Hard Nut! (Japanese TV Drama)

Hard Nut! (Japanese: ハードナッツ!) is a Japanese television drama series that aired on NHK from October 20 to December 8, 2013. The series consists of eight episodes and follows the investigative partnership between a brilliant mathematics student and a police detective.

Promotional poster for Hard Nut! — Promotional visual for the series Hard Nut!.

Premise

The story centers on Kurumi Nanba, a university student with a genius-level intellect specializing in mathematics. Despite her academic brilliance, she struggles with interpersonal communication, often leading others to perceive her as eccentric. She teams up with Tatsuhiko Tomoda, a young detective, to solve a variety of complex criminal cases, including locked-room murders, corporate blackmail, and a series of bombings.

Ai Hashimoto as Kurumi Nanba — Ai Hashimoto portrays the math genius Kurumi Nanba.

Cast

The series features a large ensemble cast, led by Ai Hashimoto and Kengo Kora.

Kengo Kora as Tatsuhiko Tomoda — Kengo Kora portrays the detective Tatsuhiko Tomoda.

Ai Hashimoto as Kurumi Nanba
Kengo Kora as Tatsuhiko Tomoda
Masanobu Katsumura as Koji Kobayashi
Kenichi Yajima as Masahiro Aoyama
Kazuki Namioka as Jun Takagaki

Production

The series was directed by Hayato Kawai and Kojiro Hashimoto. The screenplay was written by Mitsuharu Makita, Masahiro Yamaura, and Koji Tokuo. It was broadcast on NHK on Sunday nights at 22:00.