Voice Actress Haruna Mochizuki Lands Her First Live-Action Drama Lead

On the 16th, BTV held a production announcement for its new drama 'Tide Level' (working title), set for the January season, naming voice actress Haruna Mochizuki, 24, as its lead. Mochizuki, who comes from a small-theater background, is already cast as the lead voice in Tomoshibi Animation's new anime 'Lightkeeper,' as previously reported, but this marks her first lead role in a live-action series in front of a camera.

She will play a newly assigned junior assistant appraiser at a fictional institution handling the formal appraisal of drift objects. While clearly modeled on the previously reported Third Appraisal Center, the production says all institution and character names in the show are entirely invented. The producer commented, "We wanted to depict the months-long wait for appraisal — a sense of time everyone in this city knows — from the perspective of the people working on the other side of that wait."

At the announcement, Mochizuki said, "In voice work, I've only ever delivered something through my voice alone. Now I'll be delivering it through my face and body too. I'm nervous, but my principle hasn't changed," reiterating her previously stated motto of never performing a false understanding of something she doesn't actually grasp. She reportedly plans to observe real appraisal work as part of preparing for the role.

An acquaintance from her theater days laughed and said, "She's always wanted to bring the script along and go see the real thing for herself — that hasn't changed. She looked more unsettled about this than she ever did recording the anime."

Filming is scheduled to begin in early December, with broadcast planned for a Saturday late-night slot in the January season. The announcement comes as networks lean into Yuragi-and-daily-life subject matter — alongside the previously reported 50th-anniversary push for the morning drama 'The House by the Window' and the Kishibe Seven special. BTV explained its intent: "We wanted to make a lead character out of something no one has ever made a lead out of before — the time spent waiting for an appraisal."

Names of co-stars, the screenwriter, and the director will all be announced separately in the coming days; the 16th's production announcement revealed only the character's name and setting. A BTV programming official said, "We're still working out a lineup that fits Mochizuki's principle of never performing a false understanding," explaining the decision not to rush the announcement. Any scheduling overlap with the previously reported recording schedule for 'Lightkeeper' has reportedly already been coordinated between the two production companies. Mochizuki herself said, "The way I keep different keys separate on an anime set, I plan to keep the shelves in my head separate too," describing her approach to running two lead roles side by side.