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Third Gokusen Live-Action Series to Premiere in April
posted on by Egan Loo
The Japanese broadcaster NTV has announced on December 13 that actresss Yukie Nakama will return to her starmaking role of Kumiko "Yankumi" Yamaguchi for the third Gokusen live-action comedy series. The third series will premiere in April. The three series adapt Kozueko Morimoto's hit manga about a tracksuited high school teacher who deals with a class full of delinquents — with a little help from fighting skills honed by her yakuza family. The first series had average viewer ratings of 17.4% in 2002, while the second series jumped to 28.0% in average ratings in 2005. A quoted comment from Nakama indicates that characters from Yankumi's Ōedo yakuza clan will return, but the roles for new students will be cast through auditions by the end of the year.
The first two live-action series aired on individual North American stations with international programming. Media Blasters released the animated version of the original manga on single DVDs and in a box set, along with limited editions with Yankumi's trademark track jacket.
Source: Sankei Sports
