As an entertainment journalist, I’ve interviewed many incredible performers, including Kaito Nakamura, also known as Umi from the Japanese pop group Travis Japan. He’s handsome, charming, and a total sweetheart of a human being. Which is absolutely nothing like the character he plays on The Flawless Revenge by the Flawless Wife, Mizuki Kashiwagi.

Kashiwagi is a scum of a man, who decides to help his work colleague, Shūto Amamiya (Atsuhiro Inukai, The Man Who Defied the World of BL), plot an adultery scheme so he can divorce his wife, Narumi (Yurika Nakamura). Kashiwagi’s job is to seduce Narumi, so Shūto can not only file for divorce but also sue her for damages. But herein lies the twist: Shūto is already having an affair with Ririka Arima (Ui Mihara), Narumi’s coworker.

The plot thickens when Narumi learns the truth and plots her own flawless revenge.

While I am very familiar with the music Nakamura has made with Travis Japan, I’ve never seen him act before. At first, I thought the character of Kashiwagi was the bright-eyed but slightly dopey, overly-friendly type who got duped by someone he thought was his friend. Not the case. He’s cruel, conniving, and an absolute piece of trash.

Basically, Kashiwagi is the antithesis of who Nakamura is as a person. However, he does redeem himself in the end.

“When I first heard about this project, I was shocked!” Nakamura said in an official statement about being cast in the series. “I immediately bought all the manga volumes and devoured them. Mizuki’s character is depicted as a beautiful young man, and I had so many ideas about how to portray him. I hope to bring Mizuki to life in a way that fans of the original story will love. I’m looking forward to creating a captivating character alongside my fellow cast members, the director, and the staff.“

As you can tell, I believe he did an incredible job.

While I’m more familiar with Japanese BL series, STARTO artists have pulled me into all sorts of new genres. Ren Meguro (Snow Man) has made me cry in every episode of his newest series, The Beginning of the Sea (海のはじまり), while Joichiro Fujiwara (Naniwa Danshi) had me howling with laughter in the supernatural Pending Train. Genta Matsuda (Travis Japan) made me sweat in Tokyo Tower, as did Hikaru Iwamoto (Snow Man) in 24-hour Love Guard. Yamada Ryosuke (Hey! Say! JUMP) was fascinatingly troubled in The Killer Inside, while Noel Kawashima (Travis Japan) has me incredibly excited for his role in the psychological thriller anime series TASUKETSU -Fate of the Majority-.

While I’m not one to play favorites, Nakamura is one of mine, and I am double-excited that, in addition to this addicting television drama, he will soon appear in the feature film Yano-kun no Futsu no Hibi (矢野くんの普通の日々 / Eng: Mr. Yano’s Ordinary Days), an adaptation of the popular manga of the same name. That will open next month in theaters all across Japan.

The film will also feature a brand new song from Travis Japan, “Staying with you” – a romantic ballad (which will be a first for the group) – of which Nakamura says, “…is the type of song that makes you want to be close to someone special.”

He’s a great guy, they’re a great group, and there will be more soon so….

Stay Tuned!