her former role as an Idol singer and member of Nogizaka46 between 2011 and 2018. In the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize in 2022, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and won Newcomer of the Year, for her role as Mao Chikada in the Japanese Yakuza film Last of the Wolves. Other notable recent film roles include Nekomusume in 2022's xxxHolic, and Hiromi / Hachi Augment-01 in 2023's Shin Kamen Rider, which is available for streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime.

「いつか、ポケモンに関するお仕事をしてみたい」と友達に話していた数日後に、このお話をいただいたので驚きでした。
初代から最新作まで、ほとんどのシリーズを遊んできて、ポケモンと一緒に大人になった世代の一人なので 嬉しい気持ちでいっぱいです。
"I'd like to work on something related to Pokémon someday." Just a few days after I said this to my friend, I was astonished to receive [the offer to play this role].
I've played nearly all of the Pokémon series from the first generation to the latest games, and as a member of the generation that grew up with Pokémon, I'm filled with happiness.

私が演じる赤城まどかは、自分から行動を起こし、周りからの刺激もしっかりと受けとめて成長していけるような人。
最初にプロデューサーの皆さんとお話ししたとき「“主演”ではなく、“主人公”と打ち出したい」と仰っていて素敵だと思ったので、その意識を持ちながら撮影をしています。
The character I'm playing, Madoka Akagi, is the kind of person who takes action on her own accord, and is able to grow from receiving encouragement from those around her.
When I first spoke with the producers, I thought it was wonderful how they said to "Present yourself as playing the heroine rather than playing the lead role," so I'm keeping the conciousness of that in mind while filming.

まどかが働くADventureの皆さんはとても居心地がよく、現場でも控え室でも よく笑っています。
一人一人の個性は強くありながら、合わさると絶妙にバランスが良くて、頼もしい！
まどかの言葉を借りていうところの、“少数精鋭”なメンバーだなぁと思います。
Everyone at ADventure where Madoka works is very relaxed, and everyone's all smiles both on set and in the waiting room.
Every single person has a strong individual personality, but when they come together they are supurbly well-balanced and reliable!
To borrow Madoka's words, I think they a member of an elite few.

タイトルにもある通り 冒険がテーマになっているので、冒険の中で進化していくまどか達を見守っていただきつつ、
『ポケモン』をプレイしたことがある方なら「懐かしい、、」「これは！」と思えるような小ネタも散りばめられているので、楽しんでいただけると思います。
As the title suggests, the theme of this series is adventure, so you can watch over Madoka and her friends evolve during the course of their adventure.
For those who've played Pokémon, there are also small references and jokes throughout that will make you feel nostalgic, or be like "This is it!", so I think you'll have a good time.

Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde is planned and produced by Shōta Hatanaka of dea and BABEL LABEL. An creative director, producer and screenwriter with extensive experience in the advertising industry before starting to produce for film and television in 2018, Shōta has worked on a range of drama series for TV Tokyo since 2020, including the Ryosan-gata Riko (Mass-Produced Riko - 量産型リコ ) franchise about a woman who re-examines herself and grows after encountering a mass-produced Zaku plastic model (from the Gundam franchise) in a store.

今から27年前の発売日当日に、町のゲームショップで『ポケットモンスター 緑』を買ったことを今でも覚えています。
１作目の緑から最新のスカーレットまでずっと遊んできた、ゲーム『ポケモン』を原案にした初の実写ドラマを企画・脚本できる日が来るとは思っていませんでした。
Even now 27 years later, I still remember buying Pokémon Green at a game shop in town on the day it released.
Having played from that first game Green to the latest Scarlet, I never thought the day would come when I would be able to plan and write my first live-action drama based on the game Pokémon.

このドラマは、20年ぶりに眠っていた『ポケットモンスター 赤』を見つけた主人公の赤城まどかが、久しぶりにプレイするポケモンのゲームから“人生の小さなヒント”をもらい、毎日が少しずつ“冒険”へと変わっていくお話。
タイプ、育成、進化、交換…「実はポケモンのゲームの中には、人生にとっての大切な教訓が詰まっているのでは？」という妄想から生まれた、“ポケモンヒューマンドラマ”です。
主人公のまどかを取り巻く個性豊かな登場人物たちにも、『ポケモン』の様々なキャラクターを背景に重ねていたり、ドラマの至るところにファンの皆さんが楽しめる要素があって、きっとこれまで見たことのない作品になると思います！
This drama is the story of the main character Madoka Akagi, who comes across Pokémon Red for the first time in 20 years. After playing the game for the first time in a long time, she receives small hints about her life, and little by little her every day changes into an adventure.
Type, Training, Evolution, Trading... This is a "Pokémon Human Drama" born from the wild idea that "As a matter of fact, Pokémon games are full of important lessons for life."
The vibrant personalities of the characters surrounding the protagonist Madoka are supported behind the scenes by a diverse group of Pokémon characters, and there are elements throughout the drama that will be enjoyed by all fans, so it's sure this work will be like nothing you've seen before!

主演は西野七瀬さん。初めて企画の説明でお会いした時、企画の話よりみんなで好きなポケモンの話ばかりしていたのが印象的で、「赤城まどか」という主人公を西野さんにお願いしてよかった！とその時に確信しました。
Nanase Nishino plays the leading role. When we first met to explain the project, it left an impression on me how we all ended up talking about our favourite Pokémon instead of the project. It's at that time that I was positive we'd done the right thing asking Nishino-san to play the main character, Madoka Akagi.

キャストの皆さんから監督、脚本家、プロデューサーまで、“ポケモン好き”が集まったスタッフ陣が、子どもの頃に戻ったような気持ちでつくりあげた「ポケットに冒険をつめこんで」にぜひご期待ください！
From a staff team of Pokémon lovers, from the entire cast to the director, scriptwriter, and producer, and created to make you feel like you've returned to your childhood, please look forward to "Pack Your Pocket With Adventure"!

Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde will air starting October 20th every week on TV Tokyo and associated channels across Japan during the Moku Dra 24 late night programming block at Friday 00:30 Japan Standard Time (written as Thursday 24:30 in Japanese guides, following standard Japanese television industry practice), with a replay on BS TV Tokyo and BS TV Tokyo 4K the following week on Wednesday at 00:00 (Tuesday 24:00). The series will also be available for unlimited streaming via the U-NEXT video streaming platform, and for time-limited catch-up streaming with ads via the Net mo TeleTo and TVer video on demand services.